Pep Guardiola had been playing it cool in the scorching heat of his final game in charge of Manchester City. Then he cracked.

There were tears – and plenty of them.

As captain Bernardo Silva‘s number 20 went up on the fourth official’s board on 59 minutes, Guardiola could not keep his emotion in check any longer.

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The Portugal playmaker shed tears as he was given a guard of honour by both sets of players as he left the pitch. And it was then that they started to stream down his manager’s cheeks too.

The two men, such pivotal figures in City’s recent domination of English football, embraced on the touchline.

That raw moment of affection between two greats of the Premier League was captured by photographers and will be printed, framed and hung up in the corridors of Etihad Stadium alongside those of icons Kevin de Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure.

Guardiola wiped his face dry with his white t-shirt and tried to regain his composure as his side strained for one final victory under his management.

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It was not to be. But despite defeat at the hands of an Aston Villa side high on success after Wednesday’s Europa League win, the loss was rendered irrelevant by the sound of the full-time whistle that sparked emotion on the pitch and in the stands.

Guardiola attempted to find the words to sum up the feelings of the day. “This chapter will always be there,” said the 55-year-old.

“Bernardo was emotional today, before the game. If you want to cry then cry, if you want to laugh then laugh. Emotions – you have to express them. I don’t cry, but when I see somebody else cry, then I cry.

Fans gather to see off Guardiola

The merchandise stalls were doing a roaring trade before kick-off as flags and scarves emblazoned with Guardiola’s face were being bought by those attending the end of an incredible era.

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The arrival of the City team bus was greeted by hundreds of supporters lining up alongside the barriers in front of the Colin Bell Stand entrance, hoping to catch a glimpse of Guardiola entering the stadium for one last time as their manager.

His tenure has seen the Premier League title delivered six times, as well as the holy grail of a Champions League plus three FA Cups and five Carabao Cups.

City have never previously seen success like it. Very, very few have. Only the great Manchester United era under Sir Alex Ferguson and Bob Paisley’s Liverpool in the 1970s and ’80s have enjoyed such trophy laden years.

A huge banner was unfurled in the East Stand as the players emerged onto the pitch before kick-off that read ’10 years with Pep – Game changer, history maker, City forever’.

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Villa boss Unai Emery, who called Guardiola football’s “only genius” in the build-up to the game, presented his Spanish compatriot with a memento before the game began.

Guardiola barely flinched when his penultimate signing Antoine Semenyo volleyed home the opening goal, instead remaining in his seat and seemingly taking it all in.

To the left, his name will be immortalised at Etihad Stadium forever, with the newly expanded north end renamed the ‘Pep Guardiola Stand’ in his honour.

Guardiola said on Friday he was incredibly proud his father’s name will be adorned inside the stadium forever and 95-year-old Valenti was there for his son’s final game in charge.

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His voice cracked during his farewell speech on the pitch, as supporters serenaded him with chants of, “We’ve got Guardiola” one last time. He made one final lap of honour and exited down the tunnel.

“Many memories – forget the titles, it’s the memories. All of us,” said Guardiola. “All the people here are extraordinary.

“Life is made of periods, we lived an incredible period. If I had energy I would stay here. A new person has to do this job.

“Our time was good. Thank you to all the people, the new stand is beautiful.”

Emery added: “A huge honour for me to compete with Pep Guardiola. He is the best. I built my career a lot of time competing against him, especially in Spain.

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“The level he has – he is the best coach in the world.”

‘Man City fans need to be patient with Maresca’

It was fitting that Sunday’s game took Guardiola – City’s greatest manager – to the top of the list for most games in charge of the club.

Guardiola won 416 of his 593 games in charge, a victory ratio of 70.2%. Only Manchester United’s Ferguson, with 13, has claimed more top-flight English titles .

His points-per-game rate of 2.28 is unmatched by any manager to have taken charge of 20 or more games in England and City remain the only side to win 100 points in a Premier League season.

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“10 more years, 10 more years, Guardiola” was the chant echoing from the South Stand in the knowledge that the Spaniard will take up an ambassadorial role upon his departure.

Negotiations with Enzo Maresca are at an advanced stage, so it remains to be seen when his appointment as Guardiola’s successor will officially be confirmed.

