Aaron Rodgers' position as the NFL's premier quarterback was reaffirmed on Thursday when he was named MVP, but could Sunday be the start of Joe Burrow's journey to surpassing him?

The Los Angeles Rams may be in Burrow's immediate sights as he and the Cincinnati Bengals look to pull off the upset in Super Bowl LVI, but long term he is pursuing Rodgers in terms of individual greatness, with this season's MVP award the fourth in the Green Bay Packers star's remarkable career.

"He deserved it, he played great all year," Burrow said when asked about Rodgers on Friday.

"He's been the best player in the league, I don't know if I would say that, [he], Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady have kind of been battling for that the last five years. I'm chasing Aaron Rodgers to try to be the best, he's been doing it for a long time."

Burrow will equal Rodgers' number of Super Bowl wins should he lead the Bengals to victory over the Rams, Rodgers' career partially defined by frustration in the playoffs since the Packers' triumph in Super Bowl XLV in the 2010 season.

Trying to stop Burrow on Sunday will be a player who may well feel snubbed after missing out on a fourth Defensive Player of the Year award. Aaron Donald did not receive that honour, which instead went to Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt, despite a season in which he registered a stunt-adjusted pass rush win rate of 63.83 per cent.

That was not only the highest for all defenders with at least 100 one-on-one matchups, it was over 10 percentage points higher than his nearest challenger, Myles Garrett (53.56). 

Donald and his team-mates on the defensive line, including Von Miller and Leonard Floyd, took over the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth quarter to help the Rams turn a 17-7 deficit into a victory.

So how will Burrow handle the challenge of facing a defensive front led by one of the all-time greats, who could not possibly need more motivation?

Burrow – whose average time to throw from the snap of the ball was 2.58 seconds, faster than the league average of 2.67 seconds (min. 200 attempts) – knows processing quickly will be crucial.

"In my opinion, they're [the Rams' pass rush] the best in the league at what they do, they get a lot of pressure on the quarterback, they get schemed to get a lot of one-on-one matchups," he added.

"So it's going to be partly on me to handle that pressure, get the ball out of my hands quickly and make plays when the opportunities are there."

Paul Scholes believes Ralf Rangnick is not the right manager for Manchester United, whose poor form continued against Southampton on Saturday.

United drew a second successive Premier League game after Che Adams cancelled out Jadon Sancho's opener at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils were held by Burnley in midweek, which came on the back of a penalty shoot-out defeat to Middlesbrough in the FA Cup on February 4.

United have led at half-time in all three matches, with the two Premier League draws marking only the second time in the competition's history they have failed to win consecutive matches after being in front at the break in both.

United sit fifth and have given their rivals the chance to nose ahead in the race for Champions League qualification.

Rangnick replaced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November on an interim basis until the end of the season, with the former RB Leipzig coach and director also set to take on a consultancy role until 2024.

However, United have averaged fewer goals per game under Rangnick than they have under any other manager in Premier League history (1.4 – 14 goals in 10 games), and their recent run has led to speculation the squad are not buying into the German's ideas.

Rangnick refuted these claims in his pre-match news conference, yet United great Scholes has not been impressed by what he has seen so far.

"That's the feeling around the place [quiet inside Old Trafford] there's a lack of interest now with how the season's been," Scholes said in his role as a pundit on BT Sport.

"It's been a bad seven days, it's really been a bad six or seven months.

"The sacking of Ole was coming, we all knew that, but where was the plan? There has to be a plan, there has to be an elite, top coach into the football club to revive the football club.

"It's Manchester United, they should have the best of everything, and to not have a plan and bring what is a sporting director... he's coached a team two years out of the last 10.

"Don't get me wrong, I like the man, he comes across well, but he's looked like he's lacked coaching in the last five or six years. They're a team of individuals, you look at the difference today in United to Southampton.

"Southampton were brilliant, the coaching, methods, passages of play, it was fantastic.

"One team have got a proper coach, the other team has a sporting director, which isn't right for Manchester United."

Massimiliano Allegri insists there will be more important games to come for Juventus despite the apparent stakes when they visit Atalanta on Sunday.

Juve are unbeaten in Serie A since their previous meeting with Atalanta at the end of November and head to Bergamo in fourth, two points and one place ahead of their opponents.

After a difficult start to the season, the Bianconeri's Champions League qualification hopes are in their hands – although that may well depend on securing a positive result this weekend.

