Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor has signed a one-year contract extension to keep him in charge of the Women’s Super League side for the 2023-24 season. The 50-year-old was appointed in May 2020, succeeding Nick Cushing, and went on to oversee City winning a delayed FA Cup final in November of that year and the League Cup in March 2022. They were also FA Cup runners-up in 2021-22. Having finished second and then third in the WSL in the previous two seasons, the team missed out on the Champions League spots in 2022-23 with a fourth-placed finish. At the start of the campaign they were knocked out in the qualifying rounds of the European competition for a second successive year. After seeing the likes of Lucy Bronze, Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway and Caroline Weir leave the club last summer, City lost their first two league games, then bounced back by going unbeaten in the next 14, winning 12, before finishing with three defeats and three victories across their final six matches. Taylor, whose tenure has featured 79 wins from 109 games in all competitions to date, said: “I’m very happy to have signed a new deal with the club – it feels great to have gotten it over the line. “I’m very happy to be able to commit to City for another season, and 2023-24 is one that I’m so excited about. “We have been in a transitional period over the past 12 months, and the women’s game has changed so much during my three years in charge. I know that there is pressure on us to succeed, but I enjoy that – I have always challenged myself throughout my career and that’s now more important than ever as a coach Gareth Taylor “We were fortunate to win trophies in each of my first two seasons, and although we haven’t been successful on that front this past year, the pride I’ve taken has come in different forms. “I’ve really felt that it has been so enjoyable in terms of where the team is at, where I think that they can go and what they can achieve for this football club. “I know that there is pressure on us to succeed, but I enjoy that – I have always challenged myself throughout my career and that’s now more important than ever as a coach. “I really want to try and squeeze every single last drop out of what I feel I’m able to do personally, and I believe that this group of players have the ability to turn those nearly moments into actual moments with the support of myself and the staff to get us to the next level.” Managing director Gavin Makel said: “We’re very pleased to have Gareth commit himself to the club for another year. “Together, we are building an exciting team full of talented players, both young and experienced, all with a shared vision of beautiful football and on-pitch success. “Gareth is someone who embraces the City Football Group methodology in its entirety, and it has been really pleasing to see him grow as a coach over the past three years. “Nils (Nielsen, the team’s director of football) and I are very much looking forward to continuing our work with him next season alongside this amazing group of players, with the future being incredibly bright for Manchester City.”

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Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham were both on target in the Champions League on Wednesday night. Kane struck from the penalty spot in Bayern Munich’s 4-3 victory over Manchester United, while Bellingham prodded home a stoppage-time winner for Real Madrid against Champions League debutants Union Berlin. Here, the PA news agency looks at the England internationals’ astonishing beginnings for their respective clubs. How has Kane started? After drawing a blank as a second-half substitute in Bayern’s surprise German Super Cup defeat to RB Leipzig, Kane, 30, has been virtually unstoppable. The £100million striker netted on his maiden Bundesliga outing in a 4-0 win at Werder Bremen before bagging a brace in a 3-1 victory against Augsburg. He scored the opener in an entertaining 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen last Friday before netting from the spot against United – the club that wanted to sign him from Tottenham. “Manchester United are crying out for a centre forward and whatever it would have cost they should have got him,” United’s former midfielder Paul Scholes told TNT Sports. “If you had the money to buy one player or three, I would have bought Harry Kane all day long.” How has Bellingham played? Birmingham-born Bellingham, 20, has six goals and one assist in his opening six matches since his £88.5million move from Borussia Dortmund. He struck on his debut against Athletic Bilbao before netting a brace away at Almeria and then scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory at Celta Vigo. Bellingham scored a stoppage-time winner against Getafe in his first Bernabeu outing – emulating Cristiano Ronaldo by netting in his opening four LaLiga games – before delivering another late goal, this time in his first Champions League outing for Los Blancos. His mark of six is one more than the rest of the Madrid squad combined this season. What has the reaction been? Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has trusted Bellingham from the get-go, preferring him to Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, who have just three league starts between them. Speaking after Bellingham’s heroics on Wednesday night, Ancelotti said: “He’s smarter than others when attacking from the second line. He has this quality and he’s making the most of it.” Bellingham has already won over the Real Madrid fans, who serenaded him with The Beatles’ classic ‘Hey Jude’ after his late winner against Getafe, and again on Wednesday night. “I have goosebumps speaking about it,” said Bellingham. “You don’t understand how big this club is until you are here. I have now got that honour and I will wear it with pride.” Kane’s brilliant start has also won him fans – not least in Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel. “I love him,” said the former Chelsea manager. “He is a fantastic guy, fantastic player and huge personality. “He is a clinical finisher, he controls a lot of balls, and he is so intelligent around the box. It has been a very good start from him. I am super happy.” How does their form compare to England’s other stars? With 11 goals and three assists between them, no other attacking member of Gareth Southgate’s England squad is performing better for their clubs this term. Bukayo Saka, Jarrod Bowen and Callum Wilson have all netted on three occasions this season, while Raheem Sterling, James Ward-Prowse, James Maddison, Eddie Nketiah and Dominic Solanke have all scored twice. Kane also has more England minutes since the Three Lions’ European Championship final defeat to Italy in the summer of 2021 than anyone else. Kane has played 2,016 minutes for Southgate, with Bellingham (1,540 mins) fifth behind Harry Maguire (1,927 mins) Declan Rice (1,889 mins) and Jordan Pickford (1,669 mins). Kane and Bellingham were also on target in England’s impressive 3-1 win against Scotland last week. What’s next? Kane will be back in action when Bayern host Bochum in the Bundesliga on Saturday before he returns to Champions League action next month in Copenhagen. Bellingham will be bidding to help Real maintain their 100 per cent start to the season in his first Madrid derby, at Atletico, on Sunday. They will join forces for England in a friendly with Australia at Wembley on October 13 before a European Championship qualifier against Italy at the same venue four days later. Meanwhile, Kane also revealed he will have one eye on Tottenham’s Premier League fixture versus Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium this weekend. “They have started the season well, so of course, Tottenham (will win),” he joked in an interview on CBS Sports with former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry – who earlier said the England captain “looked good in red and white”. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Conor Benn calls for lifetime bans for proven drug cheats amid his comeback bout The key questions behind Manchester United’s poor start to the season Daniel Levy would consider Tottenham sale if it was in best interests of club

