The Guardian

Liverpool need midfield nous, Michael Carrick is already under pressure and Villa can bid farewell to Enzi Konsa Enzo Maresca has a shiny new £85m midfielder he could select for a debut but, at 18 years old, he may want Ayyoub Bouaddi to have a bit of time watching on from the bench to learn about the Premier League from his elders. The Moroccan may not have anticipated one of those to be a centr…

Fast bowler is one wicket away from a target eight years in the making after another display of consistency Halfway through the afternoon session, as drinks were taken after the completion of his 10th over, Mohammad Abbas waved at the Pakistan dressing room and beckoned on their physios. When they reached him he gestured at his right buttock and lay on his front while they worked extensively on h…

Jo Potter’s side charged to promotion and have brought in striker Bethany England as they bid to stay up Guardian writers’ predicted position: 13th (NB: this is not necessarily Sophie Downey’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips) Last season’s position: 2nd (WSL2) Continue reading...

LA star brands stunts as attempts to ‘stay relevant’ Brink defends trans community in face of attacks Opinion: Kanter is using his freedom to punch down Los Angeles Sparks star Cameron Brink has called former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom a “stupid piece of shit” who is “trying to stay relevant”, in the most vocal statement by an active player about Kanter Freedom’s recent actions involving the …

Cricket is a brutal game – you are basically being judged all the time. It’s no wonder players seek out ways of coping I once played with a young cricketer who would physically harm himself when he didn’t score enough runs. I won’t go into the detail of how because that isn’t really the point. The point is that a young professional cricketer had reached a place where getting out in a game of cric…

Our cartoonist looks back at the big storylines and fresh looks as the English top flight swung back into action Buy this cartoon | Some of David’s favourite works And his latest book, Chaos in the Box: get it now Continue reading...

World No 10 is one of the best players yet to win a major and heads to Flushing Meadows in fine form after learning to embrace being uncomfortable Amanda Anisimova can see the signs now. It is just over three years since the American announced she would be taking an indefinite break for mental health reasons. A brilliant junior, she was a semi-finalist at the French Open in 2019 and seemingly des…

British No 2 looks back on ‘Fery-tale’ after dealing with injury and shares his ranking goals before US Open debut “I was around 300 in the world and still really struggling with my arm,” Arthur Fery says as he explains how life has changed from this time last year when, after his shock appearance in the Wimbledon semi-finals, he rose to No 36 in the rankings. His run of five victories , which pr…

After a split from the men’s team, CEO Hannah Buckley is overseeing an ambitious rebuild with WSL promotion firmly in sight As radiant, August sunshine glistens around a peacefully silent Ashton Gate before Bristol City Women’s pre-season media day, Hannah Buckley takes a seat, pitch side, with a gleam in her eye, surveying the scene. The sight of a top-class venue makes her beam in a way that pe…

Dom Bess is one of many in a long line of England spinners to struggle for a sustained run in Test cricket. Why is there no lasting solution? It is the eighth over of South Africa’s first innings in Gqeberha in January 2020 when Joe Root tosses the ball to 22-year-old Dom Bess. Three overs later, the decision pays off. With the final ball before drinks, Bess takes a return catch to dismiss Pieter…

Miguel Ángel Gil Marín accuses Barça of ‘dishonesty’ Arsenal have also been linked with Argentina forward Atlético Madrid’s chief executive appeared to slam the door on Barcelona’s pursuit of Júlian Alvarez on Thursday. Miguel Ángel Gil Marín accused the Catalan club of dishonesty and insisted the Argentina forward would “never, ever” be sold to them. Speaking to Spanish broadcaster Movistar Plus…

Super League: Wigan Warriors 46-0 Hull KR Liam Marshall bags hat-trick of tries in rout On the night when Wigan Warriors celebrated one of their greatest entertainers, perhaps it was fitting that Matt Peet’s class of 2026 produced a performance Sir Billy Boston would have been proud of on their charge, potentially, towards another Super League title. There are some nights where the result is dwar…

Dos Santos and Russell smash hurdles world records Werro comes within 0.42sec of 800m world record Bednarek and Wanyonyi clock world-leading times Masai Russell and Alison Dos Santos each set a world record while Mondo Duplantis won a historic pole vault on a frenetic Thursday night in Zurich. The Letzigrund Stadium had a raucous sell-out 25,000 crowd and the still, balmy weather conditions helpe…

Fulham’s second London derby this week, a first competitive win for Álvaro Arbeloa. If AFC Wimbledon represent a different echelon to Chelsea, Monday’s visitors, Thursday’s easy progress to the third round supplied a number of reasons for optimism in the new regime. Marco Silva, Arbeloa’s predecessor, frequently offered sullen dismissal of the depth of his Fulham squad but actually left behind pl…

Wantaway Enzo Fernández left out of Carabao Cup tie Villa sign Germany midfielder Leon Goretzka on free Chelsea have agreed a £7.5m deal to sign the Aston Villa goalkeeper ­Emiliano Martínez and are expecting Manchester City to make an offer for Enzo Fernández in the next 48 hours. Xabi Alonso identified the ­signing of a goalkeeper as a priority after ­Robert Sánchez struggled against Fulham on …