Salzburg will have to do what no other Austrian side has done before at Milan to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages, while Jude Bellingham has his eyes on an achievement managed by only two players previously.

The Rossoneri need only a point from the game at San Siro and the historical facts suggest they will achieve their aim to make it out of Group E.

For Bellingham, he can put his name in the record books alongside former team-mate Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe by scoring for Borussia Dortmund at Copenhagen.

There is plenty to play for as the Champions League group stage wraps up on Wednesday, and Stats Perform has trawled through the data to shine a light on the most interesting angles.

Milan v Salzburg

With a win, Salzburg will advance to the knockout stages for the second consecutive season after never making it out of the group stage previously.

They will need to defy the odds on their trip to Milan, where the Italian side are undefeated in home fixtures against Austrian opponents in the competition (W4 D1), while averaging 3.8 goals per game.

Salzburg have never beaten Milan in their three previous Champions League meetings, but after losing the first two, they collected their first point with a 1-1 draw in this campaign's reverse fixture.

While Olivier Giroud became the oldest player in Champions League history to reach 20 goals (36 years old) during Milan's win at Dinamo Zagreb last time out, Salzburg boast the youngest starting XI in the competition with an average age of 22 years and 279 days.

Shakhtar Donetsk v RB Leipzig

Shakhtar have only won one game in the group stage, but sit three points behind second-placed. A win would see them through to the knockout stages for the third time in the past four seasons.

The reverse-fixture was a memorable one for Shakhtar and exciting young winger Mykhailo Mudryk, who showed why he is so in-demand with a goal and two assists in a 4-1 away win.

Unfortunately for the Ukrainian side, that was their only victory from their past 12 Champions League matches (D6 L5).

Meanwhile, Leipzig have found some form in the competition, with back-to-back victories against Celtic before making it three wins in a row when they beat Real Madrid 3-2.

Manchester City v Sevilla

City are eyeing an undefeated group stage when they host Sevilla, having only conceded one goal in total from their five games until this point.

English sides have given Sevilla trouble for years now, with their last Champions League win over a Premier League team coming back in 2007 against Arsenal. 

If Jorge Sampaoli's side are to stand any chance of a shock win, they will need to pay special attention to Jack Grealish, who has impressed in the group stage with 10 chances created from open play, the most in Pep Guardiola's squad.

Maccabi Haifa v Benfica

If Juventus can salvage even a draw in their clash with Paris Saint-Germain, then Benfica will be able to win Group H by defeating Maccabi Haifa.

It has been a special run of form for Benfica, who for the first time since 1990 have gone six Champions League games without a loss (W3 D3).

Maccabi will have their backs against the wall, as only Malmo have a worse winning percentage (17 per cent) than their 24 per cent among teams to have played at least 15 Champions League games.

Also working in Benfica's favour is manager Roger Schmidt's record in the competition. Between his time with Bayer Leverkusen (2014-2017) and Benfica in this campaign, his run of 13 games unbeaten is the most by any active manager qualified for this season's Champions League.

Other fixtures:

Juventus v Paris Saint-Germain

5  - Juventus are looking to avoid becoming the second Italian side to ever lose five matches in a Champions League group stage, after Roma in 2004-05.

6  - Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe has six goals in the group stage. With one more he can tie Christopher Nkunku (last season) for the most by a French player in a single group stage, while with two more he can tie Zlatan Ibrahimovic's club-record of eight in 2013-14.

Copenhagen v Borussia Dortmund

60  - Despite Copenhagen still being without a win in Group G, they have kept a clean sheet in 60 per cent (nine-of-15) of their Champions League home games – the best ratio of any team with at least 10 appearances.

3  - With a goal, Bellingham can become just the third teenager to ever score in all three away games in a Champions League group stage, following Mbappe (2017-18) and Haaland (2019-20).

Chelsea v Dinamo Zagreb

10  - Chelsea are undefeated in their past 10 group stage games in the Champions League dating back to September 2019 (W6 D4). Over that period, they are averaging 2.3 goals per game.

10  - Along with City's Grealish, Chelsea's Mason Mount is the only other Premier League player from this Champions League campaign to tally at least 10 shots and 10 chances created.

Real Madrid v Celtic

20  - Since the beginning of last season's Champions League, no player has been involved in more open-play sequences that have resulted in a goal than Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior (20).

14  - Celtic's Matt O'Riley has attempted the most shots in the Champions League this season without scoring, with no goals from his 14 shots.

