Fabio Capello has compared Paulo Dybala to Roma legend Francesco Totti but believes the Argentine's new strike partner Tammy Abraham has some way to go before he reaches the level of Gabriel Batistuta.
Capello was in charge of Roma when they last won the Scudetto in the 2000-01 season, with Batistuta and Totti netting a total of 33 Serie A goals (Batistuta 20, Totti 13) as they edged out Juventus in a thrilling title race.
With Jose Mourinho having delivered the Europa Conference League trophy during his first season in the Italian capital last term, hopes are high the Giallorossi could mount a serious domestic challenge this time around.
The acquisitions of Dybala, Georginio Wijnaldum and Nemanja Matic have seen Roma tipped for a title push in some quarters, with Abraham also expected to kick on after scoring 17 goals in his first Serie A campaign.
Capello, who last month said Dybala's arrival from Juventus could shift the balance in Serie A, thinks Roma's new signing could prove as influential as the club's all-time top goalscorer Totti.
"Football evolves all the time," Capello told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "But if it's a game I tell you that the Argentine has the touch of the ball, the ability to find a partner and the ease of scoring that Francesco had."
However, Capello says Abraham has plenty of work to do in order to be considered in the same category as Argentine great Batistuta, who scored 30 Serie A goals during a two-and-a-half season spell in Rome between 2000 and 2003.
"Let's take it easy," Capello added. "Gabriel was a professor of the penalty area. The sense of goal he possessed has been had by few players in the world.
"Abraham is certainly more mobile, but we are on another level for the moment."
Meanwhile, Roma's transfer activity has left Capello believing they are among the favourites to win Serie A in the 2022-23 season, as he claimed only Simone Inzaghi's Inter are clearly superior to Mourinho's team.
"The Giallorossi can no longer hide," he added. "Only Inter, with [Milan] Skriniar, can be superior to them. [Comparisons to] Juve and Milan are already valid."
Roma begin their Serie A campaign with a trip to Salernitana on August 14.
Callum Shinkwin stormed to a four-shot victory for his second DP World Tour title at the Wales Open on Sunday.
The Englishman carded a one-under 70 in his final round at the Celtic Manor Resort to finish on 12-under for the tournament, comfortably clear of runner-up Connor Syme.
Shinkwin had looked poised to go head-to-head with playing partner Julien Guerrier, having held a one-stroke lead heading into the final day.
But after making six birdies and five bogeys, the 29-year-old found himself comfortably clear of the Frenchman, who endured an awful five-over final round to tie for third with David Dixon, Lucas Bjerregaard, Renato Paratore and Andy Sullivan at five under.
Back-to-back bogeys on the seventh and eighth in Newport halted Shinkwin's momentum, but he held his nerve to seal another title.
Shinkwin's only previous victory had come at the Cyprus Open in 2020.
Cleveland Browns running back Kareem Hunt is asking for a trade, but the team has denied his request, cleveland.com reported on Sunday.
Hunt is in the final year of a two-year, $13.25million extension, and sat out team drills the past few days at training camp as he was seeking a long-term extension.
Hunt is coming off a 2021 season in which he was limited to eight games due to calf and ankle injuries. That came after he had 1,145 scrimmage yards and 11 total touchdowns for the Browns in 2020, while appearing in all 16 games and forming a solid 1-2 punch with Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb.
Hunt joined Cleveland in 2019 but sat out the first eight games that season after being suspended for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy while playing for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Kansas City selected Hunt in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft, and he led the league in rushing as a rookie with 1,327 yards.
Hunt's trade request is yet another distraction for the Browns, who acquired Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans in the offseason and traded fellow quarterback and former No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers.
Watson was suspended for the first six games of the upcoming season for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy after two dozen women accused him of sexual misconduct during massage treatments while he played in Houston.
The NFL, though, is appealing that decision – leaving Watson's status in limbo.
Johann Zarco was "surprised" by his crash at Silverstone that denied him the chance to secure a first MotoGP victory.
