The Guardian

Dutch midfielder has rubbed shoulders with Messi, Neymar and Mbappé but is now making his own name For Xavi Simons, it felt like a point of no return. He and his Tottenham teammates had nothing more to lose. The FA Cup tie at home to Aston Villa on 10 January was going badly. Played off the park by Unai Emery’s team, they were booed off by their own fans at half-time. They were losing 2-0. Simons…

The Seahawks and Patriots are the last teams standing this season. The championship is likely to be decided by the smallest margins The Seattle Seahawks’ run game came alive during the second half of the season and postseason. But it’s still the passing game that makes the offense sing. Almost all of that flows through Smith-Njigba. Continue reading...

In February 2023 more than 100 charges were laid against the serial champions but we are still waiting for the verdict Exactly three years ago, 10 paragraphs on the Premier League website set the cat among the pigeons. Under the nondescript heading “ Premier League statement ”, football’s richest and most popular domestic competition announced unprecedented disciplinary charges against Manchester…

Head coach insists Ireland can close gap on top sides Champions France triumphed 36-14 in Paris Andy Farrell is confident Ireland can keep pace with Test rugby’s leading sides as he prepares to conduct a frank post-mortem into a resounding 36-14 Six Nations loss to reigning champions France. Farrell’s side were outclassed during Thursday evening’s one-sided tournament opener in Paris on the back …

⚽ All the latest news heading into the weekend’s action ⚽ Premier League: 10 things to look out for | Mail John Slot has praised Florian Wirtz, who has been in great form of late: “I think it’s all, first and foremost, always credit to the player because he has to do the work not only on the pitch, also in the gym. And then as a manager, even if he is maybe physically struggling a little bit in t…

• Milano Cortina Games to be opened on Friday evening • Schedule | Results | Medal table | Briefing | Get in touch Team GB’s doubles match with Sweden is underway in Cortina. Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds have won their first three matches of the round robin stage already. They can add two more today as they also play South Korea later. You can follow all of our Winter Olympics coverage in a dedicate…

The World Anti-Doping Agency is investigating whether ski jumpers were injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid in order to fly further In the quest for Olympic gold, professional athletes endure hardships that might seem unfathomable to most of us mere mortals. But do those lengths extend to ski jumpers injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid in order to fly further? That is the questio…

The duo from Tashkent took first and second prizes at the traditional Netherlands New Year tournament, while the favourites from India ended up near the bottom Nodirbek Abdusattorov added to his growing reputation as one of the world’s top players last weekend when the Uzbek grandmaster, 21, triumphed in the “chess Wimbledon” at Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee, with his compatriot Javokhir Sindarov a clo…

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37-year-old pips New England’s Drake Maye to award Myles Garrett is unanimous Defensive Player of Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba wins Offensive Player of Year Matthew Stafford walked away with the NFL ’s Most Valuable Player award and a declaration that he will return to the Los Angeles Rams for another season. Stafford edged Drake Maye for the MVP award on Thursday night in the closest race since Peyto…

With 13 clubs punished, Chengdu are the only Super League top six side that will start the upcoming new season on zero points, but China’s U23s and provincial sides are lifting spirits When Keir Starmer met Xi Jinping recently , reporters said the British prime minister was shocked at his Chinese counterpart calling Crystal Palace “Palace”, liking Manchester City and Arsenal and supporting Manche…

Team GB’s world champion will face off against China’s Eileen Gu for gold in Milano Cortina having conquered her fear of flying high above a 22-foot wall of ice As part of Zoe Atkin’s degree at Stanford University she is learning how the brain conquers fear. The Team GB freestyle skier is about to put theory into practice in one of the most dangerous – and dazzling – sports at the Winter Olympics…

As the winter transfer window closes, here are the patterns which have emerged across Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues Were there an Early Bird Award for prompt recruitment, Eintracht Frankfurt would be making space in their trophy cabinet. Before the transfer window even opened they had announced the signings of Younes Ebnoutalib and Keita Kosugi, reportedly for a combined £13m, while Ayoube Amaimoun…

Belichick left out despite building New England dynasty Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald among inductees Six-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Belichick was officially left out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026, likely opening the door to revisions in the selection process later this year. Still, the New England Patriots dynasty Belichick helped helm well into the 2000s earned partia…

Arsenal need energy from home crowd, Florian Wirtz has found his groove and Liam Rosenior deserves respect Daniel Farke is understood to have wanted a new goalkeeper during the January transfer window but the Leeds board failed to oblige. Might that decision ultimately cost the club their Premier League status? It will be interesting to see whether Farke recalls the recently dropped former Lyon g…