Tottenham v Chelsea: Carabao Cup fourth round – live!

Alarm for British tennis as Watson completes set of French Open failures

• Fiona Ferro beats last Brit standing Heather Watson 7-6 (4), 6-4
• Watson hits out at LTA for lack of talented British youngsters

There can be no disguising the scale of British failure at this bizarre French Open. When Heather Watson joined her five compatriots as Parisian tourists before the start of the second round, her mood matched the grimness of the weeping skies and the wreckage of history that has gone before. The forecast is not great.

World record times possible at London Marathon if rain stays away

• Race director Hugh Brasher says St James’s Park route is fast
• Degitu Azimeraw will miss event after testing positive for Covid

The London Marathon race director, Hugh Brasher, has said he is “doing the opposite of a rain dance” before the rescheduled event on Sunday because he believes world records could fall on the lightning fast course if conditions permit.

Brasher’s comments came after he announced that the fourth-fastest woman in the race, the emerging Ethiopian star Degitu Azimeraw, had been forced to withdraw after failing a Covid-19 test, along with the Ethiopian coach Haji Adilo.

Dortmund tell Manchester United €90m is nowhere near enough for Jadon Sancho

• United were preparing €90m bid for England international
• Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembélé an option but only on loan

Borussia Dortmund have told Manchester United there is no point in bidding less than €120m (£109.6m) for Jadon Sancho after discussions between the clubs on Tuesday. United were preparing a €90m offer for the England international but were told that would not be sufficient and that Dortmund do not want to sell.

United are desperate to strengthen Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s squad before Monday’s transfer deadline and Sancho has been the No 1 target throughout the summer. There were hopes that Dortmund’s stance would soften closer to the end of the window but that has not proved the case.

Pat Lam happy for Bristol's England players to miss 11 Premiership games

• Key players available for only three of first 14 club games
• Quins v Exeter to kick-off next season on 20 November

The new Premiership season will start on 20 November when Exeter visit Harlequins but England players are unlikely to feature in more than three of the first 14 rounds because of the autumn internationals and Six Nations.

That prospect does not concern Bristol’s director of rugby, Pat Lam, who wants more of his players to join Kyle Sinckler in the England squad, but it will mean a test of resources at a time when a lack of income is testing budgets.

Liverpool's Thiago Alcântara tests positive for Covid-19

• 29-year-old midfielder is now self-isolating
• ‘We have followed all the protocols and Thiago is OK’

Premier League referees to be more lenient on handball after outcry

• Officials allowed more leeway when making decisions
• Eric Dier incident would still have led to a spot-kick

Premier League referees are to take a lenient approach to applying the new handball law after an outcry from across the game.

This season there have been five penalties awarded for handball in three matchdays, compared with 19 across the whole of the last top flight season. The change has been blamed on a new interpretation of handball which punishes a defender if the ball strikes their arm in an ‘unnatural’ position.

Mick Schumacher to make F1 practice debut at Eifel GP in Germany

• Michael Schumacher’s son to drive Alfa Romeo at Nürburgring
  
• Ferrari academy driver could make step up from F2 next season

Michael Schumacher’s son, Mick, will take part in his first Formula One race weekend at the Eifel Grand Prix in Germany next week. The 21-year-old will drive in the first practice session for Alfa Romeo and Britain’s Callum Ilott will also make his F1 debut during practice for Haas. Both drivers are members of the Ferrari academy.

The test at the Nürburgring carries significance. Alfa Romeo are to all intents and purposes Ferrari’s junior squad and Haas are a customer team very closely attached to the Scuderia.

Rugby players fear for future as Covid 'typhoon sweeps through sport'

Rugby Players’ Association has warned the pandemic threatens to crumble rugby union’s professional structure in months

The Oxford dictionary definition of a crisis is a time of danger. Alternatively just listen to the words of Damian Hopley, chief executive of the Rugby Players’ Association, as he seeks to protect his members’ livelihoods. “Can clubs survive until Christmas or into next year? Can some unions survive? It’s a very stark situation. The foundations of sport have been completely rocked and we’re now in a position where we’re starting to understand the real impact.”

