Sports

Chennai Super Kings won a record-equalling fifth Indian Premier League (IPL) title, beating Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the final in Ahmedabad.

World number three Novak Djokovic began his quest for a record-breaking 23rd men's Grand Slam singles title after sweeping past American Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3 6-2 7-6 in the opening round of the French Open.

Chennai Super Kings have been handed a revised victory target of 171 off 15 overs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) final against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad.

Chelsea appointed Mauricio Pochettino as head coach on Monday, tasking the former Tottenham Hotspur and Paris St Germain manager with reviving their fortunes after a dismal season.

Everton emerged from a nerve-shredding afternoon with their Premier League status intact thanks to a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth at Goodison Park as Leicester City and Leeds United were relegated in a dramatic season finale on Sunday.

Real Sociedad suffered a 2-1 defeat at Atletico Madrid in LaLiga on Sunday, but secured a top-four finish and Champions League qualification after Villarreal also lost 2-1 at Rayo Vallecano.

Aston Villa's remarkable turnaround under Unai Emery will bring European football to the club for the first time in more than a decade and the Spanish manager is relishing another shot at a continental trophy in the Conference League next season.

AC Milan secured a place in the Champions League next season with a 1-0 victory at Juventus as a goal from Olivier Giroud ensured a top-four finish in Serie A on Sunday.

Double world champion Max Verstappen led a soggy Monaco Grand Prix from start to finish on Sunday to stretch his Formula One lead to 39 points and earn Red Bull a sixth win in as many races this season.

Paris St Germain goalkeeper Sergio Rico is in intensive care following a riding accident, the French Ligue 1 club said on Sunday.

Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka powered into the second round of the French Open with a 6-3 6-2 win over Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk in a feisty clash to start the year's second Grand Slam on Sunday, but was left perplexed by jeering from some parts of the crowd.

Spectators were lining up in massive numbers under panama hats and umbrellas as the French Open started in bright sunshine at Roland Garros on Sunday.

Bayern Munich snatched their 11th consecutive Bundesliga title in dramatic fashion with a final day 2-1 win at Cologne on Saturday courtesy of Jamal Musiala's 89th minute goal, grabbing the trophy from the hands of rivals Borussia Dortmund.

Lionel Messi found the back of the net as Paris St Germain bagged a record-breaking 11th Ligue 1 title with one game to spare with a mediocre 1-1 draw at Racing Strasbourg on Saturday.

Erling Haaland was named the Premier League's Player of the Season after a record-breaking debut campaign in which he delivered goals by the sackful as Manchester City claimed their third straight league title.

Honda's move to provide Formula One power units to Aston Martin in a works partnership from 2026 is proof that the combustion engine still has a future, according to Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.

Juergen Klopp said he would personally drive any of his players to another club if they wished to leave Liverpool after the Premier League side failed to qualify for the Champions League.

Five-time champions Mumbai Indians thrashed Lucknow Super Giants by 81 runs to eliminate them from the Indian Premier League (IPL) and keep alive their own hopes of making the final.

Manchester United will be back in action in next season's Champions League after they hammered Chelsea 4-1 on Thursday to secure a top-four finish in the Premier League.

Lewis Hamilton denied talking to Ferrari about a move to the Italian Formula One team and said on Thursday he was close to agreeing a new contract with Mercedes.

Mikael Ymer has been disqualified from the Lyon Open after he smashed his racket on the umpire's chair following an argument over a line call.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola praised the intensity of his Premier League champions after a 1-1 draw at Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday despite admitting to some exuberant celebrations 48 hours before.

Striker Lautaro Martinez scored twice as Inter Milan fought back to beat Fiorentina 2-1 and win their secured consecutive Coppa Italia title at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday.

Defender Jordi Alba will leave Barcelona at the end of the season after 11 years with the Catalan outfit, the LaLiga club said on Wednesday.

Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he is in no rush to make a decision about his Indian Premier League (IPL) future after the 41-year-old guided his team to their 10th final in 14 seasons.

Portuguese football great Cristiano Ronaldo believes the Saudi Pro League he joined this season could in time become one of the top five leagues in the world.

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr's red card in Sunday's LaLiga match at Valencia, in which he was also racially abused, has been rescinded, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said on Tuesday.

Honda say they would not object to Fernando Alonso racing on for Aston Martin when they supply the Formula One team's engines in 2026, despite the Spaniard's stinging criticism during their time together at McLaren.

