The Kansas City Chiefs have agreed a contract with JuJu Smith-Schuster to return to the team for the 2024 season.

Smith-Schuster spent the 2022 season with the Chiefs and was the leading wide receiver in their Super Bowl-winning team, catching 78 passes for 933 yards and three touchdowns.

He spent 2023 with the New England Patriots after joining from the Chiefs but was released from his three-year contract earlier this month after struggling to replicate that form. He finished the season having caught 29 passes for 260 yards and one touchdown.

Prior to his first spell in Kansas City, Smith-Schuster spent five years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who drafted him in the second round of the 2017 draft.

At wide receiver, the Chiefs also added Marquise Brown and drafted Xavier Worthy, though the former dislocated his shoulder in their first preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

The Chiefs will kick-off the new NFL season on September 5 against the Baltimore Ravens at Arrowhead. 

Juventus have completed the loan signing of Francisco Conceicao from Porto.

The 21-year-old recorded eight goals and eight assists in all competitions for the Portuguese club last season.

Conceicao also has six caps for Portugal since being given his debut in March, scoring the winner in his country's first Euro 2024 group stage match against Czechia.

Among forwards in the Primeira Liga last term, Conceicao was third for successful dribbles, with 67, behind only Helio Varela (73) and Viktor Gyokeres (68).

Conceicao began his career at Porto, before moving to Ajax in the summer of 2022 after they triggered his release clause.

Having struggled to adjust to the Dutch game, scoring just once in 23 league games, Conceicao was loaned back to Porto last season, with the loan becoming permanent in April.

He is Juve's second signing in quick succession, with Nicolas Gonzalez having completed his switch from Fiorentina on Sunday.

Eddie Howe has confirmed that Sandro Tonali will be in the squad for Newcastle United's EFL Cup match against Nottingham Forest.

Tonali, a £55million signing from Milan, has missed 10 months of action after being banned for a breach of betting regulations during his time in Italy.

The midfielder has been free to train with the club during that period, and Howe confirmed that Tonali will be involved.

Howe said: "He will definitely be in the squad, he is fit, he just hasn’t had the game time. He has worked incredibly hard to be on top of his fitness.

"I imagine a range of emotions, a lot of excitement, when you have a long time out, you have a long time to analyse and reflect.

"It will be an incredible release for him. I want Sandro to come back and enjoy his football."

Howe also gave an update on Callum Wilson's fitness, with the forward not expected to make a return until after the international break.

Wilson, who has been linked with a potential departure from St James' Park, is struggling with a back injury.

"Callum is continuing his rehabilitation from injury; I am happy with his progress," said Howe, who is hoping to add to his squad before Friday's transfer deadline.

"He is working very hard, as he always does. We miss him, he adds a different dynamic.

"He is such an important character around the squad, we hope to get him back soon, but it won't be before the international break."

Newcastle have won on their last two trips to Forest and could win three in a row at the City Ground for the first time since December 1922 (four in a row).

Aryna Sabalenka made light work of Priscilla Hon to kick-start her US Open campaign in confident fashion on Sunday.

Sabalenka, who reached the final last year before losing out to Coco Gauff, did not face one break point in the first set and recovered from an indifferent start to the second to stroll into the second round with a 6-3 6-3 victory.

The Belarusian has won the last 12 sets she has played following on from her victory at the Cincinnati Masters, and this was her 40th Tour-level win this year.

Sabalenka will face Italy's Lucia Bronzetti in the second round on Wednesday.

Data debrief: Sabalenka keeps up hard-court form

This was Sabalenka's 24th WTA-level victory on hard courts this year.

Only two players have recorded more victories on the surface in 2024 - Emma Navarro (26) and world number one Iga Swiatek (25).

Thiago Motta was delighted with Juventus' willingness to take risks after his side ran out 3-0 winners over Hellas Verona. 

Juve followed up their 3-0 win over Como by dispatching Verona by the same scoreline on Monday.

Dusan Vlahovic scored twice, with Nicolo Savona netting Juve's other goal as the Bianconeri started a Serie A campaign with back-to-back wins for the first time since 2019-20.

And Motta believes a high-risk, high-reward strategy is the way forward.

"You can see the group's attitude from the way they press the opponent," he told DAZN.

"They take risks, but if you recover the ball it's a big advantage.

"This phase of the game is important, we need everyone. Today our forwards worked hard and well, having this balance is very important because it leads us to play games like this."

Motta also had individual praise for Juve's "leader" Vlahovic.

"A positive leader in the group," Motta said of the striker, who has now scored six Serie A goals against Verona.

