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Manchester United analysis; Premier League reaction, Erik ten Hag, transfers, Cristiano Ronaldo

Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has slammed his old clubs “unacceptable” effort to sign new players, after they sunk to a 113-year-old on Sunday night.

After a sixth-place finish in the Premier League last season, the Red Devils failed to make their mark in the summer transfer market.

United have signed just three players under new manager Erik ten Hag, including 30-year-old Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen.

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Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard are among the list of players who have left Old Trafford during the English summer, while Cristiano Ronaldo is heavily rumored to follow suit.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was benched for United’s season opener against Brighton on Monday morning (AEST), and has reportedly requested a transfer away from Old Trafford.

Manchester United are now rumored to be chasing the services of former West Ham and Stoke striker Marko Arnautovic, who played under ten Hag at Dutch club Twente 13 years ago.

Premier League Monday morning wrap | 03:00

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However, Untied have reportedly had their bid for the 33-year-old rejected by Bologna.

After a quiet transfer window, Neville has called United the “easiest team to play” in the Premier League after their history making loss to Brighton.

“Anyone who has watched those Manchester United players he has been handed will recognize that is a familiar performance and the people above him should have known that it was an unacceptable situation to hand Erik ten Hag that squad,” Neville told Sky Sports.

“It needed improving more than it has been. There is still time in the window but he needed three or four weeks more to work with them.

“Every coach comes in thinking they can do better than the last coach with the players at his disposal as they believe they are a better coach and that is probably the case with this. But the reality is, he’s seen what those players are capable of today.

Christian Eriksen cuts a rejected figure.
Christian Eriksen cuts a rejected figure.Source: Getty Images

“I don’t think any Manchester United fan or pundit that has watched this team over the last 12 months, with the same players playing in the same positions, expected anything different than what we saw.

“The reality is those players need replacing or supported more by better players.”

It was a forgettable season opener for the Red Devils who hadn’t lost to Brighton at home in a competitive match, dating back to the FA Cup in 1909.

The first-ever meeting between the two clubs was a 1-0 win to United at Manchester’s Bank Street on January 16 of that year.

While a new season brings optimism and excitement, but frustration began to mount from the opening whistle for United fans after the hosts came frightening close to conceding inside 30 seconds.

But after missing chances of their own throughout the first half, the Red Devils went behind 2-0 after two quick goals to Pascal Gross.

While an own goal from midfielder Alexis Mac Allister gave the hosts a glimmer of hope with 20 minutes to play, it just wasn’t to be.

Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United.Source: Getty Images

Premier League icon Paul Scholes took aim at United after a “shocking” first-half set his old club up for defeat.

United may have controlled the match with 62.9 per cent of possession, but only managed two more shots on target than their English rivals.

Scholes believes the Red Devils need to improve their midfield as he called out two underperforming players.

“(Scott) McTominay was always trying to run with the ball, ridiculous. The quality in the middle of the pitch was really poor,” Scholes said.

“The quality in the middle of the pitch was nowhere near good enough but we’ve seen that for the last few years with these two players.

“With Fred and McTominay, he (ten Tag) is going to have to go with just one of them but eve none of them is probably too many.

“Fred gives the ball away all the time and McTominay’s trying to run with the ball constantly and then gives it away. Pass it to your best players! It’s not that difficult. It’s criminal on a day like today.”

Haaland scores twice in EPL debut! | 01:07

Two United fans reached their boiling points during the match, as they began to fight in the South Stand at Old Trafford.

Nearby fans watched on in shock as the pair began to wrestle with each other, with one of the men appearing to grab the other by the throat.

Another person seemed to step between the two men in an attempt to break up their row, as more supported turn to face the pair instead of the match.

A third Manchester United legend, Roy Keane, has also been critical in saying the “DNA” of the club wasn’t there anymore.

“You talk about pre-season, I saw a lot of PR nonsense coming out of Manchester United during the games and I still saw the same problems,” Roy Keane told Sky Sports.

“It’s the same characters, same personalities, especially in midfield.

“There are elements of talent in the squad but when they have setback they don’t deal with it. I go back to the DNA of the club and culture at the training ground, it’s not there. I don’t see personalities, I don’t see characters.

