Liverpool v City is no longer the Premier League’s big show: how have the mighty fallen? | Jonathan Wilson

Pep Guardiola has led the way with his tactics for a decade but he has changed course and Arsenal have taken advantage

Great rivalries are always more about feel than about numbers. There have been only four Premier League seasons in which Manchester City and Liverpool have finished in the top two positions in the table (and one of those occasions was 2013-14 when the managers were Manuel Pellegrini and Brendan Rodgers, which is not a duel anybody is writing books or making documentaries about).

Yet for most of the decade that Pep Guardiola has been at City, it has felt that English football was defined by his struggle with Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool, and by a form of the game that developed as each learned from the other.

Published: February 7, 2026, 8:00 pm

One battle after another: Sam Darnold’s stubborn route to the Super Bowl

The Seahawks quarterback was once seen as just another high-profile quarterback bust. But now he is one win from clinching the NFL title

For the teams, the reality of the Super Bowl hits like deja vu: a ritual they’ve watched and fantasized about for years suddenly arrives, sucking them into its vast, chaotic center.

For Sam Darnold, though, it’s a reality come full circle. San Francisco, after all, was the city that gave him a chance after he crashed and burned in New York and washed out in Carolina, long after most around the NFL had consigned him to history’s pile of first-round draft busts.

Published: February 7, 2026, 11:00 am

Tom Brady reverses course after backlash and now wants Patriots to win Super Bowl

• Former QB initially said he had no ‘dog in the fight’

• Comments had angered fans and former teammates

As the New England Patriots prepare for Sunday’s Super Bowl, Tom Brady has decided he is backing his former team after all.

Brady, who won six Super Bowls with the Patriots, came under heavy criticism this week after saying he won’t have a “dog in the fight … may the best team win” when New England take on the Seattle Seahawks in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday.

Published: February 7, 2026, 4:40 pm

Early crash disrupts US favorite Jessie Diggins in race for skiathlon gold

• World No 1 claws back for eighth in difficult conditions

• Sweden storms to one-two finish over 20km distance

• Diggins has five more events at farewell Olympics

Jessie Diggins’s farewell Olympics began with a crash and a scramble on Saturday, the trailblazing star of American cross-country skiing fighting back to finish eighth in the women’s skiathlon as Sweden delivered a commanding one-two in the first cross-country skiing race of the Milano Cortina Games.

Frida Karlsson powered to gold ahead of teammate Ebba Andersson, with Norway’s Heidi Weng taking bronze, as the first Olympic women’s skiathlon contested over the new 20km distance quickly turned into a test of endurance, conditions and survival.

Published: February 7, 2026, 3:05 pm

Former Super Bowl champion Darron Lee charged with girlfriend’s murder

• 31-year-old arrested in Harrison County, Tennessee

• Former linebacker due in court on 11 February

Former New York Jets linebacker Darron Lee has been charged with murder on Thursday after the death of his girlfriend.

Lee was arrested and taken into custody in Hamilton County, Tennessee, after deputies were called to a medical emergency where first responders were giving a woman CPR at a residence in Ooltewah. The medics were unable to save her, and WTVC NewsChannel 9 reported she had suffered a suspected stab wound as well as other injuries.

Published: February 7, 2026, 6:03 am

‘My ACL is 100% gone’: Lindsey Vonn’s improbable comeback at 41 is just another risk

Time has never seemed to stop the US skiing star. Entering Sunday’s Olympic downhill medal race, injuries haven’t either

It was all going a little too easy for Lindsey Vonn. All the nervous apprehension, the paternalistic concern, the arch skepticism and hushed snickers that had rippled through the sports world when she announced her comeback from a six-year retirement had long since gone silent. A once-unthinkable fairytale ending at the age of 41 on the slopes of Cortina d’Ampezzo was practically within touching distance.

Back in November 2024, having been chased from the sport in 2019 by a battered right knee worn down by a string of gruesome crashes and multiple surgeries, Vonn proposed a return to a high-risk sport where no woman had ever won a race past the age of 34. There’s a history of comebacks like these going brutally wrong, and even Vonn’s most dedicated fans were bracing themselves for the worst. Think a shopworn Joe Louis getting battered through the ropes and on to the ring apron by Rocky Marciano. Or Björn Borg returning to the tour in the early 90s with a wooden racket, defiantly flailing through a sport that had moved on without him.

