Ollie Watkins came to Aston Villa’s rescue as Unai Emery’s side hit back to beat AZ Alkmaar. The striker celebrated his England call-up to nod in with nine minutes left for a 2-1 win and put Villa on the brink of the Europa Conference League knockout stages. Diego Carlos’ controversial goal – heading in a corner which should have never been given – quickly cancelled out Vangelis Pavlidis’ opener. Victory left Villa joint-top of Group E, behind Legia Warsaw on their head-to-head record, knowing a point from their final two games would guarantee progress. Legia’s 2-0 win over Zrinjski Mostar earlier on Thursday had put the Polish side three points clear in the group. Villa knew victory would virtually secure second spot and their superiority was telling early, the hosts thinking they had the lead after just three minutes. Ezri Konsa’s shot was deflected behind and, from the corner, Watkins header was cleared off the line by Pavlidis. The ball ran to Leon Bailey and his cross was nodded in by Clement Lenglet – only for VAR to rule the goal out with Bailey offside. Lenglet almost gifted Alkmaar an opener, though, when Pavlidis seized on his loose pass and tried to lob Emi Martinez before horribly misjudging Ibrahim Sadiq’s superb cross. Mat Ryan tipped Youri Tielemans’ shot behind as Villa looked to regain some momentum but there would have been frustration for Emery as their early edge slipped away. Alkmaar even had their own goal disallowed three minutes before the break when a neat move ended with Pavlidis tapping in, although the striker was comfortably offside. The striker then tested Martinez after Villa played themselves into trouble as the visitors ended the half on top. It proved a warning sign as, six minutes into the second half, the striker opened the scoring with a goal of pure simplicity. Villa were caught out by Riechedly Bazoer’s ball over the top as Pavlidis ran clear of Lengent and beat Martinez for his 15th goal of the season. Alkmaar had something to cling to, having been 3-0 down at the same stage in the Netherlands two weeks ago, and Yuki Sugawara’s shot deflected wide. Yet Villa contentiously levelled after an hour. Lucas Digne’s cross was blazed over by Boubacar Kamara but referee Luis Godinho inexplicably gave a corner. Somewhat inevitably, when Bailey delivered the ball Diego Carlos nodded in. It gave Villa renewed confidence and, with time running out, Watkins grabbed the winner when he stole in ahead of Jordy Clasie to nod in Douglas Luiz’s fine pass. Read More Lucas Paqueta goal proves decisive as West Ham sink Olympiacos Katie Taylor ‘aware of what is at stake’ in Chantelle Cameron rematch Brighton complete double over Ajax to boost Europa League hopes England’s Ben Stokes has ‘no idea’ if Pakistan clash will be his last ODI Rasmus Hojlund says ‘a matter of time’ until Erik ten Hag improves Man United Gareth Southgate ‘not interested in just racking up games’ as England manager

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Daniel Ricciardo will make a sensational return to the F1 track at the Hungarian Grand Prix later this month after signing a short-term loan deal with AlphaTauri, and will replace Nyck de Vries for the rest of the current season. After parting ways with McLaren last year, Ricciardo returned to his old team Red Bull as a reserve driver, and Red Bull will now loan the Australian to AlphaTauri for the remainder of the 2023 campaign. De Vries has been dropped with immediate effect in the midst of a difficult season, as one of only two drivers on the grid who has failed to collect a single championship point. Thirty-four-year-old Ricciardo’s first race for AlphaTauri will be at the Hungaroring in Budapest next Sunday, 23 July. More follows... Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Daniel Ricciardo makes shock F1 return with AlphaTauri Secret Red Bull meeting fuels talk of Lando Norris switch Lando Norris says Just Stop Oil protest at Silverstone would be ‘stupid’

PARIS (AP) — The Rugby World Cup quarterfinal lineups are decided after a month of pool-stage games drew to a close with top-ranked Ireland and host France powering into the last eight with convincing victories.

MILAN (AP) — Rain forced more than one fashion house to scramble for indoor locations in Milan and fashionistas to find a way to move about the gridlocked Italian city on Friday without the threat of a drenching.

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Catherine Zeta-Jones was spotted out in Portofino, Italy, hand-in-hand with her husband, Michael Douglas, wearing an ethereal, deep purple Emmanuel Ungaro gown. However, eagle-eyed fans noticed that pop star Jessica Simpson wore the exact same dress to VH1’s Big in ‘05 awards show, where coincidentally she was awarded for her sense of style. Although Zeta-Jones, 53, wore the dress in July, Simpson recently reacted to the actor’s glamourous look, saying on her Instagram Story: “Sexy never goes out of style.” It certainly wasn’t the first time two celebrities had a twinning moment. In the height of the ‘00s magazine era, outlets famously printed both photos of stars wearing the same outfit alongside the question: “Who wore it better?” While tabloids often pitted two women against each other, it was a sign of the times that Simpson supported and complimented the Oscar winner’s look. Glamour posted a side-by-side picture of both Simpson and Zeta-Jones’ looks to Instagram, sans comparison. Many users in the comments section were divided by the early aughts style of the dress. One commented that the dress looked “like a Gucci number,” while another wrote: “Could have stayed in 2005.” When Simpson originally wore the gown, she had recently finalised her divorce from Love Is Blind host Nick Lachey. According to Us Weekly, fans considered the sultry look a “revenge dress” back in the day. Since then, Simpson has become a mother of three and recently authored the best-selling memoir, Open Book, which has sold half a million copies worldwide. In the book, Simpson confided in readers about her struggles with alcoholism, weight loss, and relationships in the public eye. The singer also spoke about her eponymous fashion line, which includes apparel, shoes, hair extensions, and at one point, edible body products. Like Simpson, the Chicago star has also turned heads with her fashion looks. These days, she does so alongside her daughter - rising musician Carys Douglas, who goes by CZD professionally. The mother-daughter pair recently donned Elie Saab gowns to the Jeanne Du Barry premiere at the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival. While Zeta-Jones wore a deep, plunging red gown with a matching cape attached to one sleeve, all eyes were on her mini-me. For her red carpet debut, her daughter wore a gown made of a sheer lace fabric, coupled with netting detail near the hem of the skirt. She paired the look with a soft, rosy-cheeked makeup look that emphasised her youthful ensemble. Beside her mother, the budding singer watched as her father was awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Palme D’Or. She took to Instagram to post about the glamourous evening, writing: “Thank you Cannes for the most wonderful evening! It was an honor to celebrate my father as he received his lifetime achievement Palm D’Or. Bon festival!” Read More Jessica Simpson has subtle response to claims ex-husband Nick Lachey was ‘villain’ in their relationship Catherine Zeta-Jones compares daughter Carys to Wednesday Addams in throwback post Pharrell Williams designed his first collection for Louis Vuitton for himself TikToker urges parents to save all their old clothes for children to inherit Billy Porter criticised for calling Anna Wintour a ‘b****’ over Harry Styles cover

Conflicts on Wisconsin’s newly liberal controlled state Supreme Court spilled out publicly as the court majority flipped this week, setting the stage for deep divisions on major cases that could determine voting rules in this battleground state, the legality of abortions and legislative boundary lines

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A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press the Cleveland Guardians have agreed to trade shortstop Amed Rosario to the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitcher Noah Syndergaard and cash considerations