Even after playing Atalanta, however, Juve have 13 games remaining, meaning Allegri is keen to talk down the magnitude of the fixture.

"It's a direct clash for fourth place, it's important but not decisive," he told a news conference. "It's a good test, it will be difficult because Atalanta have shown in recent years that they have won a place to fight for the top four positions.

"They are a physical team, who will be very angry about their elimination in the Coppa Italia, and so the game requires great focus, physicality and technique to bring a good result home."

Pushed again on the significance of this result, Allegri replied: "No, because Atalanta have [played] one less game. Now we are close, it is not decisive for anyone tomorrow. It's important, beautiful to play, but not decisive."

Juve's 10-match unbeaten run in the top flight is their longest since 2020, while a sequence of three consecutive clean sheets is their best since 2018.

But Atalanta have previously proven themselves capable of checking Juve's momentum.

Gian Piero Gasperini has overseen back-to-back Serie A wins over Juve – already Atalanta's best run in the fixture – with Parma (between 2010 and 2011) the last team to beat the perennial champions in three straight.

And Allegri is not getting carried away heading into this match, saying: "In football you always need balance. We come from a good period of 12, 13 games. Now, we must not think, because we lose focus on what we need to do.

"We have reached a semi-final of the Coppa Italia, we have to fix the league season game by game, and the more we go on the more difficult it will be to win, because the points matter more for everyone.

"We have done nothing; it is normal for Juventus to win games. Tomorrow there is Atalanta and we have to try to take three points, and then Torino, then the Champions League and so on.

"So far we have not conquered anything, there is only to do right now, there is no chatting."

American old hands Nick Baumgartner and Lindsey Jacobellis landed a glorious gold in the Winter Olympics mixed team snowboard cross on Saturday.

Jacobellis, 36, followed her individual triumph earlier in the Games by pairing up with 40-year-old Baumgartner, who became the oldest snowboard medallist in Olympic history.

Mainstays of the United States team, the veterans proved a fine combination in the inaugural staging of the mixed team event.

For Baumgartner, who could only manage 10th in the men's individual event on Thursday, topping the podium marked the pinnacle of his career. At his fourth Games, he finally has a medal to show.

The Michigan man said he had become "hungrier" for success as the years have passed, adding: "As you get older, it's tough to watch the young kids take over and try to push you out of the sport, so that hunger is strong.

"We're embracing oldies for goldies! I don't need a jacket right now as I have an inner fire burning!"

He had a message for all 40-year-olds: that there is no reason to step back from life goals.

"You're never too late to take what you want from life and follow your dreams," Baumgartner said. "You let yourself down if you quit too early, [it] doesn't matter how old you are.

"Our success at our age is a perfect example of that and we both hope our stories can inspire other people to go out there. You get one shot at life, you should live the life you want and don't let anything stop you, [it] doesn't matter how old you are. Hard work is the answer. Go out there and get it."

The brilliant Boe brothers

Norwegian Johannes Thingnes Boe and Tarjei Boe took gold and bronze respectively in biathlon's men's 10-kilometre sprint, a giddy thrill for the brothers who grew up amid standard sibling rivalry.

France's Quentin Fillon Maillet denied them a one-two, but it was a gleeful day for the brothers who also won gold in the mixed relay on the opening Saturday.

Younger brother Johannes Thingnes said afterwards that Tarjei, five years his senior, had been "a pain in the butt until he moved out when he was 16, then we saw less of each other".

"Biathlon is easy compared to all the competitions I've had with him," added the champion. "I'm so proud. I'm more proud of him than I am of myself. A bronze medal means gold to him."

They are the first siblings to win medals in the same individual biathlon race in an Olympics, and Tarjei saluted his brother's development, saying: "I saw it quite early, 10 years ago or maybe earlier, that he would be unbeatable in a few years.

"My goal was to win as much as I could before he grew up, and I did – the start of my career was quite strong. Now he is by far the best athlete in the world."

Big hill, big thrill for Lindvik

Norway's Marius Lindvik won the large hill ski jumping gold, finishing ahead of Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi and Germany's Karl Geiger.

Poland's Kamil Stoch took fourth place, edged out of the medals as he attempted in vain to win a third consecutive large hill gold.

Lindvik had finished seventh in the normal hill event but made up for disappointment there with two giant jumps as he became Norway's first champion in the large hill discipline since 1964.

