Author: Conal

The best (and most underrated) hero to take on the identity of Giant Man could be the key to saving Marvel’s original Ant-Man. The legacy of Ant-Man has always been one of giving second chances. But rather than ensuring those chances given could offer a better future, Ant-Man’s legacy has been more of a cautionary tale to the heroes who donned the helmet. A great example of this was Hank Pym, whose troubled life saw him have a mental break, lose his wife, as well as his status on The Avengers, and even create Ultron, the team’s deadliest villain. But even though he tried to…

PSG’s Kylian Mbappe back in training ahead of Bayern Munich Champions League clash, per reports. The French superstar now has a real chance of being fit to feature vs. the Germans. Kylian Mbappe could yet feature against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg on Tuesday after reportedly returning to training with his teammates on Sunday. According to L’Equipe, the French superstar took part in some of the squad session after the 3-1 Ligue 1 defeat away at AS Monaco that took place Saturday, which is the first time since his thigh injury in Montpellier. Le Parisien have gone…

Lionel Messi has shared some holiday photos with his fans after taking a trip to the Alps with his family. Messi, wife Antonela Roccuzzo and their three children all feature in the collection of snaps that the Paris Saint-Germain forward uploaded to Instagram on Wednesday. One of the pictures shows Antonela kissing Messi in an outdoor swimming pool, while another features kids Mateo, Thiago and Ciro dressed in skiing clothes. Antonela also shared some pictures on Instagram, including one of her hugging Daniella Semaan, who is married to Cesc Fabregas. Messi and Fabregas have been close friends since they were first…

Joao Felix has vowed to guide Chelsea to Champions League success this season as he continues to impress under Graham Potter. Joao Felix has insisted that Chelsea must win the Champions League this season ahead of the Blues’ clash with Borussia Dortmund. The German outfit are set to welcome Graham Potter’s side to the Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday evening as they vie for a place in the quarter-final. With Chelsea ten-points adrift of fourth-placed Newcastle in the the Premier League, qualification to the Champions League next term via domestic competition looks unlikely. Unless they can drastically transform their fortunes,…

Video referee Lee Mason forgot to draw offside lines on Brentford’s controversial equaliser in a mistake that could have a massive impact on Arsenal’s fight for the Premier League title. Christian Norgaard was in an offside position when he crossed for Ivan Toney and the goal would have been ruled out if the VAR lines had been drawn. Victory for Arsenal would have put them eight points clear at the top of the Premier League but the draw means Man City will knock them off the summit if they win today and beat the Gunners on Wednesday night. A furious Mikel Arteta thought the goal should…

GEORGINA RODRIGUEZ doted over her “Beautiful Emerald” as she shared a cute picture of Cristiano Ronaldo and their youngest daughter. Ronaldo followed his gem of a performance for Al-Nassr with a sparkling photo cradling Bella Esmeralda on a sofa. 4Georgina Rodriguez noted the ‘strong and delicate look’ of Bella as Cristiano Ronaldo held the couple’s youngest daughterCredit: Instagram @georginagio 4Model and social media influencer Georgina appears to have settled comfortably into the family’s new life in Saudi ArabiaCredit: Instagram/@georginagio The former Manchester United hero, 38, reached 503 league goals with four against Al-Wehda on Thursday. And the dad-of-five’s smile was even wider when he posed with ten-month-old Bella. Partner Georgina posted…

Brand new research has shown that the name ‘Leo’ has increased in popularity by 350 per cent since Lionel Messi made his debut. The research comes as Messi unveiled Mastercard’s new player mascot kit, to be worn by young fans in the upcoming Champions League knock-out stage, which kicks off on Tuesday with a meeting of Messi’s PSG and Bayern Munich. Mastercard analysed two decades of birth registry data to assess the off-the-field impact of the World Cup winner, and found that over 77,000 boys and girls in the United Kingdom have been called a version of ‘Leo’ since Messi’s 2004 debut. More than 5,000 babies were…

Emiliano Martinez has denied mocking France’s beaten World Cup final star Kylian Mbappe after Argentina’s triumph in Qatar. The PSG star scored a hat-trick and converted his penalty in the shootout, but it was not enough to see his side win successive World Cups. Martinez was ultimately one of the biggest heroes for Argentina, saving Kingsley Coman’s penalty to help secure his country’s third World Cup title. Despite the historic win, Martinez received widespread backlash for his wild celebrations – in which he called for a minute’s silence for Mbappe in the dressing room and later held aloft a baby doll with the striker’s face on…