“The Man City fans just need to be patient with Enzo Maresca,” former striker Chris Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“It is similar to David Moyes following Sir Alex Ferguson. It’s an impossible task following Pep Guardiola with the way his teams have played, the way he has adapted over the years and the huge amount of trophies he’s won.

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“In many ways, they have won the FA Cup and League Cup this season but they will still be a little bit disappointed. That is how far they have come under Guardiola.”

And Guardiola’s advice to his successor?

“They have to be themselves,” he said. “That is the most important thing. The way they communicate, the way they play, they have to be them.

“This club is good at many things, and they do transitions really well. It will be good.”

Goodbye to Silva, Stones and two old favourites

Guardiola has been the dominant figure at City over the past 10 years – but the key departures from the Etihad this summer do not end there.

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Captain Silva and defender John Stones will both leave upon the expiry of their contracts next month and they were presented with framed shirts by Guardiola.

Silva has been one of Guardiola’s pivotal players, featuring in more games – and astonishing 460 – for the Spaniard than any other player during his career.

“It’s really tough to put into words my feelings towards City, to you guys,” Silva said while addressing the crowd. “I don’t think I will ever feel the same love ever in my life. This will forever be my family and I’m really grateful.”

Stones added: “I can’t express the gratitude that I feel for the love that you’ve given me. It’s been a dream come true.

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“From the bottom of my heart and my family’s hearts, thank you so much.”

There was a chance to give a proper send-off to two former players too.

Ex-captain Ilkay Gundogan – who scored the winner on the final day against Villa in 2022 – and goalkeeper Ederson both returned to the Etihad to take the acclaim having left for Turkey on deadline day last summer.

Guardiola’s staff member and right-hand man Manel Estiarte, fitness coach Lorenzo Buenaventura and long-serving goalkeeping coach Xabi Mancisidor were all recognised for their contributions too, with the trio also set to depart.

It was truly the end of an era at the Etihad, an era Guardiola, his players and the City supporters will cherish forever.

Deportivo La Coruna players celebrate© X (Formerly Twitter)

NEW DELHI: Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and elected to field first against Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2026 clash at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.

“We will bowl first. It’s pretty simple. We know the scenario depending on what’s going to happen in the previous game, which is happening right now. But regardless of that, we don’t know what the result will be,” Ajinkya Rahane said at the toss.

“Also, the wicket looks really good. So yes, it’s very simple. It’s still a game of cricket to be played, and the last six games have been fantastic for us. We still want to compete and win this game. As I said, we don’t know what’s going to happen, but whenever you play a game of cricket, you always look to win. Really proud of the unit, especially because it’s not easy to come back from the situation we were in. It takes courage, character, and attitude to bounce back as a team. IPL is a funny tournament with 24–25 players and support staff, maintaining that atmosphere, intensity and carrying it forward every time is fantastic. So yes, I’m really proud of each and every one. Same team,” he added.

Delhi Capitals have already been eliminated from IPL 2026.

“Yes, obviously I would have bowled first because, the way this tournament has gone, we’ve done well while chasing. So yes, looking at that, we would’ve bowled first. But it’s not bad because the wicket looks good and even if we look ahead to next year, though that’s still far away, if we bat first, our batsmen will get an opportunity to understand how to approach batting first as well. No, I don’t think we should see it like a bad dream,” Axar Patel said.

Amid a seven-game losing streak and two wins in their past 13 games, the Chicago Cubs have placed starting pitcher Edward Cabrera on the 15-day injured list with a blister on his right middle finger.

In his 10 starts this season, Cabrera has compiled a 4.00 ERA with 47 strikeouts and 20 walks in 50 innings. That strikeout total is tied with Jameson Tallion for the second-most among Cubs starters behind Shota Imanaga’s 61.

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Cabrera, 28, left his start last Wednesday in the fourth inning after throwing 61 pitches, 32 of them for strikes. He allowed four runs (three unearned due to errors on Carson Kelly and Pete Crow-Armstrong) with four hits and two walks in a 5-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

A couple of weeks ago, the Minnesota Vikings announced Adrian Peterson’s induction into the franchise’s Ring of Honor. He spent a decade with the club and, in some instances, carried the offense for entire seasons.

Peterson revealed that tension with Zimmer escalated after the star running back attempted a late-season return from a major knee injury in 2016.

