Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Florian Neuhaus this summer, having been linked with him in the past.

Is Neuhaus thriving in Germany?

The German was linked to joining the Reds back in the summer of 2021, at a time when midfield reinforcements were needed to make up for the loss of Gini Wijnaldum to Paris-Saint Germain. Neuhaus ended up staying at Monchengladbach, however, and Liverpool made no new signings in that area.

This continued lack of investment in the middle of the park has become increasingly problematic for the Merseysiders, as age catches up with the likes of James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Thiago.

It is essential that Liverpool make midfield additions at the end of this season, especially with Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain moving on, but with a move for Jude Bellingham appearing to be dead in the water, they need to look at alternatives.

Are Liverpool back in for midfielder?

Taking to Twitter, whilst sharing his article for 90min, reporter Graeme Bailey provided an update on Neuhaus' future, admitting that there is interest in him, as well as name-checking Liverpool in his piece as one of the clubs who are keen in the article:

"A number of Premier League clubs are looking at German star Florian Neuhaus. Back from a knee injury, Borussia Moenchengladbach are trying to tie him to a new contract – if not he could move this summer."

Neuhaus could still be a good signing for Liverpool this summer, even though his reputation arguably isn't as great as it was back in 2021, at a point where his performances for Monchengladbach were particularly strong, scoring six goals and registering five assists in the Bundesliga in 2020/21.

This season, the 26-year-old has only started 10 league matches, which is largely down to a serious knee ligament injury that saw him miss around three months of action.

He has been back playing regularly of late, though – deployed in three full 90 minutes since the middle of March, and given his age, signing him wouldn't feel like too big a gamble.

Journalist Jack Collins once hailed Neuhaus as a "magnificent" player and his all-round midfield ability as a footballer – he has 46 goal contributions (22 goals and 24 assists) in 166 Monchengladbach appearances, and netted twice in 10 caps for Germany – could help ease Liverpool's woes in that area moving forward.

England’s motivation for this summer is to claim the Test series wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan that eluded them in their last campaigns against each team

Andrew Miller22-Apr-2016You’d have thought that Ben Stokes would be sick of the sight of batsmen teeing off after the agonies he endured at the hands of Carlos Brathwaite in the World T20 final in Kolkata earlier this month.And yet, after spending the morning in the company of Joe Root at Woburn Golf Course in Buckinghamshire, it is safe to surmise that Stokes – and the rest of the England team – have parked that near-miss in India and are ready to take the positives (as only sportsmen can) into their next international assignment: the Test series against Sri Lanka that gets underway next month.”I’d been back in the country for about eight or nine days before I realised I wanted to get back to training,” said Stokes, whose hectic round of sponsors’ engagements in recent days – from a game of street cricket in Soho to a bout of WWE in Newcastle and now to an Investec golf day – reflects the extent to which his and England’s exploits, in victory and defeat, have captured the imagination this winter.Though the winter ended in a manner that Stokes will not wish to dwell on for too much longer – with his head in his hands and Brathwaite’s fourth six in a row disappearing into the Eden Gardens stands – England’s shortcomings in that contest cannot detract from the sense that a real team ethic has been forged in the course of 18 extraordinary months.”The amount of people who’ve said how excited they were by the World Cup, and how we should be proud of what we achieved, it was a lot more than I thought it would be,” said Root. “That is really nice to see. That puts a smile on your face and gives us a lot of confidence.”The squads vary from format to format, and the captains too, with Alastair Cook and Eoin Morgan taking charge of red- and white-ball cricket respectively. However, Stokes and Root have been integral players throughout, from England’s reboot in limited-overs cricket to their hard-earned Test series wins against Australia and South Africa. Root in particular believes that the confidence forged in one format can be carried across to the others.”It’s a completely different playing XI, but we are implementing how we want to play in all three formats,” he said. “Cooky has been like Morgs in reminding us that we got here by playing in this way for our counties and through the last 18 months, so let’s keep trying to push that. We don’t want to get to a certain level and stop, we want to keep trying to improve and play positive and aggressive cricket.”Teeing off: Stokes prepares to unleash at Woburn•Investec

