Robin van Persie may have found that, for this year at least, fairytales have their limits. Only 10 days have passed since he was tasked with leading the club that forged him and it was a delicious twist of fate that Inter, contributors to a formative moment in his playing career, posed his first Champions … Read more
Jessie Diggins and Julia Kern won silver in the team sprint classic at the Nordic world ski championships on Wednesday, securing the US their second-ever world medal in the event’s classic style. The American duo finished 2.9sec behind Sweden’s Jonna Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist, while Switzerland took bronze. It was a step up from the … Read more
Australian great Steve Smith has quit one-day international cricket, but says prolonging his stellar Test career is a priority. Smith told his teammates of his ODI retirement after captaining Australia to a Champions Trophy semi-final loss against India in Dubai. The 35-year-old signalled his intent to continue his Test career until at least the Ashes … Read more
LeBron James is redefining basketball longevity. On Tuesday night he became the first player to score 50,000 combined points in the NBA regular season and postseason, surpassing the mark with a three-pointer early in the first quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 136-115 win over New Orleans. James finished with 34 points against the Pelicans … Read more
Philanthropist Ross Stevens made a $100m donation to support United States Olympic and Paralympic athletes with a post-retirement plan worth up to $200,000 per participant. The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee said Wednesday the gift was the largest single monetary donation in the history of the organization. Stevens launched the fund to reward American athletes … Read more
It was a beautiful day in Bagshot. The kind of afternoon made for chucking a ball around and contemplating a calculated risk or two. Slightly firmer pitches, the sun shining, a licence to thrill … if ever there was a week made for a player like Marcus Smith to go out and express himself from … Read more
A new six-team Women’s Champions Cup is to be established next year, featuring clubs from across the world. The competition was approved at a Fifa Council meeting on Wednesday that also confirmed a two-year delay to the first Women’s Club World Cup. The 16-team Women’s Club World Cup was due to launch in 2026 but, … Read more
The United Kingdom’s four separate football associations are preparing to launch a joint bid to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland’s FAs are preparing an expression of interest to co-host the 2035 edition of the competition, an English FA statement released on Wednesday said. The statement came after Fifa … Read more
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Bayern 2-0 Bayer Talking of goalies, Manuel Neuer has pulled up with what looks a calf problem. On comes Ulreich, the usual reserve goalie? No, the other one, Jonas Urbig, signed from Koln, 21, and looking far younger. How many goalkeepers … Read more
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature 59 min: Salah dribbles in from the right only to be stopped by Mendes with ease. But this is slightly better from Liverpool, who otherwise haven’t been able to get Salah into the game at all. “Maybe those who are criticising … Read more