MANCHESTER: Manchester United suffered another home humiliation as Manchester City cruised to a 2-0 win at Old Trafford on Saturday to raise further questions over the future of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Eric Bailly’s own goal and Bernardo Silva’s strike on the stroke of half-time was the difference between the sides on the scoreboard.
But that did little justice to the chasm between the teams as only a string of stunning saves from David De Gea prevented United from a thrashing similar to the 5-0 humbling they were handed by Liverpool less than two weeks ago.
Solskjaer bought himself some time with a 3-0 win at Tottenham last weekend.
But United have now won just one of their last six Premier League games and could finish the day 11 points off the top of the table should Chelsea beat Burnley at Stamford Bridge.
Solskjaer’s switch to a back five worked a treat at Spurs, but that owed much to the return of Raphael Varane from injury.
Without the French World Cup winner, who sustained a hamstring injury against Atalanta on Wednesday, the Norwegian’s decision to retain the same system quickly backfired.
Bailly was included for the first time in the Premier League this season and took only seven minutes to give City the perfect start when he sliced Joao Cancelo’s cross into his own goal.
United have won just five of Cristiano Ronaldo’s 13 appearances since the five-time Ballon d’Or winner returned to the club.
Had things gone differently in the final days of August, Ronaldo could have been lining up for City as they pursued the 36-year-old to fill the void left by Sergio Aguero.
Ronaldo’s goalscoring heroics have kept United alive in the Champions League, but he has netted just once in the last six Premier League games.
The Portuguese nearly bailed out a terrible first 45 minutes from the Red Devils when his volley was brilliantly saved by Ederson and Mason Greenwood failed to turn the rebound into an empty net.
But it was De Gea who was by far the busier ‘keeper.
The Spaniard spread himself to miraculously block from Gabriel Jesus before saving from Cancelo, Kevin De Bruyne and denying a second own goal off the boot of Victor Lindelof.
However, even De Gea was at fault for City’s second when Silva got an outstretched leg to Cancelo’s cross and the United stopper flapped the ball into his own net.
Boos greeted the half-time whistle as the traveling City support gleefully chanted “Ole’s at the wheel” to mock the United boss.
Solskjaer responded by introducing former City winger Jadon Sancho, who has failed to hold down a place in the United team in recent weeks despite costing £73 million ($98 million) to sign from Borussia Dortmund in July.
Sancho injected a little more pace into the United attack, but the home side were still barely able to sustain any pressure as City’s passing triangles left them chasing shadows in the Manchester rain.
Phil Foden hit the post and Jesus had strong appeals for a penalty waived away as City could easily have won by a far more comprehensive margin.
A shock 2-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace last weekend left Pep Guardiola’s men with little margin for error in the title race.
City, though, have often saved their best performances for the big occasion this season as they have now taken seven points from a possible nine in away games against Chelsea, Liverpool and United.
Chelsea’s lead at the top of the table is cut to two points as City move up to second, a point ahead of Liverpool, who travel to West Ham on Sunday.
Manchester City outclass crisis-hit Manchester United
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Manchester City outclass crisis-hit Manchester United
Dustin Poirier to close UFC career with Max Holloway trilogy title fight
- Both fighters are coming off losses in title fights
Louisiana native Dustin Poirier is locked for a UFC BMF title fight in his home state to conclude his career, as New Orleans will host Poirier’s battle with title-holder Max Holloway to highlight the July 19 card at the Smoothie King Center.
This will be the third battle between the lightweight combatants, the 36-year-old Poirier, who hails from Lafayette, Louisiana, taking the first two contests.
Both fighters are coming off losses in title fights, however. Poirier (30-9) submitted to Islam Makhachev last June, while the 33-year-old Holloway (26-8) lost in knockout fashion to Ilia Topuria in October.
“For Dustin Poirier to be able to finish his remarkable UFC career in New Orleans is special,” UFC executive vice president Peter Dropick said in a news release. “Thank you to the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, the Louisiana Office of Tourism, New Orleans & Company and Smoothie King Center for helping us make this happen.
“It’s been 10 years since we’ve held an event in New Orleans, we know the fans are ready for us to be back!“
The Octagon will also play host to ranked middleweights No 10 Marvin Vettori (19-8-1) and No. 11 Brendan Allen (24-7), who will do battle for the first time in an official capacity at UFC 318.
The two were slated to fight at UFC Vegas 90 last April, though Vettori pulled out. A few months later, the pair squared off (unofficially) in a brawl at a Florida casino.
Their ranked billing remains hotly anticipated.
The rest of the lineup includes newly announced fights between Kyler Phillips (12-3) and Vinicius Oliveira (22-3) at the bantamweight level, Jimmy Crute (12-4-2) facing Marcin Prachnio (17-8) in light heavyweight and Carli Judice (4-2) battling Nicolle Caliari (8-3) at women’s fly.
