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Nathan Aspinall ‘loses focus’ as fans start booing seconds before World Championship win | Other | Sport

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Nathan Aspinall had to overcome mass booing in the final stages of his third-round match at the PDC World Championship before sealing a win over Andrew Gilding. ‘The Asp’ was not at his best but managed to prevail 4-0, despite clearly becoming distracted in the final leg.

Needing 178 to close out victory, he hit two treble 20’s, but did so amid loud jeers in the Ally Pally.

Aspinall appeared confused over whether the boos were aimed at him, and actually looked at the crowd before smiling wryly and trying to reposition himself for this third dart.

Sky Sports Darts commentator Stuart Pike said “He’s got to focus now, whatever’s going on in the crowd…” However, a clearly rattled Aspinall, who needed a single 18 to leave double tops, then threw his effort wide of the board to score no points with his third dart.

“That’s exactly what can happen,” continued Pike. “All he had to do was hit a single 18 there to leave tops and he just lost concentration. He lost focus there.”

It was unclear what the crowd unrest was over, but mercifully for Aspinall, the error didn’t come back to haunt him. On his next visit he did hit 18 and then nailed double top to make the last-16 at Ally Pally for the first time since 2019.

After his win, Aspinall opted not to talk about his momentarily lapse. Nor did the star seem concerned about the lacklustre contest, having set up a clash with German player Ricardo Pietreczko on Monday.

“I don’t care about numbers, and I don’t care about averages,” he said, with his own hovering at just over 92 during the match. “And yeah, it’s England Germany.”

The 33-year-old celebrated passionately after completing his win, and explained that he was making a conscious effort to be more motivated on a stage. “I think the last six months I’ve been very flat when I’ve been playing,” he admitted.

“So I made a concious effort tonight to get that fire lit in my stomach again. And I think you’ve seen it from the off, I was giving it a bit more emotion and that was for myself, to try and get adrenaline going.

“It wasn’t my best performance, but listen I’m very happy. And I can’t be too hard on myself, I’ve won 4-0 against a fantastic darts player.”



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Man Utd player ratings vs Tottenham with four 5/10s as Mbeumo shines in draw | Football | Sport

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Manchester United were denied a chance to move up to second in the Premier League table but continued their unbeaten streak in dramatic style in a 2-2 draw at Tottenham. United had led 1-0 as late as the 83rd minute but not long after looked poised to lose 2-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium due to late Spurs goals from Mathys Tel and Richarlison until Matthijs de Ligt denied the hosts victory.

Bryan Mbeumo’s close-range header punished poor Spurs defending to put the Red Devils in front after 32 minutes. But Spurs substitute Tel produced a fine touch and finish in the 84th minute and then Richarlison headed in a minute into stoppage time to spark raucous scenes. Yet despite going down to 10 men due to injury, United produced a brilliant response with centre-back De Ligt saving a point in the 96th minute. Express Sport rates and slates the United players as they drew in the capital…

Man Utd player ratings vs Tottenham

Senne Lammens – 8

Recovered from early error and made brilliant saves to deny Sergio Romero and Joao Palhinha in the second half. Could do nothing about the goals.

Matthijs de Ligt – 7

Defended his box well until he got done by Mathys Tel, whose shot deflected off the Dutchman and in. Made amends with a towering stoppage-time header to make it 2-2.

Harry Maguire – 7

A solid return to the team was ended prematurely by a hamstring injury that saw him limp off with 18 minutes to go.

Luke Shaw – 6

Bailed out by Lammens after Romero got into a goalscoring position but still a good performance overall. Helped make space for De Ligt to score from a corner at the death.

Noussair Mazraoui – 6

A solid enough 58-minute outing on his return to the starting XI.

Casemiro – 7

Another match where the Brazilian led by example in the middle, breaking up play multiple times before being replaced.

Bruno Fernandes – 5

Helped win the ball in the lead-up to the opening goal with his pressing but well below his level generally, regularly getting caught on the ball. Had a good chance to make it 2-0 that he fired over the bar. Comes away with an assist for the corner at the end.

Patrick Dorgu – 5

Defended fairly well against Brennan Johnson but sorely needs to improve his end product going forward. His crosses are so wasteful. Booked.

Amad Diallo – 7

Moved out of the right wing-back role and supplied a clever floated cross for the Mbeumo header and some great passes. Might have done more to stop the cross for the Spurs equaliser but still one of United’s best.

Matheus Cunha – 5

Played centrally over Benjamin Sesko but really struggled. Held on to the ball too long and then lost possession far too many times.

Bryan Mbeumo – 7

Deployed out of his natural position on the left wing but scored a controlled header for his sixth goal in a United shirt and produced some really intelligent touches and contributions. Just a very good footballer.

Substitutes

Benjamin Sesko (Mazraoui 58) – 5

Should have done better with a late chance but allowed Micky van de Ven to get back. Picked up a knock in the same moment that forced him off and left United down to 10 men.

Mason Mount (Cunha 72) – 6

Should have had an assist after releasing Sesko.