In his final three seasons with the organization, Peterson played under head coach Mike Zimmer, who was eventually fired after the 2021 season. It turns out Zimmer and Peterson didn’t particularly like each other, the runner revealed in an appearance on the Ed Block CourageCast podcast.

The back’s time in the Twin Cities ended when the franchise didn’t pick up an option in his contract, which sent him to free agency. He then bounced around for a few years.

Peterson said, “The reason I say this — and a lot of people know the inside of things that go on — but, for me, when I left, me and the head coach kind of bumped heads a little bit. Because I just felt disrespected. So, for me, when I look back at it, I think I could have — I know I could have — handled it a different way, and maybe that doesn’t happen. Maybe they don’t go shopping, trying to find someone else. So, I wasn’t shocked when it ended up happening.”

After moving on, the Vikings paired Peterson’s backup, Jerick McKinnon, with free agent Latavius Murray and rookie second-rounder Dalvin Cook. They formed one of the strongest backfields in the NFL, though they only had four games together until Cook tore his ACL in Week 4.

Peterson didn’t have a problem with the Vikings, but Zimmer certainly irritated him, “Honestly, just leaving there, I felt disrespected by the head coach in particular. Not the organization or anything like that. It was the head coach. Me and him had a few words, respectfully.”

At the time, the Vikings would’ve owed Peterson $18 million, had they exercised his option. He turned 32 in the 2017 offseason. That salary would make him the third-highest paid runner in today’s league, behind Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffrey. Mind you, the salary cap nine years ago was roughly half of today’s, and only a pair of backs in 2017 made more than $7 million that year.

Peterson came off a season in which he suited up only three times. He registered 72 rushing yards in 2016, as a torn meniscus sidelined him for most of the year. That’s when his feud with Zimmer started.

The future Hall of Famer explained, “I tore like 90% of my meniscus. My options were to do the repair, and it was a 40% chance that it wouldn’t heal. Or I could cut it out and go through the healing process, and at some point I would be bone-on-bone.”

“So, that happened and I opt to have the surgery and to do the repair. It was that game plan that I envisioned, and I wasn’t really listening to what everybody else had to say about it, outside of the professionals’ opinions, as far as my options. But, as far as the healing process, I think totally different. So, I’m just like, ‘You know what? I can come back, man.’ Normally, typically, that would end somebody’s season, and I was like, ‘I can come back.’”

Vikings fans might remember some meniscus anatomy from the J.J. McCarthy saga in 2024. In short, there are two options: the so-called trim and the repair. The former costs a few weeks or a month, the latter generally ends the season. Anthony Barr, early in his career, did the trim, while Irv Smith or McCarthy did the repair. The shorter recovery time is a trade-off that comes with potential long-term risks.

Peterson suffered his knee injury in Week 2, which is why he thought he could fix his meniscus and still return that season because, well, he was a player who had previously shown that he heals differently than most humans.

The 2012 MVP returned in Week 15, a must-win game against the Colts. It turned out to be a blowout loss and Peterson logged 22 yards that day. After the game, with nothing to play for, the Vikings shut down Peterson for the remainder of the season, which Zimmer didn’t like.

Peterson continued, “During that time that I came back, I want to say we had a home game against the Colts, and it was a situation where if we win that game, we had a chance to win out and go to the playoffs. So, here I am at the time, this is the last year of my contract. I could have easily sat it out and seen what would happen going into the next season. That’s what I could have done. But, me being the type of person that I am, the competitor that I am, I’m all for it. I want to get out there and I want to play.”

“So, I got out there and went through it, and we end up losing the game. We end up losing the game and I think we had a zero percent chance of making (the playoffs). At this point, it’s time for me to shut it down. It was time for me to go ahead and rest and see what happens next year. Coach (Zimmer), it rubbed him the wrong way that I made that decision. That’s where we had a couple words. He said some things that was disrespectful, challenging me as far as being a competitor, and just my whole being.”

The 8-8 Vikings didn’t make the playoffs after starting 5-0. Peterson’s final campaign in purple didn’t go according to plan. Under Zimmer, his league-leading rushing season in 2015 (1,485 yards and 11 touchdowns, both of which led the league) was sandwiched between two lost years. He was suspended for all but one contest in 2014 and played only three games in 2016.

