beena off the swansea boss, paul clement.nd the players who have not been performing at a level we know we are capable of. scrappy game. can't say we we re capable of. scrappy game. can't say we were fantastic, but we did what was needed to be done and that was to grind out the results. timing of the goal with ten minutes to go put us in the goal with ten minutes to go put usina the goal with ten minutes to go put us in a great position. we are very happy we have got a victory, because it seems quite some time since we have. in the late game, newcastle up against leicester, 1—1 at the moment. great goalfrom riyad mahrez? yes, great equaliser. newcastle made the best start. perfect. only one point from their last six matches. but riyad mahrez, backin last six matches. but riyad mahrez, back in form. it took a slight deflection. back in form just before the january transfer window, which is worrying for the leicester fans. 14 is worrying for the leicester fans. 1a points from seven games since craig shakespeare was sacked. it i

but swansea city are in dire straits.me this season. have won just three of the game this season. by points adrift of safety. what i would say for carlos in terms of putting the profile swansea is he is renowned for playing attractive football. he does not a premier league experience but swansea have never appointed a member —— manager with premier league experience since winning promotion six years ago. that is certainly an element of surprise but not totally unexpected. but of course the club are as you say in dire straits, they are looking to get off the bottom of the table and want to stay in the premier league, how realistic is that? it is a huge challenge for carlos ca rvalhal cos as well that? it is a huge challenge for carlos carvalhal cos as well as being five points adrift of safety it isa being five points adrift of safety it is a squad that is just desperately lacking in quality. they have them scoring goals a real difficulty having sold their best to micro players in the summer, skilfully sigurd saint and fer

paul clement is given the push by swansea. and birmingham's bid gets the green light.ll host the commonwealth games in 2022. good evening. bristol city are into the league cup semi—finals after stunning the holders manchester united with an injury time winner at ashton gate. the championship side will now play manchester city for a place in the final. a chance to bend the ear of the special one and try to find that edge. jose mourinho was not feeling overly generous despite ten changes. ibrahimovic was back alongside marcus rashford. their hosts were finding their range. nothing seemed to worryjose mourinho for now but that soon changed after the break. joe bryan, bristol born and bred, did something spectacular. the championship side holding their own. that man zlatan ibrahimovic could not be held back the long and united we re not be held back the long and united were level and now searching for a winner. lukaku denied twice. maybe nowjose mourinho was nervous. and with good reason will stop with time disappearing, korey smith got the match—winner for bristol city. t

propping everybody up remain swansea though, who will be in the bottom three at christmas.ve now lost their last six away games in the premier league in spain's primera division, real betis have moved up six places to eighth as they beat elegation threatened malaga 2—0. goals from sergio leon and victor camarasa gave them all three points on the costa del sol in what was also their first away win in six matches. porto have returned to the top of the portuguese primera liga thanks to a 3—1win over maritimo. porto's task was made a lot easier whenjoao gamboa was sent off for a second bookable offence. moussa morega scored twice for porto in a match they dominated with nearly three quarters of the posession. they go above sporting lisbon on goal difference. lionel messi has won spanish newspaper marca's player of the season award beating off his great rival cristiano ronaldo. the barcelona and argentina forward also picked up the top scorers award grabbing 37 goals in sa league games and comes ahead of this saturday's el classico against real madrid. translation: of course, it

very unlikely but yes, swansea in it as well. more than a yes, swansea in it as well.slowly but surely boy hodgson taking crystal palace of the bottom. we will have an update on the manchester united match in our sport at 7:30pm. still 2—1 against arsenal. thanks olly. let's turn our attentions to scottish football now, where premiership leaders celtic have extended their unbeaten domestic run to 67 games they thumped motherwell 5—1 thanks to a hattrick by psg loanee odsonne edwar. hibs are up to third in the table after a narrow win over partick thistle. there were also wins for dundee and kilmarnock, whilst hamilton drew with hearts. in the fa cup there was heartbreak for non—league oxford city against notts county. having twice pegged back the league two side, oxford conceded this goal in the last minute of injury time, jorge grant scoring the winner to send the magpies into round three. hereford earned a replay with league one fleetwood. four divisions separated these two teams but calvin dinsley put the southern league side in front in the first half. fleetwood la

a feeling that luck has run out for swansea this season?ally stands out is spoke. a lot of reports wafting around the mark use has one more match to save hisjob. that's against west bromwich. who are also in trouble. it felt that the town said turned against him, —— fa ns the town said turned against him, —— fans turned against him, many empty seats at the end, mark hughes was booed off the pitch. five defeats in six games for stoke, if they lose this game surely he'll be borrowed time. at the moment the owner peter coates is standing by him. west brom and adam party have not won in 16 league games. fixed mother and alan pardew. but marcuse says every thing ok. the longer it goes on the more difficult it gets that from my point of view i don't sense any apprehension about where we are. and apprehension about where we are. and a discreet better than anybody else. i know we have the capabilities of picking up points prior to the west ham game, like—for—like results, we are still ahead of the game. crucial down at the bottom, here is west ham