“In one-day cricket, I think perceptions have been changed for a while now,” he added. “We’ve said previously we’ve got inexperience and we are going to make mistakes, but we want to play a certain way and everyone’s committed to doing that.”We won’t get it right every time, but the more we do that, we’ll get better and better, and we’ll learn along the way, both from getting it right and getting it wrong. Hopefully throughout this summer we’ll get more consistent and become a really strong side.”England’s motivation for this summer, said Root, was to claim the Test series wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan that eluded them in their last campaigns against each team – at home to Sri Lanka in 2014 and in the UAE against Pakistan last winter. That, he added, would complete a clean sweep of the trophies available to England in Test cricket, and help to propel them towards another of their goals – the reclaiming of the No.1 Test ranking that they last held in 2011-12.”Of course, that is obviously a main goal of ours,” he added. “But as with anything, you can look miles ahead and fall miles short, so you have to take it very slowly. If we win both series it would be a huge achievement.”England’s batting line-up for the first Test against Sri Lanka, at Headingley on May 19, may be significantly altered from the team that was beaten in the fourth and final Test against South Africa at Centurion in January. Not only are they now looking for a replacement for James Taylor, who was sadly forced to retire last week with a serious heart condition, there is talk of Root – the best batsman in the team – being pushed up the order to No. 3, from where he will be better placed to influence the course of an innings.”Who knows?” said Root, who averages more than 65 at positions 4 and 5, from where he has scored eight of his nine Test hundreds. “There have been lots of runs scored in the County Championship so far, but I’ve not had any conversations with the coaches yet about batting orders. I feel pretty settled at 4 but if they want to change things up, I’m sure we’ll have a discussion and see what’s best for the side.”One man who would prefer Root to stay exactly where he is, however, is Stokes, who has played some of his finest innings alongside his team-mate at four-down – not least their game-changing stand of 161 in the Lord’s Test against New Zealand last summer.”His record at 4 and 5 has been incredible,” said Stokes. “I’d personally like him to stay at 4 as he’s been so successful. When we’ve got off to bad starts, he’s come in and still kept the run-rate going, and also it would mean he’s closer to where I’m batting, and I enjoy batting with him.”The reason for their success as a partnership, Stokes added, was their shared sense of enjoyment and relaxation in the heat of the battle.”Some players are very keen and switched on when they are batting in the middle,” he said. “That is them. They stay with themselves in their own bubble, and you know that and respect that, you let them do what they want.”But me and Joe are very similar in the middle – having a laugh, not taking things too seriously, letting things go on. It lets us both play our natural games, which we want to do anyway, but it almost frees us up even more. I know Rooty scores quick, he knows I score quickly. We don’t put any pressure on each other.”As for Root himself, he finished the World T20 as one of the most talked-about young cricketers in the game, with most commentators agreeing it is a three-way shoot-out between him, India’s Virat Kohli and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson when it comes to identifying the best current batsman in the world.The player himself, however, only has eyes for the team cause. “You hear stuff and it’s nice when people say nice things about you, but it’s about scoring runs, isn’t it?” he said. “It’s not about personal gain. It’s about winning games of cricket and being part of something really special with your team-mates. By contributing runs, hopefully that will bring all that stuff along.”Investec is the title sponsor of Test match cricket in England. For more on Investec private banking, visit investec.co.uk/banking

Jess Jonassen, the Australia Women left-arm spinner, is set to undergo surgery on her left knee later this month. Jonassen had been “managing” an ongoing injury through the 2015-16 season, the team’s physiotherapist Kate Mahoney said, and the surgery has been scheduled for the off season.”Jess is managing an ongoing left-knee injury, which she has been managing this season,” Mahoney said. “She was reviewed by an orthopaedic surgeon after returning from the [team’s] commitments at the Women’s World T20 in India, and will require arthroscopy surgery later this month.”Her rehabilitation and return to play will be more clear after the procedure, but we are hopeful that she will recover in time for the tour of Sri Lanka later this year.”Jonassen, 23, has turned out in 31 ODIs and 46 T20Is for Australia Women, taking 43 wickets at 21.23 and 33 wickets 22.27 in the two formats respectively. She has also played the one Test match, against England Women in 215. In the just-concluded Women’s World T20, where Australia Women finished runners-up, she had picked up just the one wicket in six games.

