The Guardian

Optus Stadium pitch offered ‘fair balance between bat and ball’ Cricket Australia says good bowling and ‘frenetic’ contest led to early result England only have themselves to blame for their two-day capitulation in Perth, after the pitch for the first Ashes Test received the top rating possible by the International Cricket Council. The “very good” assessment by the ICC match referee was made on a…

Club on worst run since 1953-54 after 4-1 rout ‘I have got a lot of support from above’ Arne Slot said it was understandable that questions were being asked over his future as Liverpool head coach, but he insisted he retained the support of the club’s hierarchy following another heavy defeat, this time against PSV Eindhoven. Liverpool fell to a ninth defeat in 12 games, the club’s worst run since…

Blades beat Portsmouth after owners’ merger statement Wednesday rock bottom following defeat at Millwall Sheffield United lifted themselves out of the Championship’s relegation zone on the day their owners reiterated their desire to take the club to the Premier League with a 3-0 win against 10-man Portsmouth . Patrick Bamford scored on his full United debut, turning home a scrappy rebound early i…

Real Madrid edge home 4-3 in Greece Giménez heads home in injury time for Atlético Kylian Mbappé scored the second-fastest hat-trick in the Champions League as he helped himself to all four goals in Real Madrid ’s 4-3 win at Olympiacos . The La Liga leaders were trailing to Chiquinho’s early strike at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis before he intervened with a seven-minute treble after 22, 24 and…

There was no shame in this defeat for Tottenham, which represented progress after the north London derby disaster at Arsenal on Sunday. There were measures of encouragement ahead of the crucial Premier League home game against Fulham on Saturday, most notably in the shape of Randal Kolo Muani, the striker who is on loan from Paris Saint-Germain. Kolo Muani set up Richarlison for 1-0 and scored fo…

This was billed as a clash of two of the best teams in Europe and for most of a cold evening in north London it felt like it. An absorbing game which ebbed and flowed throughout saw Bayern Munich’s rising star Lennart Karl cancel out Jurriën Timber’s opening goal from a corner before Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli sealed a deserved win for Mikel Arteta’s side to maintain their 100% record in…

Forward died on Tuesday after injury in weekend game School cancels several games after player’s death Ethan Dietz, a sophomore basketball player at Connors State College in Oklahoma, died on Tuesday from an injury suffered during a game, school officials said. Dietz, a 6ft 8in forward from Vilonia, Arkansas, was injured during the second half of the game on Saturday in Texas, the school said in …

Tuilagi free to switch allegiances for 2027 World Cup Marchant available for England after signing for Sale Manu Tuilagi has refused to rule out playing for Samoa at the 2027 Rugby World Cup, leaving open the possibility of him facing Steve Borthwick’s England in Australia. The 34-year-old, who spearheaded the Red Rose midfield for more than a decade, would qualify for the Pacific Island nation i…

Duty for betting on horse racing unchanged at 15% ‘We want to maintain Britain’s place on world stage’ Lord Charles Allen, the chair of the British Horseracing Authority, paid tribute on Wednesday to “everyone who has played their part across the sport” following the budget announcement by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, that the rate of duty for betting on horse racing will remain unchanged at 15…

Palmer training with squad despite toe fracture Forward out since September with groin injury Chelsea are hopeful that Cole Palmer can give them a major boost by declaring himself fit to face Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. The forward has been out with a groin injury since September and his return to action was delayed when he fractured a toe in a freak domestic accident last week. That fo…

Newey: ‘I have seen great talent within our team’ Current chief Andy Cowell to become strategy officer Adrian Newey, regarded as one of the best engineers in Formula One history, will become Aston Martin team principal next season. Newey committed his long-term future to Aston Martin in September 2024 after his departure from Red Bull sparked a bidding war for the Brtion’s services. Continue read…

Player ingested a banned stimulant from rubber crumb She has been exonerated but talks of ‘terrible moment’ The Norwegian club Vålerenga have called for anti-doping regulations to be strengthened after an extraordinary case in which a player from their women’s team was found to have ingested a banned stimulant from rubber crumb in an artificial pitch. A seven-month saga concluded on Wednesday whe…

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! It is measure of just how much more shameless and obsequious Fifa has become under the presidency of Gianni Infantino that news of its decision to unsuspend Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal’s first two group games at next year’s Geopolitics World Cup has been greeted with little more than an amused, weary eye-roll at the brass neckery of it all. …

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Lars Sivertsen and Sam Dalling as Chelsea beat Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League, while Manchester City and Newcastle both lose Subscribe to The Guardian Football Weekly ► https://www.youtube.com/@FootballWeeklyPodcast?sub_confirmation=1 On the podcast today: should we be taking Chelsea more seriously? They dominated Barcelona at Stamford Bridge and…

Plan to sell first-pick games to one global streaming company failed and that offers pointers for the future Champagne corks were flying last Thursday after Uefa secured average annual increases of more than 20% in the value of its Champions League rights across its five biggest European markets, largely by luring the American entertainment company Paramount into the auction for the first time. P…