A difficult season for Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri ended with silverware last night, as the Blues beat Arsenal 4-1 in Baku to lift the Europa League. The farcical choice of venue gave the final the feel of a pre season friendly, with only a small number of supporters from each side making the 5,000 mile round trip to Azerbaijan. After a cagey opening half Chelsea took the lead on 49 minutes through Olivier Giroud, before goals from Pedro and Eden Hazard effectively sealed things just past the hour mark. Arsenal threatened a famous comeback after Alex Iwobi's stunner in the 69th minute but Hazard's second shortly after - in what is likely to be his last appearance for the club - ensured Chelsea would enjoy the long journey home a lot more than their London rivals.
In this morning's GAA Statistics column Eamon Donoghue has looked at the huge impact Martin Reilly has had for Cavan so far this summer, with the Breffni county one win away from a first Ulster SFC final since 2001. And he suggests Reilly has been key in transforming Cavan's style of play from something stodgy and limited into something more creative. He writes: "As well as being one of the best kickpassers in the Ulster championship, the former soccer pro also has jinking feet that allow him to skip through the lines and make impacts both in transition and when given the time to get his head up. Against Monaghan he took his man on nine times."
It is a huge week for Irish golf, with Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow both set to tee it up in the US Women's Open in South Carolina - the first time ever two Irish professional women golfers will compete in a Major championship. Meadow is the first in action out of the pair in today's opening round - she gets underway at 1.39pm Irish time - before Maguire tees off this evening at 6.29pm Irish time. Philip Reid writes: "Maguire's upward trending since turning professional just 12 months ago has been impressive. Ranked 614th in the world on June 4th 2018, she has progressed steadily and currently is ranked 177th in the world. Meadow is ranked 298th. But those world rankings don't adequately reflect the pioneering roles the two are playing with regard to their journeys onto the biggest of professional stages and what they are doing in leading the way for future generations of young Irish golfers." Meanwhile Rory McIlroy is the only Irish golfer in the field for the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio. He tees off at 1.15pm Irish time, alongside Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.
Bolton Wanderers midfielder Luca Connell has been ruled out of Ireland's upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Denmark and Gibraltar with a thigh strain - an injury which Mick McCarthy hinted yesterday could have stopped him from earning an improbable first cap for the Republic. The 18-year-old impressed in a difficult season for Bolton which saw them relegated from the Championship, and has also left his mark during Ireland duty according to McCarthy: "I did say at one of the press conferences that it depends on whether he rips it up, and pretty much, he did, with his personality and his performances in training. He impressed everybody; he was a breath of fresh air around the place."
And the 2019 Cricket World Cup gets underway today, with tournament favourites England taking on South Africa at the Oval in London. England captain Eoin Morgan, formerly of Ireland, says a World Cup on home soil - which is being shown exclusively behind a Sky Sports pay wall - is a great opportunity to raise the profile of the sport. He said: "It would mean a huge amount, the World Cup alone raises the profile of the game and is a platform for every young kid in this country to have a hero or have the inspiration to pick up a ball or a bat."