The BCCI’s technical committee has recommended that all Ranji Trophy matches in 2016-17 be played at neutral venues to make domestic cricket more competitive

Arun Venugopal29-May-20163:42

Agarkar: Should be good enough to play at opposition’s home

The BCCI’s technical committee has recommended that all Ranji Trophy matches in 2016-17 be played at neutral venues to make domestic cricket more competitive. The committee’s recommendations, according to the BCCI, seek to “rule out the issues related to preparing specific wickets for home teams, as well as to expose players to play in different conditions.” These recommendations will have to be ratified by the board’s working committee. A similar recommendation, to play all Ranji matches at neutral venues, was made before the 2012-13 season but was later turned down.The pitches used in the Ranji Trophy last season came under scrutiny after nine matches finished inside two days. Former India captain Rahul Dravid was critical of the “poor” pitches that stunted the development of young cricketers. He had also said state associations had to be forced to prepare good surfaces.

India A’s tour to Australia approved

The BCCI’s technical committee has approved India A’s tour of Australia in August for two four-day matches and a tri-series. India A had last toured Australia in July 2014 where they played two unofficial Tests against Australia A before playing a quadrangular series that also featured South Africa A and Australia’s National Performance Squad. Australia A had returned the visit with a tour to India in August last year, where it played two Tests against the home side before playing a tri-series that comprised South Africa A as well.

“A lot of people criticise and say Ranji Trophy [knockout] matches should be held in home venues of teams,” he said. “But if teams resort to doing these kind of things, then I think it is better the knockout matches are staged in neutral venues.”While Karnataka coach J Arun Kumar welcomed the panel’s recommendation, his Assam counterpart Sanath Kumar disagreed with the idea.”Apart from not having the home-crowd advantage and the home-pitch advantage, I don’t see anything wrong in that,” Arun Kumar told ESPNcricinfo. “There have been a lot of problems in the past with home-team advantage [resulting in] very bad wickets. Not having crowd support is the only setback but otherwise I think it’s a very fair move.”Sanath Kumar said the existing system, where a team played four games at home and four away, was fair. “I don’t think anybody will now come and watch. [Playing games at home meant] at least a few fans will come and support the team,” he said. “It will be like a knockout match where hardly anybody is watching the game. Instead of this recommendation, they could have had a [neutral] curator to prepare the pitches. That would have been an easier solution.”The technical committee has also recommended that the Duleep Trophy be played entirely as a day-night tournament, with four teams, picked by the selectors, playing in a round-robin format. In January, the BCCI tours and fixtures committee had asked the technical committee to explore the possibility of trialing the pink ball in the tournament. This move is significant considering the board’s keenness to host a day-night Test during India’s long home season where they will play series against New Zealand, England and Australia.Sanath Kumar said there had been discussions about changes in the zonal format of the Duleep Trophy since last season. “[In the coaches and captains enclave last year] we told the BCCI that the zonal system didn’t make much sense,” he said. “In the past we used to play Ranji Trophy at the zonal level and then we go to the knockouts. That time Duleep Trophy had a lot of relevance whereas now Ranji Trophy itself has become an all-India tournament and so Duleep doesn’t have a lot of recognition. Even the players don’t take it seriously.”We suggested that if the selectors select four teams like they do for the Challenger Trophy, it would be a better way of going about things.”