Hopley is not exaggerating for effect. The players he represents are trapped in a nightmare that rugby union can ill afford. The Covid-19 situation is affecting everyone in the country to some degree but give it another three months and, without the return of crowds or matchday income, we will be discussing much of professional rugby in the past tense. Not just the odd struggling Premiership club but almost all of it, save for a lucky few with a billionaire writing endless blank cheques.

Amnesty lambasts 'irony' of Ladies European Tour events in Saudi Arabia

• Ladies European Tour calls events a ‘landmark moment’
• Amnesty urges golfers to show solidarity with jailed activists

Amnesty International has voiced deep concern after the Ladies European Tour announced it will stage two events in Saudi Arabia in November. The LET insisted that it was a “landmark moment for women’s sport in the kingdom” when confirming the tournaments on Monday.

The Saudi Ladies International and Saudi Ladies Team International will deliver a combined $1.5m in prize money and mark the first professional tournaments for women in the country. They are, however, highly controversial given Saudi’s high-profile human rights violations.

The Spin | Somerset v Essex was a final that evoked their glory days of the 80s

In the era of Richards, Botham, Fletcher and Gooch, football had yet to swamp cricket and humour pervaded the rivalry

Titans-Steelers game in danger after players test positive for Covid-19

• NFL says eight players and staff have tested positive for virus
• Titans were due to play undefeated Steelers this weekend
• Unclear when game would be replayed if necessary

Tennessee suspended in-person activities through Friday after the NFL said three Titans players and five other personnel tested positive for the coronavirus. The news means the NFL has its first Covid-19 outbreak since the start of the season.

The outbreak threatened to jeopardize the Titans’ game this weekend against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Mahomes mastery helps Chiefs beat Ravens in clash of NFL heavyweights

• Super Bowl MVP throws four TDs in Monday night win
• Kansas City Chiefs 34-20 Baltimore Ravens

Patrick Mahomes put on a scintillating show while outperforming Lamar Jackson, and the Kansas City Chiefs deftly played the role of defending Super Bowl champions in a 34-20 thumping of the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night.

Mahomes juked, danced, and jumped in and out of the pocket. Sometimes he just dropped back and fired pinpoint throws downfield. The common thread was that just about everything he did worked against an overmatched Baltimore defense that had allowed only two touchdowns in its first two games.

Talking Horses: Enable is new Arc favourite as rain prompts shake-up

Very soft ground at Longchamp is thought to be bad news for the crack Irish filly Love, who has lost her spot atop the betting

Enable is the new favourite for Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, when she will try to make history by becoming the first to win the famous race three times. A wholesale shake-up of the betting market took place on Monday as punters cottoned on to the likelihood of a soggy racing surface at Longchamp, which is not expected to suit the erstwhile favourite, Love.

While a sound surface prevailed at Longchamp for trials day just a fortnight ago, subsequent rain, including 19mm from Sunday into Monday, has led to going described officially as very soft and further heavy rain is forecast for Friday. The latest penetrometer reading for the Paris track is 4.0, close to the 4.1 on which last year’s Arc was staged.

Tampa Bay Lightning beat Dallas Stars in Game 6 to claim Stanley Cup

• Lightning claim first NHL title since 2004
• Season ended inside bubble due to Covid-19 pandemic

The Tampa Bay Lightning are the champions of bubble hockey. Brayden Point scored his playoff-best 14th goal and the Lightning beat the Dallas Stars 2-0 on Monday night to win the Stanley Cup and finish off the most unusual NHL postseason in history, staged nearly entirely in quarantine because of the pandemic. The clock hitting zeros in an empty arena nonetheless set off a joyful celebration for a team that endured years of playoff heartbreak and two months in isolation.

Goals from Point and Blake Coleman and a 22-save shutout by Andrei Vasilevskiy in Game 6 were enough to power the Lightning to their second championship after winning it in 2004. That also came with the league on the verge of a labor stoppage, a lockout that wiped out an entire season, and similar uncertainty hangs in the air now because of the coronavirus.

England wobble but Amy Jones knock sees off West Indies again

• England 166-6; West Indies 122-9: England won by 44 tuns
  
• Jones half-century sends England on way to 4-0 lead
  

England recovered from a shaky start against West Indies to post 166 for six – their highest total of the series so far – and finish with a fourth consecutive win, this time by 44 runs.