Published: February 7, 2026, 2:29 pm

Winter Olympics organisers refuse to deny Mariah Carey lip-synced in opening ceremony

• Show director hails singer’s ‘extraordinary’ performance

• IOC plays down booing of US vice president JD Vance

The organisers of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony have refused to deny speculation that the US pop diva Mariah Carey lip-synced her part in the show. Carey took to the stage to sing Domenico Modugno’s Nel Blu, dipinto di Blu in Italian, followed by one of her own songs, Nothing Is Impossible, but many social media users quickly claimed that there were several times where her lip movements were out of time with the music.

When asked directly whether Carey was lip-synching, the director of the show, Maria Laura Iascone, confirmed that there had been a pre-recording – but refused to say whether it had been used or the American had sung live.

Published: February 7, 2026, 4:18 pm

Cortina awakens to embrace competitive curling couples and Vonn’s valiant gold bid | Andy Bull

The well-dressed alpine town, all art deco and Prada, is watching Mouat and Dodds dominate before the focus turns to Vonn’s daredevil act

The sun rises late in Cortina d’Ampezzo, like everything else in this little alpine town. It’s gone eight o’clock in the morning by the time the daylight has made it over the high peaks to the east, and it’s another two hours from that before the Olympic day gets under way.

It’s slow out, as if everyone’s still sleeping off the night before, when the town was out cheering for the athletes as they made their parade around the square. The police are still packing away all the railings, and the street sweeps are brushing up the confetti. Non c’è fretta. No one’s in a rush. Maybe your bus will turn up, but no one’s making any promises.

Published: February 7, 2026, 9:00 pm

NBC appears to cut crowd’s booing of JD Vance from Winter Olympics broadcast

• Vice-president given hostile reception by some in Milan

• US broadcast cuts out crowd’s show of dissent

• IOC calls for ‘fair play’ after jeers for Vance, Israeli athletes

The US vice-president, JD Vance, was greeted by a chorus of boos when he appeared at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Milan on Friday, although American viewers watching NBC’s coverage would have been unaware of the reception.

As speedskater Erin Jackson led Team USA into the San Siro stadium she was greeted by cheers. But when the TV cameras cut to Vance and his wife, Usha, there were boos, jeers and a smattering of applause from the crowd. The reaction was shown on Canadian broadcaster CBC’s feed, with one commentator saying: “There is the vice-president JD Vance and his wife Usha – oops, those are not … uh … those are a lot of boos for him. Whistling, jeering, some applause.”

Published: February 7, 2026, 1:22 am

Gyökeres’ gifts of bundling and poaching suggest Arsenal have found the real thing | Barney Ronay

After a slow start, the Sweden striker is now appearing regularly on the scoresheet with six goals in eight games

At times during that difficult start to his first season at Arsenal Viktor Gyökeres looked more likely to fall over than score a Premier League goal. But why compromise? Why choose one over the other? Against Sunderland Gyökeres found a third way. He fell over while scoring. Maybe you can have it all.

It made for a deeply wholesome moment. Gyökeres couldn’t help smiling ruefully behind his peekaboo celebration, even as he was mobbed fondly by his teammates. The goal was also his first touch seven minutes after coming on, a goal to kill a game Arsenal had eased through in low gear, and which always felt like a matter of housekeeping, a question of exactly how and how many, from the moment they took the lead just before half-time.

Published: February 7, 2026, 8:12 pm

Suryakumar’s brilliant blitz denies USA seismic shock in India’s T20 World Cup opener

• India, 161-9, bt USA, 132-8, by 29 runs

• Suryakumar’s 84 from 49 balls proves the difference

There was, in the end, no shock – but there was not a lot of awe either. India’s form over the last two years has made them the most feared side in world cricket but for a while as they got their World Cup campaign under way the only dread was being experienced by their own fans as the USA threatened a humiliating upset. But for some missed chances, a hugely unfortunate injury and the brilliance of Suryakumar Yadav it might well have happened.

As it was, Suryakumar’s late acceleration took him to 84 off 49 balls and his team to 161 for nine, while the USA reply started with three early wickets – the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, ruled out by illness, doing little to dull India’s cutting edge – and the margin in the end was 29.

Published: February 7, 2026, 5:48 pm

Fernandes keeps Carrick’s perfect Manchester United record intact after Romero red card

Michael Carrick’s Manchester United revival has a fourth consecutive league win, while Thomas Frank’s Tottenham sink further, with still no victory in the competition in 2026. Bruno Fernandes’s 81st-minute strike was a feathered touch off a shin – from Diogo Dalot’s cross – that beat Guglielmo Vicario to the left of the Spurs goalkeeper, and confirmed a miserable day for Frank.