Max O'Dowd made a gutsy half century as the Netherlands recorded a deserved five-wicket win over Zimbabwe, who are all but eliminated from the T20 World Cup.

Paul van Meekeren set the tone with the ball, taking 3-29 as Zimbabwe were knocked over for just 117 in a poor batting display at the Adelaide Oval.

Sikandar Raza made a brisk 40 off 24 and Sean Williams 28 off 23 to ensure there was not total humiliation but no other Zimbabwe batsman made double figures.

Dutch opener O'Dowd scrapped his way to 52, making eight fours and one six, to set the chase up nicely.

Tom Cooper also played a part with 32 off 29. Richard Ngarava (2-23) accounted for Colin Ackerman (1) and Scott Edwards (5), while Blessing Muzarabani ended O'Dowd's knock but the Netherlands had enough to get over the line.

Zimbabwe are fourth in Group 2 with just one more Super 12 game to play, while the Dutch remain rock bottom but at least get in the win column.

Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr was short on answers after the Philadelphia Phillies tied the World Series record of five home runs in Tuesday's 7-0 rout.

McCullers was on the mound for all five homers as the Phillies claimed a 2-1 World Series lead at a rowdy Citizens Bank Park. He became the first pitcher in postseason history to allow five home runs in a game.

The Astros starter gave up a walk and three homers in the first two innings, but rallied to retire seven batters until blasts from Kyle Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins saw him pulled with the Phillies in an unassailable position in the fifth inning.

"I got beat, man," McCullers told reporters. "They hit a lot of solid pitches, I thought.

"At the end of the day, we got beat pretty bad, and I got beat up pretty bad."

The five homers came four types of pitches, with two sliders, a change-up, a curveball and a sinker, but nothing worked for McCullers.

"Listen, I am who I am," McCullers said. "I'm going to throw a lot of off-speed. Everyone knows that."

The Phillies had come up against McCullers late in the regular season, when he gave up six hits but only one earned run, yet they seemed to know what was coming this time.

"He's a guy that we saw at the end of the year in Houston," Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto said. "Got to see his pitches then. He just left pitches in the middle of the plate today."

Bryce Harper, who delivered a two-run blast in the first inning, added: "We talked about it before the game, just trying to get on him early, trying to get on him often."

Seven-time All-Star Harper, who is a two-time NL MVP, along with Rhys Hoskins have six homers this postseason which is the second most in franchise history. Harper is also hitting at .382 this postseason.

"I'm just so focused on winning," Harper said. "I'm not focused on anything else besides that. Just having the opportunity to come in here and grateful for the opportunity to be here. Just grateful to be here with this team and this organisation. I'm not really worried about anything else."

The Phillies are 6-0 at home this postseason cheered on by their boisterous fans, having blasted 17 homers in those games too, with Game 4 at Citizens Bank Park to come on Wednesday.

"Just walking into the ballpark, just being back home, I think is such a momentum swing for us," Harper said. "We all come in here and we're ready to go and we're excited to get on the field, because we know they're going to show up and there's going to be 46,000 people here screaming and yelling and going crazy."

Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr was short on answers after the Philadelphia Phillies tied the World Series record of five home runs in Tuesday's 7-0 rout.

McCullers was on the mound for all five homers as the Phillies claimed a 2-1 World Series lead at a rowdy Citizens Bank Park. He became the first pitcher in postseason history to allow five home runs in a game.

The Astros starter gave up a walk and three homers in the first two innings, but rallied to retire seven batters until blasts from Kyle Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins saw him pulled with the Phillies in an unassailable position in the fifth inning.

"I got beat, man," McCullers told reporters. "They hit a lot of solid pitches, I thought.

"At the end of the day, we got beat pretty bad, and I got beat up pretty bad."

The five homers came four types of pitches, with two sliders, a change-up, a curveball and a sinker, but nothing worked for McCullers.

"Listen, I am who I am," McCullers said. "I'm going to throw a lot of off-speed. Everyone knows that."

The Phillies had come up against McCullers late in the regular season, when he gave up six hits but only one earned run, yet they seemed to know what was coming this time.

"He's a guy that we saw at the end of the year in Houston," Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto said. "Got to see his pitches then. He just left pitches in the middle of the plate today."

Bryce Harper, who delivered a two-run blast in the first inning, added: "We talked about it before the game, just trying to get on him early, trying to get on him often."