The home side had reached 54 for three at the halfway stage but Amy Jones spearheaded a rampant recovery hitting a 30-ball half-century that included two lofted sixes and a perfectly executed ramp against Deandra Dottin.

Late surge by Wasps ruins Chris Robshaw's home farewell to Harlequins

• Harlequins 23-32 Wasps

They brought out the fireworks, if not the adoring fans, for Chris Robshaw’s final match at the Stoop, but Harlequins could not quite honour the occasion with the win.

A dramatic turnaround in the last 10 minutes clinched a bonus-point win for Wasps to keep up their hunt for a play-off place. It is not quite secured for them yet, with none other than champions-elect Exeter to visit them on Sunday in the regular season’s denouement.

David Squires on … being trapped in a Premier League fever dream

Armpits! Penalties after full-time whistles! Everton! Our cartoonist is struggling to wake up right now

Salomón Rondón: 'If I have a chance to sign again for Newcastle I will do it'

Dalian Pro striker on working with Rafa Benítez and being confined to a Chinese hotel for two months with barely a day off

Salomón Rondón remembers his hairs standing on end when, wearing Newcastle’s No 9 shirt for the first time, he ran on to the St James’ Park pitch. He only had half an hour as a substitute to try and turn things around against Spurs on the opening day of the 2018-19 season, but everything just seemed right. “I felt at this moment that this is my place and I have to be here for a long time,” he says. “I knew I was only on a year’s loan but I just thought: ‘I have to do my best to stay here.’”

Most would agree that he did, winning the player of the year award and being directly involved in almost half the side’s league goals. So the fact he is speaking via a video call from a hotel in Dalian, where he has essentially been detained for more than two months, suggests life has taken a few turns. One of them is Covid-19, of course, and it required that the first stage of the Chinese Super League campaign was contested between sides holed up in the same lodgings. Rondón’s employers, Dalian Professional, have been living alongside their seven rivals in Group A since mid-July, permitted to leave only for matches and training.

Wallabies' generosity cannot mask depth of Rugby Australia's financial hole | Bret Harris

From RA’s perspective the new interim pay deal was a smart play but it is only a short-term fix

Rugby Australia has moved to ring-fence key Wallabies in its latest interim pay deal with the players, but it is hardly an equitable arrangement for the vast majority of Australia’s professional players, which may create friction in the ranks.

After taking pay cuts earlier in the year to help the game survive the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the Wallabies have returned to full pay in a new deal negotiated by RA and the Rugby Union Players Association.

Gary O’Toole: 'There are people like George Gibney in every sphere of society' | Donald McRae

The Irish Olympic swimmer turned surgeon has played a central role in a 28-year fight to bring his former coach to justice

Handball law gives Fifa consistency and fans something to rail against | Paul MacInnes

Change is meant to remove ambiguity so referees need not decide whether a player touched the ball deliberately

In these troubled times, scraps of normality glint like a jewel in the dirt. Three cheers, then, for a weekend when the football discourse was dominated not by the imminent collapse of the league pyramid or the unsuccessful containment of a global pandemic but, sweet bliss, by people becoming furious about refereeing.

Leicester agree £36.5m deal to sign Wesley Fofana from St-Étienne

• Central defender was also a target for West Ham
• Fee for 19-year-old includes add-ons

Leicester are close to signing Wesley Fofana from Saint-Étienne after agreeing a deal worth up to €40m (£36.5m) for the central defender.

The 19-year-old has also been targeted by West Ham but Leicester had the wherewithal to make an acceptable offer that includes add-ons, and personal terms have been agreed.

Birmingham dismayed by 'ridiculous' gap between Women's FA Cup ties

• Blues face Everton on Wednesday after Sunday’s extra-time win
• ‘It’s an injustice,’ says manager Carla Ward before the semi-final

Birmingham’s manager, Carla Ward, has branded as “ridiculous” the decision to give her team only two clear days between their FA Cup quarter-final and semi-final.

The club, the outsiders to lift the trophy on 1 November, are preparing to face Everton on Wednesday, having played through extra-time and penalties against Brighton on Sunday.

