Author: Guardian sport

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Inter cruise to Serie A title triumph after Thuram sparks victory over Parma

  • Inter 2-0 Parma seals scudetto with three games to spare

  • Marcus Thuram and Henrikh Mkhitaryan on target

Inter sealed the Serie A title with a 2-0 victory over Parma, wrapping up the scudetto with three games to spare. The Nerazzurri only needed a point to claim their 21st Italian league championship before the home match, with defending champions Napoli nine points behind and Milan and 12 points back after a 2-0 defeat at Sassuolo earlier in the day.

Yet a clinical Marcus Thuram finish in first-half stoppage time put the hosts ahead at San Siro. The France forward latched on to Piotr Zielinski’s defence-splitting pass and made no mistake inside the box. Henrikh Mkhitaryan sealed the win with a close-range finish in the 80th minute to ensure a party atmosphere inside the stadium before the full-time whistle.

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Watford sack head coach Ed Still after dismal end to Championship season

  • The 35-year-old, brother of Will Still, lasts three months

  • Watford sack 11th head coach since end of 2020-21 season

Watford have sacked head coach Ed Still, just three months into a two-and-a-half year contract, following the Championship club’s dismal end to the season. Still was Watford’s 11th permanent head coach since the end of the 2020-21 season.

Still, 35, was appointed in February following the resignation of Javi Gracia and his sacking comes at the end of the Championship season in which Watford lost six of their final seven games. The Hornets finished 16th, 10 points above the relegation zone.

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Alex Zanardi, former F1 driver and Paralympic champion, dies at 59

  • Italian driver lost both legs in high-speed cart race crash

  • He went on to win four Paralympic golds as a para-cyclist

Alex Zanardi, the former Formula One driver who lost both legs in a racing crash and went on to win Paralympic gold medals, has died at the age of 59, his family said on Saturday.

Zanardi, from Bologna, made his F1 debut in 1991 and later achieved success in the Cart series in the United States, winning back-to-back championships in 1997 and 1998. His life took a dramatic turn in September 2001 when he was involved in a high-speed crash during a Cart race in Germany that led to the amputation of both legs.

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Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Eddie Howe is under pressure, Rayan needs protection at Bournemouth and John Stones returns to Everton with City

The equation is simple. If Leeds beat relegated – and now managerless - Burnley at Elland Road on Friday they will reach 43 points and be extremely unlikely to meet the same fate as their opponents. Daniel Farke’s losing FA Cup semi-finalists are then scheduled to travel to Tottenham, but victory against Burnley, who they pipped to the Championship title last season, would settle nerves in West Yorkshire. Farke, though, does not necessarily expect a straightforward match. “There’s definitely no complacency,” he said, speaking before the news of Scott Parker’s departure. “I’ve got so much respect for Scott. I’d say there’s not one time this season Burnley were played off the field. They’re always very competitive, they’ve had many tight games.” As Mike Jackson takes caretaker charge at Turf Moor, Farke hopes another three points will persuade Leeds to extend his own contract. Louise Taylor

Leeds v Burnley, Friday 8pm (all times BST)

Brentford v West Ham, Saturday 3pm

Newcastle v Brighton, Saturday 3pm

Wolves v Sunderland, Saturday 3pm

Arsenal v Fulham, Saturday 5.30pm

Bournemouth v Crystal Palace, Sunday 2pm

Manchester United v Liverpool, Sunday 3.30pm

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LIV Golf races against time for investment with confirmation Saudi funding will end in 2026

  • PIF ends investment after five years and $5bn

  • LIV announces new independent board in funding push

LIV Golf has launched its search for fresh investment in a race against time to save its future after official confirmation Saudi funding would cease at the end of the 2026 season.

Hours after LIV announced the creation of a new independent board minus Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, a PIF statement formally substantiated the rumours that it was pulling the plug on the start-up after around $5bn (£3.7bn) of investment.

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‘Pinnacle of art and culture’: Europe’s media on nine-goal PSG-Bayern thriller

Champions League semi-final first leg was described as ‘pure madness’ and ‘football in its finest essence’

French media were in thrall to a victory hailed as a milestone performance, calling Paris Saint-Germain’s 100th win in the Champions League as “one of the finest” in the club’s history.

Bayern Munich will be hoping for a repeat of their goal bonanza when they host the holders in the semi-final return leg next Wednesday, with Tuesday’s 5-4 loss in Paris breaking the competition record for most goals in a last-four game.