Other fights include:
--No. 7 Amanda Ribas vs. No. 10 Tabatha Ricci in strawweight
--Neil Magny vs. Gunnar Nelson in welterweight
--Adam Fuitt vs. Islam Dulatov in welterweight
--Ikram Aliskerov vs. Brunno Ferreira in middleweight
Gilgeous-Alexander voted as NBA’s MVP, continuing run of international players winning the award
- It’s now seven straight years that a player born outside the US won MVP, extending the longest such streak in league history
- He becomes the second Canadian to win MVP; Steve Nash won it twice
NEW YORK: The case for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was simple. He’s the best player on an Oklahoma City Thunder team that had the best record this season and set a league mark for margin of victory. If that wasn’t enough, he also won the scoring title.
That’s an MVP year.
Gilgeous-Alexander was announced Wednesday as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, his first time winning the award. It’s now seven straight years that a player born outside the US won MVP, extending the longest such streak in league history.
And when it happened, Gilgeous-Alexander said a life of moments — getting cut, traded, overlooked, celebrating, the wins, the good times — all flooded into his mind.
“I don’t think there’s enough emphasis on how much off the court influences on the court,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “And once I became better off the court my career started to skyrocket. It’s no coincidence.”
It ultimately was a two-person race. Gilgeous-Alexander got 71 first-place votes and 29 second-place votes; Denver’s Nikola Jokic got the other 29 first-place votes and the other 71 second-place votes.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo was third, getting 88 of the 100 possible third-place votes.
Gilgeous-Alexander — the No. 11 pick in the 2018 draft — averaged 32.7 points, 6.4 assists and five rebounds per game this season, leading the Thunder to a 68-14 record. The Thunder outscored teams by 12.9 points per game, the biggest margin in league history.
He becomes the second Canadian to win MVP; Steve Nash won it twice.
“He set the foundation,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of Nash. “He was the first Canadian basketball player I knew of. And without seeing guys go to the NBA from Canada, it wouldn’t have been as much of a dream as it was for us as kids growing up. So, to be in a conversation with a guy like that and what he has meant to not only basketball but to the country of Canada, it’s special.”
And Gilgeous-Alexander is the first guard to win MVP since James Harden in 2018.
“His value is his confidence,” Oklahoma City’s Kenrich Williams said of Gilgeous-Alexander, his Thunder teammate for the last five seasons. “His confidence that he has in himself and the confidence that he instills in every one of his teammates, including the coaches.”
Jokic — a winner of three of the last four MVP awards — was second, despite a season for the ages. He averaged 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game, the first center to average a triple-double and the first player since all those stats were tracked to finish in the NBA’s top three in all three of those categories.
It was the sixth instance of a player finishing a season averaging a triple-double — at least 10 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds per game. Russell Westbrook did it four times and Oscar Robertson once, but only one of those triple-double seasons led to an MVP win.
“He’s a special player,” Jokic said of Gilgeous-Alexander earlier this week when the Thunder eliminated the Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals. “His shot selection, his shot capability ... he’s always there. He’s a special player.”
Antetokounmpo, who averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game, was third. He started this run of international players winning MVP; Antetokounmpo, of Greek and Nigerian descent, won in 2019 and 2020.
Jokic, a Serbian, won in 2021, 2022 and 2024. And Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, who was born in Cameroon but since became a US citizen, won the award in 2023.
Now, it’s Gilgeous-Alexander — a son of Ontario, where hockey reigns — carrying the MVP flag. He was fifth in the voting two years ago, second behind Jokic last year, and used being so close to the award as fuel this season.
“There are voters every year. That will never change,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on TNT during the broadcast when the results were revealed. “And last year, all it meant was that more people thought I shouldn’t have won than should have won. This year I wanted to change the narrative and have it flipped. I think I did a good job of that.”
Boston’s Jayson Tatum was fourth, Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell was fifth and the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James was sixth — the 20th time in his 22-year career that he got some MVP votes.
Detroit’s Cade Cunningham and Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards tied for seventh, Golden State’s Stephen Curry was ninth and three players — the Los Angeles Clippers’ Harden, New York’s Jalen Brunson and Cleveland’s Evan Mobley — tied for 10th.
The MVP award, like most other NBA honors, was voted on by a global panel of 100 writers and broadcasters who cover the league and cast ballots shortly before the start of the playoffs.
The other awards that were part of that voting process and have already been unveiled: Cleveland’s Kenny Atkinson winning coach of the year, Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels winning most improved player, San Antonio’s Stephon Castle winning rookie of the year, Cleveland’s Evan Mobley winning defensive player of the year, New York’s Jalen Brunson winning clutch player of the year and Boston’s Payton Pritchard winning sixth man of the year.
