Liverpool 1 Standard Liege 0

Liverpool suffered a night of torture against European minnows Standard Liege before scraping through to the Champions League group stage 1-0 in extra-time.

But the victory came at a cost to the Merseysiders and England boss Fabio Capello after Rafa Benitez confirmed his talismanic midfielder will miss the next two weeks recovering from groin surgery.

Dirk Kuyt's knee saved Benitez's side the embarrassment of being taken to penalties by the Belgian club, scoring with it from close range as the clock showed two minutes left to play.



But as their supporters and American owners breathed a huge sigh of relief about taking their place in Thursday's draw in Monaco with Arsenal, who thrashed Steve McClaren's FC Twente 4-0 at The Emirates last night and 6-0 on aggregate, they faced more agony.

Manager Benitez revealed Gerrard is to have an operation to cure the long-standing groin problem - ruling him out for around a fortnight.

The surgery means he is set to miss the all-important start to England's World Cup qualifying campaign against Andorra and Croatia next month.

His absence will be a major setback for Capello, who has failed to turn the national side into a force and knows the trip to Croatia will be one of the trickiest.

Benitez had to rely on Gerrard as his team struggled against Liege, but then the Spaniard said: "Gerrard will have an operation.

"He has a groin problem.

"We knew it could be like this. He will be out for 10-15 days.

"I was talking with the doctor and we talked with him. He said he would play with pain and after it he would have an operation.

"He knew he had to keep going tonight because he was having the operation tomorrow."

The tie appeared to be heading for penalties when Kuyt stuck out a leg at the far post to send Ryan Babel's cross into the back of the net and guarantee Benitez's side a share in the lucrative next round.

Kuyt said :"We wanted to play in the Champions League because we know how good it can be.

"We've been in a final and a semi-final over recent years and we want more.

"First we have to win the qualifier and this was a tough game. We believed in ourselves and even though it wasn't our best performance, we always know we have the quality to score.

"Standard Liege were really tough opposition, they were really fighting for the 90 minutes in both matches and in extra time and maybe they deserved more, but that's football. We are just relieved to be through."

Gerrard set to miss start of England's World Cup campaign as lacklustre Reds squeeze through


Dimitar Berbatov is in danger of becoming an outcast at Tottenham, with some senior players left fuming after he didn't play against Sunderland because his mind wasn't right.

Berbatov wasn't even on the substitutes' bench as Spurs lost their second straight game of the new season.

The 27-year-old has told the club to let him fulfil his dream of going to Old Trafford, but the deal has been held up due to chairman Daniel Levy's complaint to the Premier League over Manchester United's pursuit of the Bulgarian international.

The saga is threatening the mood in the dressing room and a few players would rather lose his talent up front than keep him at the club.

Berbatov's attitude in pre-season didn't go down well with members of the squad and it is understood that some players lost patience with him after he didn't play against Sunderland.

Defender Jonathan Woodgate insisted afterwards that the team's poor start to the campaign shouldn't be blamed on Berbatov, but it is not a view shared by everyone behind the scenes.

He has also lost the backing of many of the fans and was booed heavily when he came on against Middlesbrough last week.

Tottenham are still maintaining that they will keep the player unless they get a bid of £30million, but they were prepared to accept £28m a few weeks ago as long as they were able to buy a replacement.

They have even threatened to put Berbatov in the reserves should the move not take place and his attitude continues to be disruptive - but an agreement with United is expected to be reached soon.

Ramos is desperate for the situation to be resolved as soon as possible, to ensure that the club have enough time to find a new striker.

With the transfer window due to close at midnight on Monday, Tottenham have launched a desperate bid to bolster their attack and are assessing talent both at home and abroad.

They have looked at Radamel Falcao from River Plate and are considering another bid for West Ham's Dean Ashton, while Andrei Arshavin and Roman Pavlyuchenko continue to be linked with a move to London.

Get rid of him: Spurs players want Berbatov out

Usain Bolt joined an exclusive club when he stormed to victory in the 200 metres final at the Bird's Nest in a new world record time of 19.30 seconds.

The 21-year-old Jamaican became just the ninth man in modern Olympic history to complete the 100m and 200m sprint double.

He is the first man since Carl Lewis at Los Angeles in 1984 to complete the feat.

Bolt, who casually shaved 0.03 seconds off his own record in winning the 100 metres title in sensational style on Saturday, clocked 19.30secs to break Michael Johnson's 12-year-old record of 19.32s.


The 21-year-old, who turns 22 tomorrow, made a brilliant start and was already well clear of the field coming into the straight.

But unlike the 100m final, where he began celebrating well before the line, this time he sprinted through the tape to initially stop the clock at 19.31s, a time that was swiftly rounded down to 19.30s.

Churandy Martina, of the Dutch Antilles, took silver in 19.82.

