I Dig Sports
GLASGOW, Scotland -- Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou gave a scathing assessment of Timo Werner's performance in the team's 1-1 Europa League draw with Rangers on Thursday, saying the forward's performance "wasn't acceptable."
Werner, who is playing in his second season on loan at Spurs from RB Leipzig, was replaced by Dejan Kulusevski after enduring a difficult first half at Ibrox.
Asked if the substitution was made for purely tactical reasons, Postecoglou said: "Yeah, he wasn't paying anywhere near the level he should."
Spurs conceded within two minutes of Kulusevski's introduction, but the Sweden international went on to score his team's equaliser.
"I think Rangers played very well. We struggled a bit. 1-1, it is what it is. We didn't play well enough to win the game," Kulusevski said after the match. "It's always important to score, but we've got to start winning games.
"We haven't won in a couple of weeks. Everybody needs to do a little bit more than we're doing right now."
Postecoglou also referenced the performances of two Spurs 18-year-olds -- Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray.
In the injury-enforced absence of Spurs' senior defenders -- Cristain Romero, Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies -- Gray filled in at centre-back in Glasgow and drew glowing praise from his manager who described him as "outstanding."
Bergvall was introduced as part of a 75th-minute triple substitution that proved pivotal in helping Spurs earn a vital point from their trip to Scotland.
Postecoglou, who has seen his role as Spurs head coach come under serious pressure after a succession of disappointing results in recent weeks, pointed to the impact made by the teenagers when asked if he needed Werner and other senior players to make a bigger contribution to the team.
"I think when you've got 18-year-olds, I think it's not acceptable to me. I said that to Timo, he's a senior international, a Germany international. In the moment we're in right now, it's not like we've got many, kind of, options.
"I need everyone to at least be going out there trying to give the best of themselves. His performance in the first half wasn't acceptable."
Asked what he put Werner's performance down to, Postecoglou said: "I don't really know. It's not really of great concern. Like I said, we just need everybody, including him, to be contributing because we don't have the depth to sort of leave people out if they're performing poorly, we need them to play their part.
"And like I said, especially the senior guys, when I'm asking younger guys to do massive jobs, I expect the level of performance from some of the senior guys and today wasn't that."
The draw at Ibrox saw Spurs remain ninth in the Europa League table, one place below Rangers, who occupy the last automatic qualification spot for the knockout rounds.
PLZEN, Czechia -- Ruben Amorim said it was a "good sign" to see Rasmus Højlund and Amad involved in a heated row after the 2-1 win over FC Viktoria Plzen because it shows they care.
Højlund scored twice as United came back from a goal down to record their first away win in Europe since beating Real Betis in March 2023.
But the Denmark striker and Amad had to be separated by Lisandro Martínez after the final whistle with the pair accusing each other of failing to pick the right pass during a number of late breakaways.
"For me it's perfect," Amorim said when asked about the confrontation.
"We need to feel something. In this moment, we need to feel something. If we need to fight each other it's like a family. For me it's a very, very good sign. We need to feel something and that is important."
Asked if he was in favour of the pair thrashing out their differences because it shows they care, Amorim said: "That is clear. When you don't care, you don't do anything. When you care, you fight with your brother, with your father, with your mother. For me it's a very good sign.
"It's a normal thing, it's a positive thing, a healthy thing. I let the players and the captain calm down the things. If I think it's too much I will go inside the dressing room. But it's their space, they have to talk, to fight and for me it's a very important thing."
United needed an 88th-minute winner from Højlund at Doosan Arena after the 21-year-old had cancelled out Viktoria Plzen's opener just six minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute.
The hosts went in front thanks to another error from André Onana. The goalkeeper's mis-placed pass to Matthijs de Ligt was easily cut out to allow former Watford, Derby County and Burnley striker Matej Vydra to score.
"I am happy that we win the game and still fight each other, that is a very good thing," Amorim said.
"When you win and you fight with your teammate because you want to score one more, for me it's a very good day for us. The way we give a goal to the opponent, it was important not to give up. That's a great message."
Zendejas nets América's game-winner in first final
United States men's national team winger Alejandro Zendejas scored a 49th minute game-winner for Club América in a 2-1 victory against Monterrey in Thursday's first leg of the Liga MX final.
Held at Puebla's Estadio Cuauhtemoc -- Club América's temporary home for the championship series -- the final first kicked off with an early injury setback for the visitors. Following a run down the left flank, Monterrey's Lucas Ocampos suffered an apparent muscle injury that forced a substitution in the fourth minute.
Despite this, Martin Demichelis' Monterrey held most of the possession in the first half. With Héctor Moreno, Víctor Guzmán and Sergio Canales providing the ball distribution.
Los Rayados eventually found an opportunity for the first goal in the 35th minute after Canales capitalized a rare open space left by a defensive Club América. The Spain midfielder launched a shot from distance, giving Monterrey a 1-0 lead.
In response, Las Aguilas wasted little time. Thanks to a counter that led to a scramble in the 18-yard box for a loose ball, fullback Kevin Álvarez recovered a mishit opportunity from Zendejas, and then slotted the ball into the back of the net in the 39th minute.
Maintaining their pressure, Club América hit the ground running after halftime.
Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images
With a chance to take the lead, midfielder Álvaro Fidalgo ran forward with the ball in the 49th minute, before finding Zendejas through an accurate line-splitting pass. The U.S. winger cleverly shot to the left of the keeper to make it 2-1 in Club America's favor.
To make matters more difficult for Monterrey in the second half, there appeared to be another knock to a key figure when Canales asked to be substituted in the 65th minute. Due to his absence, Los Rayados struggled to regain momentum from the home side that increased their possession of the ball as the clock winded down.
By the final whistle, Las Aguilas secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory.
With the result in hand, Club América will head into Sunday's away leg in Monterrey with a narrow advantage in the final.
If the Mexico City giants win, they will become the first to earn three consecutive championships in the short-season era of Liga MX.
The title would also further extend their league-leading all-time trophy tally to 16, thereby giving them a four-championship cushion over Chivas' 12.
Monterrey will seek to bounce back and claim their sixth title and their first under Demichelis. The championship would be the second for Los Rayados since 2019.
Champions League projections: Which big clubs will advance?
