Liam and Noel Gallagher have finally settled their differences to reunite Oasis next year, though their allegiances towards Manchester City have never altered.
Manchester's great duo are, after years of wait, heading back to England's biggest stages, with the news announced on Tuesday to confirm their comeback as definitely, not maybe.
Having last played at V Festival in late August 2009, the pair split just before their beloved City fired to centre stage, rising from the third tier to dominate the Premier League since the brothers' ill-tempered farewell.
With eight Premier League titles, one Champions League crown, three FA Cup wins and six EFL Cup successes, City have transformed their fortunes since Oasis' split.
Here, we unpick the data behind City's success, watching rivals Manchester United Slide Away from the top spot for the city's bragging rights since the Gallaghers parted ways on August 22, 2009.
Champion Supernova
City have lifted eight Premier League titles since Oasis' final performance, winning a massive 1,252 points across that period – 152 more than nearest challengers Liverpool in the same timeframe.
That points tally is also 163 more than neighbours United, with Supersonic City's 385 top-flight wins (219 at home, 166 away) in the aforementioned span far greater than second-placed Liverpool's 322.
The four-in-a-row champions have also managed 1,306 goals, a total that Liverpool (1,112), Arsenal (1,074), Chelsea (1,044) and Man Utd (1,008) can get nowhere near.
Pep's Masterplan
Pep Guardiola may be the only man in Manchester able to rival the Gallagher's fame, with the City boss leading his side to unprecedented heights since his arrival in England eight years ago.
In the same Oasis-less period, Guardiola's 227 Premier League wins are the most of any City manager, ahead of Roberto Mancini (82), Manuel Pellegrini (70), Mark Hughes (five) and caretaker Brian Kidd (one).
That dominance owes to the fact Guardiola is the longest-serving City boss of the span, though his winning percentage of 74% is once again greater than nearest rivals, Mancini (62%) and Pellegrini (61%).
Stop Crying Your Heart Out, Newcastle
Some Might Say no team can keep up with City in the Premier League, but Newcastle United are the side to have struggled most with the Oasis-stricken blues.
Man City have defeated Newcastle 22 times in the Premier League since that fateful last Oasis performance in 2009, suggesting the Magpies are at least Half The World Away from the Citizens' quality.
As Newcastle's hopes of a rare win over City appear to have faded away Little by Little, West Ham have also lost 21 games in that period against the Manchester club, with Villa third on 18 defeats.
Whatever the other teams have struggled with, Middlesbrough – now in the Championship – have suffered no such issues, remaining as the only Premier League side to have not lost against City in the period (two draws in two matches).
Gundowall
Ilkay Gundogan was, at least in jest, said to have played a part in Oasis' reunion after the same Gallagher brothers attempted to lure the Germany midfielder back to the Etihad Stadium.
His 44 goals for City in the period without Oasis rank him 11th on the list of Premier League scorers for the club, which is headed by Argentina's Rock 'N' Roll Star Sergio Aguero, on 184.
The striker's tally is more than double his nearest competitor, Raheem Sterling (91), who makes up the top five with Kevin De Bruyne (69), Erling Haaland (67) and Yaya Toure (62).
As for appearances, former midfielder David Silva answered City's call the most to Stand by Me, racking up 309 league appearances – ahead of Aguero, who is just behind on 275.
Galatasaray were sent crashing out of Champions League qualification after Young Boys' 1-0 away win secured a 2-0 aggregate victory on Tuesday.
Carrying over a slender advantage from the first leg in Switzerland, Young Boys confirmed their passage to the new-look 36-team competition with the play-off success.
Alan Virginius scored the only goal in the 87th minute before Galatasaray goalkeeper Fernando Muslera was sent off for kicking out at the Young Boys substitute as he celebrated.
RB Salzburg are also set for their sixth straight appearance in Europe's top club competition after a 1-1 draw at home to Dynamo Kyiv wrapped up the tie 3-1 on aggregate.
Adam Daghim struck after just 12 minutes for the hosts before Vladyslav Vanat equalised for Kyiv, who were unable to overturn a 2-0 deficit from their first leg at home.
Sparta Prague were the other side to make it through Tuesday's qualifying, thanks to a 2-0 win over Swedish side Malmo that completed a 4-0 triumph on aggregate for the Czech champions.
Anders Christiansen missed a first-half penalty for Malmo before a late spot-kick from Lukas Haraslin and a goal for Albion Rrahmani sealed progression.
Wednesday will see four more sides fight for a place in the Champions League group stage.
