Armand Duplantis broke his own pole vault world record by clearing 6.18m at the Indoor Grand Prix in Glasgow on Saturday. The USA-born Swede, 20, had only beaten the previous mark of 6.16m a week earlier when he cleared 6.17m in Poland. “I’m excited for the outdoor season,” Duplantis said. “The Olympics is the biggest thing an athlete can compete in and that is when I want to be at my best.” Duplantis cleared 6.18m at the first attempt in Glasgow and received $30,000 for the achievement.

He was born in the United States but chose to represent his mother’s native country of Sweden. Duplantis, who goes by the nickname Mondo, is coached by American father Greg, who was also a pole vaulter, while mother Helena is a former heptathlete and volleyball player.

Double Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya competed in her first track meeting since June with victory in the 300m in Johannesburg. The South African won her race in a national record of 36.78 seconds. The 29-year-old is currently unable to compete in events between 400m and a mile without taking testosterone-reducing drugs following a rule change by World Athletics. “Track and field, you will still see my face,” said Semenya.

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Egypt’s Zamalek outclassed Tunisia’s Esperance 3-1 to win the African Super Cup in Doha on Friday, thanks to a brace from Achraf Bencharki. It was the fourth time in Zamalek’s history that they lifted the trophy as the African Confederation Cup holders overpowered the current African Champions League winners. Youssef Mohamed ‘Obama’ Fayed headed in Zamalek’s second minute opener, to rouse the noisy Egyptian fans who outnumbered their Tunisian counterparts.

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Manchester City have been banned from European club competition in 2020/21 and 2021/22 after being found to have committed “serious breaches” of UEFA’s club licensing and financial fair play regulations. The reigning Premier League champions have also been fined 30m euros. The decision is subject to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Manchester City say they are disappointed but not surprised by the prejudicial decision and will appeal. They added in a statement: “The club has always anticipated the ultimate need to seek out an independent body and process to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence in support of its position.

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Mercedes have launched the car on which their hopes of maintaining their unprecedented sequence of Formula 1 success in 2020 rest. The first images of W11, decked out in the revised livery which was first revealed earlier this week, were revealed online ahead of the car’s track debut later on Friday at Silverstone. Six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and team-mate Valtteri Bottas are each driving the car. Mercedes have won all 12 of F1’s world titles – six drivers’ and six constructors’ crowns – since the current hybrid turbo engines were introduced to F1 in 2014.

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Mohamed Salah’s potential involvement at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo will be a decision for the player himself and Liverpool, Egypt’s Olympic coach has confirmed. Salah faces the prospect of missing the start of the next Premier League season if he plays in the tournament in Japan, with the final due to be held on August 8. The coach of Egypt’s U23 side, Shawky Gharib, intends to include Salah as one of the team’s three over-age players but he admits he cannot force him to accept a call-up to the national side.

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The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has added a variant of the ‘Y-word’ (‘Yiddo’) as a new entry to describe supporters and players for Tottenham Hotspur. Usage of the term to describe Jewish people can be considered offensive, but some Spurs fans have historically adopted the word in terrace chants. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED), has also updated the ‘Y-word’ to include “a supporter of or player for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club”. A Tottenham spokesman said: “As a club we have never accommodated the use of the ‘Y-word’ on any club channels or in club stores and have always been clear that our fans (both Jewish and gentile) have never used the term with any intent to cause offence.

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It looks a matter of when, not if, Liverpol lift the Premier League title – and they could become record-breakers along the way. With a 22-point lead over their nearest rivals, Jurgen Klopp’s side are already enjoying the best season in history of any club from Europe’s top-five leagues in terms of points won.

The records Liverpool are chasing down…

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Red Bull have revealed the car they hope will end Mercedes’ F1 dominance as they target the 2020 title. The RB16 was launched on social media, but Red Bull became the first team to hit the track in their new-for-2020 car later on Wednesday as Max Verstappen was let loose at Silverstone.

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Deontay Wilder has threatened that Tyson Fury will have “blood in his face” and will need to be rescued in their world heavyweight championship rematch. WBC champion Wilder explained his plans to re-open the cut that Fury sustained in his previous fight against Otto Wallin when they meet on February 22 in Las Vegas.  Wilder said about Fury’s bloody win over Wallin: “I feel like the fight should have been stopped, with a cut so wide and deep. But I understand he had a major fight with me coming up. He was saved because of the fight that is happening right now. “I’ll be exploring the things that Wallin did. I look forward to recutting open his eye.

