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An “emotional” Shaun Murphy will aim to win a trophy named after a late friend after setting up a German Masters final against world number one Judd Trump.

Former world champion Murphy dispatched Neil Robertson 6-1 in their semi-final, and now has a chance to land the event’s Brandon Parker Trophy – which commemorates his friend and manager who died of cancer in 2020.

Parker had been a key figure in promoting the event in Berlin, and its cup was named after him a year after his death.

Looking ahead to Sunday’s final, Murphy said: “I get emotional thinking about Brandon all the time so the fact I’m out there playing won’t change anything.

“It might give me a bit of escapism actually. I’ll just concentrate on the snooker.

“It would be wonderful to take the Brandon Parker Trophy home. It would mean so much and possibly more to me than any other player on the tour.”

Murphy opened his semi-final with a 122 break and, after being pegged back in the next frame, hit two further centuries – 129 and 125 – on his way to a comfortable victory.

“For a lot of that match I was close to my best,” he added.

Murphy’s dominant form carried over from earlier rounds, which saw him dispatch Kyren Wilson and Mark Allen with ease.

It will be a second German Masters final for Murphy, who lost to Mark Selby in 2015.

In Saturday’s evening session at the Tempodrom Berlin, three-time German Masters winner Trump reached the final after beating Ali Carter 6-2.

Trump took the first four frames before Carter fought back to make it 4-2.

Britain’s Josh Kelly put on a slick and brave performance to beat Bakhram Murtazaliev and win the IBF light-middleweight title by majority decision in Newcastle.

It was a trademark Kelly display as he danced around the ring, displaying devastating speed and high ring IQ – knowing when to engage and when to get on his heels.

Both fighters hit the canvas with Murtazaliev going down in the fourth and Kelly in the ninth. The Briton went down a further two times late in the fight, but both were ruled as slips.

Two judges scored the bout 115-111 and 114-113 in Kelly’s favour with the other having it down as a 113-113 draw.

Murtazaliev looked to have got to grips with Kelly’s evasive style in the latter rounds, but the home fighter rallied in the last three minutes to end strongly.

Kelly, who becomes Sunderland’s first world champion, sprinted to embrace trainer Adam Booth when the result was announced before grabbing the belt and raising it up to the 4,000-strong crowd.

“It feels like a dream. I envisioned this,” Kelly told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“I was praying a couple of days ago, envisioned the fight, and I had deja vu of the knockdown in the tenth round.

Kelly takes the UK’s tally of reigning male world champions to six, alongside heavyweight Fabio Wardley, welterweight Lewis Crocker, super-featherweight Jazza Dickens, featherweight Nick Ball and light-welterweight Dalton Smith.

The 31-year-old extends his winning streak to eight.

Earlier in the night, Elif Nur Turhan retained her IBF lightweight title with a split-decision win against Taylah Gentzen.

Knockout artist Murtazaliev likes to walk his opponents down and strike with heavy shots but Kelly’s game plan worked to a tee, using the outer reaches of the ring to be elusive and choosing the right moments to launch his own attacks.

Kelly was roared into arena and looked relaxed as he walked to the ring – that calm aura remained once the first bell rang and Kelly’s hand speed immediately looked like it could give him the edge.

Trainer Adam Booth urged Kelly to “be patient” late in the second before he landed a bruising left hook to earn the champion’s respect.

The 2016 Olympian grew in confidence with each round as it became clearer that his game plan of staying on the outside and carefully choosing when to engage was working.

A stabbing left sent Murtazaliev down in the fourth and Kelly offered a cheeky wink to his opponent as he climbed back up off the canvas.

Murtazaliev was unbeaten in 23 previous fights but a 16-month stint outside the ring appeared to have a detrimental impact as he struggled to get to grips with Kelly.

With heavy marking under his right eye, Murtazaliev began to settle in the second half of the fight and a clean left sent Kelly down in the ninth.

But cheers of “there’s only one Josh Kelly” seemed to give the challenger a second wind and he ended the contest on the front foot with flashy work.

He hit the deck again in the 12th round, but the referee ruled it a slip and Kelly rallied to end the strongest at the final bell.

Turhan’s first defence of her IBF lightweight title was a scrappy affair as she struggled to find a home with her trademark heavy-hands.

The Turkish fighter ended a dream 2025 with a third successive knockout win to claim the IBF title in Monaco eight weeks ago, but was unable to seal another stoppage as Gentzen spent large periods of the bout skirting around the outside.

Gentzen, a serving member in the Australian army, began to tire in round five and sustained a cut to her right cheek when a looping left landed flush.

Fighting for just the third time outside Australia, Gentzen found a second wind in the latter rounds and looked sharper with her jab, but it was not enough to win over two of the three judges.

Turhan, who was wearing a gold outfit befitting her champion status, had enough energy left to sprint around the ring celebrating with a Turkish flag after extending her perfect record to 13 victories.

The 30-year-old can now start looking towards unifying the lightweight division.

Pep Lijnders says former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp urged him to take the job as Pep Guardiola’s assistant coach at Manchester City.

Lijnders, 43, replaced Juanma Lillo as Guardiola’s number two last summer following six successful years as Klopp’s assistant at Anfield and a short spell as Red Bull Salzburg boss.

The Dutchman left the Reds when German Klopp departed at the end of the 2023-24 season, having helped the side win major trophies including the Premier League and Champions League.

Despite the recent rivalry between the two sides – City beat Liverpool to the league title twice by one point in 2018-19 and 2021-22 – Lijnders said Klopp was enthusiastic about the opportunity for him to work under Guardiola.

“You cannot put away 10 years of Liverpool that easily, but I’m really proud to come to a club of this magnitude, so successful over the last 10 years and with a manager that defined football.”

