The Chennai teenager won the Candidates by just half a point and will take on China’s Ding Liren for the world crown in a 14-game series later this year

Gukesh Dommaraju became, at 17, the youngest ever Candidates ­winner and world championship challenger on Sunday after edging out the favourites Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura and Ian Nepomniachtchi in a marathon six-hour final round in Toronto.

Gukesh will now meet the holder, China’s Ding Liren, in a 14-game series for the world crown from 20 November to 15 December. The world No 1, Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, abdicated his title in 2023 after a 10-year reign.

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Frontrunner to take charge at Liverpool did not make a big impression as a player but has resemblances to Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool’s move for the Feyenoord coach, Arne Slot, has been described by Ajax fans as “the best news of the year”. Troubled Ajax have been blown away this season, losing 4-0 at home and 6-0 away against their arch-rivals.

So superior were Feyenoord in every area – tactics, intensity, power, unity, intelligence – that it could have been worse for Ajax. Only in their finishing might Feyenoord have done better.

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• All-Star center reveals diagnosis after Game 3 win over New York
• Embiid scores 50 points to narrow Knicks’ series lead to 2-1

Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.

Embiid wore sunglasses to the podium after he scored 50 points in the Sixers’ Game 3 win over the New York Knicks and said he’s battled various symptoms such as blurred vision and dry eyes.

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• Williams, Daniels, Maye, Penix, McCarthy and Nix go in top 12
• ‘No heads up’: Cousins surprised by Falcons’ Penix Jr selection
• NFL draft 2024: the first round – as it happened

Caleb Williams swiftly walked on stage, looked out and screamed “Woooo! Yeah!”

Long-suffering Bears fans felt his joy.

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• Atlanta selected the Washington QB with No 8 pick in the draft
• Cousins signed $180m contract with Falcons this offseason
• Bears tap Caleb Williams with No 1 pick as six QBs go in top 12

The Atlanta Falcons provided the shock of the first round of the NFL draft by selecting quarterback Michael Penix Jr with the No 8 overall pick on Thursday night.

The Falcons extended their recent trend of selecting offensive skill players in the first round by drafting Penix one month after signing Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180m contract with $100m guaranteed. Using a draft slot normally targeted for players expected to make an immediate impact, the Falcons picked Penix as the apparent long-term successor to the 35-year-old Cousins. The Falcons had been expected to use the pick to boost their pass rush.

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• Teenager beats Rob Cross 6-2 at the M&S Bank Arena
• Manchester United fan enjoyed some lively banter

Luke Littler silenced the boo boys by claiming a sweet Premier League victory in Liverpool. The 17-year-old was on the receiving end of jeers at the M&S Bank Arena but turned them into cheers as he hammered Rob Cross 6-2 in the final, where the hostile crowd could not help but watch in admiration.

The 17-year-old has been a fans’ favourite since bursting on to the scene at the world championship over Christmas but his antics on social media have not been well received on Merseyside. Littler is an avid Manchester United fan and has enjoyed goading bitter rivals Liverpool in recent weeks as their quadruple hopes have crumbled.

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Liverpool await a dead-ball salvo, Luton have to keep their chins up and things could get spicy at City Ground

David Moyes will surely have taken note of Liverpool’s struggle to defend set pieces against Everton. Jurgen Klopp, who must be delighted with a 12.30pm kick-off on Saturday, should prepare his team for another bruising test when they visit West Ham. For Moyes, this is a chance to repair the sizeable damage to his reputation caused by last weekend’s collapse at Selhurst Park. West Ham were 4-0 down to Palace after 31 minutes and are preparing to part company with Moyes at the end of the season, but they should take heart from how Everton unsettled Liverpool in the Merseyside derby. Everton scored twice from set pieces and West Ham pose a similar threat from dead balls. James Ward-Prowse’s deliveries towards Tomas Soucek, Kurt Zouma and Michail Antonio will have Klopp’s defenders sweating. Jacob Steinberg

West Ham v Liverpool, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST)

Fulham v Crystal Palace, Saturday 3pm

Newcastle v Sheffield United, Saturday 3pm

Manchester United v Burnley, Saturday 3pm

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• ‘What happened to Liverpool can happen to us’
• Manager urges champions to maintain focus after 4-0 win

Pep Guardiola said he used Liverpool’s defeat at Everton as a reminder to his Manchester City players about the perils of football before they went to Brighton on Thursday night and won 4-0.

