The Guardian

Roberto De Zerbi could only watch in stunned silence. The Italian had been a crucible of emotions as Tottenham tried to hold out against his former club after Xavi Simons scored the goal that looked like ending their long wait for a victory. But football is capable of providing the cruellest twists and Georginio Rutter’s late equaliser must have felt like a dagger to the heart for the Spurs fans.…

Now Guardiola has granted his players freedom to improvise, it’s the Gunners’ manager who is the stickler for blueprint over instinct At half-time in the Carabao Cup final , Arsenal’s hopes of a quadruple remained strong. They were unbeaten in 14, 11 of them won. They were drawing 0-0 against Manchester City and it wasn’t unreasonable to think that if the second half carried on as the first half …

Iceland 0-1 England Russo’s first-half goal keeps Lionesses on track for tournament Snow-capped mountains provided an idyllic backdrop to a less impressive performance, but England’s 1-0 win over Iceland ensured they maintained a three-point gap over Spain in their bid to earn an automatic place in the 2027 World Cup. Only the four League A teams who top their groups will avoid the playoffs and q…

Bournemouth score late winner for 2-1 victory ‘Recently we’ve become too easy to beat’ Eddie Howe insisted his self-belief remained intact and unshakeable after watching Newcastle sustain an eighth defeat in their last 11 Premier League matches. “My belief in myself can’t waiver and it’s not,” said Newcastle’s manager after Bournemouth’s 2-1 win at St James’ Park. It was a fourth straight reverse…

⚽️ Premier League updates from the 8pm BST kick-off ⚽ Live scores | Tables | Top scorers | Follow on Bluesky Pop quiz, hotshot: name the last time fixture between Chelsea and Manchester United in which both managers were English? The answer is 28 September 1986, when Kerry Dixon scored the only goal for John Hollins’ Chelsea and Ron Atkinson’s United missed two penalties. United stayed 21st in th…

Exeter 28-35 Northampton Teams share nine tries in high-scoring contest Spring is here, the pitches are firming up and the playoff race is intensifying. As dramatic finishes go this was right up there with both Northampton and Exeter believing they had the game won at different moments. In the end the decisive thrust came from the Saints via a last-minute try from the England fly-half Fin Smith w…

The ink is not dry yet, but the mood around Elland Road on this springtime Saturday afternoon perhaps told you that what many have started to truly believe over the last few days could soon become official. There have been some wobbles throughout Leeds’ return to the Premier League, not least prior to this season-defining week, when a run of six games without a win had threatened to suck Daniel F…

Exeter’s Jack Bycroft levels against Stockport to lift Cardiff Bromley promoted from League Two after Notts County lose Cardiff are celebrating an instant return to the Championship after results in the League One promotion race favoured the Welsh club, while Bromley have been promoted from League Two without playing. After Bradford and Bolton were held to draws in Saturday’s early games, Cardiff…

Female coach’s Bundesliga side lose 2-1 to Wolfsburg Milan’s Allegri not interested in vacant Italy job Marie-Louise Eta’s landmark first match as interim head coach of Union Berlin ended in a 2-1 Bundesliga defeat at home to relegation-threatened Wolfsburg . The 34-year-old Eta made history on Saturday when she became the first woman to take charge of a men’s team in one of the top five European…

Defeat leaves Foxes five points off safety with three games left Oxford stay 22nd after 1-0 loss at Derby; Millwall 2-0 QPR Ibane Bowat’s second-half goal was enough to lead Portsmouth to a vital 1-0 win at home to their relegation rivals Leicester as the Foxes plunged a huge step closer to League One. The substitute Bowat’s scruffy 63rd-minute strike from a corner earned Pompey a third straight …

Scotland 7-84 England Red Roses in unstoppable mood at Murrayfield The fortress walls of Murrayfield were finally at Scotland women’s disposal for their first standalone game at the stadium but England rocked its foundations with a statement performance that left fans questioning if the world champions had injury issues at all. The 30,498 crowd was a record attendance for a women’s solo sporting …

The grind to Europe continues for Brentford. A goalless west London derby with Fulham made it five league draws in succession for Keith Andrews’ side, the chance to go within touching distance of Liverpool squandered. The saviour for Fulham was Bernd Leno with a staggering reflex save in the final minute of regular time, tipping over Dango Ouattara’s close-range effort. Calvin Bassey, the hulking…

Manager goes into Sunday’s showdown with Arsenal as a subplot bubbles regarding whether this is a farewell title tilt Manchester City versus Arsenal on Sunday is a showdown for the ages. Second hosting first at what is likely to be a febrile Etihad Stadium might well be scripted by a Hollywood studio. Enter Pep Guardiola and the box‑office subplot of whether this could be his swansong season and,…

Champion-in-waiting can extend his prize money record He has had a winner at 39 of 41 jumps tracks this season Dan Skelton is already certain to be crowned the UK’s champion trainer over jumps for the first time this season, but still has a few remaining targets in the final days of what is already a record-breaking campaign. Skelton became the first trainer to reach £4m in prize money in a Briti…

The Blues’ star talks candidly about treatment-room frustrations, transfer talk and how he’s learned to love living down south There are two sides to Cole Palmer. There is the shy character who can fool you into thinking he has nothing much to say for himself. On the other hand there’s the artist with the ball at his feet. The player with the “Ice Cold” celebration copied by kids in playgrounds e…