Sports

Xabi Alonso has left his job as coach of Real Madrid, only seven months after arriving for his first day at the club’s Valdebebas training ground. A brief statement announced his departure “by mutual consent” on Monday evening after Madrid’s 3-2 defeat in the final of the Spanish Super Cup against Barcelona the previous night. He will be replaced, at least in the short term, by his former Real Madrid and Liverpool teammate and friend Álvaro Arbeloa, who was coach of Castilla, Madrid’s B team. Alonso had been on the edge over the last month, with the defeat at Liverpool…

Point proven? Well, not exactly. Just when Arsenal looked ready to lay down a real marker for their title aspirations, a rejuvenated Liverpool side that has been through the wringer since they were crowned champions last season, showed the Gunners remain fallible. It could have been even worse for Mikel Arteta’s side if Liverpool had been awarded one of two potential penalties or if Conor Bradley’s brilliant chip had not struck the crossbar in the first half. The Liverpool defender’s night ended with him departing on a stretcher after a frustrated Gabriel Martinelli tried to push him off the pitch…

*Fulham’s Wilson Piles Pain On 10-man Chelsea As Rosenior Watches On Few things in life can be more awkward than sitting next to your new boss while 3,000 malcontents bellow abuse at him. On the bright side, at least this was a crash course in the modern Chelsea for Liam Rosenior. The new head coach saw poor defending undermine flashes of defiance, witnessed his erratic side collect their eighth red card of the season, and heard the away end at Craven Cottage spend much of the second half aim mutinous chants in the direction of Behdad Eghbali, the club’s co-controlling…

By Jacob Steinberg The way Chelsea are run will come as no surprise to new manager Liam Rosenior. He has longstanding relationships with three of the five Sporting Directors and will know from his time at Strasbourg, who are part of the same ownership, that the head coach’s best chance of surviving is not to make the mistake of rebelling against the structure. Rosenior will have to show more political savvy than Enzo Maresca, who talked himself out of the job last week. Yet given the 41‑year‑old is familiar with the working conditions at BlueCo, the investment vehicle that owns…

It’s not supposed to be like this. Nigeria, for at least two decades, have been a team that huffed and puffed, struggled with the weight of their own history and expectation, seemed always less than the sum of their parts. Even as they won the tournament in 2013, or got to the final in 2024, the sense of effort was palpable. Nothing came easily to them. They’re not meant to be a side who canter through last-16 ties. But on a foul night today in Fez, though, the rain leaching across the stadium, Nigeria, inspired by former African Footballer of…

*He Lost Power Struggle Over Transfers Ruben Amorim has been sacked by Manchester United after 14 months as their head coach. The Portuguese departs after a power struggle with the hierarchy over transfer policy, with Amorim demanding his colleagues in the recruitment department “do their job” after Sunday’s draw at Leeds. Amorim believed United were prepared to back him in the January window should a major signing become available but then said last Friday: “We have no conversation to have any change in the squad.” His relationship with the Director of Football, Jason Wilcox, has become strained and Amorim made…

Following the news of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s arrest this weekend, the world’s media focused intently on the geopolitical ramifications of the end of the era. Yet, in the midst of the infamous picture shared by United States (US) President Donald Trump, of Maduro’s capture, not many know of a rather soft side of the Venezuelan leader: His love for FC Barcelona and 8-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi. For years, Maduro was perhaps the most vocal and certainly the most powerful Cule(Barcelona fan) in South America. His love for the club wasn’t just personal; it was deeply woven into…

*Parties In Court Almost Always Come To Blows Arguing Matter French justice is entering its final days before issuing a verdict in the case of Halba Diouf, a 23-year-old transgender sprinter who has accused the French Athletics Federation (FFA) of discrimination for barring her from competing in women’s events. The highly complex proceedings, laden with sporting, legal, and social implications, will conclude with a ruling scheduled to be handed down on January 28. Recently, the Paris criminal court heard more than two-and-a-half hours of arguments in a hearing shaped by shifting regulations and a lack of scientific consensus on the…

By Louise Taylor, at the Stadium of Light Something had to give on New Year's Day and it was not Sunderland’s unbeaten home Premier League record. Instead ­Manchester City’s winning streak came to a juddering halt as Pep ­Guardiola’s side spurned a chance to move within two points of Arsenal at the top of the table. Rather, at the end of hostilities, the points gap widened to four. Hats – or should that be chapeaux – off to coach Régis Le Bris and his clever and courageous Sunderland team for not merely frustrating City but offering Gianluigi Donnarumma scope to…

*After ‘Disgraceful’ AFCON *Team Lose All 3 Matches Gabon’s government has announced the suspension of the national football team, the sacking of their coach and the kicking of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out of the squad after three defeats at the Africa Cup of Nations finals. Gabon’s acting Sports Minister, Simplice-Désiré Mamboula, announced the suspension of the national team on television after they finished last in their group and were eliminated from the tournament in Morocco. “Given the Panthers’ disgraceful performance at the Africa Cup of Nations, the government has decided to dissolve the coaching staff, suspend the national team until further…