Twenty-four hours after Liverpool’s 2-0 derby defeat, City ran riot on the south coast, two goals from Phil Foden and one apiece from Kevin De Bruyne and Julian Alvarez ensuring they retained control of their destiny in the title race.

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Pep Guardiola’s complaints about his team’s tiredness were hard to believe as they strolled to victory against Brighton

It had been tempting to wonder if some kind of elaborate gag was taking place when the Brighton fan and noted stamina enthusiast “The Hardest Geezer” was paraded on the pitch before kick-off at the Amex Stadium. What was that, Pep? Your team’s a bit tired? Why not tell it to the guy who’s just become the first person in history to run the length of Africa? He must be dying to hear about Bernardo Silva’s hamstrings.

Nobody is really buying it. The thing about City is that they are built to go the distance. Not only do they have the best technicians in the league, they also have a team packed with physical power.

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• Manager says his club want to play ‘winning football first’
• Beating Brentford could secure Premier League survival

Sean Dyche has insisted he will not be judged on playing style at ­Everton but by winning as he strives to secure the Premier League status of the ­financially troubled club.

They took a significant step towards that goal on Wednesday by winning the Merseyside derby for the first time in 14 years at Goodison Park. After the 2-0 defeat of Liverpool Dyche, conscious of the criticism his approach attracted during a run of 13 games without a win, claimed he wanted “to play beautiful football if I can, but I want to play winning football first.”

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• St Helens 13-12 Huddersfield
• Saints recover from 12-0 deficit to go top of Super League table

Top of the Super League table and one of the most impressive defensive starts to a league campaign in the modern era: but does anyone still know quite what to make of Paul Wellens’ St Helens in 2024?

The positives are clear. Granted, they may not end the weekend at the summit but after a dramatic victory against Huddersfield, for now, it is the Saints who sit on top. This early-season success has, without ­question, been built on their granite-like defence.

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• ‘It’s no secret that I want to go to Liverpool’
• Feyenoord coach confident the clubs will agree a deal

Arne Slot has revealed he is keen on a move to Liverpool and has ­“confidence” that a switch to Anfield will materialise.

The Feyenoord manager, who has become Liverpool’s preferred candidate to succeed Jurgen Klopp, was speaking to ESPN before the club’s Eredivisie game against Go Ahead Eagles. “The only thing I can say about it is that the clubs are in negotiations – and then you sit in the waiting room and wait for what will come out. It seems clear to me that I would like to go to Liverpool,” he said. “Now I am waiting to see whether the clubs reach an agreement. I have every ­confidence in that.”

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Ethan Wheatley became the latest homegrown talent to make their first-team debut in the win over Sheffield United

The quarter of a millennia has been 93 years in the making at Old Trafford and it was poignant that a local lad, Ethan Wheatley, became the 250th academy graduate to make their debut for Manchester United’s senior men’s team on Wednesday night.

The 18-year-old had spent the previous evening scoring two goals to help defeat Manchester City to win the Premier League Cup. Wheatley, who like his teammate Kobbie Mainoo was born in Stockport, became the 101st player from Greater Manchester to make the leap from academy to elite when he replaced Rasmus Hojlund late on against Sheffield United.

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• Newey believed to be unhappy with events this season
• News deals blow to Red Bull hopes of keeping Verstappen

Red Bull’s chief technical officer, Adrian Newey, is expected to leave the team, it has been reported. Newey is the most successful designer of the modern Formula One era and has been an instrumental part of Red Bull’s success but is said to have become uncomfortable with his ­position at the team since the team principal, Christian Horner, was cleared after an investigation into accusations of inappropriate behaviour by a female employee.

The 65-year-old Newey has been with Red Bull since 2006, only one year after the team was formed. He has since designed cars that have won seven drivers’ titles and six constructors’ championships for Red Bull and his talents have long been sought after by rivals across the paddock. Losing him would be an enormous blow to the team.

