patrick gearey, bbc news.ew 2024 tennis season is already under way with the united cup mixed team competition in australia and great britain beat the hosts to get the tournament off to a winning start. katie boulter secured the vital victory in the three rubber tie with a straight sets win over ajla tomljanovic. the british number one winning 6—2, 6—4just after her team—mate had beaten her boyfriend. cameron norrie is the former, australia's alex de minaur the latter. the british number one claiming a three set victory and after the tie was won, boulter said it was �*super awkward�* but she �*hopes de minaur will still have me�*. britain can reach the united cup quarterfinals if they beat the usa on sunday. meanwhile over in brisbane... rafa nadal is preparing to return to the court after a year out, ahead of a year that may well be his last in the sport. nadal�*s most recent competitive match was injanuary at the australian open, which he�*s also preparing for next week. after missing the other three slams i

patrick gearey reports.est midlands police knew there could be troubled before last night's match, but still they couldn't entirely contain the violence that broke out from some of the visiting legia warsaw supporters. angry at having reduced allocation of tickets. in the words of one aston villa fan, all hell broke loose. in round one hour of sustained trouble, for police officers were injured and police dogs and horses were also hurt. officers say it is the worst violence they have seen in years. what we encountered were unacceptable scenes last night with really high levels of violence by away fans towards police and i'm really proud of the policing operation and the bravery that was demonstrated by the officers involved in the operation. this was the damage _ involved in the operation. this was the damage this _ involved in the operation. this was the damage this morning. - involved in the operation. this was the damage this morning. before i involved in the operation. this was i the damage this morning.

patrick gearey watched the action. noise quite like this, especially when you're not used to it. for philippe clement, the new rangers boss, this was the introduction to one of football's most intense matches, loud and about to get louder. what a strike that is. paulo bernardo�*s strike an unstoppable shot, celtic�*s joy uncontrollable. rangers did have moments. this hand ball may have meant a penalty if var had not spotted an earlier offside. the pulse of the game was frantic but when they needed it celtic found rhythm and kyogo furuhashi prtformed hiis solo, his seventh goal this year was special. the game was quickly getting away from rangers. leon balogun could only stop it illegally and off he went. rangers battled on however, the captainjames tavernier produced some magic but celtic held on. they will celebrate the new year by dancing on the table top. after the game rangers have requested access to the audio from the video assistant referee looking at that first half penalty appeal. elsewhere, third placed heart

patrick gearey, bbc news everton have formally lodged an appeal against their 10—point deduction foron. let's have a quick look at some of the day's other stories after almost a year out with injuries, rafael nadal will compete at the atp event in brisbane next month. it will be nadal�*s first appearance since his second round exit at this yea r�*s australian open. tiger woods is back in action on day two of the hero world challenge in the bahamas. the american is currently one under par after ten holes, five shots behind countryman tony finau and england's matt fitzpatrick, who lead on six under. world champion snowboarder mia brooks is one of the three contenders for this years bbc young sports personality of the year award. she's on the shortlist along with archer penny healey and wheelchair basketball player charlie mcintyre. almost 300 rugby union players, suffering from brain damage have had a setback in their attempt to combine their individual claims of negligence against world rugby. the rfu and the welsh rugby union, into a single group action against the governing bodies.

patrick gearey, bbc news.saints edged a nine—try thriller, beating gloucester 31—29 to move into third in the table. we're just a few hours away from fight night in saudi arabia where britain's anthonyjoshua faces otto valeen in a must—win heavyweight contest. joshua looks in good shape, and has a 13 pound advantage for tonight's fight. a win over the swedish fighter in riyadh could set up a long—awaited bout with deontay wilder. i'm here to fight. i'm not here to party and get caught up in the glamour, i want to perform well, put that pressure on myself, of course i am tense because i want to perform and win, i have that urge to win and i want to hurt my opponent as well. deontay wilder — one of the hardest hitting heavyweights in history — will be fighting joseph parker on the same bill tonight. wilder remains one of the biggest draws in the sport despite having boxed fewer than three minutes in over two years. victories for both him and joshua would pave the way for them to meet each other next year. britai

