Sam Allardyce refused to criticise Patrick Bamford after the Leeds striker’s saved penalty proved costly in Saturday’s 2-2 Premier League draw against Newcastle. Bamford had the chance to atone for his glaring miss in last month’s home draw against Leicester and put relegation battlers Leeds 2-0 up at Elland Road. Luke Ayling had given Allardyce’s side an early lead, but after Joelinton had hauled down Junior Firpo, Bamford’s weak spot-kick was comfortably saved by Nick Pope. Allardyce said: “I thought he was good today. He held the ball up, he caused a few problems. He got the cross in for the (opening) goal. We were doing OK with him. “Hopefully, like everybody needs to do when it gets a little bit better next week and better again, he scores goals when he gets a chance. “We need goal-scorers on the pitch and also, we’ve not got that many.” Four minutes after Bamford’s effort, Callum Wilson converted the first of his two penalties following Max Wober’s reckless challenge on Alexander Isak. Wilson then struck his 17th league goal of the season from the spot early in the second half after VAR had referred referee Simon Hooper to the pitch-side monitor to check Firpo’s handball. Rasmus Kristensen’s 79th-minute equaliser rescued a point for Leeds, but some fans were left angry that Bamford, low on confidence, had taken the penalty instead of leading goalscorer Rodrigo. Allardyce added: “Well, I left it how it used to be like before I got here. I mean, I haven’t seen them take many penalties. “It is what it is. I would have thought if Rodrigo really wanted it he’d have gone and snatched it off Patrick and said ‘I’m taking this’. “So you miss it, it can happen to anybody. It happened to us today, but at the worst possible time. And that’s very unfortunate for us.” Newcastle’s point ensured them a top-six finish and they remain on course for Champions League football next season with back-to-back home games against Brighton and Leicester to come before a last-day visit to Chelsea. Magpies boss Eddie Howe said: “We can wait a few more days if we achieve it. It is the toughest league in the world and we knew how difficult it would be today.” Nerves frayed on and off the pitch in a highly-charged clash at Elland Road. Firpo was sent off in the closing stages after his lunge on Anthony Gordon earned him a second yellow card. And before the subsequent free-kick was taken a Leeds fan leapt from the crowd to confront Howe before being dragged clear by match stewards. “I’m struggling to make sense of it all,” Howe added. “We hadn’t created clear-cut chances. I thought we played well at times without hitting our best form and we were rushed around the box.” Leeds issued a statement shortly after the match to confirm the fan who confronted Howe had been arrested and issued with a lifetime ban. West Yorkshire Police added in a statement on Sunday: “Police have charged a man with assault and entering the field of play following an incident at Elland Road football stadium during the Leeds United versus Newcastle United football match yesterday. The man has been bailed to appear before magistrates on July 21.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Chelsea closing in on Mauricio Pochettino as new manager Christian Eriksen pleased to see Man Utd deal with extra pressure against Wolves Police charge Leeds fan with assault over Eddie Howe confrontation

The United States had to come from a goal down to outclass newcomer Hungary 7-1 for its second win at the ice hockey world championship

Follow live coverage as Brest take on Auxerre in Ligue 1 today. Paris Saint-Germain are the box-office draw of the French top flight with some of the world's very best players including Lionel Messi and Neymar plying their trade in the capital. After Lille produced one of the shocks of recent seasons in the European game by pipping them to the post in 2020/21, PSG returned to the summit of the French game in 2022. Saint-Etienne are the record winners with 10 league titles in their illustrious history, but none since 1981. Marseille have won it nine times while Monaco, who are actually based in a foreign country making it a cross-border competition, eight-time champions. Nantes hold the record for the most consecutive matches without defeat (32) and also boast the least number of defeats in a single season (1) in 1994/95. We will bring you all the action and updates from today's game in the live blog below:

Chelsea are in talks with Mauricio Pochettino to take over as manager at the end of the season, the PA news agency understands. A deal has yet to be signed but Pochettino is closing in on his first role since leaving Paris St Germain in July, succeeding interim head coach Frank Lampard. Chelsea have three Premier League fixtures remaining – against Manchester City, Manchester United and Newcastle – and want their new boss in place once the campaign is over. The Blues have endured a disappointing season and sit in 11th place having managed just 11 wins in 35 league games. Graham Potter was sacked in April and while Julian Nagelsmann was the initial favourite to replace him, Chelsea turned to Lampard to see out the rest of the season in his second spell as manager. Potter was jettisoned just seven months into a five-year contract but the club has also struggled under Lampard, who at one stage oversaw a six-game losing run in all competitions. Former Argentina international Pochettino enjoyed a popular five-year spell as Tottenham manager, guiding Spurs to the Champions League final in 2019. If – as expected – he is appointed by Chelsea, the 51-year-old will inherit an expensively assembled but under-performing squad who will not be competing in Europe next season. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

The NHL's Eastern Conference Final is locked in. The Florida Panthers will take on the Carolina Hurricanes after both teams finished their second round series in only five games.The Hurricanes entered the postseason as the Metropolitan Division winners and the No. 2 team in the Eastern Conf...