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• Spaniard eases to 6-1, 6-0 victory over 16-year-old wildcard
• Veteran to face Alex de Minaur in second round of Madrid Open

As Rafael Nadal prepared to enter the Estadio Manolo Santana for what could have been his final match on home soil, like every one of his matches this week could be, much of the 12,400 capacity crowd filled out the walkway around the stadium. He emerged to a prolonged standing ­ovation, necks craning to catch a fleeting glimpse of his entrance.

It was a moment. The start of a final homecoming for the greatest athlete from these lands, but it remains to be seen if he has more to give. Against an extremely young opponent out of his depth, Nadal moved into the second round of the Madrid Open with ­efficiency and ease, dismantling Darwin Blanch – 21 years his junior – 6-1, 6-0 in an hour. “At least two more days,” said Nadal afterwards. “In the end, I’m happy.”

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Captain reflects on her mum being a ‘rock’ and the Red Roses’ new coach as they chase another Six Nations grand slam

‘We’re in France and the crowd is going to be hostile,” Marlie Packer says as she looks ahead to Saturday’s Six Nations grand slam decider in Bordeaux with relish. “But we know that can flip on its head because of the French crowd. If they’re not happy with the way their team are playing, they turn on them and give them a bit of a hard time.”

Packer will win her 104th cap and, as captain, she also knows England have not lost a Six Nations match in six years. She played in that last defeat, away to France in Grenoble in March 2018, and so she has an acute awareness of the light and shade in rugby and life. Packer has lost two agonising World Cup finals, to New Zealand, but she helped England win the tournament in 2014.

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• Man who shot ex-Saints star receives 25-year prison sentence
• Smith was shot eight times during confrontation with Hayes

The man who fatally shot retired NFL star Will Smith during a confrontation following a car crash in 2016 received a 25-year prison sentence on Thursday in a New Orleans courtroom.

It was the second time Cardell Hayes, 36, had faced sentencing in Smith’s death. He was convicted of manslaughter in December 2016 and later sentenced to 25 years. But the jury vote had been 10-2 and the conviction was later tossed after the US supreme court outlawed such non-unanimous verdicts.

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• World No 1 ups the ante amid rumours of a rival tour
• O’Sullivan cruises into last 16 and Higgins also through

Ronnie O’Sullivan declared ­himself open to offers amid rumours of a rival snooker tour and warned he would walk away from the sport if he believed his talent was being undervalued.

Leading players, including O’Sullivan, are understood to have been approached by Far East backers about the prospect of establishing a breakaway circuit from as early as next season.

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• Independent prosecutor Eric Cottier appointed to review case
• In 2021 23 swimmers were cleared of doping after positive tests

The World Anti-Doping Agency has dismissed allegations that it is biased in favour of China as “damaging and baseless” and asked an independent prosecutor to review its handling of the case of 23 Chinese swimmers who were cleared of doping.

Wada said that the Swiss prosecutor Eric Cottier would be granted “full and unfettered access” to all its files and documents related to the case before reporting back in the next two months before the Paris Olympics.

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• English coach out of work since Chelsea sacking in April 2023
• Fifth-placed Ajax in danger of missing out on Europe

Ajax are interested in appointing Graham Potter as the former Chelsea manager considers a return to coaching after more than a year on the sidelines.

Potter, who is also on a list of potential replacements for Erik ten Hag at Manchester United, has been recharging his batteries since a challenging seven-month spell at Chelsea last season. The former Brighton manager has been linked with plenty of jobs and is determined not to be rushed into taking the wrong one.

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• Saif Alrubie denies intimidation over transfer fee commission
• Alrubie alleges he was owed GBP300,000 from Kurt Zouma deal

A top football agent has accused a former Chelsea executive of repeatedly lying about a transfer fee in order for the Premier League club to avoid paying him a commission, Southwark crown court has heard.

During an at times irascible appearance as the defendant, the agent Saif Alrubie, said Chelsea’s former ­director of football Marina ­Granovskaia misrepresented how much West Ham had paid the west London club for France defender Kurt Zouma in 2021 – effectively cutting him out of the deal and depriving him of fees.