American Wallace Spearmon crossed the line in third place in 19.95 but was disqualified for running out of his lane and team-mate Shawn Crawford, who ran 19.96 was promoted to the bronze medal.

Britain's Christian Malcolm finished seventh in 20.40.
When Bolt set off on his lap of honour 'happy birthday' rang out over the tannoy.

Johnson had actually said earlier in the day that he felt his record would not
be broken tonight, but that it was only a matter of time before he could 'kiss
it goodbye.'

But Bolt had other ideas and the determination on his face was clear as he
powered down the home straight before glancing anxiously at the clock as he
crossed the line.

'In order to run 19.30 he has to run the curve better and hold his speed for longer,' Johnson had added earlier. "I didn't think he would run 9.69, but I think he could have run 9.62 if he had run to the finish and tied up his shoes.'

In the final event of the evening, Jamaica's Melaine Walker won gold in the 400m hurdles in a new Olympic record of 52.64s.

Walker powered off the final hurdle to finish comfortably ahead of American Sheena Tosta with Britain's Natasha Danvers putting an injury-plagued season behind her to snatch bronze.

Danvers was almost caught on the line by the fast-finishing Anastasiya Rabchenyuk of Ukraine and waited for confirmation from the giant scoreboard that she had held on to set a new personal best of 53.84.

It was then announced that the American team had launched a protest over Spearmon's disqualification from the 200m final.

OLYMPIC SPRINT DOUBLES


1904 Archie Hahn (United States)

1912 Ralph Craig (United States)

1928 Percy Williams (Canada)

1932 Eddie Tolan (United States)

1936 Jesse Owens (United States)

1956 Bobby Morrow (United States)

1972 Valeriy Borzov (Soviet Union)

1984 Carl Lewis (United States)

2008 Usain Bolt (Jamaica)

American great Michael Johnson hailed Usain Bolt's "incredible" achievement.

Johnson set a record of 19.32 seconds at the 1996 Olympics, and it was considered one of the toughest to beat in athletics.

However, Bolt sliced two-hundredths of a second from Johnson's time when winning
his second gold in Beijing in a time of 19.30secs.

'He got an incredible start,' said Johnson on BBC1. 'I looked at Colin Jackson and I said, 'Wow!'.

'It was much more of an amazing start than he got in the 100m and his turn was just absolutely fabulous.

'He wanted that record. This is his favourite event.

'He went for it. He came in here focused on it, knowing most likely he'd win the gold.

'The reason I felt he might not get it here was he wouldn't have been working on speed endurance, the ability to hold that speed for the entire race.

'But he showed that he had been working on that, and was able to bring home 19.30.

'Incredible time, incredible performance by Usain Bolt once again.

'Congratulations Usain.'

Lightning Bolt joins Olympic sprint doubles club after blitzing the Beijing 200m field

John Terry has been named as England captain for the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.

The Chelsea skipper beat off competition from Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand, who was widely tipped for the post.

Two years ago, Terry was handed the armband by then England coach Steve McClaren following another two-horse race, this time with Steven Gerrard, but today boss Fabio Capello has given Terry the nod.

Chelsea centre-half Terry, whose previous tenure leading out England ended with a failure to qualify for Euro 2008, will lead his country into the vital qualifying campaign which hopefully ends in South Africa and the 2010 World Cup Finals.
Capello has taken his time before coming to a decision and Terry will begin his second stint as permanent captain in tomorrow's friendly against the Czech Republic at Wembley.

It's the last game before the qualifying campaign kicks off next month with two ties, against Andorra, in Barcelona, and then a much tougher challenge against Slaven Bilic's Croatia, in Zagreb.

Fabio Capello appoints Chelsea skipper John Terry as England captain for qualifying campaign

Britain's incredible gold rush in the Beijing Olympics continued today as the sensational cyclists smashed a world record and took the overall gold medal haul to the highest total in 88 years.

The four-man team pursuit outfit of Ed Clancy, 23, Paul Manning, 33, Geriant Thomas, 22, and Bradley Wiggins, 28, destroyed their Danish rivals over 4,000 metres in the Laoshan Velodrome to claim Britain's sixth cycling gold.


They achieved a time of 3:53.314 - slashing two seconds off their previous world record.

The win makes the cycling team the single most successful in one sport in British Olympic history with hopes of another four golds to follow over the next three days.

It all took the so-called 'Great Haul of China' from Britain's team to 27 - 12 golds, seven silver and eight bronze - the most golds since the Antwerp Games in 1920.

Importantly too, it also took Britain back up to third in the overall medals table and ahead once again of Australia after three Aussie wins earlier in the day had seen them leapfrog Team GB in the bitter battle for supremecy.

