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Many Everton fans have been rejoicing over after the club confirmed some major news regarding their managerial situation.

As per the Toffees’ official website, Rafael Benitez has now officially left Goodison Park, and an update on a permanent replacement for the Spaniard will be made soon.

After Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at relegation-threatened Norwich City, which meant that the Toffees have still managed to pick up just one win in the Premier League since September, it is not a surprise to see the 61-year-old getting the sack, and many supporters happy to see the back of him.

Of course, it was always a risk to hire Benitez in the first place because of his connections with Liverpool, and in hindsight it now seems to have been a bad appointment, with a lot of toxicity among the away fans at Carrow Road yesterday.

Everton fans on Benitez manager news

These Everton supporters buzzed as the dismissal of Benitez was shared on Twitter, with one fan describing the news as ‘beautiful’:

“YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS”

Credit: @GeniusChosenOne

“IT’S BEAUTIFUL”

Credit: @danielgeorgee

“FINALLYYYYY”

Credit: @Adz_EFC

“Just got cramp celebrating”

Credit: @james_gavo3

“Get in”

Credit: @jessikamcnab

“Let’s partyyyyyy”

Credit: @imogensilker

In other news, many Evertonians would love to see this man replacing Benitez

MS Dhoni has defended his top order after they once again fell apart in the face of a hostile short-pitched attack

Andrew McGlashan at the Kensington Oval07-May-2010

MS Dhoni has defended his top order after they once again fell apart in the face of a hostile short-pitched attack. The pace of Dirk Nannes, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson proved too much for India as they slumped to 50 for 7 in their pursuit of a daunting 185, and it was a familiar mode of dismissal that brought their downfall.Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina, the latter coming off the back of his hundred against South Africa, were unsettled by the short ball and fell to limp pulls. It was only Rohit Sharma, who hit out towards the end, that looked comfortable against the sustained pace that Australia were able to throw at them.If India have realistic ambitions of winning this tournament they are going to have to sharpen up their reflexes, for after this performance they will have plenty more deliveries heading for the ribcage with another Super Eight match and the final to be held in Barbados. The hole left by Virender Sehwag’s absence has not been adequately filled.”You try to fight fire with fire and it doesn’t always work and this was an example of that,” Dhoni said. “If somebody bowls 150kph short stuff then you have to be really good at pulling which isn’t our natural strength. Most players from India are very good at cutting the ball, but only a few are good pullers against the new ball.”Maybe we could have played through the first few overs because we saw as the ball got a bit older it didn’t come on as quickly,” he added. “But you have to go for runs and it’s easy after the game to say this is what should have been done. When you are chasing 180-odd runs the first five or six overs are very important otherwise the rate goes above 10 an over.”Dhoni, and each India captain before him, has had to answer questions on his side’s ability to face short-pitched bowling but the concern will be that this wasn’t a lightning fast surface, just one that offered encouragement to a well-directed attack. At last year’s World Twenty20 in England, India succumbed in similar fashion with Super Eight defeats against West Indies and the hosts when they were bombed out on a lively Lord’s surface.”It’s the same stuff that Indians have been facing for the last 10, 15, 20 years and some of the best [batsmen] in the world have come from India so there’s no reason why they can’t do it,” Dhoni said. “During the first T20 World Cup we played in Durban on one of the fastest tracks you’ll see and we beat England, South Africa and Australia.”However, Dhoni felt that it was the right approach for the batsmen to go for their shots from the start, despite having watched Shane Watson and David Warner assess conditions before opening up during their 104-run stand.”It was a big score but it is a fast-scoring ground so I didn’t think we were under too much pressure because of that,” he said. “We needed a good start and you have to keep on going but a few shots when straight to the fielder. The aggressive approach has worked for us in the past but you just have to be a bit careful.”India now play two more Super Eights matches and the first of them is back at the Kensington Oval against West Indies. If the hosts were watching this performance, they are likely to be winding up Jerome Taylor and Kemar Roach.