The first few matchdays of the 2024-25 Champions League campaign were a bit strange from a general vibes perspective. We saw plenty of interesting matches and great performances, but with the freshly expanded format -- four more teams, two more matchdays, four-team groups ditched for a giant, 36-team table with two-thirds of teams advancing to the knockout rounds -- it was hard to really glean the stakes of what we were seeing.
It's not hard anymore.
In Matchday 6, we saw teams officially eliminated, we saw Liverpool lock up a top-eight finish and a bye to the round of 16, we saw a couple of Europe's richest teams (Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain) get off the mat a bit, and we saw another one (Manchester City) continue its recent tailspin. We also saw lots of goals. Twelve of 18 matches had at least three of them, and seven had at least five.
With this level of entertainment, it's almost a shame that the competition will now basically take six weeks off -- Matchdays 7-8 are in the last two weeks of January -- but we'll make do. The more time to prepare for the richest Relegation Six-Pointer of all time (Manchester City at PSG on Jan. 22), the better, eh?
Let's once again go country-by-country to look at who's faring well, who's flailing and which players performed the best in Matchday 6, the best of the competition thus far.
The categories below:
Title hopefuls: Teams with at least a 3% chance of winning the whole thing, per ESPN BET
Fighting for the top eight: Teams with at least a 20% chance of finishing in the top eight of the league phase, per Opta
Just hoping to advance: Teams with at least a 20% chance of finishing in the top 24, but a less than 20% chance of finishing in the top eight, per Opta
Playing out the string: Teams with an under 20% chance of finishing in the top 24
ENGLAND: Liverpool and Arsenal are new title favorites, Manchester City's tailspin continues
TITLE HOPEFULS: Liverpool 16.2% (up 1.2% from last matchday), Arsenal 11.5% (up 0.6%), Manchester City 10.1% (down 3.6%)
You know your season's going pretty well when we can nitpick semi-comfortable wins, but Liverpool both clinched a top-eight finish and left plenty to be desired in their 1-0 win over Girona on Tuesday. They scored only via a soft penalty, and goalkeeper Alisson -- in his return from injury after a couple of months -- had to come up with a couple of huge saves as Girona was able to open up the match at times, attempting 13 shots worth a decent 1.2 xG.
This was the first time in five away matches that Liverpool didn't allow at least two goals -- they were stretched particularly open last week in a 3-3 draw at Newcastle -- and they weren't incredibly sharp against Girona either. But they handled their business, and they remain atop the table in both of the world's most lucrative leagues.
And now they have company.
Beth Lindop assesses Arne Slot's "incredible" start to his managerial career at Liverpool.
Two weeks ago after Matchday 5, Liverpool became the overall betting favorite at 14.9%, with Manchester City (13.7%) in second and Arsenal (11.0%) in fourth. With another City loss, Arsenal and Barcelona are now tied in the No. 2 spot. And more importantly in the short-term, Arsenal saw its chances of a top-eight finish and round-of-24 bye increase by more than 20 percentage points with Wednesday's easy 3-0 win over Monaco. Both teams had plenty of the ball in the attacking half, but only Arsenal did anything with it. And when they leveraged the ball into the right side of the attack, dangerous things usually happened thanks to the Martin Odegaard-Bukayo Saka firewall.
Saka continues to make a pretty good case for Best Right Winger in the World. He had two goals and an assist on Wednesday, and when Arsenal lost possession in his area of the pitch, he usually collected it back. He had seven ball recoveries and was one of the primary reasons why Arsenal dominated that category (they had 58% of the match's ball recoveries).
Check out his passing maps:
Saka received 15 passes from either Odegaard, Thomas Partey or Declan Rice and sent 12 passes their way as well, and Monaco was unable to prevent the ball from flowing in their direction. Throw in a brilliant first 35 minutes from forward Gabriel Jesus -- in which he had three shots worth 0.8 xG, then assisted Saka's 34th-minute game-winner -- and you had Arsenal at its best. Monaco's Breel Embolo missed a golden opportunity in the 65th minute, then Arsenal put the match away with two goals in the last 15 minutes.
You can make a pretty easy case that Liverpool and Arsenal are the two best teams in the world right now. In fact, it's probably harder to make any other case. We'll see what does or doesn't change in the six weeks until Matchday 7.
FIGHTING FOR THE TOP EIGHT: Liverpool (100% chance of a top-eight finish), Arsenal (90.8%), Aston Villa (50.4%)
On Tuesday night in Leipzig, Aston Villa won one of the most entertaining and impactful matches of the week, a 3-2 decision that bumped up their odds of a top-eight finish by more than 30 percentage points and officially eliminated RBL from advancing. This match had four spectacular goals and a spectacularly-deflected winner from Ross Barkley, and Villa took all three points despite a spectacular match from RBL left midfielder Antonio Nusa. The shot and xG totals were similar, and RBL actually generated more opportunities in the box, but Villa got Barkley's long deflection and another long-range strike from Jhon Durán.
SUPER-SUB JHON DURÁN STRIKES ONCE AGAIN!! pic.twitter.com/qLpWlVLxbY
CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 10, 2024
He really might be the best pure finisher in the game at the moment.
JUST HOPING TO ADVANCE: Manchester City (0.0% chance of a top-eight finish, 90.8% chance of advancing)
Zero point zero percent. Club soccer's season is so long and arduous that it's sometimes hard to know what to make of a team going on a hot or cold streak in the fall months. When it comes to the odds of accomplishing their goals, such a streak might not change things all that much. But Manchester City's month-and-a-half from hell -- 10 matches, one win, seven losses since Oct. 30 -- has officially begun to derail their season.
Gab Marcotti and Rob Palmer discuss the problems faced by Pep Guardiola and his struggling Manchester City squad.
According to Opta's power ratings, City's odds of winning the Premier League are down to just 3.8% now that they're in fourth place and eight points back of Liverpool (which has a game in hand). And while they're still quite likely to advance to the Champions League knockout rounds, they're out of the running for a top-eight finish and bye, meaning they'll have to survive an extra round in February. And with the way the table is clustered, with 12 teams at 8-11 points, that round-of-24 matchup could be against a team like Celtic, and it could be against a team like Real Madrid.