although swansea won here at the weekend.is campaign. 0nly five league goals. premier league law. manchester city have won all eight away games. they will be looking for a premier league record, 15 wins on the bounce. can swa nsea record, 15 wins on the bounce. can swansea city make changes to stop manchester city? maybe tammy abraham can manchester city? maybe tammy abraham ca n start manchester city? maybe tammy abraham can start up front with wilfried bony. former manchester city player. aguero might start as pep guardiola changes is team. 0ne aguero might start as pep guardiola changes is team. one thing is likely, though, there will be no rotation at the top for a while. there is a sense you this evening on manchester united looking at wins after the defeat in the derby on sunday. jose mourinho can speak about penalty appeals and other things, there was an incident with a bottle of milk thrown in a tunnel, but in their heart of hearts, manchester united fans will know that they were outclassed by the arrivals in that der

swansea are now searching for a full—time replacement for paul clement.ittan. he did leave the door open for a potential return one day as the full—time manager, however. in terms of those full—time replacement for paul clement, the likes of tony pulis have been mentioned. ryan giggs was mentioned when paul clement was appointed back in january. the former manchester united player has said he's not interested in the role. swansea are believed to be looking for a manager with premier league experience. they've never appointed manager with premier league experience since their promotion to top flight in 2011. the likes of ronald koeman, slaven bilic and luis van gaal have all been mentioned. until the palace game, lyon brittan will be in temporary charge. bristol city striker korey smith called it a "dream come true" and manager leejohnson said it was his biggest achievement in football. the championship side are into the league cup semi—finals after knocking out the holders manchester united — and their reward a tie against manchester city. it was also a s

bottom of the table swansea visit everton this evening.e to goodison park, everton have had something of a revival — they have won their last three home games. 0n the other side of the dugout, there is increasing pressure on swansea's manager paul clement. swansea have lost their last five away matches, but are unbeaten on their last three visits to goodison park. clement says it's important to stay in touch with the other teams around them. we need to try and get some valuable points in the next two games, starting with everton and then an important game against crystal palace at home. stay in touch, don't get set adrift. that will help with confidence. we know we need to play better as a group. then we are getting close to january and hopefully, we can do a couple of things that will help us. crystal palace's jason puncheon has been charged with carrying a weapon after a fight near a surrey nightclub at the weekend. the midfielder was arrested in the early hours of sunday morning after the disturbance near a bar in reigate and later char

swansea have appointed a former sheffield wednesday boss. with wednesday down in 19th place in the table. he has never managed in the table. he has never managed in the thomas lyte before so the move to the premier league club has come as something of a surprise. swansea city iron dire straits, winning just three games this season and five points adrift of safety. what i would say in terms of hitting the profile at swansea as he is known for playing attractive football, he is not a man with premier league experience but swansea have never appointed manager with premier league experience since winning promotion to the top flight. the challenge in january will be promotion to the top flight. the challenge injanuary will be to bolster the squad with necessary signings and even with the addition of four or five new players but still remains a huge challenge for him to steer swansea to safety. sixth place arsenal travelled to crystal palace is even, 2a points behind league leaders manchester city. arsene wenger appears to be infested moat, no com

big win for swansea, the first game in charge for their new manager.ir new manager. it finished 2—1 for them against watford. for their new manager. it finished 2-1 for them against watford. with 86 minutes gone, watford were 1—0 up. brilliant win for the manager and his first game in charge. bournemouth, and importing win for them. first defeat for sam alla rdyce. them. first defeat for sam allardyce. you can see the impact that has had on the table. they are in ninth place. manchester city have a huge lead over chelsea. at the bottom of the table, swansea, you can see how important their win was today. west brom are bottom and they play arsenal tomorrow. swansea are off the bottom. a couple of goalless draws today. thank you forjoining us. draws today. thank you forjoining us. wolverhampton wanderers will go into the new year with a ten point lead. they beat bristol city at ashton gate in the tea—time kick—off. wills went down to ten men before bristol city took the lead. the city keeper was sent off to level things up. that was before barry douglas

some people could see it as a miracle, swansea staying in the premier league. i do not agree.these sort ofjobs... we can do all the things. there's still plenty of chatter about liverpool's £75 million the world's most expensive defender. one man who knows him well is leicester city boss claude puel, who managed the dutchman at southampton last season, and believes liverpool have bought one of the world's best centre—backs. 0ne one of the best defenders in the world. he has got all the qualities to become the best. thy think it is fantastic, it is a very good possibility for liverpool. he can play in different teams, and it is a good reward for him. england's cricketers will begin the fourth day of the fourth ashes test in melbourne in control and with a great chance to seal the victory that would at least restore some pride. alistair cook is 2aa not out, with england on a91 for nine, a lead of 16a. still plenty of work for england to do, but for cook it was the highest total any batsman has made against australia at the mcg. i have dated myself —— doubted myself for 12 years.

