Sport

Andy Murray restored to Great Britain’s Davis Cup squad

The Davis Cup is coming back to Manchester for the first time in three decades and so is Murray.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 15th August 2023

Andy Murray has been restored to Great Britain’s Davis Cup team for the group stage Finals against Australia, France and Switzerland in Manchester next month.

The three-time Grand Slam champion and Wimbledon winner was left out of the squad for their 3-1 win against Colombia in February and has been in and out of the set-up due to injury over recent years.

Murray, 36, helped Britain on their way to their first Davis Cup win in 79 years back in 2015 — the same year he won four different ATP titles — and despite going out in the second round of Wimbledon in July, he is still a huge addition to the squad set to play right here in Manchester next month.

Kicking off on 12 September, Team GB will compete against the other three teams in Group B to qualify for a place in the finals which will be played in Malaga in November.

Andy Murray rounds off Great Britain’s 2023 Davis Cup squad

British no.1 Cam Norrie leads the squad alongside Wimbledon-winning double specialist, Neal Skupski, world no. 28 Dan Evans and Murray as Britain hopes to lift their 11th Davis Cup.

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Although they were eliminated in the group stages last year, Team Captain Leon Smith has insisted that having Murray back in the squad should give a real boost to their chances.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, he said, “Having Andy in the team is great. He’s the senior statesman, the one who has been there and done it, but we’re also fortunate we’ve got Cam who is top 15 in the world, and who has been top 10 recently and reached the Wimbledon semi-finals last year.”

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“Dan has had a tough year but he won the Washington title recently – an ATP 500 event – that is the first time he has won at that level”, he continued, “and our fourth player is Neal who has just picked up the Wimbledon doubles title and is number one in the world.” Not a bad little lineup at all.

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As for playing here in Manchester, Smith told the LTA: “It’s been a long time since we played in the North West and I’m sure we are going to feel and hear a lot of energy from the fans.” You know we’ll do our bit to put in a good performance, don’t worry about that mate.

If you fancy our chances of success in the 2023 Davis Cup, you can catch all the games from 12-17 September at the AO Arena in Manchester and, better yet, adult tickets start from just a tenner.

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You can find out more below:

The 2023 Davis Cup is coming to Manchester’s AO Arena this September

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image — LTA (via Instagram)

Sport

Erling Haaland breaks yet another goalscoring record in the Champions League

Danny Jones Danny Jones Erling Haaland breaks record for fastest player to reach 40 Champions League goals

Erling Haaland is back to business as per usual, a.k.a. breaking records left, right and centre — this time in the Champions League following Manchester City’s incredible comeback against RB Leipzig.

Haaland was one of three different names on the scoresheet during their 3-2 win over the Bundesliga side along with Stockport’s very own Phil Foden and fellow striker Julián Álvarez, and while both are becoming increasingly more prolific, it was the big blonde bagsman who got them on their way.

Scoring in the 54th minute to get things moving, the Norwegian number nine notched what was his 40th goal in the Champions League, becoming the quickest player to do so in just 35 games.

To put that in context of where he already ranks amongst the great goalscorers of years gone by, not only did he manage 40 goals in 35 appearances in the UCL but he also did it in a whole 10 games fewer than the next fastest, Manchester United legend Ruud van Nistelrooy. Unreal.

To be honest, Haaland broke so many records in his first year at the Etihad — such as most goals by a Man City player in a single campaign, most goals in a Premier League season and fastest to player to reach three hattricks, just to name a few — nothing really surprise us anymore.

Now on 19 goals and four assists all told in the opening 20 games of 23/24 and well on course for a second consecutive golden boot, while we’ll have to wait and see if he can equal or better his incredible tally of 63 goal contributions in all competitions, if there’s anyone that can do it’s him.

But it wasn’t just another personal achievement for the 23-year-old on Tuesday night though, as the late rally saw them defend their truly insane record of going unbeaten at home in the UCL for more than five and a half years. Wow.

Haaland’s inevitability and Pep Guardiola‘s other in-form forwards resulted in the Blues not only securing qualification for the knockout stages but a top spot finish in their group after already putting a whole six points between them and the German team with a game to spare.

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As for domestically, the treble-winners will hope to put last weekend’s 1-1 draw against title rivals Liverpool behind them and notch a victory over Spurs whose impressive start to the season is now begin to stutter following a number of injuries and dip in form.

City sit in second place on 29 points and just one point behind league leaders Arsenal who face Wolves on Saturday after their own Champions League fixture against RC Lens on Wednesday night.

It’s neck and neck as we barrel towards the Christmas period and, from a neutrals point of view, that’s what we love to see.

You can watch the full highlights of City’s fightback against Leipzig down below:

Featured Images — Man City (via Instagram)/Erling Haaland (via X)

Sport

Alejandro Garnacho gives the same boots he scored his overhead kick with to a young Man United fan

Danny Jones Danny Jones Alejandro Garnacho gives his boots to young Man United fan

As if Manchester United supporters weren’t already ridiculously enamoured with their exciting young starlet, Alejandro Garnacho made an incredible gesture to a young fan after gifting him a pair of the very same boots he scored his incredible overhead kick with this past weekend.

In case you somehow missed it on Sunday, Garnacho scored one of the great Premier League, perhaps one of the best we’ve ever seen full stop, after burying an unbelievably beautiful bicycle kick into the far corner during Man United’s 3-0 win over Everton.

The 19-year-old is already a firm favourite amongst United fans and is tipped to do big things in his career after impressing in the first couple of years of his senior career, but interactions with wide-eyed little fans like this prove exactly why he has become so loved so quickly.

Surprising the die-hard young fans, the Standley boys — simply known as Harry and George to thousands of followers across multiple social media channels run by their parents — Garnacho doesn’t just stop to say hello to the loyal little Reds, he gives George a pair of the exact Nike Mercurial boots he wore when he screamed home that unforgettable finish. As you can expect, it blows his tiny mind.

After telling the Argentine winger that his overhead kick was “the best goal [he’d] ever seen“, Garnacho then hands his smiley superfan an orange Nike box containing the boots through the window, to which he immediately replies that he “asked for these” for Christmas this year.

We were very much the same at your age, George — Christmas and birthdays were all about getting all the gear to convince our mates we were the next Rooney.

Revealing not only that they were the very same boots he was wearing when he leapt like a salmon for that now iconic overhead kick but that he had already signed his autograph on them, along with a personal message on the box it didn’t take long for the seven-year-old to start crying tears of joy at his out of the blue birthday present.

As mum continues to capture his reaction, George simply says, “I’m so happy”, before telling his footballing hero how much he loves him and calling him “the best in the world”. It is by no means the first time we’ve stumbled across the two very cute little kids.

Fans are loving this wholesome clip of Erik ten Hag stopping for a young United fan

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This is also isn’t George and Garnacho’s first meeting either; far from it, as both he and his older brother Harry regularly wait outside Carrington and Old Trafford to meet their Man United idols — with the exciting youngster having been at the top of the list since he burst onto the scene.

Whilst the pair are also self-proclaimed Lisandro Martinez and Jadon Sancho superfans, over the past season or so in particular, Garnacho and George have developed a real bond and he has had the opportunity to meet the no.17 on a number of occasions.

We will never, EVER get tired of seeing little kids meeting their heroes — fair play to the young man for taking the time to make the little lad a day he’ll never forget. Happy birthday, George!

You can watch the highlights from the Red Devils’ away win against Everton down below. Any excuse to watch back that goal, to be honest.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Standley Boys (via TikTok)

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