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Norwegian forward has played every minute of seasonParenting duties have changed player’s ‘priorities’Enzo Maresca believes Erling Haaland has become “complete” as his priorities have changed after the birth of the Manchester City No 9’s son two years ago.Haaland has again started the campaign in prolific form, scoring three goals in City’s opening three Premier League victories. In three of the 26‑year‑old’s four previous seasons at City he has won the Premier League golden boot. Maresca pointed to how the birth of his son in 2024 changed the Norwegian’s motivation. Continue reading...

Former general manager has resigned postBelichick’s son Steve is on medical leaveSchool has launched investigation into programNorth Carolina football coach Bill Belichick said on Monday he believes his program “totally” has an atmosphere of following rules amid an investigation into its conduct.“Obviously everybody’s responsible, including me, for doing things properly,” Belichick said. “And we intend to do that.” Continue reading...

Manager remains calm despite his side taking one point and scoring no goals in opening three Premier League gamesUnai Emery is not panicking. He may kick every ball on the touchline but, behind closed doors, Aston Villa’s players are used to him being the calmest person in the room, routinely more demanding after victory than defeat. John McGinn tells a story in which the Villa manager, early in his now almost four-year tenure, broke character and lost his cool during a half-time interval not owing to a lukewarm performance but because he witnessed his captain tearing into teammates. In Emery’s eyes, it was McGinn expending unnecessary energy rather than seeking solutions.Emery, McGinn and Villa have been here before. Just last season, in fact; at this point, they were pointless in the Premier Leagueand still another 157 minutes from registering their first goal. So in one sense Villa, who shook off a slow start to qualify for the Champions League for the second time in three seasons, are ahead of schedule. Villa’s goalless draw at Hull on Saturday was not the most absorbing display but there were enough green shoots to trust Emery when he says he is confident they can again exceed expectations. Continue reading...

Zheng makes astonishing recovery to win 7-5, 6-3Rybakina sweeps aside Osaka 6-1, 6-4 to set up clashThe most important takeaway from 12 days at the US Open is simple: do not, by any means, lead 5-0 against Zheng Qinwen. No scoreline is as hazardous. On Friday, the former Australian Open champion Madison Keys learned this lesson the hard way as she led Zheng 5-0 in the final set of an intense tussle before Zheng, the Olympic gold medallist, rolled through seven consecutive games to win the match.Somehow, two days later, Zheng repeated the trick in her very next set against a greater opponent. Down 5-0 in the opening set of her fourth‑round match against the six-time grand slam title winner Iga Swiatek, Zheng again locked down her game and reeled off seven games in a row to take the set. Zheng refused to let it go as she pulled off one of the best wins of her career, reaching the US Open quarter‑finals with a 7-5, 6-3 victory. Continue reading...

The former player’s credentials speak for themselves but the ECB has also taken a risk in employing him until the end of next yearFor most of the time since his retirement as a player Kevin Pietersen has worked as a pundit and commentator, encouraged to be outspoken, hold strong opinions and state them powerfully. After his surprise appointment as a specialist mentor to the England men’s white-ball teams he will have to tread a bit more carefully.He will bring positivity, as all great players initially do because of their stature within the game, but the fact that he was a great player lasts only so long, and then it’s about the words he uses and his ability to tailor his messaging. Continue reading...

Facial recognition and spotters part of operation at Emirates that involved a dozen incidents and two arrestsThe concourses are silent when, deep in the Emirates Stadium’s bowels, Chief Inspector Pete Dearden’s briefing begins. Arsenal’s 4.30pm kick-off against Chelsea is still hours away but the fixture carries significance as a London derby and because the Premier League champions are hosting a realistic challenger.Dearden is a senior officer in the Metropolitan police’s public order command and Sunday’s matchday commander. He is, to borrow football jargon, giving the pre-match team talk, running through intelligence and in-game tactics. “Set the right style and tone,” he says. After Dearden has finished, the police room becomes a pseudo-station for the afternoon, with all incidents triaged by the same crime officer. Football offences can be found in niche legislation, and the Met wants London’s matchdays to be, so far as possible, policed uniformly. Continue reading...

Former F1 chief says firearm was for clay-pigeon shootingPolice quiz 95-year-old over lack of documents for gunBernie Ecclestone was detained in Portugal on Monday after customs authorities found him in possession of an undocumented shotgun. The Guardian has independently confirmed the incident with multiple authorities involved in the matter.The detention of the 95‑year‑old took place at Tires Aerodrome in Cascais, shortly after the former Formula One chief’s private jet landed. After a routine inspection of the aircraft and its passengers, authorities reportedly discovered a shotgun in Ecclestone’s possession. He was stopped for questioning by Portuguese officials and said the gun was for use in clay pigeon shooting. Continue reading...

As he prepares for the upcoming international window, the US head coach spoke about Folarin Balogun, the LA Olympics and dual national playersIt’s been two months since the US men’s national team crashed out of the World Cup in disappointing fashion, and their head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, is back at work.The former Tottenham and PSG manager was largely viewed as a short-term hire when he joined the US in 2024, brought on to help the team capitalize on their first home World Cup in more than three decades. Along the way, Pochettino and US Soccer warmed to the idea of a contract extension, one they finalized in August. The US will play four friendlies in late September and early October against Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada, but that stretch of games pales in comparison to the larger task at hand. Pochettino must guide the US to qualification for the 2030 World Cup, of course, but the Argentinian – and the federation – have more ambitious goals that involve reshaping the structure of soccer in the United States. Continue reading...

Former footballer accused of attack outside golf clubHis trial has been pushed back to March next yearThe former footballer Joey Barton will remain in custody until his trial next year after a bail application was refused.The 44-year-old had been due to stand trial at Liverpool crown court last week accused of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Kevin Lynch, 51, at Fairway, Huyton, on 8 March. But on Wednesday the case was adjourned and put back to March next year. Continue reading...

Lawes is back in the Prem after two years in France and has unfinished business at international levelCourtney Lawes was not expecting to be named in Steve Borthwick’s pre‑season England squad over the weekend. While the 37-year-old has made clear that his return to the Prem with Sale Sharks is in no small part down to his ambition to feature in a fifth World Cup next year, much like the national head coach Lawes favours action rather than words.Borthwick has explained to players such as Lawes, his fellow Sale arrival Joe Marchant and Newcastle’s new No 8 Hoskins Sotutu that in order to achieve England selection they must prove themselves against the players they are now competing with in the Prem. Continue reading...