Rush roll over Rock in NLL championship opener

The series switches to Edmonton on Friday, June 5. If a third game is necessary it would be in Toronto the following Saturday.

The Toronto Rock’s mission was to crush the Rush.

On this night, however, the Edmonton Rush did the crushing, and the Rock crumbled.

The Edmonton Rush came into Toronto’s house Saturday night and pushed them around.

At one point in the second half, “The Locomotion” played on the loud speakers during play, and Toronto took some inspiration from Little Eva with a goal by Colin Doyle.

They should have put that song on a loop.

Edmonton overcame an early 2-0 deficit and pounded the Rock 15-9 in Game 1 of the best-of-three National Lacrosse League championship at the Air Canada Centre. Game 2 is in Edmonton on Friday, with Game 3, if necessary, back in Toronto June 13.

Edmonton outworked Toronto right from the start and found holes in the Rock’s defence.

Were they surprised how strong the Rush came out?

“We shouldn’t have been,” Doyle said post-game. “I mean, we knew what they were capable of. I certainly hope it wasn’t a case of us underestimating them.”

Doyle felt this was the worst game of the season for Toronto.

Head coach John Lovell didn’t even recognize the team wearing the Rock colours.

“That wasn’t the team I know,” he said.

He said he couldn’t single out any one player for blame.

“There were mistakes by 16 guys,” he said.

And Rock goaltender Brandon Miller was pulled not once but twice.

“I don’t think he made the saves that Brandon normally makes,” Lovell said.

The coach didn’t give up totally on Miller.

“Brandon is one of the reasons we’re here in the first place,” Lovell said. “So he needed an opportunity to go back in and see if we could rally around it.”

Mark Matthews, of Oshawa, Ont., and Robert Church led Edmonton with three goals each. Matthews was the league’s second-leading scorer during the regular season.

Matthews had two words to describe his team’s victory: “Work ethic.”

He said the Rush came in with a game plan to outwork Toronto, and they succeeded.

Edmonton played the up-tempo offence and pressure defence that makes them so dangerous.

“When we sit back and play a more traditional style, we’re not a very good defensive group,” Rush head coach Derek Keenan said. “When we play at a high tempo, and make teams play faster, then we’re better.”

Jim Furyk has four-shot lead at World Golf Championship

It’s a familiar position for Furyk at Firestone, where he has done everything right except leave with the trophy.

AKRON, OHIO—Jim Furyk is two rounds away from erasing a couple of bad memories at Firestone.

Even with a bogey on his last hole for the second straight day, Furyk did plenty right Friday in the Bridgestone Invitational for another 4-under 66 that gave him a four-shot going into the weekend of this World Golf Championship.

Furyk ran off three birdies in a four-hole stretch late in his round to reach 8-under 132.

It’s a familiar position for Furyk at Firestone, where he has done everything right except leave with the trophy. During a seven-hole playoff against Tiger Woods in 2001, Furyk missed three birdie putts inside 12 feet for the win, and Woods finally closed him out on the 79th hole of the tournament.

More painful was three years ago, when Furyk led wire-to-wire and was in the 18th fairway on Sunday when one bad swing led to a double bogey and he lost by one.

Furyk doesn’t see this as a shot at redemption.

“I would say that I’m disappointed I’ve never won here,” he said. “It’s one of my favourite courses we play. But to have like a chip on my shoulder? No. It’s another year and opportunity, and we’re only halfway. I’m going to try to do the same things this weekend and not really look at the leaderboard that much and go try to shoot under par.”

It might take every bit of that considering the cast behind him.

Bubba Watson (66) and Dustin Johnson (67), whose power is suited for this monster of a course, joined Shane Lowry of Ireland (66) at 4-under 136. Henrik Stenson (69) and Graeme McDowell (71) were among those another shot behind.

Masters and U.S. Open champion Jordan Spieth got within two shots of the lead when he chipped in for birdie on the third hole (his 12th of the round). He followed with back-to-back bogeys to drop back about the time Furyk was starting to pull away.

