The Guardian

Michael Carrick had seen it in his players, he said, but no one else can. Not so far this season, where they have suffered their worst start in 40 years, and not here in Madrid where Manchester United’s manager insisted that they would embrace the challenge . The reaction was coming, he said; he was sure of it. Instead, they were a goal down after just 53 seconds and another defeat did. That earl…

Twelve wins in a row and counting. On a night when Arsenal remembered Ken Friar – the club’s life president who was instrumental in their move from Highbury to the Emirates in 2006, it was fitting that Mikel ­Arteta’s side should rack up yet another Champions League milestone at their home that has become a fortress. Such has Arsenal’s dominance been here in recent seasons that when Bukayo Saka s…

Former QB fought with 69-year-old last October Fox Sports parted ways with Sanchez over incident Sanchez was charged over Indianapolis confrontation Former NFL quarterback and Fox Sports analyst Mark Sanchez has reached an agreement in principle with the truck driver who stabbed him during an altercation last October, according to the Athletic . Sanchez was stabbed and pepper sprayed by Perry Tol…

Game 3 moved up a day to avoid conflict Dream to host at 17,000-seat State Farm Arena Potential Game 6 venue remains uncertain The WNBA has moved up Game 3 of the finals by a day so the Atlanta Dream can host the Golden State Valkyries at State Farm Arena. The league has also moved up the tipoff time for Game 4 of the best-of-seven series. Game 3 will now take place on Wednesday 21 October. Game …

Playoff semi-final second leg: England 5-0 Greece (agg 8-1) Goalscorers: Russo 3 75, James 16 34, Stanway 30 A mercurial Lauren James scored two and provided an assist in a thrilling four-goal first 45 minutes against Greece, as England put themselves two games away from securing their place at the World Cup. James’s double was matched by Alessia Russo, who scored either side of the break, and he…

Ruth Chepngetich’s failed doping test, five months after she obliterated the record in 2024, left the sport deeply uneasy but powerless to act When Ruth Chepngetich annihilated the women’s marathon world record in Chicago two years ago today, NBC’s commentators compared it to the moon landing . “Bring it on Neil Armstrong!” cried one. “She has done things in this sport that we have not seen,” sai…

Bethell returns after injury; Carse frozen out Four-week trip includes 3 ODIs and 5 T20s Eighteen-year-old Thomas Rew has earned his maiden call-up for England after being selected for the white-ball tour of Australia next month. Jacob Bethell is also fit to return after a knee injury but Brydon Carse remains frozen out. Coming after the upcoming tri-series in Pakistan, the four-week trip feature…

Rivals lining up to position as potential replacements Afcon tournament expected to return to biennial cycle Patrice Motsepe’s leadership of the Confederation of African Football (Caf) is under growing pressure, with officials from across the continent warning they have lost trust in the president and rivals including Samuel Eto’o positioning themselves potentially to replace him. A return to a b…

Richardson ‘disappointed’ to miss world championships ‘I understand the seriousness of what has been raised’ Matt Richardson has promised to cooperate with a British Cycling investigation into allegations of serious misconduct after he was withdrawn from this week’s World Track Cycling Championships in Shanghai. In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Richardson said that he understood the seriousness o…

Bristol winger: ‘Someone do something about it!’ Pat Lam left three players out because of the pitch Louis Rees-Zammit has called for an end to artificial pitches in the Prem after posting a graphic image of the wounds he sustained during Bristol’s defeat at Saracens’ StoneX Stadium last Saturday. The Wales winger revealed the extent of the friction burns caused to his right leg after running out…

Kogan says he has faced ‘absolutely no political pressure’ Regulator wants deal on redistribution through leagues The chair of the Independent Football Regulator (IFR), David Kogan, has said he will resign if he faces any political pressure on how to respond to Manchester City being found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules over a nine-year period , insisting “my independence is ab…

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! After years of circling the drain, Coventry City didn’t so much drop out of the Premier League 25 years ago as face-plant through its floorboards in slapstick style. In the intervening period, they endured their first experience of the fourth tier and were forced to live as tenants in their own city, before suffering the indignity of having to g…

A handful of increasingly competitive teams are expected to at least provide intrigue in what is likely to be the best tournament the sport has witnessed Critics will dismiss the men’s Rugby League World Cup as a provincial oddity, or a forgettable postscript to a long NRL season. Worse, they will question its legitimacy. A “world” cup, they will taunt, pointing to participants hailing exclusivel…

Exclusive: Gambling firm working with AFL ‘on the evolving use of AI in our content’ as it deletes video depicting Lachie Neale saying ‘I want to thank me for believing in me’ Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The AFL has told its official gambling partner, Sportsbet, to stop featuring its high-profile athletes in AI-generated social media content without their permissi…

After every stunning Scott Boland performance of recent years, many of them in place of an injured Josh Hazlewood, a reasonable question does the rounds: why isn’t Boland the automatic pick in the Test side, and why does Hazlewood take precedence when fit? In truth, Hazlewood has given a dozen years of answers, but the fifth day of the Durban Test allowed him to provide one more reminder with a c…