UK News
Coventry City chase promotion to Premier League against Blackburn Rovers – live | Championship
Key events
Half-time: Blackburn 0-0 Coventry
Job half-done but not done at all well by Coventry. Rovers really should be leading and there’s work to do to claim the point that Cov need.
45+2 min: Wow, Rovers go so close, and it takes Latibeaudiere’s backside to block what is a goalbound shot from Morishita. Alebiosu has been excellent down the Rovers’ right flank. That’s the last of the half.
45 min: The aforementioned Rudoni’s free-kick, an attempt to get a cross in, is awful. Dear me. This has been nervy.
44 min: A rare Coventry sortie, DaSilva and Mason-Clark involved, the latter knocking wide when the ball drops low for him from a decent cross. They could have done with that Rudoni shot being far better. That’s as good as it’s got.
43 min: Rancour as Ribeiro is fouled, and the ball is called dead when Rovers were in a decent position. Then Morishita wants a throw-in, and is right to ask for it.
Dominic Booth
42 min: More from Dom Booth at Ewood: “The game has drifted into a bit of a lull, perhaps with Coventry safe in the knowledge a draw is good enough to seal promotion and Blackburn content with a point to aid their survival campaign. It has actually been the hosts who have been better in the middle portion of this first half; I’ve been particularly impressed with Ryoya Morishita, who is playing in the right No 10 position in O’Neill’s 3-4-3. Blackburn need to get the ball right to him and Ryan Alebiosu, whose crosses have asked questions of Coventry’s defence. All it takes is one Blackburn goal to wreak worry within the visiting ranks.”
40 min: Long ball out wide aimed for DaSilva, and jeers from the home crowd when the ball runs out.
38 min: Perhaps eyeing a Lampard pep talk, Coventry are passing the ball round in defence. But then they try to hurry it up, and are again offside. Frank Lampard is muttering away to his assistant, Joe Edwards, another Chelsea alumnus.
36 min: Were Blackburn to have a bit more quality in the final third, then they could be out of sight. Coventry are struggling here.
34 min: Blackburn continue to impress. Considering their injuries it’s amazing they are in such trouble. Morishita causes sincere trouble down the inside left position, and it takes Van Ewijk’s fine tackle to stop him meeting a loose ball.
32 min: Mason-Clark offside now. Coventry are a little hurried, anxious.
31 min: Coventry are 30 minutes in, and it’s not been at all easy. They haven’t managed to sustain the pressure they’d like to keep up. Simms gets to the byline, and Mason-Clark is the target. Atcheson, who has been excellent so far, makes another intervention.
28 min: Ohashi’s header hits the bar, Latibeaudiere failing to climb with the striker. Another fine cross from Alebiosu, though the Japanese striker is penalised for a push. That looked soft.
26 min: Coventry get a big chance, 36 passes completed and Rudoni has the chance to shoot. He hits the side-netting. That was poor, considering.
25 min: Matt Grimes, the playmaker, is dropping deep to try and force the issue, though Rovers’ Gardner-Hickman is following him everywhere.
22 min: Van Ewijk tries to set up a Cov attack from wing-back but Blackburn so go on the counter with Atcheson firing in a cross. Rushworth has been the busier keeper by far.
20 min: Coventry have been a little nervy here. Rovers are looking solid and full of adventure. They are playing for their lives. Coventry only need a point and that may not suit them. Lampard is a coach who likes his teams to attack.
18 min: More Cov nostalgia, from John Brennan: “My friend for reasons unknown to himself even had a Coventry City gear bag in college that he used to carry his clothes for the weekend. Every time I saw it, it was incongruous to me. Anyway, Coventry being back in the Premier League is great. My parents got Sky into the house for Christmas in 1999 and one of the first games I watched at home was Coventry beating Arsenal 3-2 with Robbie Keane scoring a delightful goal with the outside of his boot. That team with Keane & Cedric Roussel upfront and the two Moroccans of Chippo and Hadji in midfield were a fun watch back then.”
