Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca spoke about promising young talent Ryan McAidoo after his performance against Inter

Enzo Maresca says that Ryan McAidoo needs the right path at Manchester City as the club assess whether he is best served stepping up to the first team this season. The 18-year-old winger came on in the second half of City’s first pre-season game against Inter and was one of the standout players, looking sharp and going close to either scoring or assisting a goal on a number of occasions.

City are looking at wide players in the transfer market and could see Savinho move to Spurs in the summer window, but McAidoo took his opportunity under Pep Guardiola last season by scoring on debut and has seriously impressed Maresca in the first few weeks of training. Having done enough to earn his spot on the right wing in the second half against Inter, he then took his opportunity in style.

Maresca said that no decisions have been made on the many youngsters out on tour as they are looked at over the course of the four weeks before pre-season, and the question is whether McAidoo can play his way into the City squad or if he leaves on loan. Several clubs have already expressed an interest in taking him and that list may grow on the back of this latest performance.

Whatever happens, Maresca pointed to his record of giving debuts at Leicester and Chelsea to indicate that the right decision can be made on McAidoo.

“Since day one to be honest with Ryan, we were speaking with the club and since day one he is the kind of winger I love,” he said. “Very aggressive one v one, he always tries, makes the right decisions. But he is very young and he needs the right path.

“At the moment, with most of the young players, the idea was to see them during pre-season and then decide. We started ten days ago and Ryan is working well. We are going to take the right decision. I am always very open with young players. At Leicester, it was a record number of debuts from the academy. And at Chelsea it was also a record number of debuts from the academy.”

India produced its biggest medal haul of the Commonwealth Games 2026 on Saturday, collecting 15 medals across boxing, athletics, para athletics and judo to continue its outstanding campaign in Glasgow.

The day belonged to India’s boxers, who delivered a historic performance by winning seven gold medals and three silvers from 10 finals, while the athletics team added three more medals and para athletics contributed a memorable one-two finish in the men’s F57 shot put. Judoka Unnati Sharma also added a bronze to cap another productive day for the Indian contingent.

Indian boxing scripts history with seven gold medals

Indian boxing enjoyed arguably its greatest-ever day at the Commonwealth Games.

The country dominated the finals, winning seven of the 10 gold-medal bouts, an unprecedented achievement in Commonwealth Games history.

Gold medals came through:

• 
  Sakshi Chaudhary (Women’s 51kg)
• 
  Preeti Pawar (Women’s 54kg)
• 
  Jaismine Lamboria (Women’s 57kg)
• 
  Priya Ghanghas (Women’s 60kg)
• 
  Arundhati Choudhary (Women’s 70kg)
• 
  Sachin Siwach (Men’s 60kg)
• 
  Ankush Panghal (Men’s 80kg)

India also claimed three silver medals through Lovlina Borgohain (Women’s 75kg), Jadumani Singh (Men’s 55kg) and Narender Berwal (Men’s 90+kg) after all three narrowly missed out in their respective finals.

The remarkable campaign underlined India’s growing status as one of the strongest boxing nations in the Commonwealth.

Para athletics delivers golden one-two

India celebrated a memorable result in the Men’s F57 Shot Put, where Soman Rana produced a gold medal-winning performance.

Adding to the celebrations, Shubham Juyal claimed silver to complete an Indian one-two on the podium.

Athletics continues medal surge

Indian athletics once again featured prominently on the podium.

In the men’s triple jump, Praveen Chithravel secured silver while Selva Prabhu Thirumaran claimed bronze, recreating India’s double podium from Birmingham.

Distance runner Gulveer Singh added another historic chapter to his remarkable campaign by winning bronze in the men’s 5000m.

The medal made him the first Indian to win two track medals at a single Commonwealth Games, having earlier claimed silver in the 10,000m.

Unnati Sharma adds judo bronze

India’s medal tally in judo also received another boost.

Unnati Sharma defeated South Africa’s Skye Knoester with a superb ippon in the women’s -63kg bronze-medal contest, ensuring India continued its best-ever Commonwealth Games campaign in the sport.

Mixed fortunes elsewhere

Not every event brought success for India.

Harsh Tokas narrowly missed out on a medal after losing the men’s -81kg bronze-medal bout, while Karanjit Singh Maan and Inunganbi Takhellambam exited through the repechage rounds.