The Pramac Racing driver started the British Grand Prix on pole as the season resumed following a five-week break and was able to maintain his lead in the early laps of the race.
A crash at turn eight on lap five ended that charge, however, with Zarco initially continuing but later returning to the pits and retiring from the race.
It was the eighth time in the premier class that Zarco has failed to turn pole position into a victory, and he felt his tyres were the reason why he missed out again.
"The warm temperature pushed me to take this medium front – that was a good tyre anyway because Pecco [Francesco Bagnaia] won on it, but it seemed for me, it was the reason of the crash, because there’s always a bit less grip with this tyre," he said.
"But I was too worried to go with the soft one and not finish the race on a good pace, overall. The medium one, I knew it pretty well, so that's why I was quite confident, and the first laps were pretty good.
"But I was surprised in that Turn 8. And clearly I'm disappointed, and it's pretty hard to put all the things together to put the victory."
Zarco's failure to finish saw him drop to fifth in the championship standings, now sitting 66 points behind leader Fabio Quartararo - with Sunday's race at Silverstone being a missed opportunity to close the gap, as the Monster Energy Yamaha rider only finished eighth after having to serve an early long-lap penalty.
The championship standings do not paint a pretty picture for the Frenchman, but he believes further opportunities will arise.
"I hope I will be in good form again in Austria, because what I could feel during this weekend and even during the race helped me to grow on the Ducati and get even more feeling as I want," he added.
"So, yeah, the most positive of today is this feeling that I could take during the race, and understand even more this tyre that sometimes seems a tricky choice, because for nothing you can be hero or zero."
Manchester United showed it will take much more than one pre-season to become a force again as Erik ten Hag's era as manager began with a chastening 2-1 home defeat by Brighton and Hove Albion.
The atmosphere at United seemed to improve over pre-season, but their performance on Sunday was little better than the underwhelming football regularly served up under Ralf Rangnick.
United struggled to cope with Brighton's fluidity and the visitors deservedly found themselves two up at half-time as Pascal Gross – twice the scorer of winning goals against the Red Devils – netted a brace.
Cristiano Ronaldo – benched due to a lack of fitness – made a difference in the second half and a scrappy Alexis Mac Allister own goal halved the deficit, but Brighton held on for a first ever win at Old Trafford.
There were warning signs inside 20 seconds when a Diogo Dalot error led to Leandro Trossard smashing into the side-netting.
As Brighton's confidence continued to grow, Danny Welbeck inspired the opener with half an hour played, flashing the ball across goal for Gross to tap in at the back post.
Gross was in the right place at the right time again nine minutes later, beating Fred to a rebound and converting after David de Gea parried Solly March's shot.
Ronaldo's introduction just after the break did little to turn the tide initially, with United lucky to avoid a penalty concession when debutant Lisandro Martinez barged Welbeck over.
The Portugal striker did lay a great chance, though, picking out Marcus Rashford who was denied at point-blank range by Robert Sanchez.
But Brighton's goalkeeper was at fault as United pulled one back, putting Mac Allister off as he tried to clear off the line.
United's late flurry failed to produce an equaliser, however.
Francesco Bagnaia secured back-to-back MotoGP victories to hand a significant boost to his championship hopes.
The Ducati rider came off the five-week break 66 points behind the championship leader but capitalised on Fabio Quartararo's struggles, closing the gap to 49.
Johann Zarco, who started on pole and third in the championship standings, saw his hopes of a first MotoGP victory end after he crashed out in the lead, which will also have a significant impact on his title chances.
With Quartararo affected by a long-lap penalty and Aleix Espargaro – second in the standings – carrying an injury, Bagnaia's win saw Ducati secure another podium.
Quartararo had an excellent start and immediately propelled himself to second on the grid behind Zarco before serving his long-lap penalty on the fourth lap, subsequently returning to the field to take fifth as he crucially came out ahead of Maverick Vinales.
Zarco's hopes of securing a maiden MotoGP victory ended the following lap, crashing out in the lead, leaving Jack Miller and Alex Rins to challenge for first – the latter having surged from 11th at the start.