16 min: Neil Lavery gets in touch: “Hello John, 7,000 away fans at Ewood for a game that could decide promotion for them? How odd. Back in 2023 when Burnley were going for the title there that stand only held 2,000-ish…”
They must have built a bigger stand or something.
Dominic Booth
15 min: Dom Booth is at Ewood. “You wouldn’t have to be a football expert to sit in Ewood Park tonight and decipher which team were top of the table and which were battling relegation. And that’s based on the start both teams have made as well as the difference in supporter numbers. The vast swathes of empty seats in the home sections tell their own story just as the packed Coventry away end reflects a club on the rise. “Where we you when you were sh*t?” is the latest jibe from the Rovers fans – not that the Sky Blues supporters probably heard it, such is the din they are making. And their team are responding on the pitch with a confident start.”
14 min: There’s a delay as Onyeka, the Brentford loanee, goes down with a head injury.
13 min: Real let-off for Coventry as Ohashi gets a free header on goal. Nobody was marking him from the cross. Rovers are playing the better team. Ryan Alebiosu played a fine cross.
11 min: More Ohashi involvement, and he’s clear on goal, only for offside to haul him back. Carl Rushworth makes the save in any case.
10 min: Worrying moment for Ohashi when he is called back for a high kick. It was nothing more than a foul so no worries there. He’s walking on eggshells a bit, though.
9 min: Good historic info from Sky: it was at Ewood Park that Coventry, under Jimmy Hill, achieved promotion in April 1967. There’s a statue of Jim outside the Coventry Building Society Arena.
8 min: A long ball is aimed for Ellis Simms, but Atcheson clears from the Rovers defence. An early booking, for Rovers’ Ohashi when he loses the ball and then smashes into Grimes.
6 min: Great noise, and it’s coming from both sets of fans. Remember: Blackburn have plenty to play for. They can get to 51 points. That could be enough.
4 min: It’s all Coventry, with Matt Grimes’s cross causing havoc in the Rovers defence. They’re pinning back their opponents, and their back three are dominating possession.
3 min: First attack of the game from Coventry, Mason-Clarke seizing on a loose ball and then shooting. The shot is blocked.
Away we go at Ewood
1 min: There’s over 7,000 Cov fans here. A word from the club’s saviour, Mark Robins, now managing Stoke. Very nice about Doug King, the owner who removed him.
“They’re going up. I’m really pleased for them. Frank has done a fantastic job. He took over from me in difficult circumstances and he’s taken it to a different level. They will go up and they’ve got the stadium now and it looks certainly a lot more stable. Not only that, they’ve got a really good team, a top manager and they’ve done fantastically well.
“The owner has been incredible there, to be fair, and what he’s done for the club, the city and what plans they have when they eventually get up, I’m sure they’ll spend money and try to stay in there.”
The teams take to the field at Ewood Park. It’s all Coventry, the Jolly Boating song ringing out. It’s a bit more sparse in the home end, despite efforts from those in Warwickshire to get hold of tickets. The hill behind the Darwen End may well be full of Sky Blue, too.
Frank Lampard’s advice to his players: “Stay calm in your heads but not in your legs.”
Snappy.
Phil Rebbeck gets in touch: “In the early 1990s I was a university student living in Coventry and used to go to Highfield Road every now and then. The Sky Blues were away to local rivals Aston Villa on the last day of the season, still needing something out of the game. They contrived to concede a goal in the first minute and lost the game 2-0.
“However, results elsewhere went their way with Luton losing to already relegated Notts County. So Coventry managed another great escape on the last day and the three relegated teams were the aforementioned Luton and Notts County joined by a particularly hapless West Ham United.
“Still have a soft spot for them and will welcome them back in the Premier League being a Fulham fan!”
For Rovers, Eiran Cashin returns, replacing Harry the benched Pickering. Ryoya Morishita comes in for Nathan Redmond, also a substitute. Yuki Ohashi replaces Mathias Jorgensen as striker.