“It’s not all about throwing money at it but if these players aren’t up to it and good enough for Manchester United.”

Meanwhile, cross-town rivals Manchester City got their title defense off to a dream start with a 2-0 win over West Ham.

Star recruit Erling Haaland scored two goals on his Premier League debut for the Citizens.

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Aussie great John Steffensen savages Rohan Browning over ‘amateur hour’ relay debacle

Former Aussie 400m star John Steffensen has blasted Australia’s relay debacle at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games as “amateur hour”.

Australia looked on track to qualify for the final of the 4x100m but it all fell apart at the final change when Rohan Browning tripped over his own feet and hit the deck.

It was a disappointing result after the team of Josh Azzopardi, Jacob Despard, Jack Hale and Browning crashed out.

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After an impressive showing, the commentators were stunned by the moment.

“The last change only has to be clean,” McAvaney started to say before Tamsyn Lewis shrieked in the commentary box as Browning hit the deck.

“Oh he’s fallen over. I can’t believe it. I cannot believe it.

“A disaster for the Australians.

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“I’ve never seen anything quite like it to be truthful.”

“That was awful,” Lewis-Manou added.

“He looks devastated. Rohan would not have been able to do a lot of this training, he would have been focusing on getting his body right. He just really stumbled when he took his acceleration phase.”

Still can’t believe it happened. Photo by David Ramos/Getty ImagesSource: Supplied

In looking for reasons behind the stumble, from a belief Browning struggled with not starting in the blocks or that he wasn’t confident starting on the bend rather than on the straight.

One who wasn’t looking for excuses was 2006 Commonwealth Games 400m gold medalist and Olympic 4x400m relay silver medalist John Steffensen.

“If that was a final, I’d kind of accept it because you really want to push your relay change zone passovers,” he said on Channel 7.

“You really want to push them out a bit, you want to take a bit more risk because you’re running against the best, or some of the best in the world, in the Commonwealth.

“But that was amateur hour last night. To see what happened with Rohan, I do not know what was going through his brain.

“Accidents happen, mistakes happen track and field, yes, I get it.

“But it’s one of those things, I’ve done it (many) times in training. Sometimes you want to push, you really push the barriers and the angle you want to come out of your drive because that’s how you go fast.

“In training you sort of go low, low and you will sort of work your way back up. Then you find a comfortable position that you can take off from.”

Rohan Browning was hoping for more. Photo by David Ramos/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

Former Olympic 100m sprinter turned Channel 7 presenter Matt Shirvington said he knew how Browning felt, having been in a similar position in the 2006 Commonwealth Games 4x100m final.

In that final, Australia appeared headed for a medal but Shirvington took off a touch early and Adam Miller couldn’t catch him to pass the baton.

Shirvington said Browning would be “gutted.”

“Rohan more than most of them because the other boys have been there waiting to compete,” Shirvington told Channel 7.

“Rohan knows that coming into this he was going to have quite a bit of speed, he’s in good shape.

“I have been there before, I’ve been there a couple of times.

“I have been there at a packed MCG at the Commonwealth Games at the same change in the final and we haven’t made it happen.”

Browning did admit he was “gutted” soon after, apologizing to his teammates, who were on the team specifically for the relay.

“I’m so sorry. I know these boys put in so much work. In my years in athletics, nothing like this has ever happened and, hopefully, it never happens again.

“I just caught my toe and slipped. It has never happened before in training or in races.”

Browning looked horrified. Photo: Channel 7Source: Channel 7

Teammate Jack Hale was quick to console Browning both after the race and in the post-match interviews.

“It’s a relay. There are so many variables and these things happen. It is what it is,” Hale told Channel 7.

Browning finished sixth in the individual 100m final, falling just 0.06 seconds short of a bronze medal at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.

It was the closest Australia has got to winning a medal in the men’s blue ribbon event since Matt Shirvington’s lightning time of 10.03 still wasn’t enough for him to get a medal at the 1998 Games.

Australia has never won a medal in the men’s event since the Commonwealth Games changed the distance to 100m in 1970. Now we have to wait at least four more years.

