When Russia‘s parliamentary elections are held from September 18 to 20, Alexander Ovechkin won’t be there to cast his ballot in person. On Monday he took his first few strides back on the ice in the United States as he starts gearing up for a new National Hockey League (NHL) season with the Washington Capitals, his 22nd in the world’s best league.

Before leaving his homeland, where he spent his summer break, he did make his contribution to the election campaign, however, appearing in a video promoting the ruling United Russia party, which steadfastly supports President Vladimir Putin.

In the video, which has been widely shared on social media, Ovechkin doesn’t speak but can be clearly seen in the third row of a group of supporters behind Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is heading the United Russia list for the parliamentary vote.

Ovechkin’s appearance has faced criticism, including from Ukrainian skeleton pilot Vladyslav Heraskevych, who was disqualified from the 2026 Olympic Games for insisting on wearing a helmet depicting athletes killed in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Ovechkin a long-standing Putin supporter

This is certainly not the first time that Ovechkin has expressed his support for Putin, with whom he shares his profile photo on his Instagram account. 

And, at times, Ovechkin’s public support has appeared even more active than in the current United Russia video. Back in 2017, Ovechkin used his Instagram account to announce the creation of “PutinTeam” a group to help support Putin in the 2018 presidential campaign.

“I have never hidden my feelings about our president; I have always openly supported him. I am certain there are many of us who support Vladimir Putin! So let’s unite and show the world a strong, united Russia!” he wrote.

“Being part of such a team is a source of pride for me; it feels just like pulling on the Russian national team jersey, knowing the whole country is rooting for you.”

The creation of PutinTeam came three years after Russia had invaded and seized the Ukrainian territory Crimea in 2014, a move that was met with widespread condemnation in the international community. Later that year, Ovechkin appeared to express support for the operation, posting a photo of himself on Instagram holding up a sign with the message: “#savechildrenfromfascism.”

“Our grandfathers and grandmothers witnessed all the horrors of fascism! We will not let it happen in our time,” he wrote.

Putin has painted the Ukrainian authorities as “neo-Nazi” or fascist, in particular when justifying Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022. What Putin calls a “special military operation” raised questions in the minds of many about how this might affect Ovechkin’s view of the man he had always so publicly supported.

On February 25, 2022, a day after Russia launched the invasion, a reporter covering the Washington Capitals asked Ovechkin if he still supported Putin.

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“Well, he’s my president,” Ovechkin replied. “But how I said, I’m not in politics, I’m an athlete.”

He did issue a vague appeal for peace but declined to criticize Moscow’s military action.

“Please, no more war. It doesn’t matter who’s in the war — Russia, Ukraine, different countries,” he said.

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Capitals: ‘Ovechkin asked by his country’

Approached for comment on Tuesday, the NHL referred reporters to the Washington Capitals. 

“Alex Ovechkin is a Russian citizen who ‌lives in Moscow with his family during the offseason and will ‌live ​there following his retirement,” team spokesperson Sergey Kocharov said in the statement.

“This summer, while in Russia, he was asked by his country to participate in a ​video campaign. As the longest-tenured athlete in Washington, D.C., and a pillar of the community, his focus and ours is on the season ahead and the ⁠continued impact ​he makes on the ice and in our ​city.”

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Back on the ice

Whatever you may think of his political views, Ovechkin is without a doubt one of the best players to ever lace on a pair of skates.

Now, back on the ice in Arlington, Virginia, ahead of the Washington Capitals’ training camp, “Great8” is focused on getting his aging body (he turns 41 on Thursday) ready to compete for what would be a second Stanley Cup for both him and the Caps.

For much of the offseason, Ovechkin had left open whether he would return for another year. After all, he has achieved just about everything you can in the NHL, having broken Wayne Gretzky’s career goal-scoring record two seasons ago. Going into the 2025-26 campaign he has 929 goals in 1,573 regular season games. In July though, after a conversation with his wife, he decided to come back for one more year in Washington – and he hasn’t ruled out extending his career beyond that.

