Wasps must begin rebuilding from the bottom of the league pyramid after the Rugby Football Union revoked their licence to play in next season’s Championship.

Hopes that new owners HALO22 Limited could relaunch Wasps in the second tier have been dashed due to their failure to meet an RFU deadline for proving the club could still operate at the required level.

Among the commitments that have not been kept are the provision of evidence that creditors have been paid and the creation of a suitable governance structure.

The RFU has also been told by Wasps that they are unable to recruit staff or players until additional finance has been secured and cannot recommit to playing in the Championship.

Rafael Nadal admitted he is staring at the end of his tennis career after announcing he will miss the French Open and the majority of the season ahead of what he expects to be a farewell tour in 2024.

The 22-time grand-slam champion has not played since his second-round exit at the Australian Open in January.

Nadal struggled with a hip injury during the straight-sets defeat to Mackenzie McDonald and the ongoing issue has failed to recover sufficiently in order for the 36-year-old to chase a 15th title at Roland Garros.

It means the Spaniard, who has only lost three matches on the Parisian clay, will miss the tournament for the first time since 2004 but he admitted during a press conference at his academy in Manacor that it feels the only option.

The 14-time French Open champion now plans to rest for the coming months with the aim to recover so he can play at “important tournaments” in 2024 during what will be his final year on the ATP Tour.

“My goal and my ambition is to try and stop and give myself an opportunity to enjoy the next year that will probably be my last year in the professional tour,” Nadal told reporters.

“That is my idea but I can’t say 100 per cent it will be like this, but my idea and my motivation is to try to enjoy and say goodbye to all the tournaments that have been important for me.

“To enjoy being competitive and something that today is not possible. I believe, if I keep going now, I will not be able to make it happen.”

On next week’s French Open, Nadal explained: “First thing, I’m not going to be able to play in Roland Garros.

“I was even working as much as possible every single day for the last four months, they have been very difficult months because we were not able to find a solution to the problems I had in Australia.

“Today I’m still in a position where I am not able to feel myself ready to compete at the standards I need to be to play Roland Garros.

“I am not the guy who will be at Roland Garros just to play.”

Nadal claimed brilliant victories at the Australian Open and French Open last year but was fighting his body, with a chronic foot problem, fractured rib and an abdominal strain that forced him out of Wimbledon keeping him off the court for spells prior to this latest injury.

His withdrawal from the French Open had appeared increasingly inevitable but the news he will also sit out Wimbledon, and almost certainly the US Open as well, is a major blow to the sport, which must now prepare to say goodbye to the Spaniard having seen his great rival Roger Federer bow out last autumn.

Nadal suggested he might try to turn out for Spain at the Davis Cup later this year, while a major target in 2024 will be the Olympic Games in Paris, with the tennis events being played at Roland Garros next summer.

“After a couple of years that in terms of results have been positive because I was able to win a couple of grand slams and important tournaments, the real situation is I was not able to enjoy my diary work,” Nadal said.

“Since after the pandemic, my body was not able to do the practice or diary work in a good way so I was not able to enjoy the practice and competition because too many problems, too many times having to stop for physical conditions and too many days off not practising because of too much pain.

“I need to stop for a while. My position is to stop and I don’t know when I can come back to the practice court.

“I will stop for a while, maybe one month, maybe two months, maybe three months. I am a guy who doesn’t like to predict too much the future. I am following what I believe is the right thing to do for my body and my personal happiness.

“I don’t want to say one thing and do the other. It is better to hold the options open and see what is the best calendar possible.

“I would like to play the things that are important for me and of course the Olympic Games is an important competition and one I hope to play. Will it be my last or not? I cannot say.”

Nadal’s compatriot Carlos Alcaraz, who will be the top seed for the French Open, sent his best wishes on Twitter, saying: “Good luck Rafael! Very painful and sad for everyone that you can’t be at Roland Garros or play more this year, but I hope that 2024 will be a great season for you and that you can say goodbye like the great champion you are.”

Alcaraz will now lead the favourites at Roland Garros along with Novak Djokovic, who can claim the outright men’s record for slam singles titles if he wins a 23rd.

Speaking on Amazon Prime Video, former British number one Tim Henman said: “I think the real positive is that he is prepared to give it one last effort, and that’s what Rafa’s always been about, giving 100 per cent to everything he’s doing.

