Díaz and Olise late show sends Bayern into semi-finals after Real Madrid classic

A breathless, consistently thrilling game ended with Bayern Munich booking a semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain but that tie will be hard pushed to eclipse what happened here. Real Madrid were ahead three times through Arda Guler, twice, and Kylian Mbappé; they were pegged back by Aleksandar Pavlovic, Harry Kane and, at the death, Luis Díaz and in the end had only themselves to blame. Michael Olise rounded things off in added time and it means Real’s last chance of salvaging a big prize from their campaign was left in tatters.

If Manuel Neuer felt relieved after a ropey personal display that contributed to Real’s first two goals, a penny for the thoughts of Eduardo Camavinga after a red card that gave Díaz and Bayern the platform for their decisive late burst. A knife-edge tie that had been see-sawing towards to extra time was put well beyond his side in an instant.

Published: April 15, 2026, 9:11 pm

Edgy Arsenal squeeze past Sporting Lisbon to set up Atlético semi-final

To borrow a line from Mikel Arteta, it is not meant to be easy. And it was anything but on the latest anxiety-ridden, claustrophobic occasion for his Arsenal team.

The club’s recent wobble has been pronounced. The loss to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final. The FA Cup exit at Southampton. The Premier League defeat against Bournemouth. The nerves are pounding like a migraine and this was a night that was entirely outcome-based.

Published: April 15, 2026, 9:01 pm

Las Vegas Aces re-sign four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson to reported $5m contract

• Aces retain championship core with Wilson signing

• Contract is the most lucrative in league history

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The defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces completed the process of bringing back their core group by re-signing four-time MVP A’ja Wilson on Wednesday.

Terms were not released, per club policy, but ESPN reported the deal is a three-year, $5m supermax contract, which would make it the most lucrative in WNBA history.

Published: April 15, 2026, 7:49 pm

LIV Golf meeting in New York fuels speculation over rebel tour’s future

• Funding for $5bn tour could be cut back

• Saudi focus now more on football and esport

The future of LIV Golf is in doubt, with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund preparing to cut funding for the $5bn rebel tour.

LIV executives were late arriving at the tour event in Mexico City this week after being called up to a meeting in New York, with uncertainty over the immediate future first emerging at the Masters in Augusta last weekend. Rumours that LIV could even be shut down had begun to circulate on social media on Tuesday evening, with officials from the tour declining to respond.

Published: April 15, 2026, 6:01 pm

The Dianna Russini fallout is less about scandal than who carries blame in the NFL | Melissa Jacobs

Rumors about the reporter and New England head coach Mike Vrabel flew all week. The conclusion to the saga was all too predictable

Dianna Russini, one of the NFL’s most high-profile reporters, is photographed holding hands with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel at a fancy resort in Sedona, Arizona. Rumors fly. Vrabel and Russini, who are both married to other people, issue statements denying the assumptions of something untoward. But the firestorm only grows. Russini resigns from her post at the Athletic, Vrabel continues with his job as usual.

The female reporter’s career is in shambles. Meanwhile, it’s business as usual for the male head coach.

Published: April 15, 2026, 2:20 pm

Spoelstra says Hornets’ Ball should have been ejected before ending Miami Heat’s season

• Ball appeared to trip Bam Adebayo in Tuesday’s game

• Hornets went on to win play-in game in overtime

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said LaMelo Ball should have been ejected for tripping Bam Adebayo, leading to an injury that knocked the Heat’s star center out of Tuesday night’s 127-126 play-in tournament loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

Ball fell to the floor after missing a shot on a drive to the basket early in the second quarter, and appeared to reach out and grab Adebayo’s left leg, causing the center to fall on his back. Ball was not called for a foul, and Adebayo remained on the floor as play continued. He eventually walked to the locker room under his own power but did not return.

Published: April 15, 2026, 12:58 pm

Former Alabama player allegedly impersonated NFL’s Penix, Njoku and McKinney in $20m loan scam

Luther Davis, a national champion with the Crimson Tide, is said to have worn wigs and make-up to secure fraudulent loans

A former University of Alabama national champion plans to plead guilty later this month to orchestrating an alleged scheme in which he impersonated NFL players and defrauded lenders out of nearly $20m. The alleged scam is described in detail by the US attorney for the northern district of Georgia, including depictions of the former defensive lineman donning disguises during loan closings.

