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Tommy Fleetwood, one of golf’s most beloved figures, finally claimed his first PGA Tour victory at the Tour Championship (and also happened to win the DP World India Championship today). Prior to his Tour Championship victory, Fleetwood had come achingly close numerous times, with 11 runner-up or third-place finishes, and seven top 10s in majors.

The now eight-time DP World Tour winner, recognizable for his precision swing and flowing locks, turned professional in 2010. At 20, he topped the Challenge Tour rankings, then secured his first DP World Tour win at the 2013 Johnnie Walker Championship.

Born in Southport, England, just a mile from Royal Birkdale, Fleetwood grew up sneaking onto its storied fairways with his father, Pete, a former Birkdale caddie. Those childhood moments on the windswept links, host to 10 Open Championships, sparked his passion and shaped his game.

Tommy Fleetwood’s simple advice to help amateur golfers save strokes

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Josh Schrock

A protege of English teaching professional Alan Thompson since age 13, Fleetwood began working with legendary coach Butch Harmon in 2023 to elevate his performance. Nicknamed “Fairway Jesus,” he won the 2017 Race to Dubai and earned an Olympic silver medal in 2024. As a Ryder Cup cornerstone, his perfect 4-0 record in 2018 powered Europe’s triumph, and he clinched the decisive point in 2023. And in 2025, he was even better, going 4-1-0 at Bethpage Black. He’s now No. 12 on Europe’s all-time points list with an 11-4-2 record in four Ryder Cup appearances.

Married to Clare Craig, his manager and confidante since 2017, Fleetwood is a devoted father to their sons, Frankie and Mo, and a stepson, Oscar, from Craig’s previous marriage. And he’s the owner of one helluva swing.

Tommy Fleetwood’s timeless swing, explained

Tommy Fleetwood’s backswing in three steps.

Mark Newcombe/Visions in Golf

1. SETUP: Fleetwood’s setup features a retro-style rounded upper back. And he chokes up on the club. Not a bad idea to get closer to the club’s balance point for better control.

2. TAKEAWAY: Copy the way Tommy turns his chest away from the target at the start of his swing. (Note that you can now see the Nike logo on his left chest.) His hips are turning freely too. Great takeaway.

3. TOP: Fleetwood’s clubface is slightly closed to his left wrist, with his right forearm more under the club than most other pros do. This helps him create a supercool delivery position.

Tommy Fleetwood’s follow-through in three steps.

Mark Newcombe/Visions in Golf

4. DOWNSWING:Tommy ducks his head down and to his right as he transitions from the top. Also, notice how low he lowers his rear shoulder. This helps him stay in his “underhanded javelin throw” position nearing impact — a power move for one of the Tour’s smallest players.

5. IMPACT:Take note here, slicers: Fleetwood keeps his right forearm well under his left while keeping his trail arm bent as he nears impact. And look at that right trigger finger — he uses it to get the club square and makes one final push for a powerful impact.

Blake Monroe does not have any issue with starting her WWE career in NXT.

The former Mariah May debuted for NXT this June following the expiration of her AEW contract. Given that she was a champion for AEW and has international experience, some fans were surprised that Monroe did not skip NXT and go straight to the WWE main roster. But Monroe told The Ringer Wrestling Show that she’s enjoying the opportunity to build her brand in NXT. She thinks being able to do that gives her the best opportunity to succeed when she does get to Raw or SmackDown.

“I mean, to date, NXT’s got the highest viewership of any show I’ve been on,” Monroe said. “And I think as well, you have to consider, like, WWE is so huge. The amount of TV equity [stars like Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, and Charlotte Flair have]… I mean, they have millions of followers, all this TV equity. I know I could go toe-to-toe with them, but I feel like — why wouldn’t I go to NXT, continue to build my brand, continue to introduce myself to the WWE Universe who may know me, probably don’t. Like, I don’t think any of these kids would know me or anything. Tell them who I am and also make NXT my brand, because I truly feel like I am doing that and can do that.