“And fingers crossed he can find that physical wellbeing to be back out on tour. If 2024 is his last year then I really hope that he can enjoy it and I hope we can enjoy it and the fans can enjoy it because he deserves that send-off.”

Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui has challenged his team to finish well in front of a home crowd at Molineux against Everton on Saturday.

Lopetegui has steered the club to Premier League safety with three games to spare after they won four home games in a row without conceding.

And the Wolves boss has called on his side to keep their run going in their final home game of the season.

Lopetegui told a pre-match press conference: “In this part of the season, fortunately we achieved our first aim, our most important aim and a very difficult aim, that is to be out of the relegation battle three matches from the end of the season.

“Of course, we want more, and we have to take the game on Saturday looking at the challenge and a chance for us to finish the season well in front of our fans.

“We want to be able to compete until the rest of the season for the respect of the league and for the rest of the teams. If we were still fighting to get out of the relegation, we would want the same from other teams, so it’s the same demand for ourselves.”

Although Wolves are out of the relegation battle, Saturday’s visitors Everton are still firmly in the mix, sat 17th in the table.

The Toffees gave their chances of survival a boost with a dominant 5-1 victory against Brighton before losing 3-0 to Manchester City at the weekend.

And Lopetegui will not allow Wolves to take things easy this weekend.

He said: “We have worked with good commitment this week, thinking of course Saturday is the last match in front of our fans so of course it’s important for us.

“In the same way we know we have one very good opponent with very good players, a good coach.

“They have had one very clear way in the last two or three months and they showed they have very good players and are a very good team.

“They are fighting, of course, to survive in the Premier League, they have shown the level in the last match against Brighton.

“So we know the kind of match we’re going to have to compete with them because, of course, we are professional, we are fighting and we know that other teams are fighting for different aims in the Premier League and we have to do our best.”

Passenger may yet throw his hat into the Derby ring after running with immense promise in defeat in the Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante Stakes at York.

It was hard to know what the Ulysses colt had achieved in beating a field of fellow newcomers in the Wood Ditton at Newmarket, but it appeared significant connections decided him to supplement him for a Derby trial Sir Michael Stoute had already won on a record seven occasions, with Desert Crown doing the double just last season.

Punters on the Knavesmire ultimately agreed, with Passenger the 9-2 favourite by the time the gates opened. But what followed was a tale of woe for his supporters.

Ridden by Richard Kingscote, the Niarchos family-owned runner appeared to be travelling all over his rivals halfway up the home straight, but he could not find a gap for love nor money.

By the time Passenger did get a run, it was all too late, but there was much to like about the way he stayed on to dead-heat for third with Aidan O’Brien’s Continuous, beaten just a couple of lengths by eventual winner The Foxes.

While brief in his assessment of the performance, Kingscote immediately blamed himself, saying: “It was my fault, I couldn’t get him a run. It’s very frustrating.”

A decision on whether Stoute and the Niarchos family will roll the dice at Epsom on June 3 is made more complicated by the fact Passenger is not entered, meaning the owners will again have to stump up a supplementary fee, with the price for adding him to the Derby set at £85,000.

Paddy Power were impressed enough by his performance to make him an 8-1 shot like The Foxes, though, and connections ultimately have a couple of weeks to mull it over.

Stoute was not on the Knavesmire, but his assistant James Savage said: “It was a bit of a hard-luck story.

“He was in the stalls a long time, he jumped well and did everything brilliantly for a horse having only his second start after running on a straight mile at Newmarket.

“There’s a lot of positives to be taken out of the race. It didn’t happen for Richard up the straight, but that’s just one of those things.”

Interestingly, the only previous horse to be beaten in the Dante and win the Derby was the Stoute-trained Workforce in 2010.

When asked whether Passenger could bid to emulate the subsequent Arc hero, Savage added: “That is going to be a decision for Sir Michael and the Niarchos family. All I can say is that we’ve learnt he’s able to compete at a very high level with the best three-year-olds.

“I’m not so sure experience got him beat because if the gap had come he would have gone through it.

“He’s took a massive step forward from Newmarket to here and we’ll just see how he is.”

Alan Cooper, racing manager for the owners, said: “I’m afraid he didn’t have the clearest of runs, but it was a great improvement from his first start, so let’s get home and see what Sir Michael would like to do.

“He’s shown that he’s a good horse on only his second start. Let’s regroup.