For Cov, two changes from Frank Lampard: Bobby Thomas into a back three while Ellis Simms is in for Haji Wright in the forward line. Brandon Thomas-Asante drops to the bench.
The teams
Blackburn: Toth, Atcheson, McLoughlin (c), Cashin, Alebiosu, Gardner-Hickman, Baradji, Montgomery, Ribeiro, Morishita, Ohashi. Subs: Pears, Pickering, De Neve, Hedges, Afolayan, O’Riordan, Redmond, Forshaw, Jorgensen
Coventry: Rushworth; Latibeaudiere, Thomas, Kitching; Van Ewijk, Onyeka, Grimes, Dasilva; Rudoni, Simms, Mason-Clark. Subs: Wilson, Woolfenden, Bidwell, Kesler-Hayden, Eccles, Thomas-|Asante, Torp, Haji Wright, Esse.
Coventry need just a draw, remember. The away tickets for this game are the hottest tickets in town since 1987 or The Specials reunion.
Blackburn are not out of the woods, of course. The picture at the bottom is made cloudier by the potential/probable points deduction headed West Brom’s way. Michael O’Neill, also the Northern Ireland manager, of course, has a fight on his hands. Tuesday’s defeat to Southampton, and no win since Good Friday has made things uncomfortable.
The excellent Nick Ames on the Championship promotion race and beyond.
In 2001, Cov’s run of being in the top division since 1967 came to an end after a defeat to Aston Villa. The Sky Blues had stayed up on the final day 10 times over that time though this was the penultimate games of the season. They closed out by being relegated alongside Bradford in a 0-0 draw.
Teams that day:
Aston Villa: James, Delaney, Wright, Southgate, Barry, Boateng, Taylor, Merson, Staunton, Dublin, Vassell. Subs: Angel, Ginola, Hendrie, Stone, Enckelman.
Coventry: Kirkland, Williams, Breen, Quinn, Telfer, Eustace, Carsley, Hadji, Hall, Bellamy, Hartson. Subs: Hedman, Edworthy, Zuniga, Strachan, Bothroyd.
Preamble
It was in 2001 that Coventry last played Premier League football. It’s been an odyssey since, taking in a new stadium, exile from that new stadium, relegation to the fourth tier and financial brinkmanship. Now, after a couple of near misses, they are on the way back. It may already be all but done but winning (or even drawing) at Blackburn would confirm it for Frank Lampard’s team.
Kick-off at Ewood Park is at 8pm BST. Join me.
UK News
European stock markets hit record high and oil price falls to three-month low after US-Iran peace deal – business live | Business
European stock markets hit record high
European stock markets have hit a record high at the start of trading, as relief over the US-Iran peace deal ripples across global markets.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index has jumped by 0.9% to 639 points, over the previous record high set just before the Iran war started, with shares rising in London, Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid and Milan.
Mining and travel companies are driving the rally, while oil company shares are sliding.
That follows sharp gains in Asia-Pacific markets overnight, where Japan’s Nikkei surged by 5% on hopes that the strait of Hormuz will reopen within days.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says global equity markets are starting the week firmly on the front foot after President Trump announced that a deal with Iran had been reached, adding:
The move has given investors a clear reason to dial back some of the geopolitical risk premium that has hung over markets, especially as the Strait of Hormuz is expected to reopen and oil prices move sharply lower.
Energy prices have been one of the clearest transmission channels from Middle East tensions into inflation, bond yields and equity sentiment, and there is likely to be a concerted effort to get prices down even further once this deal is finalised.
There are still details to be ironed out before markets can fully trust the agreement, but for now the direction of travel is clear: lower oil, calmer nerves and a renewed appetite for risk.
Key events
Peace deal should keep mortgage rates down
Mortgage borrowers can breathe a sigh of relief at the news of a peace deal in Iran, says Adam French, head of consumer finance at Moneyfactscompare.co.uk.
While we are far from being out of the woods yet, a lasting peace deal should dramatically reduce the risk of the Bank of England’s worst-case scenario for inflation and interest rates becoming a reality.