Seven-time All-Star Harper, who is a two-time NL MVP, along with Rhys Hoskins have six homers this postseason which is the second most in franchise history. Harper is also hitting at .382 this postseason.

"I'm just so focused on winning," Harper said. "I'm not focused on anything else besides that. Just having the opportunity to come in here and grateful for the opportunity to be here. Just grateful to be here with this team and this organisation. I'm not really worried about anything else."

The Phillies are 6-0 at home this postseason cheered on by their boisterous fans, having blasted 17 homers in those games too, with Game 4 at Citizens Bank Park to come on Wednesday.

"Just walking into the ballpark, just being back home, I think is such a momentum swing for us," Harper said. "We all come in here and we're ready to go and we're excited to get on the field, because we know they're going to show up and there's going to be 46,000 people here screaming and yelling and going crazy."

Kevin Durant reportedly pushed for Steve Nash's removal as Brooklyn Nets head coach in the off-season but says he was "shocked" when he found out about his firing on Tuesday.

The Nets confirmed on Tuesday they had mutually agreed to part ways after a 2-5 start to the season, made worse by the 108-99 loss to the Chicago Bulls later that day.

It was widely reported Durant had issued Nets owner Joe Tsai with an ultimatum in an unsettled off-season at the Barclays Center, either trade him or fire Nash and general manager Sean Marks.

Yet Durant, who said he learned the news of Nash's firing on ESPN after waking up from a nap on Tuesday, insisted he was taken aback when he found out and shrugged off questions about whether he was consulted.

"You're always shocked when a move like this happens, but it's normal in the NBA," Durant told reporters after Tuesday's loss.

"You've got practice, games coming up, so you can't think too much about it. It was on my mind for a little bit today."

Nash had taken over at the Nets in September 2020, taking the side to the Conference Semifinals in 2020-21 with their 'big three' of Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden.

But the Nets struggled in 2021-22 and swept out of the playoffs in the first round by the Boston Celtics, amid a difficult season that saw Irving largely ineligible due to his vaccination status and Harden traded.

"Let's be real, we're pros, we're veterans," Durant added. "We had a tough start. It was a rocky year last year, rocky summer. We knew that everybody was being evaluated.

"That's just how it is in the league. So I liked working with Steve. I like working with the coaching staff. It was a roller coaster the last few years, but the core of it - basketball - is something we all love to do. Regardless of who the coach [is], regardless of the circumstances, you still got to come to work. I enjoyed coming to work with Steve."

Nash's firing comes in the midst of the franchise's latest off-court issue surrounding Irving facing widespread backlash for sharing a film on social media with alleged anti-Semitic connotations.

Durant insisted that there was not too much volatility around the Nets.

"That's the NBA," Durant said. "Everybody's got volatility if you want to look at it.

"It's just a matter of - outside people might look at what we do as bigger than what it is, but we come to work every single day.

"Guys have asked for trades before, coaches get fired, we have disagreements in our locker room, it happens in the NBA. But at the end of the day we all came to work. It just didn't work out on the floor."

The Brooklyn Nets started life after Steve Nash with a 108-99 defeat to the Miami Heat as under-fire Kyrie Irving struggled with four points on two-of-12 shooting on Tuesday.

The Nets announced earlier on Tuesday that Nash had been fired following their 2-5 start to the season, with assistant coach Jacque Vaughn taking charge in his absence.

Kevin Durant scored 32 points with nine rebounds for the Nets who led 58-52 at half-time before the Bulls charged home in the fourth quarter, led by Zach LaVine who had 20 of his 29 points in the final period.

LaVine top scored for the Bulls, including five-of-11 three-point shooting with four rebounds and five assists, while DeMar DeRozan added 20 points and center Nikola Vucevic hauled down 15 rebounds.

Irving, who has faced widespread backlash for sharing a film on social media with alleged anti-Semitic connotations, battled throughout with three turnovers while making none of his six three-point attempts.

The win improved the Bulls to 4-4, while the Nets fall to 2-6, with a 2-4 record at Barclays Center this season.

Golden State's road struggles continue

Reigning champions, the Golden State Warriors, slumped to their third straight defeat as Jimmy Butler fired late to lift the Miami Heat to a 116-109 win.

Butler, who finished with 23 points with six rebounds and eight assists, scored five straight points down the stretch to give the Heat the lead which they never surrendered.

Kyle Lowry moved past Jason Kidd into 12th on the all-time NBA three-pointers made list, scoring three triples in his 13 points.