"He played for the team, doing a lot of movement and above all he is a player who knows how to score goals. I am satisfied with him, he must continue like this.

"Congratulations to Dusan, but also to all the others who applied good pressure allowing us to score."

Vlahovic missed several chances against Como, but found his goalscoring touch this time around.

"I was a bit unlucky with Como, but today the goals arrived and I'm happy with the attitude of the team," he said.

"The results are the consequence of the work we do."

Novak Djokovic was not at his best to start his US Open title defence, but still eased beyond Radu Albot in straight sets.

Djokovic, who is hunting his first grand slam title of the year on the back of claiming Olympic gold in Paris, won 6-2 6-2 6-4 on Sunday.

However, Djokovic was not at his best, making 40 unforced errors and 10 double faults.

"I wanted to kick start the tournament in the right way and I think I did," Djokovic told ESPN.

"Some ups and downs which I think is normal, getting the rust off your shoulders coming off a different surface and the Olympic Games.

"I haven't played on hard courts for six months, so I'm still finding that groove, finding the tempo on the court."

Next up for Djokovic, who would claim his 100th Tour-level title should he triumph in New York, is his compatriot Laslo Djere, who defeated Jan-Lennard Struff.

Data Debrief: Djokovic equals Federer

Only the great Jimmy Connors (98) has won more US Open singles matches than Djokovic, who claimed his 89th victory at Flushing Meadows to match Roger Federer's tally.

This was also Djokovic's 78th win at Arthur Ashe Stadium, a competition record for a male player.

Salvador Perez drove in a career-high six runs on a pair of homers, including a grand slam, as the Kansas City Royals moved within a game of the first-place Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central with Monday's 9-4 victory that capped a doubleheader sweep.

The surging Royals, winners of nine of their last 12 games, won the opener by a 4-3 score on Bobby Witt Jr.'s tie-breaking solo homer in the eighth inning.

Kansas City trailed 3-0 early in the nightcap but battled back to take a 5-4 lead on Perez's first homer of the game, a solo blast off Cleveland starter Logan Allen in the fifth inning. The All-Star catcher put the contest out of reach an inning later with a grand slam off Tim Herrin that marked his 17th career multi-homer outing, tied with Hall of Famer George Brett for the most in Royals' history.

Perez, who went 3 for 3 in the opener, also knocked in a run with a third-inning groundout that plated Maikel Garcia, who led off with a single and took third on a double by Witt.

Garcia and MJ Melendez each had three hits for Kansas City in the second game, while Paul DeJong went 2 for 4 with a solo homer.

The scuffling Guardians lost for the eighth time in 11 games despite three doubles and an RBI from Jose Ramirez in the nightcap. Daniel Schneemann had two hits for Cleveland, including a solo homer.

Cleveland is now 0-8 in doubleheader games this season.

In the opener, Witt drove a pitch from reliever Hunter Gaddis into the left field seats to give the Royals a 4-3 edge in the top of the eighth inning. John Schreiber and Lucas Erceg protected the one-run lead from there, with Schreiber earning the win and Erceg recording his eighth save with a scoreless ninth.

The Royals had taken a 3-2 lead on Melendez's three-run homer in the fourth inning, but the Guardians pulled even when Ramirez doubled in the seventh and later scored on Josh Naylor's single.

Jansen makes history, plays for the Blue Jays and Red Sox in same game

Danny Jansen became the first player in MLB history to appear for both teams in the same game when the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox completed a previously suspended contest.

Jansen was a member of the Blue Jays when a June 26 matchup with the Red Sox was suspended in the second inning due to rain. He was traded to Boston on July 27 and inserted into the Red Sox's lineup when the game resumed Monday to accomplish the unprecedented feat.

The catcher's old team got the better of his current one, however, as Toronto posted a 4-1 win in the suspended game before dealing the reeling Red Sox a 7-3 defeat in Monday's regularly scheduled contest.

George Springer homered in both games, including a three-run shot in the fifth inning that erased a 1-0 deficit for Toronto in the nightcap.

Springer followed a double by Leo Jimenez and a walk to Steward Berroa with an opposite-field blast off Brad Keller to give the Blue Jays a 3-1 lead. Toronto scored twice more in the fifth on an RBI single from Addison Barger and a run-scoring double by Ernie Clement.

The big inning helped Jose Berrios (13-9) win his fourth straight start after the Toronto hurler held the Red Sox to three runs - two earned - and struck out six over 7 2/3 effective innings. Brendon Little relieved Berrios and tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings for his first major league save.