"I knew if I had a good day I was going to fight for the medals," Lindvik said. "After the normal hill I took a step back and reset and just looked forward to the big hill.

"It was probably two of my best jumps. It's pretty sick that I managed to perform two good jumps when it counts."

Golden Gao lifts hosts, breaks curse

Tingyu Gao took the men's speed skating 500 metres title in an Olympic record of 34.32 seconds, giving hosts China a fourth gold of the Games.

It made the 24-year-old, who was a bronze medallist four years ago in Pyeongchang, only the second Chinese speed skater to win an Olympic gold medal. Zhang Hong was the first in 2014, winning the women's 1,000m.

Gao said he intended to "go back to school" after achieving his sporting goal and predicted China would be "unstoppable" in speed skating in years to come.

He was China's flagbearer at the opening ceremony, and that has typically been seen as a cursed privilege, with those handed the honour often failing to match expectations when they go into action.

Gao bucked that trend and said: "I was really scared of this, but as the Republic of China's flagbearer, I wanted to win gold for China.

"In the competition, I didn't care about the curse. I think I did very well leading the Chinese athletes to achieve their goals. As a Chinese you need to walk the talk and fulfil your promises."

Ralf Rangnick bemoaned Manchester United's composure after they again slipped up when leading to draw 1-1 with Southampton on Saturday.

Jadon Sancho struck first after 21 minutes at Old Trafford with his second goal in three games, as many as he scored in his first 23 outings across all competitions for United.

However, just as they did at Burnley on Tuesday, Rangnick's side squandered their lead and were held after Che Adams' second-half equaliser.

It is only the second time in Premier League history that United have failed to win back-to-back matches despite being ahead at half-time in both, having last done so in December 1998.

Just four top-flight teams have dropped more points than United (13) from a winning position this season, and Rangnick expressed his concern after yet another failure to hold onto a lead.

"It was very similar to previous games, unfortunately," Rangnick told BBC Sport. "It is the fourth game where we were ahead but took one point instead of three. It is difficult to take but we have to accept it.

"It was a very good first half hour. I was pleased with our performance. We didn't allow them too many chances, but they had transitional moments in the first half and then scored an early goal in the second half.

"Then it was an open game, each team had chances. We had the clearer chances to win, but right now we are struggling to keep our composure and the structure for more than the first half.

"We have to understand where we are. [Southampton] won 3-2 at Tottenham. We got a point today, we expected three and needed three, but that is the situation.

"That is why there was a change of manager and why we are here."

Luke Shaw echoed his manager's frustrations as he stressed the importance of converting their good starts into wins.

"History is repeating itself again," Shaw added. "We started really well the first 20 minutes, got the goal and it just happened again. We know it's not good enough and it needs to change quickly.

"If we take our chances early in the game, it's a different story. We know we need to get better. We can't over-think it. We want to get in the Champions League and it's not good enough and there's no way we will get in Champions League if we keep dropping points.

"The most important thing at the moment is results. It's about picking up the points and we need to be climbing the table.

Rangnick, however, reserved special praise for Sancho, whom he believes is rediscovering the form that led United to spend £73million on the former Borussia Dortmund winger last July.

"This is the Jadon Sancho I know from the Bundesliga and the way he is playing at the moment is the best Jadon Sancho we have seen for Manchester United," Rangnick added.

United will look to make amends on Tuesday when they host Brighton and Hove Albion.

Al Ahly finished third at the Club World Cup after a chaotic play-off saw them win 4-0 against an Al Hilal side who had two players red-carded in the opening 28 minutes.

Egyptian giants Al Ahly were on easy street for much of the game, with Saudi rivals Al Hilal the architects of their own downfall.

Al Ahly took an eighth-minute lead when Yasser Ibrahim headed in from close range, and the first red followed six minutes later when Matheus Pereira went in dangerously on Amr El Soleya near the halfway line.

Another close-range header from Ibrahim put Al Ahly two goals to the good, after Mohamed Hany's fizzing 25-yard drive was parried by Mohammed Al Owais.

A laughably petulant off-the-ball kick by Mohamed Kanno on goalscorer Ibrahim resulted in a second red being brandished by referee Clement Turpin shortly before the half-hour mark, and it was 3-0 inside 40 minutes when Ahmed Radwan danced through the depleted and deflated opposition ranks to flick home from five yards.