“Why wouldn’t I take that opportunity, get that TV equity, build myself in WWE, use the resources, be able to talk to Shawn Michaels and Matt Bloom and all these amazing coaches, learn and grow. So when I do go to the main roster and I’m going against these juggernauts, I really have the best chance possible to succeed, because they are huge stars. So I got to get a little — build myself up a little bit, maybe.â€

She might be more experienced than a lot of her NXT peers, but Monroe believes everyone is there for a reason and has something to offer.

“There’s always something you can learn from each other. Everybody has different backgrounds, sure. But we’re all here in the WWE for a reason,” she said. “So I feel like you should never kind of feel like you’re above anybody. And I think the best wrestlers are the ones that keep their heads down and just learn.â€

Monroe has been feuding with NXT Women’s North American Champion Sol Ruca leading into Halloween Havoc. The NXT PLE is taking place in Prescott Valley, Arizona on Saturday, October 25.

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Part of John Cena‘s commitment to Peacemaker was learning how to get tased.

DCâ€s Peacemaker recently wrapped up its second season on HBO Max. One of the episodes features Freddie Stromaâ€s Vigilante tackling Cenaâ€s Christopher Smith character before knocking him unconscious with a taser.

As showrunner James Gunn explained during Peacemaker: The Official Podcast, John Cena specifically asked what kind of reaction they wanted from him for the scene in which Chris Smith gets tasered by Vigilante.

“We have the moment, itâ€s a great moment where earlier, Freddie [Stroma]â€s character, Vigilante, said, ‘Why donâ€t you just tackle him?†and says heâ€s an idiot for not doing it. And then in this scene, they try to stop Christopher Smith from leaving, and Vigilante tackles him and tases him,†Gunn explained. “Effectively! Everyone screamed and Johnâ€s tased.

“I remember being on set, John was like, ‘What should I do exactly?†So we were looking up videos of people being tased so that he could act like someone that was tased. That was kinda what they looked like.â€

John Cena competed at WWEâ€s most recent premium live event, Crown Jewel, in Australia this past Saturday. The GOAT faced AJ Styles in a match that WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker described as a masterclass.

Fans can catch up on everything that went down at Crown Jewel: Perth here.

Read More: James Gunn Was Initially Uncomfortable Directing John Cena Kissing His Wife On ‘Peacemakerâ€

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As India fell to their second successive defeat at the 2025 ICC Women’s ODI World Cup with a three-wicket loss against Australia on Sunday, coach Amol Muzumdar stressed on the importance of finishing well.

Muzumdar pointed out how his wards failed to close out the match against South Africa with the ball and then again fell at least 20 runs short with the bat against Australia after getting off to a good start.

“I always say in the dressing room that we need a good start but we need to have an even better finish,” Muzumdar said in the post-match press conference.

“The finish that we had against South Africa, we ended up losing the game in the last five overs with the ball. Even today [against Australia] if we had gotten another 20 runs, maybe things could have been different.

“At the same time, it has been a gradual progress for us and there have been a lot of learnings. I keep talking about positives and learnings and one of the things to learn is how to finish well,” the coach added.

Having been asked to bat first against Australia, India got off to a stellar start as openers Smriti Mandhana (80) and Pratika Rawal (75) added 155 runs for the opening partnership. The hosts were later bowled out for 330 with more than an over to spare.

Australia, in response, chased down the target with an over left, thanks to a stunning century by captain and opener Alyssa Healy (142). It marked the highest successful run chase in women’s ODI history.

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Welcome to GOLF’s Fully Equipped’s weekly Tour equipment report. Each Friday of PGA Tour weeks (plus other times, if news warrants), GOLF equipment editor Jack Hirsh will run you through some of the biggest news surrounding golf clubs on Tour, including changes, tweaks and launches.

Billy Horschel is back on the PGA Tour this week in Japan for the first time since April after undergoing hip surgery — and he’s coming back with a very different gear setup.

In his first start back at the BMW PGA Championship in England, Horschel switched his irons for the first time in four years, ditching his split set of the ’23 Titleist T100 long irons and 620 MB combo set for a complete set of the new 2025 T100s.

The reason for the change after the layoff? Horschel told Titleist’s team in Japan this week that he was simply looking to mitigate mishits.