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Premier League and FA Cup semi-finals: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

Sánchez plays long game for McFarlane, Southampton can take heart, Arteta tries to gain edge and Isak will come good

One moment from their FA Cup semi-final to Chelsea will haunt Leeds. When Tosin Adarabioyo stretched for a through ball and couldn’t quite get there, quarter of an hour in, everything seemed to slow down. There was Brenden Aaronson with just Robert Sánchez to beat, with the chance to put Leeds ahead against a side that hadn’t scored in five Premier League games and had seemingly lost all confidence. Even at the time it felt a huge moment. The US international didn’t do much wrong, but Sánchez made a fine save with his foot. That, it turned out, was the game. There were other opportunities – most notably Anton Stach’s drive that Sánchez saved spectacularly and the Dominic Calvert-Lewin header just after that, aimed straight at the keeper. They came after Chelsea had taken the lead and the emotional tone was set, though. Sometimes one chance can define a game. Jonathan Wilson

FA Cup semi-final report: Chelsea 1-0 Leeds

Jonathan Wilson: Chelsea chaos theory delivers another trophy chance

FA Cup semi-final report: Manchester City 2-1 Southampton

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Premier League and FA Cup semi-finals: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Spurs face must-win game at Wolves, Arsenal fight to keep title hopes alive and Chelsea step into a post-Rosenior world

Maybe it is a case of fourth time lucky for Nottingham Forest. Certainly Vítor Pereira – manager No 4 in the most chaotic of seasons – is doing something right. The Europa League semi-finalists are unbeaten in their last five Premier League games and will arrive at the Stadium of Light knowing victory would move them within touching distance of safety. Their visit should provide an interesting tactical challenge for Sunderland. Régis Le Bris’ side often excel on the counterattack but Forest are likely to sit deep and invite their hosts to unpick their packed defence while hoping to hurt them on the break. Le Bris will surely need Nordi Mukiele to advance with typical verve from right-back, while, in midfield, Noah Sadiki and Enzo Le Fée will be required to demonstrate precisely why they are being watched by several leading clubs. This Sunderland team often plays with real and refreshing personality. Can Forest subdue it? Louise Taylor

Sunderland v Nottingham Forest, Premier League, Friday 8pm (all times BST)

Fulham v Aston Villa, Premier League, Saturday 12.30pm

West Ham v Everton, Premier League, Saturday 3pm

Wolves v Tottenham, Premier League, Saturday 3pm

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Ryder Cup tickets hit record Europe high at £434 a day in Ireland next year

  • Prices almost double those in Rome three years ago

  • Organisers promise ‘enhanced onsite experience’ for fans

Ryder Cup Europe has doubled the cost of a ticket to attend next year’s marquee event when the US will seek to regain the trophy at Adare Manor in County Limerick.

Organisers will charge fans €499 (£434) for a daily ticket when a batch are released to those living in Ireland, where the centenary event is being held, on Friday. That is almost double the €260 face value spectators paid in Rome three years ago.

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Leicester relegated to League One, 10 years on from Premier League triumph

Ten years on from lifting the Premier League trophy, Leicester have been relegated to League One after a 2-2 draw with Hull confirmed back-to-back relegations for the club.

The result leaves the Foxes, who were deducted six points in February for a financial rules breach, seven points adrift of fourth-bottom Blackburn with just two games to play and destined for the third tier for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

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Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

Curtis Jones sums up Liverpool’s approach, Eddie Howe’s transfer record under scrutiny and Tammy Abraham shows his worth

For Manchester City, Gianluigi Donnarumma has always been a case of risk and reward. Perhaps only Thibaut Courtois is as fine a shot-stopper as Italy’s Euro 2020 hero, though many goalkeepers are better with the ball at their feet. Claudio Bravo, let alone Ederson, would be unlikely to dither in the fashion that alerted Kai Havertz to the possibility of pressing City’s keeper as close as possible for Arsenal’s goal. Donnarumma was the signing who bucked the Pep Guardiola doctrines, and his goalkeeping has been crucial to City’s revival but such mistakes have always been part of the giant Italian’s makeup. Paris Saint-Germain would not meet his wage demands, and opted for Lille’s Lucas Chevalier, a better ball-player as an ill-starred replacement. Donnarumma smothered a good chance for Havertz in the second half. His big mistake, seconds after Rayan Cherki’s opener, did not, after all, become the key twist in the title race. John Brewin

Match report: Manchester City 2-1 Arsenal

Match report: Everton 1-2 Liverpool

Match report: Tottenham 2-2 Brighton

Match report: Chelsea 0-1 Manchester United

Match report: Newcastle 1-2 Bournemouth

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The Crucible holds tribute to former player and commentator John Virgo

  • World Championship venue has a minute’s applause

  • Zhao Xintong starts title defence with edgy victory

A minute’s applause was paid in tribute to John Virgo, who died in February aged 79, as the World Snooker Championship got under way at the Crucible in Sheffield.

Virgo, who won the UK Championship in 1979, enjoyed a successful playing career but was best known for his broadcasting. During his 18 years as a professional, he reached the World Championship semi-finals in 1979. He went on to work for the BBC in 1994 and his voice became a distinctive feature of the national broadcaster’s snooker coverage for three decades.

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