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They’ve had a few disappointing results, but this season is shaping up very nicely for Chelsea.

Enzo Maresca’s side are second in the Premier League, with a chance to cut Arsenal’s gap to three points on Sunday, and have just demolished Barcelona in the Champions League.

The Blues were superb on Tuesday night, and while being a man up certainly helped, they were without a doubt the better side.

One of the most impressive performers for Chelsea was Estevao, who outshone fellow wonderkid Lamine Yamal, and so fans should be excited that they have someone on loan showing shades of the Brazilian in their game.

How Estevao outshone Yamal

While it felt early to be comparing Chelsea’s new wonderkid to someone who just finished second in the Ballon d’Or, that was exactly what was happening before Tuesday night’s game.

However, that added pressure certainly didn’t seem to bother Estevao, as he was sensational throughout the encounter and put in a far better performance than Yamal.

For example, on top of scoring the all-important second goal for the hosts, the 18-year-old didn’t give the visitors’ backline a moment’s rest.

In his 83 minutes of action, he created one big chance, played three key passes, produced an expected assists figure of 0.35 and completed two dribbles, one of which led to the goal.

On the flipside, the Spaniard looked nothing like the superstar winger fans have become so accustomed to seeing.

He was practically anonymous for most of the match, and when he did try to do something, he was more often than not locked down by Marc Cucurella, who was named Man of the Match.

By the time the Barça star was taken off, he had failed to score, lost the ball 21 times, played just two key passes and come out looking second best in the battle of the teenage wonderkids.

In all, it looks like Chelsea have a truly special talent on their hands in Estevao, and in even more good news, they’ve got another stellar prospect out on loan with shades of the Brazilian in his game.

The Chelsea gem with shades of Estevao to him

The scary thing for opposition fans and teams is that Chelsea’s bet on young, up-and-coming talent is starting to pay off, and it could see them really kick on in the coming years.

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Estevao is obviously going to be a huge part of that, but another youngster who could be right there with him, and even has shades of the Brazilian to his game, is Kendry Páez.

The Blues signed the Ecuadorian gem over two years ago, but, due to rules on players under 18, he couldn’t join the squad until the summer.

However, instead of keeping him on the bench or in the youth side, the club opted to send him out on loan to Strasbourg for the season, where he has played 531 minutes of first-team football across 14 appearances so far.

Now, it’s important to say that, given Estevao’s extraordinary talent, it’s unlikely that the Guayaquil-born prospect will be as good as him.

However, he certainly shares some traits with him and could still develop into a world-class player.

For example, despite being so young, the “pure quality talent,” as dubbed by Jacek Kulig, racked up a tally of eight goals and five assists in 41 first-team appearances for Independiente del Valle last season.

Appearances

70

Starts

43

Minutes

4062′

Goals

13

Assists

6

Points per Game

1.84

Furthermore, in the words of respected analyst Ben Mattinson, the 18-year-old is “a left-footed magician who can play as a 10 or RW and has the intelligence to control and decide games,” which certainly sounds like the former Palmeiras gem.

Likewise, while he is capable of playing a killer pass or recycling possession to help the team, Mattinson also points out that he’s more than happy to “take on a couple players and get off shots.”

Finally, like Brazil’s next great superstar, the Strasbourg ace has already established himself on the international scene, amassing 23 senior caps for Ecuador, in which he’s scored two goals and provided three assists.

Ultimately, while he might not quite reach the level of Estevao, Paez has the potential to get incredibly close, and that would still make him a world-class player for Chelsea.

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ByDominic Lund Nov 26, 2025

عقد أشرف صبحي وزير الرياضة، وهاني أبو ريدة رئيس الاتحاد المصري لكرة القدم، جلسة مع الجهاز الفني ولاعبي منتخب مصر المشارك في بطولة كأس العرب 2025 بقطر.

ويلعب منتخب مصر ضد الكويت، في إطار منافسات الجولة الأولى من عمر مواجهات دور المجموعات من بطولة كأس العرب بقطر.

وتقام مباراة مصر والكويت، غدا الثلاثاء الموافق 2 ديسمبر 2025، في تمام الساعة 4:30 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة.

وحرص وزير الشباب والرياضة، والمهندس هاني أبوريدة، على زيارة معسكر المنتخب وعقد جلسة تحفيزية مع الجهاز الفني واللاعبين، وذلك قبل 24 ساعة من مواجهة الكويت في الجولة الافتتاحية للبطولة.