Barcelona debutant Dani Olmo struck a late winner to steal a 2-1 comeback victory at Rayo Vallecano on Tuesday, as the LaLiga leaders continued their perfect start to the season with a third consecutive win.
Rayo dominated proceedings in the first half and took the lead with a strike by Unai Lopez in the ninth minute, but Barca were livelier after the break, with Pedri levelling from a counter-attack in the 60th minute.
Olmo, introduced as a substitute for his first outing since leaving RB Leipzig, scored the winner with a curling strike in the 82nd minute, snatching Barca a deserved win to maintain their momentum.
Barcelona top the standings on nine points from three games, two ahead of second-placed Villarreal, while Rayo are eighth on four points.
Data Debrief: Olmo impresses on maiden bow
Olmo is the first player to score on his debut for Barcelona in LaLiga away from home since Sandro Ramirez in August 2014 against Villarreal.
Yet a familiar face paved the way for the leveller, too, with Raphinha setting up Pedri for his 17th assist in 67 LaLiga outings.
Since his arrival at Barca in the 2022-23 campaign, only Antoine Griezmann (24) has provided more assists than the Brazilian in the competition (also 17 for Alex Baena).
Premier League sides cruised into the EFL Cup third round on Tuesday, but there was concern for Brighton over new signing Matt O'Riley.
Denmark midfielder O'Riley arrived from Celtic this week but lasted just nine minutes of his Seagulls debut, hobbling off with an apparent ankle injury against League One side Crawley Town.
That issue will leave Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler worried, though the performance from the rest of his side left little concern after a 4-0 victory.
Simon Adingra got things going in the first half before Jeremy Sarmiento, Julio Enciso and Adam Webster were on target after the interval in a routine second-round win.
In stark contrast to Brighton, Sean Dyche's Toffees are yet to win – or score – in the Premier League this season but dispatched League Two's Doncaster Rovers 3-0 at Goodison Park.
Tim Iroegbunam and Iliman Ndiaye both scored their first competitive goals for Everton before backup striker Beto sealed a routine victory, which came in similar fashion to Palace's 4-0 win over Norwich City.
Oliver Glasner's side are without victory in the top flight this campaign, too, but eased into the third round after Jean-Philippe Mateta scored twice, along with goals for Eberechi Eze and Daichi Kamada, at Selhurst Park.
Leicester City, another side without a point to their name in the top division yet, also overcame Tranmere Rovers 4-0 thanks to goals from new signing Jordan Ayew, Stephy Mavididi, Wilfred Ndidi and Harry Winks.
Jannik Sinner survived an early scare in the US Open first round after overcoming Mackenzie McDonald on Tuesday.
The Italian managed a 2-6 6-2 6-1 6-2 victory over the world number 140, having looked well off the pace in the opening set.
McDonald's fellow American Alex Michelsen awaits in the second round for Sinner, who triumphed in his first major match since an independent tribunal cleared any wrongdoing from positive tests for banned substances.
The world number one may have been impacted by those ongoing off the court and was slow to get going, dropping his serve three times en route to a first-set concession.
Sinner held off seven break-point opportunities from the home favourite in that opener, and improved from then on, losing on his serve just once in the second set.
The 23-year-old never looked back from that second-set clincher, easing to victory in just under two-and-a-half hours.
Data Debrief: Super Sinner flying
Sinner, who won his maiden major trophy at the Australian Open in January, is now 49-5 for the season after an impressive 2024.
That run includes lifting a third ATP Masters 1000 crown in Cincinnati last week, where he overcame his next opponent Michelsen in the pair's only ATP Tour meeting to date.
Jay Stansfield was on target against former club Birmingham City as Fulham swept aside their League One hosts with a comprehensive 2-0 victory in the EFL Cup second round.
Marco Silva's side fell short against Liverpool in the semi-finals of this competition last season, but made another good start to the new cup campaign on Tuesday after easing to victory at St. Andrew's.
Raul Jimenez opened the scoring with a 10th-minute penalty, awarded for handball against Alex Cochrane, before Birmingham were undone by a familiar face just four minutes later.
Striker Stansfield spent last season on loan with the Blues and, owing to that spell, refused to celebrate after profiting from Joachim Andersen's long pass before finishing with a clinical edge.
Birmingham could find no second-half response as Fulham progressed into Wednesday's third-round draw, with the Cottagers' next task a trip to Ipswich Town in the Premier League on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Cup control for Cottagers
Fulham have progressed from 12 of their last 15 EFL Cup ties against sides from a lower division, including Tuesday's win and both such matches last term against East Anglian duo Norwich City and Ipswich.
This outcome was somewhat expected, considering Fulham have won their last six games in all competitions against Birmingham by an aggregate score of 16-3.
