Sport News

Jose Mourinho once said 'when you enjoy what you do, you don't lose your hair' in reference to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.  You can see why the former Barcelona boss is known for his attention to detail as he was seen coaching Raheem Sterling just minutes after City's 6-0 FA Cup final victory.  Guardiola was lecturing Sterling, who scored twice and nearly scored a hat-trick against Watford on Saturday, while the City star had his medal in his hands during the celebrations on the pitch. 

Pep Guardiola reacted angrily to suggestions Manchester City's historic Treble has been tarnished by UEFA's Financial Fair Play investigation. City became the first English club to complete a domestic clean sweep after demolishing Watford at Wembley, clinching their sixth FA Cup trophy and first since 2011. The six-goal hammering was the largest in 116 years and there was confusion as to whether Raheem Sterling became the first man since Blackpool's Stan Mortensen in 1953 to score a hat-trick in a cup final.

MANCHESTER CITY 6-0 WATFORD - OLIVER HOLT AT WEMBLEY: There was a time, long ago, before the oil money and Pep Guardiola and a brand of bewitching, pulverising football we have never seen before in this country, when Manchester City might have been considered the sentimental choice in an FA Cup final. Now they are so good that they are the enemies of romance and friends only to relentless and unprecedented achievements. At a bee-stung Wembley, Watford’s fans filled the stadium with the kind of colour and wide-eyed enthusiasm that recalled an era when this was the biggest event in the English football calendar but City had a different kind of history in mind and they pursued it with the unforgiving rigour and beautiful, scintillating football that has been the hallmark of another breathtaking campaign.

Gareth Southgate has warned English football not to be fooled by success in the Champions League or the progress of the national team, as statistics show that the number of English players in the Premier League is at an all-time low. Ahead of next month's UEFA Nations League Finals in Portugal — where England can win their first trophy since 1966 — Southgate joked that the 'bloody Germans' would soon be catching up with his team again if the FA and Premier League can't find a way to reverse the trend. This season recorded the lowest-ever figure of English-qualified players starting in the Premier League — just 30 per cent.  

JEFF POWELL AT THE LAMEX STADIUM: Billy Joe Saunders put on a first half masterclass in a Hertfordshire football ground to set himself up as a two weight world champion. Then he danced out his WBO world super-middleweight title victory over Shefst Isufi in the manner of a table-topping team team protecting its lead. Part one was a brilliant exhibition of ring-craft, quite beautiful to behold.

Liverpool players have taken full advantage of their break from football by heading off on trips around the globe ahead of their Champions League final. Jurgen Klopp has given his players a five-day break before they begin their preparations for the showpiece final against Tottenham in Madrid on June 1. Roberto Firmino, who is a doubt to play in the final, took a private jet to a mystery location with his wife Larissa and daughters Bella and Valentina for some downtime this week.

MIKE DICKSON: It is a facilities arms race between tennis's Grand Slams whose overall cost has run into billions, and Sunday's unveiling of Wimbledon's new Court One represents a further escalation. It has taken nearly three years and features 11 giant trusses weighing 100 tonnes each, but the All England Club can now boast a second arena able to withstand the capriciousness of the British summer. John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova and Venus Williams will be among those taking to the pristine lawn for Sunday's test event, 10 years after Centre Court became similarly insured against the rain.

Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery said goodbye to Bayern Munich in the best way possible by both scoring in an emphatic 5-1 win over Frankfurt. The duo, who have both been at the club for more than a decade, started the match from the bench but typically came on in the second half to great effect. Ribery rolled back the years with a truly stunning individual goal, slipping past two defenders with quick feet before chipping Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp.

Josh Taylor became the new IBF world super-lightweight champion with a thrilling points win over Ivan Baranchyk in Glasgow. The SSE Hydro clash, doubling as a World Boxing Super Series semi-final, saw the unbeaten 28-year-old Scot find it tough going in the early stages. But the fight turned in the sixth round when the 26-year-old Belarussian, nicknamed 'The Beast', was dropped twice, providing the platform for a unanimous points win for Taylor - 117-109, 115-111 and 115-111.

Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben scored in their last Bundesliga appearances for Bayern Munich to clinch a record-extending seventh straight league title after routing Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 on Saturday. Ribery was honored for 10 years of service before the game, and Robben for 12, and both wingers repaid the tributes after coming on as second-half substitutes. Ribery eluded two Frankfurt defenders before chipping Kevin Trapp to sign off in style in the 72nd minute. Seven minutes later, David Alaba gave Robben a tap-in.

Former Chelsea team-mates John Terry and Jody Morris shared a joke at the expense of Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa - just a week before they prepare to face off against each other in the Championship play-off final. Morris will be in Derby's dugout as assistant to Rams boss Frank Lampard, while John Terry is No 2 to Aston Villa manager Dean Smith as both teams vie for a place in the Premiership. Before the big showdown - worth £170m to the victor -  the pair found time to relax over a drink, with Morris filming Terry and jokingly claiming 'We've got another spy in the camp.'

Ryan Garner's super featherweight clash with Jose Hernandez will not go ahead after the Southampton boxer collapsed on stage following the weigh in. The fight was on the undercard for Billy Joe Saunders' WBO world super middleweight title showdown with Shefat Isufi at Stevenage's Lamex Stadium on Saturday. It is not clear what happened to Garner, however the show's running order has confirmed that the 21-year-old will not take to the ring this evening. 

SHERIDAN BIRD IN ITALY: The clinking of champagne flutes is still audible at Juventus' Allianz Stadium. It's the good stuff, provided by Cantine Ferrari, the club's official sparkling wine partner.  A fine beverage and a lucrative union, which epitomises how Juventus are on a par with Bayern Munich or Manchester United when it comes to money-spinning collaborations.  But as 2018-19 closes, the question is: are those glasses are half-full, or half-empty? Have the Italian champions lived up to their potential?