Owen Farrell conceded England could never have anticipated their humbling 53-10 loss against France in the Six Nations.

Steve Borthwick's side suffered their record home defeat as Les Bleus ran in seven tries during a comprehensive display at Twickenham.

England were simply no match for the reigning champions, who dominated proceedings and overpowered their opponents in all departments on the way to a first away win over the Red Rose in the competition since 2005.

Farrell, who was dropped to the bench before replacing Marcus Smith in the 46th minute, admitted the hosts' performance levels were unacceptable.

"As an England player, you never expect to be in this situation," the captain said.

"I don't think you ever expect to lose like that at home as an England team. You don't expect to lose like that anywhere as an England team.

"The result and the scoreline are hugely disappointing for us. It's never nice. Most of the people in the changing room have been through it at some stage. Not normally with England – definitely not normally with England.

"I'm gutted. Everybody in the changing room is disappointed to lose in the fashion that we did.

"I'm not sure it's a true reflection of our team, but credit to France for the way they played, they were clinical. They got away early on, and it was hard for us to get back into the game."

England conclude a difficult Six Nations campaign against Grand Slam-chasing Ireland – coached by Farrell's father Andy – next weekend.

The skipper said he and his team-mates are desperate to put the disappointment behind them as they seek a positive response.

"The end goal is not any different for us because we've got to improve, and we knew that before this game," he added. "We definitely know it after. We have to improve together.

"This will make us have a good look at ourselves and I imagine that after this, everybody is chomping at the bit to get going again."

Stefano Pioli wants Rafael Leao to lead a Milan resurgence as he warned his team their Champions League run must not come at the expense of a top-four finish.

The Milan head coach said Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not yet ready to start games after making two substitute appearances since returning from major knee surgery.

They cannot therefore look to the inspirational Swedish veteran, but in 23-year-old Portuguese winger Leao they have a proven match-winner and last season's Serie A MVP.

Beaten by Fiorentina in the last round of games, Milan host Salernitana on Monday, and victory would vault them back into the top four.

The Rossoneri were on a high after booking a Champions League quarter-final spot on Wednesday, edging through at Tottenham's expense.

Now Pioli wants them to book another adventure in that competition with a strong finish to their domestic campaign.

"We are aware that we have to focus on the league with attention and determination," Pioli said. "To repeat the feelings we are experiencing in the Champions League, we need to finish in the top four in Serie A, and we are focused on achieving this.

"We need to find the consistency that we have lacked so far. The team is doing well physically, mentally and also tactically. We can still improve a lot and performances like the one in London help us to grow."

Milan drew 0-0 with Tottenham to win through 1-0 on aggregate, and they will learn their next Champions League opponents in Friday's draw.

"Tomorrow we have to be the best Milan possible because it's an important match," Pioli said. "As a team, we must and can improve in our choices.

"Ibra will not start against Salernitana. He is improving his fitness and will be ready to help us.

"Leao is giving us a lot, and he played well in the last few games. We have to serve him better. Rafa is the player with the most freedom of movement, and he has to look for spaces to harm the opponent's defence."

Leao had 11 goals and eight assists in Serie A last term, and he has eight goals and six assists this time around, with ample time to top his 2021-22 totals.

Pioli, quoted on Milan's website, said his Serie A champions of last season need to collectively find some of that Scudetto-winning spark again.

"Compared to last season, we are doing better in Europe, not so much in the league," he said. "The goal is to finish in the Champions League places, and every game will be crucial from now on, because there are fewer and fewer to go.

"Before the quarter-finals, we have four matches – difficult and important ones – to play in Serie A; we cannot look beyond that."

David de Gea appealed for "more consistency" from referees after Manchester United had Casemiro sent off in their 0-0 draw with Southampton.

United failed to get back to winning ways in the Premier League following their 7-0 thrashing by Liverpool last week.

They spent much of a home game with the division's bottom club on the back foot, especially after Casemiro became the first United player to receive two red cards in the same league season since Nemanja Vidic in 2013-14.

Casemiro was initially booked by Anthony Taylor for his challenge on Carlos Alcaraz, but the referee was instructed by VAR to consult the pitch-side monitor.

Having looked at replays that showed Casemiro going over the top of the ball and sending his studs high into Alcaraz's leg, Taylor changed his decision and showed the Brazil midfielder a red.

United claimed a point despite Southampton attempting 17 shots, with De Gea called into action to preserve their clean sheet on several occasions.

Speaking to Sky Sports, De Gea said: "It should be a game to win today, but the game changed when we lost a man in the team.