Espargaro, having been a doubt for the race after a high-side in practice on Saturday, was unable to compete and fell down the field, though the dent to his Championship hopes was not as severe with teammate Vinales overtaking Quartararo on lap nine.
Three laps later, Bagnaia made his move and became the fifth different leader of the race, while Miller rose to second soon after with Rins looking vulnerable heading into the closing stages.
Vinales jumped further up the standings in the final laps, taking Rins, Miller and then Bagnaia to cap off a stellar drive, but he could not retain the lead, with Bagnaia's title hopes boosted by two consecutive victories.
Quartararo finished eighth, narrowly ahead of championship rival Espargaro but both will now be worried about the title charge of Bagnaia.
TOP 10
1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
2. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) +0.426
3. Jack Miller (Ducati) +0.614
4. Enea Bastianini (Gresini) +1.651
5. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) +1.750
6. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) +2.727
7. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) +3.021
8. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +3.819
9. Alex Espargaro (Aprilia) +3.958
10. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46) +6.646
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Riders
1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) - 180
2. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) - 158
3. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) - 131
4. Enea Bastianini (Gresini) - 118
5. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) - 114
Teams
1. Aprilia Racing - 240
2. Ducati - 238
3. Monster Energy Yamaha - 206
4. Pramac Racing - 195
5. Red Bull KTM - 179
Cristiano Ronaldo was named among the substitutes as Erik ten Hag chose his first Manchester United starting XI in the Premier League.
The Portugal star's relationship with United was a constant sideshow during pre-season, as he did not go on their tour of Australia and Thailand owing to personal reasons, though at the time there was frequent speculation suggesting he wanted to leave for a Champions League club.
No such move materialised and he played the first 45 minutes against Rayo Vallecano last weekend, his only action of pre-season.
But that occasion only increased the spotlight on Ronaldo, as he was one of several players to leave Old Trafford early, conduct Ten Hag described as "unacceptable" in an interview on Dutch television.
Ten Hag subsequently tried to draw a line under the situation at his news conference on Friday, adamant Ronaldo had attracted unfair focus given how many players left early last Sunday.
Similarly, the Dutchman suggested there was to be no further punishment for the guilty parties.
As such, Ten Hag explained prior to Sunday's game that Ronaldo's presence on the bench is down to his lack of pre-season action, even though United are without a recognised striker with Anthony Martial injured.
Ten Hag told MUTV: "I already mentioned; short pre-season, he only started training last week.
"He only played 45 minutes and he's not on the fitness levels the rest of the team is.
"In the Premier League, the games I saw this weekend were really tough and a high intensity."
In Ronaldo's absence, Ten Hag opted to deploy Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho in attack, with support from Bruno Fernandes.
Elsewhere in the team, Lisandro Martinez – a pre-season arrival from Ten Hag's former club Ajax – was chosen to partner Harry Maguire at centre-back, while Christian Eriksen was also selected for his debut.
Ronaldo is joined on the bench by Ten Hag's first signing, Tyrell Malacia, as well as Raphael Varane, promising youngster Alejandro Garnacho and James Garner, who impressed on loan at Nottingham Forest last season.
Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica won sprint relay medals on Sunday with silver and bronze medals, respectively, at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
Despite the absence of 200m champion Jereem Richards Trinidad and Tobago’s team of Jerod Elcock, Eric Harrison Jr, Kion Benjamin Hislop and Kyle Greaux raced to a season-best 38.70 to claim second place behind England that ran a season-best 38.35 for the gold medal.
Nigeria ran 38.81 for the bronze.
Meanwhile, Jamaica’s women owe a debt of gratitude to sprint-double champion Elaine Thompson-Herah for their bronze medal as Kemba Nelson, Remona Burchell and Natalliah Whyte were unable to put Jamaica in contention for a medal over the first three legs.
However, at the final exchange with Jamaica in fifth, the fastest woman alive, stormed down the home stretch to snatch the bronze medal from Australia.