Other awards announced by the league since the end of the regular season: Golden State’s Stephen Curry won the Twyman-Stokes teammate of the year award, Warriors teammate Draymond Green won the hustle award, Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti won executive of the year and Boston’s Jrue Holiday won the sportsmanship award for the second time in his career as well as the league’s social justice award.
The award came at a price for Gilgeous-Alexander, who is in line for an extension that will easily top $300 million and could even see him make about $1 million per regular-season game in 2030-31 and 2031-32.
He promised teammates watches if he won the MVP; those guys have those watches now, and they deserve all that and more, he said.
“This is nothing compared to what they’ve been to me,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I would rather have the MVP over a Rolex every day of the week and without them, I wouldn’t have the MVP.”
Ernie Els, Retief Goosen join South African president in White House meeting with Trump
- Els and Retief Goosen, both Hall of Fame players who have combined to win six US Open titles, were part of the delegation with President Cyril Ramaphosa
- Both were in Washington for the Senior PGA Championship, which starts Thursday at Congressional Country Club
- Trump had already cut all US assistance to South Africa and welcomed several dozen white South African farmers to the US as refugees
WASHINGTON: Ernie Els went to Washington to try to win another senior major and wound up in the White House on Wednesday at the invitation of South Africa’s president, who is pushing back against President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of systematic killing of white farmers in the country.
Els and Retief Goosen, both Hall of Fame players who have combined to win six US Open titles, were part of the delegation with President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Trump had already cut all US assistance to South Africa and welcomed several dozen white South African farmers to the US as refugees as he pressed the case that a “genocide” is underway in the country.
He has launched a series of accusations at South Africa’s Black-led government, claiming it is seizing land from white farmers, enforcing anti-white policies and pursuing an anti-American foreign policy.
Experts in South Africa say there is no evidence of whites being targeted for their race, although farmers of all races are victims of violent home invasions in a country that suffers from a very high crime rate.
Trump, who developed high-end golf courses before entering politics, is at ease among some of the game’s greats from Jack Nicklaus to Tiger Woods. He first played golf with Els, who lives in south Florida, eight years ago.
“When I spoke to you, you said, ‘Yes, come along and bring Gary Player and Ernie Els and Retief Goosen.’ I brought the two of them,” Ramaphosa said.
He said he spoke with Player, who turns 90 in November, and Player said he was getting in on years but wished them luck in the discussion. Trump awarded Player the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Jan. 7, 2021, one day after pro-Trump rioters attacked the White House.
“We’re proud South Africans,” Els said when Trump asked him to speak. “We want to see things get better in our home country. That’s the bottom line. It’s been 35 years since the transition (from apartheid).
“I know there’s a lot of anger through the transition, a lot of stuff happening in apartheid days. We grew up in the apartheid era. But I don’t think two wrongs make a right.”
Els said Nelson Mandela “didn’t come out with hatred” when he was freed after 27 years in prison, instead working to unify South Africa through sport after being elected president in 1994. He cited the World Cup of Rugby in 1995, winning the African Nations in soccer and a few golf majors.
Els won four majors, two each at the US Open and British Open. Goosen, who recovered from being struck by lightning, won two US Opens.
Both were in Washington for the Senior PGA Championship, which starts Thursday at Congressional Country Club across the Potomac River in Bethesda, Maryland.
“What I’m trying to say is this has been a long time coming. That’s why we really wanted to meet you and see our way forward,” Els said. “We still want to see our country flourish. ... There’s a lot of co-existence going on, but we need the US to push this thing through.”
Goosen, whose father was a property developer and a part-time farmer, grew up in what now is Polokwane. He said his brother is still running the farm but “it’s a constant battle with ... them trying to burn the farm down to chase you away.”
“It is a concern to try to make a living as a farmer,” he said.
Els, known as the “Big Easy” for his fluid swing, first played golf with Trump in 2017 during his first term in office.
“We didn’t talk politics because I’m not a man who can cast a vote,” Els told The Associated Press that year. “Whether you agree or not, I felt it was a duty to play with the president when you get the call. It’s basically honoring what the United States has done for me and my family.”
Spurs edge Man Utd to win Europa League and end trophy drought
BILBAO: Brennan Johnson’s scrambled goal ended a 17-year Tottenham trophy drought with a battling 1-0 win over Manchester United in the Europa League final on Wednesday.
Spurs, who had not won European silverware since 1984, will play in next season’s Champions League, while failing to qualify for it is a severe financial set-back for Manchester United.
Despite their triumph in Bilbao, manager Ange Postecoglou’s future is still on the line following a shambolic domestic campaign, with Spurs sitting a place below United in the lower reaches of the Premier League table.
The Australian furiously insisted he was “not a clown” on the eve of the final and had the last laugh on a nerve-racking night at the San Mames, as he made good on his claim to always win a trophy in his second season in charge of a club.