“I’m currently playing the Titleist T100s. I literally just put these in the bag. I was playing the 620 MBs,” Horschel said. “And I love my MBs, but like a lot of golfers, we’re looking for when we do mishit it a little bit to get the safety of the ball still going the same distance.”

He hits the nail on the head. Golfers, even the best in the world, who rarely miss the center of the face, are always looking to make their misses better. An eight-time PGA Tour winner like Horschel knows his good shots aren’t going to be any better by changing irons, but his mishits will be, and that could make all the difference.

Horschel, who plays the high-spinning Pro V1x+ prototype golf ball, also said he saw added height for the new irons, which has been a key goal of Titleist iron design.

Titleist 2025 T100 Custom Irons

Unmatched precision meets unrivaled feel with T100 Irons. Fully forged with more aggressive grooves in the mid/short irons, T100 offers pure player’s feel with improved consistency in variable conditions. Now with higher long-iron launch for optimal trajectory control in every club.
Forged Player’s Design  
Masterfully forged into a pure player’s design that offers precision control and buttery feel.
Superior Flight and Stability 
Split High-Density Tungsten produces optimal CG with remarkable stability for precise shotmaking.
Consistent Speed & Spin 
New VFT technology and progressive groove design for consistent spin and speed across the face in variable conditions.
Elevated Long-Iron Launch 
Lower CG and a new muscle channel help improve peak height and carry.

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, Titleist

“The other thing I’ve seen is the height I get on these irons is a lot higher than my 620s,” he said. “To be able to launch it high and land it soft on the greens is something that I wasn’t getting as much in my 620 MBs. And now with the T100, I feel very comfortable, especially with the long irons that I can bring in high and soft on firm, fast greens.”

Horschel’s change is one amateurs should take note for both of those reasons: getting help on mishits and hitting it higher.

We see it more and more each year with PGA Tour pros ditching unforgiving blade irons for more playable cavity-backs and even players’ distance options in the long irons. Who knows, maybe in a few years, the pure blade may even cease to exist, even on the PGA Tour.

That may be a ways off, but it’s still worth taking note of how many players are choosing irons that mitigate misses, rather than blades.

With added height, we see goals of faster green speeds and increased firmness around the country. Titleist believes the higher you can hit your golf ball, the better equipped you are to score in those conditions, and Horschel seems to be buying into that with the iron change and his continued use of the Pro V1x+.

The 2025 T100 from all angles.

Jack Hirsh/GOLF

The switch also highlights a unique quirk of Horschel’s setup that he has used for years. For the last decade plus, Horschel has skipped a 4-iron in his set, going 3-iron, then 5-iron through 9-iron. In his previous set, Horschel had a T100 3- and 5-iron before going to the 620 MBs.

According to Titleist Tour Rep Nick Geyer, the 3-, 5-iron setup is done for gapping purposes. Going from 5-iron to 3-iron allows him to hit the ball speeds he needs without moving to a larger chassis. He plays weaker lofts through the bag, and having a touch less offset in a smaller iron chassis (than say a Titleist T150 or T250) suits his eye.

Horschel opened with a 77 at Yokohama Country Club, but rebounded Friday with a bogey-free 66 and has picked up more than 1.5 shots on approach.

Another 2025 UW convert

Perhaps Min Woo Lee’s most identifiable club is out of the bag this week at the Baycurrent Classic.

Lee added Callaway’s new Apex 2025 Utility Wood to the bag this week in Japan, replacing his trusty X Forged Utility iron.

Callaway 2025 Apex Custom Utility Wood

The Apex UW is designed for serious, avid golfers seeking the perfect blend of a fairway wood’s power and a hybrid’s versatility. Engineered with Tour feedback and loaded with performance technologies, it delivers a higher, more neutral ball flight with the control all players demand. 
TUNGSTEN SPEED WAVE
A dynamic, 41g+ tungsten wave structure positions mass low and forward, enhancing ball speed and launch—particularly on low-face strikes where players tend to lose distance.
STEP SOLE DESIGN
A redesigned sole with a stepped geometry reduces turf interaction, helping to maintain swing speed through impact and promoting more consistent contact across different lies.
TRIAXIAL CARBON CROWN
The lightweight carbon construction allows for strategic weight redistribution, creating a more forgiving clubhead while refining launch and spin for greater shot-making control.
TOUR-INSPIRED SHAPING
Designed with input from the world’s best, the compact, refined shape and neutral face angle inspire confidence at address and deliver workability from tee to turf.

