Irrepressible, invincible, immortal. Dublin are All-Ireland SFC champions for a fourth consecutive time after they beat Tyrone 2-17 to 1-14 in Croke Park yesterday afternoon. An upset had seemed a distinct possibility when Mickey Harte's side raced into a 0-5 to 0-1 lead after 17 minutes - but after Paul Mannion rifled home a 22nd minute penalty and the Dubs reeled off 1-3 in three minutes, Jim Gavin's side eased home at a canter. It was an imperious performance from the defending champions, who weathered the early storm before pulling clear in style, and as Keith Duggan writes, they are unlikely to stop at number four: "Right now, raising the Sam Maguire has become part of the city calendar. They are out there, splendid and fearsome, all on their own. History beckons." Meanwhile Kevin McStay suggests that despite Tyrone's strong start, the result was never really in doubt: "In truth, Dublin never looked like losing." And for all of the challengers' early bluster, all it took was three poor kick outs and a silly free to turn the tide, Malachy Clerkin writes: "This is what the Dubs do. They are divining rods for errors and weaknesses. Masters of taking a mile from the given inch." After the game Gavin was typically brief but praised the character of his side for not blinking when under pressure in the first half, while Ian O'Riordan monitored the performance of Brian Fenton, who had a monster game as he secured his fourth All-Ireland title at the age of 25.
Manchester United and Jose Mourinho steadied the ship slightly yesterday as they beat Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor thanks to a brace from Romelu Lukaku. It was not all plain sailing however as Paul Pogba missed a penalty and Marcus Rashford was shown a straight red card - while a plane, organised by supporters, flew a banner protesting against chief executive Ed Woodward above the ground before kick-off. Elsewhere Watford came from behind to beat Tottenham 2-1 and maintain their 100 per cent record, while Arsenal beat Cardiff City 3-2 away from home, giving Unai Emery his first win on the road. Meanwhile in his column today Ken Early has looked at Declan Rice's apparent U-turn over playing for Ireland: "The truth is that footballers don't need to be patriots to care about winning matches with their national teams, any more than they need to have supported their club sides as children to care about winning matches for them."
Thobjorn Olesen has secured the eighth and final automatic spot for Team Europe at this month's Ryder Cup, after Matthew Fitzpatrick missed out on victory in yesterday's final day of the Made in Denmark. The tournament was won by Englishman Matt Wallace after a four-way play-off - with Wallace now pushing for one of Thomas Bjorn's wildcards for Paris. Meanwhile on the PGA Tour Rory McIlroy moved himself into contention with a third round 66 in the Dell Technologies Championship but was still left frustrated by a bogey on the 16th. McIlroy is four shots off leader Abraham Ancer heading into Monday's final round - with the tournament finishing a day later due to Labour Day in the USA.
Before the Dubs went four-in-a-row, Kerry minors went one better as they beat Galway 0-21 to 1-14 in Croke Park. Peter Keane's side fought back from a seven-point deficit to secure the Kingdom's fifth consecutive All-Ireland at minor level.
Serena Williams survived a slight scare to move into the quarter-finals of the US Open, as she beat Estonia's Kaia Kanepi in three sets at Flushing Meadows, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3. In the men's draw Rafael Nadal also progressed into the last eight thanks to a four-set win over Nikoloz Basilashvili, 6-3, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4.
And England have moved into an unassailable 3-1 lead in their five-Test series against India after they wrapped-up a 60-run win over the tourists in Southampton yesterday. The recalled, rejuvenated Moeen Ali took four second innings wickets - including the crucial dismissal of Virat Kohli.