At least the problems were different on Wednesday. That's something, right? After watching their aging and thin midfield get overrun for weeks, resulting in tons of high-level scoring chances for opponents, City only allowed Juventus to attempt three shots worth more than 0.1. Unfortunately, two of those shots went in the net, including an All-American Tim Weah-to-Weston McKennie combination that put the match away.
Meanwhile, Juve's defense was an ode to catenaccio: They gave City all the possession they wanted and gave up absolutely nothing in dangerous areas. City attempted 228 passes in the attacking third (Juve: 24), but completed just one of 10 crosses in open play, attempted only four shots in the game's first 64 minutes and saw six of their 12 total shot attempts blocked. Erling Haaland managed just 18 touches and two shot attempts: one was blocked by Manuel Locatelli, the other was saved by Michele Di Gregorio, and that was that. He saw almost no opportunity in the final 50 minutes.
Based on preseason Opta simulations, the benchmark for advancing to the knockout rounds has basically been nine points. City are sitting at eight with two matches -- one at PSG, one at home against Club Brugge. With the transfer market opening in three weeks, we might see a different City team for the rest of this competition. They could still catch fire in the second half of the season, as we've seen many times, but these are depths we have never seen from a Pep Guardiola team.
PLAYING OUT THE STRING: none
SPAIN: Nine points for LaLiga's three heavyweights
TITLE HOPEFULS: Barcelona 11.5% (down 0.6%), Real Madrid 11.5% (up 1.3%)
Craig Burley and Alejandro Moreno react to Barcelona's 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
After an incredible October run of seven wins in seven matches (scoring margin: 29-5), Barcelona began to skid a bit in November. The incredibly high Barcelona defensive line, a staple of manager Hansi Flick's style, continues to draw opponents offside at rates we haven't really seen before -- they've drawn 37 offsides in this competition thus far, and the other 35 teams have averaged 12.2. But it's been pierced a lot more in recent weeks, and beginning with a 1-0 loss to Real Sociedad on Nov. 10, they've won just one of their last five LaLiga matches.
The Barca defense certainly proved vulnerable again at Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, but in a wonderfully free-flowing match, they outscored the defending Champions League runners-up, 3-2, thanks to two late goals from substitute Ferran Torres.
In American football, you'll sometimes hear an announcer say something like, "This game will come down to whoever has the ball last." This match was sort of the soccer version of that: both teams took turns dominating the ball and the attack in the second half, and Barca just happened to be the last one to take advantage. Regardless, they secured three vital points and all but assured themselves a round-of-24 bye. Considering the fatigue levels that come with executing the Flick system, that's a pretty good prize.
FIGHTING FOR THE TOP EIGHT: Barcelona (90.5% chance of a top-eight finish), Atletico Madrid (37.8%)
Outside of Liverpool and Arsenal, is there a better team in the world right now than Atletico Madrid? Granted, they got to pick apart Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday, one of the three teams in the competition with zero points. But their comprehensive 3-1 win backed up something that has been evident for a few weeks now.
Manager Diego Simeone has exactly what he needs with this squad: intensity, structure, industry and, thanks to the combination of Antoine Griezmann and Julián Álvarez, just the right amount of creativity up front. The duo scored all three goals, and Atleti completely dominated in terms of both ball recoveries (they made 61% of them) and high turnovers (81%). They've won 10 in a row in all competitions (scoring margin: 30-7), and while peaking in December isn't the single greatest way to win trophies, they're overflowing with confidence at the moment.
Jürgen Klinsmann reacts to Kylian Mbappe's goal in Real Madrid's 3-2 win over Atalanta in the Champions League.
JUST HOPING TO ADVANCE: Real Madrid (15.7% chance of top eight, 94.8% chance of advancing)
December is evidently Bounceback Month for Real Madrid. Firmly ensconced back in the LaLiga race after taking 12 points from five matches (and watching Barcelona wobble a bit), they re-established their Champions League credibility as well with a 3-2 win over a dynamite Atalanta team. That bumped them from 24th to 20th in the giant Champions League table and eased the tension a bit.
That said, they were pretty lucky to leave Bergamo with all three points. They took a 3-1 lead due to customary moments of brilliance -- Kylian Mbappé's lovely run in the 10th minute (assisted by Brahim Díaz), Vinícius Júnior's advantageous strike off of a high turnover in the 56th minute and Jude Bellingham's low screamer in the 59th -- but were forced to bunker in and survive from there. Over the last 30 minutes, Atalanta attempted 10 shots worth 1.97 xG, and while Ademola Lookman brought Atalanta to within 3-2 with a low screamer of his own, the third goal never came, and Mateo Retegui missed a golden opportunity at the very end.
Mbappé enjoyed a torrid start but came off with a thigh injury (it's evidently not considered serious). Though it still felt like almost an upset, Real Madrid got three vital points.
PLAYING OUT THE STRING: Girona (0.4% chance of advancing)
GERMANY: Injuries don't slow Bayern down
TITLE HOPEFULS: Bayern Munich 10.1% (down 0.2%), Bayer Leverkusen 3.5% (down 0.4%)
Jürgen Klinsmann assesses Bayern Munich's form this season under Vincent Kompany.
Sometimes, the worst thing you can do as an underdog against Bayern is score early. It wakes the German giants up. Left winger Kevin put Shakhtar Donetsk ahead 1-0 in the fifth minute in Gelsenkirchen, but Bayern charged ahead 2-1 and finished the first half with 13 shots to Shakhtar's three. It was only 2-1, though, so Shakhtar pressed for a second goal in the second half and created some decent opportunities. But as is typically the case against Bayern, this eventually backfired. They scored in the 70th, 87th and 93rd minutes and cruised, 5-1.
This seemed like a pretty good time to play Bayern -- the Bundesliga leaders are incredibly banged up at the moment and were without striker Harry Kane, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, left back Alphonso Davies and attackers Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman on Tuesday. With a draw against Borussia Dortmund, a DFB-Pokal loss to Bayer Leverkusen and a sloppy weekend win over Heidenheim, their domestic form had fallen off a bit. But they still had Jamal Musiala and Michael Olise, who combined for three goals, two assists and an incredible 11 successful 1v1s on Tuesday. That was more than enough to secure their third straight Champions League win.