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, Callaway

While his previous 2-iron was a 19-degree head bent to 18-degrees, Lee’s new UW is a 21-degree hit with the goal of giving him a consistent 235-240 carry and a steep descent angle.

Lee even tested the club with the Fujikura Ventus Red 9-X shaft in an effort to find more height in order to land the ball softly into long par-3 and par-5 greens, but given that Lee plays both the Ventus Blue in his driver and 3-wood, he decided to stick with that in his new UW.

The new Callaway Apex UW is gaining momentum quickly after its release last month. Alex Noren already won with the unique hybrid of a hybrid and fairway wood and Max Greyserman currently leads the Baycurrent by four shots heading into the weekend with the new model as well.

Lee is T19, eight back of Greyserman through 36 holes after 65 on Friday.

Changes are brewing, but not yet

All in all, this week’s Baycurrent Classic and other worldwide events were fairly quiet on the gear front.

That’s not really a surprise or a coincidence.

For starters, with the Tour all the way in Japan, there was a limited number of Tour reps who made the journey to the other side of the world.

But the bigger factor is that 2026 gear is coming and the OEMs are in final stages of testing new clubs before giving them to their Tour reps to start seeding on the PGA Tour. You do have PXG already out on Tour with their new Lightning metalwoods, but for other companies who typically follow a January release schedule, their newest stuff is still yet to come.

Check this out

This section is dedicated to one cool photo we’ve snapped recently on Tour, but haven’t had a reason to share yet. For this week, check out this Camilo Villegas’ wear mark on his TaylorMade M4 fairway wood from 2018. Villegas is T12 after two rounds this week.

Villegas has hit a few shots out of the middle with this one.

Jack Hirsh/GOLF

Odds and Ends

Some other gear changes and notes we’re tracking this week.

Max Greyserman made a big change to his Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond driver this week. He flipped the heavy weight forward in the head and compensated by setting the driver to the N/+1 setting, adding a degree of loft, closing the clubface and making the driver more upright. He’s T3 in distance so far this week … As pointed out by SMS on Tour, Sergio Garcia is using a new Golfyr Maker Tour putter this week. Garcia has used a carbon putter model from the Swiss company before, trying one in February 2024.

3 things you should read/watch

A selection of GOLF content from the past week that may interest you.

Why Fully Equipped Podcast co-host Jake Morrow can’t use these clubs anymore | Bag Spy – Take a look at the clubs GOLF’s Fully Equipped co-host Jake Morrow was using at the end of this season and how he’s ready to blow it all up again for next year.

It’s common knowledge at this point that if an average golfer wants to improve their game, they shouldn’t be modeling their bag after a PGA Tour pro, but rather an LPGA or PGA Tour Champions player.

PGA Tour pros have insane swing speeds and are able to play shots that courses just weren’t designed for. They have very different golf clubs to meet their needs.

On the flip side, LPGA and older pros have much slower swing speeds and play courses more as the architects intended. That results in a very different golf bag setup and it’s one the average golfer can learn a lot from.

Min Woo Lee hits fades, so why is he using a ‘Draw’ driver head? | Tour Report

By:

Jack Hirsh

On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped, co-host Jake Morrow, speaking from this week’s Epson Tour Championship, explained how all of the the players there leave their ego at the door when it comes to golf clubs.

Morrow explained that in filming multiple “What’s in the Bag” videos that day, he saw multiple players who had no irons longer than an 8-iron.

“I think replacing long irons with hybrids until the point that you’re comfortable is an extremely underrated equipment story, right?” Morrow said. “Like, if it’s a 7-hybrid, then it’s a 7-hybrid and who cares?

“If you hit your number and the ball stops where you want it to, then that’s great. And nobody should tell you that that’s wrong. Nobody should judge you for that.”