A round-up of the Dhaka Premier League games that were played on May 30, 2016

Mohammad Isam30-May-2016

Mashrafe Mortaza’s six-wicket haul set up Kalabagan Krira Chakra’s 10-run win (D/L method) in a rain-affected match against Legends of Rupganj in Fatullah.After Kalabagan asked Rupganj to bat, it was Dewan Sabbir who did the early damage, removing Rupganj’s openers for single-digit scores. Despite decent knocks from Mohammad Mithun, Ishank Jaggi and Asif Ahmed in the middle order, Rupganj slumped to 87 for 5. A 78-run sixth-wicket stand between Asif Ahmed and Sajjadul Haque added substance to Rupganj’s innings, before the former fell to Sabbir, giving him his third wicket of the match. Mashrafe, who had been introduced as the third-change bowler, then cleaned up the tail taking the last four wickets.Mashrafe had earlier dismissed Mithun and Rupganj captain Mossharraf Hossain. He finished with figures of 6 for 42 in his 10 overs. This was his second 6-wicket haul in List-A cricket, the other one being 10 years ago, against Kenya in an ODI.Kalabagan had reached 127 for 4 in 35.4 overs when rain intervened to curtail proceedings. That was enough for them to secure a 10-run victory under the Duckworth-Lewis method. The win opened up a four-point lead between Kalabagan and Cricket Coaching School, who are second from the bottom on the points table. That gives Kalabagan some breathing space, with the two bottom-placed teams to be relegated to next season’s Dhaka First Division Cricket League.Victoria Sporting Club leapt from seventh to third position on the table with their 28-run win over Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club in Mirpur.After opting to bat first, Victoria were bowled out for 247 in 49.4 overs. While six of their top seven got starts, only Mominul Haque got a half-century, scoring 50 off 51 balls, including six fours and a six. Batting at no. 3, he added 72 runs for the second wicket with Fazle Mahmud. Later, captain Nadif Chowdhury and Chaturanga de Silva added 80 runs for the sixth wicket. Nadif’s dismissal left Victoria 212 for 6. A nine-ball 24 from Mahbubul lifted the side to 247.Mahmudullah took 3 for 40, while Muktar Ali and left-arm spinner Abdur Rahman took two wickets each.In a similar fashion to Victoria’s batsmen, Dhanmondi’s top-order batsmen squandered starts, with each of the top four getting out between 20 and 50. Only Sohag Gazi, batting at no. 6, registered a half-century, with a knock of 59 off 64. Then it was Victoria pace bowler Kamrul Islam Rabbi’s turn to get among the wickets. He took four of the last six wickets, as Dhanmondi were bowled out for 219 in the 49th over.Gazi Group Cricketers beat Brothers Union by 43 runs in a low-scoring encounter on a turning track at the BKSP-3 ground.In response to Gazi Group’s 167, Brothers were bowled out for just 124 runs in 40.1 overs. Gazi Group’s offspinner Mahedi Hasan picked up 4 for 16, while Gurkeerat Singh, Alok Kapali and Salehin Shad picked up two wickets apiece. Brothers captain Tushar Imran played the only knock of substance, with 41 off 81 balls.Tushar had earlier taken a four-wicket haul with his part-time offspin as Gazi Group were bowled out for 167. Opening the batting, Anamul Haque top-scored for Gazi Group, with 46 off 52, including three fours and four sixes. But, after a 70-run opening stand, Gazi Group slipped to 102 for 8. A few lusty blows from Mohammad Sharif, at no. 11, added some crucial runs to their final score.The win takes Gazi Group to 10 points, while Brothers remain on 8.

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy is personally waiting for Julian Nagelsmann to show an interest in joining Spurs, according to reports.

Could Nagelsmann join Spurs?

The former Bayern Munich boss, after being relieved of his duties last week, has been linked with taking the Spurs managerial post this summer – with former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel stepping into his shoes in Bavaria.

Now out-of-work and readily available, Nagelsmann stands out as a prestigious new candidate to take the reins in north London with Levy actually eyeing him back in 2021. The 35-year-old was a target to replace Jose Mourinho back then and reports suggest Tottenham see an opportunity to go back in for one of European football's most exciting young coaches. Sky Sports claim an approach has been made by the Premier League top four hopefuls as Levy begins work on finding a replacement for Conte.

The Italian parted company with Spurs by mutual consent earlier this week, tasking Cristian Stellini and assistant coach Ryan Mason with guiding the club to Champions League qualification. Nagelsmann is seen as a top candidate by Levy and co, joining the growing list of prestigious candidates alongside Mauricio Pochettino and Luis Enrique among others.

Now, a report by The Daily Mail has an update on Tottenham's chances of hiring the German, with Levy personally waiting to see if Nagelsmann is in fact interested in making a move to Hotspur Way.

The Mail add that contact has been made with the former RB Leipzig boss as Levy weighs up his chances of hiring him, especially considering the possible interest of other big clubs. Indeed, Tottenham aren't the only interested party when it comes to Nagelsmann, as both Real Madrid and Chelsea are currently monitoring developments.

Is Nagelsmann perfect for Spurs?

We believe the manager's new-found availability should be a big draw for Spurs and arguably puts him out in front with the likes of Pochettino. Nagelsmann encourages an intense, high-pressing and entertaining brand of football which could be a breath of fresh air to supporters who are yearning for a departure from the more pragmatic styles of Conte, Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo in recent years.

BBC Sport Writer Raj Chohan, writing on Twitter, recently gave an insight into Nagelsmann's tactical attacking, stating:

"No Lewa replacement led Nagelsmann to plan a 4-2-2-2 in pre-season with a Mané-Gnabry front 2. This pair’s obvious decline then forced him to abandon. He did excellent to then re-shape the attack around a hold-up 9 like Choupo. His methods of coaching an attack are outstanding."