"We tried our best to score, but it was difficult. They had some chances, but in the end we showed good team spirit. We have to take the point and keep going.

"I think Casemiro was unlucky. He tried to touch the ball and his foot came up high. I think the referees need to show more consistency. Sometimes they show a red card, and sometimes they don't."

Casemiro is now set to miss the next four domestic games for United. He will be unavailable for the FA Cup quarter-final with Fulham as well as Premier League clashes with Newcastle United, Brentford and Everton.

"It's going to be tough, he's a big player," De Gea said. "We will miss him for four games, but we have a big squad. We have players coming from the bench who do well. We will keep working hard."

Martin Odegaard declared Gabriel Jesus' long-awaited return from injury was "a massive boost" for Arsenal following their 3-0 win over Fulham.

The Premier League leaders took a step closer to the title, regaining their five-point lead at the top thanks to first-half goals from Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli and Odegaard at Craven Cottage.

Mikel Arteta also welcomed Jesus back for his first Arsenal appearance since the win at Wolves in November, the Brazil international appearing as a late substitute for the impressive Leandro Trossard, who chalked up three assists.

Captain Odegaard was delighted to see his team-mate back in action, but insists the Gunners are not getting carried away despite moving within 10 wins of Premier League glory.

"It's a massive boost," he told Sky Sports about Jesus' return. "He's been out for a while now.

"We know what he’ll give to the team and we are excited to have him back."

Odegaard added: "We did really well from the start. We controlled the game and scored some good goals in the first half. The second half was a bit different, but very good.

"[We have the] same focus. We've said all season we’ll take it game by game. We'll do the same things, keep working hard and see where it takes us."

Odegaard also praised the performance of January arrival Trossard, after the former Brighton and Hove Albion man became the first player in Premier League history to register a hat-trick of first-half assists away from home.

"He has brought some amazing things to the team," Odegaard said. 

"I love playing with him. He's good to find the right pass and we're really happy to have him on the team."

Trossard himself could find few faults with the performance.

He said: "When we win, we're always happy. We knew it would be a tough game. We did really well and kept a clean sheet as well.

"[It was] a perfect win for us. I'm really happy with it [the hat-trick of assists], I always try to contribute and today it went my way. I'm just really happy we won, now there are 11 finals to go for us."

Arsenal became the first side in the history of English league football to win five successive away London derbies without conceding a single goal, while Arteta chalked up his 100th win in charge of the Gunners.

"I'm really happy to win and get three points away from home, especially with a clean sheet," the Spaniard said. 

"It's great to see the goals distributed through the team. Leandro laid on three assists and could also have scored too.

"Every time we put the ball in the net, it's great. We practice lots of things and we scored beautiful goals."

Ireland defeated Scotland 22-7 in an entertaining Six Nations contest at Murrayfield to move to within one victory of landing a first Grand Slam since 2018.

Andy Farrell's side had defeated Wales, France and Italy in the opening three rounds and were a point better off than Scotland at the end of a gripping first half in Edinburgh.

Mack Hansen cancelled out Huw Jones' try to help give the visitors their slender advantage, which James Lowe added to shortly before the hour in a crucial moment in the match.

Jack Conan gave Ireland breathing space soon after to ensure they sit four points clear of France ahead of hosting England in the final round of fixtures.

 

Iain Henderson grounded early on for Ireland, only for the officials to rule out the try on a technicality as the line-out that Caelan Doris intercepted was taken with a different ball.

Ireland dominated but only had Johnny Sexton's penalty to show for it, and it was Scotland who opened the try count when Sione Tuipulotu played in Jones to dive over.

Finn Russell added the extras, but Ireland responded 10 minutes later through Hansen, who raced in down the right to ground despite Duhan van der Merwe's best efforts.

Hugo Keenan's fine challenge stopped Van der Merwe from racing through, but Ireland's problems mounted when Ronan Kelleher – a replacement for Dan Sheehan – limped off.

It remained a one-point contest until, after a few near-misses, Ireland worked the ball to the left and Lowe dotted down with 56 minutes played.

Conan showed good pace and power to score a third Irish try following good work from Hansen, with Sexton making it two successful conversions out of three.

That drew Sexton level with Ronan O'Gara for the most Six Nations points scored, but he did not have any further opportunities to edge in front as Ireland missed out on a bonus point.

Tadej Pogacar achieved a "dream" victory in the Paris-Nice as the two-time Tour de France champion powered to a final-stage win on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Slovenian produced a thrilling solo surge on the 117.2-kilometre eighth stage, chiefly contested in the hills surrounding Nice.

