Sports
Leeds boss Daniel Farke accuses Man City’s Donnarumma of ‘faking injury’
Daniel Farke suggested Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma went down with a “fake injury” that allowed Pep Guardiola to give his players a team talk before they rallied to snatch a 3-2 Premier League win over Leeds.
After City bossed the first half at the Etihad Stadium, leading through Phil Foden‘s goal just 59 seconds in before Josko Gvardiol doubled the advantage, momentum shifted entirely in the second half as half-time substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin got Leeds back into it with their first goal.
The score was still 2-1 to City when Donnarumma called for the physios, with Guardiola immediately gathering his players around him as he sought to adjust to a change of shape from the visitors.
His team talk did not stop Leeds drawing level after Gvardiol conceded a penalty from which Lukas Nmecha scored the rebound from a Donnarumma save, but City eventually prevailed as Foden struck again in stoppage time.
Even though his side went on to equalise, Farke felt there was a shift in the game after Donnarumma received attention.
“It is within the rules,” the German said. “It is smart. If I like it, if it is in the sense of fair play, if it should be like this, I keep it to myself and I leave it to the authorities to find solutions for it. It is within the rules.
“I asked the fourth official at this point if you want to do something and he said: ‘No, our hands are tied, we can’t do anything.’
“If we don’t educate our players in football, what to do in terms of fair play, sportsmanship, if you just try to bend the rules to your advantage and you can do a fake injury in order to do an additional team talk, it is nothing I personally like but if it is within the rules I can’t complain about it.”
Guardiola’s team talk did not immediately solve City’s problems but after Nmecha’s equaliser City cranked up the pressure late on with Foden eventually finding the breakthrough.
Guardiola said he had believed Donnarumma’s injury was genuine, instructing James Trafford to warm up in case he was required.
“I didn’t speak with Gigio [Donnarumma],” he said. “When it happened I looked back to the dugout and said ‘James, warm up’. I don’t know. Next press conference you can ask me and I will ask Gigio.”
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City had come into the game off back-to-back defeats against Newcastle and Bayer Leverkusen, and conceding a two-goal lead to draw against a relegation-threatened side would have been another huge blow to their title credentials.
“It was a relief,” Guardiola said of Foden’s winner. “The game was not perfect in the first half but it should be over with the chances we had, we didn’t concede and after that they damaged us with the system like Leverkusen has done with a 5-3-2.
“Then we conceded the first goal and the way we have to move is completely different.
“Football is emotions. We conceded the second and after we made a step up. We reacted really well. We had to put the ball quickly in the box. With the full-backs, wingers, it doesn’t matter and in the end it’s the quality of Phil. When he arrives in these positions he can shoot or pass it in.”
Kiffin became a hovering theme of the latter part of the college football season as his future at Mississippi became uncertain.
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That’s a wrap on the regular season. All 31 automatic bids have been decided. Next up is the Selection Show on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN where the other 33 at-large teams along with the seeding will be revealed.
Volleyball seeds the top-eight teams in each region and the top four serve as first- and second-round hosts. The rest of the bracket is filled out to balance it competitively and geographically. The highest remaining seeds also host the regionals, and the 2025 Final Four is in Kansas City, Missouri, on Dec. 18 with the finals on Dec. 21.
Bracket watch
Pittsburgh’s win over Louisville, although much closer than the sweep would indicate, was still convincing enough to push the Panthers onto the top line as the final No. 1 seed. The other three top seeds — Nebraska, Kentucky and Texas — should be easy for the committee. The big discussion and decision-making will likely center around which teams slot as No. 2 seeds and which ones falls on the No. 3 line. That group includes teams such as Arizona State, Stanford, Louisville, Creighton, SMU, Wisconsin and Texas A&M with résumés that are so close; differentiating them won’t be easy.
The final spots for the right to host the first and second rounds will also take some time. Miami and USC seem to have played their way into the top 16 with good finishes to the regular season. Indiana slipped a bit down the stretch. The Hoosiers might just hold onto a spot in the top 16.
Top seedings
No. 1 seeds: Nebraska, Kentucky, Texas, Pittsburgh
No. 2 seeds: Arizona State, Texas A&M, Creighton, SMU
No. 3 seeds: Stanford, Wisconsin, Louisville, Purdue
No. 4 seeds: Miami, Minnesota, USC, Indiana
No. 5 seeds: Kansas, BYU, Baylor, Tennessee
No. 6 seeds: TCU, Kansas State, Colorado, Iowa State
No. 7 seeds: Penn State, UTEP, Western Kentucky, Northern Iowa
No. 8 seeds: Marquette, North Carolina, Florida, San Diego
Rest of the field (alphabetical): American, Arizona, Arkansas State, Campbell, UCLA, Cal Poly, Central Arkansas, Coppin State, Eastern Illinois, Fairfield, Florida A&M, Georgia Tech, High Point, Long Island, Loyola-Chicago, Maryland-Baltimore County, Northern Colorado, Princeton, Rice, St. Thomas, South Dakota State, South Florida, Stephen F. Austin, Toledo, Tulsa, Utah State, Utah Valley, Villanova, Western Kentucky, Wofford, Wright State, Xavier
(The rest of the field teams wouldn’t be seeded)
Bubble watch
The biggest change on the bubble in the season’s final weekend was Arizona playing itself into the field with two wins. The Wildcats beat Cincinnati in four sets Saturday in a match that became a de facto play-in game. The Bearcats’ two losses over the past three days were backbreaking. Oregon picked up a pair of wins, but beating Rutgers and Maryland weren’t enough to elevate the Ducks, who lack a significant nonconference victory and didn’t play the nonconference schedule of South Florida.
Last Four In: Georgia Tech, Villanova, Arizona, South Florida
First Four Out: Oregon, Cincinnati, Dayton, Missouri
Next Four Out: Auburn, Florida State, Pepperdine, James Madison
Conference breakdown
Big 12: 8
Big Ten: 8
ACC: 7
SEC: 5
Big East: 4
American: 3
CUSA: 2
Summit: 2
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went deep into their playbook against the Arizona Cardinals as Baker Mayfield found offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs for a touchdown in the second quarter.
The 6-foot-5, 320-pound All-Pro tackle reported as eligible as the Buccaneers were trying to score on 3rd-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Mayfield took the snap, faked it to his running back and started to scan the field. He looked around and found Wirfs wide open.
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ristan Wirfs #78 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals with teammate Graham Barton #62 during the second quarter at Raymond James Stadium on Nov. 30, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
It was Wirfs’ first receiving touchdown of his NFL career.
The score was the first Buccaneers touchdown of the game. Mayfield was 11-of-15 with 117 passing yards at that point. He started the game despite suffering a shoulder injury last week against the Los Angeles Rams. He sprained the AC joint in his non-throwing shoulder, but managed to grit and bear the pain to play against the Cardinals.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield reacts to a Buccaneers penalty during the first half of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Tampa, Florida. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Tampa Bay entered the game with the lead over the Carolina Panthers for the NFC Division despite both teams being 6-5. The Buccaneers were slotted in as the No. 4 seed going into the week.
The Cardinals were trying to salvage the season with a disruptive win. The team has been without Kyler Murray for a few weeks and started Jacoby Brissett.
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Arizona is 3-8 on the season.
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