“Under that scenario, Base Rate could have risen to 5.25%, potentially pushing typical rates on new mortgages towards 6.75%. Instead, today’s news means mortgages rates, which have already been slowly falling for several weeks, have likely already passed their peak – at least until the next unwelcome crisis.
“Borrowers can be optimistic but with a word of caution, as inflation and economic data will continue to influence the outlook. However, a lasting peace should remove one of the biggest risks to mortgage costs and may help restore a more stable environment for hard-pressed remortgage borrowers and prospective buyers.”
Even before this morning’s drop in UK bond yields (see earlier post), average mortgage rates have dipped slightly.
Moneyfacts reports:
-
The average 2-year fixed residential mortgage rate today is 5.61%. This is down from 5.62% the previous working day.
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The average 5-year fixed residential mortgage rate today is 5.58%. This is down from 5.59% the previous working day.
Why it may take months for oil flows to return to normal
Donald Trump excitedly declared: “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” last night, but the reality is that it will take some time for oil flows through the strait of Hormuz to return to pre-war levels.
One reason is that many oil tankers are simply in the wrong place, after the long closure of the strait.
Another is that some production and refining facilities have been damaged by the conflict, while others were mothballed after storate facilities filled up to the brim.
A third factor is that insurers could still be wary of the conflict reigniting, and price their cover accordingly.
Neil Shearing, group chief economist at Capital Economics, explains:
Even if ships now have safe passage, tankers are in the wrong place, oil production/refining facilities need to get up to full capacity, and questions over the cost and availability of insurance for ships traversing the Strait will remain.
Our current working assumption is that ~80% of energy flows will resume by the end of Q3. Natural gas flows will be slower to return, following the damage to Qatari facilities earlier in the conflict, which according to local officials has put 17% of production offline for two to three years.
US crude drops below $80
US crude oil has dropped to its lowest level since the second week of the Iran war.
The cost of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light sweet crude has dropped by 6% today to $79.72 per barrel, the first time since 10 March that it has been under $80/barrel.
That could help to pull down US gasoline prices, which climbed after the conflict began, hitting consumer confidence.
UK bond yields fall
Today’s relief rally is also driving up government bond prices, pushing down the cost of borrowing.
The yield (or interest rate) on 10-year UK government debt has dropped by 6.5 basis points (0.065 of a percentage point) to 4.775%.
Two-year bond yields are down 8bps to 4.16%.
Lower bond yields indicate that that the cost of issuing new government debt has fallen, which will be a relief for the UK Treasury after the Iran war drove up borrowing costs.
Copper mining company Antofagasta is now the top riser on the FTSE 100, up almost 8%.
Trader will be concluding that an end to the Iran war will boost the world economy, leading to more demand for raw materials such as copper.
European stock markets hit record high
European stock markets have hit a record high at the start of trading, as relief over the US-Iran peace deal ripples across global markets.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index has jumped by 0.9% to 639 points, over the previous record high set just before the Iran war started, with shares rising in London, Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid and Milan.
Mining and travel companies are driving the rally, while oil company shares are sliding.
That follows sharp gains in Asia-Pacific markets overnight, where Japan’s Nikkei surged by 5% on hopes that the strait of Hormuz will reopen within days.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says global equity markets are starting the week firmly on the front foot after President Trump announced that a deal with Iran had been reached, adding:
The move has given investors a clear reason to dial back some of the geopolitical risk premium that has hung over markets, especially as the Strait of Hormuz is expected to reopen and oil prices move sharply lower.
Energy prices have been one of the clearest transmission channels from Middle East tensions into inflation, bond yields and equity sentiment, and there is likely to be a concerted effort to get prices down even further once this deal is finalised.
There are still details to be ironed out before markets can fully trust the agreement, but for now the direction of travel is clear: lower oil, calmer nerves and a renewed appetite for risk.
BP and Shell’s shares slide
Shares in oil companies are falling, though – BP and Shell are both down 3.7%, as investors anticipate an end to their earnngs boost from the Iran war.