The win was the second gold in Beijing for Wiggins - and his third in all - as he led the British quartet of pursuiters home in front of a Union Jack-waving crowd.

'It's phenomenal,' said Wiggins, from West London, who now has six Olympics medals and goes for gold again on Tuesday.

'We are a fantastic team and we have sacrificed a lot. We came to win and now we have achieved our goal.

'I set out to do that. I believed I could do it. But to put it into practice is another thing. It's such a relief when you do it and cross the line.'

He added: 'What the team is achieving is fantastic but we know there is still more to do.'

Manning, from Stockport, added: 'This is the pinnacle - we have been working on this for the best part of a decade, what a performance.'

Wiggins and fellow cyclist Chris Hoy could both secure a historic hat-trick of Beijing gold medals in races on Tuesday.

In doing so, they would become the first Brits to win three golds in a single Games for 100 years, with swimmer Henry Taylor having secured a treble in 1908.

Among those cheering him on today was Wiggins' wife Cathy, 28, who embraced him at the end.

She said: 'He came here to get three medals and he's not finished yet. It is amazing but it is going to get better.' Wiggins smiled and added: 'I'm greedy, I want three.'

The couple have two children Ben, 3, who already has a BMX bike, and one-year-old Isabella.

Great Britain chef de mission Simon Clegg injected a note of caution to national frenzy, however.

He warned that Britain had more chance of finishing ahead of the Australians in the medals table in London in four years' time than at this Olympics.

Asked whether Britain could 'beat the Aussies', he said: 'I'm convinced we can beat them in London in 2012, whether we can beat them here in Beijing, we've got to wait and see.'

British Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe has bet his Australian counterpart Kate Ellis Britain will finish above its old foe - and the loser has to wear the others team's colours at a sporting event in their own country.

Britain is hopeful of another sailing gold on Tuesday after Paul Goodison opened up a massive lead in the Laser class on the waters of Qingdao, 300miles from Beijing.

The 30-year-old, who just missed out on an Olympic medal in Athens four years ago, ensured that he will not suffer similar heartache in Qingdao as he placed first, fourth and sixth in his races to surge 18 points clear of his nearest rival Sweden's Rasmus Myrgren at the top of the standings.

An eighth-place finish in the medal race will give him the gold and the worst he can do now is bronze.

There was another silver today in Qingdao where Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield in the 470 men's class repeated their achievement in Athens by finishing second.

After a gold rush over the weekend, the British team is now on course to beat its target of 41 medals in Beijing, 11 more than in Athens.

Meanwhile, Michael Phelps, winner of a record eight gold medals in Beijing, said he will visit Britain on his way home to attend a party organised by Olympic sponsors in the Mall on August 24 to celebrate the handover of the Games to London.

Phelps, 23, said: 'It will be a great opportunity to celebrate the success of the Beijing Games and to kick-off the countdown to London 2012. I am honoured to be part of this celebration.'

Fellow swimmer and British double gold medallist Rebecca Adlington, 19, spoke today of her desire to replicate Phelps' success at the London games in four years.

'Seeing him win that eighth race was absolutely amazing. It was really exciting. He is an amazing swimmer and I definitely look up to him as a role model.

'I can only dream of having the same success as him.'

Her second gold came on a spectacular weekend for Britain, which saw golds in the rowing, swimming and sailing.


Great to be British! Team GB strikes gold AGAIN after cyclists smash the world record in the team pursuit

Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson claimed a gold medal for Britain with
victory in the Yngling medal race at the Olympic sailing regatta today.

In what amounted to a two-horse race for the gold against the Netherlands in
the Yngling class, Team GB came home in first place for the first time in the
regatta with the Dutch trailing in fifth in heavy conditions on the Yellow Sea.

And there were three more golden moments as Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase won the lightweight men's double sculls in the rowing, sailor Ben Ainslie won the Finn class and cyclist Rebecca Romero won the women's individual pursuit.

The British trio of Ayton, Webb and Wilson entered the regatta as heavy favourites after dominating the Yngling class for the past two years, winning back-to-back world championships, last year's Olympic test event in Qingdao and this year's European
championships.
But they went into the medal race with only a slender one-point advantage after
finishing fifth behind the winning Dutch crew of Mandy Mulder, Annermieke Bes
and Merel Witteveen in the eighth and final preliminary race on Friday.

Light, unsettled wind conditions saw the race being postponed from Saturday but
the boats were eventually flagged off in much heavier conditions 24 hours later
as strong winds and heavy rain descended on the waters off Qingdao.

The Dutch had the jump on the British boat at the start but it was Team GB that
reached the windward mark first, just a second in front of the Dutch and the
rest of the field.

They maintained their lead at the second mark and although they were overtaken
by Germany during the second leg, the Netherlands had dropped back to sixth, 51
seconds adrift of the British.

