Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas was sent off for a reckless lunge at Liverpool new boy Ragnar Klavan, overshadowing a 1-0 friendly win at the Pasadena Rose Bowl on Wednesday.

Andy Murray has revealed the secret behind the personalised notes that fuelled his Wimbledon triumph and will inspire his bid for more Olympic glory.

Inspired by a love of flamenco dancing and sporting hero Rafael Nadal, Carolina Marin dreams of becoming the first European woman to win a badminton Olympic gold in Rio.

For India’s Leander Paes, the Olympics run in the family and his record seventh appearance at the Games represents another landmark in a career which has straddled three bruising decades.

Ali Saeed (left) of Qatar in action against Hussain al-Qallaf of Kuwait during the qualifying round of the World 9-Ball Championship at Al Arabi Stadium yesterday.

The Gurkha won the Qatar Sussex Stakes (Gr1), the feature race of the second day of the Qatar Goodwood Festival yesterday. Galileo Gold, who came second, had taken home the St James’s Palace Stakes, in which The Gurkha had finished second.

Australia took command yesterday of a low-scoring Test against Sri Lanka, building up an 86-run first innings lead before dismissing opener Kusal Perera with the last ball of a rain-affected day in Pallekele.

Top-ranked Jason Day is sick and tired after a trip to the hospital with his wife and unfamiliar with the formidable Baltusrol layout where he defends his first major title starting today at the PGA Championship.

The arrival of French midfielder N’Golo Kante during the close season has given new Chelsea manager Antonio Conte a welcome selection headache in midfield.

Pep Guardiola denied dictating to his Manchester City players exactly what they can eat and said none were overweight, after Gael Clichy claimed the new manager had banned junk food and exiled out-of-shape stars.

Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm is about to enter the last two seasons of his playing career and is aiming to crown his autumn years with another Champions League title.

On 36 occasions last season, Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain boosted Napoli dreams of ending a 26-year title drought as he inspired with goalscoring feats in the Scudetto race with Juventus.