Over 40 and still going strong

“I’m going to be 41. I’ve had a lot of pressure on my shoulders over the years,” he said. “I’m going to focus on the game and helping my team to win,” he told reporters after his first skate. “I’m still a good player and can still help the team to win.”

His numbers support that last assertion, having scored 32 goals in 2025-26. Only two other players have ever scored more over the age of 40.

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“I can’t wait for the season,” he said. “On paper, you can see our team is one of the best teams but now we have to work for the Stanley Cup.”

The bookies disagree, however, with some putting the Capitals way down at 18 (of 32) on their list of Stanley Cup candidates for 2027.

On the other hand, the prospect of United Russia’s winning this weekend’s parliamentary elections, the first since the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, appears a safe bet.

Edited by: Jonathan Harding

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There was history in the ignominy. Manchester United can specialise in finding new ways to rewrite the record books. For a club who keep recording new lows, this was not one, but several.

It was the first time in half a century that United had led 2-0 at Old Trafford and lost, since a 3-2 Tottenham triumph over Tommy Docherty’s team in 1976. Not since 1984 had they been winning at home at half-time and been beaten; Ipswich’s 2-1 victory against Ron Atkinson’s United has now been superseded. Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, United had gone 2-0 up on their own turf 145 times, won 143 and lost none.

They never surrendered such a lead at Old Trafford under David Moyes or Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho or Ralf Rangnick, Erik ten Hag or Ruben Amorim. They did under Michael Carrick as his dreadful week took a turn for the worse.

United went 2-0 up and went from euphoric to embarrassed. “The feeling at the start of the game to the feeling at the end of the game couldn’t have been further apart,” admitted Carrick.

After the Manchester derby defeat, after JJ Gabriel’s shock revelation that he wants to leave came a capitulation to bring elimination from the Carabao Cup. Lose at Fulham on Sunday and United’s will be out of the Premier League title race before the end of September. As it is, United have now lost their last four domestic cup ties and while going out to Grimsby last year was excruciating, it was the manner of this collapse that was so shameful. “We can’t accept that as a group,” said Carrick. It was unacceptable, in every way.

Amid the inquest into their latest humiliation, Brighton & Hove Albion merit praise: for a remarkable comeback and an extraordinary record at Old Trafford. They have triumphed on United turf in five successive seasons. They have knocked them out of two cup competitions in 2026 alone.

A night that began terribly for Fabian Hurzeler ended superbly and, as both managers used their squads, Brighton’s capacity to find unheralded gems was a factor. They have also pocketed £65m from United for Carlos Baleba who, still injured, watched on. He has joined a club heading towards crisis.

Certainly United illustrated why they could do with Baleba. Given an ideal start, they were overrun and outmanoeuvred in midfield, losing all control. The partnership of the summer signings Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans – the latter captaining United on just his sixth appearance – floundered at Hull last month, were reunited and fared just as badly.

Yet United were still worse in the heart of defence, in the absence of the rested Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire. Meanwhile, Carrick’s decision to give Senne Lammens a night off backfired when the debutant goalkeeper Karl Darlow was at fault for Brighton’s first goal. He wasn’t alone in that, however.

Brighton’s trio of goals were proof of their resourcefulness and attacking spirit. They were also awful defensively.

United switched off on the stroke of half time as Jaouen Hadjam, making his first start for Brighton, caught Ayden Heaven dozing with a diagonal ball. Darlow was too slow to come off his line and Charalampos Kostoulas drove in a first-time shot.

Diogo Dalot made the initial error for Albion’s equaliser, looking for Benjamin Sesko but seeing Luka Vuskovic intercept his pass and head the ball forward from the centre circle. United had a void where they needed a centre-back partnership, meaning Pascal Gross was unmarked. The German, a familiar scourge of United, scored his seventh goal against them; there are plenty of United players who have got fewer goals at Old Trafford than Gross. “Compare him with a good wine, the older a wine gets the better,” said Hurzeler.

The impressive Kostoulos is 16 years younger than Gross. The striker carried on bullying the United defence. After he broke clear and saw a cross deflected off Noussair Mazraoui, Maxim De Cuyper lifted a shot into the roof of the net. The substitute had only been on the pitch for three minutes. Perhaps he symbolised how Hurzeler’s changes first failed and then succeeded spectacularly.