In athletics, Priyanka Goswami finished fourth in the women’s 10,000m race walk, while Ravina Gayakwad was disqualified.

The cycling team endured a disappointing day as the sprint riders failed to progress and Dinesh Kumar and Harshveer Singh Sekhon did not finish the men’s 10km scratch race qualification.

Across the opening few days, J.J. McCarthy was gaining ground. Not so after the Saturday practice.

A chorus of people online sung the praises of Kyler Murray for the effort he put in earlier in the day. Consider what Alec Lewis of The Athletic had to say: “Vikings first practice in front of fans just ended. Kyler Murray was very sharp today. Completed all sorts of passes from the pocket. The operation looked clean. J.J. McCarthy’s timing seemed a tad off, late on some misfires. Kyler took most snaps with 1s, J.J. with 2s.”

McCarthy may have landed a few jabs in those opening days. Murray appears to have responded with a hefty uppercut.

Kyler Murray is Fighting Back

Keep in mind, folks, that there’s a consensus on how today went. Nobody appears to think that McCarthy kept things close.

Check out the update from Will Ragatz: “Clear, decisive win for Kyler Murray in the QB competition today. Threw with anticipation, connected with Jefferson several times, ball rarely hit the ground. McCarthy had a couple nice moments late but was mostly shaky throughout. It wasn’t very close.”

Judd Zulgad of SKOR North has been covering the passer battle pretty closely. See his video recap below:

So, that about settles it, right? Eh, not so quick.

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What’s going to matter for J.J. McCarthy is not that he had a bad day at the office. In a perfect world, he’d never struggle, but that’s not reality. What’s of significance now is how he responds. Can the kid see that he lost the day and then respond well?

Think back to those opening three quarters in the Week 1 Bears game before exploding in the last quarter. Can he do the training camp version of that? If so, then he’ll need to build off that success by becoming more consistent. Going back and forth between dreadful and dynamite isn’t going to cut it.

The Vikings have been quite consistent that adding Kyler Murray is about ratcheting up the competition. Seeing Murray put together a good day is what competition looks like for McCarthy.

McCarthy isn’t assured of anything at this stage. And, to be clear, he’s not guaranteed to play well in response to his bad day. The onus shifts back to him now that the man who is gunning for his job — Kyler Murray — has had a good afternoon passing the ball.

Kyler Murray remains the favorite to start in Week 1. Putting together more days like today will only further his lead as he tries to remove any doubt about who should get to pass the ball to Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and the rest of the crew for the 2026 season.

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The Vikings have the day off tomorrow. The spotlight is sure to remain on the quarterbacks when the Vikings get back to work early next week.

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Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

Emma Finucane will bid to make Commonwealth Games history on Sunday after clinching a third gold on a dramatic day of track cycling at Glasgow 2026.

Finucane had already wrapped up the team and individual sprint titles by the time she took to the start line for the women’s kilo, an event she does not usually contest.

She flew round to take another dominant gold and tee up the opportunity to become the first Welsh athlete to win four golds at a single Commonwealth Games when she competes in the keirin.

The 23-year-old insists she is content with her current haul but is a world silver medallist in the keirin and will undoubtedly fancy her chances given the form she has brought to the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.

More than anything, Finucane loves competing for Wales and will want to hear Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ring out again.

The Welsh national anthem rang out two more times on Saturday night, as Anna Morris claimed her second gold of the Games in the points race to continue an outstanding few days for Welsh cyclists.

She was joined on the podium by compatriot Jess Roberts, who won silver, and the Principality now sits second in the medal table and within touching distance of Australia.

“The Welsh team have been incredible,” said Finucane. “The girls have really shone at these Games. We’ve done so, so well. Seeing one of our athletes on the podium just minutes before I stepped onto the podium myself was iconic.

“As a small nation, we have so much pride. The support we’ve had has been amazing, and I think we’ve really put the dragon on the track. We’ve embraced every moment.

“We’ve raced with pride and passion, and that’s why we’ve come away with so many medals. I’m really proud to be Welsh and I can’t wait to get out there again. Anything’s a bonus now. I didn’t think I’d win three gold medals. I came here with a dream, and I feel like I’m living an absolute movie.

“I’m just going to go into it and leave everything out on the track. I love a keirin race, so I’m going to get on my bike, race the riders, get stuck in and see what happens.