Leny Yoro (Maguire 72) – 6

Moved to centre-forward as United chased

Manuel Ugarte (Casemiro 72) – 6

Left Richarlison onside for the late winner.

Diogo Dalot (Dorgu 80) – N/A



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Lewis Hamilton found guilty at Brazil GP as stewards confirm punishment | F1 | Sport

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Lewis Hamilton has avoided a grid penalty despite being found guilty of failing to slow for yellow flags during qualifying for the Sprint race at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. It happened during the second part of Friday’s session after team-mate Charles Leclerc span off track.

Cameras on board Hamilton’s Ferrari showed him going through that section of the Interlagos track but without showing any sign of slowing down. Double-waved yellow flags require drivers to slow down and be prepared to stop, but the seven-time world champion failed to do so as he tried to reach the start-finish line.

The stewards have confirmed that Hamilton broke the rules and failed to slow sufficiently for those yellow flags. But instead of a grid penalty, the stewards decided that a reprimand – the 40-year-old’s first of the season – was punishment enough.

They explained: “Towards the end of Q2, Car 16 [Leclerc] spun at the exit of turn 10, triggering double waved yellow flags. Shortly afterwards, Car 44 [Hamilton] approached the same corner and was just turning in when the double yellow light panels were activated on the left-hand side of the track.

“During the hearing, HAM explained that he did not see the light signal. The onboard footage confirms that the signal was only illuminated for a fraction of a second before HAM passed it. As the driver’s focus was clearly on the turn-in-point, he was looking to the right-hand side of the track, thus the Stewards find it credible that he did not actually perceive the signal.

“However, HAM acknowledged during the hearing that he saw LEC stationary at the side of the track and could see a green light signal being displayed beyond that point. He therefore had to realise that he was at least in a yellow sector and as a consequence had to reduce speed discernibly.

“Looking into the telemetry, the stewards found that the driver reacted by hesitating whilst applying the throttle, but did not reduce speed as required. In similar circumstances in the past, the Stewards have deemed it appropriate to impose a reprimand rather than the standard five-place grid penalty specified in the guidelines. In terms of consistency, the stewards consider a reprimand to be sufficient in this case as well.”

It means Hamilton will start Saturday’s Sprint from 11th place – because he failed to make it to the start-finish line, the Brit did not managed to set a time quick enough to progress to SQ3. Lando Norris will start on pole with McLaren team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri third on the grid, while Max Verstappen had to settle for sixth.



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Harry Kane to Man Utd twist as striker ‘wouldn’t turn down’ transfer | Football | Sport

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Former Manchester United defender Danny Simpson reckons Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane would struggle to reject a move to Old Trafford. The England captain has been in scintillating form for Bayern under Vincent Kompany, with the Bundesliga giants challenging across all competitions, yet questions about his long-term future persist despite his contract running through to 2027.

Reports this week suggested Bayern are prepared to break their own transfer policy to secure Kane’s services long-term. The German club typically limits contract offers to one-year extensions for players over 30, but are reportedly considering an exception amid growing interest from clubs including Barcelona.

A return to the Premier League has also been discussed. Kane sits just 47 goals behind Alan Shearer’s all-time competition record of 260 goals, and Simpson is convinced the Three Lions skipper would seize the opportunity to pursue that milestone at United.

“I don’t know where else he could go, if I’m honest,” Simpson told Dream Vegas. “He can’t go to [Manchester] City. He can’t go to Arsenal. I can’t see him turning Manchester United down.

“He can come back, and get the goals record. I’d love to see it. I said it when he was leaving Tottenham, I’d love to see him at Manchester United. It’s a good fit. If that’s an option I’d 100 per cent go for it.”

Simpson remains undeterred despite United’s significant summer expenditure. Benjamin Sesko joined from RB Leipzig as part of a £200million spending spree, alongside Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, yet the former defender believes the Slovenian forward’s arrival wouldn’t prevent a Kane transfer.

“He could help Sesko as well. Sesko would understand not playing every game, learning under Harry Kane, and not having that pressure,” Simpson added. “He’s (Kane) won his trophies at Bayern now, so if he comes back and gets Manchester United back up to the top of the Premier League, he could be a Manchester United legend like when [Robin] Van Persie came.”

Simpson’s remarks follow Kane’s upbeat comments regarding his Bayern prospects. The striker netted 26 league goals last season, contributing to a title triumph, whilst he’s already scored 22 in merely 16 appearances this campaign as Bayern maintain a perfect record.

“In terms of staying there longer, I could definitely see that,” the 32-year-old said in October. “I have not had those conversations with Bayern yet but if they were to arise I would be willing to talk and have an honest conversation.

“Obviously, it depends on how the next year or so goes and what we achieve together. Right now, I would say we are in a fantastic moment and I am not thinking about anything else. In terms of the Premier League, I don’t know. If you had asked me when I first left to go to Bayern, I would have said for sure I would come back.

“Now I have been there a couple of years, I would probably say that has gone down a little bit, not so much, but I wouldn’t say I would never go back. What I have learnt in my career is that different opportunities and different timings happen and things fall in place. Going back to my first point with Bayern right now, I am fully all in with Bayern.”



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