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Manchester City close to their ‘extraordinary’ best – Pep Guardiola

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Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City are “close” to getting back to their best despite their comprehensive Champions League defeat by Real Madrid.

City’s hopes of repeating their 2023 European success were ended this week as the Spanish giants completed a 5-1 aggregate success in the last 16.

The setback has not discouraged City manager Guardiola, who has seen enough in recent months to be optimistic even if he accepts there remains a gap to bridge at the very highest level.

City have a chance to win the first major trophy of the season on Sunday as they face Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final and they have not given up hope of catching the Gunners in the title race.

“I have the feeling that in many things it is just underneath, it will flourish,” said Guardiola, whose side are also through to the FA Cup quarter-finals. “I have the feeling that it is close.

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“In other things we need a little bit more time to realise, and for the players to realise what we need to be a strong team in many departments, but in most of the things we are close.”

Guardiola feels City’s progress this season has already surpassed that of their underwhelming 2024-25 campaign, regardless of how it now ends.

He said: “Last season we arrived in the final of the FA Cup against Crystal Palace. We played really well but there were many things behind the scenes we could not control and the season was not good.

“Even if we had won against Crystal Palace, the season had not been good. Many things happened that were not what a team should be.

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“I don’t know what’s going to happen but this season has been more than decent. Most of the time we have been a team that is not perfect but is good.”

The next step, he believes, is to find consistency throughout a full season.

Guardiola said: “The other things to be aware of, maybe for the type of players that we have, is to do what we need to be consistent for 11 months in important games.

“The gap is a little but in many aspects we are an extraordinary team.”

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Pressed on what was still missing, Guardiola said at a press conference: “I won’t tell you but I know it and the players know it.”

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Coco Gauff rallies to win for 2nd straight day at Miami Open

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Tennis: Miami OpenMar 21, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Coco Gauff (USA) hits a forehand against Alycia Parks (USA) (not pictured) on day five of the 2026 Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Coco Gauff rallied from dropping the first set to beat fellow American Alycia Parks 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 to advance into the Round of 16 in the Miami Open on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Fla.

It was the second straight day that the fourth-seeded Gauff dropped the first set but came back to win the match. She saved 14 of 16 break-point chances she faced, including all 10 over the adverse final two sets, which were a tougher battle than the scoreline indicates.

Parks won 49% of her service points and 40% of her return points, with both competitors finishing with eight double faults.

“It was really difficult,” Gauff said after her win. “She was playing really well and she’s one of those people who’s hit or miss sometimes. So, you’re stuck in the fine line of being aggressive but also maybe just making her play. … The second and third (sets), I just tried to be aggressive when I could. I made some adjustments on the return and I think that made a difference.”

It was largely a day without upsets in Miami, with only a pair of seeded competitors falling to unseeded foes.

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Australia’s Talia Gibson knocked off 16th-seeded Naomi Osaka of Japan 7-5, 6-4 in second-round competition. Osaka had 13 aces to one double fault but was unable to break Gibson, failing in all four opportunities she had. Gibson managed a break in each set, at 5-5 in Set 1 and in the opening game of Set 2, winning 69% of her service points and just 33% of her return points to build off reaching the Indian Wells quarterfinals earlier this month.

“I was able to draw on some experiences from Indian Wells to stay calm,” Gibson said. “It’s been really cool to see what I am capable of, and it’s really exciting for me.”

In Round of 32 action, Romania’s Sorana Cirstea eliminated No. 21 Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-3, 6-2, setting herself up as Gauff’s next opponent with a quarterfinal spot up for grabs.

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In other third-round action, No. 6 Amanda Anisimova, No. 8 Mirra Andreeva of Russia, No. 10 Victoria Mboko of Canada, No. 12 Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, No. 13 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic and No. 31 Alexandra Eala of the Philippines all advanced to the Round of 16 with straight-set victories.

In Round of 64 action on Saturday, a trio of seeded Americans in No. 5 Jessica Pegula (the runner-up last year in Miami), No. 15 Madison Keys and No. 18 Iva Jovic advanced with minimal resistance. Pegula won via second-set retirement but was up 6-1, 3-0 and appeared poised to close out the match in the near future.

An unseeded American, Sloane Stephens, had less success in the Round of 64, falling to No. 23 Qinwen Zheng 6-3, 6-2.

In one of only two three-set matches of the day, Canadian 26th seed Leylah Fernandez outlasted Russia’s Oksana Selekhmeteva 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-1 in a two-hour, 25-minute battle. Fernandez next faces Pegula for a spot in the fourth round.

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–Field Level Media

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Jon Jones: “I’ll pay them double what the UFC offered”

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It appears Eddie Hearn would have been game to make Tom Aspinall vs. Jon Jones, were they not under contract with the UFC. Not only that, the Matchroom Boxing chairman says he’d have happily paid both fighters double what the UFC would’ve offered them.

While Jones never entertained a title unification with Aspinall, during his tenure as the heavyweight champion, a prominent narrative was that the bout never materialized because Dana White and the UFC failed to match the New Yorker’s financial demands.

Hearn’s Matchroom Talent Agency now represents Aspinall and recently slammed the world’s premier MMA promotion over the Brit’s contract, which he deems unfair.

Speaking with ProBoxingFans following this weekend’s Matchroom Boxing card, Hearn said:

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“They [Jones and Aspinall] are under contract. If they weren’t under contract, I could do Aspinall against Jon Jones, and I’ll pay them double what the UFC offered them, probably.”

Hearn then went on to insist that the headliners around whom the cards are built deserve a bigger share of the revenue in general:

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“If you do Tom Aspinall against [Alex] Pereira for the world heavyweight championship, respect the guy, will you? If there is $100 million in the pot, don’t give me a million. He is the defending champion. It’s a joke. They are going to have to do something. They are in a bad, bad situation at the moment.”

Check out Eddie Hearn’s comments on Tom Aspinall vs. Jon Jones below:

Aspinall was forced into a hiatus from MMA after suffering debilitating eye pokes from Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in October. After multiple surgical procedures, the UFC heavyweight champion finally returned to training earlier this week.

Gane is scheduled to face Alex Pereira for the interim heavyweight title at UFC Freedom 250 in June. The winner of the fight is expected to be Aspinall’s comeback opponent.