Luther Davis, a member of the Alabama football team that won the 2010 national championship game, along with a partner, CJ Evins, “obtained at least thirteen fraudulent loans totaling more than $19,845,000”, the criminal information filing alleges. A criminal information (CI) document is filed by a US attorney when a defendant agrees to waive the constitutional right to indictment by a grand jury and instead proceed by typically entering a guilty plea; both Davis and Evins are doing so according to the court docket.

Aliya Sports said it had no further comment on this article. Sure Sports did not reply to a request for comment.

Published: April 15, 2026, 9:00 am

MLS will have fewer US World Cup players than ever. Its impact is being felt anyway

The league’s emphasis on youth development has seen its place in the careers of US national team players shift dramatically

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When the United States men’s national team traveled to France for the 1998 World Cup, they did so with 16 Major League Soccer players on their 22-man roster. This was very much by design. MLS had kicked off in 1996 as a fulfilled promise made to Fifa by US Soccer for the right to host the 1994 World Cup. The new league then set about hoarding as many national team players as it could.

In a winless and mirthless tournament in 1998, fraught by a fractious camp, the Americans started an MLS player 21 times in their three group-stage matches, for an average of seven per starting lineup. That number has trended down ever since. In the 2002 run to the World Cup quarter-finals, setting the program’s modern high-water mark, an average of 5.4 MLS players made a start in the USA’s five matches. In 2006, it was 3.33. By 2010, that number had sunk to two; and in 2022, it was only one. In Qatar, the USMNT’s final group stage match against Iran was, in fact, the first time the team had started no MLS players at all at a World Cup since the league’s founding.

Published: April 15, 2026, 11:00 am

Unhappy Verstappen ‘has to be listened to’ over new rules, says F1 chief Domenicali

• Red Bull driver outspoken about regulation changes

• ‘In a meeting he was very keen to give suggestions’

Formula One must listen to Max Verstappen’s grievances about the sport’s new regulations and their effects on racing, according to F1’s CEO, Stefano Domenicali. His intervention comes as key players hold meetings to consider adjusting the rules for the remainder of the season.

Verstappen has been outspoken in his dissatisfaction with the new formula and the part energy management now plays in preventing being able to race flat-out. The four-time champion is not alone in his feelings with other drivers also critical of the deployment and recharging of electrical energy.

Published: April 15, 2026, 2:49 pm

Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitiké ruled out for rest of season and World Cup with France

• Forward could be out until 2027 with suspected achilles tendon rupture

• Ekitiké is club’s leading goalscorer this season with 17 goals

The Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitiké will miss the rest of the season and the World Cup with the injury he sustained against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, Didier Deschamps has confirmed.

Ekitiké suffered a suspected achilles tendon rupture in the first half of Liverpool’s Champions League quarter-final second leg defeat and could be sidelined until next year as a result. The full extent of the 23-year-old’s injury has not been confirmed – he underwent scans on Wednesday and Liverpool are expected to provide an update later this week – but the head coach of the France national team has ruled Ekitiké out of his plans for this summer’s World Cup.

Published: April 15, 2026, 7:23 pm

Bournemouth in talks with Marco Rose to replace Andoni Iraola as head coach

• Iraola leaving at end of the season

• Rose out of work since March 2025

Bournemouth are in advanced talks with Marco Rose to replace Andoni Iraola as their head coach. The German has emerged as the leading candidate and a deal for him to take over at the end of the season could be agreed by the end of this week.

Bournemouth have also given strong consideration to moving for Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna, but Rose is available now and boasts a strong CV. McKenna’s contract contains a buyout clause and no negotiations can be held with him before the end of the Championship season. The Northern Irishman is trying to lead Ipswich back into the Premier League and the club are likely to resist any attempt to take the 39-year-old away from Portman Road.

Published: April 15, 2026, 2:07 pm

Harry Maguire given extra one-match ban for ‘joke’ comment towards officials

• Defender shown red card against Bournemouth

• Officials claim Maguire made remark as he left field

Harry Maguire will miss Manchester United’s trip to Chelsea having been handed an additional one-match ban by the Football Association for his reaction to being sent off at Bournemouth.

The 33-year-old was shown a red card at the Vitality Stadium last month for a foul in the area on ­Evanilson, with Eli Junior Kroupi scoring from the resulting penalty as Bournemouth sealed a 2-2 draw.

Published: April 15, 2026, 3:52 pm

Everton mark 37th anniversary of Hillsborough with tribute to 97 at Hill Dickinson Stadium

• Club unveil plaque outside South Stand at new stadium

• Representatives of families attend ceremony

Everton have marked the 37th ­anniversary of the Hillsborough ­disaster by unveiling a permanent tribute at Hill Dickinson Stadium to the 97 Liverpool supporters who were unlawfully killed.

