The Guardian

Lampard tells Coventry players to stay ‘level-headed’ Boro win at Charlton; QPR up to sixth Frank Lampard insisted the title race was never over after his Coventry side were frustrated in a 1-1 draw at 10-man Preston as their Championship lead was reduced to five points. After Andrew Hughes deflected Jack Rudoni’s shot into his own net, it seemed as if Coventry would bounce back strongly from the…

Manager stresses transitional phase of reshaped squad Madrid defeat could spell end of Xabi Alonso’s tenure Pep Guardiola has challenged his reshaped Manchester City team to prove they can thrive against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu. The City manager goes back to one of Europe’s grandest venues for the Champions League game on Wednesday night without many of the stalwarts who have been at the hear…

Declan Rice ruled out of Club Brugge match with illness Max Dowman to miss several weeks with ankle injury Mikel Arteta fears that Arsenal’s quest for silverware this season could be undermined by a “dangerous circle” of mounting injuries and an unforgiving fixture list that he believes are placing huge demands on his squad. Arteta confirmed that Declan Rice has not travelled to Belgium for Arsen…

Frederick Green allegedly shot NFL player in abdomen Boyd was on night out with Jets teammates A Bronx man has been charged with attempted murder in the shooting of New York Jets player Kris Boyd , police announced Tuesday. The New York police department said Frederick Green, 20, was charged late Monday night. Police had revealed Monday that a “person of interest” was in custody but didn’t name t…

The Liverpool hierarchy protected Arne Slot’s authority by axing Mohamed Salah from the Champions League trip to Milan. The Liverpool team followed suit by inflicting a first European home defeat on Inter since September 2022 courtesy of Dominik Szoboszlai’s 88th-minute penalty. A brooding superstar with a bruised ego looked on from afar. Salah would have been on penalty duties had he not talked …

There were no answers to Chelsea’s search for consistency here. Instead there was a late, potentially damaging defeat that leaves them staring down the barrel of a February playoff for the last 16, along with further suggestions they lack what it takes to face down a tough away assignment at this level. Enzo Maresca’s side looked well set when João Pedro scored against the run of play after 25 mi…

The difficulties in trying to find meaning in much the new version of the Champions League has to offer before the knockout stages arrive makes it premature to assume that Tottenham are on their way to becoming a winning machine at home. They did not have to extend themselves to defeat moderate opposition on a sentimental evening and although a second triumph in front of their supporters in the s…

Arsenal put themselves one point away from qualification for the Champions League knockout phase with an industrious victory over Twente thanks to Beth Mead’s first-half finish. Arsenal’s inconsistent form in the Champions League this season – two wins and two defeats – had placed extra importance on their final two games of the league phase with elimination from the competition not out of the qu…

Ealing and Doncaster Knights have formally applied Formal removal of relegation still to be ratified Behind-the-scenes arguments about the proposed transformation of the top tier of English club rugby into a franchise-based league are intensifying with just two Champ clubs now eligible for promotion this season. Only Ealing Trailfinders and Doncaster Knights have formally applied to be promoted t…

Portuguese side take lead before going down 3-1 Olympiakos win 1-0 at Kairat Almaty Bayern Munich scored three times in 12 minutes in the second half to race back from a goal down and beat Sporting Lisbon 3-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday and stay on course for a top-eight finish in the league phase. Goals from Serge Gnabry, teenager Lennart Karl and Jonathan Tah between the 65th and 77th mi…

£69m forward happy he chose Newcastle before taking on Bayer Leverkusen in Champions League on Wednesday As Nick Woltemade made his way out of Bayer Leverkusen’s media theatre on Tuesday night he noticed that a series of chairs had been dragged untidily out of position. Most footballers would simply have walked on by but the 6ft 6in Newcastle forward is a little different from the rest and he dul…

Fast bowler says: ‘My knee just hasn’t held up’ Matthew Fisher called up in buildup to Adelaide Test The blows just keep coming for ­England in Australia. On Tuesday came confirmation that Mark Wood will miss the remainder of the Ashes tour because of a knee problem that resurfaced after the first Test defeat in Perth. It represents a heartbreaking ­setback for Wood following a lengthy battle to …

This squad aren’t just throwing away the series, they’re messing up the minds of the young cricketers I try to coach The cracks are starting to show with this England team and with the narrative we’ve been fed for three years after another defeat. Their identity of always taking the aggressive option, of relentlessly putting pressure on their opponents, isn’t holding up to scrutiny. So far in thi…

Shields to launch $8m multi-fight deal in Detroit Double Olympic champion back at Little Caesars Arena Crews-Dezurn moving up to heavyweight for bout Claressa Shields will defend her undisputed heavyweight championship in Detroit on 22 February, returning home for a rematch with Franchon Crews-Dezurn in her first fight since signing a landmark $8m promotional deal. The bout will headline a Dazn c…

My friend and former sports-writing colleague at the Observer Peter Nichols, who has died from Parkinson’s-related dementia aged 79, was a man of many talents: drama teacher, Time Out cabaret correspondent, athletics correspondent, London Marathon international race organiser, publisher and award-winning radio scriptwriter. Pete was a sporting Google long before Google was invented. He was a shar…