The Guardian

Undeniably strange and redolent of wider horrors at one remove, this was a groaning platter of geopolitics with a tiny little sprig of sport dusted across the top You could almost, almost have played it for laughs. If it wasn’t so bleak, or so profoundly unsettling. But then, this is Birmingham, so there does have to be some gallows humour buried in there. Either way an hour before kick-off on th…

Everton need more edge in attack, Potts lifts West Ham’s leaden midfield and Liverpool face a rampaging Haaland Premier League top scorers: the latest standings Time is running out for Richarlison. Injuries to Dominic Solanke and Randal Kolo Muani gave the Brazilian a consistent run in Thomas Frank’s starting XI but, with just one goal since the first league game of the season, he has not taken h…

The Norwegian’s goalscoring feats have become so vast they hardly need chronicling, but at least he’s now doing it with a smile With 27 minutes gone, and Manchester City 1-0 up, Erling Haaland did an extraordinary and also very funny thing. Strolling with feigned disinterest away from a free‑kick in the centre circle, Haaland turned, took the ball, and decided to run straight at the Borussia Dort…

17-year-old defender named in Australia squad for friendlies in US Irvine and McGree back from injury to face Venezuela and Colombia Tony Popovic has opened the door for a Socceroos World Cup selection shock by including 17-year-old fullback James Overy in the squad for two crucial friendlies later this month. The Manchester United youth player has trained with the first team at club level since …

Brown arrested in Dubai on Miami shooting charge Ex-NFL star accused of firing shots after fight Victim says bullet grazed his neck, per warrant Former NFL star Antonio Brown has been arrested on an attempted murder charge stemming from a shooting after a celebrity boxing event in Miami, police confirmed Thursday. Brown, 37, was taken into custody by US Marshals in Dubai, said Miami police spokes…

There was admirable efficiency about the way Roma dealt with this trip to Glasgow. Minimum of fuss. The team from Italy’s capital did, nonetheless, meet favourable opposition when placing their Europa League bid back on track. There was a glaring gulf in quality between Roma and a Rangers side which has now lost a club record seven European games in a row. To their credit, Rangers at least huffed…

Oliver Glasner spent the week arguing that Crystal Palace’s fixture congestion has made the FA Cup holders victims of their own success. So he will have been mightily relieved with the ease that his side dispatched AZ as an outstanding performance from Ismaïla Sarr reignited their Conference League campaign. The Senegal forward scored twice after Maxence Lacroix had given Palace the lead, even if…

Martin O’Neill’s side leak three first-half goals in 3-1 defeat Gibbs-White misses penalty as Forest held by Sturm Graz Celtic’s revival under Martin O’Neill came juddering to a halt in Jutland after they were beaten 3-1 by Midtjylland. The Hoops’ hopes of prolonging their Europa League campaign into the knockout stages suffered a major blow as the Danes hammered in three goals in eight first-hal…

McLaren driver leads overall standings by one point Piastri and Verstappen still in hunt with four races to go Lando Norris has acknowledged that he needs to be at the very top of his game to try to secure his first world championship, as the British driver heads into this weekend’s São Paulo Grand Prix with a narrow one-point lead over his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri. Norris had trailed Pias…

Premier League’s bottom club to make official approach Championship club are reluctant to lose head coach Wolves are to make an official approach to Middlesbrough to make Rob Edwards their next head coach. The Premier League’s bottom club are long-standing admirers of Edwards, previously a player and coach at the club. Boro are reluctant to lose Edwards, who joined the Riverside club on a three-y…

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! When María Corina Machado won this year’s Nobel peace prize for her “tireless work promoting democratic rights”, Donald Trump took the news as Maga-nanimously as you might expect. Having tirelessly run a campaign of self-promotion to ensure he won it himself, the president of the USA USA USA immediately claimed the credit for the Venezuelan oppo…

Team has not released cause of player’s death Kneeland had scored first career touchdown on Monday The Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland has died at the age of 24, the team announced on Thursday. “It is with extreme sadness that the Dallas Cowboys share that Marshawn Kneeland tragically passed away this morning. Marshawn was a beloved teammate and member of our organization. Our thou…

Australia’s talisman, likened to LeBron James, has left lasting legacy in Ashes series amid gloom of sport’s future The debrief is yet to begin over the failure of England’s Ashes campaign both on and off the field, and just how big a missed opportunity the last few weeks could prove to be for the game in this country. But amid all the gloom, there has been an unlikely beacon of hope for the spor…

Fly-half was not involved in heartbreaking quarter-final loss two years ago but is optimistic Les Bleus can enact revenge against South Africa – even without Antoine Dupont Romain Ntamack was not on the pitch when Les Bleus last met South Africa just over two years ago, having been denied a starring role at the home World Cup by a knee ligament injury the previous summer. The Toulouse fly-half wa…

More than 20 units responded to fire at coach’s home No injuries reported as fire crews contain flame The home of Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was heavily damaged on Thursday morning by a massive fire, officials have said. There were no immediate reports of any injuries and Spoelstra was not home when the fire started. Miami-Dade County fire officials said the blaze was reported around 4.30am.…