there was a 1—1 draw between swansea and crystal palace. swa nsea swansea are still at the bottom.r. they sacked their manager paul clement, they have leon brittan in charge temporarily. he looks the part and he did get a performance out of his players. i worry about the lack of chances they created. crystal palace scored a penalty who had a lot of chances. they were certainly behind leon brittan, he is a legend there as a player and i think the players respect him. a decent day for leon brittan, would have loved the win but it's a decent point. i think we showed great character. it showed that the players were giving everything out there, for myself on the football club. for myself and the football club. i'm very proud of the effort they put in. being 1—0 down, we could have easily gone under but they showed great character and great spirit and towards the end, if one team is pushing for a goal, it was up to us to get the winner. elsewhere, west ham were beaten by newcastle 2—1 and a first win in ten games for newcastle. maybe things are looking up. newcastle were in a slump. beni

in this moment, everybody understands that swansea is in a very difficult situation.tay in the premier, but i don't agree, because miracles is something not from our world. and this kind ofjob is that they can do the things. you have all the time surprises, sometimes negative, sometimes positive. let's analyse the team and the players one by one and check if we have any kind of weakness, and if we have any kind of weakness, and if we feel that, of course, we will try to propose to bring in another player. first, we want to give opportunity to these players to show that they are better than what they did so far. the situation to me is very clear. you must prove your abilities. you must put the people like you, the fans, the chairman, the players, enjoy what we are doing. if they really like it, we will prove it on the pitch. after, it is not paper or a contract that will do the things. if we do things the correct way, we believe we will stay here, and probably a long time. if you don't do things well, even with the contract, you will not stay here. it is not important

he was considered for the swansea role last year but thejob was given for the swansea role last year, let's go nationwide and see what's happening around the country and our daily visit to bbc newsrooms around the uk. an all sporty theme today. nick owen from midlands today is in birmingham, the city which has been announced as the host of the commonwealth games in 2022. and i will be speaking to alex lovell of points west in bristol about bristol city's incredible win last night against manchester united. first of all, nico in, this announcement, we all, nico in, this announcement, we all knew it was coming but what was the atmosphere like? there was a sense of hushed anticipation, really, at the academyjust around the corner from the alexander stadium in birmingham, which will be the focus of the games. the teenagers were called together for a special assembly this morning and there wasjubilation special assembly this morning and there was jubilation amongst everyone, as it was confirmed by the president of the commonwealth games federation... birmingham 2022 will put on a truly sp

he was doing his best to make a good impression at his first swansea press conference.n christmas eve. fresh in the mind that sacking. they were 15th in the table at the time. he's never managed in the english top flight never managed in the english top flight before. everybody understands it is ina flight before. everybody understands it is in a very difficult situation. but it's what we like. maybe a lot of persons will say that it may be just a miracle that swansea will stay in the premier league but i don't agree because miracles is something not from our world. these kind of things, this kind ofjob is so kind of things, this kind ofjob is so they can do the things. there's still plenty of chatter about liverpool's £75 million signing of virgil van dijk from southampton, making him the world's most expensive defender. one man who knows him well is leicester city boss claude puel, who managed the dutchman at southampton last season, and believes liverpool have bought one of the world's best centre—backs. one of the best defenders in the world and he has other quality

he onlyjoined swansea at the beginning of the season. they are currently four points from danger.r. it is ironic they pulled the trigger just a couple danger. it is ironic they pulled the triggerjust a couple of days before playing crystal palace who were really paul clement first game in charge. they have taken the decision they say regretfully. the chairman said it was the last thing they wa nted said it was the last thing they wanted to do and the last thing they wa nted wanted to do and the last thing they wanted to do and the last thing they wanted to do and the last thing they wanted to do was look for another head coach halfway through the season. if you look at the number of time that the club legend has stepped in, the six manager into yea rs stepped in, the six manager into years for stepped in, the six manager into yea rs for swa nsea stepped in, the six manager into years for swansea city but i think they feel they have to do it now so there may be a manuchar bounce like it happened with david moyes and roy hodgson. do some fingers have to be pointed at the high raki?

swansea sacked boss paul clement last wednesday. they promoted leon brittan to player—manager. victory at the liberty stadium over crystal palace, which would have lifted them off the bottom of the table, but they did come from behind to claim a point. next up for the swans is a trip to liverpool, for what could be a bruising encounter on boxing day. elsewhere sam alla rdyce continued his unbeaten run as everton manager with a 0—0 draw against chelsea. southampton‘s charlie austin could face retrospective action from the football association after an incident with huddersfield goalkeeperjonas lossl which left the keeper with a suspected broken nose during their 1—1 draw at st mary's. and brighton beat watford 1—0. in the scottish premiership celtic are now eight points clear after beating second placed aberdeen 3—0 while kilmarnock came from behind to beat rangers for the first time since february 2012. kris boyd scoring twice in three minutes against his former club to secure a 2—1victory. elsewhere there were wins for hibernian and partick thistle. motherwell drew one all wit

it is similar to swansea, or crystal palace.dy to open the game and then changed completely, the situation. yes, i then changed completely, the situation. yes, lam then changed completely, the situation. yes, i am very, then changed completely, the situation. yes, lam very, very pleased. the team was so clinical in front of goal. he will want to see his team follow that up in their next league match. burnley against watford, seventh against eight. would have predicted they would be at that lofty position at this stage of the season. burnleyjust edged them out in a match that was full of incident, 1—0. them out in a match that was full of incident, 1-0. marvin ziegler was sent off for a two footed challenge. scott arfield scored the winner six minutes later. nice move by burnley after they won the ball back from watford. burnley, four wins out of the last six. one point of the top four but the referee was at the centre of controversy. couple of penalty shouts turned down. but burnley will be happy. really pleased with the results

sam allardyce's side beat bottom placed swansea city 3—1 at goodison park and move up to ninth in the minute for the visitors but dominic calvert lewin scored from the rebound after a wayne rooney penalty was saved. then gylfi sigurdsson grabbed a super goal against his former club to compound their misery before a late rooney penalty means manager alla rdyce is yet to lose since taking over at the beginning of the month.