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Premier League scores; Manchester City def West Ham, Brighton def Manchester United, Erling Haaland goals, news, scores, results, video

Erling Haaland scored twice on his Premier League debut as Manchester City opened their defense of the title with a 2-0 win at West Ham, while Manchester United were beaten 2-1 by Brighton in Erik ten Hag’s first game in charge on Sunday.

Haaland lived up to the hype since his transfer from Borussia Dortmund to give the champions a perfect start to the season in the searing heat of East London.

West Ham nearly derailed City’s title chances when they led 2-0 at halftime in the penultimate game of last season before Pep Guardiola’s men battled back for the point that ultimately edged out Liverpool at the top of the table.

But they were no match this time as Haaland immediately provided the value of City adding a proven goalscorer to their arsenal.

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Haaland scores twice in EPL debut! | 01:07

The Norwegian has been signed as the long-term successor to Sergio Aguero and started his City career just like the club’s all-time record goalscorer with a double on his league debut.

Haaland had missed chances in City’s 3-1 defeat to Liverpool in the Community Shield, but Guardiola’s warning that the goals would soon flow proved to be correct.

“We know we have a threat there. He is an incredible deep runner and finisher,” said Guardiola.

“He is adapting perfectly in the way we want to play. We are going to find him more and more and hopefully we can give him the opportunity to score more goals.”

City’s patient possession game wore the Hammers down as temperatures in the English capital soared above 30 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

Haaland took responsibility from the penalty spot to open his Premier League account after he had been brought down by Alphonse Areola.

West Ham started the second half with more attacking intent but that simply played into the hands of City’s new weapon as Kevin De Bruyne split open their defense with one pass on the counter-attack for Haaland to gallop clear on goal and slot low past Areola.

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Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United in action during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Brighton &  Hove Albion at Old Trafford on August 07, 2022 in Manchester, England.  (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United in action during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford on August 07, 2022 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

– SEAGULLS TOO SLICK FOR UNITED –

The contrasting fortunes of the Manchester clubs in recent seasons continued as United suffered another false dawn in Ten Hag’s first competitive game in charge.

Cristiano Ronaldo started on the bench for the Red Devils due to his lack of pre-season training with the Portuguese reportedly keen on an exit from Old Trafford to play in the Champions League this season.

Brighton thrashed United 4-0 when the sides last met in May and despite losing Yves Bissouma and Marc Cucurella for over £100 million since, the Seagulls were again too slick for United’s leaden-footed defence.

Twice in nine minutes Pascal Gross ghosted in unmarked at the back post to slot into an unguarded net before halftime.

It even took a Brighton mistake for Ten Hag’s men to find the net as Robert Sanchez slapped the ball into his own net off the unfortunate Alexis Mac Allister.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – AUGUST 07: Harry Maguire of Manchester United reacts during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford on August 07, 2022 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

Ronaldo was given a rousing reception from an otherwise frustrated crowd, but never had a clear sight of goal to deny Brighton their first ever win at Old Trafford.

“It’s the worst possible start, to be 2-0 down at halftime at Old Trafford,” said United captain Harry Maguire.

“It’s not good enough. We huffed and puffed to get one back and we had chances to equalize. It’s a bad start for us.”

Klopp laments ‘really bad’ Liverpool | 03:00

BRENTFORD BOUNCE BACK

Brentford did manage to come from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw away to Leicester.

The Foxes have been in turmoil heading into the season with long-serving captain Kasper Schmeichel joining Nice and rumors about the futures of James Maddison and Wesley Fofana.

Both started and Maddison’s corner teed up Timothy Castagne to score the opening goal.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s stunning strike from long range then doubled Leicester’s lead early in the second-half.

But Brentford bounced back to take a point as Ivan Toney used his strength to fire home from close range before Josh Dasilva found the top corner.

LEICESTER, ENGLAND – AUGUST 07: Brentford Manager Thomas Frank celebrates with Josh Dasilva after the Premier League match between Leicester City and Brentford FC at The King Power Stadium on August 6, 2022 in Leicester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

Magpies overrun Forest, Leeds pip Wolves | 00:55

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Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s ‘never-ending war’

Next month will mark the six-year anniversary of Angelina Jolie shocking the world by filing for divorce from Brad Pitt.

But despite being declared legally single in 2019, the exes are still no closer to reaching a custody agreement for their children – even as they reach college age.