Zimbabwe’s spirited army of spinners scripted a memorable fightback to help the visitors clinch a low-scoring scrap

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran28-Feb-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Adrian Barath is bowled by Ray Price after charging down the pitch and missing the ball•The Nation

At the halfway stage, West Indies’ winless streak looked almost certain to be snapped after astonishing spells from Sulieman Benn and Darren Sammy, but Zimbabwe’s spirited army of spinners scripted a memorable fightback to help the visitors clinch a low-scoring scrap. On a day when Australia and New Zealand blasted the highest Twenty20 match aggregate during a nailbiter in Christchurch, Prosper Utseya’s team won a game in which both sides made their lowest ever Twenty20 scores.The Queen’s Park Oval pitch helped the spinners and was a trifle two-paced, but not so treacherous as to merit a record eight ducks, and it merely highlighted the limitations of the batsmen on both sides.What makes the ultimately comfortable victory even more special for Zimbabwe was that they were seemingly down and out after just 16 deliveries, losing three wickets to the left-arm spin of Benn with no score on board. A late onslaught from Elton Chigumbura after Zimbabwe had hobbled to 76 for 6 in 18 overs initially seemed inconsequential, but his 19-ball 34 turned out to be crucial in a match where batsmen couldn’t pull off the big hits. West Indies’ entire innings had only three fours and a six.Utseya had mentioned at the toss that the spinners were one of the side’s big strengths, and with the ball turning significantly, he used the slow bowlers for 18 overs. They proved hard to get away, but there was no signs of the turnaround that lay ahead when Adrian Barath and Shivnarine Chanderpaul negotiated the first five overs, steering West Indies to 20 for 0.Then in a flurry of attempted big hits from their young batsmen, the home side imploded. Barath was bowled in the sixth over after being beaten by the turn when looking to clear the legside boundary, Andre Fletcher picked out the deep square leg fielder with a powerful sweep in the next over, Pollard was foxed by the flight and dip of Graeme Cremer in his first attempt at a signature lofted on-drive, and Darren Bravo picked up a golden duck after the ball kept low when he was trying a Hollywood pull shot. West Indies had stumbled to 32 for 4 and it was game on.Still, with West Indies’ serial rescuer Chanderpaul unbeaten, and given a reprieve when Cremer grassed a sitter at long-on in the 10th over, they were slight favourites. Offspinner Greg Lamb, who had earlier played a completely un-Twenty20 innings consuming 28 deliveries for 11 (all in singles), tipped the game Zimbabwe’s way by trapping Chanderpaul lbw in the 12th over with a delivery that spun a lot less than the batsman expected.From that stage, it was almost all Zimbabwe. Dwayne Smith threatened briefly and stand-in captain Denesh Ramdin battled till the end, but West Indies never really mounted a serious challenge.Ramdin, and the smattering of spectators who turned up, would hardly have expected such a result after the surprise move to open the bowling with Benn paid off spectacularly, with the left-arm spinner crushing Zimbabwe’s top-order to end with 4 for 6. That was the third best bowling analysis in Twenty20s, but only for a short while, as Sammy snared three wickets in the final over to finish with a five-for.Benn struck off the match’s first delivery, when Vusi Sibanda was bowled after failing to read the arm-ball. No. 3 Tatenda Taibu looked to sweep everything that Benn sent down, without much success, and fell lbw in the third over after failing to connect with a full delivery while attempting yet another sweep. Two balls later Stuart Matsikenyeri wafted at an unthreatening ball outside off and nicked to the keeper.Zimbabwe were 0 for 3 but Benn was not done yet, getting Brendan Taylor in his next over. With nine deliveries still remaining in Benn’s spell, the record for the best Twenty20 bowling – Umar Gul’s masterful 5 for 6 against New Zealand in the ICC World Twenty20 last year – was under attack. Zimbabwe’s batsmen, though, managed to defend their way through the rest of Benn’s bowling.After surviving the opening burst from Benn and Kemar Roach, who got the ball to jag about at pace, Hamilton Masakadza started to gain in confidence, and stitched together a partnership with Greg Lamb. Masakadza tried to accelerate by smashing a couple of boundaries but the 40-run stand was broken by one of the softest dismissals: Lamb inexplicably missed a slower one from Sammy – looking to play the ball and then almost offering no stroke, only to see the delivery go on to knock over middle stump.Zimbabwe had their best phase of the innings after that, with Chigumbura looking comfortable at the crease from the outset. He and Masakadza added 21 in three overs before the opener was foxed by a slower offcutter from Sammy. Chigumbura then slammed 22 off an erratic Ravi Rampaul over to boost the target towards triple digits, before he became one of Sammy’s three final-over victims.

MatériaMais Notícias

Desfalque nos últimos dois treinos do Atlético-MG, o volante Yago está vetado da partida contra o Grêmio, que encerra o Campeonato Brasileiro às 17h deste domingo. O jogador foi identificado com rotavírus, uma virose, e foi levado ao hospital para tomar soro, por conta da desidratação. Por conta disso, o jogador foi poupado por determinação do técnico Oswaldo de Oliveira.