Going by claims like this, he could be exactly what Spurs need, but the competition for his signature may well be fierce.

Journalist Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Liverpool are still in the race to sign Jude Bellingham this summer and the player will soon make a decision on his future.

What's the latest on Jude Bellingham and Liverpool?

The Borussia Dortmund midfielder has been touted as a long-term target for some time now but it remains unclear if he will end up at the Reds.

After all, there is fierce competition for his signature with the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester City also tipped as possible destinations with Liverpool supposedly no longer favourites to land the 19-year-old.

However, despite those reports, Romano insisted that Jurgen Klopp and co will push for the player "until the end".

When speaking on his YouTube channel, the journalist began (0:50): Liverpool will try until the end, we had reports of Liverpool almost out of the race for Bellingham. But what I can tell you is that Liverpool will insist until the end because they know it's up to the player, he has to decide. And so Liverpool are still in the race.

Before adding that a decision will soon be made by the player's camp (1:11): “So the race is open, but from what I understand, Jude Bellingham will now enter into important days to make his decision.

"He's going to speak to his family of course to his father Mark, who's taking care of the negotiation, then there will be a discussion also between Borussia Dortmund and Bellingham side to decide about the future.

"But important days are coming internally in Bellingham's camp, so into his family, to make a final decision on the future project he wants to pick.

" So this is a really important part of the story for Jude Bellingham. So get ready because April could be a really important month to understand more about Jude Bellingham's future."

Will Bellingham join Liverpool?

Whoever signs Bellingham will have to spend a small fortune on the Englishman. Indeed, as per a report in The Sun from last January, around £100m upfront will have to be paid – on top of wages in the region of £300k-p/w.

After he starred for the Three Lions at the World Cup, it's little wonder so many top clubs are after the teen.

Premier League legend Alan Shearer praised Bellingham for his efforts in Qatar, saying on BBC Sport (via Daily Mail): "He has some engine on him and his energy is incredible from the first to the last minute. He is the one trying to get up there and drive England forward."

While Rio Ferdinand added: "Equally comfortable receiving the ball on the backfoot here as he is here in the number ten spot. I don't quite know at the moment what he is going to be. Is he going to be another Steven Gerrard, [Frank] Lampard type or maybe a defensive midfielder?"

Those Gerrard comparisons will certainly have Liverpool fans excited and it sounds as though they could yet land the talented midfielder.