Toronto has now won five straight in addition to the suspended game, while Boston has dropped four in a row along with the makeup game and is now five games out of a play-off spot in the AL.

Jarren Duran also homered in both games for Boston. The All-Star outfielder accounted for the Red Sox's lone run in the suspended game with a solo homer, then went 3 for 4 with a two-run shot in the follow-up meeting.

Springer's solo homer off Nick Pivetta in the suspended game snapped a scoreless tie in the seventh inning, and the Blue Jays scored three more times in the eighth on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s two-run double and an RBI double from Barger.

Pivetta (4-5) took the loss despite striking out 10 in six innings. The Boston right-hander allowed three runs - two earned - and just four hits.

Harper's hit in 10th puts Phillies over Astros

Bryce Harper's run-scoring single off Josh Hader in the 10th inning lifted the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-2 comeback win over the Houston Astros in the opener of a three-game interleague series between division leaders.

After Philadelphia center fielder Johan Rojas made a diving catch with a runner at third to keep the game at 2-2 in the top of the 10th, Harper stepped to the plate with runners at first and second in the bottom of the inning and sent a ground ball through the infield. Kyle Schwarber beat the throw home from Houston right fielder Ben Gamel to score the deciding run and give the National League East-leading Phillies their third straight win.

Philadelphia trailed 2-0 after four innings, but closed the gap on Brandon Marsh's solo homer in the fifth and tied it in the sixth when Harper doubled and later scored on a Nick Castellanos single.

The Astros had gone ahead with two runs in the fourth. Victor Caratini drew a walk against Philadelphia ace Zack Wheeler and Gamel followed with a single, and both runners came home when Shay Whitcomb delivered a two-out double to left.

That was the only rough inning for Wheeler, who permitted two runs and struck out six over six frames.

Ronel Blanco worked 5 2/3 innings for Houston and also surrendered two runs while striking out five.

The Astros lost for the fifth time in seven games and had their lead atop the AL West shrink to 3 1/2 games after the second-place Seattle Mariners recorded a 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.

Dani Parejo's 110th-minute goal sealed a 4-3 victory for Villarreal over Celta Vigo, snatching a late win on Monday.

Celta had come from behind to level the score with 10 minutes of normal time remaining and looked to be heading home with a point until late drama flipped the script.

The visitors actually took the lead in the 12th minute with Borja Iglesias breaking the deadlock after Alfon Gonzalez's effort was cleared off the line. 

Sergi Cardona levelled the score from close range, but Celta were soon back in front as Oscar Mingueza's long-range strike deflected in off the post.

Yerry Pino hit the woodwork on the stroke of half-time, but Villarreal turned things around in a four-minute period in the second half thanks to Thierno Barry and an own goal from Jailson.

Carl Starfelt got Celta back on level terms again 80 minutes in before Tasos Douvikas was denied a winner when he hit the frame of Diego Conde's goal.

Hugo Alvarez's late challenge in the box then gave the hosts an opportunity to win it from the spot. Parejo saw his penalty saved well by Ivan Villar, but the goalkeeper could only push it back into the midfielder, who made no mistake on the second attempt.

Data Debrief: Leaving it late

It was a game of football that would delight any neutral, with both teams throwing caution to the wind with an all-out attacking approach.

Villarreal had 24 shots, creating 3.64 expected goals, compared to Celta's 20 (2.74 xG), with both teams registering nine efforts on target each.

It is the first time that Villarreal have won a LaLiga home game despite conceding three goals for the first time since January 2008 (4-3 v Deportivo La Coruna).

Jerod Mayo is yet to name the New England Patriots' starting quarterback for the season but says Drake Maye has closed the gap to Jacoby Brissett.

Rookie Maye has impressed in preseason so far, racking up 66 snaps and going 21-of-34 for 192 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He also added seven rushes for 32 yards and one touchdown.

Meanwhile, Brissett, who has struggled with a shoulder injury, started all three games, playing 27 snaps and finishing 5-of-14 for 36 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

Despite losing two of their three games, including a defeat to the Washington Commanders in their final outing on Sunday, Mayo has been pleased with the form shown by his quarterbacks, especially Maye.

"I would say at this current point, Drake has outplayed Jacoby," Mayo said on Monday in his weekly appearance on WEEI's 'The Greg Hill Show'.

"Now in saying that, we have to take in the full body of work, going all the way back to the spring and beginning of training camp. And we'll see where we end up.

"It's Drake becoming more comfortable with the scheme and more comfortable with the players around him. I don't know how the story ends with Drake's rookie season, but all possibilities are open."

