The defeat leaves Erik ten Hag's side in fourth place on 63 points, four ahead of fifth-placed Liverpool but with a game in hand over their Merseyside rivals, while Brighton move up to sixth on 55 points.
* World number two Aryna Sabalenka brushed past Maria Sakkari 6-4 6-1 in the semi-finals of the Madrid Open on Thursday to set up a potential second straight final showdown with top ranked Iga Swiatek. In men's singles, world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas crashed out following a 7-6(5) 5-7 6-3 defeat by Germany's lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff in the quarter-finals.
* Former Leeds United manager Javi Gracia has defended his record at the relegation-threatened club and called for greater stability in the Premier League after being sacked and replaced by Sam Allardyce until the end of the campaign. Leeds are 17th in the table with 30 points, only above 18th-placed Nottingham Forest, who currently occupy the final relegation spot, on goal difference with four games remaining.
* Tottenham Hotspur's run of abysmal results is directly related to the management merry-go-round the players have had to deal with in recent weeks, midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg said on. The Premier League club are winless in their last four league matches, a run that included a humiliating 6-1 thrashing by Newcastle United, and have won only one of their last seven games.
* Lionel Messi has received a formal offer to join Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal next season, a source close to Argentina's World Cup-winning captain told Reuters on Thursday. The offer from the Saudi club is the only one Messi has received so far, the source added. Argentine media have reported that the offer is worth around US$400 million a year.
* Former Formula One champion Jenson Button wants to drive a Hypercar at Le Mans next year and says he would be up for a full season of the world endurance championship if the right opportunity comes along. The Briton will be taking part in the 24 Hours race at the Sarthe circuit on Jun 10-11 this year as part of a special NASCAR entry with seven times NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and former Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller.
* Sports events organisers such as Sky, Canal+ and FIFA should be allowed to secure injunctions against online piracy of live events, the European Commission said on Thursday, following calls from companies for action against a problem that costs them billions of euros annually. The non-binding recommendation from the EU executive however falls far short of broadcasters and events organisers' calls for binding legislation.
* Werder Bremen will be missing injured Bundesliga top striker Niklas Fuellkrug when they host leaders Bayern Munich on Saturday, coach Ole Werner said on Thursday. The 30-year-old Fuellkrug, who earned a surprise Germany call-up for last year's World Cup, leads the league scorers' list with 16 goals this season but has been out for some weeks with calf muscle problems.
* Spain's professional football clubs reduced their losses in 2021-22 by more than six times to €140 million (US$155 million) as revenues rose some 23%, largely recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, LaLiga announced on Thursday. It said the season's net deficit was the smallest among Europe's five main leagues, which lost a combined €3.1 billion according to the available data and its own calculations, with Germany's Bundesliga coming second at €205 million.
* Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori will stand in for the injured Miguel Oliveira at next week's French Grand Prix, his RNF Racing team said on Thursday. Oliveira crashed on the opening lap of the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez on Sunday, the Portuguese taken out by Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo and dislocating his left shoulder.