“I’ll keep dreaming. Whatever happens, I’m really proud of what I’ve achieved.”

Finucane has dominated the headlines but Morris is also putting together a storming Games in Glasgow, backing up her individual pursuit title with gold in the points race.

The 31-year-old was disqualified from the scratch race on Friday after initially finishing second, but shrugged off the disappointment to lead a Welsh one-two ahead of Roberts.

“Yesterday was about refocusing and resetting,” she said.“I spent some time watching the races back, taking the lessons from them and learning what I could.

“I just gave it everything I had in that final sprint. When I came off the track, I felt pretty sick after the effort. It was just a really tough race.”

Saturday also saw its fair share of crashes, with Neil Fachie picking himself up off the boards to win the seventh and final Commonwealth gold of his career.

Fachie was set to say goodbye to the sport regardless of what happened but he looked set for a drab ending when he and pilot Aaron Pope crashed in the men’s tandem B sprint against Wales’ James Ball and Matthew Rotherham.

The race was restarted and a bruised but fired up Scottish pair got back in the saddle to seal an emotional victory.

“I said to a few people afterwards it’s almost like they poked the bear and we were ready,” said Fachie. “It might only be a little bear, but it’s quite an angry one. I was definitely an angry bear.”

The afternoon session concluded with a huge crash in the men’s scratch race, which saw nine riders dramatically wiped out on the penultimate lap.

England’s Henry Hobbs was the main beneficiary, as the teenager kept his head to sprint for the line, popping a wheelie while he did it. Teammate Ethan Vernon took bronze behind New Zealand’s Thomas Sexton.

“To hear a massive crash behind you puts off a bit but I just had to lock back in and get it done,” said Hobbs. “It gives me a lot of confidence knowing I’ve got what it takes to win these sort of races in this sort of field.

“It’s really exciting in terms of where this could take me. Hopefully I can carry on this sort of trajectory and work towards the next few years.”

Thanks to National Lottery players, more than £33m is raised every week for good causes. It’s because of you that sport, arts, heritage and community projects, as well as our athletes competing at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, are supported across the UK.

Snitzel has etched another significant chapter into Australian breeding history, reclaiming the Australian Champion Stallion title for the 2025/26 season. This accomplishment makes him only the second sire ever to regain this honour after a period of holding it for at least four consecutive years.

The esteemed Arrowfield Stud stallion previously dominated the General Sires’ Premiership from 2016/17 to 2019/20. He then yielded the crown to Written Tycoon, before I Am Invincible claimed the next three titles, and Zoustar took top honours last season.

Historically, only the legendary Star Kingdom has previously reclaimed the title following such sustained dominance, winning four straight premierships from 1959 to 1962 before regaining the title in 1965.

Snitzel has now joined that exclusive group of stallions.

His progeny amassed an impressive $26,029,187 in prizemoney during the 2025/26 season, finishing more than $4 million clear of Zoustar to secure his fifth Champion Stallion title.

The latest success comes 10 seasons after his first premiership, a longevity only bettered by his grandsire Danehill, who won nine titles across 11 seasons, and Better Boy, whose four premierships were spread across 12 seasons.

“He was a marvellous stallion for the farm,” said Arrowfield principal John Messara. “Following on from Redoute’s Choice he was a worthy contender and also from the same sire line. It’s been great that we’ve had Danehill, then Redoute’s, then this bloke off that one sire line.”

Messara continued, “He (Snitzel) started off in a fairly humble way, but over time he’s built his record up and now he’s very much at the top of the game. We’re just sorry that he’s gone, but he did a wonderful job while he was here and we’re very grateful to him.”

Snitzel, who passed away in June last year just short of his 22nd birthday, was represented by 291 runners during the season, with 146 individual winners combining for 226 victories.

His influence was strongly felt at the highest level, producing a career-best six individual Group 1 winners. Baraqiel won the Moir Stakes, Transatlantic captured the Toorak Handicap, Lazzura claimed the Coolmore Classic, while Golden Slipper winner Marhoona added the The Galaxy to her record.

Campione D’Italia and Fireball completed the Group 1 haul by winning the ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes and the Champagne Stakes respectively.