Representatives of the Hillsborough families and Liverpool FC were invited to a ceremony at ­Everton’s new stadium on Wednesday to pay respects to the 97 and unveil a plaque outside the South Stand.

Published: April 15, 2026, 4:30 pm

Slot’s misplaced positivity does not tally with harsh reality of Liverpool’s season | Andy Hunter

Return of Alexander Isak is all well and good, but it will not redeem a season of sustained underperformance

“The failure is big,” said Ryan Gravenberch as he digested the Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain that ensured Liverpool’s season will finish trophyless. It was a more appropriate description of the team’s plight than Arne Slot’s insistence the future looks bright and a reality the head coach cannot avoid whether Champions League qualification for next season is secured or not. As it must be.

Failure is unthinkable for a club whose business model depends on its lucrative revenue streams and a team that 12 months ago was about to win the Premier League title at a canter and then remodelled to the tune of almost £450m. With the top five all qualifying, Chelsea fading from the conversation under Liam Rosenior and a five-point advantage over Brentford and Everton with six games to play, it would be a humiliating final blow for Liverpool to miss out. Slot’s defence for getting a third season to manage Liverpool’s transition would be holed.

Published: April 15, 2026, 3:11 pm

Sheffield Wednesday’s prospective buyers in talks over partial lifting of transfer ban before next deduction

• Club under a transfer fee embargo until 2027

• Arise hope takeover will be approved by end of season

Sheffield Wednesday’s prospective new owners, Arise Capital ­Partners, are in talks with the EFL over a ­partial lifting of the club’s transfer ban this summer. Wednesday are prohibited from paying any money for new players until January 2027 as a punishment for the multiple late ­payment of wages by the former owner Dejphon Chansiri.

Wednesday will start next season on minus 15 points in League One as Arise’s purchase price of £18m does not meet the EFL’s requirement to repay creditors 25p in the pound on exiting administration.

Published: April 15, 2026, 8:24 am

Race for World Cup places is on and fringe Lionesses have grabbed their chance | Tom Garry

England have a long way to go yet before booking flights to Brazil, but Esme Morgan, Lotte Wubben-Moy and Lucia Kendall impressed against Spain

Everybody keep calm. England sit top of their qualifying group with a 100% record after beating Spain, but there remains a very long way to go before anyone can start booking flights to Brazil for 2027. Let us cast aside that sensible advice, though, and begin to look at the players who enhanced their prospects of selection because, whether England continue this winning streak or not, their target is to win a first world title and there is no hiding from that challenge. So who has staked a claim?

Of those who started at Wembley on Tuesday, eight look nailed on to be in the first-choice XI for the World Cup. That octet of Hannah Hampton, Lucy Bronze, Alex Greenwood, Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway, Lauren Hemp, Lauren James and Alessia Russo will be central to Sarina Wiegman’s plans for Brazil, together with senior players such as Leah Williamson and Ella Toone when they return after injuries, plus the “clutch moment” saviour that is Chloe Kelly, who was on the bench.

Published: April 15, 2026, 2:41 pm

Bayern Munich 4-3 Real Madrid (6-4 agg): Champions League quarter-final, second leg – live reaction

⚽ Champions League news; 8pm BST kick-off (first leg: 2-1)
⚽ Arsenal v Sporting – updates | Live scores | Mail Michael

“Yes Neuer is a great keeper, but when you pitch him against Yashin, Banks, you’re really not comparing like with like,” emails Jeremy Boyce. “Chalk and cheese. Yashin, famously, could pick the ball up off the ground with one hand. Banks was a genius, saw him live once, crap match, Everton v Stoke, 0-0, the only moment of magic was a save he made. Neither of these would have been able to ‘play out from the back’ or any of that because it was a different game then. You could still pass back to the keeper! Neuer is great, but really? Up there with those greats from a bygone age? If you’re looking for a great German goalkeeper how about Trautmann as the GGKOAT ? How many others have played on with a broken neck?

No doubting that Trautmann is a legend for different reasons but he doesn’t touch Kahn or Sepp Maier, never mind Neuer. However, Jeremy does make a good point in comparing players from such different eras. It’s effectively impossible, as it was a completely different game and is just a subjective choice. But I’d have 1. Yashin 2. Neuer 3. Buffon (for what it’s worth).