The German made six alterations, gave three full debuts and switched to a back three. “When you go to a place like here you need to have belief and then to show it when you are 2-0 down shows real character,” said Hurzeler. It was required when United took what should have been a comfortable lead inside 10 minutes.

Initially, United got a welcome antidote to Gabriel’s news: a goal from a teenage winger and from an academy product. The 15-year-old had been pencilled in to play. Only Carrick may know if it would have been instead of Shea Lacey but the 19-year-old became the first United youth product to score on his maiden start for the club since Marcus Rashford a decade ago. “It’s a shame Shea’s moment got lost a bit,” Carrick said.

Lacey held off Hadjam and powered in a left-footed shot from 16 yards. Then Rashford – perhaps proof to Gabriel that forwards can change their mind and choose to stay at Old Trafford – had a shot blocked and Mason Mount converted the rebound.

Two goals ahead, United seemed to have booked their spot in the next round. Not so. “The game can’t go in that direction from where we were,” rued Carrick.

He seemed too ineffective as Brighton took the ascendancy. “The longer the game went, the more we had control,” said Hurzeler and, while Jason Steele made a terrific save to deny Benjamin Sesko an equaliser, otherwise Brighton were rampant.

United were shambolic at the back. Old Trafford booed at the end. “I totally take responsibility,” said Carrick. But there should be plenty of blame to go around.

You would think Manchester United had seen it all in 13 years of trouble and toil since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club, but this is a week that is going to give people at Old Trafford nightmares for years to come.

If you thought a 15-year-old demanding to leave the club was a blow, it was nothing compared to what happened on the pitch a day later. This is a defeat that Michael Carrick’s reign might never recover from, so damaging was it.

United hadn’t thrown away a two-goal lead at Old Trafford for 50 years, and this was the 146th time they had led 2-0 at Old Trafford since Ferguson called it a day. As bad as things have got since 2013, they had never plumbed this depth. On 143 occasions, they had gone on to win, and twice they had drawn.

Now they have lost, and the worst part is that for most of the 35 minutes this game was 2-0, you actually thought there was a good chance they would lose. They had a start Carrick would have dreamt of after the turmoil of Tuesday, but showed no control thereafter.

Carrick spent £155million on midfielders this summer to provide just that and while one of them was injured, his new-look pairing of Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans were schooled by the smarter, calmer and more composed Brighton midfielders.

This was a disastrous night for Carrick. It’s on his watch that one of the few records United haven’t trashed in recent years has now fallen and it already feels like he might not be able to recover from this. A two-year contract was evidence that not everyone in a position of power at Old Trafford was convinced he was the right man for the long term.

After two defeats in 17 games last season, he has now lost three of six this term, and the fact that Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton looked better coached and had more distinctive patterns of play reflects poorly on the United head coach. He badly needs a result at Fulham now.

That fast start felt like a distant memory as Old Trafford seethed with rage in the final 20 minutes, with United continually coughing up possession and looking out of ideas. Boos greeted the final whistle and the players faced whistles as they did a lap of the pitch at full-time.

Shea Lacey was perhaps the only one of them who could feel exempt from the criticism. This should have been his night and some of his shambolic teammates owe him an apology.

The 19-year-old had made a bright start to the game, carrying the ball aggressively up the right flank and then fizzing one direct ball into Benjamin Sesko, but the moment he delivered eight minutes in felt the perfect tonic for United.

It was a move becoming familiar to Lacey. In a certain way, it’s Arjen Robben-esque, the drop of the shoulder and the cut inside his man to make space for the shot. Jaouen Hadjam was the outfoxed full-back on this occasion and Lacey’s decision to go for the near post from 18 yards out caught out Jason Steele.

The presence of Lacey means scousers will play more minutes for Manchester United this season than they will for Liverpool and the sight of someone born down the East Lancs Road kissing the United badge at Old Trafford would have caused a social media backlash from those with an L postcode.

