The Guardian

Littler’s title defence ends in 2-1 first-round loss Michael van Gerwen also crashes out of last 32 Luke Littler suffered a 2-1 defeat to Luke Woodhouse on his return to the oche as the defence of his World Grand Prix title ended at the first hurdle. The world No 1 was aiming to bounce back from his quarter-final exit to Jonny Clayton in the World Series of Darts in Amsterdam a week ago. Littler …

Manchester City have come out fighting against the guilty verdict but the Premier League faces questions of its own Nothing is over, nothing is done. Or at least not judging by the bravura, balls-out confidence of Manchester City’s chair, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, who remains convinced the past three days of whiplash are simply the drumroll before the big reveal, prelude to some clinching piece of evi…

New Scotland manager says midfielder ‘has to take risks’ Players warned they need consistent game time for clubs Sébastien Pocognoli hopes a “smiling” Billy Gilmour will be central to Scotland’s hopes of improvement following a bruising World Cup. Gilmour excelled in the second half on Saturday, as Pocognoli’s debut as manager ended in a goalless away draw against Slovenia in the Nations League .…

US manager says finding right punishment is ‘really hard’ Man City found guilty of majority of 100-plus charges Sign up for our free newsletter here US men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino expressed dismay at news of Manchester City being found guilty of widespread financial improprieties on Monday, saying that fans “lived through a period of deception” because of City’s rule breach…

Fifa president says: ‘The ambition is welcome’ Infantino mounts fresh defence of failed FFE scheme The Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, is poised to bow to demands from Uefa and Concacaf to distribute more money from its $6bn cash reserves to member associations. In a letter sent on Monday to all six confederation presidents and copied to members of the Fifa council, Infantino indicated his will…

Belgium 0-1 France, Turkey 1-4 Italy, Sweden 3-1 Poland Northern Ireland left frustrated by Hungary stalemate Michael Olise’s magnificent late strike gave France a 1-0 Nations League victory over Belgium in Brussels, as Zinedine Zidane made it two wins out of two since being named as the new head coach. Olise came off the bench late on with the game goalless, and set off from inside his own half …

Ferran Soriano tells European clubs City will fight verdict Premier League clubs complain of ‘void’ over timeline A number of Premier League clubs are pushing for the Manchester City verdict to be published as soon as possible, with the club digging in for a long battle to clear their name. City’s chief executive, Ferran Soriano, told a meeting of the European Football Clubs board on Monday that …

‘We defended well [v Spain] but had individual mistakes’ Nico O’Reilly and Ezri Konsa are injury doubts for match Thomas Tuchel will resist making drastic changes to his defence despite England going six games without a clean sheet before facing Czechia in the Nations League on Tuesday. Although Tuchel acknowledged that his side were a “danger to ourselves” when they lost 3-2 against Spain last S…

It may not be the official best race in the world but winning at Longchamp still confers a status little else can match When France-Galop announced in June that geldings will be allowed to run in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe from 2027, there was an underlying sense that action was needed to maintain the race’s status as Europe’s showpiece event. The Arc was officially the World’s Best Horse Race…

Minnesota will receive fifth-round pick for quarterback McCarthy was first-round selection for Vikings in 2024 The New York Giants have acquired quarterback JJ McCarthy from the Minnesota Vikings for a 2027 fifth-round draft pick. The Vikings announced the trade on Monday pending McCarthy passing a physical. Continue reading...

Friday’s verdict against Manchester City will change everything we understood about their Premier League title triumphs Welcome, then, to the age of asterisk. Whatever punishment Manchester City and their owners receive at the end of this process, the fact remains, everything is tainted now. Overturn the tables, scatter the gold coins. Throw your medals in the bin. You cheated to win them. Whatev…

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! Football Daily wasn’t alone in spending the weekend wondering if we might have a legal case against Manchester City, while pondering what fiscal value we’d put on the mild disappointment of seeing our team lose the 2014 Fizzy (nee Credit Card) Cup final to a team since found guilty of cheating. Elsewhere, Tony Pulis has made it clear he wants th…

Chopping and changing the back four has been a big feature for England this year and the Real Madrid man could be a solution England ended 2025 protected by a shield of deceptive strength. They went through qualifying for the World Cup without conceding a goal and secured a shutout during a routine friendly win against Wales. However, clean sheets have been harder to come by this year. England ha…

Franchise tournament remains an enigma after an unexpectedly dramatic men’s international summer and a thrilling Championship title race After pumping astronomical sums of money into English cricket, the headline act of the summer should probably have been the Hundred’s rebirth under private ownership. After all, the decks were relatively clear. There was no Ashes series or Indian arm-wrestle in …

Cincinnati’s unbeaten start ends in Pittsburgh Drake Maye’s turnover woes continue for Pats Lamar Jackson completed a 27-yard pass to Zay Flowers and alertly called a timeout with one second left, setting up Tyler Loop’s 56-yard field goal to cap a stunning seven-second drive that gave the Baltimore Ravens (2-1) victory over the Dallas Cowboys (1-2) in Brazil. The Ravens and Cowboys put on a ente…