Great Britain’s Josh Kerr, Neil Gourley and Jake Wightman all qualify for the 1500m semi-finals at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, but Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen fails to progress after finishing eighth in his heat.
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Crocs is no stranger to bold fashion collaborations, but its latest collaboration might be its cosiest collection yet. The cult footwear brand has teamed up with Hollister to create a collection that blends comfort with laid-back Californian style, perfect for autumn.
The range is small, featuring two styles of plush, shearling-lined clogs that are ideal for the cosy season and keeping your feet warm on chilly autumnal days. And to complete the look, Hollister has added a line-up of fleece-lined hoodies and comfy joggers, designed to pair effortlessly with the shoes for head-to-toe snug style.
With the success of Crocs’ Cozzee Slippers that were dipping in and out of stock last year, it’s no surprise to see the brands tapping into the cosy style even morenow that we’ve reached cooler weather. It’s also clear to see that shoppers now value comfort-driven fashion more than ever.
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With Crocs continuing to create viral products and dominate the wacky shoe space, and Hollister’s reputation for relaxed, youthful style, the pairing makes a perfect fit. And the result is a collection that feels equally playful and practical.
In other cosy shoes news, UGG’s latest footwear drop has caused up some conversation online. In a star-studded campaign featuring Sarah Jessica Parker, Elsa Hosk, Rina Sawayama and more, the brand dropped its Zora Ballet Flat, a hybrid design that combines UGG’s signature sheepskin lining with the trending silhouette of a ballet pump. The result is a shoe that is cosy, fashionable and controversial.
Fashion fans are split, with some praising the design as the perfect blend of comfort and trend, while others are less convinced, and some are in the middle, hailing the shoes as ‘ugly cute’.
Serbia continues to be gripped by a deep political crisis, with antigovernment protesters and supporters of President Aleksandar Vucic holding parallel rallies across the Balkan country.
Both sides held events on Saturday, more than 10 months into sustained protests against the right-wing populist government that were triggered by the collapse of a railway station roof in the northern city of Novi Sad, killing 16 people.
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At first, the student-led protest movement sought justice for the victims and an investigation into the corruption said to have caused the tragedy. However, its demands then increased to calling for Vucic’s resignation.
Vucic, who dismisses the protesters as “terrorists”, has used his Serbian Progressive Party to recently organise counterdemonstrations in a bid to maintain his firm grip on power.
No major incidents were declared on Saturday, but brief scuffles were reported in the capital, Belgrade, where antigovernment demonstrators were pushed away by riot police as Vucic joined some of his supporters.
Earlier in the week, thousands gathered in Belgrade to protest against the government.
Addressing the crowd, Nikolina Sindjelic, a student who was arrested during protests in August, claimed she was mistreated in detention.
“They beat us because they are afraid of us,” she said, standing outside the headquarters of a special police unit.
“They have hit us and they will hit us because they know it is all over [for them],” Sindjelic added.
The government’s crackdown on the protest movement has increased in recent weeks, with demonstrators accusing the police of brutality.
So far, more than 100 university professors have been sacked by the authorities and replaced with Vucic loyalists.
“We have a problem in Belgrade,” European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said during a trip to Austria on September 8.
Terence Crawford has clinched a unanimous victory over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez to become the undisputed super middleweight champion in a thrilling contest at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Crawford set the pace from the start on Saturday night with a measured display that showcased his incredible hand speed and precise footwork, as the judges scored the fight 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113 in favour of the American.
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The victory made Crawford the first male boxer to be crowned an undisputed champion in three different weight classes.
“I’m not here by coincidence. Canelo is a great champion. I have to take my hat off to him. He’s a great competitor, and I have great respect for him. He fought like a champion,” said Crawford, who was in tears after his win was announced.
Asked if he would fight again, he said: “I don’t know, I have to sit down with my team and we’ll talk about it.
“I want to say thank you to all the supporters and the haters. I appreciate you all. Shout out to my fans and those supporting Canelo. We get to go home to our children.”
With Alvarez and Crawford both having been recognised as the world’s top pound-for-pound boxers in the past, the fight always promised to be a boxing masterclass.
The pair delivered an entertaining battle that had more than 70,000 people in attendance and millions on Netflix watching with bated breath throughout the 12-round showcase.
Crawford, a former undisputed champion at both light welterweight and welterweight, as well as a four-division world champion, stepped up two weight classes for the bout.
