Kerry take on unfamiliar underdogs tag for final; United get off to promising start

This year's football and hurling final pairings are complete - yesterday afternoon Kerry joined Dublin in the football decider to go with fellow traditionalists Kilkenny and Tipperary in the hurling. The Kingdom now take on the unfamiliar underdogs tag, after overcoming a contest of two contrasting halves against Tyrone, but as Sean Moran reports: "by the end, it was clear that whatever their ultimate prospects, Kerry's credentials were significantly more impressive." The victory vindicates Tommy Walsh's return to the fold, as he came off the bench and made a crucial impact, while plans are in place to challenge Stephen O'Brien's All-Ireland final ban after he picked up a third black card.

Manchester United began their Premier League campaign with a clinical 4-0 win over Chelsea yesterday, and as opening games go, United will have to be happy with this one. As for Chelsea, who fielded a very inexperienced team, Ken Early writes this morning that the exit of David Luiz may haunt Frank Lampard (Subscriber Only): "the decision to sell the best passer among Premier League defenders was his own, and over the next few weeks it will be interesting to see where the creativity in his new-look Chelsea is going to come from."

After their opening Rugby World Cup warm-up victory over Italy on Saturday, Ireland will most likely prune another two or three players from their 43-man squad prior to their departure on Wednesday for an eight-day warm-weather training camp in Portugal. After the match head coach Joe Schmidt confirmed that Joey Carbery did not suffer a fracture to his left ankle. Liam Toland writes that Ireland are back on the pitch but far from pitch perfect: "There is plenty to work on, not least in terms of spatial awareness. Ireland had bucket loads of carries from players such as Rhys Ruddock, who offered ad nauseum, but didn't always take the smart option."

Meanwhile Patrick Reed secured his first win since claiming last year's US Masters title with a closing round 69 for a winning total of 16-under-par 268 in the Northern Trust Championship in Jersey City. Rory McIlroy failed to gatecrash the party but still managed to secure his 13th top-10 finish of the season. His closing 69 left him 12-under-par, and in tied-sixth place.