Jamaica clocked a relatively pedestrian 43.08, well behind England who ran a season-best 42.41 for the silver and winners Nigeria, who stormed to a new area record of 42.10.
Australia clocked 43.16 for fourth.
Sada Williams created history on Sunday when she became the first Barbadian woman to win a gold medal in the 400m on the penultimate day of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
Fulham's social media admins were able to have some fun at Jurgen Klopp's expense on Sunday, as they took a cheeky swipe at the Liverpool manager's post-match comments.
Klopp lamented Liverpool's display in their Premier League opener at Craven Cottage, with the early kick-off on Saturday finishing 2-2.
He told BT Sport: "The best thing about the game is the result, that we got a point from a really bad game for my side. Now the question is how can that happen."
However, Klopp – who has a previous track record of using pitch or weather conditions to excuse a slightly below-par display – couldn't help but mention that "the pitch was dry".
A throwaway comment it may have been, and in the wider context it was clear Klopp was far more frustrated with his team than the pitch, but that did not stop the comments going viral on social media.
On Sunday, Fulham took the opportunity to crack a joke, tweeting a photo from prior to kick-off on Saturday at Craven Cottage, showing sprinklers watering the pitch with the accompanying caption: "The Craven Cottage turf looking absolutely lush yesterday."
Fulham's jibe might well be used against them when they travel to Anfield later in the season - ask Brighton and Hove Albion how social media posts can be reversed for likes and retweets - but they at least took the chance to get one over on Liverpool's manager.
Manchester United's all-time leading scorer Wayne Rooney has advised the club to allow Cristiano Ronaldo to leave before the transfer deadline.
Portugal international Ronaldo is widely reported to be pushing for an exit from Old Trafford due to his desire to continue playing in the Champions League, though suitors have not emerged for his services.
Ronaldo missed the club's pre-season tour of Australia and the Far East due to personal reasons, with his pre-season action limited to just 45 minutes in a friendly against Rayo Vallecano last week.
In the build-up to United's Premier League opener against Brighton and Hove Albion, a lot of the talk has focused on Ronaldo's future and Rooney believes the right move would be for the club to approve an exit.
"I think United should let Cristiano Ronaldo go," he wrote in the Times.
"It's not that Ronaldo can't play in a Ten Hag team. He can play in any team. Ronny will always score you goals.
"But my personal view is that United aren't ready to challenge for the title now, so the aim has to be to build a team that can win the league in the next three to four years, and you have to plan for that.
"If the reports are true that Cristiano wants to leave the club, then United should allow him to go and get a number nine in who is going to be there for the next three or four years and really help them build a team that can be successful. Ten Hag has to be given time to do it."
New United manager Erik ten Hag insisted he is "really happy" to have Ronaldo in his squad, making it clear his preference would be for the experienced forward to remain.
"I am really happy he is here. We have a top striker. We stick to the plan," he said in a news conference.
Paris Saint-Germain head coach Christophe Galtier has backed Lionel Messi to shake off last term's challenges and have a "great season" after opening the Ligue 1 campaign with a double.
Messi capped off PSG's 5-0 win at Clermont on Saturday with two late goals, including a spectacular over-head strike. Neymar, Achraf Hakimi and Marquinhos all scored in the first half.
The Argentine's double comes after he only managed 11 goals in all competitions in his first season in the French capital following his move from Barcelona, while he struggled to find cohesion alongside Neymar and Kylian Mbappe last term too.
"He had a bit of a difficult season last season, he had to fit in," Galtier told reporters.
"There was a radical change but in every season before that he has at least 30 goals.
"He went through a complete pre-season. When he has his bearing both in terms of his family life but also in terms of his club, the team and his fellow players, there is no reason why Leo should not have a great season."
Galtier, who took over at PSG from Mauricio Pochettino last month, was glowing in his praise of Messi having spoken at length during their pre-season tour of Japan.
"I spoke with Leo during our time in Japan and I also talked with my attacking players to make sure that he could perform well all the time," he said.
"Leo has a very sharp tactical sense, very clear. He has vision. He quickly sees where he has to go.