Ayton, Webb and Wilson regained the lead on the run to the finish line and
crossed the line seven seconds ahead of Germany and a minute in front of the
fifth-placed Dutch.

The Netherlands took the silver while Greece finished in third place in the
race to secure the bronze medal.

The crew were understandably thrilled about their win and Sarah Webb is
predicting more success for the crew in years to come.

She said: "I'm lost for words, it is such a relief. Our experience was
everything, we stayed sure and we got better."

Ayton added: "It's been brilliant, this campaign has been about pure
perfection and we're just an awesome team."

Wilson, who joined up with Webb and Ayton after their gold medal in Athens with
Shirley Robertson four years ago, was delighted with her first prize.

"This has been the dream and it hasn't really sunk in," she said.

Three blondes, four golds and Britain climb up to third in the medal table

He is a machine made for scoring. With this game drifting into anticlimax for Liverpool, Fernando Torres again showed why he is the outstanding goalscorer in European football, exploding into life with just seven minutes to go to deliver a typical viper-strike from the left channel.

By beating Craig Gordon at the near post, Torres ensured a happy end to a troubled week at Anfield and if Liverpool are to mount a serious challenge for their first title in 19 years, Torres will be at the heart of it.

Coming into his fifth year, Rafael Benitez is under serious pressure to mount a challenge. However, those efforts are being undermined by the farcical contortions of the club’s efforts to sign Gareth Barry from Aston Villa. Benitez is apparently frustrated by his chief executive Rick Parry and the failure of the American owners Hicks and Gillett to wrap up the Barry deal. Add to that the agitation of Xabi Alonso for a move away from Anfield - possibly to Arsenal - and it makes for an unhappy ship.

Certainly, Liverpool were foggy-headed from kick-off, carrying a heavy hangover from their abysmal performance in the goalless midweek Champions League qualifier against Standard Liege.

Sami Hyypia was chosen ahead of Dan Agger in the centre of defence, presumably to counteract the aerial prowess of Daryl Murphy, and swiftly gifted El Hadji Diouf a chance to score, messing up a back header that fell way short. Jamie Carragher cleared up ­ something he was going to have to get used. Indeed Carragher spent the half screeching at the new Italian left-back Andrea Dossena, trying to curb his forward movements. Poor Dossena was in turn shouted at by Benitez, who demanded he make more attacking runs.

The problems were not just in defence. The much vaunted £40 million pairing of Torres and Robbie Keane in attack failed to click, and Torres only scored after Keane had been substituted. Roy Keane wants to sign a top-class centre- half but Nyron Nosworthy and Danny Collins were composed in dealing with the pair. Robbie Keane played deeper, trying to collect and run at the defence. He failed to make much headway in the early stages though and only had a snap shot wide after a neat bit of juggling to show for his efforts.

Sunderland, in contrast, have made a substantial improvement over the summer. Roy Keane has bought more astutely than in previous transfer windows, and the radical restructuring has had clear benefits.

Steed Malbranque was outstanding on the right flank, looking trim and sharp, combining well with right-back Pascal Chimbonda, also signed from Tottenham. The other acquisition from White Hart Lane, Teemu Tainio, was ferocious in defensive midfield.

Working off that solid platform was Diouf, who might well prove the bargain of the summer. The best chance of the half came when his cross, from the left, picked out Murphy. The Sunderland striker had a free header but could not get enough on it.

Liverpool grew in self-belief in the second half, and the half-time introduction of Alonso, in place of Damien Plessis, was certainly instrumental to that. Plessis had not played poorly and has the makings of a really serious player. But Alonso is that already.

Having escaped when Diouf mis-hit a Tainio cross at the far post straight at Jose Reina, Liverpool surged forward. Yossi Benayoun finally gave Craig Gordon something to think about when his direct run and shot brought out a tidy near-post save. Keane followed up but his effort was blocked.

Gerrard went even closer with an hour played, his attempt to cuff the ball inside the far post from just inside the box blocked by Collins.

Collins almost undid his good work though when he deflected Kuyt’s shot but Gordon was swiftly down to his left and then back up to block the Keane follow up. Belatedly, Liverpool were stirring. And Torres was loading the bullet in the chamber.

Fernando Torres bullet fires Liverpool into life

His is one of the most recognisable faces on the planet.

So it makes sense that David Beckham should command an enviable A-list supporters' club whenever he takes the pitch.

And the turnout for Thursday night's match between Beckham's Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA in Carson, California was no exception.


Sat alongside Victoria Beckham cheering her husband were Tom Cruise, Gordon Ramsay and his family, and Eva Longoria's husband Tony Parker.

Ramsay and Parker were particularly animated during the game, while Cruise preferred to take a more measured stance, quietly contemplating the football on display in front of him.

He may have good reason to pause for thought.