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Former Household Cavalry officer ran epic 250-km, seven-day race across the Sahara

On the morning of his 76th birthday earlier this month, Harry Hunter emerged from a bivouac in southern Morocco to line up with more than 800 other runners in the Sahara.

Bar the chorus of Happy Birthday they greeted him with, there was little other celebration of this milestone, which saw Hunter subsequently become the oldest Briton to complete the epic Marathon des Sables, a 250-km (155-mile), seven-day race through rolling sand dunes and rocky mountains.

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Manager’s departure news is not to blame for his side losing their grasp on two, quite possibly three, trophies in quick time

In isolation, Jurgen Klopp did not have to apologise for losing for the first time in eight visits to Goodison Park. Bad nights happen. In the context of Liverpool’s sorry end to the season, however, an apology felt entirely appropriate.

“I really feel for the people, I am really sorry for that,” said the Liverpool manager after Wednesday’s derby defeat by Everton. “We never lost here before and that feels really different. I really apologise for that.” Klopp’s voice and choice of words captured Liverpool’s mood as the prospects of giving their manager a fitting send-off evaporated. Deflation. Yes, a new-look team was not expected to mount a title challenge this season. That is not a default excuse for recent underperformance. Yes, a quadruple is a fanciful ambition. That does not explain how Liverpool have allowed two, quite possibly three, trophies to slip from their grasp in less than six weeks.

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• Inguinal hernia has hampered GBP106.8m Argentina midfielder
• Mauricio Pochettino under pressure after consecutive defeats

Mauricio Pochettino’s hopes of holding on to his job as Chelsea’s head coach have been complicated by Enzo Fernandez needing to undergo surgery on a groin injury that will rule out the GBP106.8m midfielder for the rest of the season.

Fernandez has an inguinal hernia and the operation is set to sideline the Argentinian for the final six games, beginning with Saturday night’s trip to Aston Villa. The former Benfica midfielder has clearly been hampered by the injury and having surgery now will keep him in contention to play at this summer’s Copa America.

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The Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez has reversed his decision to leave the club at the end of the season as 'circumstances have changed'. Xavi originally decided to leave Barca, citing 'a lack of respect' with the belief that the club needed 'a change of direction'. However now he has said 'the main motive wasn’t because of the internal pressure' adding that he is keen to 'continue here with the utmost happiness ... [I am] willing to keep working and building a winning project'.

• Xavi Hernandez to stay on as Barcelona head coach in dramatic U-turn

• Xavi’s Barca U-turn shows breaking up is hard to do despite tough times

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Announcement was no shock but reflects environment shift at club and an appetite to find stability after a dismal week

Being the Barcelona manager is “cruel and unpleasant” Xavi Hernandez said, but in the end it is all he ever wanted, all he has got. He is all they have got too. And so on Wednesday night, three days after any lingering hopes of winning the league were extinguished, eight days after being knocked out of Europe again, 88 after announcing he was leaving and calling it a “liberation”, he decided that he would continue after all. Ultimately, he just could not let go and nor could they.

“I have no problem changing my mind,” Xavi said on Thursday. When he had said he was leaving on 27 January, Barcelona had just conceded five at home for the first time in 60 years, a defeat he described as a portrait of their season: self-inflicted and absurd, a complete collapse. He had previously linked his continuity to trophies, the first law of coaching; beaten 5-3 by Villarreal, they were 10 points off the top. They had also lost to Real Madrid in the Super Cup final and to Athletic in the Copa del Rey quarters, conceding four in each. Besides, it went deeper than defeats.

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Super-rich can avoid queues as club puts five-year debentures up for sale – applications close on Friday

Tennis fans who struggle each year to secure tickets in Wimbledon’s public ballot or wait hours in the famous queue may be surprised to discover that almost a fifth of the seats on Centre Court are being sold to the global super-rich for GBP116,000 – each.

A total of 2,520 of the “debentures” are on sale, offering a reserved seat for each of the 14 days of the tournament for five years from 2026-30. Applications to buy the exclusive seats – positioned on the same level as the royal box – close at midday on Friday.

