Amid Evertonian grievance, a beleaguered group delivered their best performance and result of the campaign. Sadly for Everton, that victorious side was Manchester United. And if Erik ten Hag, forced to watch on from the stands as he served a touchline ban, can point out this was his side’s fifth win in six league games, United had failed the major tests this season. In the hostility of an angry Goodison Park, a side missing eight injured players passed this one in unexpectedly impressive fashion. Deducted 10 points, Everton were unable to claw back three but when, galvanised by a sense of injustice, they launched an onslaught, United survived it. If Ten Hag has appeared to have a revolving-doors selection policy in midfield this season, a decision to hand a first Premier League start to 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo, who was chosen ahead of the World Cup semi-finalist Sofyan Amrabat, was justified by a goal-line clearance, and much else besides. Another welcome development for United was Luke Shaw’s first appearance since August. And yet the greatest difference lay in attack. Ten Hag’s team had reached the last week of November with a solitary league goal from a forward. And then a trio thrust together as much by circumstances as planning all scored and, for the first time since May, United won a league game by more than one goal. It indicated the impact both individual inspiration and an early goal can have. United had not struck in the first 15 minutes of a domestic match all season. Until they did with what will surely prove their goal of the season. The travelling fans were to sing the name of an old Evertonian and perhaps the most famous of Wayne Rooney’s 253 United goals was an overhead kick. Alejandro Garnacho’s tally currently stands at a more modest seven but his third-minute bicycle kick was arguably better still; rarely influential as a starter, the airborne Argentinian made an astonishing intervention, meeting Diogo Dalot’s deep cross with an acrobatic volley that flew past Jordan Pickford. Everton, feeling battered by fate, may have wondered what they had done to deserve it but, on the ground where Cristiano Ronaldo scored his last Premier League goal, the United supporters customised his chorus to chant “Viva Garnacho”. The most significant of the three goals, however, may have been Marcus Rashford’s belated second of the season, almost three months since his first, ending a 12-game drought in United colours. It was gifted to him by Bruno Fernandes, the captain presenting a penalty to his teammate, but it was converted emphatically. With Rashford suspended for Wednesday’s trip to Galatasaray, United will not reap an immediate dividend but there may be hope he is spurred back into scoring form. Certainly, Rashford was bright – Garnacho almost scored a second from his cross after a swift break – and he brought verve to his duties on the right where Antony, one of the injured absentees, was not missed. Rasmus Hojlund was another sidelined. Enter Anthony Martial, who extended a fine personal record against Everton by taking his tally to nine goals at their expense when he scored United’s third. It came after a more conventional assist from Fernandes, the captain’s slide-rule pass bringing a neat dinked finish. Martial may have a major role in Istanbul on Wednesday. He exerted an influence on Merseyside. The second goal gave United a cushion they have rarely enjoyed this season. Speeding through, Martial went flying over Ashley Young’s challenge. Referee John Brooks, previously Goodison’s bete noire, booked the Frenchman for diving. Summoned to the monitor, Pawson reversed his decision and, before Rashford scored, chose not to give the former United captain his second caution. Pawson had, though, been barracked off at the break, the Evertonians feeling the authorities conspiring against them included the referee. There were a host of new banners at Goodison Park: the home of the blues became a sea of pink placards branding the Premier League corrupt, both before kick-off and after 10 minutes – reflecting the 10-point punishment. Voices of defiance provided a soundtrack the division’s powerbrokers were unlikely to enjoy. A siege mentality has been generated. Goodison was febrile, temperatures raised further when Abdoulaye Doucoure was booked for dissent for complaining that Garnacho had escaped a caution for kicking the ball away after a foul. Everton sought to channel it. Mainoo materialised on his own line to deny Dwight McNeil after Andre Onana had saved from Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The striker had four presentable chances in the first half alone. Doucoure sidefooted just wide. Idrissa Gueye blazed over. It may bode well for Everton’s season that they did not give up. When three goals adrift, Vitalii Mykolenko struck the bar and Jack Harrison drew a goal-line clearance from Victor Lindelof. They amassed 22 shots without scoring. Not for the first time, their efforts look in vain. The table shows them with four wins but just four points after a weekend when wins for Luton and Bournemouth left them further from safety. Making up those 10 points may take some time.