.
The LA Galaxy drew 2-2 with Chivas USA, bringing the total of games they've now gone without winning to seven.

The troubled club this week fired general manager Alexi Lalaas and accepted the resignation of Dutch coach Ruud Gullit.

The side is currently in fourth place in the Western Conference league, after being expected to contend for the Major League Soccer (MLS) title this season.

Beckam is the highest paid player in the MLS and is being paid a reported £125million over five years.

Beckham's A-list friends cheer him on the football pitch... but LA Galaxy still can't win a match


Blackburn have confirmed they have turned down a bid, thought to be around £12m, from Barclays Premier League rivals Manchester City for striker Roque Santa Cruz.

The Paraguay international was Rovers top scorer last season and has been linked with a number of clubs this summer - including City's neighbours Manchester United.

'A bid came in last night and it was immediately rejected,' read a Blackburn statement.

'Various Manchester City officials have been advised on a number of occasions that the player would not be for sale.

'We are very disappointed, therefore, that they have continued their interest.'

Meanwhile, City boss Mark Hughes' plans for the new season were dealt a blow last night when Darius Vassell was ruled out for 10 weeks with a knee injury.
The Welshman moved quickly to remedy that problem by attempting to sign the man who scored 19 league goals for him last season while Hughes was manager at
Blackburn.

The fee City have offered is believed to be around the £12million mark - over £8.5 million more than Blackburn paid for his services when they signed him from Bayern Munich last summer.

Santa Cruz spent eight years at the German club and has scored 17 goals in the 53 international appearances he has made for Paraguay.

It's all Rover for Manchester City as Blackburn reject £12m bid for free-scoring striker Santa Cruz



Frank Lampard has signed a lucrative new five-year deal with Chelsea, describing it as the last major contract of his career.

The 30-year-old ended protracted negotiations and speculation over his future by agreeing to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge beyond next season in a deal that is likely to make him the best-paid player in British football.

Lampard had been targeted by Inter Milan to sign ahead of the start of this season, but when Chelsea's price tag became prohibitive, the Italians appeared ready to take him on a free next summer.

Lampard told the club's official TV station: 'I've had great seasons here and now I can have many more. It has been a difficult summer for many reasons. Now we can concentrate on football.'

The England international revealed the club had helped him through the death of his mother Pat in April.

He said: 'The club has been fantastic. I told them I needed some time. It has been a long period negotiating - it has been a very important contract. I'm 30 now, so I see it as my last big contract.

'I'm personally very happy and I hope I've made the Chelsea fans happy. I've had seven great seasons here and now I can have many more.

Lampard's negotiations stretched on for months as he insisted on a five-year deal when the club were initially only prepared to offer four years.

The midfielder is thought to have at least matched John Terry's salary of about £135,000 a week. Lampard is thought to have turned down a four-year deal worth £140,000 a week earlier this summer.

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon explained the contract talks had taken time because it was a major decision for Lampard.

'These are big issues for the club, for Frank and any other player,' said Kenyon. 'Whatever has gone on I think there is that underlying desire that we get there.

'It's taken both Frank and the club longer than we originally thought.'

The deal will no doubt disappoint former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, who had hoped Lampard would play a key role in the San Siro club's midfield.

No way Jose! Lampard finally signs stellar new deal with Chelsea to close door on joining Mourinho at Inter Milan

Britain was celebrating a second gold medal today and a second win for the team's women after Rebecca Adlington bagged the first female gold in swimming for almost half a century.

Swimmer Rebecca Adlington triumphed by a finger tip in the 400 metres freestyle, 24 hours after Nicole Cooke took the first gold in the women's cycling road race.

Adlington, 19, who narrowly beat American Katie Hoff by seven hundredths of a second, said she is glad the 'girls have done it for Britain'.

Speaking after her victory, the teenager from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, said: 'I like the fact that it is women who won the first medals. It's a great result for Britain.'

She was joined on the podium by her best friend, 21-year-old Joanne Jackson who took bronze in the same event.

'It is just amazing to have two Britons on the same podium - incredible. This is definitely the best British team we have ever had,' Adlington said.

Jackson, from Richmond, Yorkshire, added: 'I was just pleased to get into the final, but to be on the podium is just amazing. I am so happy for both of us. It is great for British swimming.'

Adlington is the first British woman to take a swimming gold since Anita Lonsborough-Porter won the 200m breaststroke event in Rome in 1960.

Adlintong also has another chance at winning a medal when she races again in the 200metres freestyle relay final on Wednesday.

Adlington takes part in the 800 metres freestyle - her strongest event - on Thursday raising the possibility of following Dame Kelly Holmes as a double gold Olympian.

She said she spoke to her family staright after her win. 'I rang home and all I could hear was screaming down the phone. They were all screaming: "well done Becks".'