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A thrilling first-round encounter between Shang Juncheng and Corentin Moutet at the Madrid Open descended into controversy. Early on, Moutet clashed with the umpire after accusing a fan of verbal abuse and demanding their removal. He then claimed a fan spilled water on him mid-point in the third set. Adding to the drama, the Frenchman produced a bizarre moment in the decisive tiebreaker, attempting a foot return after his racquet fell while serving. Moutet ended up losing the marathon 3hr 59min match 6(9)-7, 6-2, 7-6(10) to the Chinese youngster.

"It's gotta be the longest match I have ever played in my life," said Shang after his victory. "On clay it was very tough physically against an amazing player like Corentin ... It was almost the perfect match for me.”

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• Increase in walking sees activity return to pre-Covid levels
• Active Lives research shows two million moving more since 2016

A silver surge in walking has led to record levels of physical activity among the over-55s in England, the latest edition of the authoritative Active Lives adult survey has revealed.

Figures covering November 2022 to 2023, showed that 62.3% of 55-74-year-olds did at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week, up from 57% in 2016 when the survey was first commissioned. More striking still was the rise in activity in the over-75s, with 42.8% considered active, up from 33.4% seven years ago.

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Mikel Arteta’s side are chasing the title but Ange Postecoglou wants a top-four spot and has the tools to hurt his local rivals

After Arsenal lost to Aston Villa and went out of the Champions League in the same week, there were suggestions their season was at risk of unravelling. Since then, they have secured a win at Wolves and thrashed Chelsea but they face a pivotal test of their credentials against Tottenham on Sunday.

That game is not just about a team fighting for the title travelling to one aiming to qualify for the Champions League; there is a lot more at stake in a derby – just ask Liverpool. The effect of hostility should not be underestimated in season-defining matches. Tottenham will be desperate to dent the Gunners’ chances of securing a first Premier League trophy in 20 years.

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PSG’s summer signings Ousmane Dembele and Goncalo Ramos proved they are clicking at last against Lorient

By Eric Devin for Get French Football News

This was the situation Paris Saint-Germain faced on Wednesday night at the Stade du Moustoir: Luis Enrique sent out a heavily rotated team, the visitors having all but secured the league title, and they were away to a Lorient side with talented individuals, fighting to stay in the top flight. It sounded like a recipe for dropped points and there is a precedent: PSG closed out the end of last season with a draw to Strasbourg and a loss to Clermont at home. The latter result certainly dampened the title celebrations at the Parc des Princes.

However, the leaders barely blinked, even with Achraf Hakimi, Warren Zaire-Emery, Marquinhos, Bradley Barcola and Vitinha not travelling to Brittany. A brace each from Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele was more than PSG needed to put the hapless Merlus to the sword, 4-1.

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Female players claim they feel punished after coming forward anonymously to report sexual and moral harassment

• Moving the Goalposts: sign up for our free newsletter

Santos found themselves at the centre of controversy this month when the Brazilian football club decided to bring back their former manager Kleiton Lima seven months after he had been accused of moral and sexual harassment by players in last year’s squad.

All eight matches in the fifth round of the national league saw protests against Lima, who left the club again after one game versus Corinthians that saw their opponents cover their ears and mouths during the Brazilian national anthem. Lima had been at Santos since 2022 and left the club in September 2023 after players complained about his conduct through 19 anonymous letters, published by the Brazilian news website GE.

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Jurgen Klopp apologised for Liverpool's first Merseyside derby defeat at Everton in 14 years and admitted his team need 'a crisis' to unfold at Arsenal and Manchester City to remain in the Premier League title race. Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin soured the Reds' title challenge as the hosts powered their way to a priceless 2-0 derby victory at Goodison Park.

After the match the Liverpool manager felt 'very disappointed, frustrated' and summed the game up by saying 'It wasn't good enough. We played the game that Everton wanted.'