Those two juvenile victories also helped Snitzel edge out Home Affairs in a thrilling Champion Two-Year-Old Stallion race. His two-year-olds earned $4,988,245 for the season, finishing less than $20,000 ahead of Home Affairs, whose first crop included Golden Slipper winner Guest House.

It was the first time since 2020 that the Champion Two-Year-Old Stallion title had been won by a sire other than the Golden Slipper winner’s father, with Snitzel also achieving that feat five years earlier.

Snitzel finished the season with 32 stakes wins, his highest tally since producing 45 in his career-best 2016/17 campaign, while his number of individual stakes winners climbed to 175.

Although his influence will naturally diminish as his final crops make their way to the racetrack, Messara remains optimistic the champion stallion can continue making his presence felt. “We’ve got some nice yearlings for next season, he had some nice yearlings last season that’ll come out as two-year-olds very shortly, so hopefully he’s got another couple of seasons,” Messara said. “The game is not over.”

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TNT Tropang 5G’s Kim Aurin during a game vs San Miguel Beermen in the 2026 PBA Governors’ Cup. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—When TNT guard Kim Aurin woke up on Saturday morning, he wasn’t feeling like himself ahead of his team’s crucial test against San Miguel in the 2026 PBA Governors’ Cup.

But a quick phone call with Roger Pogoy, followed by a timely reading of Isaiah 40:31, gave Aurin the push he needed to get out of bed and deliver for the depleted Tropang 5G.

“Kami kami na lang din eh (It’s only us now),” he said after their heart-stopping overtime win over the Beermen at Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday.

“Matira matibay. We focused on defense and we played great defense from start to finish.”

Aurin then cited the Bible verse that inspired him before leading a short-handed TNT squad missing Calvin Oftana, Jayson Castro, Jordan Heading and Pogoy.

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Just like that, Aurin shook off the cobwebs and put on his TNT jersey to answer his call of duty.

The Perpetual Help product ended up with 22 points and eight rebounds. He knocked down six threes, including two crucial triples in OT that sent the Beermen packing.

Aside from leaning on his faith, Aurin also wanted to repay the trust of coach Chot Reyes.

“Coach Chot is giving me chances and I don’t want to waste them. I work on myself. I praise God because he heard my prayers today,” he said.

Briton Mark Chamberlain stunned Republic of Ireland’s Pierce O’Leary as he dropped him twice on the way to securing a knockout win in the 10th round to claim the IBO light-welterweight belt.

Chamberlain had to climb off the canvas himself in the seventh round as O’Leary struck him with a ferocious body shot in front of a capacity crowd in Dublin.

But just as momentum appeared to be swinging in the favour of O’Leary, Chamberlain found a breakthrough and managed to get the stoppage late on.

Portsmouth’s Chamberlain now moves to 18 wins with one defeat, bouncing back to winning ways for the first time since losing to Josh Padley in 2024.

This was Chamberlain’s first fight since he drew with Jack Rafferty in Altrincham last summer.

“First of all respect to Pierce for giving me this opportunity,” Chamberlain told DAZN after the fight.

“I’m not a stranger to an away day and anyone that knows me knows that I will fight anyone and if that means that I have to go into the champions’ back garden then I will do that.

“I’ve never been hurt before in a fight but that body shot stopped me in my tracks but fortunately I was able to get thorugh it and weather the storm.

“We’ve been working on new things in the gym and it’s all paid off, I asked Frank (Warren) in the dressing room before the fight if we could bring a show down to Portsmouth, I’d love that. “

After a tight and cagey first round, Chamberlain stunned the home crowd of around 7,000 as he landed a flush left hand that sent O’Leary flying back onto the canvas.

Chamberlain then found another big shot in the next round as he sent his opponent to the floor again with a short left hook.

But O’Leary responded well to the knockdowns, rallied by his home crowd as he pressed on to find a way back into the fight.

He then found a breakthrough at the end of the seventh round as he backed Chamberlain into a corner and sent a punishing shot into his chest.

Chamberlain was slow to get to his feet but survived the count and managed to avoid major punishment before the bell sounded.

O’Leary continued to press on, with Chamberlain looking tired and the Irishman buoyed by the crowd.

But Chamberlain struck in the 10th with a combination that saw O’Leary drop his hands and then pressed on, landing a number of clean shots that included a straight right hand to send O’Leary tumbling into the ropes and to the canvas.