Adlington's family, parents Steve, 50, Kay, 48, and elder sisters Laura, 21 and Chloe, 24, had to watch the race on television at home when they lost £1,100 buying tickets on what turned out to be a fake internet booking site.

They have now paid a second time to see their daughter compete this week.

The swimmer, who has a penchant for shoes, says her family are buying her a pair of Jimmy Choos and Christian Louboutin shoes as a reward for her win.

She added: 'I was so tired near the end but I thought you've got nothing to lose, so I just went for it.'
Adlington who is best friends with Jackson, said: 'I was so happy to be up there on the podium with my best friend. Then to have the entire team, looking down at you and singing the national anthem, not at all in tune, was just the best feeling.'

Adlington's parents were unable to be with their daughter to celebrate her victory after being ripped off by a bogus tickets website. They plan to see her compete on Thursday after paying out again.

Speaking from their home in Mansfield, adorned with Union Flags, Mrs Adlington mother said: 'When I saw her touch I think in all honesty that was the confirmation.

'I wasn't sure if she had got it until that moment and then I came from behind my cushion and hit the roof.'

Her father, a managing director of a steel company, said watching his youngest daughter take gold had been an "emotional" experience.

He said: 'It was amazing this morning. We had 18 of us all here and when she won it was fantastic.

'It's been an amazing experience. I think the most emotional bit was when they played the national anthem.

'At the end of the race we were all on our feet. Even her granddad, who was 80 a few weeks ago, was dancing round the living room. I've never seen him move like that.'

British swimmers take gold and bronze in the same race as women's record is swept away after 48 years

Nicole Cooke has won Britain's first gold medal of the Beijing Olympics, cycling to victory in the road race.

The 25-year-old Welshwoman was in a group of five that pulled away from the peloton in the 6km uphill climb to the finish through driving rain. She then won a sprint to the line before hoisting her arms in the air in delight.

'We did it, it was perfect. It's a dream come true,' said a jubilant Cooke, who finished in 3 hours, 32 minutes and 24 seconds .


'I want to thank all the people who have been there from the start. I have worked so hard, I am so happy.'

Cooke came fifth in Athens when a lack of supporting team-mates cost her a medal.

But today with Emma Pooley and Sharon Laws she had probably the best British women's team ever assembled.

Simon Clegg, Team GB's chef de mission, said: 'Nicole Cooke has just secured Team GB's first medal - and what a medal. It's not only gold but it's Team GB's 200th gold medal from the modern Olympic Games.

'Emma and Sharon did an awesome job in supporting Nicole in her race for gold.'

Sweden's Emma Johansson won the silver and Tatiana Guderzo of Italy won the bronze.




Nicole Cooke Factfile:

1983 - Born April 13, Swansea, Wales.

2000 - Wins gold medals in world championship junior road races in France and

Spain.

2001 - Continues that success with further wins in junior race and time trial

in Portugal. Awarded the Bidlake Memorial Prize, given for outstanding performance or

contribution to the betterment of cycling.

2002 - Wins gold medal in women's road race at the Commonwealth Games in

Manchester.

2003 - Wins the women's road race world cup, the youngest to do so and the

first Briton. Named BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year.

2004 - Becomes the youngest winner of the Giro d'Italia Femminile. August - Finishes fifth in road race in the Athens Olympics.

2006 - Wins the bronze medal in the road race at the Commonwealth Games in

Melbourne. September 3 - Wins road race world cup for the second time.

2008 - August 10 - Wins gold medal in road race at the Beijing Olympics,

Britain's first medal of the games.

Olympics: Britain win first gold medal in women's cycling race


Michael Phelps coolly launched his bid for Olympic immortality by breaking his own Games record for the 400m individual medley with a calculated early surge in the opening day heats at the spectacular Water Cube aquatic centre.

The American, seeking to eclipse Mark Spitz's haul of seven gold medals set at Munich in 1972, recorded a time of 4mins 7.82secs to qualify fastest for the Sunday morning showdown with his compatriot Ryan Lochte. He admitted afterwards he had been determined to send a message of intent to his rivals from the outset. "I wanted to be in the middle of the pool for the final because that's going to give me an advantage," said the 23-year-old, who already holds the world record for one of the toughest races on the Games schedule. "I'm pretty satisfied with the time. I didn't think I'd swim that fast in the preliminaries."

There are a potential 19 further races still to go if Phelps wishes to edge past Spitz and become the undisputed emperor of the Beijing pool. Even at a Games being staged on such a monumental scale eight gold medals will take some collecting, but there was an ominous ease about Phelps's first outing. At the halfway mark he was only a fraction outside the world-record split-time and he was a second and a half quicker than his nearest qualifying pursuer, Hungary's Laszlo Cseh.