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Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has issued a promise to supporters that the summer months will be spent trying to bring “on-pitch success” to the club. Spurs have endured a difficult campaign with boss Antonio Conte departing in March, before Fabio Paratici resigned from his managing director of football position last month following a worldwide ban for allegations of false accounting during his time at Juventus. The club’s trophy drought has also extended into a 15th consecutive season and any hope of another top-four finish has long gone with unrest amongst the fanbase growing amid a perceived lack of direction or transparency from the board. Ryan Mason is the third head coach this season, after Cristian Stellini was sacked following a disastrous four-game spell, and with the managerial search set to extend into a third month next week, Spurs fans’ have repeatedly chanted for Levy to leave the club in recent fixtures. But in his programme notes for the final home match of the season against Brentford, Levy said: “This has been an immensely difficult season. “We made footballing decisions over recent seasons based on ambition and a desire to bring success to our club and they have not delivered what we had hoped. “Your frustration has been understandable and all of us at the club have shared it. “We have undertaken a thorough and rigorous review of our footballing operations. Scott Munn joins us in the summer as our new chief football officer and we look forward to sharing further news with you post-season. “We shall spend the period ahead of next season working relentlessly to position our club for on-pitch success and football you will love to come and watch. “Every element of the club’s operations is geared toward delivering that.” Levy did make similar promises in 2021 with talk of Spurs returning to their “DNA” amid the hunt for Jose Mourinho’s successor. A lengthy managerial search ended with Nuno Espirito Santo being appointed in June, but he was sacked four months later. Feyenoord boss Arne Slot has been installed as the new bookies’ favourite to replace Conte in the current head coach hunt. Earlier this month Julian Nagelsmann was ruled to no longer be a contender while recent weeks have seen Xabi Alonso and Vincent Kompany commit to staying at Bayer Leverkusen and Burnley respectively. Chairman Levy did pay tribute to Mason for stepping up for a second time in interim charge and women’s caretaker Vicky Jepson, who replaced Rehanne Skinner in March. He added: “I should like to thank everyone at the club – all our staff, across all our locations, and our players – for their dedication and hard work during what has been a busy and often challenging season.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Sir Mo Farah preparing to push himself to the limit in Great Manchester Run 10K Eddie Howe says Elliot Anderson is ready to fly with Magpies Sam Allardyce says West Ham game is ‘do or die’ in Leeds’ survival fight

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK A former National Basketball Association player was sentenced on Thursday to 10 years

Stephen Kenny has brushed off speculation over his future as Republic of Ireland manager amid a tide of criticism in the wake of a disastrous start to the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. Kenny woke on Sunday morning to reports he could be replaced following Friday night’s 2-1 defeat in Greece, which left his side without a point from the first two fixtures and with their hopes of making it to the finals fast receding. However, despite seeing England Under-21s manager and former Ireland international Lee Carsley, Ghana boss Chris Hughton and Sam Allardyce linked with his job, Kenny remained bullish ahead of Monday night’s must-win fixture against lowly Gibraltar. Asked if he expected to be in charge for the remainder of the campaign, he said: “Yes, I definitely do. My contract is up to the end of the campaign and whether it’s renewed will depend on how people feel the campaign went overall, but certainly I fully expect to be. “We want a positive result tomorrow and that’s firmly what I’m focused on.” Anything other than a win over Gibraltar, ranked 201st by world governing body FIFA, some 152 places below Ireland, would simply fuel the fires of those who want a change of manager. Asked if anything less was unthinkable, Kenny replied: “In terms of European Championship qualification, yes, it is, yes.” It is not the first time during the three years since he replaced Mick McCarthy at the helm that Kenny has found himself in the firing line, and that clamour would increase significantly if his team did not come out on top – and handsomely so – on Monday evening. His background, unlike recent predecessors Giovanni Trapattoni, Martin O’Neill and McCarthy, is largely in the League of Ireland, and the success or otherwise of his attempts to play an enterprising brand of football has been a topic for debate throughout. Asked how he maintains his optimism in the face of such a backlash, Kenny said: “It’s irrelevant, to be honest, it’s irrelevant, I just really focus on developing the team and preparing the team for tomorrow. “There is a lot of criticism, some of it justified, and I have to accept that. Likewise some of it inaccurate, that’s the nature of it. From my point of view, I’m not fixated with it. I’m just firmly focused on what we have to do and just focused on the task at hand, which is managing this group of players. “We’re not perfect, but I really believe in the players. I know people have other viewpoints, but I believe in the players. “We wanted to win against Greece, we didn’t win. That’s a reality. If we had won the other night against Greece, everything would have been on track, we’d have been going into the Gibraltar game with everything great. “Now because we didn’t, it’s a catastrophe, and I do get that, but we’ve got to focus on tomorrow and Gibraltar, make sure we are ready.” Kenny has no fresh injuries, but has indicated he will make changes, one of which will see Wigan midfielder James McClean wear the captain’s armband as he wins his 100th cap.