swa nsea the next match is stoke against swansea. swansea are in all sorts of trouble.win. paul clement under a lot of pressure. lots of calls about the future of him. we can see how difficult it is looking for them at the bottom of the table. let's have a look at the top after our eight matches today for the manchester city playing west ham tomorrow. they should regain the 8—point lead at the top. what a big three points it was against arsenal. paris st germain in france lost for the first time in the league this season. they lost to strasbourg. possibly manchester city could lose to west ham. everton are in the top half of the table after their first win under big sam. let's hearfrom josay mouinho after their 3—1 win at arsenal. —— jose mourinho. mouinho after their 3—1 win at arsenal. -- jose mourinho. an amazing attitude. part of the quality they showed. quality in many things. they showed amazing character in the difficult moments of the game. arsenal gave us difficult moments with the attacking quality. we'll soon had a difficult moment of playing with ten men for

they sweep aside swansea to extend their record—breaking, winning run.aptainjoe root calls on a big performance from his players, ahead of their crucial third ashes test. news of tonight's premier league results in a moment, but of course we'll start with the big story of the day, and yet another dark day for the sport of cycling.... chris froome says he hopes his legacy will not be tainted, after returning an "adverse" drugs test at the vuelta a espana. the team sky rider had double the allowed level of legal asthma drug salbutamol in his urine. cycling's world governing body, the uci, wants more details from the team but says froome is not suspended. our correspondent james reynolds spoke with froome in the past few hours in mallorca. chris froome is currently here in the york at his team's winter training base. he and his team's doctors are now preparing their defence. i sat down and spoke with the tour de france champion and began by asking him whether or not the general public would simply think there goes another cheating cyclist? i can understand

this is where swansea fans begin to look more optimistically towards 2018.o have not won since august, they play against arsenal tomorrow. a big game for them. thank you. you will be back at half seven. still goalless at old trafford. it is top against third in the championship, although wolves were reduced to ten men and lost their captain, the visitors have come closest to breaking the deadlock against bristol city. this hit the post following a free kick. there you go. halfway through the second half there. leaders exeter and second placed wasps weren't involved in today's 4 matche in the rugby union premiership. harlequins thrashed northampton 50 points to 21 at twickenham to move up to seventh. quins made a blistering start with captain dave ward opening the scoring as as they effectively had the game sewn up by half—time. northampton could only improve and though they scored three tries the comeback was never on danny care with the pick of the quins tries helping to condemn saints seventh league defeat on the bounce. saracens are up to second after a b

swansea sacked boss paul clement last thursday, they promoted leon brittan the player manager.ble but they did come from behind to claim a point. next up for the swans is a trip to liverpool, for what could be a bruising encounter on boxing day. southampton's charlie austin could face retrospective action from the football association over an incident which left the keeper with a suspected broken nose during a 1—1 draw at st mary ‘s and brighton beat watford1—0. middlesbrough have parted company with manager garry monk, hours after a 2—1win at sheffield wednesday. the former swansea and leeds united boss has been replaced by academy manager craig liddle on an interim basis. middlesbrough are ninth in the championship following ryan shotton's winner at hillsborough. in the scottish premiership, celtic are now eight points clear in the scottish premiership after beating second—placed aberdeen 3—0, while kilmarnock came from behind to beat rangers for the first time since february 2012, kris boyd scoring twice in three minutes against his former club to secure a 2—1victory. elsewh

swansea city has just appointed the former sheffield wednesday manager, carlos ca rva hal, as formernew boss. the portuguese manager becomes swansea's the the portuguese manager becomes swa nsea's the permanent the portuguese manager becomes swansea's the permanent manager in the space of two years and he replaces paul clement, who was sacked earlier this month. cricket news, and an unbeaten 2aa by alastair cook is helping when to ta ke alastair cook is helping when to take control of the fourth ashes test. they finished the third day on a91-9, a test. they finished the third day on a91—9, a lead of 16a. cup's double century was the highest score by visiting batsmen at the melbourne ground. he now six in the all—time list of leading test run scorers. england, finally serenity at the mcg. those who have followed them are aware of a wave around the corner, followed perhaps by unwelcome docs. imagine the ripples caused byjoe unwelcome docs. imagine the ripples caused by joe root‘s unwelcome docs. imagine the ripples caused byjoe root‘s misplaced hope. mallon's error was even stranger. h