“It appears that Angelina is determined that Brad should never get 50/50 custody,” one source familiar with the legal battle told Page Six. “And there are some who say that she won’t rest until the kids are legally adults, so Brad will never have shared custody.”

The couple have six children together: Maddox, 21, Pax, 18, Zahara, 17, Shiloh, 16, and twins Knox and Vivienne, both 14.

It’s just the latest except in a seemingly never-ending war.

French estate center of bitter war

“Angelina makes a constant stream of attacks on Brad. And she deliberately sold her disputed share of their vineyard to a buyer she knew he didn’t want,” a friend of Pitt claimed.

Pitt has been seen on red carpets around the world recently for the premiere of his latest movie Bullet Trainbut he apparently can’t escape the long reach of his ex-wife.

In legal papers in June, Pitt, 58, claimed that Jolie, 47, intentionally “sought to inflict harm on” him by selling her interests of the Chateau Miraval wine brand to Russian businessman Yuri Shefler, the founder of Stoli Vodka.

Pitt said they had agreed to never sell their respective shares without the other’s permission. He also asked for a trial by jury.

“It’s his baby. He’s very proud of it and he’s put all of the revenue from the business into the vineyard and Miraval studios,” said a Hollywood friend, noting that the Correns, France, vineyard estate also houses a recording studio.

“Unfortunately, Angelina sold her part, which was contrary to their agreement, to somebody they had both turned down before,” the friend added, as Pitt had previously said no to a deal with Stoli.

And then there was the recent news that lawyers for Jolie sent process servers to the SAG Awards in February, hoping to catch Pitt off-guard with a subpoena for Miraval matters at the event. (He did not attend.) Sources claim this was another example of Jolie trying to create a public scene to exacerbate the situation.

In April, Page Six reported that Jolie had allegedly unleashed “a desperate fishing expedition” by suing the FBI under the name “Jane Doe” to find more about its investigation into an alleged 2016 private-jet altercation incident involving Pitt and their son Maddox, and why FBI agents didn ‘t charge the actor.

An anonymous call was made to authorities, which triggered the FBI investigation, but the case was closed on November 22, 2016, with no charges of wrongdoing. Days later, Jolie filed for divorce.

Dispute over psychologist

Page Six is also told that things became tense earlier this year when Pitt’s legal team believed that Jolie’s lawyers attempted to have their court-approved child psychologist sanctioned by the California Attorney-General’s office based on her perception that the doctor had sided with Pitt, concluding that Pitt should have 50/50 custody of the children.

Psychologist Stan Katz, who spoke to the Jolie-Pitt minor children for the custody case, is currently under a non-criminal investigation by the California Attorney-General’s office, per a filing submitted to the Superior Court of California and seen by Page Six.

Dr Katz is not believed to have had any complaints made about him in his 30-year career.

However, another insider with knowledge of the issues had stressed that Jolie had nothing to do with the investigation.

Meanwhile, one highly placed legal insider told Page Six that only one or both of the parties involved in the case could make a complaint. A friend of Pitt’s confirmed it was not him.

The filing noted that: “The Court finds the Petitioner (Jolie) has filed a notice of non-opposition and Respondent (Pitt) has taken no position.”

Dr Katz declined to comment. Page Six also contacted the AG’s office. The scope of the investigation is not known, and it’s unclear whether the investigation is still ongoing.

‘It was a technicality’

After years of back and forth, Pitt was granted joint custody of his minor children in May 2021.

Judge John Ouderkirk however, was subsequently disqualified from the case for not sufficiently disclosing business relationships with Pitt’s lawyers – so it was back to square one for the custody case.

Another source familiar with the case said: “Everything is at a standstill. Last year was a real rollercoaster. Brad was given 50/50 custody in a lengthy, detailed judicial decision. Then the appellate court vacated the decision based on something having nothing to do with the substance of the case.

“It was an internal dispute between the judges and the private judges in California, nothing to do with the custody agreement. It was a technicality. It’s unclear where things stand right now.”

Meanwhile, Pitt is not believed to be close to his and Jolie’s oldest child, they are Maddox, who turned 21 on Friday.

Asked how often the actor gets to see the other children, the source familiar with the case said: “He gets to see them, but he still doesn’t have 50/50. But he’s trying to ride it out.