The Klopp-Keane exchange tells us much about how football has changed | Jonathan Wilson

Liverpool are not so much sloppy as playing the popular high-risk game that late-period Alex Ferguson eschewed

Lazio sign Andreas Pereira on loan and Leeds edge closer to Cuisance signing

• Manchester United player to join Lazio with option to buy
• Leeds have offered €20m for Bayern Munich midfielder

Lazio have agreed a deal with Manchester United to sign Andreas Pereira on loan for the 2020-21 season with an option to buy the midfielder for €27m (£24.5m) next summer.

The Fiver | Fulham and the need to post criticism on Social Media Disgrace Twitter

Deadly Dychonomics: Premier League clubs won't care if EFL teams go under | Jonathan Liew

Why would English football’s elite worry about propping up a system they have spent years actively seeking to obliterate?

One by one, they lined up to condemn the madness. “It’s certainly destroying my enjoyment of the game of football,” said Roy Hodgson. “You’re ruining football for everybody,” fumed Jamie Carragher. “The game’s gone,” tweeted Andros Townsend. “Maybe we can all get together and stop it,” urged Steve Bruce.

Meanwhile, on Monday a group of football fans, former players, administrators and politicians sent an open letter to the government warning that many EFL and National League clubs were “unable to meet their payroll obligations for next month”, and that without government assistance English football was facing “the collapse of the league structure that we have known for over one hundred years”.

West Ham keen on Slavia Prague's Vladimir Coufal to fill right-back gap

• Coufal is a 28-year-old Czech Republic international
• West Ham also looking at Napoli centre-back Nikola Maksimovic

West Ham are interested in the Slavia Prague right-back Vladimir Coufal after confirming that Ryan Fredericks will be out until after the international break with a hamstring injury.

Aston Villa keep up winning start and leave Fulham looking out of their depth

It was hard not to feel sorry for Bobby Decordova-Reid as he saw the claret and blue shirts swarming towards him. The Fulham winger knew his hopes of sparking a counterattack were fading. Decordova-Reid had no support from his teammates and he could do nothing more than boom an up-and-under towards Emi Martínez, Aston Villa’s underworked goalkeeper.

Manchester United make offer for Alex Telles and consider Jadon Sancho bid

• Brazil left-back valued at £18m by Porto
• United considering formal bid for Jadon Sancho
  

Manchester United have made an initial bid for Porto’s Alex Telles, with the club valuing the left-back at around £12m as he can be signed without a fee on a pre-contract in January.

Telles’s current terms expire in summer so despite Porto wanting a fee in the region of £18m for the Brazilian, United believe a deal can be done close to their desired price and have lodged a first official offer before the transfer window closes on 5 October.

'It's a nonsense': handball rule and VAR in crosshairs after weekend of controversy – video report

VAR and the handball rule have been thrown into the spotlight after a weekend of controversial decisions. Firstly, a handball against Crystal Palace's Joel Ward was labelled 'nonsense' by manager Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson. He added: 'Every week games are being decided on so-called penalty decisions.' Twenty-four hours later there was a similar story at Tottenham after Newcastle were awarded a late penalty. Despite gaining an advantage, Steve Bruce said that 'it ruins the spectacle of the Premier League' after Eric Dier was adjudged to have handled in the area despite having his back to the ball

'A beautiful feeling': Valtteri Bottas wins Russian GP with Lewis Hamilton third – video

Lewis Hamilton was denied the chance to equal Michael Schumacher's record of 91 race victories after his Mercedes teammate Valterri Bottas won the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi. 'I consider myself a bit lucky ... it's a beautiful feeling,' Bottas said after seeing Hamilton hit with a 10-second penalty for two illegal practice starts before the race.

Frank Lampard supports financial aid for EFL and non-league clubs – video

Chelsea manger Frank Lampard has said that it is important for the Premier League to support EFL clubs financially, as many lower-tier teams continue to struggle through the coronavirus pandemic.

The Premier League and EFL are in talks regarding a support package after Rick Parry, chairman of the EFL, warned that Championship, League One and League Two clubs will lose a combined £200m if the 2020/21 season takes place entirely behind closed doors.