The wind was swirling, and Spieth says he didn’t miss a shot during a four-hole stretch when he made two bogeys. The good news? In his sixth round at Firestone, Spieth finally broke par with a 68 that left him six shots behind.

“It goes with the bigger goal of trying to give myself a chance to win this championship,” Spieth said. “It wasn’t going to happen shooting even.”

Bautista’s blast gives Blue Jays victory over Yankees

It wasn’t until the 10th inning, with Jose Bautista driving a Branden Pinder 1-2 fastball into the left field seats, that the Jays were able to solve the pitching duel and take a 2-1 win before 42,839 at Yankee Stadium.

NEW YORK—Jose Bautista exited the trainer’s room with an ice pack strapped to his shoulder and a reason to boast about his game-winning home run.

After all, it wasn’t just another homer. The blast, in the 10th inning no less, vaulted Toronto to a 2-1 win over the New York Yankees in the opener of a weekend series that has gripped Toronto ball fans with playoff fever.

A statement? Yes, but not about Bautista himself.

“The home run is not what I’m concerned about,” Bautista said about his 25th of the season and, arguably, the most important of the season to date, which came off reliever Branden Pinder on a 1-2 pitch.

“Winning the first game in this series, on the road, that’s the statement I think. Everyone knows what our offence is capable of, and we have David Price going tomorrow (Saturday). I don’t think they (Yankees) feel good right now. I’ve been in that spot before so trust me, it doesn’t feel good.”

That alone was enough to underline the significance of the Jays win and the fact they hold the hammer in this three-game series, with Price going Saturday. Beyond that, Toronto established the fact that even in this clash of the only two major league teams with 500 runs or more scored, it was a slight upper hand in pitching and defence that made the difference for Toronto on Friday night.

Back on the scoreboard, which players say they don’t necessarily look at right now, the Jays picked up a full game on the Yankees, climbing to within 3 1/2 games of the division lead and cutting their deficit in the loss column to five games.

Jays manager John Gibbons is definitely enjoying the ride — his first real run at a post-season in his two tenures as Toronto’s manager — but he saw one detail that stood out among a host of them that added up to the big win.

Ruthless England complete Ashes demolition job

England ripped out the last three Australia wickets for 12 runs to win the fourth test by a crushing innings and 78 runs and regain the Ashes at a euphoric Trent Bridge on Saturday.

Ben Stokes had Mitchell Starc caught by Ian Bell at second slip for nought and Mark Wood bowled Josh Hazlewood for a duck.

Wood produced another ferocious full-pitched delivery to shatter Nathan Lyon's stumps for four and complete the rout, sparking wild celebrations on the pitch and around the ground.

The England players celebrated in a huddle before going on a lap of honour to strains of "Rule Britannia" and "Land of Hope and Glory" as the crowd basked in the sunshine.

"It's unbelievable. I couldn't be happier," England captain Alastair Cook told reporters.

England were whitewashed 5-0 in the last Ashes series in Australia in 2013-14 and the touring side had been strong favourites to retain the famous urn.

"For what we've been through over the last 18 months, to play like we did has been fantastic," Cook said.

"I'm so proud of this young team and the way they've taken this opportunity."

TEST-BEST FIGURES

Adam Voges was left unbeaten on 51 in Australia's total of 253 and Stokes finished with test-best figures of 6-36.

"Our goal was to come here and try and have some success," Australia captain Michael Clarke said at the presentation ceremony after announcing he will retire from international cricket at the end of the final test in the series.

"Alastair Cook and the England team deserve a lot of credit -- they've shown us how to execute good swing and seam bowling.

"It's not for want of trying but the boys have been beaten by a better side.

"England when they've had momentum have grabbed it with both hands and run with it. James Anderson and Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes in this game showed what you need to do in games like this.

"Once you find the edge you need to hang on to those chances and England have done that really well."