Both Jolie and Pitt’s reps were unavailable for comment.

Jolie-Pitt brood grows up

The former couple have six children. Maddox currently studies biochemistry at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. Pax, 18, is believed to be continuing with his schooling from him, and 17-year-old Zahara is about to begin college.

Jolie announced in an Instagram post that Zahara will be attending the historically black Spelman College in Atlanta this year.

“Zahara with her Spelman sisters!” the Eternals star captioned an image of her daughter surrounded by fellow students.

Daughter Shiloh, 16, showed off her hip-hop dance moves back in June in a now-viral clip set to Doja Cat’s Vegas.

Pitt joked about it at the Bullet Train premiere: “I don’t know where she got it from. I’m Mr Two-Left-Feet here.” He also said that Zahara’s acceptance of her to college “brings a tear to the eye”.

It’s a new side of the Oscar winner, who also shares 14-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox with Jolie, as he has previously been so protective about his kids he rarely talked about them.

Pitt has been on the promo trail for Bullet Traintraveling to Paris, Berlin and London over the past month.

In Germany, the actor hit the red carpet wearing a skirt that he co-designed with Haans Nicolas Mott.

When asked why he wore the skirt, Pitt told Variety: “I don’t know! We’re all going to die, so let’s mess it up.”

The Hollywood friend said the answer is simple: “Brad travels regularly, but this was his first major event for a few years and he had a lot of fun with it.”

But “fun” doesn’t mean romance right now. Pitt is “not currently dating anyone,” said the Hollywood friend. “He’s gone on dates over the past couple of years, but he’s not dating anyone currently.”

Instead, Pitt is spending time on his art, architecture and hanging out with friends. He will appear in the Damien Chazelle-directed drama Babylon with Margot Robbie and Olivia Wilde, which opens on Christmas Day.

“He’s in a good place,” said the Hollywood friend. “He had a good break in Europe. He seems refreshed and relaxed.”

This story originally appeared on Page Six and is republished here with permission

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John Steffensen savages Rohan Browning over ‘amateur hour’ relay debacle: Commonwealth Games 2022

Former Aussie 400m star John Steffensen has blasted Australia’s relay debacle at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games as “amateur hour”.

Australia looked on track to qualify for the final of the 4x100m but it all fell apart at the final change when Rohan Browning tripped over his own feet and hit the deck.

It was a disappointing result after the team of Josh Azzopardi, Jacob Despard, Jack Hale and Browning crashed out.

After an impressive showing, the commentators were stunned by the moment.

“The last change only has to be clean,” McAvaney started to say before Tamsyn Manou shrieked in the commentary box as Browning hit the deck.

“Oh he’s fallen over. I can’t believe it. I cannot believe it. A disaster for the Australians. I’ve never seen anything quite like it to be truthful.”

“That was awful,” Manou added.

“He looks devastated. Rohan would not have been able to do a lot of this training, he would have been focusing on getting his body right. He just really stumbled when he took his acceleration phase.”

There were suggestions Browning struggled with not starting in the blocks or that he wasn’t confident starting on the bend rather than on the straight.

One who wasn’t looking for excuses was 2006 Commonwealth Games 400m gold medalist and Olympic 4x400m relay silver medalist John Steffensen.

“If that was a final, I’d kind of accept it because you really want to push your relay change zone passovers,” he said on Channel 7.

“You really want to push them out a bit, you want to take a bit more risk because you’re running against the best, or some of the best in the world, in the Commonwealth.

“But that was amateur hour last night. To see what happened with Rohan, I do not know what was going through his brain.

“Accidents happen, mistakes happen track and field, yes, I get it.

“But it’s one of those things, I’ve done it (many) times in training. Sometimes you want to push, you really push the barriers and the angle you want to come out of your drive because that’s how you go fast.

“In training you sort of go low, low and you will sort of work your way back up. Then you find a comfortable position that you can take off from.”

Former Olympic 100m sprinter turned Channel 7 presenter Matt Shirvington said he knew how Browning felt, having been in a similar position in the 2006 Commonwealth Games 4x100m final.

In that final, Australia appeared headed for a medal but Shirvington took off a touch early and Adam Miller couldn’t catch him to pass the baton.