But after a build-up dominated by the talk of academy pathways and bright young talents, the fact that Lacey is on a fast track to stardom in Manchester rather than Liverpool is a success story for United, whatever comes next for Gabriel. It’s about their only success story at the moment.

Mason Mount doubled the lead after good work from Marcus Rashford, but the wheels were coming off well before Brighton finally scored.

They looked the more cohesive, more adventurous and more structured team, and they played through United at will. Malick Yalcouye gave Diogo Dalot a difficult time and the Seagulls should have scored before they did.

Ayden Heaven had already found the going tough, and he played Charalampos Kostoulas onside, appealing for a free-kick 40 yards away rather than dealing with the danger around him. But the greater error was Karl Darlow’s, the goalkeeper on debut, remaining rooted to the spot rather than coming to collect the long ball, allowing Kostoulas to finish through his legs from close range.

Carrick had seen enough of United’s lack of control and had a triple substitution ready when Brighton levelled. United’s attempts to play out from the back lacked any conviction and the move between Andrey Santos, Heaven and Leny Yoro only sent the ball further into danger. Dalot hacked clear, but when Luka Vuskovic beat Sesko to the header, Pascal Gross was in space between the centre-backs to find a calm finish.

United were clearly in panic mode now and it got worse for them within four minutes. A slick move down the right left Noussair Mazraoui chasing shadows and Dalot and Yoro were marking shadows when the low cross came in for Kostoulas. Maxim De Cuyper accepted the invite to put Brighton ahead.

Rashford had United’s best chance to equalise, only for Steele to save with his legs. Brighton looked more likely to make it four, cutting through United’s wretched defence with ease. They declared at three, but the damage had been done.

Manuel Neuer retired from international duty after Germany’s early exit from the 2026 World Cup, opening the door for a new No. 1.

Jonas Urbig appears the obvious choice, but Neuer is still the starter at Bayern Munich, which severely limits Urbig’s playing time. If the 23-year-old was Bayern’s first choice, he would likely be Germany’s number one too. As it stands, though, it appears doubtful that Germany’s new coach Jürgen Klopp will even call him up to his first squad. On September 17, he will announce his squad for four UEFA Nations League games against the Netherlands, Greece, and Serbia. And no position in the current Germany team is more up for grabs than goalkeeper.

Oliver Baumann: The automatic Neuer replacement?

Oliver Baumann represents exactly the kind of selfless No. 2 who could be the next No. 1. The Hoffenheim goalkeeper even commendably dealt with the humiliation of being replaced by Neuer just before the World Cup.

Klopp isn’t just tasked with celebrating short-term success with Germany, however. His remit is to bring about lasting change  making Germany favorites for a World Cup and a Euros once again. Oliver Baumann turned 36 this summer. The Bundesliga veteran will be 38 at the next Euros, 40 by the 2030 World Cup. His age might count against a sustainable rebirth of the Germany team.

The Hoffenheim goalkeeper, who has 13 caps, spoke to Bild in the days leading up to the squad announcement about his exchange with Klopp: “Yes, I was in contact with him. He’ll say everything else on Thursday. We’ll see about the rest—that’s for him to handle.”

Ter Stegen: Back in Germany colors via Ajax?

Since Klopp prefers a highly attacking style of play in which all players press high up the field, he might opt for a goalkeeper who can also take on the duties of a field player. Marc-André ter Stegen would fit this profile better than Baumann. Ter Stegen is also two years younger than his competitor, though his career has been hampered by injuries.

After several serious injuries and a legal dispute with Barcelona, ter Stegen has gone on loan to Ajax, improving his chances of returning between the posts for Germany.

“As far as ter Stegen is concerned, I assume he’ll definitely be in the mix,” Lothar Matthäus recently wrote for Sky. “If he continues to perform well in Amsterdam, he’s a candidate for the number one spot.”

Alexander Nübel: Out of the spotlight in Turkey

Alexander Nübel was Germany’s third-string goalkeeper at the World Cup. He had been consistent at Stuttgart but moved to Besiktas this summer, where he has made a strong start. However, former national team goalkeeper Toni Schumacher sees the move as a disadvantage for the 29-year-old.