England won the first test in Cardiff by 169 runs but Australia bounced back to level the series with a crushing victory by 405 runs at Lord's.

The hosts dominated the third test at Edgbaston and won by eight wickets inside three days before dismissing Australia for 60 on the first day at Trent Bridge to set up another overwhelming victory.

"When you lose 5-0 there's a big turnaround and a new side develops pretty quickly," Cook said. "There's a lot of talent and the guys have come in and done incredibly well.

"It all comes down to hard work. A lot of that work has been done over the last 18 months," Cook said.

"I had to take a big step forward as captain. I am quite stubborn and it took a while. But ultimately you are only as good as the other 10 players."

England lead the series 3-1 with one match to play at the Oval starting on August 20.

Benitez keen for duo to stay

Real Madrid coach Rafael Benitez remains confident Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema will both still be at the Bernabeu this coming season despite ongoing speculation about their futures.

Bale has long been linked with a move to Manchester United and, with Angel Di Maria poised to leave Old Trafford for Paris St Germain, fresh talk about a possible bid for the world's most expensive player has re-emerged in the media.

It is a similar story with Benzema, with Arsenal the latest in a long line of reported suitors believed to be keen on the 27-year-old France international.

However, new Madrid boss Benitez is not expecting either forward to be leaving the club any time soon.

He told a press conference ahead of Tuesday's Audi Cup clash against Tottenham in Munich: "Gareth is a huge player for us and I know that he's happy.

"I'm not going to talk about offers. Everything is well and he's going to have a good season with us I'm sure."

On speculation about Benzema, former Liverpool boss Benitez added: "My answer is that I think Benzema is going to stay with us. I'm very happy with him. There's no reason to think that he's going to go."

Another player whose future has been heavily in the spotlight this summer is Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea.

Real want to bring the former Atletico Madrid number one back to the Spanish capital, but so far United have only wanted do a deal with the 10-time European champions if defender Sergio Ramos joins the Red Devils in return.

Asked about De Gea, Benitez said: "I've said in five previous press conferences that I don't want to talk about players who are in other teams. We have three very good keepers. I can talk about them, not other goalkeepers."

Rangers see off St Mirren

Lee Wallace’s double helped Rangers to a winning start in their bid for the Scottish Championship crown as they defeated fellow title hopefuls St Mirren 3-1 at Ibrox.

The full-back netted twice in the first half and although the away side pulled one back through Cameron Howieson, the hosts were dominant for much of the match.

They were careless at times though and would have been pegged back were it not for Steven Thompson’s woeful penalty miss before Dean Shiels sealed victory late on.

Creating more than 20 chances, Rangers deserved their win but could have been more ruthless and still have things to work on as Mark Warburton’s rebuild starts gathering pace.

Nevertheless, their fans who made up the bulk of an excellent 49,216-strong crowd went home happy and having gone top of the league. They will now expect their team to stay there.

Rangers got off to the perfect start and went in front inside four minutes through their captain Wallace.

The visitors made a mess of clearing Barrie McKay’s corner and although Danny Wilson couldn’t convert, the skipper was there to lash high into the net from six yards.

While they were ahead early, Warburton’s men almost gifted their opponents a way back into the game through Wes Foderingham’s wayward pass.

But Scott Agnew, an Ibrox youth product, couldn’t capitalise and he wasted a free kick moments later when he aimed it straight at keeper Foderingham.

Rangers were tidy in possession and hit back positively, playing a high line and pressuring the Paisley team into giving up the ball on the occasions they had it.

After McKay volleyed over, they were soon two up as the lively winger found Jason Holt and his perfectly-weighted ball was threaded through for Wallace to slot home his second.

With that, Rangers followers would have forgiven for starting to consider how many more their team would score but St Mirren were quickly back in the game as they pulled a goal back.

Paul McMullan – on loan from Celtic – split the home defence and released New Zealand international Howieson and he drilled in from the edge of the area.