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On Sunday (October 1), NFL viewers had a choice: watch the game as they always have on ESPN, or watch the same game, in real-time, in Andy's Bedroom from the Toy Story franchise on Disney+. The NFL's annual London game took place at Wembley Stadium with the Jacksonville Jaguars up against the Atlanta Falcons and as part of an alternate telecast, the NFL brought 'Toy Story Funday Football' to viewers screens. Everything was animated in real-time, made possible by chips in the players' football pads, combined with an overhead tracking camera on the field. It was a pretty impressive pull-off from the collaborative efforts of the NFL, Disney and Pixar, with viewers loving the game, which included a halftime show featuring Duke Caboom: Not only is it a fun alternative to watching the regular game, but it also entices children to get involved in watching, and potentially playing, football. To say fathers across the globe were grateful is an understatement. One dad shared that his daughters had never watched football with him until the Toy Story game: A video uploaded to TikTok showed two children staring up at the screen, with the text overlay reading "Thank You NFL - Sincerely, Dads Everywhere": @calibreezybaby I have my Sundays back ? #tiktok #foryou #fyp #video #toystory #nfl #haha And there are plenty of other videos showing children glued to the screen whilst parents watch the game in peace: @arosales92 Watching Toy Story Funday Football with my girls #fyp#CCfyp#disney #disneyplus #pixar #toystory #football #twins #momsoftiktok #toddlersoftiktok There were a few glitches during the animated game, such as not cutting back to the game in time, but it was an extremely impressive and original watch, with many asking the NFL to have a Toy Story game every week. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The rugged AFC North is the only division with four winning teams and they’re playing each other in Week 11

Manchester City celebrated their latest Premier League title triumph with a straightforward 1-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday. Pep Guardiola’s treble-chasing side had already been confirmed as champions for a fifth time in six seasons after Arsenal’s loss to Nottingham Forest on Saturday. That meant the Etihad Stadium was in celebratory mood for the visit of the Blues and a much-changed side gave the fans another success to cheer courtesy of an early Julian Alvarez goal. Chelsea had a few bright moments but City, without getting anywhere near the intensity with which they crushed Real Madrid in midweek, always seemed in control. Fans had arrived to party in the sunshine and the ‘Poznan’ was seen on more than one occasion. City were given a guard of honour by their opponents as they entered the field and they went on to knock the ball around with a such a swagger that – perhaps embarrassingly for a Chelsea side that aspires to the heights City have reached – it appeared the Londoners faced a long afternoon. It seemed only a matter of time before the opening goal came and it arrived after 12 minutes as City seized possession in midfield and Cole Palmer picked out Alvarez in front of goal. The Argentina World Cup winner took a touch and then emphatically drilled a shot across Kepa Arrizabalaga. It was City’s 100th home goal in all competitions this season. Chelsea looked well off the pace, much as they have done throughout what has been a dispiriting end to the season under temporary boss Frank Lampard. Former City forward Raheem Sterling attempted to rouse them. The England international twice got behind the City defence but was unable to pick out a team-mate the first time and then had a shot saved by Stefan Ortega. Conor Gallagher then went closer when he headed against the post from a Lewis Hall cross. Yet City always seemed in command and Phil Foden was only narrowly off-target with an attempted chip and Kalvin Phillips, finally making his first league start for the champions, blasted wide. Phillips was inches away from getting on the scoresheet after the break when he met a Riyad Mahrez free-kick with a firm header but it rebounded off the foot of the post. At the other end, Hall and Sterling both shot at Ortega. Sterling had another effort cleared off the line by City substitute John Stones, although an offside flag was raised anyway. Alvarez thought he had claimed a second with just under 20 minutes remaining but Mahrez controlled the ball with his arm before teeing up the Argentinian. With it being City’s last home match of the season, star pair Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne were given a run-out in the latter stages. Rodri also came off the bench as City closed out their 12th successive Premier League win. Thousands of fans invaded the pitch after the final whistle, delaying the trophy presentation. After the celebrations subside, City have further league games at Brighton and Brentford before they play the FA Cup and Champions League finals next month. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Sam Allardyce has no regrets about taking Leeds job after damaging West Ham loss Lee Gregory’s face mask returned following Sheffield Wednesday appeal Ronan O’Gara reveals Ireland ambition after latest Champions Cup success