1. Lampard return falls flat for Chelsea
Frank Lampard’s Chelsea homecoming fell flat as the Blues were held to a 1-1 draw by Leicester at Stamford Bridge. Mason Mount opened the scoring for the home side, but Wilfried Ndidi’s equaliser earned the Foxes a share of the spoils. Lampard’s side have yet to win this season and there were reports of fighting among the home fans during the match.
2. Archer gives England hope
Australia held on to draw the second Ashes Test at Lord’s. England counter-attacked on the fifth day with Ben Stokes scoring a century before the home side declared. Set 267 to win, Australia finished on 154-6. Stokes was named man of the match but fast bowler Jofra Archer was the man who made the biggest impact in the game, felling Steve Smith and hitting several other Australian batsmen on a fiery debut that has given England hope for the rest of the series.
3. City held at home
Manchester City dropped points at home for the first time since December 2018 after Spurs managed a 2-2 draw at the Etihad on Saturday. Raheem Sterling put City in front but Erik Lamela equalised against the run of play. Sergio Aguero made it 2-1 to City but Lucas Moura again equalised, and VAR denied City a late winner when Gabriel Jesus’s goal was ruled out for offside. Title rivals Liverpool made it two wins out of two with victory over Southampton.
4. Arsenal ready for Liverpool
Arsenal and Liverpool both have two wins from two this season and will meet at Anfield next week. And Gunners striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang says the Londoners are determined to “match the big guns” this season. Aubameyang was on target again on Saturday as Arsenal beat Burnley in a performance that suggests manager Unai Emery is building a team capable of challenging for the top four at the very least.
5. Coutinho joins Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich have signed former Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona on a season-long loan deal, with an option to buy. The German side will pay around £8m to take the 27-year-old on loan and will be able to make the deal permanent for £110m. Bayern will also pay Coutinho’s wages for the duration of the loan spell.
6. Wales are number one rugby team
Wales are the best rugby side in the world, according to the rankings, after beating England in their World Cup warm-up match in Cardiff. Warren Gatland’s side avenged last week’s defeat at Twickenham with a 13-6 win in Cardiff. New Zealand have been top of the world rankings for 10 years but, despite a 36-0 win against Australia earlier on Saturday, the All Blacks will now drop to second on Monday when the ranking is updated. England coach Eddie Jones suggested that Wales were now “favourites” to win the World Cup.
7. Scotland have issues
Scotland’s World Cup preparations got off to a bad start as they were thrashed 32-3 by France in Nice. The Scots conceded five tries and looked off the pace. The two sides meet again next week and Scotland coach Gregor Townsend said afterwards: “We all know we have to show a better picture of ourselves next week at Murrayfield.”
8. Asher-Smith favourite for World Championships
Dina Asher-Smith underlined her status as favourite for the 200m title at next month’s Doha World Championships, despite finishing second in the Diamond League meeting in Birmingham. The British runner was beaten by Shaunae Miller-Uibo, who will race in the 400m in Doha, but finished in front of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, a double Olympic and seven-time world champion, Dafne Schippers, the double reigning 200m world champion, and Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare. Only Elaine Thompson was missing from the line-up.
9. Jimmy White finally wins at the Crucible
Snooker legend Jimmy White, who lost six World Championship finals, has finally won a title at the Crucible. His victory in the world seniors event came 38 years after White made his debut at the Sheffield venue. “It sounds strange to be world champion at the Crucible,” said the “Whirlwind”, now 57. “I managed to get my game together and I felt very strong.”
10. Mayweather video not what it seems
Reports that Floyd Mayweather was heading to Saudi Arabia to line up a rematch with Manny Pacquiao could be wide of the mark, reports the Daily Mirror. A video was circulated on Sunday night that showed Mayweather discussing his trip and a rematch. However, the Mirror says: “The video was filmed back in December ahead of a trip Mayweather took to Saudi Arabia in January and he was asked by an overseas investment group to mention the subject of Pacquiao. While a rematch with Pacquiao could still materialise, the talks referenced in the video eventually came to nothing.”
