Sports quiz of the week: title races, snooker drama and marathon records

The London Marathon, Frank Onyeka and snooker at the Crucible. Composite: Getty Images

1. It's extremely tight at the top of the Premier League. Manchester City and Arsenal are level on points and goal difference, but City are top of the table on goals scored. Which English club has won the league title on goals scored?

   1. Arsenal

   2. Manchester United

   3. Chelsea

   4. Liverpool

2. 

   What will happen if City and Arsenal finish this season with the same number of points, the same goal difference and level on goals scored?

   1. They will share the trophy

   2. The teams meet in a playoff at Wembley

   3. They toss a coin to decide which team wins the title

   4. City become champions as they have a superior head-to-head record

3. Chelsea have lost their last five games in the Premier League. Which team have drawn their last five games in the Premier League?

   1. West Ham

   2. Brentford

   3. Leeds

   4. Newcastle

4. 

   Shaun Murphy won his opening match at the Snooker World Championship despite being distracted by something in the arena. What happened?

   1. He was stung by a bee that had landed on the table

   2. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he missed an important pot

   3. He said he was “put off” by his opponent’s “snazzy waistcoat”

   4. A fan in the front row said “shit shot” while he was playing

5. Snooker players and fans at the Crucible have been paying tribute to John Virgo, who died earlier this year. Virgo was probably best known for his broadcasting career; he presented Big Break and was a masterful commentator. What was his best performance at the World Championship as a player?

   1. He won it twice

   2. He reached three finals, losing them all to Steve Davis

   3. He reached the semi-finals in 1979

   4. He never made it past the first round

6. 

   Coventry City have been promoted to the Premier League. It has been a long road back, taking in administrations, points deductions and transfer embargos. They even had to move out of Coventry for a few seasons in the 2010s. Where did they groundshare when they could not play at their own stadium?

   1. Northampton Town and Birmingham City

   2. Oxford City and Oxford United

   3. Peterborough United and Cambridge United

   4. Derby County and Leicester City

7. Which team were given the 32nd pick in the NFL draft?

   1. Seattle Seahawks

   2. New York Jets

   3. New England Patriots

   4. Miami Dolphins

8. 

   The England women’s football team played their 500th game last weekend, beating Iceland 1-0 in Reykjavík. Which team did they play in their first official match, in 1972?

   1. Iceland

   2. Scotland

   3. Mexico

   4. Brazil

9. Brian McDermott is the new head coach of the England men’s rugby league team and will lead them at the World Cup in Australia later this year. McDermott has won the Super League title four times – with which club?

   1. Wigan Warriors

   2. Leeds Rhinos

   3. Hull KR

   4. St Helens

10. 

    Which sportsman has invested in the cricket team Birmingham Phoenix, saying “I feel like I owe the city something”?

    1. Moeen Ali

    2. Nigel Mansell

    3. Gabriel Agbonlahor

    4. Jude Bellingham

11. Bayern Munich have wrapped up the Bundesliga title with four games to spare. They have now won 13 of the last 14 titles. Which club won the other one?

    1. Borussia Dortmund

    2. Wolfsburg

    3. Bayer Leverkusen

    4. Stuttgart

12. 

    Jacob Kiplimo​ set a new world record for the half marathon earlier this year. Who – or what – ran the distance seven minutes quicker last weekend in Beijing?

    1. A robot

    2. A dog

    3. A 16-year-old

    4. His younger brother

13. Which marathon – which was run last weekend – is the oldest annual marathon, having started in 1897?

    1. Boston Marathon

    2. Berlin Marathon

    3. San Francisco Marathon

    4. Paris Marathon

14. 

    The London Marathon on Sunday could be the biggest marathon in history, with more than 59,000 people expected to finish the race. Which marathon currently holds the world record for the most finishers?

    1. New York Marathon

    2. Chicago Marathon

    3. Sydney Marathon

    4. Tokyo Marathon

15. Golf fans paid €260 for a day ticket to the Ryder Cup in Rome three years ago. How much does the same ticket cost for the event in Ireland next year?

    1. €260

    2. €349

    3. €499

    4. €700

Solutions

1:A - Arsenal pipped Liverpool in the 1988-89 season on goals scored, securing the title on the final day of the campaign with a 2-0 win at Anfield. A late goal from Michael Thomas ended Arsenal’s 18-year wait to be champions., 2:D, 3:B - Curiously enough, Chelsea and Brentford have the same number of points., 4:D - Murphy won the match and then posted online: "Just a friendly reminder that if you’re sat on the front row in the Crucible and I play a shot that may not work for a particular reason, it’s probably best not to say ‘shit shot’ out loud. I’ve got ears.", 5:C - Virgo never became a world champion but he did win the UK Championship., 6:A - They are back in their own stadium and back in the top flight for the first time since 2001. , 7:A - They won the Super Bowl earlier this year so were the last pick in the first round., 8:B - England won an entertaining game, coming from behind to secure a 3-2 victory in front of 400 fans. , 9:B - He has also coached at international level; he was the USA coach at the World Cup in 2017., 10:D, 11:C - Funnily enough, when Bayer Leverkusen were crowned champions in the 2023-24 season (for the first time in their history), they did it with five games to spare. , 12:A - Lightning – a humanoid robot made a Chinese company – completed the half marathon in 50min 26sec., 13:A - The event was inspired by the success of the marathon race at the first modern Olympics, which were held the year before., 14:A - There were 59,226 finishers in the New York Marathon last year. That is the number for London to beat this weekend., 15:C - That is a 92% rise in prices.

Scores

1. 1 and above.

   Ah well. Better luck next week.

2. 2 and above.

   Ah well. Better luck next week.

3. 3 and above.

   Ah well. Better luck next week.

4. 4 and above.

   Ah well. Better luck next week.

5. 5 and above.

   Ah well. Better luck next week.

6. 6 and above.

   Not bad. Not bad at all.

7. 7 and above.

   That's a fine score. Well played. Have a good weekend

8. 8 and above.

   That's a fine score. Well played. Have a good weekend

9. 9 and above.

   That's a great score. Well played. Have a good weekend

10. 10 and above.

    That's a great score. Well played. Have a good weekend

11. 11 and above.

    That's a superb score. Well played. Have a great weekend

12. 12 and above.

    That's a superb score. Well played. Have a great weekend

13. 13 and above.

    That's a superb score. Well played. Have a great weekend

14. 14 and above.

    That's a superb score. Well played. Have a great weekend

15. 0 and above.

    Ah well. Better luck next week.

16. 15 and above.

    That's a superb score. Well played. Have a great weekend