His race-winning move came on the final climb, the Col d'Eze, as the UAE Team Emirates man left his rivals to scrap it out for second place before tearing away to the finish line on the Promenade des Anglais.

Pogacar took the stage by 33 seconds. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Jumbo-Visma) was second to cross the line on the sea front, with Pogacar taking the overall tour victory by 53 seconds from France's David Gaudu (Groupama–FDJ).

Vingegaard, the reigning Tour de France champion, picked up third place on this occasion in the general classification standings.

Pogacar won the one-day Clasica Jaen Paraiso Interior in Spain early last month, and then went on to dominate the five-day Vuelta a Andalucia.

The latest success is a further step towards the grand tours that await later in the year, with Pogacar electing to race at this event, on the roads where he does much of his training, rather than head to the Tirreno-Adriatico in Italy. That race, running concurrently, was won on Sunday by Primoz Roglic after Pogacar's victories there in 2021 and 2022.

"It was always my goal, my dream, to win Paris-Nice as well and now that I did it, it's incredible," Pogacar said on Eurosport.

"They say attack is the best defence and I really know these roads. A lot of training is done here, so I knew exactly how my legs were and on the final climb how much I could spend to come to the top and I calculated great."

Pogacar will turn his attention to next Saturday's Milan-San Remo one-day classic, satisfied to have got the better of a strong field.

"The competition here was really, really huge and to be alongside David Gaudu and Jonas Vingegaard on the podium is special because they are really top-class riders," Pogacar said. "If I don't win anything until the end of the season it's still not bad, so I can be more relaxed."

Lois Openda scored a hat-trick in Lens' 4-0 win at Clermont on Sunday in just four minutes and 30 seconds, the fastest in Ligue 1 since 1967.

The 23-year-old grabbed his first goal in the 30th minute at the Stade Gabriel Montpied after racing onto a lofted pass from the left from Angelo Fulgini before putting the ball through the legs of Clermont goalkeeper Mory Diaw.

In the 34th minute he took advantage of a defensive error from the hosts as he finished off a neat square pass from Adrien Thomasson, before completing his hat-trick just 66 seconds later when Mateusz Wieteska underhit a backpass, allowing Openda to round Diaw and finish.

The Belgian striker also managed to add an assist in the second half as he pulled the ball back from the right for substitute Alexis Claude-Maurice to make it 4-0 to the visitors.

Openda's treble was just the second this century to be achieved in under five minutes, beating Matt Moussilou's for Lille against Istres in April 2005 by four seconds.

According to Opta, he is only the third Ligue 1 player to score a hat-trick inside five minutes in the last 75 years, along with Moussilou and Michel Margottin for Angers against Rouen in February 1967. The exact hat-trick time for Margottin in that match 56 years ago was not recorded.

Only Manchester City's Erling Haaland has scored more hat-tricks this season in the top five European leagues (four) than Openda, whose treble against Clermont was his second of the season after also hitting three goals against Toulouse in October.

Manchester United failed to bounce back from their historic defeat to Liverpool as Casemiro was sent off in a 0-0 draw with Premier League strugglers Southampton.

United suffered the largest loss in the history of their great rivalry with Liverpool last Sunday, going down 7-0 on Merseyside.

Seven days on, Erik ten Hag's men were again disappointing, and Casemiro's red card for a bad foul on Carlos Alcaraz allowed the relegation-threatened visitors to dominate.

Southampton failed to take their chances, however, left to settle for a well-earned point that keeps them bottom of the table but only two points adrift of safety.

United initially looked in the mood to set things right after their Anfield humbling and Marcus Rashford was denied by Gavin Bazunu after a fine give and go with Bruno Fernandes. 

But Fernandes would spend much of the rest of the first half aiming protestations at referee Anthony Taylor as United struggled to exert control on the game.

They were grateful to David de Gea for turning over Theo Walcott's close-range header but then had to face up to playing with 10 men as Casemiro was shown a straight red after Taylor went to the VAR monitor following a high challenge on Alcaraz.

Raphael Varane nearly bundled home at the far post from a Fernandes free-kick soon after, with United subsequently seeing two penalty appeals correctly waved away at the end of a frustrating 45 minutes for the hosts.

Southampton twice went agonisingly close to capitalising on their one-player advantage after the restart.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka was forced to clear off the line after Scott McTominay deflected a Kyle Walker-Peters cross towards goal. James Ward-Prowse then clipped the top of the crossbar as he narrowly missed out matching David Beckham's Premier League record for goals from free-kicks.

