Unai Emery had to tear up the plan. Aston Villa had started this game in a compact 4-2-2-2 formation but they were desperate for much of the first hour. Their passing was lethargic, they had no width, they were 1-0 down to a dominant Chelsea and it seemed the story...
MCG curator concedes pitch went ‘too far’ in favouring bowlers amid criticism over short Boxing Day Test
Curator says he was in a ‘state of shock’ watching match unfold ‘We’re very, very disappointed that it’s only gone two days’ The MCG’s head curator has conceded staff went “too far” in preparing a pitch that favoured the bowlers too heavily in the Boxing Day Test, saying he was...
Bristol survive scare but Newcastle off the mark in Prem as Spencer seals bonus
Bristol 36-27 Newcastle Visitors lose after leading 27-17 but four tries earn first point In the end Bristol had too much. A display of equal parts grit and skill by Newcastle threatened a huge festive upset in the freezing-cold south-west, but two tries by the elusive Louis Rees-Zammit and some...
Your Guardian sport weekend: Premier League, Ashes and NFL
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I was there: Carlos Alcaraz’s comeback in French Open final is still hard to comprehend
Jannik Sinner dominated for three hours and 43 minutes, but the Spaniard somehow prevailed in an adrenaline-filled fifth set and all-time classic It was not until what appeared to be the dying moments of the French Open final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz that I realised it could be...
NFL playoff race: Bears and 49ers clash with playoff bye week at stake
Week 17 delivers a decisive at Soldier Field as Chicago and San Francisco battle for positioning in a crowded NFC race for the No 1 seed and a precious first-round bye Chicago Bears (11-4) v San Francisco 49ers (11-4) Continue reading...
Hou Yifan, women’s world No 1, stars in rare appearance at Global Chess League
The four-time women’s world champion, ranked the No 2 all-time woman after the retired Judit Polgar, shows that she retains her skills Hou Yifan, the all-time No 2 woman grandmaster after the retired Judit Polgar and currently ranked women’s world No 1, showed that she retained her brilliant skills when...
Cautious Middlesbrough lose ground on leaders with goalless Blackburn draw
Kim Hellberg’s determination to succeed as Middlesbrough manager runs deep. So deep that he decided it would be best if his wife and two small children spent Christmas in their native Sweden while he continued to put in long days on Teesside. Given that the Hellberg family will soon be...
Harry Redknapp says he’s ‘in Champions League’ after Jukebox’s King George hit
Former football manager’s horse wins Kempton thriller Cheltenham Gold Cup up next for the gutsy winner “Today, we’ve gone into the Champions League,” Harry Redknapp, the owner of The Jukebox Man, said after his horse had fought back to win an extraordinary three-way photo-finish in the King George VI Chase...
Jacques Vermeulen on song as Sale batter Harlequins in second half
Sale 43-17 Harlequins Flanker scores two tries to help hosts romp to victory Of all the indignities heaped on Harlequins this season, and goodness knows there have been a few, this Christmas stuffing was perhaps the most humiliating. Leading 17-12 at the interval against a Sale side who had lost...