yesterday they set a new record of 15 straight league victories — beating swansea 4—0.th this — linking with raheem stirling before chipping the swansea keeper. and sergio aguero got the fourth — that win means city are now 11 points clear at the top of the table, increasingly difficult to catch. 0ur football reporter john bennett has been looking at their remarkable season — to work out what sets them apart. these players have a lot to smile about. they cannot stop winning. 15 premier league wins in a row and on the way they have beaten the likes of manchester united, arsenal, chelsea and liverpool, scored 49 goals in those games, so how does it compare with winning runs of the past? these are the all—time winning runs, manchester city are top, they have overtaken arsenal‘s double winning side and tottenham's double winning side and tottenham's double winning side and down at the bottom, the most recent double winning run, chelsea under antonio conte. how does it compare to europe? bayern munich are top with 19 wins in a row, their manager was pep guardiola. barcelona

the new manager has a winning start to his newjob as swansea boss. was just beyond them in melbourne. they have a chance of victory but it was snuffed out by australia captain steve smith. a day in which england will have hoped to complete a dramatic and exciting first victory of this ashes series ended in a somewhat anti—climactic draw because of steve smith the australian captain who scored his third century of this series and he has now scored more than 600 runs in the series. he batted australia through to see out a draw. england had a glimmer of hope when david warner tried to slog joe root‘s bowling. it went up in the error and gave root a wicket on his birthday. england then got rid of shaun marsh thanks to a good catch from jonny bairstow and had real hope of getting into the australian lower order. the scoring was very slow, the pitch lifeless, and the atmosphere drained out of the mcg. so, there won't be a 5—0 ashes win for australia, as two of the previous three england trips here have seen, but england didn't get that morale boosting win

it lifts swansea off the foot of the table and carvalhal says their belief is now stronger.are currently 14th in the championship table. it‘s understood director of football frank mcparland has also been sacked. gary brazil is to take over as caretaker manager while forest look to appoint a replacement. england‘s cricketers have arrived in sydney ahead of the fifth and final ashes test which begins in four days‘ time. england wicketkeeper jonny bairstow has given his backing to all—rounder moeen ali saying he remains in their best 11. moeen has only taken three wickets and averaged 19 runs with the bat this series. mesto says he has a lot to bring to the team. i think it's unquestionable to even think that he‘s not in the best 11. he wouldn‘t have played all those test matches if he wasn‘t. not many finger spinners come to australia and bowl teams out. it‘s very important to get behind him. he can take the game away from you. meanwhile, ben stokes won‘t be flying out to australia with england‘s one day squad — as he continues to await news of any possible charges against him

manchester city head to swansea looking to make it 15 consecutive premier league wins, real madrid arefter accepting a backdated doping ban watch out for cartons of milk and flying drinks bottles — manchester city are heading to swansea city on wednesday! the premier league leaders have been criticised by the red half of manchester for their celebrations at the weekend. will pep guardiola care? probably not. his side are 11 points clear at the top and are strong favourites to win the title. as far as he's concerned though there's still work to be done. we show we are able to do good things of bigger stages and that doesn't give you the guarantee, the guarantee is going to happen in the future, nobody knows, because there can be injured players, bad conditions, bad moments so we will see. city's game is one of 7 premier league fixtures — there are also 5 bundesliga matches later. as if that wasn't enough football to look forward to, real madrid are in action. the reigning european champions are taking on aljazira in the semi—finals of the club world cup in abu dhabi. real are looking to

that gives carlos carvahal a winning start to his newjob as swansea manager.ish premiership. it was goalless in the old firm match at celtic park. rangers stay third, eleven points off the lead. no goals either between second placed aberdeen or fifth placed hearts. hibs and kilmarnock also drew. there were wins for hamilton, partick and dundee. there were four matches in rugby union's aviva premiership today. saracens moved up to second after a bonus point win over worcester. there were also wins for gloucester and newcastle, while harlequins hammered northampton 50 points to 21 at twickenham. in the pro 14, the match between glasgow and edinburgh was suspended for half an hour because of a security alert. when it re—started, glasgow ran out 17—0 winners. earlier, treviso won at zebre. phil taylor has reached the final of the pdc check digit, he beatjamie lewis six sets to one. in what is his last ever tournament before retiring, he easily saw off challenge of the 26—year—old welshman at alexandra palace to make it to the final for the 21st time. he will play

swa nsea swansea are off the bottom of the table. boss. celtic go into the new year eight points clear at the top of the scottish premiership. it was goalless in the old firm match at celtic park. rangers stay third, 11 points behind celtic. no goals either between second—place aberdeen and fifth—place hearts. hibs and kilmarnock also drew. elsewhere, there were wins for hamilton, partick and dundee. four matches in rugby union's aviva premiership today. the top two exeter and wasps weren't playing, and that's seen saracens move up to second after a bonus point win over worcester. there were also wins for gloucester and newcastle, while harlequins hammered northampton at twickenham. in the pro 14 the match between glasgow and edinburgh was suspended was suspended for half an hour because of a security alert. it re—started at 4.30 and glasgow ran out 17—nil winners earlier treviso won at zebre. england's cricketers have avoided a whitewash. but victory was beyond them in melbourne. they had a chance of victory but it was snuffed out b

