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He said: “I want our fans to go absolutely mental in the future if one of us trips over or falls over. “I want them baying at the referees until the bloke’s hackles come up on the back of his neck. “I don’t want my players to fall over and dive, because that is disrespectful to the opposition. “I would like us to make it such a bad place for anyone to come to, so intimidating on the referee, that he has got to give us something – if there is margin of doubt, it has got to go our way....

United drew their ninth match in 16 Premier League home games this season, but they needed a 94th-minute penalty from Ibrahimovic to salvage the point. Phil Jagielka had given Everton the lead in the first-half when he got on the end of a flick from Ashley Williams, who conceded the penalty for handball and was consequently dismissed. But with the gap to the top four and Champions League qualification potentially extending to seven points if results go against them on Wednesday, Ibrahimovic called for rapid improvement....

Plenty still to do for Mourinho at Man Utd The United striker scored a match-winning double as Southampton were beaten in the EFL Cup final at Wembley on Sunday. Ibrahimovic now has won his first title on English soil, with his latest double taking his tally to 26 goals across all competitions. And former United midfielder Wilkins feels the 35-year-old is having a massive influence both on and off the pitch....

The enigmatic Swede departed Old Trafford in March after agreeing to the mutual termination of his contract. Fitness issues had prevented him from making the desired impact during a second spell with the Red Devils, with a short-term deal having been handed to him after a knee injury cut short a 2016-17 campaign which had delivered 28 goals and three trophies. Ibrahimovic opted to head for America after being freed from his commitments in England, but he admits to still keeping a close eye on FA Cup finalists United and the many friends he left behind....

The former Sweden international joined Manchester United from PSG in the summer, and has made an instant impact at Old Trafford, netting 15 goals in 24 appearances for Jose Mourinho’s side. WATCH: Ozil loses it with Alexis Sanchez On Sunday, he scored United’s second against Leicester City, taking him to 15 goals at 35 years and 125 days old. Ibrahimovic swept home from inside the area after good work from Antonio Valencia found him in the area, putting the ball through the legs of Wes Morgan and into the Foxes net....

Ibrahimovic scored twice in the first half and once in the second, while David Luiz added a third in the second half after Hatem Ben Arfa had pulled one back for the visitors early on. PSG, who were crowned champions last month, have 80 points and with six games left lead second-placed Monaco, who lost 2-1 at home to Girondins de Bordeaux on Friday, by 25 points. Nice, who had a chance to reduce the gap with Monaco to two points, lag in third place five points behind the principality side....

Message to Maradona: Icardi is a goal machine After a stuttering start to the season under Frank de Boer, Pioli has brought the Nerazzurri back up to the top end of the table. The San Siro outfit now sit in fourth place, sitting nine points behind leaders Juve, having won each of their last seven league games, though Tuesday’s Coppa Italia loss to Lazio brought an end to a nine-game winning streak in all competitions....

The Argentina international made the appeal on Instagram and has promised to give away an Inter shirt to the person who comes up with the winning name. Fingers crossed the exercise is not a mastiff waste of time and he finds a name he is happy with. A post shared by Mauro Icardi (@mauroicardi) on Oct 12, 2017 at 11:29am PDT 0 votes

Former Zimbabwe international and England coach Fletcher saw India beat the West Indies by eight wickets at the The Oval on Tuesday to book their place in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy. He will now fly to Cape Town to attend his mother’s funeral before flying back for India’s final Champions Trophy group game against arch-rivals Pakistan in Birmingham, central England, on Saturday. “Duncan Fletcher’s mother passed away on Sunday,” a BCCI spokesman said Tuesday....

Some outstanding players have played in the first seven editions of the tournament and compiling the best is tricky. Some of the best players of this generation, ala Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and co. have either played too few games or failed to make as much of an impact. So it isn’t surprising to note that only one active player features in the all-time Champions Trophy XI. Here is the all-time Champions Trophy XI:...

The conference, attended by the Elite Panel of Match Referees, Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, members of the emerging group of umpires and the umpire coaches, focused on implementation of the amendments to the Code of Conduct and Playing Conditions, low catches and use of technology. ICC Chief Executive David Richardson and ICC General Manager - Cricket, Geoff Allardice, were among those to address the gathering during different sessions....

Further, Mohammad Amir will be eligible to return to cricket at international level at the same time, following permission being granted to him to return to play domestic cricket in Pakistan earlier this year. The three players were found guilty of various offences of corrupt behavior relating to the Lords Test between England and Pakistan in August 2010 by the independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal on 5 February 2011, with their sanctions backdated to commence on 2 September 2010 (the date on which they were initially charged and provisionally suspended)....

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) stated in May that it will “extend its fullest cooperation” to the ICC after alleged plans relating to doctoring pitches for Test matches in the country were uncovered. Alex Marshall, general manager of the ICC anti-corruption unit, said that the investigations do not relate to the upcoming series between Sri Lanka and England. “We are currently in Sri Lanka as part of our ongoing investigations into serious allegations of corruption in cricket in the country,” said Marshall....

The ICC is set to start a nine-team Test league and a 13 -team ODI league in 2019 and 2020 respectively, aiming to bring “context and meaning to bilateral cricket”. In the first edition of the league, each side will play four home and four away series each comprising three ODIs, moving to all teams playing each other from the second cycle onwards. Asked about the ICC’s decision at a media conference here, Williamson said, “It’s really a positive step forward to have to a championship to give Test cricket a little more meaning and it’s great for the viewer as well....

The Test series league will see nine teams play six series over two years – three home and three away – with each having a minimum of two Tests and a maximum of five. All matches will be played over five days culminating in a World Test League Championship Final. The ODI league will be a direct qualification pathway towards the World Cup and will be contested by the 12 full members plus the winners of the current ICC World Cricket League Championship....

The Netherlands U19 side has been one of the most consistent performers in the U-19 circuit. They met Ireland U19 in the season opener and were asked to bat first. The Dutch side scored 179 in their 50 overs, losing eight wickets. Shirase Rasool top-scored with 56 runs. There weren’t any healthy contributions from the other batsmen as they were restricted to under 200 runs. Defending 180, the bowlers delivered at brilliant lines and lengths as the Irish batsmen struggled to get going....

A good spell of bowling or a brisk cameo with the bat or a moment of magic in the field can prove to be the turning point of the match. There are some players who have an X-factor to their game. These players are crucial to their team’s chances in the World Cup. We will look at one player from each team who can prove to be their X-factor....

The defending champions had opened the scoring through a Sunil Chhetri penalty in the first half before Anthony Wolfe had equalised at the other end before the half-time whistle. Chesterpoul Lyngdoh then scored a second for the home side early in the first half to give the Goan side the lead. However, in the 84th minute, Richard Costa was chopped down by Johnson as he attempted to prevent a counter-attack....

If all three clubs do move out, the League will be contested by 6 teams only. While the AIFF is looking for fresh teams viz. FC Bardez of Goa, Minnerva Academy FC of Chandigarh and Chennai City FC of Chennai, their first tender was unsuccessful in roping anyone in with all bids falling short of the mark set by AIFF. Peter Vaz, the Chairman of Sporting Clube de Goa seemed to be miffed about the way they have been treated and detested the “pay to play” franchise model that AIFF had tried to enforce....

It was in the 2010-11 season when Sanjoy Sen, fresh off a stint with the India youth set up under the much revered Colm Toal decided that it was the right time for him to make a foray into club management. He was appointed as the first team coach at big-spenders United SC under the tutelage of Subrata Bhattacharya, serving as Technical Director at the club, then owned by Chirag Computers....