'An era is over': emotional Luis Suárez bids farewell to Barcelona – video

Luis Suárez bid a teary farewell to Barcelona on 24 September, before his move to La Liga title rivals Atlético Madrid.

Suárez joined Barcelona from Liverpool in 2014 after making global headlines for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini in the World Cup, which meant he was banned for the first four months – but he soon formed a deadly partnership with Lionel Messi and Neymar, winning a treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League in his first season.

He leaves after lifting 13 trophies and hitting 198 goals to become the club's third all-time top scorer.

Footballer substituted after 13 seconds in Estonian Premier League – video

An Estonian Premier League match was halted after 13 seconds while the away side substituted an uninjured player. Lauri Suup, 16, was brought off the field by Nomme Kalju FC shortly after the referee started the match. The rules in Estonia state each side must start with at least two homegrown players, which may explain the early removal of Suup. Many of Kalju's players are currently unavailable because they are self-isolating having tested positive for Covid-19.

Parrot lands on head of Brazilian footballer during practice match – video

A Brazilian women's national team practice match was halted after a parrot landed on the head of one of the players. Defender Bruna Benties had a macaw standing on her head before an assistant coach was brought in to try and get the bird off her head with a football

The Fiver | A weekend of Premier League football that put the ‘ugh’ in laughable

Football transfer rumours: N'Golo Kanté to Manchester United or Inter?

Today’s fluff will run and run

Another ineffective performance from Paul Pogba in Manchester United’s midfield, another day of speculation linking the Old Trafford outfit with a midfield enforcer worthy of the name. The French midfielder looked a disinterested passenger during the 65 minutes he spent playing in a deep-lying role against Brighton before getting hauled off on Saturday, prompting The Mirror to speculate United could make a move for one of his World Cup-winning French teammates.

United are reported to have set their sights on N’Golo Kanté, but will ask the Chelsea pocket dynamo to take a substantial cut in his £300,000-per-week wages to move to Old Trafford. Italian side Inter are also reported to be interested in Kanté and will offer one of Milan Skriniar or Marcelo Brozovic in part exchange. Apparently surplus to requirements at United, Juan Mata and Andreas Pereira could be off to Lazio before the transfer window shuts next Monday night.

Sports quiz of the week: big waves, tough ground and the birds in the sky

Who went long? Who can’t lose? Who didn’t play ball?

Kalju FC played Levadia in the Estonian Premier League this week. What happened 13 seconds into the match?

The referee pulled his hamstring and the game had to be called off

The Kalju goalkeeper walked off the field, later claiming he heard an opponent coughing

The Kalju manager substituted one of his players – even though he had not touched the ball yet

One of the goalposts blew over in the wind and the game was abandoned

In last week’s quiz we predicted that the players at the US Open might struggle at Winged Foot golf club. How many players at the tournament finished under par?

None

One

Two

Three

Tottenham will play Chelsea in the fourth round of the League Cup. How many games have Spurs played to reach the last-16?

None

One

Two

Three

Why was a non-league game between Carlton Athletic and Ilkley Town interrupted for 20 minutes?

Ilkley players left early as they are now in lockdown

The players and officials agreed to a long half-time break so they could observe the eclipse of the moon

Government rules changed during the match and the referee did not know whether they should continue

An alpaca ran on to the pitch

Bayern Munich won their latest trophy on Thursday night, beating Sevilla in the Super Cup in Budapest. When did Bayern last lose a game of football?

March 2020

January 2020

December 2019

October 2019

The French Open begins at Roland Garros on Sunday. Rafa Nadal is the favourite to win the men’s singles tournament. If he is successful, how many grand slams will Nadal have won?

18

20

22

24

Nadal, Federer and Novak Djokovic have dominated men’s tennis for a generation. When was the last time a man born outside Europe won a grand slam?

2006

2009

2012

2015

Sheffield United are playing Leeds United this weekend. When was the last time the two clubs met in the Premier League?

1994

1999

2004

They have never met in the Premier League.

Big wave surfer Doug Falter lost his board in a wipeout in Hawaii two years ago. Where did it turn up this week?

