Crisis club Liverpool find themselves level on points with second-placed Bournemouth after picking up their first Premier League points since 20 September. Their recovery appears simple in that context and, thanks in no small part to the Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, it was the balm that Arne Slot wished for after the worst run of his Anfield reign. He knows it must be only a starting point.

Liverpool were deserving victors in the league for the first time since beating Everton in the Merseyside derby, as Villa proved the perfect guests. A terrible mistake by Martínez presented Mohamed Salah with his 250th Liverpool goal before more poor Villa defending enabled Ryan Gravenberch to double the hosts’ advantage early in the second half. Slot’s name reverberated from the Kop as Liverpool banished the anxiety of six defeats in the previous seven games. It was also sung in the 24th minute with the game goalless and delicately balanced. The support was there for Liverpool’s head coach long before the victory.

Spurs resemble a pile of sticks leaning against a wall with the rampaging Moisés Caicedo happy to dismantle them

Sitting through this tightly stitched but still oddly shapeless game of football, you kept thinking: what does this remind me of? The trapped energy, the collisions. The sense of something always but never really happening.

Oh yes. Watching the full 90 minutes of Chelsea’s narrow but still comfortable 1-0 defeat of Tottenham was like staring at one of those hypnotic drunken city centre brawls that appear on social media from time to time, where nothing ever really seems to start or stop, where the whole things is just a kind of tortured flailing, but one that must also be pored over endlessly in the comments.

• Coach says team were composed in difficult conditions

• Bench forwards help England to 25-7 victory

Steve Borthwick praised his team’s resilience and composure as England secured their eighth Test win in a row, beating Australia 25-7 in a soggy contest. England bossed the match, scoring four tries to one, and dominated the skies as both teams reverted to a kicking battle.

Even though Borthwick lamented a lack of accuracy in the wide channels, citing numerous line-breaks that were left unconverted, he was pleased with the control his players maintained. “There was a period where the game was tight in very difficult conditions against an Australian side that are tough and really well drilled,” he said.

• Morant suspended one game for team conduct issue

• Star guard clashed with coaches after Lakers loss

The Memphis Grizzlies have suspended two-time All-Star guard Ja Morant for Sunday’s game against the Toronto Raptors, citing what they described as conduct detrimental to the team.

Morant scored just eight points in the Grizzlies’ 117–112 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night and appeared visibly frustrated. During a brief postgame media session, he repeatedly deflected questions, responding several times with some version of “Go ask the coaching staff.”

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Here come the players. Emerald green and pitch black. Two iconic kits, two iconic teams, two iconic anthems to follow before an iconic Haka.

How good is this?

The days when Tottenham were capable of ending this fixture with nine men trying to pull off a high line against Nicolas Jackson are over, but on current evidence the decision to replace the excesses of Angeball with something more restrained and grown-up has merely invited soul-searching of a different nature.

The loud, sustained blast of booing that broke out when the final whistle arrived at the end of this sorry defeat to Chelsea said much about the identity crisis gripping the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. There are ways to lose a derby but Spurs chose one of the worst routes. They created almost nothing of note during an unremarkable game, so much so that they finished with an xG of 0.05, and it must have been worrying for Thomas Frank to hear unrest flare on more than one occasion in the stands.

French-Turkish actor appeared in a string of high-profile films, as well as hit BBC series The Missing

Tchéky Karyo, who appeared in some of director Luc Besson’s biggest hits and a string of international films, died on Friday at the age of 72, his family have announced.

A statement from his wife and children sent to AFP said he had “succumbed to cancer”.

It’s been the biggest secret in theatre: what will the marmalade-loving, hyper-polite Peruvian look like in Paddington the Musical? As the curtain rises, we speak to the new bear’s creator, a veteran of Star Wars and PG Tips ads

Paddington stands within touching distance. His fur flutters as he turns, his neat button nose sniffs the air, and his eyes soften with a smile. For years, design details of the bear for Paddington the Musical, directed by Luke Sheppard, have been kept top secret. Now here he is, in his blue duffel coat and red hat. A quiet theatrical marvel. “What we’re doing,” says producer Sonia Friedman, “has never been done before.”

Standing around 1.2 metres (just under 4ft) tall, the bear is beautifully round, all belly and sloping shoulders. He is not an exact replica of the Paddingtons we’ve seen in illustrations or movies, but something new. His shaggy, caramel fur has a gentle wave, and his white snout is dotted with a brown nose, ideal for sniffing out trouble. Around his neck sits a label, threaded through an old piece of string, asking for someone to look after him.

