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Mbappé sees late penalty saved by VallesPSG are beaten by league leaders MonacoReal Madrid’s perfect start to the La Liga ⁠season ended on Friday when Real Betis beat them 1-0, with the ⁠substitute Troy Parrott ⁠scoring ​nine minutes from time and goalkeeper Alvaro Valles saving a stoppage-time ⁠penalty from Kylian Mbappé.The clash began at a high tempo but the pace ⁠dropped after the interval in the heat in ​Seville. Parrott, introduced ‌in the 68th ‌minute, broke the deadlock in the 81st when ‌he reacted quickly after Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois parried a header into his path. Continue reading...

‘It’s tricky to handle when you’re trying to compete’Alcaraz into fourth round after straight sets victoryAryna Sabalenka briefly stopped her match at the US Open to complain about the strong smell of cannabis on her court as she comfortably reached the fourth round in New York.Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion, continued her attempts to rebuild her form as she overcame a challenging test from Kamilla Rakhimova before winning 6-3, 6-4. Continue reading...

Leigh 48-10 St HelensCharnley scores and agrees contract extensionIt ended not so much with a bang, but with a whimper. One of rugby league’s most extraordinary streaks has felt as though it was coming to an inevitable end for quite some time but as it transpired, St Helens’ 64-year run of making the playoffs ultimately concluded in a manner that summarises their fall from grace.You have to go back to 1962 to find an end-of-season playoff series that did not include one of rugby league’s true heavyweight clubs. In the Super League era, they have won 10 titles and were champions of the world as recently as 2023. But this, sadly, is a shadow of that side – and indeed that club. Continue reading...

British sprinter finishes third behind Olympic 100m championPole vault superstar Mondo Duplantis pulls out with injuryBritain’s Amy Hunt was given a jolting reminder of the gap between her and the world’s very best female sprinters as she finished nearly half a second behind Julien Alfred in the Diamond League 200m final.But afterwards Hunt insisted that coming third in a season’s best time of 22.16sec, on tired legs on a dank Brussels night, amounted to one of the better races of her career. Continue reading...

A first win for Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool, the introduction of the latest star signing in Bradley Barcola making for a successful Friday night. Better yet, continuing signs that Alexander Isak, last year’s model, is coming back to life, his two, well-taken early goals securing the three points. That Cody Gakpo, Isak’s supplier, might have been at Manchester City or Tottenham had the transfer runes been right, added further to a sense of renewal. Liverpool’s attackers were full of the speed and invention sorely lacking for much of last season.Once Barcola arrived in the second half, those velocity levels increased yet further, Liverpool playing the attacking style, high on risk and entertainment, the appointment of Iraola promised. “We are starting to get to the way we want to play,” said Isak afterwards. Continue reading...

There are few scenarios since Millwall Lionesses broke away from Millwall and became London City Lionesses that would have felt more surreal than the idea of Alexia Putellas captaining the side to a statement win in a Women’s Super League season opener in Bromley just seven years later.Here we are though. Referees have to get used to the former Barcelona captain stooping to pick up the coin after the toss, as is her custom. Players must get used to eyes and cameras looking past them to focus on the influential No 11, and the two-time Ballon d’Or winner has to get used to playing with players not drilled in a very specific style of play from such an early age. Continue reading...

Before his home grand prix, the Mercedes driver opens up on his rocky debut season and quest to become the first Italian world champion since 1953If Kimi Antonelli feels any pressure as the favourite to take the Formula One world championship at just 20 years old and in his second year in the sport, it is imperceptible. He admits F1 can be brutal but a thing of beauty too, a labour of love for the Italian who has been a revelation this season.Compelling and brilliant, that he is also endearing and likable marks Antonelli out as more than just a potential champion. Sitting in the Mercedes motorhome it is impossible not to be struck by how young he looks, the tousled hair, engaging smile and eyes gleaming with youthful enthusiasm. He speaks with an open candour, the air of a kid in a sweetshop who still can’t quite believe all those sherbet lemons are there for the taking. Continue reading...

From record growth and a landmark media deal to expansion, labor battles and a fractured relationship with players, Engelbert’s tenure was rarely quietWNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert will retire from the role on 31 December, bringing an end to a tenure that began with her appointment as the league’s first commissioner in 2019.“After more than seven years at the WNBA and more than 40 total years in business, I have made the decision to retire as WNBA Commissioner,” Engelbert said in a statement shared by the league. “In 2019, I had the privilege of being appointed the league’s first commissioner and to lead a league with enormous potential yet untapped awareness and significant undervaluation. Over the years, it has been amazing to watch WNBA players thrive and lead the massive cultural surge around women’s sports.” Continue reading...

Mas keeps hold of red jersey with 1min 45sec leadKooij claims stage win at Tour of BritainWout van Aert won his fourth career stage at the Vuelta a España amid scorching heat on Friday, while Enric Mas kept the red jersey.On a hot and sunny day in southern Spain, Van Aert beat fellow breakaway rider Valentin Paret-Peintre to claim the hilly 192km jaunt from Almuñécar to Loja. Continue reading...

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!That icy wind rattling the rafters is the cold reality of what follows the closure of the transfer window, a hungover pall of regret. Despite £3.5bn shelled out in the men’s window, several things will not be happening in the Premier League when they might have been. When Arsenal host Chelsea for a most super of Sundays, Vinícius Júnior will not be playing in their attack, and neither will Gabriel Martinelli, whose lengthy social media disgrace farewells on his departure for Saudi Arabia pointedly made no mention of Mikel Arteta.Re: yesterday’s Football Daily. Perhaps Messrs Vardy and James thought they had booked Jasper Carrott to kick off their hilarious podcast party. And got the not-so-funny doppelganger Mike Dean instead?” – Jim Arrowsmith.With Premier League clubs now owned by a motley assortment of hedge funds, petrostates, billionaires and so on, perhaps the time is right to take a leaf out of pro cycling’s book and name the teams after their owners and sponsors. It will be a regular reminder to fans that the football entities they support are far removed from the community-based groups of like-minded individuals that the word ‘club’ denotes, and that they are instead cash-cow playthings of the mega-rich. As for me, I’ve been a fan of Fosun International Debet since they were known as Bhatti Brothers Manders Paints and Inks” – Neil Withers.As someone who likes watching football rather than wasting time on transfers, this week has been boring, to say the least. Not so dull that it’s been enough to pick up a book, mind, but still. However, the result was that, after finding out that West Ham have a midfielder called Engels, I was sent down an internet wormhole and discovered that there is also a Brazilian midfielder called Marx Lenin (his real name, not just a nickname). Now, if only we could get them to play together, we would have something. Revolutionary tactics, no one in the centre or on the right wing, everyone on the left (a bit like Arsenal circa Henry, Pires and Ashley Cole), etc” – Noble Francis.This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.  Continue reading...