Eden Hazard and Real Madrid seemed destined to be a match made in heaven when he completed his £150million move from Chelsea back in 2019. In reality, three-and-a-half years later, the move was the start date of Hazard’s decline in what has proven to be a disastrous deal for a player once regarded as one of the world’s best. The injury-ravaged Hazard has played just three league games this season, and is set to have another spell on the sidelines after suffering a knock to his left knee. His latest setback is the 18th injury he has suffered since joining the Spanish giants and,…

Erik ten Hag hailed Marcus Rashford as one of the best goal scorers in Europe and warned Manchester United’s in-form striker not to get lazy if he wants to keep up his remarkable form. The England international broke the deadlock in United’s 2-0 win over Leeds at Elland Road with his 13th goal in 15 games since returning from the World Cup. It’s the best record of any player across Europe’s top leagues, and Ten Hag agreed that the 25-year-old is among the best on the continent. ‘He’s definitely one of them,’ said the United boss. ‘I was convinced from the first moment, I was…

Tortoises don’t even make the top 10 longest-living animals. A Turritopsis dohrnii, or immortal jellyfish (Image credit: Adisha Pramod / Alamy Stock Photo)Jump to: Seychelles giant tortoise Red sea urchins Bowhead whale Rougheye rockfish Freshwater pearl mussel Greenland shark Tubeworm Ocean quahog clam Black coral Glass sponge Turritopsis dohrnii Hydra The longest-living animals are equipped with traits to hold off, and sometimes even stop or reverse, the aging process. While humans may have an “absolute limit” of 150 years, this is just a blink of an eye compared with the centuries and millennia that some animals live through. The true age champions…

A new lineup of Avengers has been announced for a comic run beginning in May 2023, and the roster is full of heavy hitters. 2023 will mark the 60th anniversary of the Avengers team, which is currently finishing out an arc titled Avengers Assemble by Jason Aaron and Bryan Hitch. This event sees the Avengers of the past, present and future, all teaming up as one united front. After this “monumental” story, fans can get excited for an all-new team. A New Creative Team and Avengers Team Beginning in May 2023 and celebrating the Avengers team’s 60th anniversary, a new run of the Avengers comic will begin behind the…

So now we know: Mikel Arteta had cause for a post-match moan. It turns out Ivan Toney’s equaliser, which cost Arsenal victory over Brentford, should have been ruled out —Christian Norgaard was offside, if only VAR Lee Mason had drawn a few lines. How tempting it will be, then, to redraw conclusions and rejig the script: but for off-field calamity, Arsenal would be back to winning ways ahead of Manchester City’s arrival on Wednesday. How foolish it would be, too. Make no mistake, those Arsenal supporters who filed out of the Emirates, expletives tumbling from their mouths, were frustrated by more than the result. They had…

John Terry has said results are ‘clearly’ not good enough at Chelsea under manager Graham Potter. The former Brighton boss was appointed on a five-year deal in September to replace the sacked Thomas Tuchel. But Potter’s Blues have only won one of their last eight games in all competitions despite splashing out a whopping £323million in the January transfer market. And when asked if he got Potter the job, Chelsea youth coach and club icon Terry denied it on his Instagram story. He posted: ‘Absolutely not. I tweeted that I loved watching Brighton play and his style of play. Chelsea icon John Terry has insisted results…

Manchester United’s David de Gea reached the milestone of 400 appearances in the Premier League on Sunday. The goalkeeper, who moved to Old Trafford for around £19million from Atletico Madrid in 2011, has been the club’s No 1 since then. All his appearances in English football have come with the Red Devils, with his landmark 400th coming in the clash against rivals Leeds United at Elland Road. The Premier League’s official account tweeted: The first @ManUtd goalkeeper to reach 400 #PL appearances! ‘Congratulations on a landmark moment, D_DeGea,’ followed by a clapping emoji. Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has reached 400 Premier League appearances The Spanish stopper, 32,…

The Premier League’s referee chief Howard Webb has contacted Arsenal and Brighton to ‘acknowledge significant errors in the VAR process’ following two incorrect offside decisions on Saturday, the PGMOL has said. Arsenal and Brighton were both left aggrieved by the controversial decisions, with Brentford’s equaliser at the Emirates wrongly allowed to stand and Pervis Estupinan’s opener at Crystal Palace incorrectly chalked off. Sportsmail revealed after Arsenal’s 1-1 draw that Lee Mason, on VAR for their game, had forgotten to put the lines down to adjudge whether or not Christian Norgaard was in an offside position when he crossed for Ivan Toney. Brighton’s first half effort in their 1-1 draw…