Walcott was again thwarted by De Gea after going through one on one with the United goalkeeper on the counter, before Bazunu produced heroics at the other end to turn Fernandes' curling effort against the inside of the post.

Walker-Peters saw a swerving effort clatter the left-hand post with De Gea well beaten, with fortune favouring a United side that is now 16 points adrift of leaders Arsenal.

Leandro Trossard played a starring role as Premier League leaders Arsenal restored their five-point lead at the summit with a 3-0 victory over Fulham.

The Belgium international claimed a hat-trick of assists at Craven Cottage, with Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard all profiting.

Mikel Arteta's side subsequently became the first side in the history of English league football to win five successive away London derbies without conceding a single goal.

Arsenal, who welcomed Gabriel Jesus back from injury, also made it five straight Premier League victories in all as they took another step towards the title.

The Gunners thought they had taken the lead when Antonee Robinson put through his own net in the 16th minute, but the VAR ruled Martinelli had strayed offside before Bernd Leno parried his shot against the Fulham defender. 

However, Arsenal broke through five minutes later as Gabriel, who scored the winner in the reverse fixture in August, climbed to head in Trossard's corner.  

Trossard was the provider again when his cross was nodded in by Martinelli at the far post after 26 minutes, while Odegaard tucked away another precise centre from the former Brighton and Hove Albion man in first-half stoppage time.

Fulham were far more positive after the break. Bobby De Cordova-Reid drew a smart reflex save from Aaron Ramsdale, while Aleksandar Mitrovic's header hit the crossbar.

But Arsenal stood firm to deny their opponents a potential route back into the contest and went close to increasing their margin of victory through Odegaard and the returning Jesus.

Paul Pogba was not included in Juventus' squad for Sunday's Serie A meeting with Sampdoria in another setback for the midfielder.

The France international has had a torrid time of things since returning to Juve from Manchester United last July, appearing for just 34 minutes across two substitute appearances.

Pogba appeared to have put his injury issues behind him when featuring in back-to-back games against Torino and Roma, but he was dropped for Thursday's match with Freiburg.

That was down to Pogba turning up late for a team meeting ahead of the Europa League tie, but Massimiliano Allegri said on Saturday he would be involved against Sampdoria.

However, the 29-year-old was not included on the 21-man squad list published by Juve on Sunday, with reports suggesting he sustained another muscular injury in training.

 

Angel Di Maria, Federico Chiesa, Alex Sandro, Arkadiusz Milik and the suspended Moise Kean were the other notable absentees from the Bianconeri squad.

Allegri said on the eve of the game that goalkeeper Mattia Perin and forward Dusan Vlahovic would both start against Sampdoria at the Allianz Stadium.

Juve's loss to Roma last time out ended a four-game winning run in the Italian top flight, but a home match against bottom side Samp provided a chance to respond.

The Bianconeri had won their past seven home league meetings against Sampdoria, who went into Sunday's game with just two wins in 25 Serie A matches this season.

Jorge Campillo secured victory at the Kenya Open with a smooth final round of 66 on Sunday, his first DP World Tour win since the 2020 Qatar Masters.

The overnight leader following his impressive 63 on Saturday started well again, carding five birdies over his first 10 holes.

A bogey at the 11th was the Spaniard's first dropped shot in 38 holes, but six pars and a birdie from his final seven allowed Campillo to claim the title by two shots, finishing on 18 under par.

"[I feel] very good, it's always nice to win. To be able to close it off is a nice feeling," he said after sealing victory.

The 36-year-old follows the likes of Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam and Trevor Immelman in winning the Kenya Open, and he was typically humble when asked how it felt to be among those figures.

"It's hard to put my name under those names, you know," Campillo said. "I am from the little town I am from. I'm very proud, it's always nice to win a golf tournament but to have the name on the same trophy as Seve is obviously more special for Spain."

Masahiro Kawamura secured outright second with a birdie at the 18th to finish on 16 under, also following a trend among the leading pack by recording a final round of 66, with five of the top six doing so.

Santiago Tarrio and Ryo Hisatsune claimed joint-third on 15 under, while Lukas Nemecz and Borja Virto finished tied for fifth one shot further back.

Scotland's Robert MacIntyre fell away from contention with his round of 70, starting the day in second place but ultimately having to settle for joint-seventh on 13 under.

The best rounds on Sunday came from Dutchman Darius van Driel and South Africa's Shaun Norris, who both carded eight-under rounds of 63 to finish tied for 11th and 20th respectively.