“He is our captain and one of our important players,” the Dane had said after retaining Cristian Romero as captain despite the defender’s “disgraceful” outburst regarding there being only 11 outfield players available for last Sunday’s draw with Manchester City.

Published: February 7, 2026, 2:43 pm

Emma Raducanu slumps to straight-sets defeat in Transylvania Open final

• British No 1 beaten 6-0, 6-2 by Sorana Cirstea

• Boulter wins Ostrava Open for first title since 2024

Emma Raducanu missed the chance to win her first title since her US Open triumph in 2021 after losing in straight sets to home favourite Sorana Cirstea in the Transylvania Open final.

Raducanu, the top seed, appeared to be feeling the effects of her marathon semi-final win against Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova on Friday, falling to Cirstea 6-0, 6-2 in little over an hour in Cluj.

Published: February 7, 2026, 4:22 pm

European football: Jacquet sustains ‘serious’ injury days after agreeing Liverpool deal

• 20-year-old Rennes defender fell awkwardly on shoulder

• Barcelona outclass Mallorca; Højlund stars for Napoli

Liverpool’s new summer signing Jérémy Jacquet has sustained a “serious” shoulder injury, according to Rennes head coach Habib Beye. The 20-year-old fell awkwardly in the second half of a 3-1 defeat by Lens in Ligue 1 and appeared in agony as he left the pitch.

“For Jérémy, it’s his shoulder, and for Abdelhamid [Ait Boudlal, the other Rennes player injured] it’s muscular,” Beye said in his post-match interview. “We’ll have time to see, but it’s definitely quite serious for both of them.”

Published: February 7, 2026, 10:37 pm

Eddie Howe facing ‘harsh reality’ after Newcastle’s home loss to Brentford

• ‘I think I’ve got to do better, I’ve got to do more’

• Ouattara’s late goal gave Brentford 3-2 victory

Eddie Howe said he was facing a “harsh reality” and felt “angry” with himself after watching his Newcastle team lose 3-2 at home to Brentford on Saturday evening.

It was their fourth defeat in five games in all competitions and left the Saudi Arabian-owned club 12th in the Premier League. A soundtrack of boos greeted the final whistle but Newcastle’s manager did not complain.

Published: February 7, 2026, 10:01 pm

Frank backs Romero as Spurs captain despite red card at Manchester United

• Head coach says defender apologised to him and his team

• ‘There is not any regret in making him captain’

Thomas Frank will not consider stripping Cristian Romero of the Tottenham captaincy despite the defender invoking a four-game ban after he was sent off in the 2–0 defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday. It was Romero’s second red card in 10 matches following his two yellows in the 2-1 defeat at Liverpool on 20 December and the ban is his fourth this season.

Romero’s off-field conduct has also been a source of concern for the Spurs manager. Following last Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Manchester City, Romero described the depth of Spurs’ squad as “disgraceful”. The outburst on social media called into question his status as captain after the Argentinian was critical of the club’s ownership following the 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth in early January. “They only show up when things are going well, to tell a few lies,” Romero posted on social media, but later deleted the reference to lies.

Published: February 7, 2026, 4:21 pm

Spot-on Cole Palmer fires first-half hat-trick as Chelsea win at woeful Wolves

A few minutes after the final whistle, victory boxed off, most of Chelsea’s players had headed for the tunnel but Cole Palmer was wandering around the halfway line in search of lost property. Enveloped by his space-grey puffer coat, making a circle with his hands, bemused staff and teammates soon caught his drift: Palmer wanted evidence of his handiwork, a 25-minute first-half hat-trick that put this game beyond Wolves, even if Liam Rosenior’s side eased off in the second.

After retrieving the match ball from a pitchside attendant, Palmer juggled it halfway across the pitch, embarking on a warm-down of keepie-uppies. It would be easy to paint this as a Palmer masterclass, the England midfielder completing his hat-trick on 38 minutes, but it is fair to say by the time he was substituted on the hour, his work was done. At that point it was 3-1 to the visitors, Wolves pulling a goal back nine minutes into the second half when Tolu Arokodare spun in the box to convert at a corner.

Published: February 7, 2026, 5:11 pm

Pressure piles on Scott Parker as West Ham sink Burnley in basement battle

For Burnley this felt like the beginning of their Premier League farewell tour, but Scott Parker insists he will not walk away, while West Ham reignited their fight for survival. There was little between the two, but the Hammers showed why they have hope of staying up, providing the brief moments of quality, something the home side could not in a tense Turf Moor atmosphere.