• ‘Not good enough’: Klopp apologises for Liverpool’s derby defeat at Everton

• Sean Dyche’s tracksuit energy shocks weary Liverpool into submission

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Our season was defined by tragedies off the pitch and a remarkable resilience that guided the team through it

During lockdown, many turned to baking exotic sourdough or participating in one-time Zoom quizzes. I, however, created an animation with my kids to explore how the mind works, emphasising emotion and intuition as life’s dominant forces. The philosopher Jonathan Haidt uses the elephant and rider metaphor to illustrate this: the elephant represents our emotional, instinctive self, full of raw passion, while the rider symbolises our rational mind, often struggling to control this surge of emotions.

Since September emotion has been the dominant force in my universe. At Grimsby Town, we’ve spent seven months circling the drain of relegation and only in our penultimate game of the season against Swindon Town did a plug of mathematical certainty finally go in.

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Despite relegation to England’s fourth tier, Cod Army have cast net to be like ‘City Football Group but on a much smaller scale’

Fleetwood United’s celebrations on becoming second division champions in the United Arab Emirates could not be dampened even by a freak thunderstorm in Dubai. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” the captain Ben Pringle told the Guardian. “It was the most rain they have had for 75 years. Cars were underwater on the motorway.”

This is not supposed to happen in the glittering city of skyscrapers and excitement but then Fleetwood Town, a club that have just dropped into England’s fourth tier, are not really supposed to be at the head of a stable of international clubs that also includes Waterford FC in Ireland and Western Cape Fleetwood in South Africa.

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• Argentinian easily wins first-round match 6-2, 6-2
• Harriet Dart also out in straight sets; Jack Draper through

The great challenge of professional tennis is not just performing at a high level but doing so week after week, regardless of the conditions, for a sustained period of time. Emma Raducanu has shown that she is capable of short bursts of excellence, but consistency and durability remain elusive. On Wednesday she suffered a comprehensive defeat in the first round of the Madrid Open, losing 6-2, 6-2 to Maria Lourdes Carle, an Argentinian qualifier.

Raducanu had arrived in Madrid having led Great Britain to victory over France in the Billie Jean King Cup before reaching the quarter-final in Stuttgart, a WTA 500 event, only losing in two tight sets to Iga Swiatek, the world No 1. But here she put in a dire performance. She struggled to find her range, missing badly as her unforced errors piled up off both wings.

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After four minutes, and a Leandro Trossard opener set up by Declan Rice gliding unhindered, Liverpool and Manchester City fans were already flicking to the Championship battle between Leicester and Southampton in disappointment. Could Arsenal’s utter dominance fade and Mikel Arteta’s touchline anxiety take hold of his players? No chance. Once Arsenal realised that Chelsea really are “Cole Palmer FC” and Wythenshawe’s finest was resting up with a bug, the match turned into a rout, Chelsea offering less than zero resistance. Placing any hopes in this iteration of Chelsea has been a lost cause for two years. Still, the rebrand has its unique selling point in the marketplace of ideas. Question: what’s Chelsea best known for? Answer: the billion-pound team that lets down fans each week.

Congratulations are in order to Chelsea for finding a way to embody an entertaining inversion of the Harlem Globetrotters – expensively assembled and individually skilful performers turning up to play a series of opponents, but with the unique twist of being absolutely and hilariously awful” – Charles Antaki.

Re: ‘Mes Que Un Desesperado Club’ (yesterday’s Football Daily, full email edition) and your continued obsession with ‘Nottingham Forest’s paranoid take on the selection of VAR officials’. Please read this article and you might understand why we are paranoid. Yours paranoiacally” – Charlie Harvey.

Such a biased article about David Moyes and West Ham ( yesterday’s Football Daily). Shame on you. ‘Soulless’ is a completely wrong description of the London Stadium and should be corrected or the writer sacked” – Tom Smith.

Thanks for pointing me to Ruben Amorim’s Wikipedia page ( yesterday’s Football Daily). So much interesting stuff. His wife has a degree in telecommunications engineering. He has 14 caps for Portugal. He shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. Oh wait – that’s Johnny Cash’s page. Sorry” – Mike Wilner.

Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Charles Antaki.