Martyn Waghorn came close to restoring the two-goal cushion with a fierce drive that arced just over and Holt forced a smart save from Mark Ridgers at his near post.

Tom Walsh also shot inches too high after a lovely flowing move that started with McKay tracking back well and Wallace bursting forward courtesy of a terrific flick.

Whereas Rangers should have been out of sight, St Mirren had a glorious chance to level after the break when James Tavernier fouled McMullan and a penalty was given.

But Thompson, a former Ibrox player, sent a poor effort high over the crossbar and that was a real let-off for the hosts after they had switched off in defence once again.

The title favourites set about trying to kill the game off but nobody could poke in Waghorn’s teasing cross in, substitute Nicky Clark was denied then Waghorn nodded just wide.

Tavernier bent a free kick a yard over, Waghorn curled past after being set up by his former Wigan team-mate and Ridgers saved when a Clark header seemed set to go in.

St Mirren’s resistance could only carry on for so long and Rangers finally got their clincher a minute from the end when Shiels made it 3-1.

Waghorn’s excellent reverse pass freed David Templeton, he crossed to his fellow substitute and although Ridgers stopped him initially, he forced the rebound over the line. 

Southampton draw Midtjylland

Southampton have been drawn against Danish champions FC Midtjylland in the Europa League play-offs.

Midtjylland were knocked out of the Champions League play-offs on away goals by the Cypriot champions APOEL Nicosia. 

Southampton booked their place in the play-offs with a 5-0 aggregate victory over Vitesse Arnhem. They won 2-0 in the Netherlands on Thursday night, following their 3-0 victory at St Mary's.

The tie represents new ground for Southampton as they have never previously met Danish opposition in their eight European campaigns.

Midtjylland's majority shareholder is Brentford owner Matthew Benham, who pumped millions into the club and turned them into the Danish Superliga champions, employing stats-based analysis.

The strategy relies less on traditional scouting methods than statistical analysis, or 'sabermetrics', developed by Oakland Athletics baseball team general managers Sandy Alderson and Billy Beane.

Beane, who once said "it's all about evaluating skills and putting a price on them", became the subject of a best-selling book "Moneyball" by Michael Lewis, which was turned into a film starring Brad Pitt.

The first leg will be played at St Mary's on 20 August, with the second leg in Midtjylland's home town of Herning, northern Denmark, a week later.

The winners will go through to the group stages which start in September.

Europa League play-off round:

Altach (Aut) v Belenenses (Por)

M Orhei (Mol) v Saint-Etienne (Fra)

Zilina (Svk) v Athletic Bilbao (Esp)

Jablonec (Cze) v Ajax (Ned)

Steaua Bucharest (Rom) v Rosenborg (Nor)

Young Boys (Swi) v Qarabag (Aze)

Zorya Luhansk (Ukr) v Legia Warsaw (Pol)

Molde (Nor) v Standard Liege (Bel)

Viktoria Plzen (Cze) v Vojvodina (Ser)

PAOK (Gre) v Brondby (Den)

Bordeaux (Fra) v Kairat Almaty (Kaz)

Panathinaikos (Gre) v Qabala (Aze)

Lech Poznan (Pol) v Videoton (Hun)

Southampton (Eng) vs. Midtjylland (Den)

Dinamo Minsk (Blr) v Salzburg (Aut)

Astra Giurgiu (Rom) v AZ Alkmaar (Net)

Rabotnicki (Mac) v Rubin Kazan (Rus)

Odds (Nor) v Borussia Dortmund (Ger)

Slovan Liberec (Cze) v Hajduk Split (Cro)

Krasnodar (Rus) v HJK Helsinki (Fin)

Atromitos (Gre) v Fenerbahce (Tur)

Thun (Swi) v Sparta Prague (Cze)

Hird prolongs Spireites stay

Sam Hird has become the latest player to sign a contract extension at Chesterfield.

Hird was into the final 12 months of his existing deal but he has put pen to paper on terms to keep him at the Proact Stadium until the summer of 2017.

