It wasn't always pretty, but José Mourinho's Tottenham ground their way to a much-needed three points as they beat Everton 1-0 in north London last night. A first-half own goal from Michael Keane was enough to give Spurs victory and move them up to eighth in the table, a point behind rivals Arsenal. Tempers flared at half-time between Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris and Son Heung-min - an incident Mourinho later called "beautiful." The Portuguese, who recorded his 200th Premier League win as a manager, said: "I don't like a team without communication. Probably what happened today at half-time shouldn't happen there, it should happen just inside the dressing room, but I can promise you that my winning teams, we had big fights in the team." Tonight there are a further three top flight fixtures, as Crystal Palace welcome Chelsea to Selhurst Park and Norwich travel to Watford (both 6pm), before Arsenal take on Leicester at the Emirates (8.15pm).
In this morning's rugby column John O'Sullivan has looked at the vital part Ireland's clubs will have to play if the sport is to make a successful return from the coronavirus crisis. A return to club action is scheduled for September, and with a congested calendar expected at provincial and international level, Division 1A and 1B of the All-Ireland League could provide a vital competitive outlet for both academy players and senior pros. He writes: "Irish rugby needs a vibrant club game to continue to produce quality in depth with an eye to replenishing the demands of provincial and national interests and their playing requirements, arguably never more so than now given travel restrictions and other issues thrown up by the pandemic."
In today's edition of The Game Changers series, Brian O'Connor has looked back on the stunning career of Vincent O'Brien - arguably the most influential figure in the history of racing. Starting as a trainer over fences and enjoying huge success at Cheltenham and Aintree O'Brien then turned to flat racing, changing the face of the sport forever with the likes of Nijinsky and setting up the Ballydoyle operation which still dominates today. "At home the breadth of Ireland's modern status as a global leader in the racing and breeding of thoroughbreds is concrete evidence of Vincent O'Brien's seminal influence. He was the visionary, the original talent, upon whose giant shoulders today's industry stands on."
We should be well into the second week of Wimbledon by now, and in its absence Johnny Watterson has looked back to Goran Ivanisevic's shock victory in the 2001 tournament, when he beat Australia's Pat Rafter on the first Monday of the third week. He writes: "By the Monday evening Ivanisevic would become the first wild card, the first Croatian player, and the lowest ranked player in history to claim the Wimbledon title. He would also be the first Croatian male tennis player to win a Grand Slam final."
And Ulster GAA is braced for a shortfall of €2 million this year, due to the coronavirus crisis. The rescheduled provincial championship will come too late for this financial year, which ends in October. Sean Moran reports.