Birmingham, meanwhile, have lost at this stage in their last four attempts (2017-18, 2021-22, 2023-24 and this season).
Naomi Osaka secured a long-awaited victory over a top-10 opponent after dispatching Jelena Ostapenko at the US Open on Tuesday.
World number 88 Osaka scored a 6-3 6-2 victory against Ostapenko for her first top-10 win in four-and-a-half years.
Osaka has now won 23 of her 28 matches at the US Open, at an 82% win ratio, which only Bianca Andreescu (86%) can better among current players with 10 or more main-draw matches at the tournament.
The four-time major winner was reduced to tears after downing the 10th seed in New York.
"I was trying not to cry when I was walking out too," Osaka said in her on-court interview. "I remember last year I was watching Coco [Gauff] play and I so badly wanted to step on these courts again and I didn't know if I could.
"I didn't know athletically, physically if I was able to. Just to win this match and just to be in this atmosphere means so much to me, so thank you."
Osaka, who won 39 of her 50 service points and held her serve throughout, needed three match points to move into the second round.
"I mean it was stressful, she was hitting some really good shots and I just told myself like, keep going, keep fighting for every point and maybe you'll have an opportunity," she added.
"Eventually I did but then I looked up and then I saw so many faces so I was like, woah."
The unseeded Karolina Muchova awaits on Thursday for the Japanese star after her first-round triumph.
Liverpool have confirmed the signing of Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia, with the goalkeeper immediately loaned back to Los Che for this season.
The Georgia international impressed at Euro 2024 with his country and has subsequently earned a move to Anfield, becoming the first major signing of Arne Slot's Liverpool tenure.
Mamardashvili will stay in Spain with Valencia for the remainder of the LaLiga campaign before moving to Merseyside ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.
Widespread reports suggest the Reds have agreed a €30million deal (£25m), including add-ons, to sign the 23-year-old, who will be expected to challenge Alisson for the starting spot in goal.
Mamardashvili's move comes off the back of an impressive European Championship showing, managing 21 saves during the three group-stage games, the joint-most of any goalkeeper in the tournament's history.
He has recorded 102 appearances for Valencia, keeping 31 clean sheets in all competitions and starting both of their fixtures so far this term against Barcelona and Celta Vigo.
Goalkeeping rival Alisson has two years and the option of a further year left on his Liverpool contract, but is expected to remain as the first-choice option, with Caoimhin Kelleher also among the Reds ranks.
Slot's side are said to be interested in Juventus' Federico Chiesa, too, before the transfer window closes on Friday in England.
Roma have signed Saud Abdulhamid from Saudi Pro League champions Al Hilal, the Serie A club announced on Tuesday.
Reports in Italy suggest the deal for the 25-year-old defender was worth €3million.
"Roma are pleased to announce the signing of Saud Abdulhamid on a permanent deal from Al Hilal," the club said in a short statement.
The Saudi Arabia international was a key player for Jorge Jesus' side last season, netting four times and providing nine assists in all competitions to help Al Hilal win a domestic treble.
Manchester City's Joao Cancelo joined Al Hilal to replace Abdulhamid, who will be the first Saudi Arabian player to compete in Serie A.
Iga Swiatek moved into the US Open second round after holding off a spirited Kamilla Rakhimova for a straight-sets win on Tuesday.
Lucky loser Rakhimova came close to forcing a decider, but the world number one rallied to win 6-4 7-6 (8-6) in just under two hours.
The early stages of the match suggested it would be a one-sided rout as Swiatek got two early breaks to race into a 4-0 lead, but Rakhimova clawed it back to 4-3 before the Pole dug in to take the set.
A similar story followed in the second set, though the world number 104 was unable to close out the victory after edging in front at 5-4, with Swiatek forcing a tie-break.
Swiatek then saved a triple set point from 6-3 down, winning the final five points to avoid an early upset and set up a meeting with either Daria Saville or Ena Shibahara in the next round.
Data Debrief: Swiatek tries her luck
It could have been a much different story for Swiatek had Rakhimova been able to hold her nerve in the tie-break, but as such, the 2022 winner stays in the tournament.
She is now the fifth-youngest player in the Open Era to win the first round in 20 consecutive women's singles grand slam events.
Meanwhile, only Serena Williams (93) and Venus Williams (94) have made 80 women's singles grand slam wins in fewer matches than Swiatek (97) this century.
Two of the medal favorites in the Women’s 100m at the World Athletics U-20 Championships in Lima, Peru, Jamaica’s Alana Reid and BVI’s Adaejah Hodge, both successfully advanced from the heats on Tuesday’s opening day of the youth track and field showcase.
