And for the 28th time this season, top spot changes in the Premier League. Last night, Manchester United managed to muster up somewhat of a response to their 4-0 defeat at Everton but it was not enough to hold off Manchester City as goals from Bernardo Silva and Leroy Sané gave Pep Guardiola's side a 2-0 derby win at Old Trafford. The victory means the blue side in Manchester take a one point lead over Liverpool at the top of the table with three games to go. In the Sky Sports studio, and up to his usual act of lambasting every player who doesn't approach so much as the warm-up with the same manic intent that he did, was Roy Keane. Writing in her column this morning, Mary Hannigan says that Keane provided the jabs on a night when United's slump became seven losses in nine games. And speaking after the game last night, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did not dispute the comments of his former captain when asked about them. In the night's other game, Arsenal did United a favour by leaving the race for fourth place wide open as they were torn apart by Wolves. Matt Doherty got on the scoresheet as Nuno Espirito Santo's side took another big scalp.
Closer to home the seemingly never-ending FAI saga rolls on with the latest development coming last night when Fifa formally wrote to the organisation to seek clarity on the issue of governance. Earlier in the day Ireland manager Mick McCarthy had re-iterated that the association has changed drastically for the better in the 17 years since he was last in the job and he insisted again that the issues don't have an impact on the players.
On to rugby and Rob Kearney spoke yesterday of some worries that were in the Leinster camp ahead of the Champions Cup semi-final victory over Toulouse last Sunday. The fullback said that the close shave against Ulster in the quarter-finals did cause some concern that they maybe were not at the level they reached last year but the impressive win over French opponents at the weekend but those to bed. Leinster and Ulster meet again this weekend in the Pro14 and, ahead of that game, Jordi Murphy spoke of the concerns that opensides are becoming an endangered species in rugby due to unsolves health and safety issues. However, Murphy still believes that a kamikaze attitude is needed to shine in the position. "I've never once been over a ball and thought 'aw, if I get injured...' It's just an instinctive thing," he said. In his stats column this morning John O'Sullivan is focusing on this weekend's AIL semi-finals and how the club scene continues to produce top class internationals. Andrew Porter, Dan Leavy, Joey Carbery and Darren Sweetnam are just some of the players who have come through the system in recent years and the current crop doesn't look too bad either.
On to our women in sport pages and this morning Sonia O'Sullivan is writing about a recent cycling holiday which very quickly became more like a training camp. "There is a sense of freedom and exploration on a bike, a decent effort will give that empty, hungry feeling when the holiday part takes over in the restaurants and bars later in the evening," she writes. Next week Ireland will head for the World Cup in Malaysia but it's a World Cup you may not have been aware of – that is, the Touch Rugby World Cup. The sport has taken a hold among young and old in the country in recent years and Niamh Griffin recently met up with the Irish men's and women's teams to find out more.