طالع | حكم مباراة مصر والكويت في كأس العرب 2025

وخلال اللقاء، أشاد وزير الشباب والرياضة بالجهود الكبيرة، التي بذلت لتجهيز المنتخب في فترة زمنية قصيرة، موجهًا الشكر للمهندس هاني أبوريدة، على دوره في دعم وتكوين فريق قادر على تمثيل مصر بصورة مشرفة، مؤكدًا أن اللعب باسم منتخب مصر، يعد شرفًا كبيرًا لكل لاعب.

من جانبه، وجه المهندس هاني أبوريدة، الشكر للدكتور أشرف صبحي، على حرصه الدائم على دعم المنتخبات الوطنية، مثمنًا حضوره والتقاءه اللاعبين قبل ضربة البداية.

وأكد رئيس الاتحاد أن المسئولية كبيرة، وأن اتحاد الكرة ينتظر من اللاعبين تقديم مستوى متميز يليق باسم مصر وتاريخها الكروي، مشددًا على ثقته الكاملة في قدرة المنتخب على الظهور بصورة مشرفة، خلال منافسات البطولة.

من جانبهم، تعاهد لاعبو منتخب مصر، المشارك في كأس العرب، على بذل أقصى جهد داخل الملعب لتحقيق نتائج تليق بالكرة المصرية، مؤكدين استعدادهم التام لانطلاق مشوار البطولة.

Celtic are back in Scottish Premiership action once again this evening as they prepare to welcome Dundee to Parkhead for Martin O’Neill’s last game in charge.

The 73-year-old manager has confirmed that the match will be his last as the interim boss before Wilfried Nancy is in post ahead of the clash with Hearts at the weekend.

Celtic won 2-1 away at Hibernian in his final away game in the dugout for the Hoops, but the experienced Northern Irishman may want to make some changes to the starting line-up from that win.

Celtic's best performers against Hibernian

Among the players who should keep their place in the XI after that game against Hibs is goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who only gave possession away 11 times from 54 touches and saved all three of the shots against him from open play, per Sofascore.

Celtic’s number one made a couple of impressive close-range saves towards the end of the game and completed all three of his run-outs to clear the ball to preserve all three points, whilst it would be incredibly harsh to criticise him for not saving Martin Boyle’s penalty.

The two goalscorers, Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels, should also retain their positions in the line-up, along with Reo Hatate and Hyun-jun Yang, who set up the goals.

Whilst Yang was not officially credited with an assist for Engels’ goal, the clip above clearly shows that it was his cross that was slightly deflected into the Belgian’s path.

Liam Scales, despite being harshly penalised for a handball, should also keep his place after winning eight of his 12 duels, per Sofascore, and completing 95% of his attempted passes.

Meanwhile, there were a couple of players whose performances may lead to them dropping out of the line-up, including right-sided attacker Luke McCowan, who should be dropped this evening.

Why O'Neill should drop McCowan today

The Scottish central midfielder has been utilised on the right wing in recent weeks, in the absence of any natural options in that position, and he started there against Hibernian on Sunday.

Unfortunately, the left-footed star was unable to deliver a high-quality performance to suggest that he deserves to keep his place in the team heading into O’Neill’s final game against Dundee.

McCowan, who was signed from Dundee in the summer of 2024, played the opening 63 minutes of the clash with Hibernian, before the manager opted to bring Benjamin Nygren on out wide.

Vs Hibernian

Luke McCowan

Minutes

63

Touches

34

Shots

0

Key passes

1

Big chances created

0

Goals + assists

0

Duels won

1/4

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the 27-year-old flop had fewer touches in the game than Schmeichel, a goalkeeper, and failed to make much of an impact at the top end of the pitch.

The experienced midfielder also lost 75% of his physical duels in the win, per Sofascore, which shows that he found the physicality of the game a bit too much to deal with whilst playing on the right wing.

McCowan provided quality on a regular basis in the final third in the 2024/25 campaign, with a return of eight goals and eight assists in 36 league outings for Dundee and Celtic combined, but he has been unable to carry that into the current season.

The Hoops midfielder has not provided an assist in the Premiership since O’Neill’s first game in charge against Falkirk, and his only goal of the league season came against St Mirren on the opening day at the start of August.