Fábio Santos, Leonardo Silva e Giovanni também tiveram o mesmo problema, mas conseguiram se recuperar porque não chegaram a sofrer com os sintomas mais intensos, o que não aconteceu com o Yago, que ficou fora de todas as atividades desta semana?

– Yago não vai jogar. Ele foi hospitalizado, porque ele teve um rotavírus. Não conseguiu se recuperar, diferentemente de outros jogadores, como o Fábio Santos, o Leonardo Silva e o Giovanni – explicou Oswaldo.

Por conta da forte chuva que atingiu Belo Horizonte, o Atlético realizou um rápido treino com foco nas jogadas de bola aérea e parada, sem muito esforço físico por parte dos atletas, para evitar qualquer lesão que pudesse ser gerada pela grama molhada e pesada. O atacante Clayton ficou caído após uma dividida e foi atendido pelos médicos do clube. Em seguida deixou os gramados de moletas e com uma proteção no joelho.

Apesar de não ter participado da atividade desta sexta, a expectativa é de que Adilson assuma a vaga de Yago diante do Grêmio. Para a partida em que o Galo de despede do Independência em 2017, Oswaldo de Oliveira deve mandar a campo um time formado por Victor; Bremer, Leonardo Silva, Gabriel e Fábio Santos; Adilson e Elias; Otero, Robinho e Valdívia; Fred.

RelacionadasAtlético MineiroClayton sofre grave lesão no joelho durante treino na Cidade do GaloAtlético Mineiro01/12/2017

Manoj Tiwary made a battling century but couldn’t prevent East Zone from being eliminated from the Duleep Trophy after conceding the first-innings lead to Central Zone

Cricinfo staff22-Jan-2010
Scorecard
Manoj Tiwary’s century wasn’t enough to prevent East Zone’s elimination•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Manoj Tiwary made a battling century but could not prevent East Zone from being eliminated from the Duleep Trophy after conceding the first-innings lead to Central Zone, who progressed to the semi-finals where they will face South Zone in Indore from Tuesday.As on the first three days, bad light and fog ruled out play for several hours on Friday as well. It was only half an hour after lunch that play began on the final day, and East lost opener Arindham Das in the fifth over of the morning soon after he crossed his half-century. That brought in Manoj, who made his 11th first-class hundred to guide East’s effort.East had virtually no chance of overhauling Central’s mammoth first-innings score of 480, and their best chance lay in not getting bowled out and advancing on the basis of a better run-rate than their opposition in the match.However, those hopes melted away with a couple of triple-strikes from Central. Manoj watched as the middle-order trio of Ishank Jaggi, captain Saurabh Tiwary and Wriddhiman Saha fell in the space of eight deliveries – East slipping from 131 for 2 to 133 for 5. There was some resistance from Manoj and Dhiraj Goswami but East again lost three wickets in ten balls to hurtle towards the exit. Manoj remained unbeaten on 102 when last man Abu Nechim holed out to Suresh Raina off RP Singh to confirm Central’s place in the last four.

BBC radio pundit Noel Whelan has given his reaction to the latest reports on Newcastle United’s ongoing search for a new Director of Football (DoF).

The Lowdown: Emenalo rejects Newcastle

As per The Telegraph, Michael Emenalo – who was reportedly the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium’s ‘top choice’ for the DoF role – turned down the position offered to him after he remained unconvinced that the St James’ Park club matched his ambitious plans for them.

It means that the search for a DoF continues on Tyneside as the January transfer window draws ever closer.

The Latest: Whelan reacts

Speaking to Football Insider, former Leeds United striker Whelan has since given his reaction to the news, claiming that it is a ‘massive blow’ for Newcastle that they have seemingly lost out on hiring Emenalo. He said:

“It’ll be really disappointing for Newcastle – no one likes rejection.

“They’ll have thought that they had put something on the table which could entice and tempt him to join.

“They will have wanted to fill that role as quickly as possible. Even more so when they have a massive window coming up.

“They have the manager through the door, now they need that second person in so they can put their heads together ahead of January.

“It is huge, a massive blow. That jigsaw piece still needs to be fit in. It needs to be done quickly so they can get to work.”

The Verdict: A blow indeed

Given that he was reportedly their top choice, it is indeed a blow that Newcastle have seemingly missed out on hiring Emenalo.

