The Guardian

Arsenal condemned a broken Leicester to a bottom-place finish in the WSL and kept the pressure on Manchester City at the top with a dominant win. Two goals each from Sweden’s Smilla Holmberg and Stina Blackstenius and one apiece from Frida Maanum, Mariona Caldentey and Leah Williamson, helped Arsenal reduce their goal-difference deficit with the league leaders from 13 to six. “I’m so happy,” said…

Madrid’s manic man in black is the personification of the club’s longing to be back in the Champions League final Diego Simeone had patrolled the touchline all in black, heart racing and arms waving, applying all the pressure he could, seeking to impart his justice, as Danny Makkelie went to the pitchside monitor to make the decision that could have decided this game. Now, as the referee crossed …

Sunday’s landmark in London was not only unexpected, dramatic and historic – it was a once-in-a-generation moment A few years ago at the London Marathon, organisers wheeled out an industrial-sized treadmill called the Tumbleator. Then they tempted curious onlookers with a simple question: can you keep up with Eliud Kipchoge? The answer was obvious. But that didn’t stop people trying. Most lasted …

Run of five defeats could lead to awkward queries this week, including why £124m of attacking talent is being underused Eddie Howe is braced for forensic questioning by Newcastle’s Saudi Arabian owners at a Northumberland country house hotel in the middle of this week. Matfen Hall sells itself as a venue for rest and relaxation but Newcastle’s struggling manager knows that, with his future at St …

Our cartoonist on BlueCo’s ‘self-reflection’ as another normal week ended with a place in the FA Cup final Buy this cartoon here | His favourites from 2025 And his latest book, Chaos in the Box: get it now Continue reading...

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! While a match-up between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain would almost certainly be most neutrals’ Bigger Cup final of choice, the major benefit of these two European heavyweights meeting in the semi-finals is that we get to watch them do it all again next week. While Football Daily has occasionally felt first-world resentment at being forc…

Aerial ability of Saracens’ Noah Caluori helps to make him another dream player for rugby union’s marketers As Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe crossed the line to complete his world-record London Marathon sprint on Sunday the BBC’s commentator Steve Cram almost swallowed his microphone. “Absolutely incredible. I’ve never seen anything like that. What a finish.” Running 26.2 miles in under two hours is cer…

The Brighton and Nigeria goalkeeper is highly critical of the decision to push back Wafcon, but still has hope for the future of the women’s game in Africa Chiamaka Nnadozie has, at the age of 25, earned her place in the pantheon of African goalkeepers alongside legends such as Cameroon’s Thomas N’Kono and Morocco’s Zaki Badou. Nnadozie featured at her first World Cup finals for Nigeria at 18, th…

Plus: dramatic late drops into the relegation zone, the Italia 90 XI and teams wearing away kits in finals Mail us with your all of your questions and answers “York City won the National League, and achieved promotion to the EFL, thanks to a goal from Josh Stones in the 103rd minute of their final game,” writes Eddie Giles. “Which players have scored the latest title-winning goals?” In case you’v…

It was a see-saw tie. And if it lacked the beauty of Paris Saint-Germain versus Bayern Munich in the other Champions League semi-final, first-leg from Tuesday night, it still had drama; knife-edge tension. It was a tale of three penalties, two scored, one by either team; the award of the last one rescinded amid wild scenes. That had stood to give Arsenal the opportunity to take a 2-1 lead to Lond…

LIV staring at closure in absence of alternative funds Leading names expected to eye return to main tours LIV Golf executives are poised to confirm to players that Saudi Arabia’s funding of the circuit will cease at the end of 2026, in a move that will begin a scramble between some leading names in the sport to return to traditional tours. Without an alternative and unlikely funding source from 2…

Manager has helped players rediscover their form and they want to repay him with a fitting farewell in Europe It’s an occasion Crystal Palace supporters have waited a lifetime for. Around 6,000 are expected to make the pilgrimage to southern Poland for the first leg of their Conference League semi-final against Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday evening, with many travelling in expectation of eventuall…

The Premier League isn’t as fun and fizzy as PSG v Bayern but that’s the price of the twice-weekly churn that rewards discipline and sacrifice In the novel Rabbit, Run , John Updike has one of his characters, a groovy and progressive 1960s priest, calling round to talk to his fellow minister, a hard German Lutheran, about the secret doubts he harbours about his faith. Is the doctrine really neces…

Former world No 4’s knee problem follows arm injury Draper says it is ‘gutting’ to miss Roland Garros Britain’s Jack Draper has been ruled out of the French Open with a knee injury. It is another blow in the former world No 4’s attempts to re-establish himself following the long-term arm injury that ruled him out for the best part of eight months. Draper has managed just nine matches across five …

Ukrainian has not played since November 2024 Cas confirms appeal by Mudryk against the FA The Chelsea forward Mykhailo Mudryk has appealed to the court of arbitration for sport after he received a reported four-year playing ban from the Football Association for the use of banned substances. Mudryk has not played a competitive match for the Blues since November 2024 after he failed a drugs test wh…