On the PGA Tour, players have largely rendered traditional 2- and 3-irons extinct, with the 4-iron coming next. Morrow was seeing lots of 7-hybrids this week.

The fact of the matter is that hybrids and high-lofted fairway woods are significantly easier to hit than the equivelent irons, and if some of the most precise and demanding ballstrikers on the planet are opting for them, then there’s no reason for an average golfer to play a set consisting of driver, 3-wood, 5-wood and 4i-PW.

For more from Morrow, co-host Johnny Wunder and this week’s guest, GOLF’s Maddi MacClurg, listen to the full episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped here or watch it below.

Want to overhaul your bag in 2025?Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

I feel a bit sorry for Americans. They don’t go through enough national sporting despair. OK, they had an invigorating shot of misery last Sunday night losing the Ryder Cup, but that was a rare thing for them. It’s rare because they’re so dominant in all the team sports they really care about, not least because their biggest team sports – certainly NFL and baseball – aren’t played by anyone else. Or at least not to the extent that another nation is ever going to come close to beating them in any meaningful “world cup†competition. Basketball, to be fair, is widely played around the world but essentially the same applies – the US men have been Olympic champions 17 times out of 20; for the women it’s nine out of 12. Ice hockey is slightly different. Here, Americans haven’t had it all their own way, and in Canada have a genuine local rival. This may be one reason Trump makes noises about taking them over.

So, why feel sorry for them? For a start, how diminished must be the joy of winning if you’re winning all the time? As a bloke with whom I go to the football always says after a miserable defeat: without despair there is no joy.

Losing takes practice, which is why I can almost forgive the pretty despicable behaviour of some of the Americans over the weekend

Losing takes practice, which is why I can almost forgive the pretty despicable behaviour of some of those Americans on the course over the weekend. They don’t know how to do it. So they just resort to nastiness. And worse, even after their team had performed brilliantly and nearly pulled off an incredible comeback, they were leaving in droves, storming out in a massive collective sulk. There didn’t seem to be any sticking around to applaud the worthy winners and, more importantly, salute their countrymen who, in the end, did themselves great credit in running Europe so close. Marching off towards the Long Island Railroad, it was like they were all channelling Vince Lombardi: “Show me a good loser,†the NFL coach famously said, “and I’ll show you a loser.†OK, point taken. But he was talking about the athletes rather than their fans.

Americans don’t get the chance to come together in support of their national team in the way the rest of us do. It’s such a valuable thing for the people of a nation to go through together, opportunities to feel such unity and belonging being rather rare. And in the really big moments losing is just as valuable as winning, in the sense of all being in it together. The morning after one England final defeat I passed a mother and her young boy on their way to school. They happened to be of Indian heritage. The lad was wearing an England shirt. I made a sad face at the kid, and his mother’s look told me it had been a very difficult evening for the whole family. Me too. We’d all been through it together. The three of us and millions of others. OK, it wouldn’t have been the be-all and end-all for all 60-odd million of us, but it wasn’t nothing either. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have all had their moments too, when everyone’s been pulling in the same direction and sharing the same feelings. In Croatia – the other country I care about – it’s been said to me that everyone disagrees with everyone else all the time about everything, until such time as the national football team walks on to the pitch for a big match.

I’ve now watched England lose two European Championship finals, and Croatia lose in a World Cup final. On all three occasions I went home bloody miserable, but I’ve never felt more at one with my fellow country folk. Honestly, the Americans don’t know what they’re missing.

Adrian Chiles is a Guardian columnist

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Each fantasy baseball season has its own quirks, and 2025 was no exception. Here are the biggest takeaways that managers can make from the recently completed campaign, along with some advice on how to utilize these takeaways during 2026 drafts.

Catcher was deeeeep

Recap: Baseballâ€s most demanding position is enjoying a renaissance. While Cal Raleigh and his AL MVP quest were dominating the headlines at the catcher position, there were plenty of players who were racking up noticeable stat lines of their own. A total of nine catchers tallied at least 20 home runs, and four reached the 30-homer benchmark. Ten catchers drove in at least 70 runs, and seven scored at least 70 times. There were even six catchers who hit at least .275 with more than 375 at-bats.

