The Guardian

Pool 4: Northampton 50-5 Bulls Saints score eight tries in Pool 4 win On the face of it Northampton are flying in the Champions Cup courtesy of two consecutive bonus points wins. The more pedantic-minded might also point out that both their opponents to date have fielded below-strength sides but when the qualifying sums are completed next month that will not be the top line statistic as far as th…

Celtic now find themselves firmly in a mid-season crisis. Three games for Wilfried Nancy as the manager have resulted in the same number of defeats. The paucity of Celtic’s display in this League Cup final was so striking and so alarming that it is already fair to ask questions about Nancy’s suitability for this role. Celtic look a mess. How St Mirren capitalised. This will rank among the finest …

Updates from big weekend of divisional matchups Get in touch: mail Graham about the games Hello football family, it is week 15 and what a treat the NFL has in store. It is quite simply the best early and late Sunday slates yet this year with heavy hitter after heavy hitter on the schedule. And we have the pleasure of being able to share every pick, every sack and hopefully even a few touchdowns t…

Eddie Howe is not the first, and is unlikely to be the last, manager outwitted by Régis Le Bris this season but few are likely to find the experience quite as painful. Losing this most febrile of local derbies is a big deal and in past seasons prompted Ruud Gullit and, later, Alan Pardew swiftly stepping down form their posts as Newcastle manager. Howe has far too much credit in the bank to even …

Even in a week when they have beaten the mighty Real Madrid in the Santiago Bernabéu, this must rank as one of Pep Guardiola’s most satisfying victories of the season. It was Oliver Glasner who condemned the Manchester City manager to his first season without a major trophy since his first year in English football when Crystal Palace enjoyed the greatest day in their history at the FA Cup final b…

Just as Tottenham Hotspur appeared to be generating some momentum, a limp display and an embarrassing defeat at Nottingham Forest. Ibrahim Sangaré leathered in a sensational first-time strike to cap the 3-0 victory and a deeply satisfying week for Sean Dyche, whose side have established daylight between them and the relegation zone, moving five points clear of West Ham. An unedifying defeat for S…

When can Aston Villa dare to dream? Their standards dropped and their legs looked heavy but their hunger knows no bounds at the moment. Villa were pushed to the limit by a determined West Ham, who led twice and will feel they did enough to claim a vital win in their battle against relegation, and still Unai Emery’s side managed to strain for a response before emerging victorious for the 15th time…

⚽ Updates from 4.30pm (GMT) kick-off ⚽ Live scores | Table | Clockwatch live Four changes for Brentford from the defeat at Spurs last weekend. Aaron Hickey, Vitaly Janelt, Keane Lewis-Potter and Mathias Jenson replace Kristoffer Ajer, Yehor Yarmolyuk, Mikkel Damsgaard and the unavailable Kevin Schade. Ao Tanaka, who came off the bench to score a late equaliser against Liverpool, replaces Ilia Gru…

Jamaica forward third in WSL top scorer’s list with 103 goals Chelsea still six points behind with 3-0 win at Brighton Khadija Shaw’s phenomenal goalscoring record for Manchester City was extended to 103 goals in all competitions, thanks to a stunning four goals in the league leaders’ 5-1 defeat of Aston Villa . It was Shaw’s 120th appearance for City in all competitions and the Jamaica forward s…

Anfield captain: ‘I hope he stays – he is one of my leaders’ Player heads for Africa Cup of Nations after Brighton win Virgil van Dijk wants Mohamed Salah to remain a Liverpool but the club captain accepts that is not a guarantee. The Egyptian was reinstated to the squad after being dropped for the Champions League trip to Internazionale in response to his outburst at Elland Road. Salah was recal…

Former Liverpool forward has responded to treatment ‘Everyone at Liverpool FC wishes Ian a speedy recovery’ Ian Rush, the former Liverpool and Wales striker, is recovering in hospital after being admitted to intensive care with flu. Rush was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital last week after suffering breathing difficulties and spent two days in intensive care. The 64-year-old, who is an a…

At 2-0 down, England are desperate for a win in Adelaide Coach says ‘kneejerk reactions’ are ‘not really our way’ The series is on the line and, in all likelihood, jobs with it. But for Brendon McCullum, the latter is irrelevant. The England head coach has instead backed an unchanged top seven to deliver a fightback in the third Ashes Test and flip a narrative that has already featured talk of a …

After the tumult of four managers in two years, back-to-back wins have eased some of the unrest at League One club The last time Plymouth hosted Rotherham was the penultimate Saturday before Christmas 2023, when a dramatic 3-2 Championship win was the last before Steven Schumacher left – in a helicopter, so it is said – for Stoke. Then everything started to go wrong, hence the relief on Saturday …

Women’s Super League’s support for clubs outside top flight paying dividends for players and for commercial growth The rebranding of the Championship to WSL2 was long overdue for a division that needed “a bit more love”, and along with a host of upgrades the arrival of one of the game’s fondly followed traditions has provided a further uplift. For the first time WSL2 players feature in the WSL Pa…

Wembanyama shines in upset of Thunder Brunson’s 40 lifts Knicks past Magic Spurs, Knicks to meet in NBA Cup final Victor Wembanyama returned from a 12-game absence with 22 points and nine rebounds, giving San Antonio a surge and the Oklahoma City Thunder just their second loss with the 111-109 victory Saturday night putting the Spurs in the NBA Cup final. The Spurs play the New York Knicks in Tue…