Hodge was first up, competing in the first heat alongside Caribbean counterpart Kishawna Niles from Barbados.
As expected, Hodge cruised to 11.45, the fastest time in the heats, to win ahead of Niles who will also be in the semifinals after running 11.63 in second.
Reid, Jamaica’s national junior 100m record holder, was up next in the third heat.
The former Hydel High standout, who represented her country in the Women’s 4x100m relay at the Paris Olympics recently, ran a comfortable 11.46 to win her heat.
Dominican Republic’s Liranyi Alonso (11.77) and Puerto Rico’s Frances Colon (11.83) also booked spots in the semi-finals.
On the Men’s side, Jamaica’s Gary Card and Deandre Daley secured safe passage through to the semifinals.
Card, who has a personal and season’s best of 10.07 which he did to defeat Daley at the JAAA National Junior Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston in June, eased to a time of 10.40 to win the fifth heat.
Daley, a 10.08 performer at his best, recovered from a stumble at the start of his race to cruise home in 10.37 to win heat six.
Bahamian Carlos Brown Jr (10.48) also made it through to the semis scheduled for later on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, Jamaica’s quartet of Demarco Bennett, Nastassia Fletcher, Marcinho Rose and Alliah Baker advanced to the final of the Mixed 4x400m relay with a time of 3:24.77 to finish second in their heat behind Germany who won in 3:24.10.
In the field, Jamaica’s Shaiquan Dunn threw 19.53m to advance to the final of the Men’s shot put.
In the triple jump, Jamaica’s Chavez Penn barely booked a spot in the final, jumping 15.32m to take the twelfth and final spot, finishing just two centimeters ahead of Colombia’s Santiago Theran.
Trinidad & Tobago's Janae De Gannes produced 6.03m to advance to the final of the women's long jump.
Williams have replaced Logan Sargeant with Franco Colapinto for the last nine races of the 2024 Formula 1 season.
Sargeant was already set to leave Williams at the end of the season, with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz set to take his seat for 2025.
However, his second season in F1 has been cut short, following a huge crash in the final practice session at the Dutch Grand Prix on Saturday.
In 36 races, Sargeant earned one point for Williams, compared to team-mate Alex Albon, who scored 31 points during that period.
Colapinto will make his competitive debut at the Italian Grand Prix this weekend, having previously driven for Williams in practice at the British GP earlier this year.
"It is an honour to be making my Formula 1 debut with Williams – this is what dreams are made of," Colapinto said.
"The team has such amazing history and a mission to get back to the front, which I can't wait to be part of.
"Coming into F1 mid-season will be an enormous learning curve, but I am up for the challenge, and I'm fully focused on working as hard as I can with Alex and the team to make it a success."
Dominican Olympic triple jump champion Thea LaFond-Gadson will receive her country’s highest national award, the Dominica Award for Honour, Dominican Prime Minister the hon. Roosevelt Skerrit announced on Tuesday.
LaFond-Gadson made history at the Paris Olympics in August, jumping a personal best and national record 15.02m to claim her country’s first ever Olympic medal.
This performance was the culmination of a brilliant 2024 for the 30-year-old when it comes to major championships.
She also took gold at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow in March, her country’s first medal at a global championship.
In addition to her national award, LaFond-Gadson will also receive $400,000, a lot at Warner and a diplomatic appointment as a sports ambassador.
“We once again congratulate Thea on her achievement and wish her continued success in her athletics career,” Skerrit said.
Arsenal have announced the signing of Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad on a four-year contract.
The midfielder has joined in a deal worth up to £31.6million, with the option to extend his stay for an extra year.
Merino is returning to the Premier League, having signed for La Real from Newcastle United in 2018.
He made 242 appearances for the Spanish side in all competitions, scoring 27 goals and registering 30 assists.
Last season, he won 326 duels, the most of any player in the top five European Leagues, while his 197 recoveries in LaLiga were the most of any outfield player for La Real.
"Mikel is a player who will bring us huge quality with his experience and versatility," Mikel Arteta said of his new signing.
"He has played at the top of the game at both club and international level for a number of seasons now. Mikel will make our squad significantly stronger, with his technical ability, together with his strong and positive character and personality.
"As we all saw in the summer, Mikel is also a winner, with his strong performances throughout the Euros helping Spain win the tournament. We are delighted to welcome Mikel and his family to the club and can't wait to start working with him."
Merino is the fourth signing by Arsenal during this transfer window, after Tommy Setford, Riccardo Calafiori, and the permanent move for David Raya.
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