The Guardian

This was a crash course for Xabi Alonso in life at Chelsea. His new side thrilled in possession at Craven Cottage. The front three of João Pedro, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers combined to devastating effect and there was even an assist for the new £52m centre-back, Maxence Lacroix. At times the only issue was the two No 10s both laying claim to the ice cold celebration. Palmer had a point to prov…

Sunday’s draw with Newcastle shows Andoni Iraola’s new ideas as manager will need to overcome the squad’s lack of balance Sign up for our free newsletter here The good news for Liverpool is that, Arsenal aside, every other team with vague title aspirations who played over the weekend looked undercooked, and that Andoni Iraola’s men did, in the end, come away from Newcastle with a point . But the …

Possession numbers, the intense physicality and the pure rhythm of games all felt noticeably new as the season began There has been something oddly narcotic and moreish about the drip-drip of fresh Pep Guardiola content either side of the start of the new Premier League season. Eras come and go. Everything dies, baby, that’s a fact. But four-part Amazon Prime documentaries make angels of us all. …

Super League clubs rejected £35m deal last week The 14 owners due to discuss plans at meeting The Rugby Football League (RFL) is exploring radically different terms to the funding deal initially offered by Australia’s NRL with talks under way over seeking a £50m loan package to replace the guaranteed investment of £35m that was rejected last week. The Guardian has seen details of an alternative v…

Balding says victory is ‘very unlikely’ but there is a good chance he will improve on second-place finishes achieved in 2021 and 2024 The British Flat trainers’ championship winners’ club is among the most exclusive in the sport, with just a dozen new members through its doors in the past 50 years. Aidan O’Brien, John Gosden, Richard Hannon Jr and Charlie Appleby, meanwhile, are the only trainers…

Huge hailstones prompt organisers to act 15km from end Riders seen heading into hotel on route to take cover The third stage of the Vuelta a España ended without a winner after being halted because of hail on Monday. Riders started taking shelter in shops and restaurants by the road with about 15km to go on the difficult 174km route from ‌Gruissan to ‌Font-Romeu that was due to finish in the Fren…

46-year-old charged with possessing criminal tools York fined and sentenced to two days in jail 49ers CEO also owns stake in Leeds United The San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York has pleaded no contest to two criminal charges after being arrested in Ohio over the weekend. KRON4 News in San Francisco reported that York was initially arrested on suspicion of engaging in prostitution but that count wa…

Barcelona target left exposed after draw with Villarreal as supporters vented their fury at his ‘dream’ to leave Julián Alvarez entered a long, dark tunnel on his own. “We’re stronger together,” Giuliano Simeone said but that wasn’t the way it went. At the end of their first home game of the season, a 2-2 draw with Villarreal, all of Atlético Madrid’s players gathered by the centre circle, shook …

Child wandered on field during MNUFC’s 5-1 win Minnesota posts win was ‘Like taking money from a baby’ A toddler interrupted a Major League Soccer match between Minnesota United and San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday by invading the pitch – a bizarre scene punctuated by an on-air analyst saying, “There’s a baby on the field.” With a minute and a half to play in the game that Minnesota won 5-1 at Pa…

Bowler spoken to by police outside bar in Derby Carse replaced in squad for second Test by Sonny Baker Brydon Carse has been stood down from England’s squad for the second Test against Pakistan this week as the footage of him in police handcuffs outside a bar in Derby city centre is investigated by the sport’s disciplinary body. Carse was filmed by a member of the public while being spoken to by …

Five-day trial at high court in Glasgow heard Dott subjected a girl and a boy to multiple incidents of abuse The former world snooker champion Graeme Dott has been found guilty of sexually abusing two primary school age children. The 49-year-old subjected a girl and a boy to multiple incidents of abuse, with the girl targeted between 1993-96 and the boy between 2006-10. A five-day trial at the hi…

Richard Plugge criticises UCI for its lack of action ‘Riders must be certain they can race on a safe course’ Richard Plugge, the manager of the former Tour de France winner, Jonas Vingegaard, has criticised cycling’s governing body, the UCI, for a lack of action following the death of Fin Tarling 10 days ago and said that cycling’s leading teams should take responsibility for ensuring safety in r…

PSG flexed their muscles, bringing Ferran Torres off the bench to save the day, but only because Rennes made them By Get French Football News On the scale of expressions of prowess and power, Paris Saint-Germain bringing almost €150m worth of attacking talent off the bench – including the man who scored the winning goal in the World Cup final last month – ranks only a couple of rungs below the le…

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning , Lars Sivertsen and Sam Dalling as United and Spurs have dismal starts to their seasons Continue reading...

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! While the opening round of Premier League fixtures hasn’t yet concluded, Football Daily can’t be alone in having jerked both knees to the point of dislocation based on the evidence of what little we’ve seen thus far. Newly-promoted Hull City look the most likely contenders to challenge Arsenal for the title. Ipswich Town’s Julio Enciso already l…