Fight promoter Frank Warren revealed after the fight that there is a rematch clause in the fight contract that could see the pair fight again in the near future.

French- Algerian football legend Zinedine Zidane expressed his hopes of becoming France‘s head coach as early as 2022 in an interview with the sports newspaper L’Équipe​​​​​. 

His dream has now become reality: Zidane was appointed on Tuesday and will take over upon the departure of Didier Deschamps.

The president of the French Football Federation made little effort to keep the identity of the future manager a secret during an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro in March. Without revealing a name, Philippe Diallo said that a new manager had been selected, adding that he had to be “someone who can tick many boxes [. . .] There must be a connection between the manager and the French”.  

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Zidane had frequently voiced his ambition to take over the team. “When I say I want to manage France’s team one day, I mean it, he told L’Équipe on his 50th birthday in 2022.

More recently during an Adidas event, the legendary midfielder known as “Zizou” said he felt at home with the French national team, where he played for more than a dozen years.  

“Of course, it’s a dream and I can’t wait.”

Full circle

Zidane has long seemed destined to become France’s head coach, given his legendary success as a player for the team. “I want to come full circle with the French team. I have known the team as a player and it’s one of the best things that ever happened to me,” he told L’Équipe.

Zidane played a total of 108 games for France, scoring 31 goals. Millions of people still remember his role in helping France win its first World Cup in 1998 with a 3-0 victory over Brazil, with Zidane scoring the first two goals.

Zidane is also remembered for losing his composure in the 2006 World Cup Final and headbutting Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the chest. His playing days came to an end with a red card delivered by a referee and a defeat against Italy (a 1-1 tie and later 5-3 in the penalty shootout).

Zidane forged his legend as a professional footballer, but he has also stood out as a coach. The transition from one role to the other wasn’t easy: of the six French players to have won the Ballon d’Or – Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, Zidane, Karim Benzema and Ousmane Dembélé – Zidane is the only one to have successfully made the switch.

In 2016, barely 10 years after his retirement as a professional footballer, he became the main coach at Real Madrid after managing its reserve team Real Castilla and serving as assistant manager to Carlo Ancelotti. After joining Madrid, Zidane clinched an 11th Champions League trophy for the Spanish club. At the time, Zizou was only 44 years old; it was his first stint as a coach of a professional club. His achievements have yet to be matched.

Flamboyant at Real Madrid

The rest of the story belongs to football history: Real Madrid won two Champions League titles under Zidane in 2017 and 2018. In three years, he won three consecutive titles in the most prestigious European competition as well as two Spanish league titles (2017 and 2020), three Spanish Super Cups (2017, 2019 and 2020) and two European Cups (2016 and 2017).  

Ancelotti praised his colleague in glowing terms after picking the reins back up at Real Madrid upon Zinedine’s departure. “He won three World Cups. He did a fantastic job up until the last day. He knew success – but it’s football, a coach comes and another one leaves. What he achieved is incredible.”

The Spanish sports magazine Marca also celebrated Zidane’s achievements: “He is not only a coach leaving with an enviable record (11 titles, one for every 23 matches) including three consecutive Champions Leagues. An icon of the greatest club is leaving, a legend, an exemplary citizen of Madrid who made a flag out of simplicity, elegance and honesty, on and off the stadium.”

Out of management since leaving Real Madrid in 2021, Zidane had to wait for this moment to take over Deschamps’ role. The previous coach set a record for the longest time spent at the helm of the French national team, with 168 games, 121 victories, 35 ties and 31 losses. Deschamps is leaving behind a solid and talented team, despite their elimination from the World Cup in a semi-final defeat against Spain (2-0). As he begins his tenure, Zidane will rely on a core group of key players like Dayot Upamecano, Koundé, Adrien Rabiot, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Kylian Mbappé, Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembélé. Yet he also faces challenges, especially on the full-back positions and, to a lesser extent, central defence.

Zidane will also likely try to overhaul the coaching staff, beginning by naming World Cup champion Fabien Barthez as the new goalkeeping coach. The impact of Zidane’s coaching on Les Bleus remains to be seen. Supporters of the team will have to wait until October 2 to see the coach on the bench. Ironically, the match is against Italy – coming 20 years after Zidane’s loss to Italy as a player.

This article has been adapted from the original in French.