UEFA vice-president Zbigniew Boniek has blasted FIFA's proposal to hold a World Cup every two years, describing the idea as being from "the mentally ill".

The plans to have a major international tournament every year have been met with strong opposition from UEFA, with former Poland international the latest to speak up in criticism of the concept.

Boniek feels that holding tournaments so frequently would congest the football calendar in an unmanageable way.

"Where does this [biennial World Cup proposal] come from? From a home of the mentally ill: it does not exist," Boniek said.

"If you do it, there is no room for other competitions and then you can no longer do the qualifiers, so the national teams must dissolve."

Boniek was also asked about the controversial European Super League concept, which threatened the future of the Champions League.

He added: "Super League? Today it is the Champions League: if they want to make the Super League it is because they do not manage money.

"They want money to manage among themselves and not divide it. 

"Today the money that the Champions League collects is equal to or higher than that of the Super League, the only difference is that it must be divided among the whole world of football. 

"If you make a competition without sporting merit [like the Super League], I don't look at it anymore."

Manuel Locatelli came up with another precious Juventus goal to keep their winning run going in a 1-0 Derby della Mole success at Torino.

After an awful start to the season, the Bianconeri came into this game against their city rivals on the back of three victories in a row in all competitions.

Wednesday's Champions League triumph at home to holders Chelsea provided a particular highlight, but it looked as though Juve's momentum would be checked as the final match before the international break remained goalless heading into the closing stages.

Locatelli – whose first goal for the club proved decisive against Sampdoria in Juve's previous league game – came up with a winner four minutes from time, however, reward for a much-improved second half and enough to take Massimiliano Allegri's men eighth.

Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini has signed a new long-term contract with the Serie A club.

The Italy midfielder's future had been the subject of speculation, with his previous deal due to expire at the end of this season and reportedly including a €30million release clause.

Liverpool and Tottenham were among the clubs to be linked with the 25-year-old, who has scored six goals and provided two assists in nine appearances this season.

The Giallorossi on Saturday announced that Pellegrini has agreed a new deal to keep him in the Eternal City until June 30, 2026.

"It's impossible for me to explain this feeling, it's what I've always wanted – to cement this bond between myself and my team and my city," Pellegrini said. "You couldn't imagine a greater feeling than this.

"I feel truly honoured that the ownership, Tiago [Pinto, the general manager] and the coach [Jose Mourinho] have always considered me so important; I will try to repay that faith every day on the pitch by giving 110 per cent and doing everything I can to keep improving."

Pinto said: "From the moment I started work here, a key target was to agree a contract extension with Lorenzo. For that reason, this is a very significant day for me.

"Lorenzo is the perfect example of the core characteristics of our sporting project, not just because of his evident ability as a player but also because, being a Rome-born, Roma fan who was developed within our academy system, he shares a bond with the club that makes him a pillar of what we are building.

"No sporting project can be put in place without a clear and strong identity underpinning it."

Shreyas Iyer nudged Delhi Capitals to a four-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians to leave the defending Indian Premier League champions in danger of missing out on the play-offs.

Avesh Khan (3-15) and Axar Patel (3-21) limited Mumbai - who are sixth with two matches to play - to 129-8 as the holders lost wickets at regular intervals.

Anrich Nortje also picked up 1-19 from his four-over allocation and, despite Suryakumar Yadav's 33, Rishabh Pant's side looked like the firm favourites at the halfway point in Sharjah on Saturday.

Nathan Coulter-Nile dismissed fellow Australian Steve Smith (nine) with his first delivery to leave the Capitals teetering at 30-3 after openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw were also dismissed cheaply.

Pant (26) followed to off-spinner Jayant Yadav to leave Delhi 57-4 but Iyer and Shimron Hetmyer (15) offered resistance to drag their side up to 93-6 before the latter fell to Jasprit Bumrah's deceiving slower ball.

Ravichandran Ashwin (20) then joined Iyer, who finished unbeaten on 33, to secure victory for second-placed Delhi with five balls to spare and leave the Indians under serious threat of failing to reach the play-offs.

Avesh torments Indians

Avesh toyed with the Mumbai line-up as he delivered a mix of slower balls and inswinging yorkers to secure his three dismissals.

The seamer impressively dismissed the dangerous finisher Hardik Pandya in the penultimate over, while also removing Coulter-Nile after he had claimed the big scalp of Rohit Sharma in his first over.

Ashwin final-over gamble fails

Pant gambled by holding back Ashwin to the final over of Mumbai's innings. The off-spinner dismissed Jayant Yadav but conceded 13 from his final six deliveries as he ended with 1-41 from his four overs.

