Jose Mourinho leaves Manchester United after worst season start in three decades December 18, 2018 Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has left his job amid the club's worst start to the season in almost three decades. The Premier League team, which is currently languishing in sixth place, said the Portuguese manager was leaving with immediate effect after two and a half years in the job. The club was beaten 3-1 [...]
Champions League and Europa League draws: A guide to English teams’ ties in the knockout rounds December 17, 2018 Monday’s draws for football’s European club competitions conjured some mouth-watering ties involving British sides, including a Premier League versus Bundesliga triple bill. In the Champions League last 16, Liverpool take on Bayern Munich, Manchester City meet Schalke, Tottenham face Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United play Paris Saint-Germain. Meanwhile the Europa League draw for the last [...]
Sam Torrance: Europe’s Ryder Cup success tops the bill in my golfing highlights of 2018 December 17, 2018 From Europe's Ryder Cup glory to Francesco Molinari's breakthrough and a British Major winner in Georgia Hall, it has been a vintage year for golf. Here, Sam Torrance picks his highlights from 2018. 1. Pulverised in Paris Europe didn’t just beat the United States at this year’s Ryder Cup; they outclassed, out-thought and comprehensively out-played a [...]
Five things we learned from Liverpool 3, Manchester United 1: Reds pass another test; Jose Mourinho’s men losing touch with top five; Xherdan Shaqiri proves his worth December 16, 2018 The tests keep on coming for this Liverpool team and, with a new-found composure and a growing sense of destiny, Jurgen Klopp’s side keep on batting them away. On Sunday the challenge was to translate their momentum into a first Premier League win over Manchester United since 2014 and return to the top of the [...]
Weekend football talking points: Ralph Hasenhuttl makes Southampton mark; Tottenham super-subs; Leroy Sane shines in Benjamin Mendy’s absence; Rangers make Celtic sweat December 16, 2018 Southampton’s first home Premier League win since April, a harum-scarum 3-2 victory that ended Arsenal’s 22-game unbeaten run in all competitions, was a day to remember for new manager Ralph Hasenhuttl. The impact of the Austrian, known as a task-master who favours a high-intensity approach, was evident on Sunday as the Saints gave the Gunners [...]
Boxing’s heavyweight division has failed to live up to expectations in 2018… Next year the best must face each other December 16, 2018 As the year draws to a close, it's hard to look back on boxing's heavyweight division without a tinge of scepticism as to why some of the big fights that could have been did not happen. We were promised fireworks and told that Anthony Joshua would be fighting to become the undisputed, unified, heavyweight champion [...]
The great TV robbery: How the world’s biggest sports broadcaster lost $1bn to a brazen campaign of piracy December 13, 2018 Imagine you’ve had something stolen. But this isn’t a conventional theft: you know who did it, how they did it, where they are – and you can prove it. It isn’t a one-off theft, but rather a never-ending succession of offences which the perpetrator does nothing to hide. Instead they taunt you frequently by flouting [...]
Liverpool v Manchester United: Jurgen Klopp’s team primed to end hoodoo against rivals but don’t discount party-pooper Jose Mourinho December 13, 2018 Supremacy in the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United has swung back and forth between English football’s two traditional powerhouses but there is no mistaking where it lies currently. Liverpool have added an armour-pleated rearguard to their quicksilver front line, are enjoying their best ever start to a Premier League season and sit top of [...]
Horse Racing Betting Tips: Rather Be with Cepage at the prices in Caspian Caviar December 13, 2018 LAST month’s BetVictor Gold Cup was a dramatic race to say the least. Gary Moore’s Baron Alco was out in front avoiding all the carnage in behind and he now tries to follow up in tomorrow’s Caspian Caviar Gold Cup (1.55pm). This is not an easy double to pull off, with Exotic Dancer the last [...]
Horse Racing Betting Tips: First time looks the right time to catch O O Seven December 13, 2018 THERE is a danger of sounding like a scratched record every week, but second guessing trainers’ running plans for tomorrow ahead of this morning’s declaration stage isn’t easy. The feature race on the Cheltenham card is the Grade Two Unibet International Hurdle (3.05pm) which had been earmarked as the target reappearance race for Willie Mullins’ [...]