El Soleya scored the goal of the game to make it 4-0 in the 64th minute, drilling a 28-yard strike into the bottom-left corner.

Xavi believes Sunday's Catalan derby with Espanyol will act as a "litmus test" to determine just how much Barcelona have improved.

Barca produced arguably their finest display yet since Xavi replaced Ronald Koeman three months ago in last week's 4-2 win against Atletico Madrid.

That followed a 1-0 win over Granada, meaning the Blaugrana have won back-to-back LaLiga games for just the second time this season ahead of their trip to Espanyol.

However, not since a run of six between February and April last year have they won three games on the spin in the Spanish top flight.

Barcelona make the short trip to RCDE Stadium back in the top four and now full of confidence on the back of a successful January transfer window.

But Xavi insists his side have not fully turned a corner yet, with wins in successive away games against Espanyol and Valencia the target to keep their momentum going.

"Sunday's match is another final for us," he said at a pre-match news conference. "It's a litmus test and it will be a very difficult game, very intense. They will want revenge.

"We're not ruling out any targets. Being 15 points behind the leaders, with a match in hand, shows how difficult it can be. It is difficult but we do not rule anything out. 

"The next few games will tell. We need several wins in a row and have to be consistent, while hoping those in front of us falter. We're fourth and we want to climb further."

Memphis Depay's penalty early in the second half gave Barcelona a 1-0 win over Espanyol in Xavi's first game in charge on November 20.

Barca have now gone 23 LaLiga games without defeat against their city rivals and could record the best unbeaten run by any team in any type of derby in the competition's history.

That is a record they jointly hold with Real Madrid, who also went 23 matches without losing against Atletico Madrid between 2000 and 2013.

The Blaugrana have also not lost any of their past 13 away games against Espanyol in LaLiga (W7 D6), including their 11 matches at RCDE Stadium.

But Xavi is taking nothing for granted against Espanyol, who are winless in four in the league and down in 13th place.

"Things have changed since the last meeting," he said. "Tomorrow we face a tough and intense rival. This is one of the best Espanyol sides in recent years.

"It will be a similar game to the one at Camp Nou, but we've changed since then. We didn't have time to prepare for that game, but now we have.

"We've got to consolidate the very good things we did against Atletico. We're training well but everything depends on the results. We are on the right track."

Manchester United missed the chance to move into the top four in the Premier League as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Southampton on Saturday.

Ralf Rangnick expressed his frustration with United's finishing after a 1-1 draw at Burnley last time out, but he could have few complaints when Jadon Sancho put his side ahead after 21 minutes at Old Trafford.

But Che Adam restored parity just three minutes into the second half and United, who saw two goals ruled out for offside, could not find a winner against Ralph Hasenhuttl's resolute defence.
 
The draw meant United jumped up to fifth, overtaking Arsenal – who are a point behind and have two games in hand – while moving level on points with fourth-placed West Ham, though the Hammers are in action at Leicester City on Sunday.

Cristiano Ronaldo seemed set to open the scoring after just six minutes but his effort was cleared off the line by Romain Perraud, before Adams inexplicably headed away from goal after Kyle Walker-Peters teed up a golden opportunity.  

United struck first when Sancho poked home from close range after Marcus Rashford drilled across from the right following an incisive Bruno Fernandes pass.

Stuart Armstrong went close in response as his acrobatic attempt tested David de Gea, while Paul Pogba's finish was chalked off for offside against Ronaldo in a frantic first half.

Adams atoned for his earlier miss swiftly after the interval as he equalised with a low finish off the inside of the post following Mohamed Elyounoussi's through-ball, before Fraser Forster beat away from Diogo Dalot to keep the Saints level.

Ronaldo thought he had restored United's lead with 19 minutes remaining, but his header was ruled out for offside after Sancho's flick from Fernandes' free-kick, and Forster expertly parried away Harry Maguire's stoppage-time header to earn Southampton a point.

Gareth Bale was named in the starting line-up for Real Madrid for the first time since August for Saturday's LaLiga clash with Villarreal.

The Wales international started each of Los Blancos' first three league games of 2021-22, scoring in the 3-3 draw with Levante, but has not played for his club since.

Injury problems and a positive coronavirus test have kept Bale firmly on the sidelines, although he was an unused substitute in the past two league matches against Elche and Granada.