In the same beach he lost it

In the Philippines

In the Bermuda Triangle

Bognor Regis

Why did the Brazil women’s football team have to take a few minutes break during a match this week?

They stopped playing as they realised the assistant referee was playing games on his phone

Brazil had four players sent off, so the referee decided to give them a “time out” to calm down

A parrot landed on the head of one of the players

A small plane made a crash landing on the pitch

1 and above.

Hard lines. Have a great weekend

2 and above.

Hard lines. Have a great weekend

3 and above.

Hard lines. Have a great weekend

4 and above.

Hard lines. Have a great weekend

5 and above.

A fine score. Have a great weekend

6 and above.

A fine score. Have a great weekend

7 and above.

A very fine score indeed. Have a great weekend

8 and above.

A very fine score indeed. Have a great weekend

9 and above.

A very fine score indeed. Have a great weekend

0 and above.

Hard lines Have a great weekend

10 and above.

A superb score. Have a great weekend

The Breakdown | Alex Goode delivers as Saracens keep chasing Champions Cup miracle

Wounded champions will look to defy odds again at Racing 92 and are a team at its most dangerous when backed into a corner

Will grounds stay empty for another six months? – Football Weekly Extra

Vintage skied penalties, BMX twin sisters and triathlon sportsmanship | Classic YouTube

This week’s highlights also include interloping cows, heartening sportsmanship and a 159ft putt from Michael Phelps

The Spin awards: a biosecure summer of unsung heroes like no other | Tim de Lisle

Prizes go to Michael Holding for showing why Black Lives Matter and the BBC for bringing cricket back to the masses

At first, after the unbeatable thrills of 2019, the men’s international cricket season of 2020 looked like being an anticlimax. Then, as one nation after another locked down, it looked like not happening at all. Next, it looked like happening after a fashion but being too weird to cast a spell. And finally, it happened, without a hitch, and with many a magic moment. Now was our Easter of discontent made glorious summer.

After four months of nothing at all, we had 10 weeks of escapism without leaving the sofa. Now, at the end of term, it’s time for prize-giving.

Golden Goal: Lakhdar Belloumi for Algeria v West Germany (1982) | Simon Burnton

Belloumi, a great denied a move to Europe by age and violence, stunned an overconfident West Germany at the World Cup

Paddy Kenny: 'It was just a fight over who was to pay for the curry'

The former Leeds and Sheffield United keeper’s remarkably frank autobiography details fist fights, infidelity and a drugs-related ban

‘That was an absolute bullshit story,” says Paddy Kenny as he recalls reports from 2006 that claimed he had his eyebrow bitten off by a friend in a fight outside a Halifax curry house.

Readers were given the impression that blood had been spilled because the friend had just confessed to starting an affair with Kenny’s then-wife while the keeper was on international duty with the Republic of Ireland. “It was nothing to do with that,” he says. “It was just a fight over who was to pay for the curry.”

Lizzie Banks: 'If people can’t watch on TV, there’s no point having the race'

British rider warns lack of coverage is making women’s cycling ‘invisible’ as she heads into the road world championships

As she prepares to return to the road world championships and a possible leader’s role alongside Lizzie Deignan, Great Britain’s Lizzie Banks has made the strongest of demands to cycling’s world governing body. The 29-year-old has told the Union Cycliste International to “put their money where their mouth is” and support races such as the recent women’s Tour of Italy, the Giro Rosa, which she described as “invisible” owing to its lack of live television coverage.

Banks won a stage in the Giro for the second successive year – a courageous breakaway victory on the longest stage of the race at the town of Tivoli on day four – and goes into Saturday’s world championship road race in Imola at the head of a strong Great Britain women’s team who include Deignan, Hannah Barnes and Anna Henderson. The hilly course promises dramatic racing while the calls for the UCI to push harder for equality grow ever stronger.

No sign of peace at Barcelona as Messi simmers and Suárez says goodbye | Sid Lowe

As their La Liga season starts on Sunday, the Camp Nou club are still in turmoil. Can playing matches lift the mood?

Dean Jones, brilliant attacking batsman and punchy character | Vic Marks

The Australian, who has died at 59, averaged over 46 in Tests and revolutionised one-day cricket, as well as being a no-nonsense coach and pundit