“The family will follow Sir Michael’s advice.”

Splitting The Foxes and the third-placed pair of Passenger and Continuous was John Murphy’s Irish raider White Birch.

Winner of a heavy ground Ballysax Stakes at Leopardstown on his seasonal bow, the grey proved he is equally effective on quicker conditions, charging home from the rear to be beaten only a neck.

Another son of Ulysses, White Birch does hold a Derby entry and appears bound for Epsom. He is 20-1 with Coral.

George Murphy, assistant to his father, said: “He ran a super race, quickened up really well and just bumped into one on the day, but we couldn’t be happier with the run.

“I think the horse himself thought he had it won and the winner just came from out of his vision, but we’re delighted.

“He’s a super mover and a big, powerful horse – ground doesn’t seem to bother him.

“We’ll take him home and see how he comes out of it, but I think he’s more entitled to take his chance in the Derby now. If the owners are happy to go there and he comes out of it well, I think he definitely deserves a crack at it.”

Jurgen Klopp has been given a two-match touchline ban over comments he made about referee Paul Tierney following Liverpool’s win over Tottenham in April.

The Football Association meted out the suspension after Klopp admitted his comments, in which he accused Tierney of bearing a grudge against his team, questioned the integrity of the referee, implied bias and brought the game into disrepute.

The Liverpool manager, who has also been fined £75,000, was booked in added time of his team’s 4-3 win against Spurs at Anfield for sprinting up to the face of the fourth official whilst celebrating Diogo Jota’s dramatic late winner.

The first game of the ban is to be served immediately whilst the second is suspended until the end of next season pending future conduct.

An FA statement read: “Jurgen Klopp has been suspended from the touchline for two matches and fined £75,000 following media comments that he made after Liverpool’s Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 30 April 2023.

“The first match of the manager’s touchline ban is effective immediately and the second is suspended until the end of the 2023/24 season on the condition that he does not commit any further breaches of FA Rule E3 in the meantime.

“(He) admitted that his comments regarding the match referee during post-match media interviews constitute improper conduct as they imply bias, question the integrity of the referee, are personal, offensive, and bring the game into disrepute.”

Klopp had just watched Liverpool snatch a stunning win over Spurs just minutes after allowing the visitors to complete a late comeback from 3-0 down.

In his post-match press conference, he said: “How they can give a foul on Mohamed Salah (just before Spurs’ third goal)? We have our history with Tierney. I really don’t know what he has against us.

“He has said there is no problems but that cannot be true. How he looks at me, I don’t understand it. My celebration was unnecessary, which is fair, but what he said to me when he gave me the yellow card is not OK.”

The Foxes took a muddling Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante Stakes at York that left the Betfred Derby market in something of a flux.

The Andrew Balding-trained, King Power-owned Churchill colt was given a polished ride by Oisin Murphy, who was happy to sit off a well-contest pace early on from his good draw in stall two.

Liberty Lane, Killybegs Warrior and Dancing Magic helped set a decent clip, with Craven Stakes runner-up The Foxes (6-1) travelling sweetly in mid-division.

Murphy decided to switch left with a furlong to run and he quickened nicely to score by a neck from White Birch, who came from last to first under Shane Foley.

Aidan O’Brien’s Continuous was produced with a promising run but did not quite seem to get home and dead-heated for third with Sir Michael Stoute’s once-raced Passenger, who looked unlucky with jockey Richard Kingscote unable to find a gap when it mattered. He ran on well once finding daylight.

The Foxes was cut to a general 8-1 for Epsom glory.

Jurgen Klopp can help convince top transfer targets to sign for Liverpool even if they are not in the Champions League next season, according to former Reds striker Ian Rush.

Liverpool have won their last seven games and currently sit fifth, just a point behind Newcastle and Manchester United, who both have matches in hand.

However, even if Liverpool can continue their impressive run and beat Aston Villa at Anfield on Saturday and then finish the campaign with another victory at relegated Southampton, there would be no guarantee of Champions League football again.

There is set to be a turnover of personnel this summer, with the likes of James Milner, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Roberto Firmino all leaving

Brighton’s Argentinian World Cup-winner Alexis Mac Allister is one potential transfer target, as well as Chelsea’s Mason Mount and Ryan Gravenberch at Bayern Munich.