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Looking ahead: Thanks to the emergence of the likes of Hunter Goodman, Agustin Ramírez, Ben Rice, Ivan Herrera and many more, there are more appealing catchers than available lineup spots in 2026 one-catcher leagues. For this reason, managers who miss out on drafting Raleigh should be fully committed to selecting their catcher in the final rounds of their draft. They will still come away with someone who has top-five potential at this premium position.

Elite closers werenâ€t worth the trouble

Recap: At the reliever position, there were a few top 2024 finishers who came from the early rounds of drafts — namely Edwin Díaz, Jhoan Duran, Josh Hader — who finished 42nd, 57th and 55th at the position, respectively. But most of the valuable relievers were afterthoughts in the draft process. Of the 17 relievers who finished as top-100 overall players, 12 were drafted after pick 100. Remarkably, six of the 17 hurlers opened the season on waivers in nearly every league.

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Looking ahead: After the reliever position enjoyed a remarkably consistent season in 2024, we were reminded this year that it is an inherently volatile position in fantasy due to the combination of small sample sizes, high-pressure situations and frequent injuries. Managers may prefer to spend multiple middle- or late-round draft picks on relievers, rather than grabbing a star closer in the early rounds.

The ROI (return on investment) for aces was terrific

Recap: Sure, there were some injury-related misses among the elite fantasy starters, but that would be true of top players at any position. The overall symmetry between draft-day value and actual production was impressive this year, as the top-three fantasy finishers (Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes, Garrett Crochet) were among the initial four pitchers selected in drafts. The fourth member of that group, Zack Wheeler, was so good that he still ranks 14th in value despite making his last start on August 15. The other top-12 2025 pitchers are listed here (in order), with their Yahoo ADP in parentheses: Bryan Woo (133), Nathan Eovaldi (195), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (52), Hunter Brown (106), Freddy Peralta (96), Cristopher Sánchez (164), Carlos Rodón (150), Max Fried (84), Jacob deGrom (55).

Looking ahead: There are two main takeaways for 2026 drafters. First, although pitchers sometimes suffer long-term injuries that tend to skew our impression of them, they are sound investments in the early rounds of drafts. The second takeaway is that managers must invest in the pitching position early if they want to get an ace. After all, only two of the hurlers listed in the previous paragraph were available past pick 150. Wise managers will plan to take at least four starters in the initial 12 rounds of their draft.

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Projecting steals is a foolâ€s errand

Recap: Of the 10 players who finished atop the steals leaderboard last year, just two of them repeated their top-10 finish in 2025. If we expand the sample size, of the 24 players who reached the 30-steal plateau in 2024, only seven returned to that benchmark this season.

Looking ahead: Stolen bases are different than stats that are accumulated at the plate, as there is a choice involved with attempting to swipe a bag. Players often increase or decrease their aggressiveness on the basepaths over periods of time due to several factors, such as the managerâ€s game plan or personal injuries. For this reason, managers shouldnâ€t get carried away with projecting specific steals totals heading into a season. It may be a better plan to ensure that they leave the draft with a few players who are typically willing to swipe bases, knowing that these players could finish with anywhere from 20-40 steals. After all, we canâ€t be any more confident that José Caballero will repeat his league-leading total of 49 than we were that Elly De La Cruz would steal 67 bags for a second straight year (he finished with 37).

Pitchers on good teams get wins

Recap: Sure, this seems obvious, but pitcher wins were correlated to team success to an unusual degree in 2025. Of the 20 pitchers with at least 13 wins, 15 play for a team that made the postseason. And of the other five, four were on a team that remained in the NL Wild Card race until the final week of the season. Only Joe Ryan worked for a team that won fewer than 78 games.

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Looking ahead: Once the Big Three of Skubal, Skenes and Crochet are off the board, fantasy managers will need to choose their staff ace from a deep pool of similarly skilled hurlers. Since wins are an important part of the equation (especially in roto formats), eliminating the pitchers who play for losing clubs may be a good place to start. That would include the likes of the aforementioned Ryan and Eury Pérez, and it may also include Chris Sale and Spencer Schwellenbach, depending on the managerâ€s faith that the Braves will turn things around.