Known as the 'Baltimore Bullet' to his friends, it was clear Phelps meant business even before he mounted the blocks. Gone was the wannabe handlebar moustache he has sported during his initial days in the athlete's village, a further clue that Phelps is not here to muck about. There is even less body hair at an Olympic swimming meet than you'll find at the average alopecia clinic, and Phelps would be missing a trick if he did anything to encourage the myriad smooth operators around him.

All that remains now is to prove his fast start was not a premature splash in the pan. Mental strength will be every bit as important as the extraordinarily long torso which makes him unique in his chosen sport. It is Lochte's misfortune to be around at the same time as this veritable human fish but even the unluckiest swimmers have drawn first prize in terms of the venues at this Olympics. While others broil outside in humidity and heat of steaming intensity, the Water Cube is a spectacular oasis which can accommodate 17,000 grateful spectators. The organisers' problem is not so much keeping the swimmers happy as extracting them from the cooling water once their races are over.

Britain will be represented in the women's 400m individual medley final by Hannah Miley from Inverurie in Aberdeenshire who qualified from the neighbouring lane to Phelps's female counterpart Katie Hoff, the current world record holder. Miley, who celebrated her 19th birthday on Friday, finished eighth fastest after a hotly-contested sequence of heats but will do well to capture a medal against a high-quality field which also features the 15-year-old Elizabeth Beisel of the US and the sleek Australian Stephanie Rice.

Hartlepool's Jemma Lowe sneaked into the semi-finals of the women's 100m butterfly by four-hundredths of a second and Christopher Cook also survived to fight another day in the men's 100m breaststroke. The women's 100m freestyle relay team also did just enough to qualify at the expense of Japan.

Olympics: Phelps launches bid for immortality with new record


Sir Alex Ferguson today vowed that Cristiano Ronaldo will never be allowed to join Real Madrid and suggested that Manchester United may even give the 23-year-old a new contract.

Ronaldo arrived back in Manchester yesterday after seemingly resolving issues regarding his future in an interview he gave in Portugal earlier this week.

And despite the fact that the Portuguese international has repeated his desire to one day play in Spain, Ferguson outlined his intention today to make sure that never happens.

As he revealed that United striker Wayne Rooney is back in training and could yet make the start of the league season, Ferguson said: 'We have ended all this stuff about Real Madrid and I think Cristiano appreciates this more and more and appreciates the club.

'That happens with players here.

'The longer they stay the less they ever want to leave.

'Look at players like Rio Ferdinand.

'I think Real Madrid know they are dealing with a different animal and I also think that Cristiano has settled down now and will enjoy his career here'.

United Chief Executive David Gill has steadfastly refused to extend Ronaldo's current playing contract but Ferguson would appear to differ.

The United manager added: 'He has four years left and hopefully at some point we will extend that and that is where we are.

'This was an important issue but there are very few players who have left me against my will'.

United face Portsmouth in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday and will be without Rooney as he continues his recovery from a virus.

But Sportsmail revealed yesterday that the England striker was making progress in his recovery and Ferguson said today: 'He is back in training and the virus appears to be leaving him.

'He had a chance for next weekend'.

I will never allow Ronaldo to leave Manchester United and join Real Madrid, insists Fergie

Freddie Ljungberg's disastrous spell at Upton Park is over after only 12 months as West Ham agreed to pay a staggering £6million to get him off their spiralling wage billl.

As the full extent of Ljungberg's incredible salary details emerged - he is paid £85,000 a week and had an option for another year if he made just 15 appearances this season - West Ham are still suffering from the aftershock of one of the most expensive mistakes in British football history.

In total, he cost them approximately £13m, taking into account transfer fee, wages and his pay-off - working out at over £500,000 per game, following 25 appearances for the club last season in which he made little impact.

West Ham have yet to announce Ljungberg's departure, but the deal has been agreed and he has been told he is now effectively a free agent. Ljungberg, 31, believes he can still play at the top in England, Italy or Spain and has asked his agent to find him a new club.
The Sweden midfielder was due to earn £8.84m over the next two years at West Ham and initially informed Hammers chief executive Scott Duxbury that he had no intention of reaching a settlement.

Despite being told by manager Alan Curbishley that he would not be playing for the first team this season, the injury-prone midfielder told the club he would sit tight and see out the remaining two years on his mega-bucks deal. He has not been part of the pre-season programme and is understood to be back home in Sweden 'weighing up a number of options'.

It is an incredible fall from grace for Ljungberg. He was a member of Arsenal's 'Invincibles' who won the Premier League in 2004 without losing a game and was recently voted the Gunners' 11th best player of all time.

The Hammers signed him from their London rivals for £3m last summer, but he showed no signs of his Arsenal form and his season ended early when he broke a rib in a collision with Newcastle defender Steven Taylor.

