1. Adrian injured by fan
Liverpool are sweating on the fitness of goalkeeper Adrian, after he was injured by a pitch invader after the Red’s Super Cup triumph against Chelsea on Wednesday night. Manager Jurgen Klopp revealed that he was kicked in the ankle when the supporter slipped over and was a doubt for Saturday’s game against Southampton. “Should Adrian not be fit enough to play, veteran keeper Andy Lonergan will step up to make his debut for the club with Alisson still out of action with a calf strain,” says the Daily Mail.
2. Murray drops doubles
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Andy Murray has pulled out of the US Open, where he was due to play doubles, to concentrate on his return to singles action. The 2012 champion said: “Doubles is done for me for the time being,” after an encouraging comeback performance against Richard Gasquet at the Cincinnati Masters. “My goal is to get back playing at the level that I want to on the singles court, and I’ve decided that I need to focus all my energies on that right now.” He will play singles at next week's ATP event in Winston-Salem, before considering entering a tournament on the Challenger Tour during the US Open.
3. Chelsea striker suffers racial abuse
Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham was subjected to racist abuse on social media after missing a crucial penalty in the Uefa Super Cup against Liverpool on Wednesday. “The striker’s saved effort handed the Super Cup to the Reds and gave trolls an excuse to bombard him with offensive tweets on social media,” reports the Daily Mirror. Anti-racism watchdog Kick It Out condemned the messages and called on Twitter to take action against racists and bigots. “Blues boss Frank Lampard has backed Abraham while the club have given the youngster their full support,” adds the paper.
4. Lord's fundraiser a success
England were bundled out for 258 on the second day of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s but, after facing a barrage of hostile bowling vowed to fight fire with fire, as play ended with Australia 30-1. Off the pitch the day, dedicated to the Ruth Strauss Foundation set up in memory of Andrew Strauss’s late wife, raised around half a million pounds for cancer research and bereavement support.
5. Wolves progress in Europe
Wolves took a step towards the Europa League beating Armenian side Pyunik 4-0 at Molineux to complete an 8-0 aggregate win and set up play-off with Italian side Torino. Substitute Diogo Jota scored the pick of the goals, wrapping up the victory with a spectacular volley. The other goals came from Pedro Neto, academy graduate Morgan Gibbs-White and Ruben Vinagre.
6. Ozil and Kolasinac return for Arsenal
Arsenal will be able to call on the services of Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac against Burnley this weekend after manager Unai Emery said the pair were “100 per cent” ready to play. The pair were stood down from the Gunners’ opening Premier League game last weekend after they were the victims of an attempted robbery in north London. Two men were subsequently arrested outside Ozil’s home and there are allegations they have unwittingly become caught up in a gangland dispute.
7. Federer gone in 62 minutes
Roger Federer suffered his quickest defeat in 16 years as he was beaten 6-3 6-4 by Russian qualifier Andrey Rublev in the third round of the Cincinnati Masters. Rublev, 21, wept tears of joy after pulling off the biggest win of his career in 62 minutes. Federer, 38, still plans to compete in the US Open but has played only twice since losing the Wimbledon final last month.
8. Campbell 'wasn't paid' by Macclesfield
Sol Campbell has become the first managerial casualty of the season after he left League Two side Macclesfield Town by mutual consent. The 44-year-old former England defender was in charge for just eight months having taken over in November 2018 with the side bottom of League Two. Campbell kept them in the English Football League thanks to a run of just two defeats in their final 10 games. Macclesfield said his departure was “amicable”. However, the Daily Mirror claims Campbell had not been paid for four months.
9. La Liga on ITV
Spain’s La Liga has secured a last-minute broadcasting deal with ITV for games to be shown live in the UK this season. The broadcaster confirmed it had agreed a deal on Thursday night, 24 hours before the season begins. The La Liga curtain raiser between Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona will be shown on ITV4 at 8pm tonight. “The broadcaster showed live top-flight Spanish matches at the end of last season after previous rights holders Eleven Sports cut short their agreement,” says the BBC.
10. Biggar back for Wales
Dan Biggar will start at fly-half for Wales against England this weekend, after Gareth Anscombe was ruled out of the World Cup with a knee injury. Biggar has not been first choice for Wales for two years but now looks set to play a key role in Japan. England have handed a debut to winger Ruaridh McConnochie who was named in Eddie Jones’ 31-man squad for the tournament.
