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Man City Drops More Points after Draw with Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace's Maxence Lacroix, left, celebrates scoring with teammates during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Selhurst Park in London, Saturday Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)
Crystal Palace's Maxence Lacroix, left, celebrates scoring with teammates during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Selhurst Park in London, Saturday Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)
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Man City Drops More Points after Draw with Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace's Maxence Lacroix, left, celebrates scoring with teammates during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Selhurst Park in London, Saturday Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)
Crystal Palace's Maxence Lacroix, left, celebrates scoring with teammates during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Selhurst Park in London, Saturday Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Manchester City's Premier League title defense took another blow after a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Four-time defending champion City ended a seven-game winless run on Wednesday by beating Nottingham Forest, but dropped more points with the draw at Selhurst Park, The Associated Press reported.
It could have been worse for City after Palace led twice.
Pep Guardiola's team is fourth in the standings and eight points behind leader Liverpool, which has a game in hand after its derby with Everton was postponed due to a storm.
Aston Villa was fifth after winning against last-placed Southampton 1-0, and Brentford beat Newcastle 4-2.
A win would have lifted City to second and cut the gap to Liverpool to six points, but it was behind after four minutes when Daniel Munoz scored for Palace.
Erling Haaland leveled by halftime with a header, but Maxence Lacroix restored Palace's lead in the 56th.
Rico Lewis equalized again for City in the 68th and was sent off in the 84th for a second yellow card.
“I like everything about my team, when we’re in the situation we’re in,” Guardiola said. “We have a lot of problems within the squad. We fought incredible, we gave everything, we take the point."
Villa wins After an eight-game winless run, Villa has back-to-back victories and is just two points behind City.
Jhon Duran's goal in the 24th held up for all three points against Southampton at Villa Park and followed Wednesday's win against Brentford.
Duran has been a super sub for Villa but scored on his first league start this season. He has nine goals in all competitions, five of them as a substitute.
Southampton was bottom of the standings and eight points adrift of safety.
Newcastle routed Newcastle has gone four games without a win after being routed by Brentford.
In a thrilling first half at Gtech Community Stadium, Bryan Mbeumo opened the scoring for the home team before Alexander Isak equalized for Newcastle.
Yoane Wissa made it 2-1 to Brentford, but Harvey Barnes leveled again.
Nathan Collins put Brentford ahead again 11 minutes into the second half, and Kevin Schade ensured Newcastle was beaten by making it 4-2 in the 90th.

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Sabalenka Pulls Out of Stuttgart Open with Injury

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - MARCH 28: Aryna Sabalenka returns a shot against Coco Gauff of the United States during the Women's Singles Final on Day 12 of the Miami Open Presented by Itau at Hard Rock Stadium on March 28, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - MARCH 28: Aryna Sabalenka returns a shot against Coco Gauff of the United States during the Women's Singles Final on Day 12 of the Miami Open Presented by Itau at Hard Rock Stadium on March 28, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP
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Sabalenka Pulls Out of Stuttgart Open with Injury

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - MARCH 28: Aryna Sabalenka returns a shot against Coco Gauff of the United States during the Women's Singles Final on Day 12 of the Miami Open Presented by Itau at Hard Rock Stadium on March 28, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - MARCH 28: Aryna Sabalenka returns a shot against Coco Gauff of the United States during the Women's Singles Final on Day 12 of the Miami Open Presented by Itau at Hard Rock Stadium on March 28, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP

World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday pulled out of next week's Stuttgart Open citing an injury sustained at the Miami Open in March.

The Belarusian wrote on social media that she had failed to recover in time for the clay court tournament, which starts on Monday, AFP reported.

"Unfortunately, I suffered an injury after Miami, and even though I tried everything to recover in time, I'm not ready to compete," Sabalenka said Thursday.

The 27-year-old did not specify the nature of the injury.

The four-time Grand Slam winner has made it to the final in Stuttgart in four of the past five years but is yet to win the tournament.

"I always love coming back to Stuttgart. The atmosphere, the fans, and the support I feel there are so special to me. And of course, I was really hoping to have another chance."

Sabalenka beat local favorite Coco Gauff 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to win the Miami Open to make it a "sunshine double," having won the WTA 1000 at Indian Wells two weeks prior.

