SAVE 49%: ExpressVPN can reliably unblock Pornhub from anywhere in the world. A one-year subscription

The LEC Summer Finals will be returning to a live, in-person event format after being online-only for the last three years.

Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt treated guests at their lavish 2000 wedding like VIPs.

Raphael Varane has won the Champions League more often than Manchester United have. Which, given Europe’s importance to United’s identity, is an indication of the Frenchman’s success in his time at Real Madrid. It ought to mean few are more qualified to discuss what it takes the secure the club game’s most prestigious prize. And, on the face of it, United scarcely look candidates. Languishing 10th in the Premier League, defeated in their last two top-flight games at Old Trafford and fortunate to only be beaten 4-3 by Bayern Munich in their Champions League opener this season, they have not reached the competition’s semi-final since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. They have only progressed to two quarter-finals in the subsequent 10 years: once under David Moyes, once with an almost surreal conclusion to a visit to Paris Saint-Germain under then caretaker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Neither their stuttering start to the season nor their decade of disappointment bodes well but Varane argued they can win the competition. “I think so, yes,” he said. And if he is compelled to talk up his team, a quadruple Champions League winner sounded more bullish than he needed to. “It’s not the start of the season we expected but I still believe we have the quality enough to compete with the best teams in the world,” he said. “I think we have the quality in the squad to play and to win that competition.” And if individuals’ credentials are examined, he may have a point. Varane is not even the most decorated member of the current United squad. Casemiro has five winner’s medals from his Real Madrid career. Mason Mount is proof a team does not have to start a season well to end it champions of Europe: Chelsea were ninth in England when Thomas Tuchel was appointed in January 2021 but he set up Kai Havertz’s final winner. Andre Onana’s last game for Internazionale was June’s final against City. Manager Erik ten Hag was a kick of the ball away from steering Ajax to the 2019 final. As Tottenham went through, Christian Eriksen instead played in it. Perhaps, though, that illustrates the issue with United: they can be less than the sum of their parts. That has been the case so far, in part because some of those components are missing: United have actually won four of the six games in which Varane has featured this season and lost all three he has missed. Nearly all of their finest victories under Ten Hag have come with the Frenchman partnered with Lisandro Martinez, but now the Argentinian is out until December. Varane argued a defence that has conceded 15 times in all competitions this season has not been the problem; that may flatter him and his colleagues, given that their statistics for shots against and xGA are those of a mid-table team. United scored three goals from four attempts on target in Munich but they have been profligate in the Premier League. Varane feels the key to success in Europe lies in being more clinical. “I think that competition is about details, and you have to be efficient to win that competition,” he added. “In the last weeks, I think what we can improve is to be more efficient in front of the goals, with a very low number of occasions we concede goals. We need to create a lot to score, so that’s the reality of the top level. You have to be efficient to win big trophies.” And United have not been efficient in the Premier League. They have seven goals from 109 shots this season. Marcus Rashford’s return of just one from 28 is an issue for the joint top scorer in last year’s Europa League, but he is not alone. Bruno Fernandes has two goals – one a penalty – from 20 shots, Casemiro, the top scorer in all competitions, one from 14, Alejandro Garnacho none from 10, Rasmus Hojlund none from seven, though he has also scored in Europe. Antony’s impending return may not help: the Brazilian has had 11 efforts, with only two on target and no goals. Better finishing would help; but United’s general performance level is scarcely that of a side who look the best among the best in Europe. They have overcome few elite teams in months: not since Aston Villa in April, while their last major scalp was Newcastle in February’s Carabao Cup final. And as Varane knows from personal experience, conquering Europe involves beating some of the best: in his four successful campaigns, Real eliminated Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid three times each in the knockout stages, Juventus twice and Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Napoli, Manchester City and Liverpool once apiece. Could this United do something similar? It feels unlikely but Varane has a formula for glory. “You have to take care of every detail, but we have a team with quality, with a good mentality and we have to make some improvements,” he said. But a lot of improvements are required. Read More Marcus Rashford’s form has become the latest symptom of Manchester United’s struggles Mason Mount aware Man Utd must improve after stuttering start to the season Erik ten Hag loses signature strength as mediocre Manchester United’s revival proves a false dawn The key questions behind Manchester United’s poor start to the season Erik ten Hag concerned by Manchester United’s mounting injury problems Champions League faces future rival as Saudi Arabia looks to transform Club World Cup

'Julian was a great friend and client. He chose interesting projects that mattered to him,' said Sarah Jackson, Julian Sands' manager

By Ezgi Erkoyun and Nevzat Devranoglu ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Turkey's central bank hiked its policy rate by 250 basis points to

By Enrico Dela Cruz MANILA Economic growth in developing Asia this year will be slightly lower than previously

By Maayan Lubell JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel's parliament was scheduled on Monday to hold a first vote on a bill that

Rob McElhenney revealed he has been diagnosed with "neurodevelopmental disorders and learning disabilities."

U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers are increasingly taking the view that the rising bond yields that are tightening financial

Stocks are higher in Asia after Wall Street was boosted by a report that signaled the U.S. jobs market, while still healthy, is showing some signs of cooling

Max Verstappen completed a practice double for Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix by edging out Lando Norris. After leading the way in the first running at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Verstappen – who has won 15 of the 18 rounds so far – set the fastest time in the day’s concluding running. The Red Bull driver finished 0.119 seconds clear of McLaren’s Norris, with Charles Leclerc a quarter of a second back in his Ferrari. Home favourite Sergio Perez finished fifth, three tenths behind Red Bull team-mate Verstappen, while Lewis Hamilton took seventh for Mercedes, a third of a second down. Verstappen has dominated this year, and wrapped up his third successive world championship in Qatar earlier this month. And the Dutchman will head into the remainder of the weekend in the breathless Mexico City air as the man to beat. The high-altitude venue, which sits 2,200 metres above sea level, can often throw up anomalies, and Valtteri Bottas was a surprised fourth for Alfa Romeo, with Daniel Ricciardo sixth in his AlphaTauri, just three tenths off the top. Hamilton finished a close second to Verstappen in the United States a week ago before he was disqualified for running an illegal floor on his Mercedes. But despite his post-race exclusion, Hamilton hoped his speed in Austin would enable him to challenge Verstappen here. However, the seven-time world champion failed to challenge the top of the leaderboard on Friday, finishing 11th and seventh respectively in the two sessions. George Russell, who sat out the opening running as Mercedes blooded academy driver Frederik Vesti, finished 10th, half-a-second behind Verstappen. Earlier on Friday, Ollie Bearman made history by becoming the youngest British driver to take part in a Formula One weekend. Bearman, 18, competing for American outfit Haas, ended his F1 debut in 15th, only 1.6 sec slower than Verstappen and three tenths adrift of Nico Hulkenberg – a veteran of 200 grands prix – in the other Haas. Bearman also finished one place ahead of double world champion Fernando Alonso. F1 teams must run a rookie driver at least twice during the season and Chelmsford-born Bearman was handed his chance to impress, breaking the British record previously held by Norris. Norris was three months shy of his 19th birthday when he took part in practice for McLaren in Belgium in 2018 before he was promoted to a race seat the following season. Bearman turned 18 in May. The teenager, a member of the Ferrari academy, has taken four victories in F1’s feeder series Formula Two and is sixth in the standings ahead of next month’s season finale in Abu Dhabi.