“This is what it’s all about, this club hasn’t won a trophy for 17 years, honestly, this is what it means, it means so much,” Wales winger Johnson told TNT Sports.
“Ever since I came here it’s been (people saying) ‘Tottenham are a good team, but they never get it done’ — we got it done!“
Fans came from far and wide to pack Athletic Bilbao’s stadium, some taking quite preposterous routes and sleeping in cars to avoid eye-watering prices, but they could not escape a final lacking in quality.
It was a match between teams languishing in 16th and 17th place respectively after dismal Premier League campaigns and that was the essence of it too, played at high intensity but with low confidence, and a prize on the line so big it overawed.
There were a large number of turnovers, neither side keeping the ball with any ease, moves ending in panicked defending and balls being thumped to safety, or a litany of clumsy fouls.
Harry Maguire blocked well from Tottenham’s Pape Sarr early on after Johnson nipped in ahead of Luke Shaw to break in down the right.
Manchester United fans chanted Ruben Amorim’s name, backing their Portuguese coach despite the club’s worst Premier League season in half a century.
At the other end, 22-year-old United winger Amad Diallo, one of the few players high on self-belief, flashed a shot across goal and then left Destiny Udogie spinning, trying in vain to find him as he dribbled past.
Spurs made the breakthrough after 42 minutes and, perhaps fittingly, it came in the form of an extremely scrappy goal.
Tottenham midfielder Sarr, who had completed just a single pass to this point, curled in a cross to the near post for Johnson.
The winger’s attempted flick bounced off Shaw’s shoulder, brushed Johnson’s boot again and crossed the goal-line in slow motion with Andre Onana unable to claw it out with a desperate arm.
Spurs sat back in the second half, trying to protect their slender advantage and look for opportunities to strike again on the counter-attack.
They nearly found one when Yves Bissouma played in Dominic Solanke, but the striker could not control the pass and the chance went to waste.
Manchester United almost equalized when Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario came off his line but failed to claim a set-piece pounded forward from deep.
The ball dropped for Rasmus Hojlund but his header over the stranded Spurs stopper was sensationally cleared in acrobatic fashion by Micky van de Ven.
Spurs sent on captain Son Heung-min for the ragged Richarlison, with the South Korean international a surprising non-starter.
Manchester United turned to Alejandro Garnacho and Joshua Zirkzee to try and dig them out of their hole, but fell to a fourth defeat against Spurs this season.
Shaw had a chance to redeem himself at the end for his part in Johnson’s goal but his header was pushed to safety by Vicario.
Amorim said winning the trophy would not solve United’s many deep-lying problems but could set the club up well for the future, however United leave Bilbao without even that.
For the first time since the 2014-15 season they will not play European football next term.
Zverev suffers early exit in French Open warm-up
- Muller, ranked 40th in the world, beat a top-five ranked opponent for the first time in his career
- The German said sickness was behind his lacklustre showing
BERLIN: World number three Alexander Zverev blamed illness after a last 16 elimination by Frenchman Alexandre Muller in the Hamburg Open on Wednesday botched his French Open dress rehearsal.
Muller, ranked 40th in the world, won 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5) to reach the quarter-finals, beating a top-five ranked opponent for the first time in his career.
The German struggled in the opening set, taking just two games as Muller won in 34 minutes. Zverev opened strongly in the second and broke his opponent twice.
In the third, Zverev and Muller broke each other once before forcing a tiebreak. Zverev held the advantage until Muller won the final three points to take the match.
A last-minute sign-up to the clay court event, Zverev had hoped to use his hometown tournament to gain momentum for the French Open.
The German said sickness was behind his lacklustre showing. “It was OK considering I threw up 37 times and had a fever of 39.4 degrees (Celsius, 102.9 Fahrenheit) all night.
“I was two points away from winning the match. There’s a lot to be said in my favor.”
The 28-year-old said his opponent had taken advantage of his poor condition.
“When I had to walk it was difficult. He then realized at some point I wasn’t feeling well and made the points last as long as possible.”
Still looking for a breakthrough Grand Slam victory, Zverev lost in the most recent Australian and French Open finals, along with the US Open in 2020.
After an inconsistent start to 2025, Zverev broke through to win the Bavarian Open in April, his third victory on the Munich clay. The German was however eliminated at the quarter-finals in Rome in straight sets last Wednesday.
Zverev won the tournament in 2023 and made the final last year, losing to France’s Arthur Fils in a third-set tiebreak.
The German was considered the favorite for the tournament after world number one Jannik Sinner’s late withdrawal.
Earlier on Wednesday, American second seed Frances Tiafoe was eliminated by Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut and fourth-seeded Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo lost to Czech Jiri Lehecka.
