The Tampa Bay Rays beat Cleveland to reach the World Series against Milwaukee. Portugal suspends Cristiano Ronaldo for 30 days, Tottenham win their first league game of the season, Erik ten Hag accuses Manchester United of broken promises and the Champions League resumes.
Rays beat the Guardians 7-3 to reach the World Series against the Brewers
The Tampa Bay Rays are heading to the World Series after beating the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in game six of the American League Championship Series on Monday night, a day after moving within one win. Yandy Díaz, who had guaranteed victory, and Junior Caminero each hit a two-run home run at Tropicana Field, while Freddy Peralta pitched five and a third innings and was named the most valuable player of the series.
The Rays, who trailed the series 1-0 and 2-1 before winning three games in a row, will face the National League champions, the Milwaukee Brewers, with game one on Friday in Milwaukee. It will be the first World Series since 1980 in which neither team has won the title before. Cleveland, who loaded the bases in the eighth inning before Kevin Kelly struck out Brayan Rocchio, extended their own championship drought to 78 years.
The Rays began play as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1998 and won their first American League pennant in 2008, beating the Boston Red Sox on 19 October, exactly 18 years before Monday’s win, before losing the World Series to the Philadelphia Phillies. They reached the final again in the shortened 2020 season, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hurricane Milton tore off Tropicana Field’s roof two years ago, forcing the team to play the 2025 season in Tampa.
Portugal suspends Cristiano Ronaldo for 30 days over his walkout from the squad
Portugal’s football federation has suspended Cristiano Ronaldo for 30 days and fined him €255 after he left the national team’s camp following a dispute with the coach, Jorge Jesus, over his role. The federation’s disciplinary council said on Monday that it had upheld the charge against the 41-year-old forward in full, finding that he had deliberately committed an offence under its disciplinary rules. Proceedings had been opened on 9 October.
Ronaldo left Portugal’s base in Copenhagen before a Nations League match against Denmark this month, claiming Jesus had twice gone back on what he had said about his role, after being left unused on the bench against Norway. Jesus denied any agreement but left the door open to his return. Ronaldo later apologised to supporters and teammates and said he remained available. The ruling did not say which matches the ban covers or whether time already served under a provisional suspension counts.
Ronaldo holds Portugal’s records for most appearances and most goals, with 234 caps and 146 international goals, and has captained the side since shortly after Euro 2008. Under his captaincy Portugal won their first major trophy at Euro 2016, followed by the Nations League in 2019 and a record second title in 2025. The federation’s president, Pedro Proença, has said everyone in the organisation wants him back in the team once the matter is resolved.
Maddison inspires Tottenham to their first league win of the season
Tottenham Hotspur beat Coventry City 3-1 on Monday night for their first Premier League win of the season, lifting them off the bottom of the table. James Maddison, making his first start in 18 months after a knee ligament injury and a broken shoulder, scored in the 14th minute with a curling shot from 20 yards. Jack Rudoni equalised for Coventry before Omar Marmoush scored his first goal for the club and Ben Davies added a third in stoppage time.
Dejan Kulusevski also returned as a late substitute after 526 days out with a knee injury, receiving a standing ovation. The win came at a cost, however, as Tosin Adarabioyo, Andy Robertson and Marmoush all limped off, although manager Roberto De Zerbi said the injuries were nothing important. It was Tottenham’s first league victory in 148 days and only their sixth in their past 37 home league games. They visit Chelsea on Saturday.
Founded in 1882, Tottenham became the first club in the 20th century to win the league and FA Cup double, in the 1960–61 season, and have won one European Cup Winners’ Cup and three UEFA Cup or Europa League titles. They finished 17th of 20 in the Premier League last season, and their decline has been linked to a long run of injuries that kept key players such as Maddison and Kulusevski out for many months.
Erik ten Hag says Manchester United broke promises made before his sacking
Erik ten Hag has accused Manchester United’s leadership of breaking a series of promises made to him during talks in Ibiza in the summer of 2024, months before he was sacked. In a newly published interview, the Dutch coach said the club had pledged loyalty, backing, communication and alignment when he agreed to continue, but had not kept its word. He was dismissed in October 2024 with United 14th in the Premier League.
Ten Hag said one agreement was that the midfielder Scott McTominay would not be sold, arguing that the team lacked goals and that McTominay offered scoring ability and the right mentality. United sold him to Napoli for about £25.7 million, and he went on to help the Italian side win Serie A. Ten Hag also said Cristiano Ronaldo had let the team and him down during his time at the club, despite the respect he had for the forward.
Born in the Netherlands in 1970, Ten Hag won three Eredivisie titles and two KNVB Cups with Ajax and led them to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019 before joining United in 2022, where he won the League Cup and the FA Cup. He was appointed head coach of Bayer Leverkusen for the 2025–26 season but was sacked in September 2025 after only three matches, and he is now technical director at FC Twente.
PSG host Barcelona and Bayern face Arsenal as the Champions League resumes
The third round of matches in the Champions League league phase takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday, with Paris Saint-Germain hosting Barcelona on Tuesday night. Most games kick off at 21:00 Central European Time. Tuesday’s programme also includes Liverpool against Villarreal, Manchester City against AEK Athens, Porto against PSV Eindhoven and Roma against Slovan Bratislava, while Fenerbahçe host Slavia Prague and Sabah meet Borussia Dortmund earlier in the evening.
The meeting in Paris pits PSG coach Luis Enrique, who led Barcelona to the treble in 2015, against Hansi Flick, whose Barcelona side lost 2-1 to PSG in last season’s league phase. Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal has been involved in five goals in two matches this season. On Wednesday, Bayern Munich, unbeaten in 39 home games at this stage of the competition, face Arsenal, against whom Harry Kane has scored 15 goals in 22 games.
Paris Saint-Germain are the two-time defending champions, and Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium will stage this season’s final on 5 June 2027, the second time the ground has staged the showpiece after 2019. The winners will qualify automatically for next season’s league phase, the 2027 Intercontinental Cup final and the 2029 Club World Cup, and will meet the Europa League winners in the 2027 Super Cup.