Shirvington said Browning would be “gutted.”

“Rohan more than most of them because the other boys have been there waiting to compete,” Shirvington told Channel 7.

“Rohan knows that coming into this he was going to have quite a bit of speed, he’s in good shape.

“I have been there before, I’ve been there a couple of times.

“I have been there at a packed MCG at the Commonwealth Games at the same change in the final and we haven’t made it happen.”

Browning did admit he was “gutted” soon after, apologizing to his teammates, who were on the team specifically for the relay.

“I’m so sorry. I know these boys put in so much work. In my years in athletics, nothing like this has ever happened and, hopefully, it never happens again.

“I just caught my toe and slipped. It has never happened before in training or in races.”

Teammate Jack Hale was quick to console Browning both after the race and in the post-match interviews.

“It’s a relay. There are so many variables and these things happen. It is what it is,” Hale told Channel 7.

Browning finished sixth in the individual 100m final, falling just 0.06 seconds short of a bronze medal at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.

It was the closest Australia has got to winning a medal in the men’s blue ribbon event since Matt Shirvington’s lightning time of 10.03 still wasn’t enough for him to get a medal at the 1998 Games.

Australia has never won a medal in the men’s event since the Commonwealth Games changed the distance to 100m in 1970. Now we have to wait at least four more years.

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Commonwealth Games 2022: Peter Bol in 800m final result, Aussie knew race was compromised

Peter Bol took one look at the start list and knew he wasn’t going to get the race he wanted.

But rather than fret he made a decision to overcome it — and he very nearly did in a thrilling men’s 800m final at the Commonwealth Games on Monday morning (AEST).

The 28-year-old was still smiling after he took the silver medal, but there will always be a part of him that looks back at his incredible achievement as “bittersweet”.

Bol described the race as “strange” and was left lamenting the tactics at play that resulted in the first 500m being run ultra-slow.

It was playing out as he expected — not in his favour.

Bol told reporters after the race he knew it was going to be a slow race because there were no front-runners anywhere on the start list.

It meant he was unable to run the race he wanted as he took just a brief moment to respond when Kenyan Wyclife Kinyamal took off with more than 200m to go. That brief, micro delay was all it took in the end as Kinyamal, the defending champion, won by just 0.14 seconds in a time of 1:47.52.

It will be particularly painful for Bol to see his time of 1:47.66 after he ran a 1:47.01 in the heats — and a 1:45.51 at the world championships in Oregon last month.

“Looking at the start list and there’s no frontrunners out there,” he said.

“So I just knew it was going to be tactical and I knew I just had to come home strong and that’s what I did so I’m happy with that.

“After the first lap, and I’ve been saying it, it’s so tactical… I saw 55 (seconds) and I said to myself, ‘Stay relaxed, stay relaxed’.

“Maybe in 20 more meters I could have got him. But it’s the 800m not the 820m.”

Bol looked like he was about to go up alongside Kinyamal with 50m to run, but he just didn’t have the legs to keep his charge going.

Bol, who became a cult hero en route to his fourth-placed finish at last year’s Olympic final, was hoping to become the first Australian in 40 years to win 800m gold.

“What an environment and atmosphere, so close but will take second today,” Bol told Channel 7. “I’m pretty happy with that, to be honest. It was a strange race again, super slow but the 800m is super tactical.

“I thought, stay relaxed, stay relaxed but he (Kinyamal) is so strong and kept going and going. It’s just racing, I raced the best I could and came up short but … silver medal in the Commonwealth Games, we are second which is really good.

“We speak of this journey and we have different people from different years, I want to say a massive thanks to my family, especially my parents… I’m so grateful for them. This is for them, this is for my family, this is for the country.

“There’s a kid out there with a Peter Bol sign so definitely for him. I have to go find him.”

Seven commentator Bruce McAvaney said the race started on a “sluggish” note and Tamsyn Manou agreed, adding: “It is slower than we would have liked.”

At the conclusion of the race, Manou said: “Peter Bol did everything he possibly could there, he got into the right position, he covered… when Kinyamal made that move.

“Peter has still done us proud. People expected him to win that gold but we are talking about an athlete (Kinyamal) who is the defending champion and there is nothing more Peter Bol could have done.