In fact, the information regarding wins could be a reason to rank Skenes behind Crochet. After all, Skubal and Crochet averaged 15.5 wins this year while playing on postseason teams, while Skenes racked up just 10 victories. And few analysts expect the Pirates to improve to a great degree next year.

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  Beth LindopSep 27, 2025, 02:20 PM ET

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  Based in Liverpool, Beth Lindop is ESPN’s Liverpool correspondent and also covers the WSL and UWCL.

LONDON — What goes around, comes around. Having become the masters of scoring late in the Premier League this season, Liverpool saw their familiar script flipped on Saturday afternoon when they suffered a last-gasp 2-1 victory at the hands of an ascendent Crystal Palace.

After being comprehensively outplayed during a first half in which Ismalia Sarr’s ninth-minute goal gave the hosts a deserved lead, Arne Slot’s side thought they had done enough to snatch a precious point thanks to Federico Chiesa‘s strike in the 87th minute. Palace, though, ensured their visitors got a taste of their own medicine, with substitute Eddie Nketiah rifling home the winner in the final seconds of the game.

The victory moves Palace up to second in the Premier League table and extends their unbeaten run to 18 games in all competitions. However, perhaps the biggest victory for the South London club came last month in the boardroom, when chairman Steve Parish put the brakes on captain Marc Guéhi‘s deadline day transfer to Anfield.

This was an afternoon when the England defender’s importance to Palace — and Liverpool’s defensive frailties — were laid bare. In fact, the hosts’ dominance in the first half was such that Slot and his players may well have shook hands on a narrow defeat at the break.

– Premier League recap: Liverpool stunned, Man City score five
– Lindop: Chiesa is here to win and has a chance to do it
– First-month grades for all 20 Premier League teams: From A+ to F

Sarr — who now has five goals in eight career games against Liverpool — put Palace ahead after nine minutes after the visitors failed to deal with an early corner, before both Yeremy Pino and Daniel Muñoz forced Alisson Becker into fine saves to keep the game in the balance. The Liverpool supporters in the away end at Selhurst Park could perhaps be forgiven for casting admiring glances at the impressive Guehi, who barely put a foot wrong while Ibrahima Konaté struggled to handle the threat of the ever-lively Jean Philippe-Mateta.

In a week when an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury to 18-year-old centre-back Giovanni Leoni put Liverpool’s defensive options in the spotlight, Guehi’s quiet brilliance offered the champions a painful reminder of what could have been. At the other end of the pitch, too, Liverpool toiled despite the abundance of attacking talent on the pitch.

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In the first half, British-record signing Alexander Isak completed just one of his four passes and while his influence grew significantly after the break, he was substituted off the pitch to cries of “What a waste of money!” by the Palace supporters. Fellow summer arrival Florian Wirtz also took time to impose himself on the game, while Mohamed Salah‘s biggest contribution of the afternoon arguably game when he deflected Dominik Szoboszlai‘s goal-bound shot wide of the net.

Instead, it fell to substitute Chiesa to restore parity for Liverpool, finishing smartly past Dean Henderson from close range to set his team on course for another late escape. Had Slot’s side managed to see the game through, Chiesa’s strike would have constituted their fifth result-changing goal in the final 10 minutes this season; no other Premier League team has more than two.

Whether those numbers are down to quality, perseverance or sheer good luck, the law of averages suggested that Liverpool were always likely to fall foul of a moment of late magic at some point. And so it proved, with former Arsenal man Nketiah giving his old club a huge early-season boost in the title race when he struck with virtually the last kick of the game, after Liverpool failed to deal with a long throw by Jefferson Lerma, to propel the home crowd into dreamland.

play

1:14

Nicol critiques Konate’s ‘horrendous’ first-half

Steve Nicol talks about Ibrahima Konate’s struggles with Liverpool during the first-half of the game vs. Crystal Palace.

“We can only blame ourselves by defending the way we did,” Slot admitted in his postmatch news conference. “One of our players [Jeremie Frimpong] decided to run out because he wanted to play counter-attack, which was of no use because time was up. It was only about defending. Maybe we were too offensively minded, or one player was too offensively minded, which led to them scoring the winner and us losing the game.”