Rush feels even if Liverpool do end up not being able to offer Champions League football next season, Reds boss Klopp will still be able to sell a switch to Anfield.

“They had a bit of a lapse, every team has one. To win seven games on the run is like they are back to where they were when they won the league,” Rush told the PA news agency.

“Whether they get the Champions League spot or not, that is a different matter, but all Liverpool can do is win their next two games. If they do, they finish the season on a high.

“If you end up in the Europa League and can go on to win it, then you are going to be back in the Champions League.

“If you don’t make the Champions League, then you go and look to improve the team through the summer.

“I am sure Liverpool will want to do that. You have got to sign players to keep everyone on their toes.”

Rush, who is supporting Soccer Aid for UNICEF, added: “When you are signing players, it does help when your team is in the Champions League, because all the top players want to play there.

“Klopp, though, is a fantastic manager and he is in a position to change a player’s mind.

“He can say ‘listen, you want to come to Liverpool and while you will not be in the Champions League this year, we want to make you a superstar for all these fantastic fans and build a team around you’.

“He did that exactly when you look at (Virgil) Van Dijk – he could have gone to Chelsea and Manchester City were interested, but Klopp sold Liverpool to him. That is what Klopp is good at.”

While Liverpool remain in the hunt to qualify for the Champions League – a competition they won in 2019 and finished runners-up in last year – they have fallen well behind in the title race this season.

But despite a current 20-point gap to leaders Manchester City – who have overhauled Arsenal and look set to win the title for a fifth time in the past six seasons – Rush is confident the Reds can recover to mount a serious challenge once more.

“I think it is breachable,” said Rush, Liverpool’s all-time leading scorer with 346 goals in 660 appearances during a trophy-laden career.

“Liverpool have got a strong squad. It is about keeping everyone fit and I am sure they will make some additions.

“Then at the start of the new season, if everyone is well, then I am sure Manchester City will be keeping an eye on Liverpool as one of the danger teams and they will be in the mix.”

This year’s Soccer Aid event will take place on June 11 at Old Trafford and Rush is expecting another memorable occasion.

“It is for a great cause and everyone is competitive. It doesn’t matter whatever they do – actors or ex-players – all they want is for the team to win,” the former Wales striker said.

:: Tickets for Soccer Aid For UNICEF on Sunday 11th June 2023 at Old Trafford, are on sale via www.socceraid.org.uk/tickets with a family of four able to attend for just £60 — two adults and two children

Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin has defended Charlie Mulgrew following criticism over his decision to attend a Celtic event less than 48 hours before a crucial relegation battle at Livingston.

Celtic this week confirmed former Hoops player Mulgrew would be a special guest at their ‘A Night with Scott Brown and Mikael Lustig’ event at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow.

The 37-year-old United defender is set to return to the squad for the cinch Premiership encounter in West Lothian on Saturday after being suspended for last weekend’s defeat by Ross County, which sent Goodwin’s side to the bottom of the table with three matches remaining.

Goodwin sees no problem with Mulgrew’s decision to attend an event that will raise money for the Celtic FC Foundation, the club’s charitable arm.

“I’m a little bit disappointed with the negative reaction to that,” the United boss said.

“I mean, Charlie is going there to support an ex-team-mate, it’s a charitable foundation, and it’s a Thursday night.

“It would be different if it was (Friday) night and he was going to be out until all hours of the morning.

“Charlie is going to go there and do a little bit of a Q&A along with Scott Brown, and he’s not hanging around too long.

“He is going to drive to the event and drive back, there will be no alcohol involved.

“People just need to relax a little bit and understand it’s for a good cause, what Charlie is doing.”

Rafael Nadal will be absent from next week’s French Open and has signalled his intention to retire in 2024.

The 22-time grand-slam champion has not played since his second-round exit at the Australian Open in January.

Nadal struggled with a hip injury during the straight sets defeat to Mackenzie McDonald and the ongoing issue has failed to recover sufficiently in order for the 36-year-old to feature at Roland Garros.

It means the Spaniard will miss the tournament for the first time since 2004 but he admitted during a press conference at his academy in Manacor that it feels the only option to prolong his career.

The 14-time French Open champion now plans to rest for the coming months with the aim to recover so he can play at “important tournaments” in 2024 during what will be his final year on the ATP Tour.

“My goal and my ambition is to try and stop and give myself an opportunity to enjoy the next year that will probably be my last year in the professional tour,” Nadal told a press conference.

