• Briton goes down 6-3, 6-2 to Moyuka Uchijima
• Indian Wells defeat follows difficult few weeks

After an extremely difficult month in which she was pursued across tennis tournaments in Asia by an obsessive spectator, Emma Raducanu struggled to find her range and rhythm on her return to competition and was comprehensively defeated 6-3, 6-2 by Moyuka Uchijima of Japan in the first round of the Indian Wells Open on Thursday.

Over the past few years, the organisers at Indian Wells have marketed the tournament as Tennis Paradise, a reference to the handsome mountainous landscape that surrounds the court and its warm, sunny weather. In reality, though, the conditions are often some of the most hellish on tour. Along with the slow conditions because of the dry, dusty desert air, gusty wind can make it incredibly challenging for all players.

• US Ryder Cup captain filmed giving a locker room speech
• ‘I meant no disrespect, I was more speaking to our guys’

It transpires the viral moment of ­Netflix’s latest series on golf may have been as much of a surprise to the main protagonist as those looking on.

The assertion of Keegan Bradley, the US Ryder Cup captain, during Full Swing that his contingent are “gonna go to Bethpage to kick their fucking ass” in September immediately looked like golden material for Europe’s locker room. Shane Lowry, likely to be an important part of the European team, was asked last week whether he was aware of ­Bradley’s sentiment. “Oh yeah,” said the ­Irishman. “We have all seen it.”

In the end, two outstretched hands were decisive. The first, from Bruno Fernandes, probably denied Manchester United their victory; the second, from André Onana, definitely denied Real Sociedad theirs.

United deservedly got themselves into a first-leg lead when Joshua Zirkzee guided a side-footed shot beyond Alex Remiro that appeared to set them up for a win and potentially even one big enough to virtually see them through. But an eagle eye and a video replay revived their Basque opponents, allowing Mikel Oyarzabal to equalise from the spot with 20 minutes left and in the last of those they nearly scored again. Which was when a figure in yellow flew to the rescue.

• France play jeopardy game with seven forwards on bench
• Captain Caelan Doris returns for Simon Easterby’s side

The board game Risk describes itself as the pursuit of diplomacy, conflict and conquest for two to six players. Rugby’s version is not a million miles removed: bigger pitch and more bodies involved but plenty of overlap on the content. For Saturday’s pivotal next step in Ireland’s grand slam bid, France have put it up to them before a ball is kicked, with a magnificent seven lumps on the bench, supported by just one back. It worked against Italy, which is not to say it will not end in tears this time out. That’s why it’s called Risk.

Ireland’s riposte is less brazen, but only just. The last time they went 6-2 on the bench was against England a year ago – which didn’t end too well – and they have an extra bit of jeopardy with the inclusion of their most capped player, Cian Healy, in the replacements. The prop is a veteran of countless contacts and is looking forward to the afterlife already, which he reckons will demand more physical activity simply to avoid falling apart. The plan for Saturday is to limit his engagement to the fag end of the final quarter. The risk is that circumstance might hurry that one up to a critical level if Andrew Porter has to bail out ahead of schedule.

• Idea raised at Fifa council meeting on Wednesday
• Move would see more than a quarter of members qualify

Fifa is to consider a proposal to expand the 2030 men’s World Cup finals to 64 teams, an adjustment that would mean more than a quarter of its 211 member associations would take part.

The idea was raised at a meeting of the Fifa council on Wednesday as part of any other business. According to reporting in the New York Times, the delegate was Ignacio Alonso, the president of the Uruguayan Football Association. Uruguay will be one of three South American countries to host a “centenary celebration match” in 2030. Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, agreed to explore the idea further.

Something seemed to break here, and it was not just Xabi Alonso’s proud unbeaten record over Bayern Munich. For Vincent Kompany’s side are cruising to the Bundesliga title and now they are cruising to the Champions League quarter-finals too. They may well sign Bayer Leverkusen’s best player in the summer, but here they played him off the park. It smells like game over, and in more senses than one.

This week the Bayern director of sport, Max Eberl, made an eye-catching comparison. He compared Alonso and Kompany to Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp, the coaching duopoly that shaped modern football for almost a decade. Bit soon for all that, most people reckoned, but it feels just a little less fanciful now. The bloke who got Burnley relegated to the Championship may just be the next big thing in European coaching.

Alisson had rarely been mentioned in the story of Liverpool’s old guard rediscovering peak form and propelling Arne Slot’s team towards glory this season. One night in Paris changed that. The Liverpool goalkeeper gave the performance of a lifetime, by his own admission, to ensure Paris Saint-Germain’s dominance came to nothing. Harvey Elliott applied the écraser et attraper. That’s smash and grab, to you and me.

Liverpool could have been buried in the first half of the first leg alone. Luis Enrique’s young, fast and vibrant team squandered several clear chances and bemoaned the decision not to dismiss Ibrahima Konaté for denying Bradley Barcola a clear goalscoring opportunity. Even Slot admitted that was a close call.

• England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland involved
• Keir Starmer promises ‘government’s full support’

The home nations are to join together in a bid to host the Women’s World Cup in 2035, a move which, if successful, would mark a “monumental moment in our nation’s sporting history”, according to Keir Starmer, the prime minister.

A formal expression of interest in staging the tournament, which could be comprised of as many as 48 teams, is to be submitted to Fifa this month on behalf of the football associations of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the governing bodies have confirmed.

While dropping Marcus Smith to the bench makes a sort of sense, Steve Borthwick’s selections still feel largely reactive

It was a beautiful day in Bagshot. The kind of afternoon made for chucking a ball around and contemplating a calculated risk or two. Slightly firmer pitches, the sun shining, a licence to thrill … if ever there was a week made for a player like Marcus Smith to go out and express himself from the start against an apprehensive Italy this was probably it.

So let’s just say the England teamsheet will have landed with a heavy thump in the Smith household and the offices of his agents, Roc Nation. It is only a few weeks since Netflix was projecting the 26-year-old as the poster boy – “the best hair in world rugby” – for their latest fly-on-the-wall documentary, with a shiny new Mercedes G-Wagon to reinforce his profile.

• A quarter of prize money will go to clubs not taking part
• Winners may take home as much as $100m in summer

Fifa are to distribute $1bn (£775m) in prize money as part of the expanded Club World Cup this summer, with a target of $250m to go to clubs not taking part in the competition.

The size of the prize fund is likely turn heads across the game. Some estimates suggest the winning club in the 32-team tournament could take home as much as $100m (£77.5m); this would be equivalent to winning the Uefa Champions League, but after playing only seven matches.