Liverpool will be watching on with plenty of interest as Kylian Mbappé makes an apparent transfer demand. Meanwhile, Chelsea is said to be in yet more talks. Liverpool is currently marooned in midtable, so it’s hard to identify its true rivals at the minute. The only really safe bet is Chelsea, another typically ‘big six’ club having a really tough season. The Blues duly make the rivals round-up, with yet more transfer talks underway as Todd Boehly’s massive squad overhaul continues apace. But Liverpool will also be looking up the table, and across Europe, to some of its more traditional competitors. After…

‘Mother’s Portrait’ Tattoo – The portrait of his mother, Celia, on his back actually was Messi’s very first tattoo. There is probably no need to explain its meaning as the Argentine’s feelings towards his mum are quite obvious. ‘HandPrints’ Tattoo – This one is dedicated to Leo becoming a father for the first time in 2012. ‘Thiago’ Tattoo – Even though Messi’s genuine intention was to tattoo the handprints of his newborn son Thiago, some suggested that it represents ‘Maradona’s Hand of God’ goal. Thus, Leo was forced to add his son’s name to the handprints tattoo. ‘Football’ Tattoo – Well, what else should you…

Argentina forward Lionel Messi is on the shortlist for the FIFA Best Male Player award, joined by Paris St Germain team mate Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, football’s world governing body announced on Friday. Messi could win his second The Best trophy after leading Argentina to their third World Cup title by beating Mbappe’s France in last year’s final in Qatar, scoring seven goals during the tournament and earning his second Golden ball. World Cup Golden Boot winner Mbappe and France’s 2022 Ballon d’Or winner Benzema feature for the first time among the three finalists. Mbappe starred for France throughout the World Cup and…

Argentina forward Lionel Messi is on the shortlist for the FIFA Best Male Player award, joined by Paris St Germain team mate Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, football’s world governing body announced on Friday. Messi could win his second The Best trophy after leading Argentina to their third World Cup title by beating Mbappe’s France in last year’s final in Qatar, scoring seven goals during the tournament and earning his second Golden ball. World Cup Golden Boot winner Mbappe and France’s 2022 Ballon d’Or winner Benzema feature for the first time among the three finalists. Mbappe starred for France throughout the World Cup and…

Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal must earn the right to win the Premier League title, rather than rely on any punishment for Manchester City – his former club and their nearest rivals. City were this week charged by the Premier League with over 100 breaches of their financial rules. Possible sanctions include fines, points deductions or even relegation. Pep Guardiola’s side visit the Emirates next week in the first of two pivotal clashes in the title race, with Arsenal currently five points clear with a game in hand. Arteta would not comment on City’s case but he did tell his side to focus on what they can…

Joao Felix admitted he was ‘surprised’ to see Cristiano Ronaldo dropped to the bench during Portugal’s World Cup campaign – but said the 38-year-old refused to sulk around the dressing room. Felix – who moved to Chelsea on a £9m loan deal in January from Atletico Madrid – was a team-mate of Ronaldo during the World Cup before Portugal crashed out in a shock exit to Morocco at the quarter-final stage. After Fernando Santos’s side topped their group which involved Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea, they faced Switzerland in a last-16 tie. However, after struggling for form and only scoring one goal – a penalty against…

Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw against West Ham as they dropped points for the third Premier League game in a row. Joao Felix opened the scoring with a fine volleyed finish, while Kai Havertz and Felix also had goals disallowed for offside. The Hammers fought back and former Chelsea player Emerson levelled in the first half. Both teams cancelled each other out in the second half before Tomas Soucek had a late goal disallowed for offside. Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw by West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime Joao Felix opened his Chelsea account with a composed volley…

A metallic orb observed on camera hovering over the Iraqi city of Mosul is reportedly being investigated by the US military and intelligence services. The image was shown on Tuesday’s premiere episode of the new podcast “Weaponized” by UFO researcher Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell and journalist George Knapp. It is a still from a four-second video clip that was captured on April 16, 2016, in northern Iraq by a reconnaissance aircraft. The object, which Corbell calls the “Mosul orb,” was captured on camera by both a military organization and an intelligence agency. It received its name from the Iraqi…