The 27-year old defender, who has made over 100 appearances for the club since joining from Doncaster in 2012, follows the likes of Tommy Lee, Ian Evatt, Drew Talbot and Charlie Raglan in committing his future to Chesterfield.

Spireites boss Dean Saunders said: "I offered him a deal when I was at Doncaster and he opted to join Chesterfield so I'm pleased to have been successful this time.

"Sam is a good player with a great attitude and it is great news for the club that he has decided to stay."

Saunders is also hopeful of agreeing terms with Jay O'Shea, Daniel Jones and Dan Garnder in the near future.

Pochettino hints at European strike arrival

Mauricio Pochettino expects progress in Tottenham's striker search "in the next few days" - and has hinted the club have looked to Europe.

Spurs have signed three defenders, Kieran Trippier, Toby Alderweireld and Kevin Wimmer, this summer but go into Saturday's Premier League opener at Manchester United with only Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor as back-up for Harry Kane despite both players being available for transfer.

Spurs have been linked with the likes of Saido Berahino, Charlie Austin, Timo Werner and Clinton N'Jie, but Pochettino has hinted deals for the English duo are proving difficult.

"We have our target, I think in the next few days maybe something [will] happen," Pochettino said in his pre-match press conference on Friday.

"Maybe Liverpool tried to find their Harry Kane but we have Harry Kane," he said. "The people is very happy that our striker is Harry Kane. If you want to find players to compete with or improve Harry Kane it's not easy.

"My vision is [it's] better to sign a player from England, but it's true that the market in England is crazy, it's not easy. It's better to bring some players from England but it's not easy, maybe you need to bring some players from Europe."

Even if the search for a new striker drags on, Pochettino insists he already has enough players able to play up front for him not to worry.

"No worries about that and the people won't worry about the team because we have a lot of good players that can play like a striker," he added.

"We need to be [more] solid than last season because we scored a lot of goals but the problem was we conceded a lot of goals. If we are more solid maybe we can reduce the gap with the top four."

Rodgers looks to regain trust

Brendan Rodgers admits he needs to regain the trust of Liverpool fans after his side ended last season with his worst day in football.

Having finished second in the Premier League in 2013/14, Liverpool came sixth last term and ended the campaign with a 6-1 thrashing at Stoke.

Rodgers takes his side back to the Britannia Stadium for the start of the new campaign this weekend and is happy to have the chance to make up for that result at the same venue just 11 weeks on.

The Northern Irishman, in his position since he arrived from Swansea in 2012, said: "I need to gain the supporters' trust again.

"It has been an absolute privilege to manage this club and have the supporters behind us but of course, you have to do well to earn that and I know I need to earn that again."

Chairman Tom Werner expects Rodgers to oversee a "strong improvement" on last term’s sixth-place finish.

Werner told the Liverpool Echo: "We do believe Brendan is the right man for Liverpool and the right man to take the club forward. When we hired Brendan we wanted to see improvement.

"Hopefully when we have a conversation in a year's time he will have demonstrated and the squad will have demonstrated that we've regained top form again."

He added: "Brendan was very instrumental in the transfer targets that we went after this summer. We expect we’re going to see a strong improvement."

Rodgers knows there is pressure on him to bring about an upturn in fortunes in the months ahead and he is optimistic of delivering.

He added: "You never take your position here for granted and you certainly can never be complacent.

"In my second season here, we nearly won the league - you judge me on that, then maybe I deserve a bit more time.

"If you judge me on us being on the top five or so for budget, and we finish sixth, then maybe it might be different.

"But the owners have always put a big trust in me from the first day I came in here and I have confidence in how I work.

"There were things we needed to look at and discuss on how we can become better. They have always felt I was the guy to be here and reassured me of that, so that gives me great confidence going ahead."

Premier League: Factfile of Five Title Contenders

Chelsea start their defence of the Premier League trophy when the new top-flight season kicks off on Saturday. Here's look at the five leading contenders for the English title.

