Manchester City have won the League Cup for the fourth season on the bounce, after they beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at Wembley yesterday afternoon. 8,000 fans were present in north London as part of a UK Government pilot scheme, and they saw Pep Guardiola's side lift the trophy thanks to an 82nd minute Aymeric Laporte header. Earlier in the day City moved closer to the Premier League title after Manchester United were held to a niggly 0-0 draw by Leeds at Elland Road. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side controlled much of the game but were unable to engineer a winner and now sit 10 points behind the league leaders with five games to play. Elsewhere there was heartache for West Bromwich Albion who look certain to be relegated after they conceded in the 92nd minute to draw 2-2 with Aston Villa at Villa Park. In the day's earlier kick-off, Chris Wood scored a first-half hat-trick as Burnley thrashed Wolves 4-0 at Molineux to all but secure their own Premier League survival.
In his column this morning Ken Early has reflected on last week's attempted European Super League launch, its subsequent collapse and the fan protests which have followed. And he believes it wasn't the greed of the owners of the 'big six' which supporters found so offensive, but instead it was the sheer arrogance of the proposals and how they were delivered. He writes: "The idea that this tiny group of rich and powerful people could simply decide to tear up the existing structure of the sport and replace it with one more suited to their dismal specifications, without even pretending to seek permission or consult with the hundreds of millions of us whose emotional involvement makes this game a matter of consequence: that was what people were so angry about."
Leinster's six-match winning run against rivals Munster came to an end on Saturday night, as they were beaten 27-3 at the RDS Arena in the opening clash of the Rainbow Cup. It is unlikely that a rare defeat will hold too much concern for Leo Cullen and his charges however, as they now face into a Champions Cup semi-final date with La Rochelle on Sunday. And while Cullen was pleased to see the return of James Ryan and Garry Ringrose from injury against Munster, the fitness of Johnny Sexton - who is still making his way back from a head injury - remains in the balance. Speaking after the loss to Munster, Cullen said: "We'll see, we'll see. So we'll do the full array of tests and he'll see whoever he needs to see and we'll see how he comes through the week. It's very early days yet. It's still Saturday. Next Sunday is miles away."
The Irish jumps racing season is set to draw to a close this week with the Punchestown Festival, bringing down the curtain on what has been a golden season for Ireland in terms of on track success. With Rachael Blackmore stealing the show at Cheltenham and Aintree, and with Irish horses dominating their English counterparts at the major Festivals, more of the same is expected this week. And in his column this morning Brian O'Connor has suggested the sport needs competition on both sides of the Irish Sea in order to flourish. He writes: "But even in its own context the cross-channel element is much more relevant than some like to pretend, enough to make the fortunes of next week's cross-channel runners at Punchestown of real interest on this side of the Irish Sea too. Goodwill is all well and good but it can smack of pity and no rivalry can survive that. To prosper it needs real competitive tension."
And Ireland women finished their Six Nations campaign in third place, thanks to a 25-5 win over Italy at Donnybrook yesterday. But while they ended the Championship on a high, many questions remain over the future of the women's game in Ireland. Gavin Cummiskey writes: "The national camp will reboot in June but proper competition is the only way this team will arrive at next year's World Cup in New Zealand firing on all cylinders. The problem, at this moment, is elite status. Female soccer clubs and GAA county players have it, but rugby's club scene does not. On Friday the IRFU roadmap aimed for fixtures to return in August."