“That is my idea but I can’t say 100 per cent it will be like this but my idea and my motivation is to try to enjoy and say goodbye to all the tournaments that have been important for me.

“To enjoy being competitive and something that today is not possible. I believe if I keep going now, I will not be able to make it happen.”

On next week’s French Open, Nadal explained: “First thing I’m not going to be able to play in Roland Garros.

“I was even working as much as possible every single day for the last four months, they have been very difficult months because we were not able to find a solution to the problems I had in Australia.

“Today I’m still in a position where I am not able to feel myself ready to compete at the standards I need to be to play Roland Garros.

“I am not the guy who will be at Roland Garros just to play.”

Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper wants his side to take advantage of having their fate in their own hands as they close in on Premier League survival.

Forest have had a tumultous time in their first season back in the Premier League after 23 years away and looked doomed after an 11-game winless run left them in the bottom three heading towards the end of last month.

But seven points from the last four games have seen them move three points clear of the drop zone and their safety could be achieved this weekend if they earn a positive result against Arsenal on Saturday and results go their way elsewhere.

Cooper said: “Wherever you are in the league – it was a different situation last year – when you’re playing for something you always want it to be in your hands and we have managed to create that for now and that’s what we’ve got to try and capitalise on.

“A lot of hard work and good things need to happen to keep it that way. We’ve got to have the confidence and motivation to make it that way.

“There’s a mini-league going on in our part of the table and we want to stay as a minimum where we are now. There’s so much that can happen in the next two games and we’ve got to concentrate on what we can control, concentrate on the present, giving our best every day.

“We are all doing that and that gives us the best chance.”

As well as securing their own fate they will end Arsenal’s slim title hopes with victory at the City Ground.

The Gunners’ chances took what looked like a terminal blow when they lost to Brighton last weekend, but Cooper does not think that negative result will factor into Saturday’s match.

“It’s not something that I think about and I don’t think many managers would think about their opponents’ situation,” he said. “So many times you’ve come against teams and you assume they’re in a certain situation and we’ve had the complete opposite.

“We’re preparing For Arsenal to be who they are and we have got to be at our very best. We’re in control of what we do and having a really good impact in the game and that’s where our intentions lie.

“I expect to come up against a team that has been at the top for a lot of the season. Look at how many points they have got and goals they have scored, we’re coming up against a top, top team.

“Put all the context to our situation and theirs to one side and we know we have to be at our very, very best, bare minimum.

“When you prepare for a game you do more analysing than you do normally and they do some brilliant things in the way they set up tactically, the players they have and everything else.

“We’re fully aware of that, we felt it in the game away from home. I think we’ve come on a bit since then but we have to be more than ready.”

Cooper has no fresh injuries to contend with and will have Emmanuel Dennis available after his recovery from a knock.

Luke Chambers insists he could “never walk out” on Kilmarnock’s relegation battle even though he will miss England’s Under-20 World Cup campaign.

The 18-year-old Liverpool left-back, who joined Killie on loan in January, asked to be excluded from Ian Foster’s squad for the prestigious tournament which gets under way in Argentina on Saturday.

Chambers will remain in Scotland, facing St Johnstone at Rugby Park on Saturday as the battle to avoid the drop comes down the last three cinch Premiership fixtures.

Following their 2-0 win over Livingston last weekend, Derek McInnes’ side are in 10th place, three points above bottom club Dundee United and just two points behind ninth-placed Saints.

Chambers, part of the England Under-19 side which won the European Championships last year, said: “It was tough but what Kilmarnock as a club and the staff and players have done for me, I could never just walk out on them when they have three games to go.

“I was always going to stay here and help and contribute to the last three games as much as I can.

“There will be opportunities further down the line when I can go with England. They know the situation.

“They were very understanding and agreed with my decision. I have a good connection with the England manager (Ian Foster) and he understands my decision

“I don’t have any regrets. It was the right decision.

“I have only been here a short period of time but the attachment I have got to the club is massive.

“I have endless respect for the gaffer, the players and the fans. It has been amazing. I have learned a lot.

“People might see it as I’m going back at the end of the season but I see it different.

“The belief in the team has lifted after the win last week and I think we can win on Saturday and just take it from there.”