Olise was particularly dominant on the right side, constantly giving fits to Shakhtar leftback Mykola Matviyenko and left-center back Alaa Ghram. Oh, and his mazy one-man goal in stoppage time was one of the highlights of the week.
FIGHTING FOR THE TOP EIGHT: Bayer Leverkusen (70.6% chance of a top-eight finish), Bayern Munich (64.7%), Borussia Dortmund (51.2%)
While BVB's top-eight odds slipped with the defeat to Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen charged back into the conversation with a 1-0 win over Inter. Since losing 4-0 to Liverpool in Matchday 4, they've won two in a row and raised their top-eight odds by more than 30 percentage points on Tuesday. For as vulnerable as their defense has been at times in Bundesliga play (and at Anfield), they've outscored five Champions League opponents not named Liverpool by a combined 12-1.
JUST HOPING TO ADVANCE: Stuttgart (0.0% chance of top eight, 60.2% chance of advancing)
Following a humiliating 5-1 defeat at Red Star Belgrade in Matchday 5, Stuttgart gave up an early goal at home against Young Boys, which felt pretty foreboding. But they responded vigorously, charging to a 5-1 win of their own and getting their odds of advancing back on the right side of 50%.
The last two spots in the round of 24 could come down to PSV Eindhoven (77% chance), PSG (67%), Stuttgart (60%) or Dinamo Zagreb (29%). Stuttgart gets winless Slovan Bratislava in Matchday 7 ... and then PSG at home in Matchday 8.
PLAYING OUT THE STRING: RB Leipzig (0.0% chance of advancing)
RB Leipzig has lost six matches by a total of seven goals. Sometimes it's just not your year.
ITALY: Hello, Juventus
TITLE HOPEFULS: Inter Milan 4.8% (down 0.7%), Juventus 3.5% (up 1.5%)
Recap Manchester City's 2-0 loss to Juventus in the Champions League.
After opening the competition with two wins, Thiago Motta's Juventus pulled just two draws from their next three matches, matching the stolid form that has produced an incredible nine draws from 15 Serie A matches this season. (They're unbeaten in league play but in sixth place, a difficult combination to execute.) But after Wednesday's 2-0 win over City, ESPN BET gives them the eighth-best title odds, tied with Bayer Leverkusen.
That might be an overreaction, but Wednesday was a reminder that this team has upside. And while they rarely win, they evidently never lose.
FIGHTING FOR THE TOP EIGHT: Inter Milan (78.9% chance of a top-eight finish), AC Milan (42.4%), Atalanta (23.0%), Juventus (22.6%)
AC Milan picked the wrong time to play Red Star Belgrade: the Serbian champs found their footing with a huge win over Stuttgart in Matchday 5 and tilted the field in their favor for large portions of Wednesday's match in the San Siro. But they had no good ideas in the attacking third (they were 1-for-16 on open-play crosses) and with the match tied at 1-1 late, Tammy Abraham gave Milan a huge three points.
Tammy Abraham takes advantage of a mad scramble to win it for Milan! pic.twitter.com/mlVbXF7TxT
CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 11, 2024
The win raised Milan's odds of a top-eight finish to nearly 50%. Inter's odds, meanwhile, sank a good amount.
Inter's Simone Inzaghi is one of the most adaptable managers in the game: it's one of the main reasons why Inter have won six trophies in three seasons and are the defending Italian champions. But sometimes the answer never comes. On Tuesday in Leverkusen, Inter offered absolutely nothing of note, attempting just six shots (none worth more than 0.11 xG and only one after the 40th minute) and suffering a meek 1-0 loss. Their defend-and-counter routine produced nothing in the counters department, and while they nearly stole a 0-0 draw, Nordi Mukiele's 90th-minute goal took even that away from them.
Field tilt is the percentage of passes each team makes in the attacking third. Leverkusen's field tilt: 81.5%. Inter barely even had anyone with an average positioning in Leverkusen's half.
This was only Inter's second loss in any competition this season, so it's forgiven. But it still dropped their odds of a top-eight finish from 91% to 79% and dropped their title chance, per ESPN BET, under 5%. It wasn't the most damaging loss in the world, but it wasn't a very good performance.
JUST HOPING TO ADVANCE: none
PLAYING OUT THE STRING: Bologna (0.0% chance of advancing)
FRANCE: PSG rebounds (for now)
TITLE HOPEFULS: none
FIGHTING FOR THE TOP EIGHT: Brest (31.4% chance of a top-eight finish), Lille (26.2%)
They aren't going to win this competition, but man, has it been fun watching Brest and Lille find themselves in Champions League play. Both have their distinct identities: Brest do the bunker-in-and-counter thing well and beat PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday with pure intensity and a couple of moments of brilliance from Julien Le Cardinal, while Lille comes at you with 1v1s and a high defensive line. They briefly lost control of their match with Sturm Graz on Wednesday, allowing goals on both sides of halftime, but Lille's eventual 3-2 win kept them in the top eight for now.
JUST HOPING TO ADVANCE: Monaco (3.5% chance of top eight, 98.1% chance of advancing), PSG (0.0% top eight, 67.0% advancing)
It was only Salzburg. It's important to point that out. The recent Austrian giants haven't been in any way giant this season and have fallen out of the top 150 (and only a few spots ahead of the Houston Dynamo) in Opta's power rankings. But after going four matches without a win in Champions League play, and three straight overall, PSG was able to build some confidence with an easy 3-0 away win on Tuesday. They weren't able to fully put the match away until scoring twice in the last 20 minutes -- and they once again underachieved slightly against their xG values (they now have just six goals from shots worth 11.2 xG) -- but Salzburg never offered much of a threat, and the result was never really in doubt.
Gonçalo Ramos' presence makes such a difference. With both his scoring and pressing abilities, Ramos seemed custom-built to lead a Luis Enrique front line, but he missed three months with an ankle injury and has only recorded 256 minutes in all competitions this season. His 30th-minute goal put PSG ahead for good, and he might have helped Bradley Barcola enjoy his first standout Champions League performance of the season. (The level of competition probably didn't hurt.)
Barcola didn't score, but he was ridiculously dangerous, winning 10 of 15 1v1 attempts (both of those numbers are huge) with 20 combined progressive carries and passes. He's got 10 goals and two assists in Ligue 1 play and zero of either in the Champions League, but he did everything but score on Tuesday. And the win kept their advancement hopes alive ahead of Manchester City's late-January visit.