However, Ashwin made up for it with the bat as he sealed the win with a six off Krunal Pandya's first ball of the last over.

Joan Laporta says under-pressure head coach Ronald Koeman will stay on as head coach regardless of Barcelona's LaLiga result at Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

Koeman was reported to be on the brink of the sack following a 3-0 Champions League defeat at Benfica on Wednesday.

The cash-strapped Blaugrana are bottom of Group E after they were beaten by the same scoreline at home by Bayern Munich and headed into the weekend occupying seventh spot in LaLiga.

Club legend Xavi, Roberto Martinez and Erik ten Hag have been linked with the Barca job, with Koeman coming under increasing scrutiny.

Barca president Laporta revealed Koeman will remain in the role even if his side are beaten by Diego Simeone's champions.

"Koeman will stay on as head coach regardless of the result. He will stay. He deserves a margin of confidence. He loves Barça, he's a reference point. I have spoken to him and I have drawn my conclusions. He took over Barça at a difficult time," Laporta said.

"He may have had moments of discouragement but he has recovered his spirits. After talking to him, I can see that he has confidence in this team, especially as soon as he has the injured players back. From then on, we will have more room for manoeuvre.

"We have not had a cold relationship. It's a good and honest relationship. He's a good person, he thinks the same about me and we’re all trying to turn things around for the better."

 

Koeman stated in a press conference on Friday that he has not spoken to Laporta amid speculation over his future.

"The club hasn't told me anything, really," the former Netherlands boss said at a news conference on Friday previewing his side's clash with Atletico.

"I found out that the president was here this morning but I didn't see him. We were training but I'm still the same. 

"I have ears and eyes and I already know that a lot of things leak. Surely it's true but to me, once again, he has not said anything to me.

"I am not the most important thing, but the team. I am here for the love of the club. I came here during a complicated situation – more complicated than the first day.

"Everyone has their opinion but I am only interested in the players and the Atletico game."

South Africa's Elton Jantjies nailed a last-gasp penalty in a thrilling 31-29 win over New Zealand to deny the All Blacks a Grand Slam at the Rugby Championship.

Jordie Barrett, whose late kick secured the title in a 19-17 victory over the Springboks last week, looked to have sealed a sixth win from six for New Zealand in similar fashion on the Gold Coast on Saturday.

That was until Jantjies struck with the final action of an enthralling contest to end a 10-match winning streak for Ian Foster's men.

Lukhanyo Am's terrific behind-the-back pass led to Damian de Allende's opening try before an exchange of penalties kept South Africa five points ahead.

New Zealand levelled when Sevu Reece just made the corner after a fine Beauden Barrett kick, and despite another Handre Pollard penalty, the All Blacks were soon in command.

A fast, flowing move ended with Ardie Savea going over under the posts and Brad Weber added another try two minutes later following a lineout steal.

Then, momentum shifted. Pollard made no mistake with two more penalties to close the gap to three points, and the Boks were ahead 53 minutes in when Makazole Mapimpi crossed in the corner after the ball was worked from the opposite flank.

Replacement Jantjies stretched the lead further with another penalty, only after play was brought back following an advantage when Faf de Klerk fumbled at the breakdown barely a metre from the try line.

Jordie Barrett reduced the arrears as tensions began to build, although the Hurricanes back kept his cool to kick his side into the lead with five minutes left after South Africa were penalised for holding on.

A gripping finale saw Jantjies sink a brilliant drop goal a minute later only for Jordie Barrett to send another late kick sailing through the posts in what looked like a repeat from a week ago.

But South Africa came again, a lineout inside the New Zealand 22 leading to a penalty right in front of the posts, from which Jantjies made no mistake.

Boks rewarded for perseverance

At risk of a fourth consecutive Test defeat for the first time since 2016, the world champions were rewarded for a bold but clean display in which they refused to allow New Zealand to sustain first-half momentum.

This was only the second time the All Blacks have lost a Test match in Australia against anyone other than the Wallabies and showed the Springboks' performance in that narrow previous defeat was no flash in the pan.

All Blacks off the boil

This was something of an off-day for New Zealand after an exemplary championship, as they yielded both possession and territory surprisingly easily.

Giving up eight turnovers and losing six rucks overall did not help their cause in a game of fine margins.

Julian Nagelsmann insists he is not getting carried away after receiving public praise from Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn regarding his positive start as the club's coach.

Nagelsmann took over from Hansi Flick in pre-season and has presided over nine wins from 10 matches across all competitions, with Borussia Monchengladbach the only team to avoid defeat to this new Bayern when they drew on matchday one of the 2021-22 Bundesliga campaign.

