The Guardian

The German has twice come close to the sack but has led team towards safety and first FA Cup semi since 1987 The crate was crammed with bottles but Daniel Farke made light work of hoisting it on to a table and inviting everyone to help themselves. It was a little after 10.30 one night in April last year, an already-promoted Leeds had just beaten Bristol City, and the manager was offering journali…

County Championship news from around the grounds Sign up for The Spin email | Mail Tanya or post BTL Good morning! There’s a queue outside the Hobbs Gate already. A huddle of caps and picnic bags in sight of the red-brick Surrey pavilion adorned with giant pictures of Rory Burns and Bryony Smith. It’s a happy sight this sunny morning. Play starts here at The Oval, and around all the grounds at 11…

⚽ News, discussion and buildup before the day’s action ⚽ Sunderland 0-5 Nottm Forest | Fixtures | Mail us here So, my question to you today… Who will be the final team to get relegated? Wolves and Burnley are already down, and following last night’s match it now looks like it’s between West Ham and Tottenham. What do we think? Continue reading...

In the end it doesn’t matter if you prefer the IPL or red-ball cricket, or which is better. The war is over April is the cruellest month, Breeding likes on the feed (nets with Virat). Continue reading...

Canada forward broke the £1m transfer barrier and now eyes Sunday’s semi-final first leg against Lyon Olivia Smith is tentatively laying down roots but remains alert to the changes that can be produced by football. The 21-year-old Arsenal forward, who has nine goals and three assists in her first season in north London, has lived a nomadic football life, driven by a desire to continuously improve…

The prodigious growth of running clubs, fuelled by young women, has seen the popularity of the event sky-rocket There is always magic in the air on a London Marathon morning. But this year the event promises to dazzle and soar more than ever. A world-record 59,000 people will take part in Sunday’s race, raising close to £100m for charity while swallowing 93,024 Lucozade gels from Greenwich to the…

A century on from the first tournament in London, the table tennis world championships are back – with a fascinating history attached The way Wang Chuqin plays, ping-pong is a physical impossibility. By the time you made it to the end of the first two words of that sentence, Chuqin, the men’s world No 1, has seen the ball, calculated its speed, direction, and height, judged whether it is travelli…

James’ late three-pointer forces overtime in win Lakers can complete sweep in Houston on Sunday LeBron James scored 29 points, including a tying three-pointer with 13 seconds left in regulation, Marcus Smart had eight points in overtime and the Los Angeles Lakers took advantage of a Houston Rockets team missing Kevin Durant for a 112-108 win Friday night to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conferen…

Minnesota add extra third-round picks in deal Eagles sign edge rusher to $100m extension Move signals Vikings’ long-term roster reset Once considered a potential top pick, Carson Beck became the first player selected in the third round of the NFL draft as a busy second night featured a flurry of defensive selections and a notable veteran trade. The Arizona Cardinals took the polarizing Miami quar…

Late leveller is fresh blow to Madrid’s faint title hopes RB Leipzig’s 3-1 win is marred by online sexism row Héctor Bellerín struck deep into stoppage time to earn Real Betis a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid on Friday, dealing another blow to the visitors’ fading title hopes. Álvaro Arbeloa’s side appeared on course for a narrow win after taking the lead in the 17th minute. Federico Valverde let f…

Vítor Pereira had promised Nottingham Forest would approach this assignment with a “Champions League mentality” and his players did not disappoint him. A fabulous attacking performance not merely succeeded in ruining Sunderland’s lingering European ambitions but also lifted 16th-placed Forest to 39 points. That is within touching distance of safety and given Pereira’s team are now six points clea…

Fans of both sides are feeling similar levels of stress at different ends of the Premier League table Zadie Smith once wrote that “the square mile around Arsenal’s stadium could be a suitable surrogate for the whole wide world”. Perhaps you only really glimpse this on a match day, when the jerk chicken grills and paella pans fire up and belch delicious smoke across the rows of terraced houses, wh…

No stone has been left unturned in Arsenal’s search for success but the manager must find a way of inspiring his team to play with freedom Despite all the gimmicks, Mikel Arteta is still searching for answers. The Arsenal manager’s latest innovation involved lighting a fire at their London Colney training ground last week in the buildup to facing Manchester City, although that resulted only in th…

Here’s how to follow along with our coverage – the finest writing and up-to-the-minute reports Continue reading...

Young coach fills void again and hope must be he can show tactical nous that earned a point against Manchester City Given Chelsea supporters are pining for the old days, perhaps they can cheer themselves up by remembering glorious runs from some of the club’s previous interim managers, although whether Calum McFarlane is capable of emulating the likes of Guus Hiddink, Roberto Di Matteo and Rafael…