London: CHELSEA

Manager: Jose Mourinho (POR)

2014-15 position: champions; FA Cup: fourth round; League Cup: winners; Champions League: last 16

Transfers in: Asmir Begovic (Stoke, £8million), Nathan (Atletico Paranaense/BRA, £3m), Danilo Pantic (Partizan Belgrade/SRB, £1.2m), Radamel Falcao (Monaco/FRA, Loan)

Transfers out: Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid/ESP, £16m), Petr Cech (Arsenal, £10m), Josh McEachran (Brentford, £750,000), Gael Kakuta (Sevilla/ESP, Undisclosed), Didier Drogba (Montreal Impact/CAN, Free), Christian Atsu (Bournemouth, Loan), Mario Pasalic (Monaco/FRA, Loan), Izzy Brown (Vitesse Arnhem/NED, Loan), Lewis Baker (Vitesse Arnhem/NED, Loan), Marco van Ginkel (Stoke, Loan), Tomas Kalas (Middlesbrough, Loan), Patrick Bamford (Crystal Palace, Loan), Danilo Pantic (Vitesse Arnhem/NED Loan), Dominic Solanke (Vitesse Arnhem/NED, Loan)

- Led by a serial winner in Jose Mourinho and bolstered by last season's Premier League and League Cup triumphs, Chelsea look a good bet to live up to their billing as the bookmakers' favourites to retain the title.

The Blues would also dearly love to mount a stronger challenge for the Champions League after a frustrating last 16 exit against Paris Saint Germain last term.

But with Diego Costa's fitness still a major concern as the Spain striker battles a recurring hamstring problem, there is no room for complacency and Mourinho must get the best out of Radamel Falcao, the Colombian he signed from Monaco despite a miserable loan spell with Manchester United, if Chelsea are to emulate the blistering start they made 12 months ago. (Mourinho Signs 4-Year Contract)

MANCHESTER CITY

Manager: Manuel Pellegrini (CHI)

2014-15 position: runners-up; FA Cup: fourth round; League Cup: fourth round; Champions League: last 16

Transfers in: Raheem Sterling (Liverpool, £44m), Fabian Delph (Aston Villa, £8m), Enes Unal (Bursaspor/TUR, £2m), David Faupala (Lens/FRA, Undisclosed), Patrick Roberts (Fulham, Undisclosed)

Transfers out: Alvaro Negredo (Valencia/ESP, £19m), Karim Rekik (Marseille/FRA, £3m), Scott Sinclair (Aston Villa, £2.5m), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic/SCO, £1.5m), James Milner (Liverpool, Free), Micah Richards (Aston Villa, Free), Joe Nuttall (Aberdeen/SCO, Free), Angelino (New York City/USA, Loan)

- Finishing as Premier League runners-up would be a worthy achievement for most top-flight clubs, but for a team of City's vast wealth and huge ambitions, trailing in eight points behind Chelsea and once again failing to make the latter stages of the Champions League added up to a major disappointment.

Despite speculation that City's underachievement would cost boss Manuel Pellegrini his job, the Chilean has been granted a chance to make amends and once again expectations will be sky high at Eastlands after the arrivals of Raheem Sterling and Fabian Delph -- two dynamic English talents with the ability to add pace and power to a team that looked increasingly sluggish last season.

ARSENAL

Manager: Arsene Wenger (FRA)

2014-15 position: third; FA Cup: winners; League Cup: third round; Champions League: last 16

Transfers in: Petr Cech (Chelsea, £10 million), Jeff Reine-Adelaide (Lens/FRA, Undisclosed)

Transfers out: Lukas Podolski (Galatasaray/TUR, £1.8m), Ryo Miyaichi (St Pauli/GER, Free) Semi Ajayi (Cardiff, Free), Abou Diaby (Marseille/FRA) Free), Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill (Swindon, Free), Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Ipswich, Loan), Carl Jenkinson (West Ham, Loan), Wojciech Szczesny (Roma/ITA, Loan), Chuba Akpom (Hull, Loan)

- A strong finish in the Premier League, combined with a swashbuckling FA Cup final rout of Aston Villa, has created a belief among Arsene Wenger's players that they are ready to end the club's 12-year wait to be crowned English champions.