there was a 1—1 draw between swansea and crystal palace. it was spectacular.they sacked their manager paul clement, they have leon brittan in charge temporarily, still on the bottom of the table. he looks the part and he did get a performance out of his players. roy hodgson will be pleased with the point. the standout moment was jordan‘s world—class strike, equalising after crystal palace had scored a penalty and it needed a world —class scored a penalty and it needed a world—class school because they were struggling to create chances, swa nsea, struggling to create chances, swansea, the old problems were there, just four points from their last 11 games. leon brittan got a performance from his players. last 11 games. leon brittan got a performance from his playerslj think performance from his players.” think we showed great character. it showed that the players were giving everything out there, for myself on the football club. i‘m very proud of the football club. i‘m very proud of the effort they put into the. being 1-0 the effort they put into the. being 1—0

he was considered for the swansea role last year but the job was given to bob bradley, who lasted lessre licking their wounds and working out how to get themsleves up for the last two tests against australia with the ashes already gone. one of the rare highlights in the england camp has been the emergence of dawid malan, their top run—scorer who has averaged over 50. it is disappointing we have nothing really to play for from point of view in terms of the ashes. we obviously lost 3—0 but i think the pride of the team and all of our players will want to make this 3—2, and we want to show we can play and perform out here. that's the key thing. that's all the sports now, much more on the website. you can see the top story, speculation about some chairs and whether he will leave arsenal injanuary or next summer, heading towards manchester city. you can read all about it. i will be back much more on bbc news in the next hour. thank you. let's return now to our main story and the departure of the first secretary of state, damian green. theresa may sacked her close colleague and friend after

we know roberto martinez from his time in english football, he went on to manage swansea and wigan andb. manage swansea and wigan and everton before landing the belgianjob. this was his reaction. as they say footballers way of living, i have lived almost 21 years in the british game and england. so it is a very special draw, but it is the world cup and it is about preparation. we have a challenging draw for england. it isa have a challenging draw for england. it is a challenging group. will the longest and most demanding group in terms of travelling arrangements but i think we looking forward to what we're going to find. just time to ta ke we're going to find. just time to take a quick through the other groups. group a, russia and the hosts will take on saudi arabia in the opening game. that will have egypt and uruguay. we should see mo salah of the proposed trying to take that sparkling form into the world cup. portugal and spain in group b. france will take on australia and argentina on to the other groups now. . brazil will be hoping to avenge their humiliation in 2014. germany the

swansea have sacked their manager, paul clement.gue. they have won just once in the two months and lie four poinst off safety. he has been in charge for less than a year. he had a fairly successful spell at derby county and laughed at about seven 01’ derby county and laughed at about seven or eight months and was unlucky to lose his job there perhaps but the writing has been on the wall for paul clement at swa nsea. the wall for paul clement at swansea. he cut his teeth as a very good number two as assistant to carlo ancelotti at chelsea, real madrid and bayern munich. he went to derby and then at swansea it has not worked out and they have sacked their manager with them bottom of their manager with them bottom of the premier league. more on that and any possible successors at the liberty stadium when we get it. the last of the league cup quarter—finals are underway. the holders manchester united are at ashton gate facing bristol city who are going really well in the championship at the moment. jose mourinho has made ten changes to

it beat paisley and swansea. the announcement was made in hull during the one show.k you. what is the biggest thing on your wish list question what you have the £3 million grant. we will celebrate youth and diversity. we are so excited for everybody to be sent to coventry. a lot of excitement we can speak to andrew dickson who advised that bid and also on winning hull in 2017. thank you for talking to us. a lot of excitement. what wallace mean for coventry? for a city like coventry, it is about changing perceptions. it was once the capital of england. it isa was once the capital of england. it is a great, medieval city. it is also a modern, young and diversity. 35 years ago the specials did ghost town. now it will be a city that welcomes the world. it has great culture and great arts, a real vibrancy here. we are open for business now. this city has the best transport museum in the uk. we have warwick arts centre and the belgrade theatre which has won awards for its diversity. it has great and innovative arts organisations like the shop front theatre. just on our doo

manager—less swansea drew 1—1 with crystal palace.middlesbrough have parted company with manager garry monk hours after a 2—1win at sheffield wednesday. the former swansea and leeds united boss has been replaced by academy manager craig liddle on an interim basis. middlesbrough are ninth in the championship. celtic are now eight points clear in the scottish premiership after beating second placed aberdeen 3—0. rangers could have jumped up to second but let a 1—0 lead slip at kilmarnock. former rangers striker kris boyd scored twice in three minutes to give killie the 2—1win. elsewhere, hibs beat bottom club ross county 2—1, motherwell drew with dundee, partick thistle beat hamilton 1—0, and it was goalless between stjohnston and hearts. there were four matches in rugby union's premiership today. champions and league leaders exeter beat northampton 35—14 at franklin's gardens in the saints' first premiership match since the sacking of director of rugbyjim mallinder. exeter‘s will chudley opened the scoring with the best try of the matc