Crysencio Summerville and Taty Castellanos expertly finished from two perfect assists to send West Ham to victory, leaving them three points adrift of Nottingham Forest in 17th, the last place above the relegation spots, as they bounced back from a late loss at Chelsea. Burnley showed fight, but a 16th straight game without a win, including 11 defeats, brought derision from the home supporters and demands for change in the dugout and boardroom.

Published: February 7, 2026, 5:07 pm

Everton win battle of own goals with Fulham thanks to Leno’s late blunder

Fulham are at a fork in the road. Which way do they go? They have plenty of talent, but are they capable of pushing on? Can they convince Marco Silva to extend his contract or will one of the most underrated managers in the Premier League decide it is time to look for a new challenge at the end of the season?

Silva’s itchy feet are a badly kept secret. He has been key to Fulham’s rise since promotion in 2022, but there is a sense of a relationship drawing to a close. The manager, who has been linked with a number of vacancies in recent years, has not been shy to call for more investment in his squad. Oscar Bobb, signed from Manchester City for £27m, was an eye-catching arrival during the winter transfer window. The failure to meet PSV Eindhoven’s asking price for the USA striker Ricardo Pepi was a more frustrating development.

Published: February 7, 2026, 5:12 pm

Rayan off the mark in sparkling showing for Bournemouth as Aston Villa hold on for point

Whatever the Euskara is for hoodoo, Unai Emery still holds it over Andoni Iraola. This one got away from the younger Basque who is yet to prevail over Emery in eight meetings. With Aston Villa’s hopes of an unlikely Premier League title faded, time to protect a Champions League place. They ought to be grateful for a point on the south coast. Not for the first time, Iraola wondered how his team created so many chances and yet failed to win.

“Before the game maybe you’d take a point,” said Bournemouth’s manager. “After the game I cannot be completely satisfied. We were the better team today.”

Published: February 7, 2026, 5:12 pm

Scottish Cup roundup: Celtic through after denying Dundee glory at the last

• Adamu grabs last-gasp leveller before champions win in extra time

• Partick Thistle into quarter-final after finally shaking off Elgin

Celtic left it to the last possible moment to keep Scottish Cup hopes alive before going on to beat spirited Dundee 2-1 after extra time at Parkhead.

The Taysiders have never won at Celtic Park in the competition and their last league victory in the east end of Glasgow was in 2001 but looked to be on their way to a historic success when midfielder Ethan Hamilton thundered in his first Dundee goal in the 49th minute of the fifth-round tie.

Published: February 7, 2026, 8:51 pm

‘We let people down’: Dewi Lake apologises to Wales fans after England thrashing

• Wales captain ‘massively disappointed’ by 48-7 loss

• Borthwick pays tribute to hat-trick scorer Arundell

The Wales captain, Dewi Lake, has apologised to Welsh supporters for “letting them down” after his team’s comprehensive 48-7 defeat by England. The visitors were second best in all departments and have now lost 22 of their last 24 Test matches with a buoyant France heading for Cardiff next Sunday in ominous form.

Lake did not mince his words after his team’s latest heavy loss which saw them concede seven tries and receive four yellow cards. “We let ourselves down, we let people down,” he said. “We spoke all week about what we were going to produce and we didn’t do it. There is no other way to say it – we’re massively disappointed with what we put on the field today.

Published: February 7, 2026, 8:35 pm

Team GB lose Cas appeal over new skeleton helmets at Winter Olympics

• Cas ruling deems helmets illegal due to protruding rear

• Setback for Team GB’s Matt Weston and Marcus Wyatt

Great Britain’s skeleton team have been banned from wearing its new aerodynamic helmets at the Winter Olympics after the court of arbitration for sport ruled they were illegal because its “rear significantly protrudes”.

The news is a big blow to Team GB’s Matt Weston and Marcus Wyatt, who have dominated skeleton all season, winning all seven of the World Cup races between them.

Published: February 7, 2026, 7:52 pm

Newcastle United 2-3 Brentford: Premier League – as it happened

The Bees deservedly triumphed in a five-goal thriller on Tyneside as Dango Ouattara struck a late winner

The players are out and we’re almost ready to go. Chris Paraskevas emails in, presumably from Australia/somewhere far away where it’s currently very early in the morning:

This might seem a little pessimistic but at the end of the day, anyone forced to wake up for Kieran Trippier’s ‘set pieces’ (loose definition) at 4:30 in the morning isn’t/couldn’t possibly be concerned with staying positive.