A tenacious Community Shield victory over Chelsea provided further proof the Gunners shouldn't feel inferior to their title rivals and with Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech lured from Chelsea to fill the one obvious hole in Wenger's squad, Arsenal at last have the look of a serious contender for the crown. Now all they have to do is finally turn their potential in prizes.

MANCHESTER UNITED

Manager: Louis van Gaal (NED)

2014-15 position: fourth; FA Cup: quarter-finals; League Cup: second round; Champions League: Did not qualify

Transfers in: Memphis Depay (PSV Eindhoven/NED, £25m), Morgan Schneiderlin (Southampton, £25m), Matteo Darmian (Torino/ITA, £12.7m) Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich/GER, £14.4m), Sergio Romero (Sampdoria/ITA, Free)

Transfers out: Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint Germain/FRA, £44.3m), Nani (Fenerbahce/TUR, £4.2m), Robin van Persie (Fenerbahce/TUR, £3.8m), Angelo Henriquez (Dynamo Zagreb/CRO, £1.2m), Rafael da Silva (Lyon/FRA, £2.5m), Saidy Janko (Celtic/SCO, Undisclosed), Tom Cleverley (Everton, Free), Ben Amos (Bolton, Free) Tom Thorpe (Rotherham, Free), Will Keane (Preston, Loan)

- Although United's qualification for the Champions League ensured Louis van Gaal achieved the minimum requirement of his first season at Old Trafford, finishing 17 points behind Chelsea wasn't good enough for the Dutch coach, who has embarked on a major overhaul of his squad as he aims to challenge for the title in year two.

Angel Di Maria and Robin van Persie were axed after failing to live up to expectations, while van Gaal splashed out nearly £80 million on four new faces, with Memphis Depay expected to prove a vibrant presence on the flanks and Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin much-needed additions to a midfield low on style and substance.

LIVERPOOL

Manager: Brendan Rodgers (NIR)

2014-15 position: sixth; FA Cup: semi-finals; League Cup: semi-finals; Champions League: group stage

Transfers in: Christian Benteke (Aston Villa, £32.5m), Roberto Firmino (Hoffenheim/GER, £29m), Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton, £12.5m), Joe Gomez (Charlton, £3.5m), Danny Ings (Burnley, Tribunal to decide fee), James Milner (Manchester City, Free), Adam Bogdan (Bolton, Free)

Transfers out: Raheem Sterling (Manchester City, £44m), Iago Aspas (Celta Vigo/ESP, £3.5m), Rickie Lambert (West Brom, £3m), Sebastian Coates (Sunderland, £2m), Steven Gerrard (Los Angeles Galaxy/USA, Free), Glen Johnson (Stoke, Free), Stephen Sama (Stuttgart/GER, Free), Jordan Lussey (Bolton, Free), Brad Jones (Released), Andre Wisdom (Norwich, Loan)

- Steven Gerrard's departure signalled the end of era at Anfield, but it was the limp nature of the Liverpool icon's farewell that resonated most powerfully with Reds boss Brendan Rodgers.

Easily beaten by Crystal Palace and then hammered 6-1 at Stoke in Gerrard's last two matches, it was all too clear why Liverpool lagged eight points behind the top four and failed to make it out of the Champions League group stages.

Rodgers has been quick to take action as he seeks the first trophy of his four-year reign and, once the decision had been taken to bow to Raheem Sterling's desire to join Manchester City, he brought in a host of new signings, the most important of which is likely to be the powerful Belgium striker Christian Benteke.

