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⚽ Europa League updates; kick-off 8pm BST (first leg: 1-1)⚽ Aston Villa v Bologna – updates | Live scores | Mail ScottNottingham Forest make five changes from last week’s starting XI. Neco Williams, Ibrahim Sangaré, Omari Hutchinson, Jair Cunha and Ola Aina come in for Morato, Ryan Yates, James McAtee, Dilane Bakwa and Zach Abbott. Elliott Anderson misses the game after the passing of his mother; he had been suspended for last week’s first leg.Porto make one change from last week. Alberto Costa replaces the injured Martim Fernandes, scorer of that unfortunate long-range own goal in the first leg. Continue reading...

John Gosden’s three-year-old was among those catching the eye at the Craven meeting, which has been attracting dreamers and optimists since 1771Captain Cook was a few months away from landfall after his first circumnavigation of the earth when the first Craven meeting was held on Newmarket heath in the spring of 1771. It is older than any of the Classics, and old enough too to have the great Potoooooooo – who got his name when a stable lad was unsure how to spell potatoes – on the Craven Stakes’s roll of honour in 1782. For a quarter of a millennium, the first meeting of the year on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket has been Flat racing’s first rite of spring.“It’s what keeps everybody going,” Jason Singh, the marketing director of the famous bloodstock auction house Tattersalls said here on Thursday, “and I speak as a breeder and racehorse owner myself as well as a sales company employee. Continue reading...

⚽ Europa League updates; kick-off 8pm BST (first leg: 3-1)⚽ Nottingham Forest v Porto – latest | Live scores | Mail NiallMuch like one of those old-timey “choose your own adventure” stories, Aston Villa have two clear paths to the Champions League. Unlike said books, there appears to be little immediate peril on either route.Villa are seven points clear of sixth-placed Chelsea in the Premier League, and got the job in this tie more than halfway done in the first leg in Italy. Get through tonight and Porto or Nottingham Forest (!) await in the semi-finals, while mid-table Sunderland and Fulham are up next in the league. Continue reading...

LIV CEO’s rallying email to staff did not refer to 2027Without alternative funding future is bleak for rebel tourSeveral of golf’s leading names are facing career limbo at the end of 2026 amid expectation Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will withdraw backing for the LIV Tour.While the likelihood is Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm will be afforded a pathway back to the PGA Tour, the future for others who made lucrative switches to LIV is far more uncertain. Continue reading...

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Archie Rhind-Tutt and Jonathan Liew to discuss Wednesday’s Champions League actionOn today’s pod: a Champions League classic in Munich. Bayern beat Real Madrid 4-3 on the night, 6-4 on aggregate, in a game that had just about everything. The panel try to unpack it, from Manuel Neuer’s early mistake to Arda Güler’s brilliance, Harry Kane reaching 50 goals for the season and the chaos that followed. But the big talking point: was that Eduardo Camavinga second yellow a turning point? And why do Real Madrid always seem to end up furious with the referee?Elsewhere, Arsenal are into the semi-finals. That’s the positive. But the panel ask: has there ever been a less enjoyable route to the last four? Are Arteta’s side controlling games, or just strangling them? With eight clean sheets, are they quietly brilliant defensively, or is this football that raises bigger existential questions about what the point of it all actually is?Plus: how do Arsenal approach the looming Premier League title decider at the Etihad? Elsewhere, there a huge Merseyside derby on the horizon, more questions around Roberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham, and news of a Football Weekly live show in New York. Continue reading...

Manager’s grounded attitude has helped the free-scoring German giants set up a tantalising Champions League showdown and de facto finalIf you thought that was good, wait until you have done it at Ewood Park. While everyone else struggled to compose themselves after watching a modern classic unfold between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, it was Vincent Kompany who supplied the cooling balm. He had just taken Bayern back to the Champions League semi-finals in scintillating fashion, another feat to justify the decision to take him from Burnley two years ago. Not many managers have breathed such rarefied air within days of turning 40. For Kompany, though, it sat snugly alongside the snappy Lancashire climate.“I remember we beat Blackburn twice with Burnley,” he said, having been asked whether Wednesday night marked a crowning achievement in his coaching career. “Nobody in this room will want to compare it with the game today, but it was amazing. I experienced so much as a player and that was incredible. For Bayern this game is an amazing feeling, but I don’t think you wait for Real Madrid to say ‘This is the best’. You have to get it from other things as well.” Continue reading...

BlueCo ownership can point to commitment of CaicedoJan Paul van Hecke and Alex Scott are players of interestMoisés Caicedo has handed Chelsea a major boost after verbally agreeing a new deal with the club.The midfielder has been a star performer since his £115m move from Brighton in 2023 and his decision to extend his current deal represents a show of faith in the Chelsea project after a turbulent period, with the club rocked by Enzo Fernández and Marc Cucurella using recent interviews to question the direction of travel at Stamford Bridge. Continue reading...

Mikie Sherrill says taxpayers should not carry burdenCosts at World Cup have come under increased scrutinyNew Jersey’s governor, Mikie Sherrill, has hit out at Fifa after reports her state’s transport system will charge $100 for a return ticket to World Cup matches this summer.New Jersey Transit lists the price for a round-trip ticket from New York’s Penn Station to MetLife Stadium, which will host eight World Cup matches this summer, including the final, as $12.90. The new pricing, reported by The Athletic earlier this week, puts the return ticket at more than $100 with no reductions for children, seniors or people with disabilities. NJ Transit told Fox 5 New York that the price has not been finalized. A decision is expected in the coming days. Continue reading...

Austrian was capped 33 times for his national teamManninger won Premier League during Arsenal spellAlex Manninger, the former goalkeeper who helped Arsenal win the Double in 1998, has died in a car accident in Austria, aged 48.His first club, Red Bull Salzburg, broke the sad news on Thursday. The Austrian Bundesliga club said in a post on its official X account: “We mourn our former goalkeeper Alexander Manninger, who tragically lost his life in a traffic accident. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. Rest in peace, Alexander.” Continue reading...

The semi-finals are set after a dazzling meeting between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. But there was plenty more to talk about in the last eightBayern Munich’s thrilling 4-3 win over Real Madrid on Wednesday, which gave them a 6-4 victory on aggregate and set up a semi-final meeting with PSG, was a stone-cold classic. If either of the semis is as good as Real and Bayern’s quarter-final, this season will have been blessed. Arda Güler showed off his brilliance on Wednesday, first with his presence of mind after Manuel Neuer’s mistake led to the opening goal and again from a free-kick in the 29th minute. Güler’s goals gave Madrid hope, but Harry Kane made another difficult finish look routine before Luis Díaz and Michael Olise’s late goals settled the tie. Bayern’s wing wizards were crucial in defeating the 15-time champions. This game had it all. That includes controversy, with a post-match scuffle set off by Madrid players enraged by Eduardo Camavinga’s dismissal for two quickfire yellow cards. Neuer, the hero of the first leg, had his blushes saved by his Bayern teammates, though one save from Kylian Mbappé was him at his best, combining reflexes with brute strength. Fine margins decided a battle of the giants. Continue reading...