Jos Buttler paid tribute to an "outstanding bowling performance" from his England team that allowed them to push Bangladesh all the way despite scoring just 117 on Sunday.

England failed to build on a strong power play after being put in to bat first in Dhaka, with Mehidy Hasan taking 4-12 as Bangladesh seized control.

The modest target was eventually passed by the hosts with four wickets and seven balls to spare, seeing Bangladesh win the three-match series ahead of Tuesday's final encounter.

But Buttler was impressed with the way his team stayed in the match as Jofra Archer took three wickets for just 13 runs in four overs. There was also a first wicket for T20I debutant Rehan Ahmed.

"It was an outstanding bowling performance, creating pressure and defending a low score," captain Buttler said. "I'm proud of everyone's efforts."

A difficult pitch contributed to the low-scoring affair, although England were 50-1 through six overs.

Phil Salt quickly departed in the seventh over, having scored 25 off 19, and only Ben Duckett managed to dig in thereafter in scoring 28 off 28.

Buttler, who was out for four, said: "No batter ever wants to get out, but it's a tough wicket to start your innings on.

"We needed someone to stick with Ben Duckett."

The visiting skipper added: "It was a different game of T20. Credit to Bangladesh for out-playing us."

Opposite number Shakib Al Hasan said: "They had a very good start, but we kept our nerve in a very good team effort. In a tricky game like this, it was important to keep our nerve."

Gabriel Jesus was included in Arsenal's squad for the first time since November for Sunday's Premier League meeting with London rivals Fulham.

Arsenal made the short trip to Craven Cottage with the aim of restoring their five-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the division.

Manager Mikel Arteta said ahead of the game he had yet to make a decision on whether Jesus would be involved, having only returned to full training this week.

But the Brazil international, whose most recent club appearance came in a 2-0 win at Wolves on November 12, was named among Arsenal's substitutes.

Jesus had scored five goals in 14 Premier League appearances for Arsenal prior to sustaining a knee injury which required surgery while away on World Cup duty.

Leandro Trossard was deemed fit enough to start against Fulham after missing the 2-2 Europa League last-16 first-leg draw with Sporting CP in midweek.

Arteta made five changes in all from that match, with captain Martin Odegaard also returning after recovering from illness.

 

Eighth-place Fulham, who were seeking a first win over Arsenal in 10 league meetings, made two changes for the contest.

The big news was the absence of ex-Arsenal man Willian from their squad, with Bobby De Cordova-Reid coming into the XI. Tosin Adarabioyo replaced Issa Diop in the other change.

Manor Solomon, who had scored in each of his past five appearances in all competitions, retained his place in the starting line-up.

Arsenal had won all four of their away London derbies in the league this season prior to facing Fulham, doing so by an aggregate 8-0 scoreline.

 

Fulham XI: Leno; Tete, Adarabioyo, Ream, Robinson; Reed, Lukic; De-Cordova Reid, Pereira, Solomon; Mitrovic.

Subs: Rodak, Wickens, Wilson, James, Vinicius, Diop, Francois, Harris, Robinson. 

Arsenal XI: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Partey, Xhaka; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli.

Subs: Turner, Tierney, Jesus, Smith Rowe, Holding, Tomiyasu, Jorginho, Vieira, Nelson.

Sadio Mane hopes Joao Cancelo will sign permanently for Bayern Munich after the previously out-of-favour full-back shone against Augsburg.

Cancelo, long seen as a key man at Manchester City, lost his place in Pep Guardiola's team and joined Bayern on loan in January.

The Portugal international started four consecutive games at Bayern, providing assists in each of his first two appearances, although he was substituted in all four.

After Cancelo was withdrawn at half-time of the Champions League first leg against Paris Saint-Germain, he lost his place in the side and only returned to the XI on Saturday.

There had been reports of Cancelo's discontent prior to the Augsburg match, but he completed the 90 minutes, scored one goal and created another.

No player made more tackles, and the mood music around Cancelo appeared to change afterwards, returning focus to the possibility of a transfer at the end of the season.

"What a player," forward Mane told Sport1. "We saw again that Joao is one of the best in the world.

"So good, really, we are very happy that he plays with us.

 

"I would love to see him with us next season. That's the kind of player we need, for sure."

That is a decision that will rest with the Bayern hierarchy, but Cancelo's performance also looked to have won over sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic.

"He is a sensational player," Salihamidzic told reporters. "He's trained really well in the last week and found that desire and greed again.

"Hardly any other player in Europe is that good in small spaces."

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