Ireland overcome Fiji in bruising encounter

Ireland saw off a stubborn Fijian side with a bonus-point victory to keep pace with their Northern Hemisphere rivals at the top of the Nations Championship standings in Dublin on Saturday night. Andy Farrell’s side will turn their focus immediately to the visit of world champions South Africa to Aviva Stadium next Saturday as they bid to secure as high a seeding as possible for the finals weekend in Twickenham the following weekend but Ireland will know they have been in a battle despite the convincing scoreline.

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Kalajdzic strikes late as Austria edge out Ireland

The Republic of Ireland are facing into a must-win clash against Kosovo as their UEFA Nations League promotion hopes took a hit despite a gutsy display against Austria in Linz. Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side impressed at times, especially in a first half in which they warmed to their task and took the game to their hosts at times. However, it was substitute Sasa Kalajdzic who pounced with 11 minutes of normal time to go to ultimately settle the contest at the Raiffeisen Arena.

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Keenan grabs hat-trick as Ireland demolish Argentina – Nations Championship

Ireland’s Nations Championship campaign roared into life at Aviva Stadium, as Hugo Keenan’s hat-trick sent them on their way to a 42-12 hammering of Argentina. Andy Farrell’s side produced their best performance since the Six Nations to rack up a bonus-point win against Felipe Contepomi’s side, as their attack and set-piece clicked into gear.

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Arsenal go top with first win at Anfield in 14 years

Arsenal took advantage of Manchester City’s defeat by Brighton as they edged a thrilling encounter at Liverpool to move three points clear at the top of the Premier League. Back-to-back losses for City handed the Gunners the opportunity to seize control of the title race, but they faced a difficult task against a rapidly improving Reds. They broke the deadlock in the 16th minute when Declan Rice’s ball across the face of goal was turned in by Kai Havertz at the back post.

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Pressure mounts on Carrick as Chelsea ease to victory over Man United

Michael Carrick’s future at Manchester United looks increasingly untenable after his side imploded in the second half to lose 2-0 against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. A third defeat in a row, which made it nine matches without a win in all competitions for the first time since 1988-89, brought the inevitable chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” from home fans, but what will hurt most for United’s beleaguered manager will be the way he was let down yet again by senior players.

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