swansea would need the reds at their most ruthless.t the games that define their season, it is facing teams around you that matters. it is why west ham thought this was priceless. they thought they had seen at bournemouth. but controversy was coming. it won't count. the flag is up! did wilson get a touch? the discussions are long and involved. it is a goal! a referee's chance to transform emotions. in the premier league, joy can turn to heartache. it is why when records come, it's best to save them. ‘ ‘ savour —— savourthem. celtic have extended their lead at the top of the scottish premiership to 11 points, thanks to a 2—0 win at dundee — james forrest and leigh griffiths with the goals. aberdeen can narrow the gap again this evening, when they take on partick thistle — next for celtic is the visit of old firm rivals rangers on saturday. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. let's get more now on the severe weather and travel disruption today. more on prince harry. he featured an interview with preside

premier league's bottom club swansea have appointed the former sheffield wednesday boss as their newdnesday on christmas eve and he takes over from temporary player manager leon brittan. he was holding the position after the dismissal of ball clement the week ago. carlos left wednesday with the club 15th in the championship but he becomes swansea's that the championship but he becomes swa nsea's that permanent the championship but he becomes swansea's that permanent manager in two years. alastair cook has admitted to doubts about his place in the team after a poor run of form but he put any negative thoughts firmly behind him today as he made a record—breaking double century that put england in a strong position on day three of the fourth ashes test at the start they were 491-9, a ashes test at the start they were 491—9, a lead of 164. cook himself was 244 not out. patrick geary reports from melbourne. before this test many were asking whether alastair cook had the ability and desire to keep scoring test runs for england. this was his answer. 244 not out. impressive even for a man wi

swansea is in a very difficult situation. this is what we like.ier, and i don't agree because miracles is something from... not from our world. and this kind of things, this kind ofjob is to come in here and make sure they do the things. burnley manager sean dyche said today that the club's fans aren't about to "get drunk" on their success this season. burnley‘s final fixtuire of 2017 takes them to huddersfield on saturday and they lie seventh in the table after their 2—2 draw at manchester united on boxing day — a game in which they led 2—0 at one stage. i think the fans know there is a reality with and they know we have to work for everything. i will make it clear that we are not condoning or condemning that. the bbc understands that a heavyweight unification fight between britain's anthonyjoshua and joseph parker is close to being confirmed. joshua is seeking to add parker's wbo crown to his wba and ibf titles . the main stumbling block until now has been how the revenue would be split. parker was said to be demanding a0%, but a compromise appe

swansea sacked boss paul clement last wednesday.erty stadium over crystal palace, which would have lifted them off the bottom of the table, but they did come from behind to claim a point. next up for the swans is a trip to liverpool, for what could be a bruising encounter on boxing day. elsewhere sam alla rdyce continued his unbeaten run as everton manager with a 0—0 draw against chelsea. southampton's charlie austin could face retrospective action from the football association after an incident with huddersfield goalkeeperjonas lossl which left the keeper with a suspected broken nose during their 1—1 draw at st mary's. and brighton beat watford 1—0. in the scottish premiership, celtic are eight points clear after beating second placed aberdeen 3—0. kilmarnock came from behind to beat rangers that the first time since every 2012. kris boyd scoring twice in three minutes against his former clu b to in three minutes against his former club to secure a 2—1victory. elsewhere, wins for hibs and partick thistle, motherwell drew 1—1 with d

manchester city extended their top flight record to 15 games unbeaten after crushing swansea four nily. but how does their winning streak rank in the history books? our football reporterjohn bennett has been looking back through the records. these players have a lot to smile about, must be great to be a manchester city player or manager or fan. they can't stop winning. 15 premier league wins in a row. they beat the likes of manchester united and arsenal and chelsea and liverpool, 49 goals in those 15 games, conceding just ten goals. how does it compare to winning runs from the past? this is the all—time winning runs from the english top—flight. manchester city at the top. they have overtaken tottenham from 1960, 61 and down the bottom, the most recent winning run before manchester city, conte's chelsea, went on they to win the title. it compare with europe? guess who the manager was by a munich? pep guardiola. their manager was also pep guardiola. two equal, city would have to be totte n ha m two equal, city would have to be tottenham and bournemouth and newcastle and crystal palace.

it's up against coventry, paisley, stoke—on—trent and swansea.y that is perhaps best known these days for its highly efficient car making plants is keen to show it has another side. # by the harbour wall # the place you love the most #. sunderland has been shaped by the sea. where once they built ships, now they make music. culture here, inspired by the waves. so the landscape pulls on your heartstrings here? yeah, it absolutely does. i mean, just look at it. even on a kind of stormy day like this, it's still beautiful. coronation street actress melanie hill grew up near this shore. she says sunderland is special, and should be city of culture. for me, it's the community, and it's a community spirit. and since this bid was started, i've seen the communities coming together, and there's like an energy. and people have begun to have hope again. sunderland champions social art — a way of people creating and connecting at the same time. i think there's a lot of talent in sunderland. i'm not saying i'm one of them, but you never can tell! it was once

