The Manchester United owner detailed the club’s dire financial straits and threw his weight behind new manager Ruben Amorim in a lengthy interview

Everything you need to know about BetMGM’s latest offers for the 2025 Cheltenham Festival

The level will have to rise when Newcastle return to London with designs on ending their long wait for silverware this weekend. This scrappy performance is unlikely to have sent a shiver down Liverpool’s spine before the Carabao Cup final, although there were positives for Eddie Howe to dwell on after his side boosted their hopes of Champions League qualification with a forgettable win over West Ham.

It was vital that spirits were lifted after the blow of exiting the FA Cup a week ago. The avoidance of further injuries was welcome and Howe could take satisfaction from a first clean sheet in over a month before Newcastle attempt to keep Mohamed Salah quiet. Liverpool, though, will presumably pose more questions than a cautious, limited West Ham attack managed here. Newcastle, who were clearly holding back at times, were comfortable after Bruno Guimarães scored the goal that lifted them two points off fourth place.

• Co-owner backs Ruben Amorim to stay for ‘long time’
• He admits not sacking Erik ten Hag in summer was error

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has launched a blistering attack on Manchester United players, stating some are “not good enough” and “overpaid”, referencing Casemiro, Antony, Jadon Sancho, Rasmus Højlund and André Onana when doing so.

In a series of interviews, Ratcliffe, the club’s co-owner, also said that Ruben Amorim would be the head coach for a “long time”, and admitted that not sacking Erik ten Hag last summer was an error.

• Head coach ready for second-leg showdown at Anfield
• Luis Enrique says winners of last-16 tie will make final

Arne Slot believes Liverpool must produce their best performance of the season to finish off “a complete” Paris Saint-Germain team that gave him sleepless nights after the Champions League encounter last week.

Liverpool take a 1-0 lead into the last-16 second leg at Anfield but Slot rates the tie at “50-50” on the evidence of PSG’s display at Parc des Princes. “The result was ours, the performance was for them,” he said.

• Premier League updates from the 8pm GMT kick-off
• Live scores | Premier League top scorers | Mail Michael

Russell Martin, the former Southampton manager, is the guest pundit on Sky Sports tonight, here in the UK. I wonder where he might end up. Many will be put off by the way that Southampton played in the Premier League this year, but many feel that the Saints have got worse since his departure. I would suggest that he didn’t have the players good enough to fit his system, although he is not without fault.

Remember the season previous, Burnley were relegated under Vincent Kompany, who had a similar tactical evangelism. And the Belgian got the Bayern job. I’m not suggesting that Martin will be manager of a European giant anytime soon but I wonder if a European club might take a punt. There are other British coaches, such as Liam Rosenior and Will Still, doing well abroad.

• Quarterback will replace Geno Smith in Seattle
• Jets move on from Aaron Rodgers era
• Khalil Mack set to re-sign with Chargers

Quarterback Sam Darnold has agreed on a three-year, $110.5m contract with the Seattle Seahawks, according to multiple reports.

Darnold had the best season of his career with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024, leading the team to 14 wins and a playoff appearance. He replaces Geno Smith, who was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders last week. Darnold’s deal is reported to include $55m in guaranteed money.

Everything you need to know about the best betting sites and free bet offers to use for the Cheltenham Festival

The influence of then Worcester coach Sherratt on a teenage Smith helped set him on his way into international rugby

• Team admitted cheating by employing altered suits
• Coach and equipment manager both suspended

The Norwegian ski federation has suspended a ski jumping coach and an equipment manager over their alleged role in a cheating scandal which shook the world championships this weekend.

The federation said coach Magnus Brevig and equipment manager Adrian Livelten were suspected of modifying ski suits by sewing in an extra seam in an attempt to create more lift in the air. Norway is one of the traditional powers within ski jumping, and the scandal at its home world championships has caused a massive outcry in a country that prides itself on its winter sports prowess.

Contrairement à ce que l'on pourrait penser, la SNCF n'a pas le monopole des réservations de billet de train. Il existe des alternatives à SNCF Connect et Numerama en a testé plusieurs.

Contrairement à ce que l'on pourrait penser, la SNCF n'a pas le monopole des réservations de billet de train. Il existe des alternatives à SNCF Connect et Numerama en a testé plusieurs.

• City are fourth in WSL but in Champions League last eight
• Former manager Nick Cushing named interim manager

Manchester City Women have sacked their head coach, Gareth Taylor, just five days before the club’s appearance in the League Cup final. Nick Cushing, whom Taylor succeeded in 2020, will return as interim manager for the remainder of the season.