Brittney Griner was back in action on her home court in Phoenix, Arizona, on May 12 for the first time since her release from a Russian penal colony

Follow live coverage as Brentford face West Ham United in the Premier League today. Manchester City are reigning champions after beating Liverpool to the finish line in a neck-and-neck 2021/22 title race where a comeback win on the final day of the season against Aston Villa secured a fourth title in five years for Pep Guardiola's side. Jurgen Klopp's Reds were on course for a quadruple last season but were forced to settle for just an FA Cup and Carabao Cup win and will return trying to win the title again just as they did in 2020. It was a dramatic season for Chelsea a year ago with Roman Abramovich now replaced by Todd Boehly as owner in west London. He will want an instant return on his hefty investment at Stamford Bridge while Tottenham, back in the Champions League, will want to kick on once more too. It's not all about the action at the top though with Fulham, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest promoted to the top tier for 2021/22 and hoping to hold their own against the best English football has to offer and avoid the drop. We will bring you all the action and updates from today's game in the live blog below:

An Arsenal defender has been pictured in training despite claims of a season-ending injury.

Rather than providing an escape, soccer only compounded British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's woes as he watched his team Southampton succumb to a 2-0 loss against Fulham, condemning it to relegation from the Premier League.

Previewing Leicester vs Liverpool in the Premier League, with TV & live stream details, team news, predicted lineups & score prediction.

Lionel Messi endured a difficult return to Paris Saint-Germain's starting line-up as some of his own team's fans booed the Argentine before and during PSG's convincing victory over Ajaccio at the Parc des Princes.

Title chasers Manchester City take on Everton in an encounter with ramifications at both ends of the Premier League table. Pep Guardiola’s side are now favourites to secure a third consecutive crown with four games left in their Premier League campaign. Everton, meanwhile, produced their finest performance of the season to thrash Brighton on Monday and boost their survival hopes. One more win could be enough to keep Sean Dyche’s side up with Wolves and Bournemouth their final opponents of the season. Here’s everything you need to know. When is Everton vs Manchester City? Everton vs Manchester City is due to kick off at 2pm BST on Sunday 14 May at Goodison Park. How can I watch it? Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the game live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event, with coverage starting at 1pm BST. Subscibers can stream the action via the Sky Go app. Team news After such a strong performance against Brighton, Sean Dyche may opt to name an unchanged Everton side. Seamus Coleman and Ben Godfrey are absent due to injury - the Ireland right back is out of contract this summer but has undergone surgery and should be fit for the start of next season. With Manchester City still chasing three trophies, Pep Guardiola is having to manage his squad carefully and is likely to again rotate after the midweek draw with Real Madrid. Nathan Ake missed that Champions League semi-final first leg encounter due to injury, but his manager said the defender was doing “much better” and would be further assessed after training on Friday ahead of this game. Predicted line-ups Everton XI: Pickford; Patterson, Mina, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; Garner, Gueye; Iwobi, Doucoure, McNeil; Calvert-Lewin. Manchester City XI: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji; Lewis, Phillips; Mahrez, Alvarez, Gundogan, Foden; Haaland. Odds Everton win 17/2 Draw 22/5 Manchester City win 4/11 Prediction Manchester City maintain their place at the top of the Premier League. Everton 1-3 Manchester City Read More ‘It sums him up’: Jack Grealish hails Man City team-mate Kevin De Bruyne Dwight McNeil says ‘nothing is done yet’ despite Everton’s huge win at Brighton Vincent Kompany planning ‘smart’ recruitment and ‘healthy decisions’ for Burnley Pep Guardiola backs title-chasing Man City to have ‘incredible focus’ at Everton Roy Hodgson: I won’t be telling Southgate to pick Eberechi Eze for England Man Utd boss Marc Skinner fires FA Cup final warning to favourites Chelsea