That it was Guehi who assisted Palace’s winner, flicking on Lerma’s throw, will only serve to rub further salt in the wound for Liverpool, who would be wise to test the waters with another offer for the defender in January if they hope to compete on all fronts this term.

“I expect it from Marc,” Palace boss Oliver Glasner said of his captain’s display. “It’s exactly what I knew Marc would show because he shows everything. He shows every training how good he is and what a fantastic person he is. That is even more important than how good he is as a player.

“He’s so focused on his game. He’s so focused on our game again and he just showed that again today.”

For Liverpool, this is not a fatal blow by any means, but it’s one they must learn from quickly if they are to avoid conceding momentum in the title race to rivals Arsenal, who visit Newcastle on Sunday. Last season, after suffering a similarly dispiriting defeat to Nottingham Forest in September, Slot’s side went 26 league games unbeaten and romped to the title; the Liverpool boss will back his team to offer a similarly resounding response this term.

For Palace, meanwhile, this is a result that showed just how far the club has come under the stewardship of Glasner, who has now equalled the record for most league games unbeaten (12) as Palace manager. As the home supporters spilled out of Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon, they launched into a jubilant chorus of “we’re gonna win the league!”

Only time will tell if that prophecy is fulfilled but they have, at least, made Liverpool’s quest to retain their Premier League crown significantly more difficult.

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ELMONT, NY — No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer understands that playing in the NHL isn’t going to be a walk in the park. That’s why, at every waking moment, he’s trying to learn as much as possible so that when he hits the ice on Oct. 9, he’s as ready as possible.

In the New York Islanders’ 4-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Friday night, Schaefer played 23:54 in his second preseason game, the second-most minutes on the team behind Tony DeAngelo’s 24:01.

He recorded an assist, one shot, created three rebounds, three hits, four hits taken, but also was a minus-2 as he got caught up on the ice a few times.

“I think there are a couple of ones that I wish I had back, but I’m learning from them,” Schaefer said postgame. “I gotta put them in the past now and just get better so when opening night comes, I’m ready.”

There are so many talented, elite hockey players who break into the NHL with just so much potential. The players who live up to the hype are the ones who learn quickly and elevate their game from one shift to the next.

That’s Schaefer, as you can see him talking to teammates on the bench and coaches any chance he can.

“Hockey is always gonna be fun, and there’s always gonna be things to work on and mistakes, but you just gotta learn from them and move on,” Schaefer said. “I feel good. Every game is a step in the right direction. I’m looking to get better. Obviously, there’s going to be mistakes, but you just have to learn from them and build and put them in the past. You just have to worry about the next game. I’m just going to keep trying to get better each and every day.”

His assist to Anthony Duclair at 6:50 of the third was a thing of beauty, finding the forward in front of goal to cut the Islanders’ deficit to 3-2 with Ilya Sorokin on the bench for the extra attacker:

The Hockey News asked Schaefer if it was a pass or a shot.

“I just put it on net,” Schaefer said. “I saw he was there. So, it was a great play by him.”

One thing you will notice about Schaefer, at least through these two games, is that very rarely does a pass from the blue line or a shot on goal not get to its intended target.

His hockey IQ has him thinking the game faster than most players out there but the more important part is that his hands and feet are able to keep pace with what he’s thinking, which is why he’s able to make these plays so quick.

“It’s like having a fourth forward out there at times,” Duclair said. “I love when he jumps in on the rush and makes those incredible cross passes. His vision is incredible. We’re really lucky to have him.”

Islanders Anthony Duclair Feels ‘Pretty Good’ After First Preseason Game; His Thoughts On Matthew Schaefer
ELMONT, NY — After missing Thursday’s preseason game due to an upper-body injury, New York Islanders forward Anthony Duclair was healthy enough to get into the lineup on Friday night against the New Jersey Devils for his first NHL shifts since Apr. 1.

The Islanders have two more preseason games to go before the calendar turns to the regular season: Monday against the New York Rangers and Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The expectation is that Schaefer will play in both so that he’s as comfortable as possible before the puck drops on opening night against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 9 at PPG Paints Arena.

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