Skip to main content

Posts

Jürgen Klopp made Liverpool elite again after years of faded grandeur | Jonathan Wilson

Anfield said goodbye to a coach that has reinvigorated the club since 2015, even if his trophy haul is underwhelming There was a game of football at Anfield on Sunday, and Liverpool, despite missing countless chances, as they have done consistently over the past couple of months, won it 2-0. But nobody seemed to care too much; even Gary O’Neil was restrained in his reaction to the VAR upgrading Nelson Semedo’s yellow card to a red. It was only last week that Wolves called for the review system to be abolished : if you come at the VAR you’d best not miss. But beneath a sky of perfect unbroken blue, this was not a day on which the game or the league table mattered; this was a day for saying goodbye, and saying thank you. “Danke Jürgen,” as the tifo running round two sides of the ground read, culminating with a heart on the Kop in the colours of the Germany flag. Liverpool knew that, whatever happened, they would finish third. That’s three places higher and, as it turned out, 20 points

The 30 seconds that shook Fury and took Usyk to the summit of boxing | Barney Ronay

Ukrainian makes convincing case as greatest of all time after rocking the Gypsy King to unify the heavyweight division In the final shake-up it was those 30 seconds at the end of the ninth round that determined Oleksandr Usyk would finish the night holding all four heavyweight belts, the first man to do so this century; and in the process complete an ascent to the most rarefied all-time champion air. This was a wonderful heavyweight fight, 12 rounds of craft , heart and in Tyson Fury’s case, bloody-minded will to keep throwing punches from the edge of unconsciousness. If that half a minute was pivotal, a knockdown that ultimately shaped the judges’ cards , it also captured the wider patterns of a fight during which Usyk worked away at Fury like a man chopping down a tree with a forged steel hatchet. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Hpu9yQf

Zverev wins ‘special’ Italian Open but Raducanu pulls out of Roland Garros

Zverev will be among French Open favourites amid stellar form Raducanu switches focus to upcoming grass-court season Alexander Zverev defeated Nicolas Jarry in Rome to win his second Italian Open title. The German first lifted the trophy in the Italian capital back in 2017 and repeated that thanks to a 6-4, 7-5 victory over unexpected finalist Jarry. The Chilean dug deep to try to force a decider, saving three match points, but Zverev – who lost only five points on serve all afternoon – finally forced a decisive error, sinking to the clay in delight. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/1LlMWx9

Oxford beat Bolton in League One playoff final thanks to Murphy double

And so, the fabled Oxfordshire adage rings true again. Yes, revenge truly is a main course best dished up in the Wembley sunshine, in front of a 30,000-strong yellow wall, and with a Championship spot to contest. Well, at least that could have been Des Buckingham’s message to Oxford’s players as they wandered out to face a team who had, less than 10 weeks prior, swatted them aside by five goals. Because what followed cackled in the face of Bolton’s “clear favourites” tag. Josh Murphy sparkled, scoring twice in the first half, and Oxford were promoted. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/B8IvWYw

Max Verstappen battles back to claim Emilia-Romagna F1 GP pole

World champion equals Senna record of eight straight poles Oscar Piastri demoted to fifth so Lando Norris second on grid Max Verstappen had to pull off a comeback he believed was the best he had managed for more than five years to claim pole position for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, delivering a suitably superb lap under immense pressure that raised him to stand alongside Ayrton Senna with a record eighth consecutive pole. In the year of the 30th anniversary of Senna’s death at Imola, Verstappen had to dig deep to deliver, after a torrid weekend during which he and Red Bull have struggled with the car’s grip and balance. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Z5wo3v0

Iga Swiatek maintains hold over Aryna Sabalenka to win Italian Open

Swiatek beats Belarusian 6-2, 6-3 in Rome Pole is third woman to win in Madrid and Italy in same year World No 1 Iga Swiatek brushed aside the No 2 Aryna Sabalenka to win the Italian Open in Rome. The 22-year-old Pole needed just one hour and 29 minutes to ease to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over her Belarusian opponent on the clay to claim the crown for the third time in four years. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/ZgJu1rh