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Unai Emery has reconfirmed his status as master of the competition, but will now want to set his sights higherThere are two ways to win a final. You can win it by the odd goal, amid a frenzy of anxiety so the final whistle comes as a relief. Or you can win it as a procession, flexing your superiority, so the final whistle is almost resented for spoiling the fun. For Aston Villa, this was very much the latter. If their fans had dreamed the previous night of how they might win the game, they could barely have come up with something so satisfying and emphatic.It’s true that Villa have a budget around 2.8 times that of Freiburg, and that they have been strong favourites in almost every game in the Europa League this season. But then in the Premier League they’re often fighting against sides with far greater resources. The poles of European and domestic football may have flipped, but that is not their fault nor, at least for now, their concern. They have not been a successful enough club – at least in the past 100 years – to decline to fully celebrate any trophy that comes their way. A second European success, 44 years after the first, is history. Continue reading...

1st T20i: England, 140-3, bt New Zealand, 136-7, by 7wktsCapsey finishes unbeaten on 74 with 16 balls remainingEngland got off to a winning start in their T20 series against New Zealand at Derby, after Alice Capsey struck an unbeaten 74 from 51 balls – her highest score for England and her first T20i half-century since July 2024.Capsey has generally batted at No 3 for England but was promoted to open in place of Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who is missing this series because of the imminent birth of her first child. Capsey made full use of the extra time, smoking three sixes and seven fours as England chased down their 137-run target with seven wickets and 16 balls to spare. Continue reading...

Saints believe penalty is ‘manifestly disproportionate’Hull and Middlesbrough will meet in final on SaturdaySouthampton’s appeal against their expulsion from the Championship playoff final for spying on opponents’ training sessions has been dismissed by an English Football League arbitration panel, leaving Middlesbrough to contest Saturday’s Wembley showpiece with Hull. The panel also confirmed the original decision of an independent disciplinary commission to deduct four Championship points from Southampton next season.It is a verdict that leaves the position of Tonda Eckert, the south coast club’s manager, seemingly untenable. While the 33-year-old German faces the sack, Southampton directors are facing the wrath of players furious at missing out on potential promotion bonuses and wage hikes. Continue reading...

Where would you like your statue, Mr Emery? Even before this emphatic Europa League triumph, Aston Villa supporters could hardly have held their manager in greater esteem. But now Emery, in winning the competition for a record fifth time, has delivered the thing he always wanted, a trophy to show for his transformative body of work.Those who were not around for Rotterdam in 1982 will always cherish Istanbul in 2026. Thomas Tuchel had it right a few years ago when he suggested Uefa might as well rename the Europa League the Unai Emery trophy. Continue reading...

Four-time MVP agreed to one-year deal with SteelersRodgers is reuniting with ex-Packers coach McCarthyAaron Rodgers has said that the 2026 season will be the final one of his NFL career.“Yes. This is it,” the Steelers quarterback told reporters in Pittsburgh on Wednesday when asked if the upcoming campaign would be his last. Continue reading...

Friendlies against Denmark and Chile still going aheadTeam staff who are based in DRC ‘leaving in next hours’The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have cancelled their three-day World Cup preparation training camp and a planned farewell to fans in the capital, Kinshasa, because of an outbreak of Ebola in the east of the country.Preparations will take place elsewhere after an outbreak of a rare type of Ebola known as Bundibugyo, which is thought to have killed more than 130 people and caused nearly 600 suspected cases. The World Health Organization has declared it a public health emergency of international concern. Continue reading...

While there is no denying the magnitude of his achievements, his legacy is also tied up in politics, propaganda and hard powerWell, that’s that then. Put out more flags. Mount the iconic Jedi‑style woollen cardigan in the club museum. He really does seem to be done this time.In the absence of formal denials, it now seems highly likely the scheduled final year of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City contract will be spent trawling the high-concept food ateliers of the Iberian peninsula, debating spatial architecture with a Slovenian Cluedo grandmaster over hummingbird martinis, and generally recharging after a decade of unceasing devotion to victory. Continue reading...

Changes apply to World Cup and Euro qualifiersStarts in 2028-29 season with elements of Swiss systemEurope’s larger nations will no longer face mismatches against minnows such as San Marino or Andorra in men’s World Cup and European Championship qualifying after Uefa agreed a new format designed to produce more competitive fixtures.As reported by the Guardian in April the structure, which will take effect after Euro 2028, will be based on the most recent set of Nations League rankings. It will also include elements of the Swiss system implemented across Uefa’s club competitions over the past two seasons, meaning in effect that teams compete in larger groups. Continue reading...

Manager’s early seasons were far from plain sailing but insiders credit club’s owners for staying the courseIt didn’t start well for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal. On a crisp December night in 2019 at about 1am in a Manchester suburb, Vinai Venkatesham stepped out of Arteta’s home. The Arsenal managing director looked around, satisfied with his meeting. Arteta had just outlined a “hugely impressive” five-year plan to rebuild a club reeling from Arsène Wenger’s departure and Unai Emery’s failed succession. Venkatesham stepped into his car and was driven away with his colleague Huss Fahmy.The club were about to take a huge gamble, but one with which they were increasingly comfortable. For many Arsenal executives, Arteta had won the interview round in 2018 when Wenger left. Yet it seemed too much to ask a 36-year-old rookie to manage a seismic transition and Emery had pedigree and experience; Arteta had charisma and a strong playing record. Continue reading...

Ecuadorean collects stage victory No 3 of this editionFavourite Vingegaard stays 27 seconds behind leaderEcuador’s Jhonatan Narváez edged out the Spaniard Enric Mas at the end of Wednesday’s stage 11 to win his third stage of this year’s Giro d’Italia as Afonso Eulálio retained the leader’s pink jersey.Narváez (UAE Team Emirates XRG) and Mas (Movistar) were left to battle for the win after leaving the breakaway group on the final climb and Mas made the first move, only for the Ecuadorian to overtake him before the line. The Italian Diego Ulissi (XDS Astana) won the race for third place at the end of the entertaining 195km ride from Porcari to Chiavari. Continue reading...