Bayern have amassed 16 points in their first six league games, their biggest total at this stage of a season since 2016-17 (also 16 points), while only Ottmar Hitzfeld (1998) and Otto Rehhagel (1995, both 18 points) have ever accumulated more from their first six Bundesliga matches with Die Roten.

On top of that, the champions have scored 23 times, more than any other Bayern coach in their first six league games in charge and a total bettered once (24, last season) in the club's history.

Kahn's praise came after Bayern battered Dynamo Kiev 5-0 in the Champions League, the former goalkeeper applauding Nagelsmann for making strides in his quest to make the team better defensively without impacting them negatively going forward.

"It's always nice to hear positive things, even better when it's internal," he told a news conference ahead of Sunday's Bundesliga clash with Eintracht Frankfurt.

"You have to classify things in order to understand them. I've taken on an outstanding team that does a lot of things right on its own.

 

"The influence of a coach is always smaller at such a large club. You try to bring in your own things, but we haven't turned everything around.

"I am neither surprised nor disappointed. Progress and a 'mark' should be visible quickly."

Marcel Sabitzer followed Nagelsmann to Bayern from RB Leipzig, though his impact in Bavaria has been significantly less spectacular, with the Austrian playing just 107 minutes across all competitions.

But Nagelsmann is calm about the situation, adamant Sabitzer had no expectations of walking straight into a regular role.

"He hardly trained in preparation because he had problems in the adductor area. First he has to find his way around. This is completely normal," Nagelsmann said.

"He will get his working times, right from the start [of matches]. We have a very stable construction. He's an excellent player, but he didn't come here with the expectation to play every game from the start."

Frankfurt are yet to win a league game under new boss Oliver Glasner, while they have suffered more top-flight defeats to and conceded more goals against Bayern than any other team, though Nagelsmann believes history counts for nothing.

"Basically, I am not interested, I read it briefly," he said. "You can never buy anything from the past. It's about expanding the statistics tomorrow and not thinking too much about the past."

A hat-trick from in-form Andrew Kellaway saw Australia close out their Rugby Championship campaign with a 32-17 victory over Argentina on Saturday.

Kellaway moved onto seven tries for the 2021 tournament in a one-sided contest on the Gold Coast as the Wallabies followed up last week's 27-8 win in style.

Dave Rennie's men have now won four Tests in a row for the first time since November 2017, while Argentina are on a six-match losing run, their worst such streak in two years.

Quade Cooper's 10th-minute penalty set Australia on their way against an Argentina side missing six players due to an unauthorised trip to Byron Bay.

Tomas Lavanini's repeated infringements in the lineout earned him a yellow card and Folau Fainga'a darted over for the first try from the resulting play.

Fainga'a and Rob Valetini combined to free Kellaway for his first try of the contest, with Samu Kerevi bursting through after patient build-up to make it 20-3 after the break, Emiliano Boffelli having kicked a penalty.

The Wallabies by now were in cruise control, Kellaway finishing with aplomb after more good build-up, and his hat-trick try in the same corner was served on a plate by Len Ikitau's clever lay-off.

A weary Pumas side had something to celebrate when debutant Thomas Gallo powered through near the posts, as Australia brought on 38-year-old Greg Holmes – now the oldest player to feature for the Wallabies since World War II – for his first cap since 2016.

Gallo got a late second after a pile-on at the try line to make the scores a little more respectable.

Rennie's men showing great promise

Kellaway, who now has more than twice the number of tries of anyone else at these championships, was a good advert for Australia's renewed vibrancy under Rennie.

This is the first time they have won four Rugby Championship matches in a row and the third Test in 2021 in which they have scored at least 30 points.

Little pride for Pumas

Argentina, meanwhile, are on their worst losing run since a 10-game span from September 2018 to September 2019 and sit bottom of the standings on zero and with a points difference of minus 135 from their six matches.

They have also taken just one win from their past 13 Tests against Australia.

The New York Yankees missed the chance to seal an American League (AL) Wild Card spot going down 4-3 to the Tampa Bay Rays despite a late rally on Friday.

The Yankees needed to win and hope either the Boston Red Sox or the Toronto Blue Jays lose to be assured of a Wild Card berth but could not uphold their end of the bargain, ensuring the race remains open.

Rookie Wander Franco drove in two runs at the top of the ninth inning to put the Rays up 4-1 but the Yankees did not wilt.

With one out, Joey Gallo bunted to get Giancarlo Stanton home, before Brett Gardner's double brought in Gallo to make it 4-3.