The lights on Rio de Janeiro's iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer were switched off for an hour on Monday night in a display of solidarity with Vinicius Jr after the Brazil forward was racially abused during a club match in Spain.

Tiger Woods will not participate in next month's US Open at the Los Angeles Country Club as he continues to recover from devastating leg injuries from a car crash in February, 2021.

Juventus have been docked ten points for the current Serie A season after a new ruling by an Italian football court in a case centred on the club's transfer dealings, Italy's Football Association (FIGC) said.

Spanish football has a racism problem, federation chief Luis Rubiales said on Monday, after Real Madrid lodged a complaint following alleged insults hurled at their Brazilian star Vinicius Jr.

Argentina captain Lionel Messi will lead his side against Australia in a friendly in Beijing next month with his first visit to China in six years set to spark a mass scramble for tickets.

Daniil Medvedev rose to number two in the world rankings ahead of the French Open by capturing the Rome title on Sunday and the Russian said his unexpected win on clay counts as one of his most special triumphs.

Manchester City celebrated their Premier League title success on Sunday, beating Chelsea 1-0 with an early goal by Julian Alvarez in the team's home finale at a sun-drenched Etihad Stadium.

Arsenal were worthy contenders in the title race but Manchester City upped their game when it mattered most to win their fifth Premier League trophy in six years, defender Kyle Walker said.

Rinku Singh has had a season to remember in the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year but the explosive middle order batter is not thinking about selection for the national team despite lighting up the league with his batting heroics.

Elena Rybakina will head to the French Open with the confidence that she can be as effective on clay as she is on the other two surfaces with her booming serve and groundstrokes after the Kazakh world number six won the Italian Open on Saturday.

Carlo Ancelotti ended any doubt about his immediate future on Saturday by saying he will honour the last year of his contract with Real Madrid amid interest from Brazil.

Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag said he is confident that Marcus Rashford will agree on a new contract with the club even as the English forward prepares to enter the final year of his deal with the Old Trafford outfit.

Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino expects his final game at Anfield to be an emotional affair, and the Brazilian said he is bracing for a flood of tears as he prepares to leave the Premier League club after eight trophy-laden years.

The three-match ODI series between the UAE and West Indies will now begin a day earlier with the two teams playing the opener on Sunday, June 4 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Formula One will donate 1 million euros ($1.10 million) to support communities affected by flooding in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy, the sport announced on Friday.

As Roma coach Jose Mourinho said he was not fixated on becoming a legend at the club after leading his side to a second straight European final with a 1-0 aggregate win over Bayer Leverkusen after their Europa League semi-final, second leg on Thursday.

West Ham United substitute Pablo Fornals scored a breakaway goal in stoppage time as the visitors secured a 1-0 win at AZ Alkmaar on Thursday and a place in the Europa Conference League final after a 3-1 aggregate triumph.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal will miss the French Open after failing to regain full fitness from a hip injury suffered at the Australian Open in January.

This time Manchester City left nothing to chance as they demolished Real Madrid 4-0 to march into the Champions League final for the second time in three seasons with a 5-1 aggregate victory at a raucous Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

Nick Kyrgios was forced to miss the French Open due to a foot injury sustained during the theft of his car and not because of a knee problem, his agent said on Thursday.

Holger Rune sent Novak Djokovic tumbling out of the Italian Open on Wednesday as the young Dane won an epic battle against the defending champion to secure his place in the semi-finals.

The Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix at Imola will not be held this weekend due to extreme weather in the northern Italian region, organisers said on Wednesday.

A second-half goal by forward Lautaro Martinez earned Inter Milan a 1-0 victory over rivals AC Milan in their Champions League semi-final second leg on Tuesday, sealing a 3-0 aggregate win to book their ticket to the showpiece in Istanbul.

South Korean footballer Son Jun-ho is suspected of accepting bribes and has been detained by the public security department of Liaoning province, China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

Australia's Usman Khawaja ranks England as the toughest place for top order batsmen and will head to the Ashes with low expectations after struggling on previous tours.

Two goals from Curtis Jones and a sublime finish from Trent Alexander-Arnold gave Liverpool a 3-0 win away to Leicester City in the Premier League on Monday, boosting their Champions League hopes while deepening the Foxes' relegation worries.

Marcelo Bielsa has been named the new coach of Uruguay, the country's FA (AUF) announced on Monday, with the former Leeds United manager signing a contract until 2026, according to media reports.