FTSE 100 index hits eight-week high
Boom! Britain’s stock market has hit a near-two month high at the start of trading, as investors welcome the breakthrough between the US and Iran to end the Middle East conflict.
The FTSE 100 blue-chip share index has jumped by 99 points, or almost 1%, at the start of trading to 10,570 points, its highest level since 21 April.
Engineering firm Rolls-Royce, which makes and services jet engines, is the top riser on the FTSE 100, up 5.5%, followed by British Airways parent company IAG, up 4.8%.
UK house prices dip in June
Gwyn Topham
Two bits of good news for Britons who don’t own their homes have been revealed, with data showing a drop in house prices in June as well as fewer tenants facing rent hikes last month.
Figures from Rightmove showed the average price of property coming on the to market fell by 0.6% or £2,113 to £376,191, the biggest June fall in fourteen years, with prices 0.5% below this time in 2025. The biggest drops were seen in southern England and Wales, and in asking prices for flats rather than houses.
The property site said the number of homes for sale was still at historically high levels for summer, making it more of a buyer’s market. Mortgage affordability has also improved slightly this month, with the average two-year fixed rate deal dropping about 0.1 percentage points to 5.07%, it said.
Meanwhile, figures suggest that the introduction of the Renters Right Act may already be seeing results in terms of keeping rents down for tenants.
The new law came into force at the start of May and means landlords can only increase rents for sitting tenants once a year. According to Hamptons monthly lettings index, the number of tenants who saw their rent rise was down 23% from the same month last year. Hamptons said if the rest of the year saw similar change, it would expect only 31% of sitting tenants to face increases, compared to 40%-50% in previous years.
However, the agency warned that rent rises in Scotland, where landlords have been operating under a similar system for longer, exceeded the national average. Sitting tenants who faced rent rises had an average increase of 5.4% in May, but the figure reached 7.7% in Scotland, albeit for a lower absolute rent – £952 – than the Great Britain average of £1375.
Speaking of the ECB, their president Christine Lagarde has been warning that inflation pressures are spreading in the euro area.
In an intervew with broadcaster France Culture, Lagarde warned that high energy prices are starting to feed through to other parts of the economy, saying:
“Indirect effects of inflation, we have absolutely started to see that more or less everywhere in recent weeks.”
The US-Iran agreement is well-timed for the Bank of England, which is due to set UK interest rates on Thursday.
If the strait of Hormuz does reopen, and oil flows return towards pre-war levels, there will be less inflationary pressure – and thus less need for interest rate rises.
The European Central Bank raised its interest rates last week, but this week is the turn of the BoE, the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, says:
Over the past month, the price of oil is down by more than a fifth, and the Brent crude price is now back at levels from early March. This is good news for inflation, which should start tumbling monthly from June, and it could ease concerns about price pressures as we lead up to some major central bank action this week. The decline in the oil price also raises questions about whether the ECB was too hasty in raising rates last week.
European stock markets are on track to jump when trading begins, in just over 20 minutes.
Germany’s DAX share index is up 1.65% in the futures market, Reuters reports, with the UK’s FTSE 100 0.75% higher.
The US dollar is weakening, as investors shift into riskier currencies.
The pound is its highest in over a week, at $1.3438.
Markets rally across Asia
There are strong gains across Asia-Pacific markets today, as investors welcome the deal between the US and Iran.
Japan’s Nikkei share index has leapt by 5%, as has South Korea’s KOSPI, while China’s CSI300 index is 1.9% higher.
Jim Reid, market strategist at Deutsche Bank, says:
Whilst the deal is very good news for markets it looks like tough conversations will have occur in the 60-day window to ensure the peace is sustainable. As an example, the Senate needs to approve any extensive sanction relief for Iran.
For now the can kicking exercise has been very well received by markets even after a strong US close on Friday where hopes were raised of a weekend signing
Introduction: Oil falls to three-month low
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets, and the world economy.