This shows that McCowan has not provided much of a threat at the top end of the pitch for the Scottish giants in recent months, which may be why the experiment of playing him on the wing has not been too successful.

It is also why O’Neill should ruthlessly drop him from the starting line-up for tonight’s clash with his former club, opening the door for Nygren to start on the wing instead of in central midfield.

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The Sweden international has scored seven goals in all competitions for Celtic this season, including five in the Premiership, per Sofascore, and he may carry more of a threat than McCowan did from the start against Hibernian on Sunday.

AC Milan midfielder Adrien Rabiot reflected on his incredible relationship – both on and off the pitch – with head coach Massimiliano Allegri. The French midfielder reunited with the coach at Milan in the summer after being sold by Marseille for engaging in a fight with his then-teammate Jonathan Rowe, but he revealed that he was contacted by other clubs in the Serie A.

• Rabiot joins Milan after row with Rowe at Marseille

  Marseille’s season began in turmoil, with off-field chaos quickly eclipsing their opening Ligue 1 defeat to Rennes. The match itself faded into the background after a violent altercation erupted between Rabiot and his ex-teammate Rowe, forcing security to step in as tensions boiled over. The incident took a disturbing turn when 17-year-old Darryl Bakola, caught in the fray, was knocked unconscious.

  In the aftermath, head coach Roberto De Zerbi announced that both Rabiot and Rowe had been suspended and placed on the transfer list as part of the club’s disciplinary response. Club president Pablo Longoria condemned the episode, calling it “completely unheard of in the world of football.” Yet, in an unexpected development, De Zerbi later suggested that Rabiot could still have a future at the club.

  However, Rabiot's fate had been decided the moment he got involved in a pretty intense fight with Rowe. Marseille sold him to AC Milan for peanuts, and things have been looking positive for both Les Phoceens and the France international since their parting. 

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  Rabiot reflects on his relationship with Allegri

  Rabiot's move to Milan made a lot of sense from many angles. First of all, he was returning to the Serie A, a league where he spent five years from 2019 to 2024 before switching to Stade Velodrome. Secondly, he shares an incredible personal and professional relationship with head coach Allegri, whom he was coached by in Turin. 

  "He's a winner, and I like his personality, his coaching style, his passion for football, and his ambition," Rabiot told while speaking of the Italian manager "He always gives his all, and I see myself in his way of thinking. Off the pitch, he's always very positive, he cracks jokes, and he keeps us calm."

  The 30-year-old also revealed that he chose to join Juventus in 2019 because Allegri was the head coach at the time, before being replaced by Maurizio Sarri the same summer. "I met him months before the end of the season and immediately liked him," he said. "When I arrived in Turin, however, he was no longer there. When he returned in 2021, we created a great relationship. On and off the pitch."

  He also shared that the Milan expressed interest in signing him as a free agent in 2024. "Milan had also approached me last year, when I was a free agent, and we talked," added Rabiot. "Would the team have finished higher than eighth with me? I don't know, but given what we're doing now, I'd say I arrived at Milanello at the right time. 

  "The Rossoneri club also wanted me in July, when I was at Marseille, but it was difficult for me to leave. After that [dressing room fight] happened, other Italian clubs contacted me, but I knew what I wanted. Allegri told me: 'Let's see what happens…' and something really happened. I don't know how he does it, but he also foresees… the future (laughs)."

• Rabiot isn't entertaining early Scudetto talks

  Milan are in a great position after 12 rounds of the Serie A and have emerged as one of the early contenders to challenge Napoli's throne for the Scudetto. However, Rabiot doesn't want to get too carried away despite the Rossoneri's purple patch, which includes the recent derby win over Inter.

  "Yes," the Frenchman responded when asked if it was too early to talk about the league title. "There's no point in thinking about the Scudetto: we're trying to win every game and achieve the goals we've set ourselves. The more the weeks go by, the more we see that the group has the right quality and mentality. Without injuries, we hope to be in a position to give it our chance in February-March."

  He also conceded that the next eight months will be extremely for him. "I have an important year ahead of me, where I can win with both Milan and France. I hope to do that and play all the way to the World Cup final."

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  Milan await Lazio challenge

  Allegri's troops have been unbeaten in the Italian top-flight since their opening day 2-1 defeat to Cremonese. Since then, they have won seven games and drawn four. With 25 points, they sit in second position on the Serie A table. They will welcome Lazio at the San Siro on Saturday.

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