The news comes with City fourth in the Women’s Super League, 12 points behind the leaders Chelsea, and was announced 24 hours after they booked their place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup by beating Aston Villa on Sunday.

The favourite has seen off every challenge in all his races, but could be facing his sternest opponent so far

Constitution Hill has seen off every challenge with ease in winning all 10 of his races to date, but he could be facing his sternest opponent so far in Tuesday’s Champion Hurdle and Brighterdaysahead (4.00) can also boast the strongest recent piece of form in the field.

The Neville Hotels Hurdle at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting was set up for Brighterdaysahead by a front-running stable companion, while State Man, the defending champion on Tuesday, was clearly not at his best and finished a long way behind Gordon Elliott’s mare.

After his takeover in 2018, the early enthusiasm has long gone, and so mostly has he. Now he wants to get on his bike

At the end of training on Friday, as Real Valladolid’s players left the annex next to the José Zorrilla stadium and headed off under grey skies, rain preparing to roll in, a surprise waited for them. It was the final session before the weekend their coach said would show what hopes they had, an opportunity not so much to save their season as still have one, and there was he was: the Original Ronaldo, in the flesh. He came to encourage them, he said, going round the dressing room reminding them what it means to be committed, always. “Thank you for accompanying the team before the Valencia game!” the club tweeted, exclamation included. The Brazilian, after all, is one of the greatest footballers ever.

He is also their owner and president. But still this was unexpected: they hadn’t seen him for months and didn’t think they would see him now either. He had been in the directors’ box for Valladolid’s first game of the season, which they had won, and when they played Real Madrid at the Bernabéu the following week too, which they hadn’t. Since then, as they watched their team slide towards the second division, abandoned to an increasingly inevitable fate, he hadn’t been back. “Where is the president?” supporters had sung. One day in November, while they were playing Getafe, he was playing tennis. They knew that because he had broadcast it on Twitch. So the following week, they set up a game in the stands, giant foam rackets hitting a ball back and forth.

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!

Football Daily can’t help but yearn for the days when footballers weren’t particularly interested in walls. Back in 1978, the players of West Brom went on what was, at the time, a trailblazing end-of-season tour to China. Having taken 90 hours to get there on a combination of planes, trains and automobiles, on one of their free days the Baggies were somewhat reluctantly taken to visit the Great Wall of China, prompting an accompanying BBC documentary crew to ask midfielder John Trewick for his impression of the famous fortification. “When you’ve seen one wall you’ve seen ‘em all, haven’t you?” came the response. And while Trewick insists his deadpan appraisal was made with tongue firmly ensconced in cheek, it is a quote that continues to haunt him.

Supporters have marched in protest at a number of Premier League grounds. It’s not hard to see why they believe their game is being taken away

On Sunday, thousands of Manchester United fans marched in protest at the club’s ownership. The week before last, there was a (much smaller) march against their club’s owners by fans at Chelsea. A couple of weeks earlier there were protests at Tottenham. Fulham fans are deeply unhappy. There have been grumblings at Manchester City. In total, at roughly three-quarters of the Premier League clubs, there is significant supporter discontent.

In some ways, the protests are distant background noise. Television viewers could quite easily have watched United’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Sunday and not known about the march. How big a deal is it, anyway, that around 5,000 people walked about a mile from a pub to a stadium, with most wearing black and chanting? The demonstrations are often incoherent. The one at Chelsea featured chants for Roman Abramovich, which suggested what they were really angry about is the club’s lack of success since the oligarch was sanctioned. It’s true that dissent would be rapidly quelled by a proper title challenge; nobody wants to disrupt that.

• 53-year-old Italian left Atlético Madrid in January
• Berta has vast experience after 12 years in Madrid

Andrea Berta is primed to join Arsenal as their new sporting director. The club have conducted a thorough recruitment process to find a replacement for Edu, who resigned from the post last November, and they have considered a number of candidates. They included an internal one – Jason Ayto, who has filled the role on an interim basis since Edu’s departure.

Berta has emerged as the outstanding choice. The 53-year-old Italian, who left Atlético Madrid in January after 12 years as the sporting director there, has agreed a deal and, once the contracts have been signed, there would appear to be no obstacle to him starting straight away, enabling him to work towards what is sure to be a big summer for Arsenal.