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

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The 19-year-old climbing protege is backed by dad Tristian, who built a wall in the garden and coached his son to the top

When climbing’s Tokyo 2020 debut was announced in 2016, 12-year-old Toby Roberts from Surrey was “instantly hooked” by an Olympic dream but he would be too young to compete in Japan. Instead he hatched an eight-year plan targeting the 2024 Games, with non-climber dad Tristian supporting as rope-holder, coach, taxi “and bank” – even building a climbing wall in the garden of the family home. This summer their shared ambition will culminate high on the Olympic walls in Paris.

Roberts is now 19 and his love for his sport is stronger than ever. He says more than 20 times during this interview that “I love climbing/training/competing/trying hard”. His parents Tristian and Marina couldn’t be prouder. “It’s been a privilege – it’s inspiring to see how hard he works,” Tristian says.

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Mauricio Pochettino refused to blame his players for Chelsea's record defeat to Arsenal but lamented the inconsistency of his team. The Blues manager said: 'Our standard doesn’t sustain the bad days. When we have bad days, you know, we are so bad. And then when we are good, we are capable of everything.' Pochettino's comments come after Arsenal defeated his side 5-0.

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Erik ten Hag has called media coverage of Manchester United's win over Coventry in the FA Cup semi-final a 'disgrace'. Having a 3-0 lead at Wembley with 20 minutes to go and then won on penalties, United were criticised by pundits and fans. Asked if he understood the response, Ten Hag said: 'No, absolutely not ... is it [the result] embarrassing? No, the reaction from you [the media] was embarrassing ... For me as a manager, four cup finals in four years. The comments are a disgrace.'

• Ten Hag calls reaction to Manchester United’s win over Coventry a ‘disgrace’

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A 2-1 win against Milan clinched the Serie A title for Inter. The two Milan clubs began this season tied on 19 league titles each but now Inter will be the first to add a second gold star to their club badge for a 20th Scudetto. Not even the rain could dampen the spirits of the Nerazzurri and their fans: flares and fireworks were set off in the city centre as fans sang and danced through the night.

• Inter could not have imagined a more satisfying way to win 20th Scudetto

• Inter seal historic 20th Serie A title with derby victory over Milan

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Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzanne Wrack for an interview with Fifpro representatives, Sarah Gregorius and Alex Culvin, plus Dutch international, Merel van Dongen, to discuss how footballers are being affected by the packed schedule. Also, Sophie Downey rounds up the weekend action in the Champion’s League and WSL

Today’s pod features an exclusive interview with representatives from the global players’ union, Fifpro, who, alongside the Netherlands defender Merel van Dongen, share their views on how footballers are being affected by the packed schedule.

The panel also discuss Chelsea's inspired Champions League win against Barcelona, Manchester City retaking the WSL lead, Arsenal securing European football, Palace's Championship title charge and relegation for Lewes …

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The weather is still not playing ball in the County Championship but at least it’s a Dukes

By Gary Naylor for the 99.94 Cricket Blog

Three rounds in, and Division One has begun to take on a familiar shape, led by the winners of all but one of the pennants awarded since 2016. Essex, the only side to conjure a win from the two Kookaburra rounds, steamrollered a sorry Lancashire team to win by an innings at Chelmsford, their dominance illustrated by the fact that 11 visiting batters had two goes each for a top score of 35 – Essex’s nightwatchman, Sam Cook made 49.

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Our cartoonist on the scrapping of replays, fixture congestion, drama at Wembley and that Nottingham Forest statement

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Wada has defended its process as aggrieved athletes claim the anti-doping system only works if everyone is subject to same rules

Australian swimmer Shayna Jack has always denied consuming ligandrol, a banned performance enhancing drug. But, when Jack was subject to an out-of-competition anti-doping test at Tobruk Pool in Cairns in 2019, she returned an adverse analytical finding. As is protocol, Jack was issued a provisional suspension, the suspension was made public and the swimmer was ultimately handed a four-year ban from the sport.

On appeal, Jack insisted that she had not knowingly taken ligandrol. She speculated that legal supplements she was taking might have been contaminated, or that she could have come into contact with the substance while using public pool facilities. But because the global anti-doping regime operates on a strict liability basis, a lack of evidence that Jack did not knowingly ingest ligandrol was insufficient.