ScorecardVarun Chopra helped lead a strong response•Getty Images

Varun Chopra was not the batsman the selectors had come to watch but, with his first Championship century for almost a year, he may have reminded them of his qualities as a potential opening partner to Alastair Cook.It will take more than one eye-catching innings for Chopra to regain lost ground. He has not represented England Lions since February 2014 and has seen the likes of Sam Robson, Adam Lyth, Nick Compton, Alex Hales and Daniel Bell-Drummond go past him in the competition for an England place.But to score a century of this class against an attack of this quality will have done him no harm. He is a wonderfully stylish player with a range of sweetly-timed drives, a gorgeous late cut and a strong pull. He has all the ingredients required to succeed at the top level and, aged 28, time enough to show it.His fault has, at times, been a tendency to fall over towards the off side and a habit of fencing at the ball off the back foot. But with greater balance and discipline, he helped his side avoid the potential pitfalls here and will have shown Mick Newell, the on-looking selector, that he is back to something approaching his best.Chopra’s career suffered for taking on the burden of captaincy at Warwickshire for two years. After being the only man at the club to record 1,000 Championship runs in each season between 2011 and 2013, he fell back in 2014 (though he was still the club’s top run-scorer in first-class cricket and led the side to one trophy and two runners-up positions) and managed only 658 at an average of 27.41 in 2015.Ian Bell’s greater availability may have been the catalyst to changing the captaincy of the club, but Chopra could see that his own England aspirations were not advancing as he had hoped and does not appear to have resisted.His previous record against Yorkshire was also poor. In nine first-class games against them, he had scored only 151 runs at an average of 8.88 without ever reaching 50. In 2015, he lasted five balls in all in suffering a pair at the hands of Ryan Sidebottom.He will, therefore, have been relieved to see Sidebottom limp out of the attack midway through his sixth over. Sidebottom, who had been gaining some dangerous swing, experienced discomfort in his left ankle as he landed earlier in the over – he let out a yelp of pain that could be heard around the ground – and it seems he is most unlikely to bowl again in this game. A Yorkshire debut for David Willey at Trent Bridge on Sunday appears probable.But Yorkshire still offered strong opposition. Jack Brooks produced a beauty to account for Ian Westwood – swinging in, it pitched and left the batsman a fraction to take the top of off stump – and hardly wasted a ball. He was well supported by Liam Plunkett, who looked slightly quicker than Chris Woakes, but offered less in terms of lateral movement, Steven Patterson and the especially impressive Adil Rashid.It was Rashid who accounted for Bell. After compiling an elegant half-century, Bell, perhaps beaten in the flight, failed to come sufficiently far forward to smother Rashid’s leg spin and edged his forward prod to first slip. Judging by the manner that Newell left before another ball was bowled, it was Bell he had come to see.What he will have learned is unclear. Bell looked in fine form, saw off a really good spell of bowling after lunch, but failed to go on to register the commanding score that would have made him hard to ignore. It may prove relevant that, for the second innings in succession, he paid for failing to get as far forward as he might have done on what remains a decent pitch.Jonathan Trott withstood the inevitable short-balls that greeted his arrival – Plunkett came round the pitch to him for a while – and continues to look in supreme form, while Chopra, on 99 at tea, scored the run he required to register his 19th first-class century from the first ball after the interval. Given a full four days, this match could have been a classic.Sadly, all has been ruined by poor weather. Play was first interrupted and then abandoned due to snow on day three with most agreeing it was the coldest day of first-class cricket they had experienced. At one stage, as the Yorkshire fielders took to wearing woolly hats, it was suggested that, instead of sending a 12th man out with drinks, a St Bernard should run out with a tot of brandy. A final day of bonus point accumulation looms.

Durham and England fast bowler Mark Wood has undergone second surgery on his left ankle

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Apr-2016Durham and England fast bowler Mark Wood has undergone second surgery on his left ankle. The surgery was to address issues at the back of his left ankle, five months after a successful surgery to the front of the same ankle in November.Wood will now undergo a rehabilitation period and begin his programme to get back to bowling for his return to competitive cricket later this summer. He is expected to remain out of action for up to eight weeks of the 2016 season, and out of the three Tests against Sri Lanka starting next month.Wood had flown home early from England’s tour of the UAE in November and was later forced to pull out of his scheduled return for Durham’s second XI against Scotland earlier this week.

It seems as though referee Andy Madley and his VAR team may have made a big mistake after not awarding Wolves a late penalty for a Wout Faes handball.

What's the latest on Wolves and VAR?

Julen Lopetegui and co travelled away to face Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon but came away from the game empty-handed.

The match had got off to a promising start for the visitors, however, with Matheus Cunha opening the scoring with just 13 minutes on the clock.

Before halftime, though, the Foxes were level after Jose Sa brought down Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho buried the resulting penalty kick.

Wolves were unable to cling on for even a point in the end as Leicester struck a winner in the 75th minute as Timothy Castagne's effort made it 2-1 to the home team.

In the remaining time after the goal, WWFC did put some pressure on the opposition goal and it seems as though they could have had a penalty.

Indeed, as this footage shared on Twitter shows when a late corner was swung in, Faes clears the ball with the use of his arm

Was it a handball by Faes?

On the TV commentary, it's claimed: "For me, it's outstretched, it's unnatural." However, after a brief check by VAR, referee Madly is told to play on.

This seems pretty fortunate for Faes as he misses the ball completely with his attempted header but then it flies to safety via his arm.

As per the official FA rules, it is a handball offence when a player "touches the ball with their hand/arm when it has made their body unnaturally bigger".

Now the phrase "unnaturally" is always down to interpretation and seems quite problematic when trying to draw up some black-and-white rules. But with the ball hitting Faes' outstretched arm, it certainly can be argued that he has committed an offence here.

Despite this incident, however, manager Lopetegui wasn't looking for excuses after the full-time whistle and instead insisted that his team should have created more chances.

He told the club's media team: “I don’t think we did enough or created enough chances in the second-half. They had more and when they scored it was easier for them because they are a very good team on the counter-attack. It was more difficult for us, but we tried.

“Now it’s done and today we can’t do anything more. We have to be ready for the next challenge.”