He tipped the scales at a career-high 167.5 pounds (75.98 kg) at the weigh-in on Friday, the same as Alvarez, but that step-up did not appear to affect his mobility.
Keenly aware of his opponent’s superior power, Crawford was the better boxer for much of the bout and expertly neutralised Alvarez’s offence with a treacherous balancing act.
The 37-year-old maintained his distance as he flitted in and out of danger, landing flurries of blows on his opponent. The attritional assault by the smaller boxer put Alvarez on the back foot.
The Mexican champion connected with a few body shots early on, but after being outboxed throughout the first half, he threw caution to the wind and retaliated with brute force in search of a knockout.
That knockout never came.
If anything, Crawford only grew in confidence, landing devastating combinations and absorbing any punches that sneaked through his guard as he improved his record to 42-0 (31 knockouts) and kept his remarkable unbeaten streak alive.
For Alvarez, there was pride even in defeat.
“I’m a winner for being here. The fact I’m here makes me a winner. I take risks and that’s what I did,” the 35-year-old said.
“I feel great to share the ring with great fighters like him. If we do it again, then it’ll be great. I already accomplished a lot in boxing. My legacy is already there, and I like taking risks because I love boxing.”
This fight was already being compared with some of the greatest in Las Vegas’s rich history well before the two contestants tapped gloves.
Never in question was beating the attendance record for a Las Vegas fight – previously 29,214 in 1982 for heavyweight champion Larry Holmes’s 13th-round knockout of Gerry Cooney at Caesars Palace’s specially constructed outdoor stadium – would fall on this night.
But this fight’s impact went beyond Las Vegas. Because it was on Netflix rather than pay-per-view, promoters hoped the card would draw in viewing numbers not seen since perhaps the 1970s, when big-time bouts often were on broadcast networks.
This could be more the norm going forward now that UFC President and CEO Dana White is involved in boxing, this being his first card in collaboration with fellow promoter Riyadh Season.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) reached a seven-year deal with Paramount last month, choosing to put its product on the streaming service rather than the pay-per-view (PPV) model that combat sports have used for their most important events.
Meanwhile, on the undercard, Ireland’s Callum Walsh beat Fernando Vargas Jr, while super middleweights Christian Mbilli and Lester Martinez delivered a slugfest that ended in a draw.
Watch all the drama from the women’s marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo as Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir beats Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa in a sprint finish, and Julia Paternain wins Uruguay’s first ever World Championships medal.
Manchester City head into Sunday’s crunch derby trailing rivals Manchester United by a point at the start of an important week for Pep Guardiola’s men.
City last went into a Manchester derby behind United in the table in December 2020, when they were eighth and the Old Trafford club one place above.
United manager Ruben Amorim’s issues have been laid bare in public following a humiliating Carabao Cup exit at the hands of League Two side Grimsby and Red Devils legend Wayne Rooney stating something is “broken” at the club.
But United have some momentum as they go into the game on the back of a last-gasp victory against Burnley before the international break, while City have suffered back-to-back defeats.
Guardiola’s side find themselves in a difficult moment even at this early juncture in the season, and the Spaniard has issues to fix to prevent any concerns turning into a full crisis.
Asked whether the game is bigger for City or United, Guardiola told BBC Sport: “I am thinking about ourselves. We always have respect for our city rivals.
“We came back on Thursday – players came back good – and I am looking forward to it for our fans. I know how important it is.
Last term was a particularly disappointing one for Guardiola and his side, failing to lift a major trophy for the first time in eight years.
One season without silverware is poor enough for the Spaniard and, though it is still early days, ending 2025-26 without triumphing would be unthinkable.
Guardiola needed to refresh a playing squad that often lacked energy last season, and did so in his usual ruthless manner.
Out went serial winners with huge personalities in Kevin de Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish, Ilkay Gundogan, Ederson and Manuel Akanji, while Scott Carson made an exit too. He was highly valued for his presence around the squad as a mentor to the younger players.
The dressing room has lost a significant amount of experience which has been built over a number of years and cannot simply be replaced overnight.
Guardiola has turned to the exuberance of youth in an attempt to wrestle the title back from Liverpool, who look to be heavy favourites to retain their crown following heavy investment in the summer.
While City have added 10 new players to the squad since January with a total expenditure of about £350m, it is dwarfed by the Reds strengthening their squad to the tune of a record £415m this summer.
