There was still tension in the air at Anfield — but now they believe, writes Chris Hatherall.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino is assessing nine offers from companies seeking to buy the commercial and broadcasting rights for a new club competition he hopes will become the most lucrative in world football, usurping Europe’s Champions League.

Pablo Larrazabal revealed he had taken inspiration from Tiger Woods after producing a remarkable turnaround to win the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek.

Standing shooting the breeze at half-time on Thursday night, in a humiliatingly half-empty stadium, the like of which we’d not seen since the inauguration of the Gunners new home in 2006, it couldn’t have possibly been more glaringly obvious that Unai Emery’s number was up.

ARSENAL likes to boast it is 'always ahead of the game.' Maybe they were, once, but now the club is in a mess of their own making having sacked head coach Unai Emery less than halfway through his second season in charge.

It was all over social media; hashtag LiVARpool. You’ve got to laugh, really. It was a push, wasn’t it? My eyesight isn’t giving way just yet, surely.

The turning of the seasons, especially summer easing into autumn, has for centuries inspired poets. The changing colours of trees and falling leaves which crunch underfoot tend to get poetic juices flowing. “Every leaf seems bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree,” as Emily Bronte wrote so simply.

Liverpool began the defence of their Champions League crown on a losing note as Dries Mertens’ penalty and Fernando Llorente’s injury-time strike handed Napoli a 2-0 victory.

Fergie wouldn’t have stood for what the Astro.ie fixture computer has thrown at us.

In days gone by, a winger wasn’t a winger unless the soles of his boots were covered in white paint from spending so much time standing on the touchline; and that’s a tradition which might be making a return in 2019-20.

Rory McIlroy shot a one-under-par round of 69 on the opening day of the WGC Fed Ex St Jude Invitational in Memphis.

Millions believe that Nasa hired a famed filmmaker to fake the 1969 moon landing Robert Hume explores the conspiracy theories, and seeks rational answers to them.

Jon Rahm is hoping an accommodation switch can lead to a reversal of fortunes in the Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

Roger Federer yesterday gained revenge over Rafael Nadal 11 years on to set up a Wimbledon final showdown with Novak Djokovic today.

Edu has returned to Arsenal to become the club’s first technical director.

Paul McGinley is confident the scheduling issues around next year’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open can be resolved by European and PGA Tour bosses in the coming weeks but admitted it will be a difficult and challenging task and the outcome may be less than perfect.

The format is making its second appearance on the European Tour, with the top 32 from each side of the draw after 36 holes of traditional stroke play advancing to the knockout stages over the weekend.

With his reputation as a serial title-winner reinforced by Manchester City’s outstanding, single-point success ahead of Liverpool, Pep Guardiola admitted this triumph — his eighth championship in 11 years — was his toughest yet.

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed out-of-sorts David De Gea will not be dropped at Huddersfield, with deputy Sergio Romero injured.

Sorting out Cork people for ages.

Sergio Aguero’s priceless 63rd-minute goal against Burnley on Sunday was not the first time hi-tech equipment has played a hand in Manchester City’s season.

Ger McCarthy looks at the three things we learned as Man City beat Man United 2-0.

The new stadium which boldly stands only a few feet away from the site of the old White Hart Lane resembles a spaceship which has landed, for some reason, halfway down the Tottenham High Road.

Two weeks to go and the Masters hype is building nicely, writes Kevin Markham.

A chef broke into a credit union in the early hours of last New Year's Eve and was later found to have had in his apartment a steel safe that had been stolen from a Boylesports betting shop during the electricity blackout of Storm Ophelia.

Roger Federer moved within two wins of a 100th career singles title with victory over Marton Fucsovics at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Irish and British General Elections could yet run in parallel before the end game, most likely a Customs Union deal, writes Eddie Hobbs

There’s a scene in Forrest Gump where the film’s hero reacquaints himself with his old army Lieutenant Dan by throwing himself off his shrimp boat, leaving the vessel to weave around the estuary by itself.

So it’s over to you, Liverpool.

Paudie O’Connor doesn’t want to be remembered for his one night in London against Arsenal. He’s far too ambitious to be pigeonholed into a cameo.

It is Formula One legend Michael Schumacher’s 50th birthday today but it will be an occasion tinged with great sadness. The German continues to recover at home from the life-changing skiing accident that left him in a coma for a number of months, five years ago, writes Niamh O'Mahony.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is prioritising Manchester United’s sloppiness from set pieces as he looks to continue his dream start as caretaker manager.

Unai Emery is prepared to stand up for himself against star players and even the crowd after he was booed for the first time as Arsenal manager when making a substitution.

A third of the way through the 2018/19 season, the top three teams remain unbeaten – the first time this has happened in top-flight history. But who will reign supreme come May? Darren Norris assesses the state of play.

In Giroud’s absence, Morata floundered again.

Unai Emery believes it’s too early for chants of “we’ve got our Arsenal back” — even if the Gunners boss is currently overseeing a nine-match winning run.

Manchester City 1 Lyon 2

Any keen follower of professional golf could have automatically selected two of Thomas Bjorn’s Ryder Cup picks yesterday, writes John McHenry.

In-form Bryson DeChambeau left Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk in no doubt he will be a valuable wildcard after a second successive victory in the FedEx Cup series.

Arsenal can compete for the Europa League title but the players must first cope with the long-distance travel during their group-stage matches, warned manager Unai Emery yesterday.

Arsenal head coach Unai Emery has warned Mesut Ozil he must help his team-mates to defend as he calls for commitment from all of his players.

There may be a sense of inevitably about the destination of the Premier League title this season, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to play for over the next nine months.

Alex Iwobi scored the winning penalty for Arsenal as they defeated Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in front of a crowd of 46,000 people at the Aviva Stadium.

Petr Cech has given another indication that he is planning to stay at Arsenal by declaring himself ready to step up and be one of the club’s five captains.