Published: February 7, 2026, 7:52 pm

England 48-7 Wales: Six Nations 2026 rugby union – as it happened

Henry Arundell’s hat-trick sets England on a path to an impressive victory over Wales

Are we about to watch the tournament winners? And no I’m not talking about Wales. There are a lot of whispers about England being the favourites to list the silverware but what do you think? Get in touch and let me know. As always do let me know what snacks you are digging into.

Here is Ugo Monye’s column on today’s game:

Published: February 7, 2026, 6:56 pm

Arundell hat-trick fires England to emphatic Six Nations win against Wales

• England 48-7 Wales

• Earl, Roebuck and Freeman also score tries for hosts

No surprises here, not even a hint of one. England have had tougher training sessions in preparation for this Six Nations and by the end the scoreboard spoke for itself. Wales were not so much beaten as buried beneath an avalanche of seven white tries including a first-half hat-trick for the pacy Bath wing Henry Arundell on his first England start since the 2023 World Cup.

If not quite as big a rout as England’s 68-14 win in Cardiff 11 months ago, the flashing red warning lights were visible from the moment the visitors had two players sent to the sin bin in the first quarter. They never looked like recovering and, in its own way, this disappointment will sting as much as the 73-0 defeat by South Africa in November.

Published: February 7, 2026, 6:45 pm

Haiti Couleurs and Lulamba state cases for Cheltenham with Newbury success

• Haiti Couleurs shortens to 7-1 for Gold Cup after victory

• Lulamba maintains unbeaten record over fences

It did not have the sheer relentlessness of the parading talents at last weekend’s Dublin racing festival in Ireland, but the final afternoon here on Saturday of significant trials for the Cheltenham festival offered further cause for hope that the Irish will not have things all their own way next month.

Haiti Couleurs, the Denman Chase winner, is the latest British-trained contender at single-figure odds for the Gold Cup on 13 March, alongside The Jukebox Man and Jango Baie, first and fourth respectively in the King George VI Chase in December. The unbeaten five-year-old, Lulamba, is the near-certain favourite for the Arkle Trophy, after maintaining his unbeaten record over fences in the Game Spirit Chase.

Published: February 7, 2026, 5:55 pm

Winter Olympics 2026: speed skating gold for Italy, Cas upholds ban on GB skeleton helmets and more – as it happened

Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida won Italy’s first gold medal to get the party started at their home Games on day one

Gallery: Roll up, roll up for the very best of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony in pictures …

Curling mixed doubles: We’re in the sixth end and Team GB have extended their lead over Canada to 7-2. Jen Dodds and Bruce Mouat are quite literally sweeping all before them in the round robin stages of this comepetition and heading for their sixth consecutive victory.

Published: February 7, 2026, 9:05 pm

Milan Cortina Winter Olympics 2026: day one – in pictures

We take a look at the best images from the opening day of the Games, including curling, downhill skiing, and ice hockey

Published: February 7, 2026, 3:25 pm

‘It’s become more about politics than music’: what will Bad Bunny bring to the Super Bowl?

Grammy-winning Puerto Rican star is in the center of US culture wars before leading this weekend’s half-time show

A few days after Christmas 2022, Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican reggaetonero, appeared without warning on one of the most unlikely of stages: the roof of a Gulf Oil gas station in San Juan. To a massive crowd singing every word, he performed a surprise concert, along with friend and collaborator Arcángel, that was part hype-y music video shoot, part exultant post-tour homecoming, and part pointed critique. He ended the set with El Apagón (“The Power Outage”), a clubby protest anthem about local displacement and the rolling blackouts that have plagued Puerto Rico, a US “commonwealth” (read: colony), since Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Bad Bunny sang it from a roof on Santurce’s Calle Loíza, a thoroughfare in a former working-class Black neighborhood now dotted with Airbnbs. But you do not need the full context to get the show’s contagious energy. Though I have never walked Calle Loíza, nor do I speak Spanish, the gas station show is still my favorite concert to rewatch via online fan clips: electric, organic, genuinely popular. In terms of reach, critical acclaim and longevity, Bad Bunny rivals – and sometimes outsells – the likes of Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé and Drake, though it is hard to imagine those peers appearing so unguarded, so public, as he does on that roof.

Published: February 7, 2026, 10:03 am