Top Sports News
‘Island girl’ Malard aims to ‘become a legend’ in Réunion with Bompastor
Sep 26, 2026 - Sports
She left her Indian Ocean island home at the urging of Chelsea’s now-manager – now they’re working together again in pursuit of a Stamford Bridge legacyIt is rare to see Melvine Malard without a grin and she has a mountain of reasons to keep it that way. A wedding in June, a big-money move to Chelsea, a Ballon d’Or nomination and a first taste of a fiery London derby against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. The French forward is loving life and the personality behind the smile that instantly connects her to teammates is infectious.“Goals,” says Malard, with a laugh, when asked what keeps her happy. “Seriously though, it’s seeing the kids, the families, my family, in the stands. It is crazy. I love my life, I love my job, I’m happy with my wife and everything is good. I smile because of those things, because I’m happy.” Continue reading...
Lamine Yamal: ‘Football is mechanised but players like me have that special spark’
Sep 26, 2026 - Sports
Spain and Barcelona wonderkid has won World Cup and European Championship but says there are no limits for his careerLike the kid he is, Lamine Yamal just wanted to keep playing. This wasn’t Plaça Joan XXIII, wasn’t El Parque de Rocafonda either; it wasn’t the Mataró neighbourhood where it all began, but it might have been. “We’re in a World Cup final and I wanted to carry on,” he says, and there’s the smile again, the braces. Really? “Yes”. No nerves? “No. I never thought: ‘Just blow the whistle’. I was enjoying it.” No fear, just fun: 19 July, New Jersey and he knew: this 19-year-old who had happily been asleep on the bus to the biggest match of his life.And now he sits in a first-floor office in Las Rozas, surrounded by tactics boards and stats sheets. There’s a Spain keyring hanging from the door and a second star on his shirt. In the corridor, crates loaded for London. Son of Mounir and Sheila, named after the family friends who helped them, “touched by God’s wand” in the words of the coach whose office is next door, there’s something about Lamine Yamal. He turned 17 the day before the final of Euro 2024, a schoolboy sitting exams, and 19 the day before the semi-final of the World Cup. Asked what he wanted, he said a trip to New York, so there he was, about to be a champion again. Continue reading...
Manchester City verdict: what happens next, will club appeal and could they be relegated?
Sep 26, 2026 - Sports
We analyse what City must do to appeal, why even that might not be the end of the legal wrangling, and the penalties that could await if the verdict is upheldManchester City have been found guilty of the vast majority of the 134 disciplinary charges brought against them by the Premier League. Continue reading...
Evenepoel targets history in Montreal as opportunity knocks without Pogacar
Sep 26, 2026 - Sports
Britons Tom Pidcock and Oscar Onley are contenders but the Belgian is aiming for an unprecedented medal haulIn a world road championships marked by the absence of Tadej Pogacar, Tom Pidcock and Oscar Onley will lead British hopes in the men’s elite road race on Sunday. But for either to claim the rainbow jersey, they must beat a determined Remco Evenepoel, a man on a mission in Montreal.Pogacar is recovering after a heavy crash in the Vuelta a España and Pidcock and Onley are among a large group of contenders, headed by Paul Seixas of France, the Belgian Evenepoel and Isaac del Toro of Mexico, all seeking to capitalise on the Slovenian’s absence. Continue reading...
Burnham’s booze ruse is a non-starter: just keep doing your drinking in the pub | Barney Ronay
Sep 26, 2026 - Sports
The prime minister, a life-long football fan, was just restating a personal opinion about having a drink in the stands, not trying to make policyHi, I’m Andy Burnham and I don’t believe any child should eat gravel for breakfast. That’s why we’ve launched the National No Gravel Breakfast initiative. Hi, I’m Andy Burnham and I think everyone should have access to sitting on a chair no matter if they live in the north or the chair-rich south. Hi, I’m Andy Burnham and I don’t think pensioners should be required to stab themselves in the hand with cocktail sticks. Unless that’s what they want. In which case I will personally do this for them.Hi, I’m Andy Burnham and I believe in a mother’s love, the laughter of baby horses and beautifully crisp and gooey churros straight from the pan. Unless you don’t want those. In which case I believe you have that choice and I will fight for it. Or not fight for it. Whichever. Continue reading...