Woman, 38, and man, 37, had been arrested on Wednesday in relation to theft of £76m worth of jewellery in Paris

Two more suspects, a man and a woman arrested this week over the jewel heist at the Louvre, have been charged and remanded in custody, prosecutors have said.

The charges on Saturday brought to four the number of people now charged over the spectacular robbery.

The violin-playing sonic experimentalist on gadgets, guilty pleasures, and her most controversial pop culture opinion

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I love Papa John’s pizza so much. Whenever I’m on my period, I need Papa John’s. After a photoshoot, everyone knows we’re getting Papa John’s. In LA you have access to so much bougie pizza. No, I want Papa John’s pizza.

Actors Michael Wahr and Adinia Wirasti met on set in 2018. Less than a year later, his world stopped when he spotted a handwritten note

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It was 2018 and I’d just landed a role on HBO series Grisse. I was excited to meet the cast, who’d already started filming in Batam, Indonesia. After a flight from London to Singapore, then a ferry to Riau Islands, I arrived at my chalet. Even though it was late, I was invited to join the others at one of the villas.

About 20 people were gathered, eating, drinking and chatting loudly. I was given a drink and a bowl of noodles, then shortly afterwards the director and showrunner asked me to read a scene with one of the actors, Adinia. She was so graceful and precise in her reading, I remember sitting across from this woman and being in complete awe of her.

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New Zealand’s Pearce Resurgence is legendary among expert cave divers for its depth and difficulty. When an Australian explorer became obsessed with diving deeper into it, he hatched a daring plan that could cost his life

Deep in a valley in the New Zealand wilderness, clear cold water rushes across moss-covered rocks.

In the morning the mist rises up and lays across the valley. In the afternoon sun glints on the Pearce River, shafts of light filter through native tree canopy. It is a fecund, primeval place. The water has flowed down through tunnels in Mount Arthur, in South Island’s north-west, to meet at the Pearce Resurgence at its base. On the surface it looks innocuous, a calm pond. But beneath it is one of the largest and deepest cave networks in the world; unfathomable, an unknown habitat, seemingly bottomless.

• South Africa 7-61 Japan

• Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Arendse score two tries each

A dark, wet evening in Brent is a long way from the sun and sea of Brighton. And, boy, there were not many echoes here of rugby’s greatest upset – quite possibly sport’s – bar the names of the teams and the inimitable fellow sitting in Japan’s coaching box, Eddie Jones. South Africa were 43-point favourites in 2015 and a mere 37 this time, but the reality of lopsided rugby was all too formidably asserted.

Instead, it was Wembley that echoed, the lower tier around two-thirds full. South Africa, nine of whose squad play their rugby in Japan, wanted to organise this run-out to bring together their squad from around the world before the big one next Saturday against France. As an exercise it worked well enough, the Springboks utterly dominate from start to finish, notching up nine tries in the process.

• Pole eases to 6-1, 6-2 opening victory in Saudi Arabia

• Keys commits 38 unforced errors on return from injury

The second edition of the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia began with the familiar sight of Iga Swiatek brutally laying waste another of the best players in the world. The six-time grand slam champion demolished Madison Keys 6-1, 6-2 in their first match of the group stage.

Swiatek had been struggling in recent tournaments, fatigue seemingly setting in at the end of a draining 10-month season. However, the Pole had three weeks to regroup after her 6-1, 6-2 loss to Jasmine Paolini in the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open. She looked fresh and locked in from the beginning, affirming her status as one of the favourites alongside Aryna Sabalenka, the world No 1, by serving extremely well and putting Keys under relentless pressure off both wings with her weight of shot and defence while offering few mistakes.

US vice-president announces to 10,000 attenders of Turning Point USA that he prefers wife, who is Hindu, to be Christian

JD Vance is doubling down on comments he made about wanting his wife, Usha Vance, to convert to Christianity – remarks that drew political backlash from some quarters.

At an event with Turning Point USA at the University of Mississippi to honor the conservative group’s slain founder Charlie Kirk, an audience member questioned the US vice-president about how he sees the links between American patriotism and Christianity.