African football specialist Tunde Adelakun has previously hailed the Nigerian’s ‘wealth of knowledge, exposure and experience’ as he helped to grow the game in Africa, also citting Emenalo’s role in the two Premier League titles and Champions League triumph that Chelsea enjoyed when he was part of the backroom team in west London.

Emenalo is also said to be a fan of Eddie Howe, so the two could have worked well together in finding the right players to bring into Newcastle in January.

Nonetheless, it looks as if the Magpies will now have to look at other candidates for the role, and ideally they need to bring someone in before the transfer window opens in what is a crucial period in their season as they look to avoid relegation.

In other news, this NUFC target is poised to leave his current club

Liverpool striker Divock Origi could potentially seal a move to Wolves in the January transfer window, according to Express and Star reporter Luke Hatfield.

The Lowdown: Origi a Liverpool legend

The 26-year-old has put together an iconic Reds career, not always performing consistently but producing huge moments time and time again.

Origi recently scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner away to Wolves, adding to similarly huge goals against the likes of Barcelona, Tottenham, Everton and Newcastle United down the years, leading to Jurgen Klopp calling him a ‘legend’.

It could be that the striker’s time at Liverpool comes to an end in the near future, however, with a lack of football seeing him fail to start in the Premier League this season.

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The Latest: Journalist talks up Wolves move

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Hatfield talked up the idea of Origi moving to Wolves, having been linked with a switch to Molineux in the past:

“Wolves have been linked with him before, obviously they like the look of him.

“They need someone to back up Raul Jimenez, they have Hwang, who’s a different player, but other than that, who have they got? You’ve got Fabio Silva, who’s a young lad, and we’re yet to see the best of him, so I think a striker option would be interesting.”

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The Verdict: Wrong time to sell

Origi appears relatively content at playing a bit part role for Liverpool but he could feature prominently in the coming weeks, highlighting the need to keep hold of him.

With Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane on Africa Cup of Nations duty next month, the Belgian will be needed to step up to the plate and fill the void, hopefully adding to his two Premier League goals this season.

It would, therefore, be a big surprise if Liverpool allowed Origi to leave in January but a summer exit could happen if he wants it to.

From a Reds perspective, however, it seems logical to keep hold of him for as long as possible, given his penchant for popping up with huge goals, not to mention an overall record of 40 goals in 167 appearances.

In other news, some Liverpool fans are fuming at a Reds exit rumour. Read more here.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outJustin Ontong’s late fireworks took Cobras to a match-winning total•CCIL

The crowd at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium did not have a home team to support in the first part of the Saturday double-header but those who bothered to show up certainly got their money’s worth, thanks to a wonderful display of power hitting by the Champions League’s first centurion, Andrew Puttick, and later by Justin Ontong. After upstaging Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Cape Cobras booked themselves into the second round with a solid performance in the field to back their batsmen, who piled on 193. Otago barely dominated any passage of play during their chase and fell 54 short of the mark.Both teams went into the game with seven international players each. Otago looked the more formidable, but only on paper. As is turned out, Otago were caught woefully short on the batting department. The fortunes of both teams after 10.1 overs told the story – the Cobras were at 79 for 2; Otago made the same number of runs but lost, crucially, three more wickets. Save for a brief cameo from Nathan McCullum, a Cobras victory was inevitable.Perhaps the best formula to draw in the crowds to support teams with plenty of unknowns is to prepare a road of a pitch and allow the batsmen the license to whack. It was a pity in the context of the game that Otago failed to match that total, but Puttick certainly made it a game to remember, not just for himself. Punters would have placed bets on one of the national stars to notch up a century but Puttick grabbed the headlines instead.He relied more on power rather than timing to fetch his boundaries. He set the tone by slashing Neil Wagner past slip and flicking the same bowler off his pads in the opening over of the match. With the ball coming on to the bat, the pair of Puttick and JP Duminy willfully chipped down the track to unsettle the lengths of the seamers. Length deliveries were punched down the ground and Nathan McCullum’s was smothered and slogged, even as he tried to vary his length and flight.It didn’t take long for the Cobras to realise that hitting through the line was the order of the day. As the innings wore on, the Cobras brought out their paddle scoops and stylish flicks to toy with the inexperienced Otago attack. Otago could learn a thing or two from the England international Dimitri Mascarenhas, who managed a wicket-maiden and changed his pace cleverly to another, that of Herschelle Gibbs.It was just a matter of seeing off Mascarenhas before launching into the rest. Puttick favoured the wide long-on boundary for his big hits. Nathan, Craig Cumming and Ian Butler looked back only to see the ball sail over the ropes. A four down to deep midwicket brought up his fifty but little did Otago know that his job was only half done at that point.Puttick was particularly harsh on Butler, smacking 32 off 14 balls and then taking Neil Wagner for 27 off 16. Considering that they were the quickest of the lot, it was easy for Puttick to use the pace and launch the ball to all parts. When Puttick swooped Butler over midwicket, the smile on his face indicated just how much he enjoyed batting in the middle, possibly in the form of his life. It was a fortunate twist of fate since he wasn’t included in the original squad and came in after Graeme Smith’s pull-out. He was beaming again when he squeezed out a full delivery by Wagner to bring up a boundary to third man, and his century.After Duminy and Rory Kleinveldt holed out trying to clear the boundary, Ontong came out to biff four sixes in his 39 that entertained the crowd. Otago leaked 121 runs off the last ten overs – a stat which decided which way the match was headed.Otago invested probably two of their best local batsmen right at the top to get them off to a flier. Brendon McCullum and Aaron Redmond made an encouraging start with some power hitting through the off side but the joy was short-lived. Redmond fell slashing to third man and Brendon perished for 21, failing to make his ground while attempting a second run. Two further run-outs before the tenth over dented them further.Nathan McCullum gave Cobras a minor scare when he picked Ontong for three consecutive boundaries. However, he got a little too cheeky against Kleinveldt when a paddle scoop went straight to short fine leg. Kleinveldt picked up three wickets as Otago threw their bats around at everything and folded up with 17 balls to spare.The mismatch notwithstanding, Puttick’s performance was more than just an appetiser for the second game, between the home side Deccan Chargers and Somerset.

