The Guardian

Australia’s superior basics have shattered expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlight Brendon McCullum hated the term Bazball from the moment it entered the lexicon, deeming it to be reductive and perhaps knowing how it might be weaponised down the line. Now, 2-0 down in an away Ashes series that began with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes. But McCullu…

Handing the Egyptian a contract extension while also bringing about a new identity has backfired terribly Sign up for Soccer with Jonathan Wilson here There is perhaps nothing in a career as hard as the leaving of it. Unless something utterly remarkable happens, Mohamed Salah has played his last game for Liverpool. Left out of the starting lineup for each of the last three matches, he trained on …

Hosts were shown five cards in 38 seconds before Williot Swedberg delivered the coup de grace that left them bereft Sunday night’s final scene at the Santiago Bernabéu was the way a final scene should be. Like something from a war film or a western, a heist movie or the truest romance, Williot Swedberg just walked calmly through the chaos and the noise, nothing the defeated could do now. Some had…

Wales could meet Canada at World Cup after playoffs Bellamy riled by Jesse Marsch’s high fives in September Craig Bellamy has revived his feud with Jesse Marsch after Wales were put on the same World Cup path as co-hosts Canada. Bellamy felt slighted by Marsch and his staff celebrating with touchline high fives before the final whistle sounded on Canada’s 1-0 September friendly victory in Swansea…

Captain says his dressing room ‘isn’t a place for weak men’ Coach McCullum says England were ‘overprepared’ Ben Stokes has admitted that the way England have folded in key moments during the first two Ashes Tests has led him to question the character of his players, and said: “A dressing room that I am captain of isn’t a place for weak men.” After Australia won the second Test in Brisbane by the …

HSV are back in the Bundesliga and remain a huge club even if they have adjusted expectations this season Alexander Røssing-Lelesiit did not play for Hamburg in Sunday’s stellar win, and he will hope that his career has more decisive contributions than this one in store. As the final whistle went on a breathless Nordderby victory over Werder Bremen, the 18-year-old bobbed in front of the visitors…

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Wilson and Jacob Steinberg as Chelsea lose 3-1 away at Leeds, Sunderland earn a draw at Anfield and Arsenal secure another straightforward win On the podcast today: another almost perfect night for Arsenal as title rivals Chelsea lose away at Leeds. The big man and big man strike partnership could turn Daniel Farke’s fortunes around. Elsewhere:…

Seven-time world champion could not ‘wait to get away’ First year without podium for Brit in Ferrari debut season A despondent Lewis Hamilton said he could not wait to get away from Abu Dhabi after enduring what has been the worst season of his Formula One career. He finished in his lowest ever championship position of sixth place and is looking forward to the winter break and disconnecting from …

Club legends in opposing dugouts, Turin giants as underdogs against the juggernaut Partenopei … it was a weird night at the Maradona The man with the Napoli tattoo was met with hostile whistles on his return to the Stadio Maradona. Luciano Spalletti had the club’s emblem inked on to his arm, together with a Scudetto badge, after leading the Partenopei to their third Serie A title in 2023 . The de…

‘I drove at a level I don’t think other people can match’ Driver apologises to Hamilton over Hungarian GP spat Lando Norris said he performed at a level his rivals could not match this season after he was crowned Formula One world champion for the first time. Norris celebrated at a glitzy afterparty at the W Hotel which sits on top of the Yas Marina Circuit, where only hours earlier he realised h…

Friday’s ceremony in Washington DC was cringe-inducing and craven enough to make football fans nostalgic for the reign of Sepp Blatter Well, that was awful, wasn’t it? Donald Trump’s heroic victory over a field of one to claim the inaugural Fifa peace prize , on-stage banter so dead it was already fossilized, Gianni Infantino doing crowd work, and Wayne Gretzky struggling through the pronunciatio…

Forward part of preparations for game against Inter No guarantee he will play following outspoken attack Mohamed Salah took part in a Liverpool training session on Monday afternoon as speculation continues to swirl around the Egyptian’s future following his outspoken attack on the club and Arne Slot at the weekend. Salah was all smiles as he and his teammates began preparations for Tuesday evenin…

Manchester City show their resilience, Spurs eye the Champions League and Liverpool look to splash the cash How much has Manchester City’s mentality evolved and strengthened? After they overcame a stubborn Leicester City side 3-0 on Sunday to claim a ninth straight win, it would appear the answer to that question is “significantly” compared to recent seasons, as they demonstrated a unity and a co…

Patrick Mahomes has led his team to seven straight AFC Championship Games, winning three Super Bowls on the way. That run appears to be over This is how great runs end. Not with a single catastrophic collapse, but with a slow drift towards the finish, looking old, tired and out of ideas. For the Chiefs, that sense of finality arrived on Sunday night, delivered by the Texans in a 20-10 defeat at h…

Yang extorted £153,000 from former Spurs player Co-conspirator receives two-year sentence in Seoul court A woman has been sentenced in Seoul to four years in prison for blackmailing South Korean football star Son Heung-min. The woman, identified only as Yang, was charged with extorting 300 million won (£153,000) from Son in 2024 after sending him an ultrasound photo of a baby that she claimed was…