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Chelsea are in advanced talks to sign Hakim Ziyech from Ajax and a £38m deal is likely to be completed in days. Ziyech was one of Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard’s top targets in January but Ajax insisted on keeping him until the summer.

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The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has appointed former Super Eagles defender and captain Joseph Yobo as assistant coach of the team. Yobo will replace Imama Amapakabo in the technical crew of the senior men’s national team. He played for the Nigeria U-20 team, the Flying Eagles – during the FIFA World Youth Championship (now known as FIFA U20 World Cup) in 1999. The attack-minded defender won his first cap for the senior team in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match away to Zambia in Chingola in April 2001 and played in three FIFA World Cup finals in 2002, 2010 and 2014. He also played in six Africa Cup of Nations finals – 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2013, capping it with leading the Super Eagles to their third continental title in South Africa in 2013.

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Philippe Coutinho is not surprised by Liverpool’s success in the Premier League this season but does not have any regrets over his decision to leave the club. Coutinho, currently on loan at Bayern Munich from Barcelona, joined the Spanish giants in January 2018 for £146m. While the Brazilian struggled to hold down a regular spot at the Camp Nou, Liverpool re-invested the money they received for him to sign defender Virgil van Dijk and goalkeeper Allisson.

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Mauricio Pochettino admits he would love to return to the world of Premier League management. The 47-year-old currently has the relaxed air about him of a man who has spent almost three months away from the intensity of his chosen profession, detaching himself completely from football. But it is clear the ambition to return to the sport, specifically in England, burns brightly inside him. Pochettino cut a relaxed and convivial figure during an hour-long chat with Sky Sports’ Natalie Pinkham for the In The Pink podcast, but his eyes notably sparkled when talk of a potential return to English football came up. He has enough integrity to never mention the names of the clubs which have been consistently linked with his services, especially those with managers already in post.

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Jurgen Klinsmann has stepped down as Hertha Berlin’s interim head coach after just 10 weeks in charge. In November, the former Tottenham, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich striker, 55, was named as the club’s boss until the end of the season. Hertha won just three of Klinsmann’s nine league matches in charge and are 14th in the Bundesliga. But Klinsmann says he cannot live up to his “potential” without the “trust” of those involved with the club.

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Ferrari have launched the car they hope will finally bring Formula 1’s world titles back to Italy. In a grand and dramatic reveal of their car at the 1,000-seat Romolo Valli theatre in Reggio Emilia – a theatrical show which featured a classical concert orchestra with DJ, and several dance routines – the new SF1000 became the first 2020 challenger to be unveiled in the flesh. And Ferrari have insisted the new challenger features some “very extreme” concepts compared to last year’s SF90 as they bid to catch world champions Mercedes.

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German club Wolfsburg have terminated the contract of Cameroon international Paul-Georges Ntep by mutual consent. The winger, 27, struggled for regular first-team football in Germany, making 19 appearances for Wolfsburg since he joined them in January 2017 from French club Rennes. Ntep spent the second-half of the 2018/2019 season on loan at another French outfit, Saint-Etienne. He then had another spell in Turkey this season, on loan with Super Lig side Kayserispor.

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Manchester United forward Odion Ighalo will be in the squad for Monday’s Premier League game at Chelsea, says manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Ighalo missed the club’s training camp in Spain due to fears the coronavirus outbreak may have led to him being refused entry back into the UK.

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Manchester United have applied for permission to install rail seating for up to 1,500 fans at Old Trafford. United, one of the major supporters of safe standing, made the request to their local Safety Advisory Group (SAG) in December 2019. The club proposes to replace some existing seats in the north-east corner of the stadium. Season ticket holders in that area have been told a safe standing trial is likely to take place later this season. In minutes published from a recent fans’ forum meeting, United said it believed the introduction of rail seating will “enhance spectator safety” in areas of “persistent standing”. It added that the SAG is still reviewing the request.

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Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele will be sidelined for six months following surgery on a serious hamstring tear. The France international, 22, was on his way back to full fitness following another thigh injury when he pulled out of training last week. Dembele has suffered several injuries – in both legs – since joining the La Liga champions from Dortmund in 2017. He has played only three full games this season, missing 63 games in all competitions at Barca through injury. Dembele, a member of France’s World Cup-winning squad, is expected to miss Euro 2020.