The Guardian

Could an Arsenal win in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final begin the passing of the torch from Pep Guardiola to Mikel Arteta? The Anglo-Scottish Cup, which had a brief and never particularly beloved life between 1975-76 and 1980-81, always struggled to find a place in the calendar. In its second season, the two legs of the final had to be squeezed into 48 hours, Nottingham Forest drawing 1-1 away at Leyt…

Osaka admits to ‘dilemma’ after loss to Talia Gibson Norrie, Boulter and Jones all out to end British hopes Naomi Osaka has said she does not intend to continue competing if she frequently loses in first round matches after suffering a disappointing 7-5, 6-4 defeat to Australia’s Talia Gibson in her opening match of the Miami Open. Osaka, who received a first-round bye as the 16th seed in Miami, …

Ben Ainslie and Ineos ended partnership last year Statement says boat used in 2024 ‘belongs to Ineos’ Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group is taking legal action against Sir Ben Ainslie over the boat built for the 2024 America’s Cup. Ratcliffe and Ainslie worked closely together across two cycles of the famous sailing competition, culminating in a historic but ultimately unsuccessful challenge for the…

Supporters of national side struggle to come to terms with decision to declare Morocco the winner of Africa Cup of Nations Two days after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) stripped Senegal of its 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title and instead declared the host nation, Morocco, champions, Alhassan Hann remains in shock. “We didn’t expect this at all,” the 23-year-old Dakar university stude…

Ruling of the Caf appeals committee is against the laws of the game and casts another shadow over Motsepe’s stewardship as president In more than three decades of reporting on African football, I have gone through the entire gamut of emotions: exhilaration over some of the continent’s great moments at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) and World Cup; frustration over the errors its governors make;…

Having lapped its rivals in the US landscape, the most powerful American sports league is pushing for supersonic expansion of its calendar and its geography “Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. And they’re getting hoggy.” When Mark Cuban, then owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, fired that line at the NFL in 2014, he was partly goading and partly gloating. It felt directionally true. The NFL loo…

The former England opener explains how ‘a little boy from the poor side of south-east London’ made it to the top By Wisden Cricket Monthly Born in Croydon to parents who had emigrated from the Caribbean, Michael Carberry grew up in a cricket-obsessed household, dreaming of one day playing for England. Before he hit his teens he had been scouted by Surrey. He worked his way up through the ranks at…

Josh Kerr and Georgia Hunter Bell are also among the medal contenders making up a strong British team in Poland Due to a fault in their plane’s GPS, the British team for the world indoor championships arrived at their hotel in Torun late on Wednesday night. Perhaps they should have asked Keely Hodgkinson to guide them. After all, she knows this place better than most, and she is absolutely locked…

Leader of Arsenal’s defence ‘gives everything for the badge’ and hopes to shut out Manchester City at Wembley There have been countless examples but if one action epitomised Gabriel Magalhães’s commitment to the cause it came against Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of Arsenal’s Champions League tie in Germany last week. Jarell Quansah’s shot was heading like a rocket towards David Raya’s goal u…

The desperation of television executives to get as much football on screens caused this match to be moved to 8pm on a Saturday night, but it was certainly not prime-time viewing. Leeds and Brentford played out a goalless draw so devoid of interest and entertainment that even those who tuned into Mrs Brown’s Boys on BBC Three will feel smug for avoiding it. There was barely a chance of note as Lee…

Car disqualified for using more than six sets of tyres Verstappen intends to race in 24 Hours of Nürburgring Max Verstappen took a break from a frustrating Formula One season by driving in a four-hour race at the Nürburgring in Germany on Saturday where he won only to be disqualified. The Dutch four-time Formula One champion has said he plans to race in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in May. Continu…

A barren run against Sunderland should provide added motivation after crushing loss in Barcelona amid awkward questions off the pitch Almost two decades have passed since Newcastle’s former owner, Mike Ashley, celebrated a Tyne-Wear derby win by gathering a group of club employees together and leading a conga into the St James’ Park boardroom. Sunderland’s then chair, Niall Quinn, and his fellow …

The Premier League may have treated Chelsea lightly for cheating over a seven year period but Everton left them battered and bruised, and Liam Rosenior in a whole world of trouble, with a resounding victory at a raucous Hill Dickinson Stadium. Two goals from Beto and a brilliant finish from Iliman Ndiaye delivered Everton’s biggest win over Chelsea since 1987 and capped their new home’s finest oc…

Manager defends club’s spending record in dig at critics ‘We need to make sure we qualify for Champions League’ Arne Slot has defended Liverpool’s spending record but admitted the pressure was now on to qualify for the Champions League. Their chances of making the top five – likely enough to qualify – took a significant hit after they lost 2-1 at Brighton in what has been a disastrous season in t…

Kerr wins final in a time of 7min 35.56sec Scot holds off Hocker and Schrub to regain title After the injuries and the trash talk, Britain’s Josh Kerr delivered where it mattered most on Saturday night by winning a thrilling 3,000m world indoor title with a last-lap surge. It had been billed as the race of the championships, with all three 1500m medallists from the Paris 2024 Olympics going mano …