But Gary Sanchez and Rougned Odor were struck out by Rays closer Andrew Kittredge.

 

Back-to-back jacks for Red Sox

The Red Sox have been on the slide lately, losing five of their past six games, but they claimed an important win, 4-2 over the Washington Nationals to stay in the AL Wild Card hunt.

Hunter Renfroe (three-run home run) and Bobby Dalbec delivered back-to-back jacks in the sixth inning to earn the win for the Red Sox.

The Blue Jays stayed in contention with a 6-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles with Danny Jansen driving in three runs and Steven Matz having five strikeouts across seven innings.

The San Francisco Giants moved a step closer to securing the National League (NL) divisional title with a 3-0 win over the San Diego Padres.

Two runs in the first inning set up the win, with Darin Ruf's jack and Mike Yastrzemski driving in Brandon Crawford.

 

Packed house sees Mariners miss chance

The Seattle Mariners failed to capitalise on the Yankees' defeat, going down 2-1 to the Los Angeles Angels despite taking an early lead in front of a full house after Jarred Kelenic's double in the second inning. Seattle have not made the postseason since 2001 and this result does not help their hopes of ending that wait, with Angels left-hander Jose Suarez throwing five strong innings. The Mariners (89-71) are now a game behind the Red Sox (90-70) for the second AL Wild Card spot.  

 

In-form Turner crushes grand slam

Trea Turner crushed a game-tying grand slam as the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied from 5-1 down to win 8-6 over the Milwaukee Brewers to keep the pressure on the Giants in the NL division race. Turner finished the game with two hits, two runs and five RBI. From his past six games, Turner has two multi-homer games, five total home runs, seven extra-base hits, eight runs scored, 10 RBI and has reached base 13 times.

 

Friday's results

Pittsburgh Pirates 9-2 Cincinnati Reds
Boston Red Sox 4-2 Washington Nationals
Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 New York Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays 6-4 Baltimore Orioles
Philadelphia Phillies 5-0 Miami Marlins
New York Mets 4-3 Atlanta Braves
Cleveland Indians 9-6 Texas Rangers
Chicago White Sox 8-1 Detroit Tigers
Oakland Athletics 8-6 Houston Astros
Kansas City Royals 11-6 Minnesota Twins
St Louis Cardinals 4-3 Chicago Cubs
Colorado Rockies 9-7 Arizona Diamondbacks
San Francisco Giants 3-0 San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Dodgers 8-6 Milwaukee Brewers
Los Angeles Angels 2-1 Seattle Mariners

 

Rays at Yankees

The Yankees will go again in their pursuit of a confirmed Wild Card spot when they host the Rays in their penultimate game.

Andrey Rublev needed almost two hours but his punishing forehand helped him to victory over Diego Schwartzman in the San Diego Open quarter-finals on Friday.

Top seed Rublev won 6-1 7-5 in one hour and 52 minutes over the Argentine, who kept on coming throughout the contest.

The Russian world number five's victory books his spot in the last four where he will face Briton Cameron Norrie, who upset fourth seed Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-1.

Rublev is featuring in his eighth semi-final of the calendar year and chasing his first title since winning in Rotterdam in February.

He had been a break up in the second set after dominating the first, but Schwartzman broke back.

The second set appeared destined for a tie-break with Schwartzman up 40-0 on serve at 5-6, before Rublev won the next five points to claim victory.

"The second set was very tough and enjoyable for the spectators to watch," Rublev said. "Every game was really tough with amazing points and the set could have gone either way."

Second seed Casper Ruud defeated Lorenzo Sonego 6-1 6-4 to book his semi-final spot where he will meet Grigor Dimitrov who beat Aslan Karatsev in three sets.

Ruud's win improved his 2021 record to 45-12, with the 22-year-old Norwegian rising to a ranking of 10.

Andrey Rublev needed almost two hours but his punishing forehand helped him to victory over Diego Schwartzman in the San Diego Open quarter-finals on Friday.

Top seed Rublev won 6-1 7-5 in one hour and 52 minutes over the Argentine, who kept on coming throughout the contest.

The Russian world number five's victory books his spot in the last four where he will face Briton Cameron Norrie, who upset fourth seed Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-1.

Rublev is featuring in his eighth semi-final of the calendar year and chasing his first title since winning in Rotterdam in February.

He had been a break up in the second set after dominating the first, but Schwartzman broke back.

The second set appeared destined for a tie-break with Schwartzman up 40-0 on serve at 5-6, before Rublev won the next five points to claim victory.

"The second set was very tough and enjoyable for the spectators to watch," Rublev said. "Every game was really tough with amazing points and the set could have gone either way."