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Chelsea earn chance to make history, City keep the pressure on at the top and the Holmgaards produce some magic for Everton

“Our team did a lot to limit chances as a whole. You can only do that together and not individually. The team as a whole did that job well today. Everything has to be perfect for you to get close to winning a game of football [against Barcelona],” said Emma Hayes after Chelsea’s 1-0 win over in the first leg of their Women’s Champions League semi-final and that, really, was the crux of their success. They defended as a team, attacked as a team, held their shape collectively and achieved perfection when executing the gameplan. Can they do it again in the second leg at Stamford Bridge? It will be difficult to make lightening strike twice, but the belief will be there. Hayes wants to see a sellout crowd at Stamford Bridge because her players “deserve to play in front of a full house to give ourselves the best possible chance.” There is certainly no greater opportunity for a sellout crowd than history beckoning. Suzanne Wrack

Match report: Barcelona 0-1 Chelsea

WSL roundup: Shaw double helps City move top

Minute-by-minute report: Manchester Utd 2-2 Tottenham

Minute-by-minute report: Arsenal 3-0 Leicester

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Manchester United snatch chaos from jaws of serenity, Nicolas Jackson misfires and Liverpool stay in hunt

Jammy, jammy Man United. To be fair, they did find a new way to be hopeless. Instead of the usual mayhem, they were in total control for 70 minutes, barely letting Coventry have a shot. But then, somehow, they snatched chaos from the jaws of serenity. ITV, and all their teatime viewers, couldn’t believe their luck as a cakewalk turned into a classic. United threw away a 3-0 lead, and for a minute, right at the end of extra time, they were 4-3 down – only for the VAR to come to their rescue, after he had failed to when they conceded a penalty. We were witnessing history, comedy, tragedy, the lot. Casemiro took the first penalty and missed. Destiny was surely calling to Coventry, but Andre Onana rose to the occasion, flying to his right to paw away one penalty, craftily engineering a miss from another, and saving Erik ten Hag’s job. For now, anyway. Tim de Lisle

Match report: Coventry 3-3 Manchester United (2-4 pens)

Match report: Manchester City 1-0 Chelsea

Match report: Fulham 1-3 Liverpool

Match report: Wolves 0-2 Arsenal

Match report: Everton 2-0 Nottingham Forest

Match report: Sheffield United 1-4 Burnley

Match report: Aston Villa 3-1 Bournemouth

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As the uniforms for the Olympics and Paralympics are revealed to the world, we cast an eye over the threads that different countries will be wearing at Paris 2024

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Race distance seen as pinnacle of human achievement since time of ancient Greece is no longer the finishing line for what body can endure

The Olympic marathon held 120 years ago saw 32 people start, 14 finish, the winner disqualified for spending most of the race in a car, and another competitor undergo emergency surgery for the damage caused by inhaling dust thrown up by the cars and bicycles that accompanied the athletes around the outskirts of St Louis.

“When the Games are held in 1908 I do not think that the marathon will be included in the program,” said James Sullivan of the Amateur Athletic Union, the event’s organiser. “I personally am opposed to it and it is indefensible on any ground but historic. A 25-mile run is asking too much of human endurance. In sending some 30 men or more into an endurance test as keen and terrible as the marathon run, an awful chance is taken.”

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Lock hopes for a repeat of deafening support at Twickenham as favourites England take on Ireland in Women’s Six Nations

The England lock Zoe Aldcroft calls for the ball as soon as she sees Sarah Beckett has punctured the France defence. The forward offloads to Aldcroft, who beats Emilie Boulard to weave her way to the line for England’s fifth try in the first half in their grand slam-winning match at Twickenham 12 months ago. The subsequent wall of crowd noise is what Aldcroft remembers most on a day that broke the world attendance record for a women’s rugby game.

The score went on to be nominated for World Rugby’s try of the year and it is clear to see why. It was a fluid and fast-paced attack, with its buildup involving 18 passes and five rucks. Aldcroft, who ultimately lost out on the try award to Italy’s Sofia Stefan, is hunting that roar from fans once again on Saturday as the Red Roses take on Ireland at the home of English rugby.

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Have you been paying attention to the big stories in football, athletics, cricket, basketball, snooker and golf?

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