“I hope everyone in Australia is very proud of Peter Bol, because we certainly are.”

England’s Ben Pattison was third in 1:48.25sec.

Bol embarrassed the rest of the field in the heats of the men’s 800m with an imperious run on Wednesday. He then had five agonizing days to wait for Monday’s end.

The Olympics finalist won his heat and was the fastest overall qualifier despite pulling up with 50m still to run.

Bol last month had a disappointing run in the world championships final after he became the first Australian man to ever contest an 800m final at the World Champs.

Earlier, Abbey Caldwell produced a huge shock when she collected the bronze in the women’s 1500m. The 21-year-old just nudged out fellow Aussie Linden Hall.

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Prince Andrew’s pay-off to sex accuser Virginia Giuffre ‘was as little as $5.2 million’ despite reports of $21 million

Prince Andrew’s pay-off to sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre was as little as a quarter of the reported $21 million.

sources told The Sun his lawyers negotiated a cut-price deal of $5.2 million-to-$8.74 million.

That was as much money the disgraced Duke could scrape together quickly to halt her civil lawsuit.

It may explain why Ms Giuffre, 38, was not forced to sign a gagging order as part of the deal — and is now free to write a “tell-all” book, which she promises to do.

It comes after The Sun revealed last week that Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson have bought an $8.74 million house in London’s swanky Mayfair — despite complaining about being strapped for cash.

A source said: “It was thought, and widely reported, that Virginia got a settlement of £12 million (A$21 million) from Andrew, but that’s not right.

“It was far less than that, as low as £3 million (A$5.2 million).

“No doubt this will have influenced the conditions of the agreement that she was prepared to sign.”

Ms Giuffre, a victim of sex trafficking at the hands of paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, claimed Andrew sexually abused her when she was 17.

Although the agreement, reached in February, contained no formal admission of liability or apology from Andrew, it said he accepted Ms Giuffre was a “victim of abuse” and regretted his association with Epstein.

A spokeswoman for Prince Andrew was approached for comment.

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission.

Read related topics:Prince Andrew

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Sports

Commonwealth Games 2022: Hockeyroos vs England final, Heartbreak for Australia

The Hockeyroos picked a bad time to start granting goals.

The Aussies have been denied gold at the Commonwealth Games after England came out firing in the final on Monday morning (AEST).

The tough loss extends the Hockeyroos’ eight-year drought in major championships.

The Hockeyroos have not won a Commonwealth Games, Olympic Games or World Cup since the Glasgow Games in 2014.

It is back-to-back silver medals for the Aussies after New Zealand also stunned them in the final four years ago.

It was a heartbreaking result for the Hockeyroos, who fought so bravely against a wild home crowd in Birmingham.

In the end, they were left to rue a second quarter where England scored two crucial goals. That was enough for England to win 2-1, relegating the Aussies to the silver medal.

It was the first time England has ever won hockey gold at the Commonwealth Games.

Former Hockeyroos star Georgie Parker said Australia just didn’t have the firepower up front to get back into the contest after they fell behind.

“Australia were just a little bit off it today,” she said in commentary on Channel 7.

“Besides our first opening matches it has been hard for us to score. We’ve had just four goals in the last three matches. And that was the thing that’s happened here. Australia not able to get the win today, but it was not without effort.”

The Hockeyroos were on the back foot in the first quarter and had to defend three consecutive corners to keep the scores locked at 0-0 at quarter-time.

However, the Aussies finally conceded — for the first time in the entire tournament — when Holly Hunt popped up unmarked in the circle and tapped in a goal.

England had a second just a few minutes later when Tess Howard deflected a shot at close range. The goal came after Penny Squibb failed to track an England runner, allowing the opposition to get inside the circle.

It was very nearly game over in the third quarter when England hit the post from a penalty corner, but Australia still had a heartbeat heading into the fourth quarter trailing 2-0.

The Hockeyroos’ moment arrived with five minutes to go when they earned a penalty corner, but there was simply no getting past England keeper Madeleine Hinch.

They were doing everything they could and started improvising attacking moves to try and unsettle the English defence. Nothing worked.

“It’s chaos. Absolute chaos,” Parker said.