patrick gearey, bbc news.nchester united's campaign is playing out under an inescapable spotlight right now. but there have been plenty of famous european nights at old trafford. where we can join our correspodnent nesta mcgregor. nesta it may well need something specalfrom united tonight. yes, very special indeed to get past the german champions. they might be facing german opposition but it's facing german opposition but its two french words that spring to mind when thinking about manchester united and they are deja view. talk about manchester united needing a result. number one is to have any chance of reaching the last 16 of the champions league. number two to appease fans who are annoyed at the inconsistency and number three the rumours about erik ten hag's future. bayern munich are a huge club, they have been struggling a bit which might mean the cop is a bit of a skip for them and as we mentioned, harry kane, football has await of writing his own script and he could have joined manchester united. speaki

patrick gearey reports.s age and defies his age. ronnie o'sullivan now eight times uk champion is a0 tomorrow. i now eight times uk champion is 40 tomorrow. ~ . ~ now eight times uk champion is 40 tomorrow. ~' , ~ ., now eight times uk champion is 40 tomorrow. ~' , ,, ., ,., tomorrow. i keep thinking at some oint, i've tomorrow. i keep thinking at some point. i've got _ tomorrow. i keep thinking at some point. i've got to _ tomorrow. i keep thinking at some point, i've got to stop _ tomorrow. i keep thinking at some point, i've got to stop winning i tomorrow. i keep thinking at some point, i've got to stop winning at l point, i've got to stop winning at some point, but i keep doing all right, so i keep going until the... —— a8. right, so i keep going until the... -- a8. ht right, so i keep going untilthe... -- 48. , ;~,:: right, so i keep going untilthe... -- 48. ,;~,:: , ., , right, so i keep going untilthe... "48. 4:11, ., ,, . -- 48. it is 30 years since 0'sullivan _ -- 48. it is 30 years since 0'sullivan

patrick gearey reports.

patrick gearey, bbc news.nerable of late. they're away to psv eindhoven, who are guaranteed second place, so we could well see some changes. arsenal taking three academy players with them to the netherlands. everton say they'll continue to display foodbank charity adverts on the scoreboards at their ground, in response to the so—called "poverty chanting" of opposing supporters. the move was praised on social media, and the message of "fans supporting foodbanks" will be shown whenever the chanting is heard. chants like "sign on" are specifically aimed at everton and liverpool mocking fans about unemployment. the ads were displayed just 3a seconds into everton's win over chelsea on sunday, and twice more. you may remember the row when england fans couldn't buy a mary earps goalkeeper replica shirt during the women's world cup this summer, after the kit supplier nike failed to produce any. earps won the golden glove for best keeper at the world cup and eventually, after a backlash, her replica shirt was released

patrick gearey reports. was this the turning point?toffees. still 1—0 at half time and seven minutes beyond. but then city found phil foden and with him, the ignition. the game was now there to be won. they needed a hand, though. handball, penalty. julian alvarez squeezed them in front. everton, a constant menace, eventually allowed city some comfort, thanks to bernardo silva's gold. silva, and he's sealed it! manchester city are back in the top four, butjust watch the boss. they'll approach the new year with resolution. 2023 has been chaotic for chelsea. loads of money, loads of players, not enough goals. this from mykhailo mudryk was a welcome remedy against crystal palace. but nothing is coming easy for chelsea. palace hit back, no fuss but so much skill from michael 0lise. for chelsea, one step forward, another back, but then a crucial trip in their favour. this meant a penalty and noni madueke brought some much needed peace in feverish times. this is a disconcerting time of year, difficult to get your bearings, easy to lose routin

the expectations could barely be more diverse ahead of the game at anfield as patrick gearey reports.here's last season — a scoreline that scarred. that hurt, that definitely hurt. and that's something i think that united have got to use as fuel to go to anfield and as a bare minimum roll their sleeves up and have a fight. and i think united haven't scored there for a number of years, not even registered a goal at anfield. it's been a real dark place for united and at some point you've got to roll your sleeves up and change your fortune. but liverpool are a formidable opponent. they have lostjust once in the league all season and sit top of the table. another victory would further fuel talk of a title challenge and add to their enemies' issues. but not everyone there is enjoying united's woes. i never like when the headlines about united are not great before we play because it's always like, ok, oh, then it is the game where you can put everything right. i saw that eric ten hag became manager of the month last month. i saw that they were the team in form twice in the last month. so ho