Barcelona claimed their 27th LaLiga title and first for four years on Sunday after two first-half goals from Robert Lewandowski spurred them to a comfortable 4-2 victory over city rivals Espanyol.

The flickering embers of Arsenal's Premier League title dream were all but extinguished as they suffered a 3-0 home drubbing by Europe-chasing Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday.

Novak Djokovic continued his Italian Open title defence with a 6-3 4-6 6-1 victory over Bulgarian 26th seed Grigor Dimitrov on Sunday while women's champion Iga Swiatek dished out another "bagel" as she defeated Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko.

Paris St Germain edged closer to a record 11th French title when they beat AC Ajaccio 5-0 at home, sending the Corsican side into Ligue 2 as Lionel Messi faced the wrath of the Parc des Princes.

Nicholas Pooran has unlocked his potential in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as a finisher for Lucknow Super Giants, former West Indies player Ian Bishop said after the batsman hit an unbeaten 44 off 13 balls in a seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Defender Rasmus Kristensen scored a late equaliser to give Leeds United a share of the points in a thrilling Premier League 2-2 draw with Newcastle United that saw Leeds miss one spot kick, concede two more, and have a man sent off in stoppage time.

Holder Novak Djokovic began his hunt for a seventh Italian Open title by battling past the unseeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-6(5) 6-2 on Friday while women's champion Iga Swiatek delivered a masterclass to reach the third round.

West Ham United are hopeful of keeping midfielder Declan Rice but there is "a good chance" he could leave the Premier League side at the end of the season, manager David Moyes said amid reports linking the England international with top sides.

The prize money for this year's French Open will total 49.6 million euros (AED 197.8 million), up 12.3 per cent on 2022, organisers of the claycourt Grand Slam announced on Friday.

Yuzvendra Chahal eclipsed Dwayne Bravo to become the top wicket taker in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Twenty-six European Tour players who competed in the rebel LIV Series without permission were on handed fines of up to $125,000 (AED 495,000) on Thursday, officials said.

Federico Gatti scored with a header seven minutes into added time to earn Juventus a 1-1 home draw against Sevilla in their Europa League semi-final first leg.

The UAE has been drawn in Group C of the Asian Cup alongside Iran, Hong Kong and Palestine.

Andy Murray's chances of being seeded for the French Open were dented on Wednesday when the former world number one lost to Fabio Fognini in the first round of the Italian Open.

Inter Milan scored two early goals to secure an impressive 2-0 win over AC Milan in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday and stay on course to become the first Italian team to win the trophy since they did so in 2010.

Ferrari are struggling with an inconsistent car that is competitive in qualifying but off pace in the race, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz said after a difficult Miami Grand Prix.

The West Indies men’s cricket team will play three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) against the UAE in Sharjah next month.

Suryakumar Yadav has forged a reputation as a six-hitting machine but on Tuesday the Mumbai Indians batting lynchpin proved he is no one-trick pony by engineering his team's campaign-reviving win against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Kevin De Bruyne netted a stunning equaliser with a rasping low strike to give Manchester City a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid in their Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday on a night of glorious goals in the Spanish capital.

South Africa have sealed the final automatic qualification spot for the World Cup after Ireland's hopes of pipping them were dashed on Tuesday when their first one-day international against Bangladesh was washed out.

Argentina's World Cup winning captain Lionel Messi was named the Laureus Sportsman of the Year, while sprint champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce bagged the top women's honour.

Abdoulaye Doucoure scored a brace of first-half goals as relegation threatened Everton produced a masterclass in counter-attack football with a surprise 5-1 Premier League victory at Brighton & Hove Albion on Monday.

Willian and Tom Cairney both scored twice to help Fulham beat Leicester City 5-3 at home on Monday, ending the visitors' three-game unbeaten Premier League run and leaving them in the relegation zone after the day's other results.

Nottingham Forest's Premier League survival hopes got a massive boost as Taiwo Awoniyi's brace helped them to a 4-3 home win over bottom club Southampton whose 10-year stay in the top flight looked to be coming to an end on Monday.

Abu Dhabi has created sporting history by attracting the sailing regatta Cowes Week to its shores in January 2023, consolidating its position as the Middle East's sports capital.

Dutch football legend Ruud Gullit has outlined exactly why football is failing to properly address racism within the game in an exclusive interview with Off Script on Dubai Eye 103.8.