PLAYING OUT THE STRING: none
EVERYONE ELSE: Feyenoord takes flight
TITLE HOPEFULS: none
FIGHTING FOR THE TOP EIGHT: none
JUST HOPING TO ADVANCE: Sporting CP (8.8% chance of top eight, 99.6% chance of advancing), Benfica (3.7% top eight, 98.1% advancing), Celtic (0.2% top eight, 95.1% advancing), Feyenoord (2.0% top eight, 94.1% advancing), Club Brugge (0.5% top eight, 87.0% advancing), PSV Eindhoven (0.0% top eight, 76.9% advancing), Dinamo Zagreb (0.0% top eight, 29.2% advancing)
Two weeks ago, Feyenoord's odds of advancing were down to nearly 50-50 following a surprising 3-1 home loss to RB Salzburg. Then they found themselves down 3-0 against Manchester City in Matchday 5. But the late comeback and 3-3 draw lit a fire, it seems. Against a Sparta Prague team happy to exchange haymakers on Wednesday, Feyenoord put on an extraordinary finishing display, bolted to a 3-0 lead and cruised 4-1.
They're all but guaranteed to advance now, and ... man oh man, the Feyenoord home crowd just sounds different than most crowds:
Igor Paixão lets it rip from distance as Feyenoord are rolling! pic.twitter.com/wGaMdJpvRm
CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 11, 2024
We had two interesting matches between teams in the "Hoping to Advance" category on Tuesday. Celtic and Dinamo Zagreb played an intense but wary 0-0 draw, then Club Brugge continued its hot streak with a 2-1 home win over Sporting. It was Sporting's fourth straight loss in all competitions, and their odds of a top-eight finish and a knockout-round bye have plummeted from 75% just two matchdays ago.
But while confidence may be dissipating in the weeks following manager Ruben Amorim's departure for Manchester United, they were basically fine on Tuesday night. Brugge were just a hair more clinical and got a lovely Gustaf Nilsson-to-Hans Vanaken-to-Casper Nielsen game-winner in the 84th minute.
Off the bench and onto the scoresheet for Casper Nielsen to give Club Brugge the lead pic.twitter.com/3KBkR7CmPk
CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 10, 2024
Brugge have now gone unbeaten in 11 straight matches in all competitions and have taken seven points from their last three Champions League matches.
PLAYING OUT THE STRING: Red Star Belgrade (2.5% chance of advancing), Shakhtar Donetsk (1.2%), Sparta Prague (0.4%), Sturm Graz (0.2%), RB Salzburg (0.0%), Slovan Bratislava (0.0%), Young Boys (0.0%)
Red Star have looked increasingly dangerous in this competition but evidently waited too late to get going. But with a home match against PSV Eindhoven in Matchday 7, they could still play a role in who advances to the next round.
THE BEST XI OF MATCHDAY 6
This was easily the hardest Best XI I've had to come up with in this competition. We had some serious star performances.
Goalkeeper: Ivan Guteaa, Red Star Belgrade
The late strike from Tammy Abraham was a heartbreaker for Red Star as a whole, but especially Gutesa, who made a whopping eight saves and according to the postshot xG values, prevented 1.8 goals with those saves.
Backup: Lukasz Skorupski, Bologna
Fullback: Achraf Hakimi, PSG
Two assists from four chances created, plus 13 defensive interventions. Hakimi remains maybe the best all-around fullback in the sport.
Backup: Joshua Vagnoman, Stuttgart
Central defender: Marquinhos, PSG
There still might not be a better center-back in the world when it comes to ball progression. He not only completed 123 passes (17 more than anyone else), he also completed 42 progressive passes; no one else had more than 23.
Backup: Cameron Carter-Vickers, Celtic
Central defender: Ryan Flamingo, PSV Eindhoven
Find yourself a defender who can both ensure great ball progression (Flamingo's 78 pass completions were worth 0.7 expected assists, most of any center-back in Matchday 6) and disrupt the hell out of your opponent's attack (his 19 defensive interventions were seventh-most).
Backup: Nicolás Otamendi, Benfica
Fullback: Nordi Mukiele, Bayer Leverkusen
PSG has cornered the right back market. Not only do they have Hakimi, but they also loaned Mukiele to Bayer Leverkusen, where he enjoyed a breakthrough performance on Tuesday: 22 combined progressive carries and passes, 12 defensive interventions and a lovely game-winner:
Inter concede their first #UCL goal of the season to a 90th-minute strike from Bayer Leverkusen's Nordi Mukiele! pic.twitter.com/Q83jZzJ103
CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 10, 2024
Backup: Andy Robertson, Liverpool
Midfield: Angelo Stiller, Stuttgart
The Stuttgart attack was in fifth gear for most of Wednesday evening, and with 27 combined progressive carries and passes and four fouls drawn (plus nine ball recoveries), Stiller was the accelerant for that. He scored, too.
A quality one-two as Angelo Stiller starts it and finishes for Stuttgart pic.twitter.com/XX6kLKViqV
CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 11, 2024
Backup: Enzo Millot, Stuttgart
Midfielder: Antonio Nusa, RB Leipzig
RBL has been snake-bitten in this competition, but Nusa still enjoyed a breakout performance on Tuesday, creating four chances, drawing three fouls and going 5-for-6 on 1v1s. He was testing Aston Villa all night.
Backup: Mahdi Camara, Brest
Midfielder: Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid
Bellingham can produce do-it-all numbers like no one else. In Tuesday's vital win over Atalanta, he combined 13 defensive interventions with a goal, two chances created and a 5-for-8 performance in 1v1s. He was everywhere.
Backup: Youri Tielemans, Aston Villa
Winger: Michael Olise, Bayern Munich
Two goals, one assist, 12 progressive carries and 6-for-11 on 1v1s. For my money, Olise was the best player of Matchday 6.
Backup: Fabian Rieder, Stuttgart
Centerforward: Ademola Lookman, Atalanta
Lookman has played 17 matches in all competitions this season. He's scored at least once in nine of them, and he's created at least three chances in eight. He had a goal and two chances, plus a season-high 14 progressive carries, against Real Madrid on Tuesday. He's unreal.