Killie boss Derek McInnes told Steven MacLean that there are no guarantees in football after the interim St Johnstone boss talked boldly about winning in Ayrshire.

Speaking on the Perth side’s official Twitter account, he said: “We will be in the Premiership. We will go to Kilmarnock and we are going to go and win the game, simple as that and what will be after that will be.”

McInnes said: “I just watched Steven MacLean on TV there and he said that they won’t get relegated and they are coming here and they will win the game on Saturday.

“It is hard to guarantee that as any manager.

“All I can guarantee is we will be ready for a tough game and we will do all we can to win a game of football.”

Brentford striker Ivan Toney is serving an eight-month ban after admitting 232 breaches of the Football Association’s betting rules.

The 27-year-old – who has scored 68 goals in 124 appearances for Thomas Frank’s side – will not be able to play again until January 17, 2024.

Here, the PA news agency assesses the significance of his loss for Brentford and England.

Bees’ talisman

Toney is enjoying the best season of his career so far, having scored 20 goals in 33 Premier League appearances and making his long-awaited England debut.

His tally represents 37 per cent of Brentford’s total of 54 goals, the third highest share behind Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (39 per cent) and Tottenham’s Harry Kane (42 per cent).

Toney’s importance to the Bees is clear – as well as being the leading scorer this season, he is top for shots (94), third for assists (four) and fourth for minutes played (2,953).

He has been the club’s top scorer in all three seasons since joining in 2020, netting 31 goals to help them gain promotion from the Championship in his first season and backing that up with 12 in the Premier League last term.

Mbeumo to step up?

It is difficult to assess Brentford’s prospects without their talisman because he has started the vast majority of league games – 109 out of 120 – since his arrival.

The Bees have won 46, drawn 33 and lost 30 matches when Toney has been named in the 11, averaging 1.57 points per game.

Their record without Toney in the starting line-up is not as good, with four wins, three draws and four losses equating to 1.36 points per game.

Frank’s men appeared to have coped better in his absence this season, albeit across a small sample size, having recorded wins over West Ham and Liverpool and a draw with Nottingham Forest.

Bryan Mbeumo scored in each of those matches, despite contributing only four goals in 33 appearances with Toney alongside him.

The Bees’ performance against the Hammers in Toney’s absence on Sunday was especially encouraging, with an impressive attacking display producing a total of 24 shots – the most they have managed in a single game this season.

Plenty of options for Southgate

Toney’s form had moved him into pole position as England’s second-choice centre-forward behind Harry Kane, but manager Gareth Southgate will have no shortage of alternatives in his absence.

The 27-year-old made his international debut against Ukraine in March, becoming the first Brentford player to be capped by England since Les Smith in 1939.

However, with fellow strikers Callum Wilson (17), Marcus Rashford (16) and Ollie Watkins (14) also ranking in the top 10 for Premier League goals this season, Toney could face an uphill struggle to regain his place in the squad.

Manchester City will face Inter Milan in the Champions League final on June 10. The two clubs have never played each other in a competitive match but manager Pep Guardiola does have some experience of facing the Italians. Here, the PA news agency looks back on those meetings.

September 2009: Inter 0 Barcelona 0 (Champions League, group stage)

All four of Guardiola’s past encounters with Inter came during his Barcelona side’s 2009-10 Champions League campaign, at a time when both clubs were among the most powerful forces in Europe, and pitted him against someone who would go on to become his fiercest rival, Jose Mourinho. The first of those games was a goalless draw at the San Siro.

November 2009: Barcelona 2 Inter 0 (Champions League, group stage)

Barca, the reigning champions, asserted their authority in the return fixture. A team that left Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the bench won comfortably with first-half goals from Gerard Pique and Pedro.

April 2010: Inter 3 Barcelona 1 (Champions League, semi-finals)

It was a different story when the sides met again in the last four. This time Inter ran out convincing winners at the San Siro after coming from behind in the first leg of their semi-final. Pedro struck first for the holders but Inter levelled through Wesley Sneijder and took victory after further goals from Maicon and Diego Milito.

April 2010: Barcelona 1 Inter 0 (Champions League, semi-finals)

Mourinho’s side were at their defensive best as they frustrated Barca with 10 men to end their reign as champions. Guardiola’s side won on the night with a late goal from Pique but it was not enough as the Catalans failed to take full advantage of Thiago Motta’s 28th-minute sending off. Inter went on to lift the trophy.