More at stake for Arsenal and Unai Emery than Chelsea and Maurizio Sarri in Europa League final between managers with points to prove May 28, 2019 When Unai Emery and Maurizio Sarri pitched up in London a year ago they did so with something to prove. For the Spaniard, it was that his failure to deliver the clean sweep of honours that Paris Saint-Germain’s hierarchy craved owed more to the unique ecosystem of France’s richest club than his own shortcomings as [...]
Aston Villa hit £170m jackpot after promotion gambles pay off against Derby County May 27, 2019 It tends to take a gamble to escape the bear pit of the Championship. Aston Villa have bet bigger than most and now, with victory in the play-off final over Derby County on Monday, they have scooped the £170m jackpot that promotion to the Premier League guarantees. Villa were rewarded for rolling the dice on [...]
England build confidence for the World Cup despite comfortable nature of Afghanistan win May 27, 2019 In the end it wasn’t so much a warm-up as a cool down – an opportunity to get loose before Thursday’s World Cup grand opening. England craved a win after Saturday’s 12-run defeat by Australia, but when it came at The Oval against Afghanistan its nature diminished its significance, the home side chasing 160 in [...]
Johanna Konta’s long-awaited first French Open win is British No1’s latest cause for optimism May 27, 2019 It took seven visits to Roland Garros but, finally, Johanna Konta is into the second round of the French Open and entitled to feel cautiously optimistic that her campaign in Paris will not end there. The British No1 – beaten in the first round for the last four years and defeated in qualifying in both [...]
Rage 2 review: This post-apocalyptic zombie sequel falls flat despite some tight gunplay May 24, 2019 On the face of it, it’s strange that this game even exists, given that the original Rage, released in 2011, sold poorly and left little cultural impression. After playing this drab, repetitive sequel, I’m still unsure why they decided to bring it back for a second outing. I heard the faint ringing of alarm bells [...]
John Wick 3 review: Keanu Reeves shines in the action franchise’s brilliant third installment May 24, 2019 The John Wick films are so far ahead of other Hollywood action movies that this third installment is the best the genre has produced in recent years, without even being the best film in the franchise. We pick up immediately after the end of Chapter 2, with Wick having been declared ‘excommunicado’ from the High [...]
Aladdin review: Disney fails to justify remaking the classic animation May 24, 2019 The first thing you notice about this $180m live-action reboot of Disney’s beloved 1992 animation is the unexpected poverty of its visuals. The set design has an end-of-year school play vibe, all gaudy colours and plywood walls stuck together with adhesive. It feels more Disneyland than Disney. The widespread scepticism that greeted Guy Ritchie’s installment [...]
Our Town review: Thornton Wilder’s classic play about everyday life comes to Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre May 24, 2019 Thornton Wilder’s 1938 play Our Town is a kind of time capsule, a snapshot of everyday life in a New Hampshire town during the first years of the 20th century. The fourth-wall breaking narrator says as much, promising to bury the play’s text in a box alongside the US constitution, a bible and a copy [...]
Arsene Wenger on his future, being a tech investor, science taking over football and his dream of an Arsenal university May 24, 2019 When Arsene Wenger said his goodbyes to Arsenal, bringing down the curtain on a 22-year tenure which transformed the club and left an indelible mark on English football, he was adamant about one thing: he was not hanging up that manager’s coat with the pesky zip for good. But weeks turned into months and now, [...]
Ollie Phillips: Don’t expect a shock – Saracens and Exeter are streets ahead of their Premiership play-off rivals May 23, 2019 The Premiership semi-finals are upon us this weekend and it is very much a case of challengers taking on heavy favourites. Saracens and Exeter have been dominant over the past few seasons and it will take a mammoth effort from Gloucester or Northampton to reach the final. Saracens have won three of the last four [...]