Published: April 15, 2026, 9:14 pm

Arsenal 0-0 Sporting (agg 1-0): Champions League quarter-final, second leg – live reaction

⚽ Champions League news; 8pm BST kick-off (first leg: 1-0)
⚽ Bayern v Real Madrid – updates | Live scores | Mail Simon

1 min: Peeeeeep! Luis Suarez gets the ball rolling.

The captains exchange pennants. Sporting’s looks rubbish. Not even embroidered. It’s like they forgot their proper pennant and had to buy one from a dodgy bloke outside the ground. It’s less a pennant than an insult.

Published: April 15, 2026, 9:13 pm

American investor agrees to buy Exeter Chiefs with plans to inject fresh funding

• Members to hold meeting on 7 May to approve deal

• Club in more saleable position after £10.3m loss last year

Exeter Chiefs have finalised a deal with a wealthy American backer to take control of the club, subject to the approval of their membership. An extraordinary general meeting is to be held on 7 May when members will be urged to support the move to sell the 155-year-old club and unlock significant fresh funding.

Insiders are describing the impending multimillion pound investment as “meaningful” at a pivotal stage in the development of English professional club rugby. The existing 10-team Prem is to become a franchise “expansion” league from 2029-30 and the race for new funding is accelerating.

Published: April 15, 2026, 7:00 am

Half-billion dollar BBL sell-off stalls as states urge Cricket Australia to be patient

• Cricket NSW opposed to proposal; Cricket Queensland undecided

• Private investment model could generate up to $100m per team

Cricket Australia has not yet done enough to convince two crucial stakeholders of the merits of selling stakes in Big Bash League franchises, leaving the future of the T20 league up in the air.

Cricket NSW chief executive Lee Germon expressed his opposition to the proposal on Wednesday morning and confirmed the Sydney Thunder and Sydney Sixers would not be involved in a process of valuing the clubs being run by CA.

Published: April 15, 2026, 6:37 am

‘No longer viable’: Super Rugby team Moana Pasifika to be axed at end of season

• Franchise founded in 2020 confirms operations will cease

• Club cites ‘financial, operational, and strategic realities’

Moana Pasifika have confirmed the Super Rugby franchise will fold at the end of the season, citing “financial, operational, and strategic realities”.

“Despite the tireless dedication of players, staff, and supporters, it is no longer viable to continue the franchise at this level of competition,” the team said in a statement.

Published: April 15, 2026, 12:38 am

A long-term plan with mixed results: how Matt Crocker’s US Soccer tenure stacked up

The US federation’s sporting director hired Mauricio Pochettino and Emma Hayes, but it’s too early to judge his larger impact

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Sporting directors live in the mid-to-long-term. While the coaches they hire and players they recruit have to deal with the highs and lows of week-to-week performance reviews, the executives watch on and make sure the project hasn’t veered off course. With a club, the rule of thumb is that it can take at least three transfer windows to start seeing tangible evidence of progress under a new sporting director. In international soccer, it often takes multiple cycles.

Matt Crocker arrived at US Soccer in April 2023 pledging to guide the program into a brave new era while acknowledging that initiative would take time to actualize. As it turned out, he never game himself that time. US Soccer announced on Tuesday that Crocker was stepping down as sporting director, and he’s reportedly due to take up a similar position with Saudi Arabia.

Published: April 15, 2026, 11:32 am

NFL reporter Russini resigns amid ‘self-feeding speculation’ over photos with Patriots’ Vrabel

• Photos prompted investigation by The Athletic

• Russini seen as one of NFL’s top reporters

NFL reporter Dianna Russini has resigned from The Athletic less than a week after photos of her and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel prompted an internal investigation at The New York Times-owned sports outlet.

The New York Post last week published the photos of Vrabel and Russini at an Arizona resort and said they were taken before the NFL owners meetings that began in Phoenix on 29 March.

Published: April 14, 2026, 8:23 pm

Javokhir Sindarov earns world chess title shot with stunning Candidates win

• Uzbek grandmaster wins Candidates with round to spare

• Sindarov, 20, to face India’s Gukesh for world title in fall

Javokhir Sindarov will challenge for Gukesh Dommaraju’s world chess championship this fall after clinching the Candidates tournament with a game to spare on Tuesday afternoon in Cyprus.

The 20-year-old Uzbek grandmaster closed out an emphatic victory in the 14-game double round-robin with a tame 58-move draw playing with the black pieces against Dutch star Anish Giri, moving to 9½ points and leaving the world No 9 two adrift with one round remaining.

Published: April 14, 2026, 6:03 pm