Liverpool will face Porto on Wednesday evening in a clash that has really no impact on the side’s qualification, as they secured their passage to the last sixteen in the Champions League a few weeks back, after going unbeaten.

Jurgen Klopp’s side will have the opportunity though to remain unbeaten in Europe alongside Ajax and Bayern Munich, and if they do beat Porto tonight it will keep Atletico Madrid in with a chance of qualification.

One player that is predicted to play for Liverpool tonight is Divock Origi, who is currently out of favour in Klopp’s super starting eleven but has made a few outings this season so far with seven appearances, three goals and two assists across all competitions so far.

Although Origi is not a starter for the side, he has proven this term that he has something to offer, whether that be with Liverpool or another club in a move that has been highly speculated over the last six months.

According to The Northern Echo, Newcastle United are interested in the 26-year-old striker, who was reportedly valued at £12-£15 million by the club in the summer transfer window, however, nobody could meet Liverpool’s valuation and the player remained at the club for the season ahead.

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Liverpool have a strict sell to buy framework at the club and will need to offload a player to bring another in, and Klopp could capitalise on these last two Champions League games to showcase Origi’s talents and attributes to drum up interest of notable value that would be more appealing and financially beneficial for the club going into the transfer window.

The Belgian is available on a free in the summer, so if the club is looking to make a quick buck on the striker, time is ticking, and starting him in the next two Champions League games will give the striker the opportunity to put on great performances that could potentially make FSG millions.

The £10.8m-rated beast is likely to start in tonight’s game having had many moments of magic in the Champions League in his time at Liverpool and has been hailed a “monster” by former Belgium teammate, Vincent Kompany;

“He is very gifted and talented,” said Kompany. “Technically, he’s a monster.

“More importantly, he is an outstanding worker in training. I see him working like crazy.”

Liverpool take on Porto at Anfield tonight and despite the likelihood of a weaker starting eleven, Klopp will expect his team to put in a performance to continue their unbeaten run in Europe.

In other news: Liverpool must complete transfer swoop for Renato Sanches

Indian batsman Rohit Sharma will miss the inaugural Corporate Cup due to a shoulder injury he picked up during the Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai. Playing for Mumbai Cricket Association XI against Vidharbha, Rohit hurt his left shoulder while attempting a catch off his own bowling.Aijaz Asahi, the Mumbai physio confirmed to Cricinfo that there was an inflammation in Rohit’s left shoulder which will take at least a couple of weeks to heal. Rohit also reported to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore for a check-up.The injury is the latest setback for Rohit, who was dropped from India’s one-day squad for the tri-series in Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy in South Africa. He was in indifferent form during the one-day series in the West Indies in June-July, scoring just 15 runs in four matches. He will not be able to turn out for Indian Oil in the Corporate Cup which runs from September 1 to 8.