Mayo is set to tell the Patriots who will be playing as the quarterback on Tuesday in their season opener against the Cleveland Browns.

The coach has kept a close eye on his two options throughout the offseason, explaining how everything he has seen over the last few months has played a part in his decision.

"It starts in practice and also in the game, where Drake has played better," Mayo told reporters later on Monday.

"In saying that, everyone wants to know who the starter is going to be. There are multiple factors that have to go into this decision.

"One is the total body of work, whether we're talking about the spring or the entirety of training camp. And I would also say, oftentimes we forget about the overall experience that a guy like Jacoby has, which will also be weighted in the decision we have to make in the near future.

"I'm happy with the way those guys are battling it out. Hopefully, over the next couple days, we can name a starter and get the season rolling."

Dominic Thiem's grand slam career ended in the first round of the US Open in a straight-sets defeat to Ben Shelton on Monday.

Thiem won his sole major at Flushing Meadows in 2020, coming from two sets down to beat Alexander Zverev with no crowd present due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In what turned out to be his final appearance at a grand slam, Shelton cruised to a 6-4 6-2 6-2 victory, before the American led the crowd in a standing ovation for Thiem.

The Austrian has struggled with a wrist injury in recent years, and announced in May that he would be retiring at the end of the 2024 tour.

Thiem was the first Austrian player in the Open Era to receive a wildcard for the men's singles at the US Open, and the first to receive wildcards to multiple grand slam events after last year’s Australian Open

"It's actually a really important moment for me because I had my greatest success of my career here on this court, in a weird 2020 in very strange and different circumstances," Thiem told the crowd.

"I'm super happy that I got the chance to play my last US Open and I can spend some time with you guys, just to say thank you and to make the time up from what we missed four years ago."

Elsewhere, fourth seed Zverev, Andrey Rublev and 2022 finalist Casper Ruud were among the winners in the first round in New York.

Paulo Dybala says he thought about taking the lucrative deal offered to him from the Saudi Pro League before ultimately deciding to stay at Roma. 

The World Cup winner was being linked with a move to Al-Qadsiah, who reportedly offered him a three-year contract worth €75million.

However, Dybala chose to turn the offer down to stay in Italy and was part of the team that started their 2-1 defeat to Empoli in Serie A on Sunday.

"Everybody looks at the money, but I put many things on the table to come to my decision: my family, my wife, the city, the team, and my desire to return to the national team," Dybala told Sky Italia.

"I'm 30 and feel good. I've seen a lot of criticism about the injuries, but I try to work hard every day to take care of myself and perform the best I can."

Dybala has been a fan favourite at Roma since joining from Juventus in 2022 and has been an influential figure for the club.

He scored 16 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions last season, with only Romelu Lukaku bettering his tally (21 in 47 games).

The Argentinian was also involved in more goals than any of his team-mates (26), having registered 10 assists, while he also led the way for chances created (61) and big chances created (15) among Roma players in 2023-24.

And Dybala admitted that while he is happy with his decision to stay in the Italian capital, he did debate taking the offer.

"Surely when you see that kind of figure… I can't say I didn't think about it, but I weighed a few aspects. It made no difference to my agent. It's not true that he would have made a lot of money.

"The most important thing for him is my happiness. We've collaborated for a long time. I don't know how the Arabs reacted as I didn't speak with them directly."

Dusan Vlahovic scored twice to help Juventus secure a comfortable 3-0 victory at Verona in Serie A on Monday.

Nicolo Savona thought he had marked his first start for the club with an early goal, slotting into the bottom-right corner, but he had strayed well offside. 

Vlahovic then put Juve in front in the 28th minute with a low shot from around the penalty spot before Savona did hit the back of the net with a looping header into the far post.

The Serbian forward then made it 3-0 from the spot following half-time, after Juve were awarded a penalty for Jackson Tchatchoua's foul on Samuel Mbangula.

Juventus are the only side to win their first two games in Serie A and Thigao Motta's men currently lead the standings with six points.

Data Debrief: Vlahovic off the mark

After failing to hit the back of the net in their Serie A opener, Vlahovic's wait for a first goal of the season did not last long on Monday, scoring after 28 minutes.

The Serb has scored multiple goals in more games than any other player in Serie A over the last six seasons (18 since 2019-10), followed by Lautaro Martinez (17) and Ciro Immobile (16) in this period. 

Meanwhile, Kenan Yildiz (born in 2005) is the youngest player in the top 5 European leagues to have provided more than one assist (two) so far this season.