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Liverpool beaten by Napoli; McGregor must leave his comfort zone

Morning Sports Briefing: Keep ahead of the game with ‘The Irish Times’ sports team

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp after his team’s defeat to Napoli at the San Paolo stadium. Photograph: Getty Images

Thu Oct 4 2018 - 07:37

Liverpool suffered just their second defeat of the season last night - losing 1-0 away to Napoli in their second Champions League group game. Lorenzo Insigne converted Jose Callejon's low cross in the 90th minute to make it one win and one defeat in Group C for Liverpool. They also lost midfielder Naby Keita who was carried off with an injury in the first half. In Group B, Lionel Messi gave a masterclass as Barcelona were 4-2 winners against Tottenham at Wembley. Tonight it's the turn of the Europa League to take centre stage, with Celtic, Arsenal and Chelsea all in action.

The build-up for Saturday night's Conor McGregor v Khabib Nurmagomedov fight in the UFC Octagon was ramped up another notch as the two took part in workouts open to the public last night. McGregor's biggest obstacle this weekend will be leaving his millionaire comfort zone to do battle once more: "McGregor now calls all the shots in the fight game. He has the UFC, the fight fans and the media all ready to do their bit to promote him and buy whatever he is trying to sell, be it whiskey, suits or his own burnished legend."

Eamon Donoghue's GAA Statistics column reveals the GPS data of two intercounty teams and the individual readings of three named intercounty players - but what do the figures actually tell us and which measurements are most important? "Running the furthest isn't everything, and the way that data is now being used at the top level actually reflects that."

In her column this morning Sonia O'Sullivan writes about the lure of the annual marathon: "Something happens when you finish your first marathon. For some the initial thought is "never again!", only by the time the finisher's medal is around the neck the thoughts are already starting to filter in...what about the next one? How can I do it better?"

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Two members of Europe's victorious Ryder Cup team are among the 168 players who will tee it up on Scotland's east coast for the Dunhill Links Championship. The defeated American Ryder Cuppers are represented by Tony Finau and Brooks Koepka, while Ireland are represented by Padraig Harrington, Shane Lowry, Paul Dunne, Paul McGinley, Robin Dawson, Graeme McDowell and Michael Hoey. Read about how the tournament works here.

The elite divisions of the All-Ireland League, 1A and 1B, begin this weekend and John O'Sullivan has been explaining why they have been proving a vital outlet for academy prospects. "There were 27 fully contracted players used in the AIL last season and 19 on development deals," he writes. "That number jumped to 74 when listing the involvement of academy players and they accounted for 552 starts. This means that the predominant category of professionally contracted players in the All-Ireland League last season was largely aged between 18 and 21 years."

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