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Elinor Snowsill to be inducted into Gorsedd Cymru

Elinor Snowsill will be inducted into Gorsedd Cymru at the National Eisteddfod in Rhondda Cynon Taf in August for her significant contribution to Welsh Sport. The honours are bestowed upon individuals who have contributed greatly to Wales, the Welsh Language and to their communities and are allocated in three different categories: The Green Robe for […]

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Claudio Ranieri’s latest rescue act cements status as true Cagliari hero | Nicky Bandini

Veteran coach gave Serie A a much-needed good news story on a weekend overshadowed by off-pitch events

The penultimate weekend of the Serie A weekend was overshadowed by events off the pitch. On Friday, Juventus announced they had fired their manager, Massimiliano Allegri, citing his behaviour at the end of their Coppa Italia final triumph over Atalanta. Two days later, as Inter prepared to mark their league title with a trophy lift at San Siro, fans were wondering who their club would belong to next week.

Monday marked the official deadline for their owners, Suning Capital, to repay debts of close to €395m to Oaktree Capital, stemming from a loan taken out in 2021. A bank holiday in Luxembourg effectively extended the term until Tuesday, but an official statement from the Inter president, Steven Zhang, on Saturday accused the lender of “a lack of meaningful engagement” toward finding an “amicable resolution”.

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Premier League 2023-24 review: goals of the season

We select some of our favourite strikes of the season – and invite you to nominate your own choices

“I can’t believe it,” Garnacho told Sky Sports. “I didn’t see how I scored, I just listened to the sound and thought, ‘Oh my God’. It’s the best goal I’ve scored, of course.” Sometimes it is best to leave the scorer to indicate how good the goal was. What the Argentinian winger is missing out is that he leapt a good five feet in the air with his back to goal, performing an acrobatic overhead kick to send Diogo Dalot’s cross into the top corner. Everyone inside Goodison Park was silenced for a moment; few could believe what they had witnessed. After a second or two, the away end went wild, enjoying one of the few positive moments of Manchester United’s season. Few players even have the audacity to try such things but Garnacho has impeccable technique and youth on his side, making him fearless even in an underperforming team.

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Tony O’Reilly: the Lions cub who earned place in Irish sporting folklore

Before entering business, O’Reilly played rugby for Ireland and the Lions and could have been ‘one of the world’s greats’

Tony O’Reilly has died aged 88 and this week’s business pages will pay tribute to a titan of the corporate world who struck commercial gold with Kerrygold and built a hill of beans with Heinz. It is a sign of a life remarkably well lived, then, that his name will also always have a place in the pantheon of Irish sporting heroes and prompt a wry smile whenever rugby union’s classic old-school anecdotes are retold.

As a player good enough to have been selected as the youngest Lion in history when chosen to tour South Africa as a teenager in 1955, O’Reilly might have reached even loftier heights in the game had his burgeoning business career not intervened at the age of 26. There was to be one last impromptu hurrah, however, when he was famously recalled seven years later to face England at Twickenham.

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Premier League 2023-24 review: players of the season

We select some contenders for the best performer in the top flight – and invite you to have your say

He was hailed as a signing of the season this time last year, and such was the brightness of the future predicted for Isak that Newcastle fans will have been of a mind to wear shades. A key player in the team that secured fourth place last term, the Swedish striker has flourished as one of several standout players for Eddie Howe in an often difficult campaign this time around, when injuries to key personnel and the lengthy ban handed down to Sandro Tonali meant many Newcastle players were running on fumes. In his second season on Tyneside, Isak has 21 league goals, more than double the tally of 10 in the last campaign, while also chipping in with important contributions in the FA Cup and Champions League. As at home feinting to sit defenders on their backsides or sending them skidding into the car park as he is cutting in from the left or sprinting in behind, it’s no surprise the 24-year-old, who has been likened to Thierry Henry, is being linked with a move to Arsenal. His current employers may have to reluctantly sell him to stay on top of those pesky profit and sustainability rules.

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