But City go into another campaign without a recognised right-back, with Rico Lewis struggling somewhat in the home loss against Tottenham, while Matheus Nunes came in against Brighton and conceded a penalty in the defeat.
Guardiola pointed to an extensive injury list for last season’s travails, and they are stacking up once more as new signing Rayan Cherki has been ruled out for two months with a thigh injury, missing out on the revenge he vowed to take against United.
Omar Marmoush, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Mateo Kovacic are also sidelined, John Stones is a doubt, and Josko Gvardiol and Savinho are yet to make an appearance this season.
Club insiders have told BBC Sport that training has gone well and there is confidence heading into Sunday’s fixture after a disappointing result at home to Spurs and failing to get anything out of the game at Brighton despite playing well.
There has been real confusion around the goalkeeping situation at City this summer too.
Speaking in June, Guardiola said the two keepers they have – Ederson and Stefan Ortega – “will continue”, with both going on to play at the Club World Cup in the USA.
Having not seemingly been in the market for a new keeper, City then ended up signing three.
Marcus Bettinelli was brought in to cover the departure of Carson, while City had matching rights on Newcastle’s £27m bid for Burnley’s James Trafford, and the club felt the prospect of re-signing the Englishman was too good to turn down.
Ederson, meanwhile, went from being declared Guardiola’s number one before the opening Premier League game against Wolves to being shipped off to Fenerbahce a mere 18 days later.
In came Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris St-Germain on deadline day after the Italy number one was brutally axed by Luis Enrique, despite helping the club to the Treble last season.
Despite being deemed surplus to requirements, Ortega remains at the Etihad too, having turned down options to leave, meaning Guardiola has four first-team keepers on the books.
“A lot of people didn’t really understand the true value of Ederson because his shot-stopping is great, but his ability to get on the ball and to be the spare player that can create something,” former City defender Nedum Onuoha told BBC’s Football Focus.
“Now he’s gone, the people who are trying to fill those boots won’t be able to do it in the same way.
“From a City perspective, if their goalkeeper continues to get pressed and make those sorts of errors, it will encourage the opposition and change how City play.”
It is hard to envisage Donnarumma being signed to sit on the bench, which leaves Trafford in a situation where he thought he was coming in as the long-term heir to Ederson, but instead playing second fiddle to the towering Italian.
Despite being only 26, Donnarumma brings vast experience as an elite, match-winning keeper with incredible shot-stopping ability, and he now has the opportunity to showcase his talents in England.
“He is so tall; he is so huge,” Guardiola said. “[From] all the keepers we want safe balls, give confidence to the team, have personality and a big presence.
“In the biggest stages in the Champions League last season, at Villa Park, Anfield and in many games, he proved how good he is.”
City have been surprisingly poor and, despite United’s own frailties this season, Amorim’s men may target two specific weaknesses.
Amorim’s game model, as analysed earlier this season, centres around aiming to entice pressure before launching direct passes, often for team-mates running in behind.
Secondly, their system focuses on playing down the flanks rather than centrally, often aiming to overload the wide areas.
Two of City’s biggest weaknesses have come in both of these areas. Against Spurs and Brighton, City conceded from situations in which they failed to press the opposition’s wide defender.
This player then played a direct pass down the flank, where both Spurs and Brighton had positioned extra players. After losing the duel, the opposition were able to attack City’s disorganised backline before scoring.
United’s tendency to go long, overloading the wide areas, may therefore pose a challenge City will need to be aware of, particularly if they can find a player with the hold-up quality of Bryan Mbeumo.
“I don’t think this is a City we’re used to seeing. We started to say that last season and we thought a lot of that was because of the absence of Rodri,” former England midfielder Fara Williams told Football Focus.
“But I feel like they still have the same habits defensively, in terms of the mistakes they were making and conceding goals in the same manner they were last year.”
City have also struggled to win duels in the middle of the pitch when games have become stretched – a hallmark of matches United have played so far.
United’s Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro and Mason Mount have won 55%, 61% and 65% of their respective duels this season.
City’s midfield cohort have standouts in Nico Gonzalez (73%) and Rodri (71%), but generally have struggled otherwise with Bernardo Silva (26%), Rayan Cherki (38%) and Tijjani Reijnders (44%) bringing the average down.
“They’re caught in two stalls at the minute. They want to be aggressive, but if you’re a bit late it doesn’t work,” Onuoha added.