Ashes: England regain The Urn as Australia are outplayed at Trent Bridge

NOTTINGHAM: — England regained the Ashes with a match to spare in the series after dismissing Australia for 253 to win the fourth test by an innings and 78 runs at Trent Bridge on Saturday.Australia started Day 3 on 241-7, and the English took the three wickets they needed in 10.2 overs.

Mark Wood took the series-clinching wicket when Nathan Lyon played the ball on to his own stumps, sparking wild celebrations among England's players.

England won with two days and more than two sessions to spare, taking an insurmountable 3-1 lead ahead of the final test at The Oval.

England has won five of the last seven Ashes series, and the last four at home.

Adam Voges and Mitchell Starc were jeered onto the pitch by giddy England supporters anticipating a quick finish to one of the most remarkable Ashes tests, which began with Australia getting skittled for 60 in 18.3 overs for the shortest first innings in test history.

It took 22 balls for Ben Stokes to get a nick off Starc (0), with Ian Bell taking the catch at second slip.

Josh Hazlewood (0) had his middle stump knocked out by Wood three overs later, before Voges reached his fifty with a single into the leg side.

Voges was left stranded on 51, though, when Lyon got an inside edge onto his own stumps.

Stokes finished with career-best figures of 6-36.

Angel di Maria Set to Join Paris Saint-Germain

Paris: Argentine footballer Angel di Maria will undergo a medical exam at French Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on Sunday ahead of a 44.5 million pound move to the club from Premier League giants Manchester United.(United Set to Suffer Losses)

After missing out the midfielder last season, PSG were still in the hunt and are expected to land him in their team soon. The 27-year-old's agent had talks with PSG in July, reports goal.com.

Despite his poor showing in the first season for the 'Red Devils', the Argentine is still one of the deadliest wingers on display with lightning quick bursts of speed and precision with his passes.(Van Gaal Worried)

He missed a planned flight to the United States on July 25. Even United manager Louis van Gaal said he was not sure about di Maria's whereabouts. He was even fined for not turning up and now is set to seal a deal with PSG following his medical at Qatar.

In their quest to fill the vacancy that will be left by the winger it is learnt that United will try and rope in Pedro Rodriguez from Spanish club Barcelona.

Di Maria made just 32 appearances in all competitions for United last season, scoring four goals and providing 12 assists.

Rafael Nadal Sets up Fabio Fognini Rematch in Hamburg Final

Hamburg: Top seed Rafael Nadal advanced to the final of the claycourt tournament in Hamburg on Saturday with a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 semi-final win against Andreas Seppi of Italy. (Nadal to Lead Indian Aces in IPTL Season 2)

Nadal, 29, will meet another Italian in Sunday's final, with 32nd-ranked Fabio Fognini beating French youngster Lucas Pouille 6-2, 7-6 (7/2) in the other last-four showdown.

Fognini, seeded eighth, is a familiar foe for the Spaniard, having already beaten Nadal twice this season in Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona.

For Nadal, it will be the 96th final of his career and his third in Hamburg, where he last won the title in 2008 by beating Roger Federer. (It's Federer vs Nadal in IPTL Season 2)

"I will try to keep playing well and enjoy today's victory," said Nadal, who has endured a tough 2015 in which he has lost his French Open title and slumped to his lowest ranking in a decade.

"These are important points for me -- 300 points for my goal of qualifying for the World Tour Finals is important. Matches like today help to bring you your confidence and your motivation for what you are doing."

Nadal, the world number 10, is now 25-6 on clay this season, and will on Sunday look to extend his streak of having won at least one European claycourt title every year since 2004.

"From the beginning I played great, since the first game that I hit a few winners," Nadal told www.atpworldtour.com.

"I was very comfortable on court today, feeling the ball well, with topspin to his backhand and then changing to his forehand down the line - a very important shot for me. In general it was a very positive match.

"Every victory is important. And this year with the up and downs that I've had, obviously every improvement is important. I played at a very high level.

"I'm very happy for that, playing with not many mistakes, very well with my backhand, very well with my forehand, hitting winners, changing speeds, changing directions. I think I played a great match."