Carlo Ancelotti elected to start the 32-year-old at Estadio de la Ceramica as part of four changes from the 1-0 win over Granada.

Casemiro, Federico Valverde and Vinicius Junior also came into the side, with Eduardo Camavinga, Luka Modric, Isco and Rodrygo dropping out.

Villarreal have only won one of their previous 11 LaLiga games at home to Madrid, who have a three-point lead over Sevilla at the top of the table, with a game in hand.

The impact of Barcelona's teenage sensation Gavi this season has been "marvellous", according to head coach Xavi.

Since making his senior debut against Getafe in August, the 17-year-old midfielder has played 26 appearances for the Blaugrana across all competitions – matching Xavi's tally during his maiden campaign at Camp Nou in 1998-99.

Gavi will surpass that should he appear when Barca make the short trip to Espanyol on Sunday, with the visitors aiming to consolidate their top-four status in LaLiga.

The academy graduate's performances in the middle of the park have also culminated in a senior international call-up, making his Spain debut in the Nations League victory over Italy in October.

And while Xavi insisted there is still room for improvement, he has been delighted with the strides the youngster has taken.

"He's very good at recovering possession, taking the ball away from the opponents. He's very competitive and wins the right duels," the head coach said.

"He understands the high press very well; he's excellent at that. He turns very well when we want to play in between the lines.

"But he needs to organise himself, he needs to find the right resources in the right moments – knowing when to attack the space better, when to let the wingers run or when to pass it. These are tactical situations where he needs to improve.

"His production is spectacular. He's an incredible talent. At 17 years of age, to already have such an impact and play with the national side is marvellous."

Gavi has won 100 duels in LaLiga this season – a tally only bettered by Sergio Busquets (129) among Barcelona players.

Meanwhile, Busquets (168) and Frenkie de Jong (87) are the only midfielders to have won more possession more times in the Spanish top-flight this term than Gavi (63).

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva will learn on Monday if she can continue to compete at the Winter Olympics, after the teenager's failed drugs test came to light.

The 15-year-old is due to compete in the individual event, starting on Tuesday, and has been considered an overwhelming favourite for gold.

Valieva tested positive in December for trimetazidine, a medication that is used to prevent angina attacks but is on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned list because it improves blood flow to the heart.

The result came from a sample taken on December 25 during Russia's national championships, but Valieva was allowed to come to Beijing 2022 after she appealed against the outcome and RUSADA – Russia's Anti-Doping Agency – lifted a provisional suspension on February 9.

The International Testing Agency (ITA) said that decision was reached on the grounds of a "reasoned decision" that has not been disclosed.

A dazzling Valieva helped Russian Olympic Committee win team figure skating gold on Monday, but the medals for that event have yet to be handed out.

She has continued to train on the Olympic ice, but the youngster's active participation in the rest of the Games hinges on a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing on Sunday evening in Beijing, with the outcome due to be announced on Monday afternoon in the Chinese capital.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and WADA appealed against the RUSADA decision, and they were joined in that action on Saturday by the International Skating Union (ISU).

CAS, in a statement issued on Saturday, confirmed a three-person panel would deal with the IOC, WADA and ISU procedures together, with the hearing held by videoconference.

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Mauricio Pochettino remains hopeful Neymar will return from injury in time to face Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Neymar sprained the ligaments in his ankle during a 3-1 win over Saint-Etienne on November 28 and has not played since.

The Brazil international, who was initially due to miss between six and eight weeks, has been absent for PSG's past 13 matches but returned to training on Thursday.

The former Barcelona star was unavailable for his side's 1-0 win over Rennes on Friday, with Pochettino's men next set to face a huge Champions League last-16 clash against Madrid.

Speaking after the victory over Rennes, Pochettino provided another update as Neymar hopes to be involved against Carlo Ancelotti's side.

"Neymar's development is very good," Pochettino said. "I hope he will be in the group [for Madrid], he is an important player for us."

It will be the fourth time that PSG and Madrid have met in the knockout stages of a European competition, with the Spanish side progressing from the most recent Champions League last-16 tie in 2017-18.

However, the Ligue 1 outfit were 3-0 victors the last time they hosted Madrid in Europe's premier tournament, with that triumph coming in September 2019.

Neymar's return would provide an obvious boost for PSG, even if the 30-year-old has been slightly below his usual standards this season after returning three goals and three assists from 14 appearances across all competitions.