Backups: Antoine Griezmann, Atletico Madrid; Loïs Openda, RB Leipzig; Ferran Torres, Barcelona
Winger: Bukayo Saka, Arsenal
Two goals, one assist, seven ball recoveries. Saka was probably the second-best player of Matchday 6. Olise and Saka were so good that somehow Stuttgart winger Fabian Rieder, with three assists, didn't even make the Best XI.
Backup: Bradley Barcola, PSG
Debutant Jangoo, Carty help West Indies sweep ODI series 3-0
West Indies 325 for 6 (Jangoo 104*, Carty 95, Rishad 2-69) beat Bangladesh 321 for 5 (Mahmudullah 84*, Mehidy 77, Soumya 73, Jaker 62*, A Joseph 2-43) by four wickets
Brandon King picked up where he had left off in the second ODI, cracking two fours and a six off Nasum Ahmed in the second over of the chase. His innings, however, was cut short in the same over after a mix-up with his opening partner Alick Athanaze over a non-existent run. Athanaze himself did not last long, getting yorked by Nasum in his next over.
Carty, though, was steady at the other end, already having struck two fours. Afif dropped him on 22 before Carty went after the Bangladesh spinners in the middle overs. He struck Rishad Hossain for consecutive fours in the 18th over, before hammering Mehidy Hasan Miraz for a six and a four in the 21st over. Jangoo hit Nasum for three fours in a short span before lofting Afif for his first six.
It was in the 34th over that Bangladesh, perhaps, let the game slip. Jangoo had miscued one off Rishad, only to see substitute fielder Parvez Hossain Emon drop the chance while running back ffrom mid-off. Rishad did dismiss Carty next ball, with Soumya taking a low catch at point, but Jangoo's miss came back to haunt them.
Immediately after Roston Chase's dismissal, Jangoo slogged Mehidy for his second six, before Motie and Jangoo struck Mahmud for a six each in the 43rd over. They struck one four each in the following over bowled by Taskin, before the pair completed the chase.
The day could have belonged to Bangladesh given how they batted. After a disastrous start, having lost both Tanzid Hasan and Litton Das in the third over to be reduced to 9 for 2, Soumya and Mehidy resurrected the innings with a 136-run stand for the third wicket. Alzarri Joseph hurried Tanzid with a bouncer with the left-hander top-edging a pull. Litton's horror run in ODIs continued when he edged a wide one to King at first slip.
Mehidy was positive from the outset, hitting five boundaries in the powerplay. Soumya, who was dropped on nought, opened up after the powerplay. He played the upper-cut against Romario Shepherd for a six, before pasting Chase and Motie for a six each in consecutive overs.
Six overs after Soumya's dismissal, Rutherford's accurate throw from point found Mehidy short at the striker's end as he fell for 77 off 73 balls. Rutherford then had Afif Hossain caught at the midwicket boundary for 15, as Bangladesh again lost two wickets in quick succession.
But Jaker and Mahmudullah dominated the end overs. After having added 96 in the first ODI, they bettered it this time. After Jaker struck his first two fours, Mahmudullah crashed Motie down the ground for his first six, before hitting Chase for his second, over long-off.
Jaker joined the party when he slammed Shepherd over cover and then Mahmudullah dragged Rutherford from outside off over square-leg for six. Bangladesh scored 59 runs in the last four overs to push their total past 320, but it was not enough on the day.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84
Hazlewood declared fit to replace Boland at the Gabba
Hazlewood missed Australia's win in Adelaide due to a side strain he suffered in the opening Test in Perth with Boland taking five vital wickets across two innings in the second Test.
Hazlewood underwent a couple of fitness tests during the week. With only short run-ups available in the Gabba nets and no spare centre wickets, Hazlewood went out to Allan Border Field on Thursday to bowl off his full run alongside Mitchell Starc, under the eye of bowling coach Daniel Vettori.
"He's had no hiccups," Cummins said. "He had a really good bowl yesterday and a bowl in Adelaide a couple of days previous. The medical team are super confident."
It means that Boland, who averages 13.54 in home Tests, will again be carrying the drinks but Cummins expected him to have another opportunity across the final two matches of the series. There will likely be a debate about a horses-for-courses selection ahead of the MCG where he has an outstanding record, including the stunning 6 for 7 on debut against England, although he was overlooked against Pakistan last season.
"It's tough [leaving him out], he was fantastic in Adelaide," Cummins said. "Unfortunately he spent quite a bit of time on the bench over the last 18 months and whenever he plays he's fantastic. Shame for Scotty, but still a fair bit to play out in the series so I'd be surprised if he doesn't get another crack at some point."
"[We told him] it's about preparing for the MCG because there's a good chance we might need you. History suggests there's always some form of natural attrition throughout a Test series. A good thing [is], he's probably played a Test earlier in the series than he maybe thought. Showed that his standards still super high. [It's] about trying to set him up for the last two Test matches."
Hazlewood explained on Monday that the latest injury was not "a typical side strain", but was part of an ongoing issue he has had which has left him frustrated and searching for a solution.
"You're running in to bowl, and you just grab your hat and you're off and you're out for six weeks - it's not that sort of side strain," he said. "It's from sort of repetitive use. It's caused me a lot of trouble over the last few years, but [had] perfect prep this year, played the Shield game and ticked all that off.
"I was very happy where I was, and it still happened. So I was pretty annoyed there for a few days. There was plenty of meetings from CA's point of view [with] physios, doctors, all that stuff. So [we will] come up with a few options and see if we can stop it from happening again."
The fact Hazlewood has missed just one Test is likely down to him only bowling two more overs after he first felt some pain in Perth.
"We've seen it a few times where Joshy has kind of pushed through a Test match and a little bit of soreness turns into a month or two injury," Cummins said. "We kind of made the call it wasn't worth the risk of keeping him bowling. Think he bowled an extra two overs leading into a tea break and said he felt okay, [but] I thought from there that's enough."
Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo
Matthew Potts replaces Chris Woakes as England's only change for third Test
Potts has taken 31 wickets at 29.22 since making his debut in the summer of 2022, playing the first five matches of Ben Stokes' tenure as captain. The first three were against New Zealand, with Potts excelling with 14 wickets.