Unfortunately, they had only one full season together. Zimmer’s run-first idea of playing offense would’ve meshed well with the explosiveness Peterson displayed throughout his career when healthy. Though he overall had a respectable tenure in Minnesota with a 72-56-1 record, the way he led the team and treated people within the building was not always appreciated by everyone.

“But, you know, it is what it is. Everything happens for a reason. I went on and played a couple more years. Blessed to be a part of some other great organizations. My kids were able to travel and see the world,” Peterson concluded.

Peterson spent ten years with the Vikings, leading the franchise in rushing yards and touchdowns by a wide margin. After his exit, he played in New Orleans, Arizona, Washington, Detroit, Tennessee, and Seattle.

Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.

Janik Eckardt is a German sports nerd, who likes numbers and stats. He chose the Vikings to be his … More about Janik Eckardt

West Ham United have been relegated from the Premier League despite beating Leeds United 3-0 on the final day of the season at the London Stadium.

The Hammers needed both a win and a defeat for Tottenham Hotspur against Everton to stay in the Premier League.

However, Tottenham held on for victory, which confirmed West Ham’s relegation to the Championship after 14 straight seasons in the top flight.

West Ham struggled to find their rhythm in the first half as the hot weather appeared to slow the game down. Their situation also became more difficult after Tottenham took the lead against Everton.

The breakthrough finally came in the 67th minute when Taty Castellanos headed home Jarrod Bowen’s corner at the back post to give the hosts the lead.

Bowen later added a second goal with 11 minutes left, firing a fine angled shot into the far corner.

Substitute Callum Wilson sealed the win in stoppage time with West Ham’s third goal of the afternoon.

Despite doing their part, West Ham could not avoid relegation as Tottenham secured the result they needed to remain in the Premier League.

The relegation means West Ham will play in the Championship for the first time since the 2011/2012 season.

Leeds, meanwhile, ended their campaign in 14th place after suffering their first defeat in nine matches.

Dev Kumar Meena (ANI Photo)

Dev Kumar Meena and Kuldeep Kumar produced one of the standout moments of the National Senior Athletics Federation Competition after both athletes broke the national pole vault record during a dramatic contest on Sunday. Representing Madhya Pradesh, the two training partners cleared 5.45m, improving upon the previous national record of 5.41m that had recently been set by Kuldeep Kumar in Bhubaneswar. Despite both athletes achieving the same height, Dev Kumar Meena clinched the gold medal through countback rules, while Kuldeep settled for silver. In pole vault and high jump events, countback is used to separate athletes tied at the same height by checking who cleared the mark in fewer attempts during the competition. The result marked a huge milestone for Indian athletics, with both vaulters also comfortably breaching the Athletics Federation of India’s Commonwealth Games qualification standard of 5.25m for the 2026 edition. After the event, Dev Kumar highlighted the healthy rivalry and friendship between the pair. “It was a good day for us and we will continue to push each other to further raise the bar in future,” he said. While the spotlight on Saturday belonged largely to sprinters, Sunday’s action was dominated by field events and several impressive performances across disciplines. Murali Sreeshankar secured gold in the men’s long jump with an effort of 8.08m, surpassing the Commonwealth Games qualification mark of 8.05m. In the men’s high jump, Sarvesh Anil Kushare delivered another standout display by clearing 2.28m to win gold and qualify for the Commonwealth Games. His jump also equalled the meet record previously set by Tejaswin Shankar. Kushare even attempted 2.30m in an effort to better the national record of 2.29m, but failed to clear the height in all three attempts. Silver medallist Aadarsh Ram also crossed the CWG qualification standard after managing 2.22m. Meanwhile, national record holder Tejas Shirse dominated the men’s 110m hurdles final. Representing Reliance, Shirse clocked 13.50 seconds to win gold and improve his own meet record of 13.61 seconds, although he narrowly missed the Commonwealth Games qualification timing of 13.39 seconds. Earlier in the day, Ravina claimed gold in the women’s 10,000m race walk after clocking 44:29.66 seconds, comfortably going under the CWG qualification standard of 44:44.58 seconds. Other gold medallists included Dharamraj Yadav in the men’s discus throw and Manpreet Kaur in the women’s hammer throw, while Nandhini K won the women’s 100m hurdles title.