he was considered for the swansea role last year but the job england's cricketers are looking how ton the matches against australia, the ashes having already gone. it is disappointing that we don't have anything to play for as a team in terms of the ashes. we have lost 3—0. we are 3—0 up already. but with the pride in the team, we will want to make this 3—2. we wa nt team, we will want to make this 3—2. we want to make sure we can play and perform here. the wbo world middleweight champion billyjoe saunders has held a news conference after his superb unanimous points victory over canada's david lemieux on saturday. and the briton, undefeated in 26 bouts, has targeted super fights with gennady golovkin or saul alvarez — or both! - in 2018. if it was about the money now, what i would do is go and defend against some mums over the next year and pick upa some mums over the next year and pick up a few million. it's not about that. it's about me now, while i'm in my prime, to test myself. i know i can beat some fighters co mforta ble. know i can beat some fighters comfortable. i know my own

liverpool at anfield against swansea. roberto firmino with the goal.cts at next year's winter olympics in path to pyeongchang. it takes a special kind of athlete to succeed at the winter olympics. traditionally, british success has been sporadic at best. but in recent years, team gb has finallyjoined the party. lizzie yarnold is the olympic champion! there were four gb medals during sochi 2014. that could be upgraded to a record haul of five. british athletes are winning more major medals now than at any point in history. there is every chance that pyeongchang 2018 in south korea could be great britain's best ever games. one of britain's best medal prospects is elise christie, competing in three events. since the last games, she has become a world champion. she is looking to put her 0lympic demons firmly behind her after a devastating sochi 2014. 0h, they've gone down, they've all gone down! i can't believe it! christie's been penalised again. it's been tough. i can't even describe how hard it was. i suffered a lot after it, in my normal life too. i ha

has been named the next city of culture for 2021 — beating paisley, stoke—on—trent, sunderland and swanseahave a huge economic impact notjust on the city but also on the west midlands. economic impact notjus to 1 the city was heart . this pitch and that the heart of this pitch and that clinched it for coventry, named a uk city of culture for 2021. it is such a huge opportunity. it is amazing. i am so a huge opportunity. it is amazing. i am so excited. it has paid off and i am so excited. it has paid off and i am so am so excited. it has paid off and i am so happy. i am the product of this city and i love it. i am so happy with this. once the celebrations die down than the hard work will start. coventry will have until 2021 to prepare a host of events in the city that will help boost its economy and tourism and its long—term legacy. boost its economy and tourism and its long-term legacy. 40 million people within two—hour's drivetime. we are going to do something incredibly special. we will give someone incredibly special. we will give someone special to the uk. the city was bombed in the bl

a tackle on collin quaner and will now be unavailable for the games against brighton, leicester, swansear city. meanwhile, manuel lanzini will serve a two—match suspension with immediate effect after his denial of a charge of ‘successful deception of a match 0fficial' was rejected. it follows the awarding of a penalty for west ham against stoke on saturday. a course exclusively for female coaches is being run in scotland in a bid to increase the number of women's coaches in the game. it comes as the fa in england admits it's struggling to find enough female candidates for the national women's team. kheredine idessane reports. is this a glimpse of football's future? with women coaching men. it certainly is a football first for scotland. european governing body uefa's official coaching course, but for women only. it is something the scottish fa pushing, to key players involved, which is prevalent in the men's game. and we want to try and replicate that with the women's side. the scottish fa hopes to address a relative lack of female managers and this year's women's european championships,

coventry, paisley, stoke, sunderland and swansea, are all competing for the title of uk city of culture long celebration of arts, music and culture, has boosted local economies, proving a huge success for the current holder, hull. in the first of five profiles of the contenders, colleen harris takes a look at the city of coventry. music: ghost town by the specials. this is a city that has embraced its reputation for peace and reconciliation. transformed by post—war immigration, coventry‘s culture has been shaped by its history. the cathedral symbolises its resilience. what stands today in my home city are the ruins from a campaign of bombing during the blitz. archive: the martyred city of coventry. it was also the heart of the british car industry. its decline turned it into a ghost town. yeah, most of the songs written down here, off the first album. the song became an anthem for a generation, written by the specials. the coventry band captured racial tensions of the early ‘80s through their music. walking around in coventry at the time, it was horrendous. and you couldn't walk down th

stamford bridge in the first half of their victory over swa nsea first half of their victory over swanseathe official about the failure of the referee to award them a corner. england's cricketers head to perth knowing that they can't afford another defeat in the ashes series. they had given themselves a chance of levelling the series in adelaide, but collapsed on the final day of the second test against australia. they lost their remaining six wickets inside two hours and were beaten by 120 runs to go two down in the series with three to play. from adelaide, here's our sports correspondent, andy swiss. plays the great escape theme tune. they'd arrived with such optimism. england fans hoping to witness one of cricket's greatest comebacks. but within minutes, their hopes lay in tatters. second ball of the day, chris woakes caught behind. and even worse was to follow. england's captain and cornerstone, joe root, gone for 67. australia had their key man. and when moeen ali was trapped for just two, any last lingering hopes left with him. the rest was a formality. injust an hour and three quar