Ralf Rangnick suffered the first defeat of his Manchester United tenure yesterday, as his side were deservedly beaten 1-0 by Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford. The German handed Phil Jones a first competitive start in nearly two years with Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly all absent - and the returning 29-year-old was one of the few players to emerge with any credit following an insipid, disjointed display. Joao Moutinho was the hero for Bruno Lage's side with his superbly taken effort from outside the box - in the 81st minute - giving Wolves their first league victory at Old Trafford since 1980.
In his column this morning Gerry Thornley has paid tribute to Andy Friend's Connacht, who have been picking up the points to match their attacking, ambitious brand of rugby - including their recent hard-fought, sleeves up win over Munster. He writes: "They deserve to be rubbing shoulders with their provincial rivals too. Connacht have been the most consistently enjoyable of the quartet to watch this season. Come rain, hail or shine, they have looked to put the ball through the hands and play with width. Peter Wilkins' array of launch plays have been consistently inventive and Connacht have used offloads, tip-ons and sharp lines of running to keep defences (and viewers) guessing."
Peter Wright is the PDC world darts champion for a second time, after he fought back to beat Michael Smith 7-5 in an absorbing final at the Alexandra Palace last night. Smith - still searching for his maiden world title - had seemed on course to break his duck at 5-4 up and with a break of throw. However a relentless Wright finished in style to claim the Sid Waddell trophy and a winner's cheque for £500,000 (€582,000).
The fourth Ashes Test gets underway at 11.30pm (Irish time) tonight, with England looking to salvage something from the wreckage of a tour which has already seen Australia move into a 3-0 lead and retain the Urn. Joe Root is set to captain England for a 60th time - an English Test record - and has recalled Stuart Broad in place of Ollie Robinson for the SCG clash.
And Séamus Power gets his season underway this week as he lines out in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Power earned his place in the field thanks to his breakthrough PGA Tour win in the Barbasol Championship, and will be hoping for a fast start to 2022 as he pursues a place in the world's top-50 and with it a spot at the US Masters.
