The Guardian

McIlroy visibly short of his best during one-over par 73 ‘I wish I was a few shots better off but I’m comfortable’ Rory McIlroy hopes to benefit from a “free” state of mind on the final day of the Masters, despite the defending champion conceding he will have to improve markedly from round three to retain the Green Jacket. McIlroy saw his six-stroke lead evaporate on Saturday, meaning he enters t…

The sprint sensation was pushed to new heights in the 200m final by an unlikely opponent at the Australian Athletics Championships It didn’t look good for Gout Gout. He had started the 200m final at the Australian Athletics Championships relatively well, and was positioned just off the lead at the start of the straight. But, there – who was that? The man wearing all black, two lanes on the inside…

⚽️ News, discussion and buildup before day’s action ⚽️ Read the latest Football Daily | And mail us here I know criticism of Arteta for supposed negativity is widespread, but I think this comment hits the nail on the head. Yesterday may have been Arsenal’s first league defeat since January but they’ve now lost three of their past four in all competitions. Continue reading...

With the season reaching its climax and weather improving, it’s ideal for attracting fans, but the fixture list is blank Momentum can be extremely powerful. Just ask Wrexham, anyone involved in English women’s football in the aftermath of Euro 2022 or the scientists calculating Artemis II’s route for Nasa. The climax to the domestic women’s football season in England, and around Europe, has lost …

Australia shut out in 24-0 defeat to world No 2 in Sacramento Lightning delays start of Pacific Four rugby clash by more than an hour The Wallaroos have fallen short in their quest for a breakthrough victory over Canada, but can take heart from a 24-0 defeat in their opening match of the Pacific Four rugby series. After conceding more than 40 points in their past two meetings against the world No…

The American shoots sublime 65 in a show of strength to give himself a chance of a third title at Augusta On Friday evening Scottie Scheffler was in the new player facility going back and forth over his putting game. Despite himself, he got sucked into watching what Rory McIlroy was doing on the big TVs the club have up in the training room. “It was pretty special stuff,” Scheffler admitted. And …

Fury easily defeats Russian on unanimous points decision Joshua was ringside but declined to accept Fury’s challenge Tyson Fury completed the first stage of his latest comeback when he outclassed Arslanbek Makhmudov in an uninspiring near shutout over 12 rounds late on Saturday night. The former world heavyweight champion has retired on five previous occasions and, each time, he has been unable t…

Outstanding trainer of his generation makes history with fourth victory in Aintree spectacular via I Am Maximus Remember what Gary Lineker said about football being a simple game – you play for 120 minutes and the Germans win on penalties? The Grand National now has its equivalent. Tipping the winner of the most fiendish handicap in racing really is a simple game. Forget spending weeks assessing …

Manchester City can brush off Rodri’s comments but Chelsea’s existential angst helps explain suspension of midfielder Enzo Fernández and Rodri would quite like to move to Madrid; many people would. They both said as much in the international break, those special parts of the season when players join up with their national teams and give interviews while apparently unaware that media are global th…

Leinster 43-13 Sale Leinster host Toulon at Aviva Stadium on 2/3 May Semi-final number 17 beckons for Leinster. The one-time serial champions of this competition will take another, against Toulon, back at the Aviva in a couple of weeks’ time. Sounds epic. Probably will be. But Leinster are still not quite convincing. This was a Sale team missing a host of their best players. No one gave them a ch…

At the end of a stormy week for Arne Slot there was respite in the form of a morale-boosting display from Rio Ngumoha. Liverpool’s 17-year-old winger marked his second start in the Premier League with a goal and a key part in the second for Mohamed Salah as the faltering champions recorded a first league win since February. Liverpool appeared vulnerable after painful cup quarter-final defeats at …

Scott Parker has spent much of the season bemoaning the “fine margins” of the Premier League and after witnessing Burnley lose to Brighton and having two of their own disallowed for paper-thin offsides, he might be looking forward to the prospect of the Championship. The assistants called the offsides after Jaidon Anthony and Bashir Humphreys netted but lengthy video assistant referee delays offe…

Late double sees Hearts win 3-1, Celtic beat St Mirren 1-0 Aberdeen end winless run by beating Hibernian 2-0 Celtic leapfrogged rivals Rangers to move second in the Premiership with a narrow 1-0 win over St Mirren but Hearts stayed clear at the top as two late goals saw them past Motherwell 3-1. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s first-half strike was enough at Celtic Park, while Rangers head to Falkirk o…

England 33-12 Ireland Victory marred by injuries to Talling and Hunt If people in Edinburgh see glasses of water shaking, trees being shoved to the floor and massive footprints on the ground next week do not be alarmed, it is just the Women’s Six Nations giants of England coming to town. While the Red Roses continued their dominance, Ireland showed they had narrowed the gap as they cut England’s …

Mikel Arteta urged fans to bring ‘your lunch, bring your dinner’ but when the set pieces fail to fire his side are short of a full plate It was another one of those games where Arsenal had found it necessary to rouse the troops beforehand. Mikel Arteta, in his occasional, unusual jokey mode, had urged Arsenal fans to bring “your lunch, bring your dinner” and make this 12.30 kick-off an occasion. …