Second seed Casper Ruud defeated Lorenzo Sonego 6-1 6-4 to book his semi-final spot where he will meet Grigor Dimitrov who beat Aslan Karatsev in three sets.

Ruud's win improved his 2021 record to 45-12, with the 22-year-old Norwegian rising to a ranking of 10.

Veteran Los Angeles Lakers recruit Carmelo Anthony says he is open to any role in the side as he strives for his first career NBA title.

The 37-year-old boasts a decorated CV, including being an NBA All-Star 10 times, but he is confident not being an automatic featured player for the Lakers this season.

Anthony moved from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Lakers over the off-season, having played 69 games last season, starting only three times.

"At this point, man, whatever we need to do, let's do it," Anthony said on Friday at the Lakers' training camp.

"It ain't ... 'I can't sit,' and, 'Oh, I want to start,' 'I want to come off the bench.' Whatever it is, it is.

"I've had experience being a starter for 18, 17 years and had an experience of coming off the bench for one year. It's not something I think about."

Russell Westbrook also joined the Lakers ahead of the 2021-22 NBA season which commences on October 17 for the Lakers against the Golden State Warriors.

There have numerous roster changes for the Lakers, meaning there is uncertainty about how the line-up head coach Frank Vogel deploys for the new season.

"When we spoke before he signed here, I told him that I envisioned a big role on this team," Vogel said.

"I don't know what that's going to look like, whether he's going to start, whether he's going to come off the bench, but that he's going to be a factor for us."

Vogel confirmed Anthony along with Westbrook and LeBron James will all sit out Sunday's pre-season opener against the Brooklyn Nets for rest.

Forward Anthony played a career-low 24.5 minutes per game last season for the Blazers, but had a career second-best three-point percentage of 40.9 per cent.

Anthony averaged 13.4 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game and 1.5 assists per game last season.

Inaki Williams broke the record for most consecutive games in LaLiga history by featuring in Athletic Bilbao's win over Deportivo Alaves on Friday.

The forward made his 203rd successive appearance in the Spanish top flight, and it was marked with a victory as Athletic prevailed 1-0 thanks to Raul Garcia's 44th-minute strike.

One of only two players to feature in over 200 consecutive LaLiga matches, Williams surpassed the long-standing record previously held by former Real Sociedad defender Juan Antonio Larranaga, who played for Los Txuri-Urdin between 1980 and 1994.

The one-time Spain international, who joined the club from Pamplona in 2012, began his sequence when appearing as a substitute during Bilbao's 1-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid in April 2016.

He has subsequently featured in every domestic match since, helping the club achieve four top-10 finishes along the way.

 

Williams, who made his senior debut in December 2014, led Bilbao in scoring in the 2018-19 season, including finding the net on 13 occasions in LaLiga.

He recently played his 300th game for the club on September 11, celebrating the personal milestone with a goal in a 2-0 victory over Real Mallorca.

Marcelo Gallardo has made clear he plans to see out his contract with River Plate amid links to Barcelona.

Ronald Koeman is the head coach at Camp Nou but his time in charge could be coming to an end, despite Barca being unbeaten in LaLiga so far this season.

Wednesday's 3-0 defeat away to Benfica in the Champions League means the Spanish club have lost back-to-back group games in the competition in the same campaign for the first time in 21 years.

Koeman also has a fractured relationship with Barca president Joan Laporta, leading to speculation the Dutchman is on his way out. Gallardo is one of those seen as a potential candidate to take over, though the former Argentina international responded to the rumour on Friday.

Speaking to the media ahead of the huge game against Boca Juniors on Sunday, Gallardo said: "I am focused on the Superclasico and also everyone knows that my thought and my decision is to fulfill the contract with River.

"I have no reason to be distracted by other things and thoughts of others. I have a contract and a commitment to River.

“I want to continue connected with what it means to be River's coach and it never crossed my mind to leave the club."

Gallardo's deal with his current employers expires at the end of the year. Reports in Spain suggested he had already been contacted by Barcelona, though he refused to confirm or deny such speculation.

"If they contacted me or not, what's the point of revealing it," he added.

"The only thing I can say is that my goal is to end the contract with the club. Then we will see, but my focus is on the game against Boca."

Koeman is set to take charge as Barca visit reigning LaLiga champions Atletico Madrid on Saturday, though the Catalan club do not then play again until October 17 due to the upcoming international window.

As well as Gallardo, Belgium national team boss Roberto Martinez and Barcelona legend Xavi have been rumoured as potential options to become the new head coach, along with Italian duo Antonio Conte and Andrea Pirlo.

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