“I like that they are doing a variation there. Straight penalties haven’t gone to plan. They just have not been able to score them. They’re working around and it looks like a bunch of tired girls there.”

Australia scored a late consolation goal through Rosie Malone with 19 seconds remaining, but it was not enough to make England nervous before the final whistle was blown.

The Aussies had moved through to the final after a blockbuster semi-final win over India that exploded in controversy.

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Categories
Entertainment

Rita Ora’s fiance sparks rumors they’ve secretly married as he wears ‘wedding ring’ in new snap

Rita Ora’s fiance Taika Waititi has sparked rumors they couple have married after the filmmaker was seen wearing what appeared to be a wedding band.

Taika, 46, was seen wearing a piece of jewelery on his left finger while lapping up the rays and having a drink, in a picture snapped by Rita’s sister Elena, The Sun reports.

Ora started dating the Thor: Ragnarök Director Taika 18 months ago.

She opted to share the photo too, but decided to cover Waititi’s ring finger with a caption that read: “Perfect day for a bev @avaline Thank you @camerondiaz.”

Taika could be seen sporting a white patterned shirt and white sunglasses as he lapped up the sun and poured a glass of wine.

The ring snap follows reports that Ora and Waititi are preparing a low-key ceremony before a glitzy celebration later in the summer.

a pal awning The Sun that: “This isn’t about them doing a big showy thing and crowding about it beforehand. It’s just about them being in love and deciding the time is right to formalize their relationship.

“They couldn’t be happier.”

The pair moved back to the UK and into a very impressive London mansion.

Ora has spent much of the past two years in Los Angeles and Australia and wore a black sports top and overcoat in snaps as she lugged bottles of water, while New Zealander Waititi was in a denim jacket, baseball cap and shades.

They later held hands while strolling to a pub near the North London property Ora bought for £8 million (A$11.5 million) last year.

An onlooker said: “It’s unusual to see Rita in the neighborhood these days – she bought the house but left the country almost immediately afterwards and has barely spent any time there.

“But they were shopping for things and loading bits in and it’s obvious this is going to be where they call home, at least for a while.

“They’re a very jetsetting couple, and have homes all over the place, but it felt as though this was quite a permanent move watching their behaviour.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was republished with permission

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Categories
Sports

Commonwealth Games 2022 boxing results: Callum Peters vs Sam Hickey final, Aussie robbed

Aussie teen star Callum Peters has been “robbed” of gold after another farcical judging decision at the Commonwealth Games.

The Aussie, competing in his first senior tournament, showed nothing but class after the judges scores were announced with Scotland’s Sam Hickey being awarded the victory by the narrowest of margins.

The rollercoaster middleweight final was arguably the best fight of the entire Games.

However, it was overshadowed by the controversial finish which ended in a split decision 29-28 x3, 28-29 x2.

The greatest shock was the decision from judge No. 5 Mazlan Amzah to award Hickey the final round when all the other judges gave it to Peters. Peters had dominated the final round, repeatedly landing clean shots in the final minutes. That perplexing decision to award Hickey the final round ultimately decided the fight.

Peters just had to settle for silver.

Aussie sport commentators could not believe their eyes.

Sports reporter Phil Lutton posted on Twitter Peters had been “burgled”.

“That doesn’t look right at all to me,” I posted.

“Callum Peters gets the final round on four of the five cards but it’s not enough.”

He also posted: “Fair play to Sam Hickey, very tough Scot, but Callum Peters just burgled of gold there. One point the difference in the end, Peters absolutely dominant in that final round and one of the five judges gives it to the Hickey. Boxing delivers again.”

Hickey celebrated Scotland’s first boxing gold medal since 2014.

Fox Sports reporter Alex Conrad wrote on Twitter: “Sorry, WTF? Callum Peters robbed in that final boxing. Absolutely robbed. That is mind-boggling”.

The BBC’s Thomas Duncan also said the fight could have gone either way.

“There was a hug of mutual respect in the ring between Sam Hickey and Callum Peters in the ring there. What a fight that was, and it could have gone either way,” he said.

“But Hickey of Scotland is the Commonwealth champion. He puts his hands over his face, he ca n’t believe it. The crowd go wild.”

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