However, after being left out for the returning Ollie Robinson for the second Test of the South Africa series that summer, the Durham quick has found his opportunities limited.
The 26-year-old played just one Test in 2023 (against Ireland at Lord's), and, after playing the first two Tests against Sri Lanka this summer, was left out for the third as England opted to have a look at Leicestershire left-arm seamer Josh Hull. A solitary appearance on the Pakistan tour came for the second Test in Multan, on a surface tailored towards the home spinners though Potts took respectable match figures of 3 for 85 in 31.2 overs.
With England 2-0 up and the series secure heading into Hamilton, Stokes has decided to give give Potts an outing in the team's 17th and final Test of 2024. He is likely to take the new ball in Woakes' abscence.
"It's another opportunity to look at one of the fast bowlers that we see playing a big role going forward," said Stokes on Potts' selection. "Two-nil up, you obviously put yourself in an easier position to make the change.
"Pottsy's got a massive engine on him. He can go all day, bowl a lot of overs, but not just that, he's a very skilful bowler, which he's got better at by being here, working with Jimmy [Anderson] on a few things here and there. He's someone who is another versatile bowler, you can use him with the new ball, the short-ball plan that we go to because he's so fit. He can bowl you 20 overs one day, then rock up again and bowl you another 20."
Stokes also praised Woakes' output on this tour. The 35-year-old has taken six wickets at 29.16 with the Kookaburra ball as the leader of the attack. That has included Kane Williamson twice.
An overseas average of 51 coming into the winter has been reduced slightly to 48.93. And though there is uncertainty as to whether Woakes makes the trip to Australia next winter for the 2025-26 Ashes, Stokes believes the Warwickshire veteran has shown his class.
"Chris Woakes came into the winter tours with a bit of scrutiny behind his away record but I think what he has done over the winter has proved a lot of people wrong," said Stokes. "He's been fantastic, he was great in Pakistan and pretty influential over here."
Southee's long farewell the subplot as New Zealand seek series consolation
Big picture: Threat of 3-0 overshadows Southee fanfare
Form guide
New Zealand LLWWW (last five Tests, most recent first)
England WWLLW
In the spotlight: Tim Southee and Zak Crawley
Team news: Young in for Conway
Young will slot in at opener - having most recently batted at No. 3 - while New Zealand could also opt to bring in Mitchell Santner as a frontline spin option in place of Nathan Smith.
New Zealand: 1 Tom Latham (capt), 2 Will Young, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Rachin Ravindra, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Glenn Phillips, 8 Mitchell Santner/Nathan Smith, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Will O'Rourke
England's players filtered into Hamilton under their own steam on Wednesday and were not due to train until Friday. Woakes has been spared a third Test back to back, with Matt Potts coming in for his second appearance of the winter.
England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ollie Pope (wk), 7 Ben Stokes (capt), 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Matt Potts, 11 Shoaib Bashir
Pitch and conditions: Green from the outset
There has been plenty of rain in the build-up - New Zealand's training was cut short after 30 minutes on Thursday - and the pitch has largely been under covers. But a glorious Friday meant the pitch was opened up to bright blue skies, and with a balmy weekend forecast, the pitch is likely to get baked. Seddon Park has been something of a stronghold for New Zealand, who have won seven of their last nine Tests there. Most recently, against South Africa in February, the ground saw three scores of under 250 before flattening out for the hosts to comfortably chase 267 three down in the fourth innings. The weather could play a part through the Test, with showers forecast on day three.
Stats and trivia
- New Zealand haven't lost a Test at Seddon Park since South Africa beat them by nine wickets in 2012.
- Kane Williamson averages 94.26 at the ground, with six hundreds - including a career-best 251 against West Indies in 2020.
- England have played two Tests in Hamilton: a high-scoring draw in 2019 and defeat by 189 runs in 2008, which precipitated the dropping of Steven Harmison and Matthew Hoggard for James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
- Having lost 2-0 to Australia earlier in the year, New Zealand could equal their worst losing sequence of five in a row at home, set in 1955-56.
- Joe Root needs 114 runs to become the fifth man to 13,000 in Tests. Gus Atkinson is two wickets shy of 50.
Quotes
"Any Test match you play for New Zealand, it's another opportunity to perform your skills as best you can. We certainly don't need any motivation for what we're trying to do. The crowds that we've had, we know we haven't played to our potential the last couple of games, but hopefully we can put a good show on for the fans. We really appreciate their support."
Tom Latham
"Seventeen [Tests] in a year is a lot when you add the other cricket, long tough slog but a really good year. Played some good cricket, found some extraordinarily talented players who have shown they're capable of delivering big performances on the biggest stage, which is playing for your country. So overall, really happy."
Ben Stokes
Alan Gardner is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo. @alanroderick
Struggling batters brace for tough test at the Gabba
Big picture: A banger for the holiday season
Some of the bowling that's been on show - Harshit Rana taking out Travis Head's off stump in Perth, Pat Cummins returning the favour against Rohit Sharma in Adelaide, Jasprit Bumrah every single time he runs in - has been dreamy. So the Gabba can't be blamed for making eyes at them. One day out, the pitch still retains a tinge of green.
Australia are blooding in a new opener and their two most reliable run-scorers aren't operating at the levels they're used to. India will be able to sympathise because like Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma (who could be returning as opener) have been more down than up. The last three are in their mid to late 30s, so their form comes with added scrutiny, on top of the surprise that these high-profile players are yet to really influence this high-profile series. (Kohli has a century but the match-winning innings there came from Yashasvi Jaiswal)
Form guide
Australia: WLWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India: LWLLL
In the spotlight
Team news: Will Rohit move back up the order?
India might be pondering changes, particularly around the make-up of their top order. Does Rohit come back up to open again? Is he feeling like his old self again? There were positive signs in the nets on Thursday, where almost all the batters, Kohli and Shubman Gill especially, were upping their back-foot game.
Akash Deep was India's third fast bowler during the home season and he made way in Perth for a better batter. The team does not consider their depth to be a big concern anymore so Harshit Rana might find his way back on the bench. Washington Sundar might be pushing R Ashwin for a place in the XI as well.