“His move to Turkey has taken him out of the spotlight,” Schumacher, who also played for Fenerbahce for three years during his playing days, told Bild. “It simply has a positive effect when you play in your own country week after week and thrill the fans with your saves.”

Loris Karius: History with Klopp at Liverpool

A goalkeeper who has never been called up to the Germany team but shares a history with Klopp is Loris Karius.

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Karius, who has been at Schalke since January 2025, was at times Klopp’s No. 1 at Liverpool. However, he made two critical mistakes in the 2018 Champions League final against Real Madrid and was subsequently dropped.

Back in the Bundesliga aged 33, Karius is delivering consistent performances and may have played his way back into the spotlight.

“When people associate me with that, it’s a testament to the performance I’m putting in. That’s great,” Karius said recently in an interview with Sky.

Keepers who could play for Germany or elsewhere 

If none of the obvious candidates gets selected, there are a number of other good goalkeepers who might be considered. First among them is Noah Atubolu. The 24-year-old Eintracht Frankfurt keeper, who has Nigerian heritage, was the number one for Germany’s U21s from 2022 to 2025, and was called up to the senior squad once last October.

Freiburg’s Mio Backhaus is another promising talent. The 22-year-old’s mother is from Japan, meaning Backhaus is also eligible to play for Japan. He even played for the Japanese U15 team, but has since progressed through Germany’s youth teams up to the U21 level.

In addition to Atubolu and Backhaus, there are also Augsburg’s Finn Dahmen (28), Stuttgart’s Dennis Seimen (20) and Diant Ramaj (24), who left recently relegated Heidenheim to join Copenhagen.

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If Klopp wants to rely on one of the five, it might be worth playing them sooner rather than later in a competitive game. After all, just like Atubolu and Backhaus, the other three are also eligible to play for another country due to their heritage. Dahmen could also play for England, Seimen for Romania, and Ramaj for Kosovo.

Köpke: ‘Develop a young goalkeeper as the No. 1’

“I think they need to develop a young goalkeeper as the No. 1 right now,” Andreas Köpke, the goalkeeper on Germany’s 1996 European championship team, told Bild. 

Germany’s former goalkeeping coach pointed to Bayern’s backup goalkeeper, Urbig, alongside Backhaus and Atubolu — though only as and when Urbig plays regularly at club level.

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And, given his standing at Bayern, that’s bound to come down to how long Manuel Neuer chooses to continue to play.

This article was originally written in German.

An unfortunate injury update was revealed regarding Mercedes Mone on AEW live television.

During the September 16 episode of Dynamite, commentator Excalibur announced that Mercedes Mone is not medically cleared to compete at AEW’s upcoming pay-per-view, All Out 2026, due to her nose injury. However, he added that she would be cleared for their next PPV, WrestleDream, in October, where she will defend her AEW Women’s World Championship against either Thekla or Willow Nightingale.

“Unfortunately, she is not cleared to compete for All Out coming up one week from Sunday in Chicago. However, she will be cleared to compete at WrestleDream coming up in Orlando this October and she will face either former AEW Women’s World Champion, the Toxic Spider Thekla or former champion, Willow Nightingale.”

Mercedes Mone had challenged Willow Nightingale for the AEW Women’s World Championship at All In 2026 last month. Early in the bout, Nightingale broke her nose, as Mone revealed after the match, and she bled profusely throughout. Despite that, she delivered a hard-hitting showdown and walked away with the title and the victory.

On the next edition of Dynamite, Mone came out to celebrate her title win wearing a big hat that covered her face. However, as soon as she removed it, she revealed her injured, taped nose.

Mercedes Mone’s first PPV title defense will be at AEW WrestleDream 2026

Willow Nightingale and Thekla will square off at All Out 2026 in a singles match. The winner will earn the right to challenge Mercedes Mone for the AEW Women’s World Championship at WrestleDream in Orlando in October. This will mark Mone’s first PPV title defense since winning the gold at All In 2026.

While Nightingale is eyeing a chance to win back the title from Mone, Thekla has had her sights set on regaining the Women’s World title since her AEW return at All In. So, it remains to be seen who will win at All Out and get that title shot against Mone.