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Verstappen's Race Engineer to Leave Red Bull for McLaren

FILED - 19 February 2026, Bahrain, Sakhir: Formula One driver Max Verstappen talks with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase during the second Formula 1 pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit. Photo: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire/dpa
FILED - 19 February 2026, Bahrain, Sakhir: Formula One driver Max Verstappen talks with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase during the second Formula 1 pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit. Photo: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire/dpa
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Verstappen's Race Engineer to Leave Red Bull for McLaren

FILED - 19 February 2026, Bahrain, Sakhir: Formula One driver Max Verstappen talks with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase during the second Formula 1 pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit. Photo: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire/dpa
FILED - 19 February 2026, Bahrain, Sakhir: Formula One driver Max Verstappen talks with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase during the second Formula 1 pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit. Photo: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire/dpa

Max Verstappen's long-time Formula One race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is to leave Red Bull and join McLaren in a supporting role to team principal Andrea Stella.

There was no immediate comment from either team on Thursday but senior insiders confirmed the move, first reported in Dutch media, to Reuters.

The news was also reported by the BBC and Sky Sports, with 2028 given as the likely start date for a man who has been working with Verstappen since 2016 and has played a key role in helping the Dutch driver to four world championships.

Lambiase, 45, had also been linked with Silverstone-based Aston Martin, whose team principal is former Red Bull star designer Adrian Newey.

While Aston Martin have endured ⁠a nightmare start ⁠to the season, struggling to even finish races with an uncompetitive Honda engine, McLaren won both titles last year with champion Lando Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri.

Lambiase is expected to become head of race engineering at McLaren once a potentially long period of 'gardening leave' comes to an end, with former Ferrari engineer Stella continuing in his position.

Stella, who worked with Michael Schumacher in a golden era at Ferrari in the early 2000s, has a multi-year contract with McLaren ⁠and no intention of returning to Maranello despite some media speculation about his future.

The close but forthright relationship between Verstappen and 'GP' over the team radio has become a familiar part of Formula One, similar to the pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Peter 'Bono' Bonnington during the seven-times world champion's spell at Mercedes.

Former Red Bull boss Christian Horner, fired last July, once compared the relationship to that of "an old married couple arguing about what to watch on television.

"The dynamic between the two is so intense that in between you have to ask yourself who is supposed to be the driver and who is supposed to be the engineer here."

Losing the Briton will be a blow to Verstappen, after the departure of other important figures ⁠in recent seasons and ⁠once-dominant Red Bull's waning performance on track, but the 28-year-old has also increasingly cast doubt on his own longevity in the sport.

“I'm thinking about everything inside this paddock,” he said in Japan last month.

Verstappen is no fan of the sport's new engine era and rules that force drivers to manage energy deployment and take corners at less than full speed.

In 2021, when they won a first title together, the Dutchman went so far as to say that he would not continue without Lambiase.

"I have said to him I only work with him. As soon as he stops, I stop too," he told Dutch broadcaster Ziggo Sport. "We can be pretty strict with each other sometimes but I want that. He has to tell me when I'm being a jerk and I have to tell him."

McLaren already have former Red Bull employees Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay in senior roles as chief designer and sporting director respectively.

Sports

Nike in Exclusive Talks to be Match Ball Provider for UEFA Men's Club from 2027

Nike sneakers are seen on display at Westfield Stratford City in London, Britain, July 30. REUTERS/Mina Kim
Nike sneakers are seen on display at Westfield Stratford City in London, Britain, July 30. REUTERS/Mina Kim
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Nike in Exclusive Talks to be Match Ball Provider for UEFA Men's Club from 2027

Nike sneakers are seen on display at Westfield Stratford City in London, Britain, July 30. REUTERS/Mina Kim
Nike sneakers are seen on display at Westfield Stratford City in London, Britain, July 30. REUTERS/Mina Kim

The joint venture between UEFA and European Football Clubs, UC3, said on Thursday it has entered exclusive negotiations with Nike to become the official match ball provider for all UEFA men's club competitions from 2027 to 2031, Reuters reported.

A deal would mark the first time Nike gets a contract to become the official match ball provider for UEFA men's club competitions after 25 years, taking over from rival Adidas which has held the rights since 2001.

The value of the deal across the competitions could roughly double to more than 40 million euros ($46.70 million) a year, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing a person familiar with the matter.