India (probable): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Rohit Sharma (capt)/ KL Rahul, 3 Shubman Gill, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 KL Rahul/Rohit Sharma (capt), 7 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 8 Washington Sundar/R Ashwin, 9 Akash Deep, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
Australia: 1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Nathan McSweeney, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Travis Head, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood
Pitch and conditions: Some wet weather around
"[Yesterday it] looked like a good wicket, like it has the last few years," Cummins said. "Bit of sun baking on it the last couple of days, don't think it's as green and leafy as it was against South Africa."
Stats and trivia
Quotes
"Worked out in the Adelaide Test. It's always in the back of your mind as a Plan B, or if it's looking really uncomfortable or likely to take wickets maybe it becomes a Plan A to some of the batters. I'm sure we'll give it a shot at some point this Test."
Pat Cummins on using the short ball against India's batters
Alagappan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
Colorado's Hunter reels in honors on awards night
BOULDER, Colo. -- Travis Hunter is a throwback-type player -- an elite receiver one moment, a lockdown cornerback the next -- who rarely leaves the field and has a knack for making big plays all over it.
The Colorado Buffaloes' two-way standout even celebrates at an elite level, unveiling imaginative dance moves following touchdowns and interceptions, some of which include the Heisman Trophy pose. It's one of the many awards he's in line to win.
Hunter is the the Associated Press college football Player of the Year, receiving 26 of 43 votes Thursday from a panel of AP Top 25 voters. Boise State tailback Ashton Jeanty finished second with 16 votes, and Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo received one vote.
Hunter kept piling up the hardware later Thursday night. He won the Walter Camp Award as player of the year along with the Chuck Bednarik Award as the top defensive player and the Biletnikoff Award for the best wide receiver.
"Couldn't do what I do without my team," Hunter said in an email on a trip to Las Vegas for an awards ceremony. "So I view being up for these awards as team awards."
Jeanty won the Maxwell Award as college football's top player and the Doak Walker Award for the nation's top running back after leading the nation with 2,497 yards and 29 touchdowns. Miami's Cam Ward was the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback of the Year award winner after a nation-best 36 passing touchdowns along with 4,123 passing yards.
The coach of the year was Indiana's Curt Cignetti, who led his team to the College Football Playoff after being picked to finish 17th of 18 Big Ten teams.
South Carolina defensive end Kyle Kennard captured the Bronco Nagurski Trophy as the top defensive player, racking up 11 sacks and 18 tackles for loss.
Ohio State center Seth McLaughlin, an Alabama transfer, won the Rimington Trophy.
The Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back went to Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron, who led the SEC with five interceptions.
The top punter was USC's Eddie Czaplicki, who captured the Ray Guy Award. Louisiana's Kenneth Almendares was picked as the top placekicker, winning the Lou Groza Award.
Georgia's Jalon Walker won the Butkus Award as the nation's best linebacker, heading into the playoffs with 57 tackles, including 6 sacks and 10 tackles for loss. Texas left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. was the Outland Trophy winner as the top interior lineman.
Penn State's Tyler Warren won the John Mackey Award, given to the most outstanding tight end after setting school single-season records with 67 catches for 808 yards.
Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe won the William V. Campbell Award as the top scholar-athlete. Oregon leading tackler Bryce Boettcher captured the Burlsworth Trophy as the best player who started his career as a walk-on.
But the biggest winner was Hunter.
A player with his set of skills doesn't come around that often. He's a flashback to the days of Charles Woodson at Michigan or Champ Bailey at Georgia. Or even his coach, Deion Sanders, a two-way star in the NFL.
The prospect of significant playing time on both sides of the ball is what led Hunter to join Sanders at Jackson State and why he followed Sanders to Boulder.
"Coach Prime was the only coach who would consider allowing me to do what I'm doing," said Hunter, who's No. 1 on ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.'s latest Big Board. "He did it and knows what it takes -- how much you have to be ready on both sides of the ball."
Want to fuel Hunter? Simply tell him he can't.
"I'm motivated when people tell me I can't do something," Hunter said. "That I can't dominate on both sides of the ball. I want to be an example for others that anything is possible. Keep pursuing your dreams."
Hunter helped the 20th-ranked Buffaloes to a 9-3 record and a berth in the Alamo Bowl against No. 17 BYU (10-2) on Dec. 28. He played 688 defensive snaps and 672 more on offense -- the lone Power Four conference player with 30-plus snaps on both sides of the ball, according to Colorado research.
Hunter has already won a second straight Paul Hornung Award as the game's most versatile player.
And, of course, he's up for the Heisman, where sportsbooks have him listed at around -2000 to win over Jeanty on Saturday. Hunter can join the late Rashaan Salaam as the only Colorado players to capture the Heisman. Salaam won it in 1994 after rushing for 2,055 yards.
Hunter wasn't a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, which goes to the nation's top defensive back. That drew the wrath of Sanders, who earned the award with Florida State in 1988 and vowed to give his trophy to Hunter.
Hunter's high school coach, Lenny Gregory, knew he had a special player the summer of Hunter's freshman year. Gregory, then the coach at Collins Hill in Georgia, had a conditioning test for his players -- run six 200-yard dashes with a minute of rest in between. Defensive backs had to complete each in under 32 seconds.
Hunter never even got winded. He played safety, cornerback and receiver as a freshman and helped Collins Hill to a state title his senior season.
"I remember just talking to colleges the spring of his ninth-grade year and telling coaches that this kid's going to be the No. 1 player in the country," recounted Gregory, who's now the coach at Gordon Central High in Calhoun, Georgia. "They'd look at him and laugh at me, 'What are you talking about? This scrawny kid? He's not big enough.' I was like, 'Just watch. Just watch.'"
Hunter finished the regular season with 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns as a receiver. On defense, he had four interceptions, broke up 11 passes and forced one crucial fumble, which secured an OT win over Baylor.
Overall, Hunter had 92 receptions and allowed 22. He hauled in 14 receiving TDs and allowed just one. He was responsible for 53 first downs and gave up just six. He was targeted 119 times by quarterback Shedeur Sanders & Co. but only 39 times by opposing QBs.
Hunter's likely final game in Boulder, a rout of Oklahoma State, was a three-touchdown, one-interception performance.
"I'm used to seeing him do all this spectacular stuff," Shedeur Sanders said. "I'm used to all this stuff -- you all are just now seeing it on national stage."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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