The peace deal agreed between Iran and the US is sending a wave of relief through the markets today.
Oil has tumbled 4%, and markets across the Asia-Pacific region have jumped, as investors anticipate the reopening of the strait of Hormuz.
Although it is unclear exactly what has been agreed – with the final text of their memorandum of understanding unpublished – Donald Trump’s claim that “oil will flow on both ends again for the region, and the world” is pushing down energy prices – a relief for busineses, consumers, politicians and central bankers alike.
Brent crude has fallen as low as $83.04, its lowest since 10 March, after the prime minister of Pakistan announced the US and Iran will sign a memorandum of understanding in Switzerland on Friday.
That still leaves Brent above its pre-war price of $72.48 a barrel, though.
Trump has indicated that the opening of the strait is contingent upon the signing of the peace deal, scheduled for Friday.
Iran’s Mehr state news, though, reported that the agreed memorandum of understanding calls for the reopening of the strait within 30 days under “Iranian arrangements” – an indication that Tehran hasn’t surrendered its control of the waterway.
Chris Weston of IG points out that there are still obstacles to overcome:
The probable reopening of the Strait of Hormuz later this week would represent a significant positive development. Markets had increasingly questioned how long inventory draws could offset supply disruptions and whether physical dislocations would begin weighing more heavily on risk assets. The focus now shifts towards understanding what normalisation of logistics could realistically look like, and how quickly shipping volumes can return to pre-conflict levels of 120 to 140 commercial vessels transiting eastbound and westbound each day.
There are still obstacles to overcome. Mines may need to be cleared, and there may be structural damage to refineries and export facilities around the region that will take time to repair and come back to pre-conflict capacity.
The agenda
Paying tribute, Sir Keir Starmer said Lord Hattersley “was a giant of the Labour movement”.
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My partner and I paid £2,150 for a week’s all-inclusive break in Marrakech with easyJet Holidays.
We chose the Jaal Riad Resort Hotel because of its pool and spa. When we arrived, we were told that use of the heated pool cost £24 a person an hour, the Jacuzzi £24 for 20 minutes, and the hammam was £16 for 20 minutes.
Nowhere were these extra fees listed when booking. EasyJet Holidays rejected my complaint and referred me to a line buried at the bottom of the list of facilities that said charges may apply. We were planning on using the pool regularly but could not afford it. If we had known, we would have booked elsewhere.
DP, Cambridgeshire
Hidden charges can hugely inflate the cost of holidays. Resort fees are the most pernicious – some hotels charge up to £50 a person a day for facilities whether or not they are used.
Then there’s the daily tourist tax levied via the accommodation provider during the stay in some countries, and ancillary fees for upgraded wifi for sun loungers.
EasyJet Holidays makes a big deal of the pool – it’s a prominent photo on the webpage for the hotel.
No asterisk refers potential bookers to the crucial caveat that a couple, wishing to avail themselves once a day during a week’s stay, would have to pay almost £350 extra.
Even the eagle-eyed who alighted on the paragraph of small print at the bottom of the page, would be none the wiser.
Only after declaring that the facilities are subject to height and weight restrictions, seasonal availability, opening times, and age and dress code, does it mention that they “may” attract additional charges. These are not listed.
This is potentially unlawful, according to consumer lawyer Gary Rycroft.
“The facilities were prominently marketed as part of the holiday experience, and extra charges were not clearly disclosed before purchase,” he says. “Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act 2024, businesses must not omit material information that would influence a consumer’s decision about whether to enter into a contract.”
EasyJet is defensive. “We always strive to make it clear that use of hotel facilities may incur additional charges,” it told me.
The company said then that it was reviewing the description to “further highlight that the use of the spa facilities is chargeable”, although, at the time of writing, three weeks later, the webpage remained unchanged. It has also now offered a £500 goodwill payment.
As the holiday season begins, you need to read the small print to avoid nasty surprises.
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions.
European stock markets hit record high and oil price falls to three-month low after US-Iran peace deal – business live | Business
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