Stephen Curry recorded his 10th regular-season triple-double with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists, but he could not prevent the Warriors' road woes (0-4) continuing, dropped to 3-5 overall.

Johnson shines as Suns burn

Cam Johnson drained seven three-pointers as the Phoenix Suns maintained their perfect home record this season and moved to 6-1 overall with a 116-107 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Johnson finished with 29 points, 21 coming from beyond the arc on seven-of-11 three-point shooting, while Devin Booker took a back seat with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Chris Paul had 14 points, 12 assists and a team-high eight rebounds for the Suns who clinched their fifth straight win. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards both had 24 points for the Timberwolves.

The Philadelphia Phillies blasted five home runs to open up a 2-1 lead in the World Series after winning Game 3 over the Houston Astros 7-0 on Tuesday.

The victory maintains the Phillies' perfect home postseason record, claiming six wins from six games at Citizens Bank Park ahead of Game 4 at the same venue. Philadelphia have also blasted 17 home runs in those six home games.

Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, Brandon Marsh, Kyle Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins all slugged homers. Harper and Hoskins' blasts took them to six each this postseason, which is tied for the second-most in franchise history, behind only Jayson Werth with seven from 2009.

All seven runs came off Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr, who pitched four-and-one-third innings, allowing six hits and one walk with six strikeouts.

The Phillies were dominant throughout, with a brilliant Nick Castellanos' play from a sinking Jose Altuve line drive in the first inning, followed by Harper's two-run blast after Schwarber's leadoff walk.

In the second inning, Bohm blasted just above the left-field wall, followed by Marsh's solo shot to open up a 4-0 lead.

McCullers had retired seven straight batters Schwarber added a two-run center-field blast into the trees, which travelled 443 feet, in the fifth inning, with Hoskins homering shortly after too.

Phillies starter Ranger Suarez went five innings for four strikeouts, allowing three hits, no earned runs and one walk. Nick Nelson got out of a jam in the eighth after two walks, before Andrew Bellatti closed out the win.

The Game 3 winner when the series was tied has gone on to win 41 of the last 59 World Series.

John McVay, an executive with the San Francisco 49ers who played a key role in building the franchise’s dynasty four decades ago, died Tuesday at age 91.

McVay joined the 49ers in 1979 and spent 22 seasons with the franchise, holding various jobs including general manager and director of football operations.

Under his direction, the 49ers won five Super Bowl titles in a 14-season span and McVay was named The Sporting News NFL Executive of the Year in 1989 after the team’s fourth Super Bowl championship.

The 49ers inducted McVay into the team Hall of Fame in 2013 and dedicated the draft room at the team’s headquarters in his honour in 2016.

''This is a very sad day for our organization and the entire football community,'' the team said in a statement. ''John McVay was a driving force in constructing teams for our five Super Bowl titles.

"Most importantly, John was a Hall of Fame person who built genuine and sincere relationships with front office staff, coaches and players. John's commitment and contributions to the 49ers created the standard and tradition we strive to carry on today. Our thoughts and prayers are with the McVay family.''

McVay is the grandfather of current Rams coach Sean McVay.

Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue says Kawhi Leonard is "frustrated" with his ongoing knee issues following confirmation he will miss their next two road games.

Leonard has only played in two of the Clippers' seven games this NBA season upon returning from an ACL injury from the 2021 playoffs that saw him miss the entire 2021-22 campaign.

The two-time NBA Finals MVP has been struggling with stiffness in his surgically-repaired right knee and has missed his side's last four games.

Leonard will miss another two, having been ruled out of road games against the Houston Rockets (Wednesday) and the San Antonio Spurs (Friday) and his status is uncertain for Sunday's game against the Utah Jazz.

"He's frustrated," Lue said. "He wants to be out on the floor. To then not be on the floor, then now he can't travel, he wants to travel but obviously, that's not the right thing to do right now.

"The stiffness and what he's going through, just frustrated putting in all the work the last 15 months, and to get to this point, and not being where he wants to be right now physically.

"He's getting better, and that's the most important thing."

In Leonard's two games this season, he played both off the bench, putting in 21 minutes on both occasions, averaging 12.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists.  The Clippers are 3-4 this season.

Caroline Garcia is off to a perfect start in her first WTA Finals appearance since 2017, collecting a straight-sets win over Coco Gauff to share top spot of the Tracy Austin Group with Iga Swiatek.