The government shutdown is not an accident. Trump’s budget would push millions into poverty and must be stopped

Democrats in the US Senate must stand with the working families of our country and in opposition to Donald Trump’s authoritarianism. They must not cave in to the president’s attacks on the working class during this ongoing government shutdown. If they do, the consequences will be catastrophic for our country.

This may be the most consequential moment in American history since the civil war. We have a megalomaniacal president who, consumed by his quest for more and more power, is undermining our constitution and the rule of law. Further, we have an administration that is waging war against the working class of our country and our most vulnerable people.

Race between Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli is drawing attention as preview of 2026 midterms

After last year’s election, when Republicans made significant inroads in the state, New Jersey voters will cast ballots in an off-year, unpredictable gubernatorial race that voters and experts say feels different from any in recent memory.

Democrat Mikie Sherrill, a former navy pilot and federal prosecutor who represents New Jersey’s 11th congressional District, is facing Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a businessman and former state lawmaker, who is making his third bid for governor, this time with Donald Trump’s endorsement.

⚽️ Premier League pdates from this 5.30pm GMT kick-off
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3 min: Both teams are wearing black armbands this evening in memory of former Spurs defender Willie Young, who passed away this week.

2 min: Kudus has a probe down the right but there’s nobody else in lilywhite on his wavelength, and the chance to attack passes.

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Splendora paid $7.80 to a $2 stake – a shade under 3-1.

Hope Road cruised through the race until the final turn and eased to the front just over a furlong out, but Splendora rocketed past soon afterwards and the race was as good as over. That’s a 20th Breeders’ Cup winner for Bob Baffert, who is now just one behind Aidan O’Brien, the winning-most trainer in Breeders’ Cup history since about 18 hours ago, when Gstaad took the Juvenile Turf.

Sean Dyche argued football’s lawmakers should consider expanding the reach of the video assistant referee system after Nottingham Forest conceded from a controversial corner for the second successive match. His side came close to winning, but Dyche was left angered after Manchester United scored the opener from a corner awarded by the assistant referee Akil Howson on the far side of the pitch. Replays showed it was unclear whether the Forest full-back Nicolò Savona kept the ball in play.

Dyche was booked for his protests in defeat last Sunday at Bournemouth, where Marcus Tavernier scored directly from a corner. Here, Casemiro headed in one taken by Bruno Fernandes to earn United a first-half lead.

• England 25-7 Australia

• Earl, Mitchell and Cowan-Dickie also cross for hosts

There will be higher octane games than this one in the coming weeks, but for England the primary objective has been safely ticked off. An eighth successive Test victory is in the bag and Steve Borthwick’s team have gone one better than the corresponding fixture last year, when the Wallabies stole the spoils in the dying moments.

While this encounter was not nearly as thrilling, the final scoreline – shining brightly on the big screen in the gathering evening gloom – was what really counted. Defeat by a weakened Wallaby side would have prompted some uncomfortable questions and cast a nagging shadow over the remainder of their November schedule.

The wait goes on and on for Vítor Pereira and Wolves. Not since 26 April – 189 days to be precise – have the beleaguered Portuguese manager and his team tasted victory in the Premier League and that never looked like changing on yet another afternoon when nothing seemed to go their way.

From the moment Ryan Sessegnon put Fulham ahead in the ninth minute, there was little prospect of Marco Silva’s side not going on to end their run of four straight defeats – especially when Emmanuel Agbadou was sent off towards the end of the first half. Harry Wilson and a disastrous own goal from substitute Yerson Mosquera made sure of the points after the break to leave Pereira sweating over his future.

In Yankuba Minteh, Brighton possess yet another star in the making. The sharp piece of business Brighton did in the summer of 2024 took time to come to the boil but is now cooking. Leeds located no answer to his thrust.

Some errant finishing denied the Gambian a goal, leaving old reliable Danny Welbeck and two from Diego Gómez to bury Leeds. The Paraguayan, yet another find for Brighton’s best-in-class scouting team, most definitely has a scoring touch.

Arsenal set pieces bring such a degree of organised chaos and unconventional thinking they could be nominated for the Turner Prize. Instead they are just making them favourites for the Premier League crown after extending their lead at the top. The Gunners have reached such a level of expertise, they even scored from a Burnley long throw.

Headers from Viktor Gyökeres and Declan Rice were the difference on a straightforward afternoon in Lancashire for Arsenal. The hosts failed to have a shot on target as Arsenal secured a seventh win in a row without conceding in all competitions, a statistic that will strike fear into the heart of their rivals.