Limerick are All-Ireland champions again; Chelsea lay down an early marker

Limerick reemphasised their status as hurling's dominant force yesterday, as they secured a third All-Ireland title in four years after a 3-32 to 1-22 thrashing of Cork at Croke Park. The defending champions were irrepressible during a stunning first-half performance, which saw them leave the field 3-18 to 1-11 to the good and with victory effectively sealed up. Afterwards Cork manager Kieran Kingston said trying to live with Limerick was like "trying to stop the tide with a bucket," as the Rebels found themselves on the receiving end of a record final defeat. This morning Nicky English suggests Limerick's showing in the opening 35 minutes was one of the best ever: "You'd have to say that it was one of the greatest first halves in an All-Ireland final by any team," he writes. Meanwhile Keith Duggan suggests this Limerick team are now firmly in the discussion for the greatest to have played the game: "Limerick are suddenly entering all time conversations. The old heartbreaks and mishaps and squandered youth are just that: folk tales. They've become the empire." There were 40,000 supporters inside Croke Park to see Declan Hannon emulate Christy Ring by lifting the Liam MacCarthy Cup for a third time as captain, and they were treated to a latest masterful performance by Cian Lynch. The 25-year-old scored an effervescent 0-6 as Cork failed to lay a glove on him, Keith Duggan writes: "Lynch has torn through these great days as if they are runaround games with his friends. He is at once Limerick's free spirit and its driving force."

Chelsea laid down an early Premier League marker yesterday, as they eased past a sorry Arsenal side 2-0 at the Emirates. New signing Romelu Lukaku started his second coming with an early goal before Reece James doubled the Blues' lead before half-time. Thomas Tuchel's side seemed to take their foot off the gas in the second-half but the Gunners were unable to mount a comeback as they slumped to a second defeat in two fixtures. Earlier in the day Manchester United dropped their first points of the season as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Southampton at St Mary's. The Saints took a fortuitous lead through a Fred own goal before Mason Greenwood equalised in the 55th minute - however, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side failed to push on and find a winner on the south coast. In the day's other fixture Tottenham Hotspur made it two wins from two as a Dele Alli penalty saw them edge past Wolves at Molineux, Harry Kane coming on as a second-half substitute. In tonight's Premier League fixture West Ham welcome Leicester to the London Stadium (kick-off 8pm).

Elsewhere in his column this morning Ken Early has looked at the digital fan token system which five Premier League clubs have adopted, in association with Socios.com. Leeds and Everton, who played out an old school 2-2 draw on Saturday, are two of the clubs using these fan tokens - which can only be purchased by using Chiliz cryptocurrency. But why? He writes: "The answer is that they are so desperate for money they will do anything. This is another dead canary in the coalmine of football's overextended economy."

And Anna Nordqvist swooped to victory in the British Open at Carnoustie yesterday, as a final round of 69 saw her finish a shot clear at the top of the leaderboard. Denmark's Nanna Madsen had looked set to force a play-off until she found the sand on the 18th and a double bogey saw her challenge unravel at the last. Ireland's Leona Maguire rounded off another impressive week with a 71 - she finished six shots off the lead in a share of 13th place.