Garcia won 6-4 6-3 in one hour and 18 minutes in Fort Worth, proving slightly better with her return game throughout, creating four break point opportunities in both sets while Gauff could only muster one in each.

Gauff was the one to strike first, securing a break in the opening game of the match, but Garcia got it back instantly to tie things at 1-1, and then when leading 5-4, Garcia broke again to wrap up the first set.

Things could have spiralled for the 18-year-old American when she fell down a break in the second set, but she responded well, breaking back in the next game.

But Garcia kept the pressure on for a second break before serving it out safely. It is her second consecutive win over Gauff after also eliminating her from the US Open quarter-final, and evens their head-to-head ledger at two apiece after Gauff took the first two meetings.

BREAK POINTS WON
Garcia - 4/8
Gauff - 2/2

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Garcia - 1/3
Gauff - 1/2

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Garcia - 20/23
Gauff - 12/14

Marseille head coach Igor Tudor revealed his players could not hear his instructions amid the last-gasp chaos that cost them a Europa League spot in Tuesday's 2-1 Champions League loss to Tottenham.

The nine-time French champions were set to qualify for Europe's second tier via third spot in Group D with scores locked at 1-1 entering stoppage time, with Sporting CP trailing 2-1 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the other game.

But Marseille ambitiously pushed forward chasing a winner, which would have seen them move above Spurs and advance to the Champions League last-16, rather than conserve third spot.

That move backfired as their backline was badly exposed when Tottenham broke clear in the 95th minute with Harry Kane laying off for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's winner, knocking Marseille out of Europe with the final kick of the game.

Tudor was seen running on to the field and attempting to bark orders at his players in the moments prior to the goal.

"They didn't hear, because there was so much noise," Tudor told RMC Sport.

"I told them to stay back, not to push on, but they didn't hear. There was confusion in the last minute. It wasn't about results, it was about telling them to stay put, not to go all up."

OM defender Chancel Mbemba, who had put the hosts ahead before half-time, labelled the situation as a "lack of communication".

"On the field, we didn't know, but on the bench, people knew," he said.

"It's a lack of communication. We have the desire to push until the end, but we didn't know. It's a mistake."

St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado joined an exclusive club Tuesday, when he was named a Gold Glove winner for the 10th consecutive season. 

Arenado has been the recipient of the Rawlings Gold Glove award in each of his 10 seasons in the major leagues. That streak ties Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki for the longest for any player at any position to start his career. 

Only Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson (third baseman, 16 straight) and Ozzie Smith (shortstop, 13 straight) and former Cardinals and New York Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez (11 straight) have longer streaks. 

Arenado ranked first among third basemen in double plays (42) and second in assists (283). He also ranked second in Defensive Runs Saved (19) and Outs Above Average (15), according to Fielding Bible. 

The Cleveland Guardians had four players win Gold Gloves, with pitcher Shane Bieber, second baseman Andres Gimenez, left fielder Steven Kwan and center fielder Myles Straw all receiving the honour for the first time.  

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts won his sixth Gold Glove, Braves pitcher Max Fried won his fourth in a row and New York Yankees utility player DJ LeMahieu took home his fourth. 

Jeremy Pena of the Houston Astros became the first rookie shortstop to win a Gold Glove.  

''I heard that today and I was in shock because I didn't know that was a thing,'' Pena said. ''But it's pretty cool.'' 

The Gold Glove Awards are voted on by 30 MLB managers and up to six coaches from each teams. They are not allowed to vote for players from their own team. 

Diego Simeone wants Atletico Madrid to "see the reality" of their Champions League struggles after their European campaign came to an end on Wednesday.

Atletico's exit from the Champions League at the group stage was confirmed last week with a 2-2 home draw to Bayer Leverkusen.

The Rojiblancos still had the chance to claim a Europa League spot, but missed out on third place in Group B as they were beaten 2-1 by Porto.

Goals from Mehdi Taremi and Stephen Eustaquio put Porto in command, with a late Ivan Marcano own goal nothing more than scant consolation for Atletico.

Their defeat, combined with Bayer Leverkusen's goalless draw with group runners-up Club Brugge, means it is the Bundesliga side who drop into the Europa League.

For Atletico, the focus is now solely on domestic matters and ensuring they at least qualify for next season's Champions League, with the LaLiga title already looking a tall order.

Atletico, who are eight points behind LaLiga leaders Real Madrid, head out of Europe with just one win from six matches. They scored five goals and conceded nine, finishing bottom of a Champions League group for the first time in their history.