Although Ljungberg recovered to play for Sweden at Euro 2008, he announced his retirement from international football after the tournament in order to prolong his career in the Premier League.

Another of West Ham's injury-prone strikers, Craig Bellamy, faces being out for up to two months after tearing a hamstring in the first half hour of Monday night's 5-3 friendly win at Ipswich.

This setback follows news that Kieron Dyer's long-awaited return has been put back until November because of a stress fracture in the right leg he broke early last season.

However, Bellamy will not face any action following an alleged verbal spat with a female fan at Portman Road.

£6m...That's Ljungberg's reward for being a Premier League flop as Hammers show him the door

Wayne Rooney is in danger of missing the start of the Barclays Premier League season with a stomach virus he picked up during Manchester United's disastrous recent visit to Nigeria.

With United boss Sir Alex Ferguson already without injured forwards Cristiano Ronaldo and Louis Saha and sweating on their pursuit of Tottenham's Dimitar Berbatov, Rooney's potential absence from the opening game at home to Newcastle is a devastating blow.

Last week, United denied information put to them by Sportsmail that Rooney had picked up an illness during the club's one-day visit to Nigeria for a game against Portsmouth on July 27.

But last night Ferguson said: 'I doubt we'll get Rooney for the start of the season with this virus that he's had. It's a virus he's picked up in Nigeria, I believe, and it's a bad virus. He's not trained. He's not back in yet - 12 days until the start of the season and he's not trained. We came back on the 28th so it's a long time.'

United did not confirm the exact nature of Rooney's problem but the boss said it was not malaria. Ferguson added: 'We've done all the investigations. We've got our own laboratory now. All he had was malaria tablets and it was nothing to do with that. It wasn't malaria.'
It is understood that the mystery bug also affected other United players, including Michael Carrick. Ferguson said: 'Carrick's here this morning and hopefully he may be in for part of the Community Shield on Sunday - it's difficult to say.

'We're not going to make decisions at the moment other than looking at who's bloody injured, who's got viruses and worry about whether we're going to have a team to start the season because Nani's suspended and Anderson's in the Olympics.'

With Ronaldo due back at the end of the week, Ferguson continues to dismiss suggestions that the player will leave for Real Madrid this summer.

Real president Ramon Calderon yesterday introduced Dutchman Rafael van der Vaart as the club's 'first and last signing of the summer'. And Ferguson said: 'Will someone send a violin case over please. I'm not discussing that. The matter is closed now. He's going to play here next season. It's all over.'

As Ferguson spoke yesterday, first-team squad members were involved in training sessions for youngsters involved in the prestigious Nike Premier Cup for some of the world's best young club teams which is staged at United's Carrington training base each August.

Rio Ferdinand, who lent his support, afterwards spoke of the Double winners' desire to match their recent achievements. He said: 'We were very successful over the last two seasons and that becomes an addiction.

'When you're at United you can't afford to stand still. We're setting out to go and do it again. Nights like the Champions League final don't come around very often.

'Ryan Giggs had had to wait nine years for his second one and I thought straight away that I haven't got nine years. I want to get there and touch that trophy again as soon as possible.

'When I signed for this club I saw people like Denis Law, Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best, Giggs, Roy Keane, David Beckham and Paul Scholes. Their names are ingrained as part of the club's history and that's what we all want.

'You can only do that by winning the Champions League. We have to do what we did last season, but better.

'We have young players like Anderson, Nani, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo; good young players. These guys are all young and talented and they all have much to give. They won't reach their peak for a few years yet and so they will always have more to give us.

'I am sure as players that they will be looking at what they did last season and thinking that they can improve on it. And the club will facilitate that.'

Rooney a doubt for start of United's title defence after picking up virus in Nigeria


The British gold medal hope insisted she will run providing she avoids a setback in her recovery from her thigh injury.

"I'm racing unless my leg breaks down," said Radcliffe, 34, who had looked destined to miss out on her fourth consecutive Olympics when an MRI scan in May revealed a stress fracture in her left femur.

The marathon world record holder has defied medical opinion so far and linked up with the British squad at their Macau training base today.

Radcliffe will now begin the last few steps towards realising her ambition of an Olympic gold, her main remaining goal in a highly successful career.

Earlier, British Athletics Performance Director Dave Collins said Radcliffe would be given every chance to complete. He said: "I am more optimistic as time goes on.

"We'll have a look. We've given her the space and the time that I think her performance level deserves, we'll see her get here and again, we'll be watching progress and see what happens. That's what we've been doing all the way through."

Collins stressed the final say on Radcliffe's fitness would come down to a joint decision, although he refused to be drawn on what would happen if the lure of the Olympics proved too strong and she defied medical advice to compete.

Paula Radcliffe will race in Beijing

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