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Daniel Dubois will appeal the final decision in his world heavyweight title fight with Oleksandr Usyk late on Saturday night in the rain in Wroclaw, Poland. Dubois went down on one knee after a jolting right jab in round nine and was counted out in that position. However, in round five he dropped Usyk with a right hand that fully landed on the Ukraine boxer’s waistband. Usyk was in agony, the referee, Luis Pabon, called “time out” and there was a wait of just under four minutes to allow Usyk sufficient time to recover. There was 2:29 left in the round when they started to fight again; the harsh truth is that Dubois let his opportunity for glory go and Usyk came back to take control. Usyk, incidentally, was badly shaken by the punch that sent him down. The controversy is simple: was the punch on the belt line of Usyk’s shorts legal or illegal? The closed fist clearly landed fully on the waistline – there is no claim that it connected with Usyk’s exposed torso, which would have settled the argument. Also, there is no claim from Usyk’s camp that it landed in the sensitive cup part of the protector; it fell in boxing’s hidden realm of interpretation. Dubois did not throw a low blow with intent and Usyk did not invent all of his pain. It is an area open to interpretation and debate. The sanctioning bodies will have to earn their fight fee now and make a ruling. “There is nothing wrong with that punch,” said Frank Warren, the promoter of Dubois. “We will be appealing the decision, this should be declared a no-contest and Daniel should get a rematch.” The referee, Warren insisted, had said at the rules meeting, a gathering held the day before the fight to highlight the fight rules, that punches on the belt line were legal. The punch was certainly no lower than the belt line. Usyk’s shorts were high enough to obscure his belly button and that is why referees often allow punches to the belt line to be considered legal. “That punch is low, look at the pictures,” said Alex Krassyuk, who is Usyk’s promoter. “That is not legal.” Usyk regained his feet, survived and won the remainder of round five, but was uncomfortable each time that Dubois targeted the body. It was an open secret that Dubois and his new coach, Don Charles, had a plan to slow down and hurt Usyk with body punches. The tactic worked, Usyk was rattled. Dubois increased the pressure in rounds six and seven, letting his hands go to body, head and waistline once again. Usyk had to be his evasive best, as smart as I have ever seen him. It was also obvious that Usyk was desperate to get Dubois out of the fight. Dubois was tiring, his left eye was starting to swell and close. It was a hard fight. There was a big Usyk finish in the seventh and Dubois had clearly slowed by round eight; Dubois was struggling, his desire in decline, his head popping back from Usyk’s stinging southpaw jabs. There were less than 10 seconds left in round eight when Dubois went down in an untidy heap; he fell to his knees trying to avoid an Usyk onslaught. He beat the count and the bell sounded. It was only a short reprieve. In the ninth round, Usyk finished the fight with a looping jab and Dubois tuned and took the final knee of the night. A round nine stoppage is a statistic that reveals very little of the fight’s drama. The waistline will be the storyline, but the finish should not be forgotten. Usyk retained his heavyweight belts, Dubois left demanding a rematch and about 40,000 fans danced in the rain as Usyk serenaded them from the ring. Tyson Fury was not ringside, but inevitably his towering presence was felt. Usyk and Fury have been on and off for about a year now; the fight boxing needs is proving hard to make. The confusion and controversy on Saturday night will not help. It often feels like Usyk, a national idol and ring genius, is chasing a roving spectre. Fury just keeps gliding in and out of the boxing shadows, hero one year, victim the next, and villain again. In Poland, as expected, Usyk was firmly under the ancient heavyweight beam and he deserves a place under that historic spotlight. Sure, he made the very most of the punch in the fifth. Dubois will get his rematch, Usyk will make his decision, and Fury will say he wants a piece of the action. It was some night in Wroclaw. Read More Major controversy as Oleksandr Usyk beats Daniel Dubois after ‘low blow’ body shot Daniel Dubois’ camp to lobby for No Contest after Oleksandr Usyk drama Robert Helenius failed drug test before fighting Anthony Joshua, Vada says

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