Lijnders initially arrived at Liverpool as a development coach under former boss Brendan Rodgers in 2014, but left in 2018 to manage Dutch side NEC Nijmegen in the Eredivisie.

However, he was dismissed at the end of the season so returned to Anfield to become Klopp’s assistant in 2019 following the departure of Zeljko Buvac.

His tenure at Austrian club Salzburg lasted only 29 games, and while his switch to City raised some eyebrows, Lijnders said Guardiola’s offer was too good to turn down.

“Pep’s brilliant, of course. He has a passion and a game-understanding from a different planet, in my opinion,” said Lijnders.

“The moment Pep called, the feeling was straight away really good. It was not a difficult decision.”

City are second in the Premier League, seven points behind leaders Arsenal, and face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday (16:30 GMT)

Guardiola has won 18 trophies since becoming City manager in 2016, and in May 2024 the 55-year-old celebrated guiding the club to a record fourth consecutive top-flight title. Lijnders said the Spaniard’s drive and pursuit of excellence is inspiring.

“The best ones are like that – Tiger Woods, all these guys. They push themselves to limits,” he said.

“He’s constantly searching for that – very professional, very ambitious, wants to make impact every day.

Jean-Philippe Mateta agrees contract with AC Milan until 2030, Fulham have £20m offer for Joe Willock rejected by Newcastle, and Michael Carrick wants Marcus Rashford back at Manchester United if he stays as head coach.

Jean-Philippe Mateta has agreed a contract with AC Milan until 2030, but Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner will not let the 28-year-old France striker leave unless they have a ready-made replacement. (Times – subscription)

Mateta is waiting for permission to fly to AC Milan for a medical, but the final decision over any deal is with Crystal Palace. (Kaveh Solhekol)

Fulham have had a £20m offer for Joe Willock rejected by Newcastle United, who will not sanction a move for the 26-year-old English midfielder unless they find a replacement. (Talksport)

If Michael Carrick is retained as Manchester United head coach beyond this season, he wants England forward Marcus Rashford, 28, back from his loan spell at Barcelona. (Telegraph – subscription)

Sunderland and Everton are showing an interest in Chelsea‘s 19-year-old England Under-21 forward Tyrique George. Clubs in Spain, France and Italy are also following him. (Sky Sports)

Sunderland have offered 25-year-old French forward Wilson Isidor to Napoli. (Calciomercato – in Italian)

Tottenham and Leeds United are among the Premier League clubs to have been offered the opportunity to sign 22-year-old Colombia striker Jhon Duran, who is on loan at Fenerbahce from Al-Nassr. (Teamtalk)

Liverpool and Chelsea are in talks with Rennes to sign 20-year-old French defender Jeremy Jacquet, but he will only move in the summer. (Fabrizio Romano)

Chelsea are considering recalling 20-year-old Senegal defender Mamadou Sarr from his loan at sister club Strasbourg. (Sky Sports)

British bantamweight Francesca Hennessy moved closer to a world title shot but had to dig deep for a tough points win over Ellie Bouttell at London’s Copper Box Arena.

In a clash of styles, Bouttell tried to rough Hennessy up on the inside, while Hennessy responded with sharp footwork and cleaner work at range.

At times the action was scrappy, and both fighters had to contend with cuts after an accidental clash of heads in the second round.

The result could have gone either way, but the judges scored it 95-95, 97-93 and 96-94 to hand Hennessy victory in the bout, which was shown live on BBC Two, with a majority decision.

“What a fight, great opponents, I have so much respect for her,” Hennessy said. “It was absolute war.”

With her eighth straight victory, the 21-year-old becomes the mandatory challenger for undisputed world champion Cherneka Johnson’s WBC title.

Hennessy arrived at the Copper Box with momentum behind her and, as ever, walked to the ring smiling as she soaked up the occasion.

The Kent fighter has built a strong following, helped by a viral video charting her journey from an overweight youngster to a bantamweight contender on the cusp of world honours.

The quick-footed Hennessy settled into her rhythm, working behind her jab, but Bouttell, 29, was not in London to make up the numbers.

She pressed forward to close the distance, with both fighters cut after the accidental head clash – Hennessy on the forehead, Bouttell under her right eye.

Hennessy landed a sharp combination in the fourth, but Bouttell continued to march forward, landing heavy hooks in the middle rounds.

Promoter and manager Mick Hennessy cheered his daughter on from ringside, while Bouttell’s family, watching her compete in the UK for the first time, made their voices heard.

By the final bell, with both women having thrown close to 500 punches and showing the marks of battle, it was difficult to tell who had edged the contest.

Bouttell entered as something of an unknown quantity but leaves with many new fans. For Hennessy, questions remain about how she will fare against established world-level opposition.

A clash with Johnson would represent a significant step up, but Hennessy – who turns 22 in October – has made no secret of her ambition to become the youngest undisputed champion in boxing history.

In the co-main event, Dutch light-heavyweight Gradus Kraus won his 10th pro fight with a destructive second-round stoppage victory over Scotland’s Boris Crighton.

Kraus, 24, made a memorable ringwalk, dancing alongside his four-year-old daughter Gianna.

The heartwarming father-and-daughter routines have become a regular part of Kraus’ entrances as the pair danced to Soulja Boy’s Crank That.

Just minutes later, Kraus went from father to fighter as he landed a stinging left hook to the body in the first round, sending Crighton to the canvas.

Crighton, 32, admirably got back up to land a few clean shots early in the second, but Kraus’ blistering flurry dropped him again – although he was guilty of landing a punch while the Glaswegian had dropped to his knee.

A final left to the body with under a minute remaining forced the referee to wave off the contest.