"The way he defends, the way he positions himself to play with others. He can get into the zone. He likes to play with the players he has around him.
"From there, when Leo smiles obviously, the team smiles too."
PSG are in action next weekend in the league at home to Montpellier.
Max Scherzer delivered 11 strikeouts across seven innings to cap a perfect day for the New York Mets who swept their divisional double-header with the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.
The Mets got past the Braves 8-5 in the matinee game, followed by a 6-2 victory in the evening led by Scherzer's impressive outing.
The wins were critical in the National League (NL) East where the Mets improved to a 69-39 record ahead of the reigning world champions at 64-45.
Scherzer was at his vintage best for the Mets, amid tension given the Braves had recently closed in on Mets in the race for first place ahead of the five-game series.
"This is what you play the game for," Scherzer said. "You play to face the best, especially deep in the season. You grind it out here in the NL East."
Scherzer's 11 KS means he sits fourth on the all-time MLB list for most 10 or more strikeout games by a pitcher with 109, behind Nolan Ryan (215), Randy Johnson (212) and Roger Clemens (110).
Yankees shut out as Montgomery stars
Jordan Montgomery came back to haunt his former employers only days after being traded as the St Louis Cardinals defeated the New York Yankees 1-0.
Montgomery pitched five scoreless innings for the Cardinals who triumphed courtesy of Paul Goldschmidt's first-inning run driven in by Nolan Arenado.
The Cards new left-handed pitcher, who was involved in the trade deal for Harrison Bader, only managed one strikeout but only allowed two hits and a walk.
Dodgers edge divisional rivals
Max Muncy's fifth-inning go-ahead three-run blast helped the Los Angeles Dodgers topple the San Diego Padres 8-3 in their National League (NL) West battle.
The Dodgers were trailing 3-2 at the time, but Muncy's intervention turned the tide. The Dodgers extend their lead in the NL West with a 74-33 record compared to the Padres who are 61-49.
The home run was Muncy's 11th for the season. Will Smith also had a solo home run, to finish with three hits with two runs and three RBIs.
World number one Daniil Medvedev strolled to victory for his first title of the year at the Los Cabos Open with a 7-5 6-0 demolition of reigning champion Cameron Norrie on Saturday.
The Russian, returning to hard-court tennis in Mexico this week ahead of his US Open title defence, pulled away after an injury timeout late in the first set to comfortably triumph against the 12th-ranked Briton.
Medvedev won every game after the timeout, taken for treatment on a hand issue, after scores were locked at 5-5, with both players having broken serve in the first set.
The third-seeded defending champion had no answers in a lopsided second set which only lasted 26 minutes.
This year's Australian Open runner-up, playing in his fourth final of the season, sent down 5-0 aces and converted six of 10 break points for the match to secure his 14th career title. He was exceptional on serve, with a 67 per cent first-serve win percentage.
The triumph capped an excellent week for Medvedev, who did not drop a set across five wins.
"Every match was very good, but the final match is always special," Medvedev said on court after the match. "It's always a high-level match and I'm really happy I managed to show some good levels and play some good shots."
Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios will take on unseeded Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka in the Washington Open final on Sunday after maintaining his unblemished record at this year's event with a 7-6 6-3 victory over Mikael Ymer on Saturday.
Kyrgios, who won in Washington DC in 2019, had played twice on Friday following rain delays on Thursday but found his passage through with 10 aces including one on match point to secure victory in one hour and 34 minutes.
"I didn’t play anywhere near my best tennis today," Kyrgios said. "I served pretty solid, but from the back of the court I didn’t play well at all. I'm just happy to be in the final once again."
Kyrgios is yet to drop serve throughout this year's tournament and has knocked off seeds Francis Tiafoe, Reilly Opelka and Tommy Paul along the way.
The Australian will take on Nishioka who stunned top seed Andrey Rublev 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 20 minutes to secure a spot in his third career final, beating a top 10 opponent for the third time in his career.
Rublev blasted 21-8 winners but also hit 31-14 unforced errors, with the Japanese's consistency proving enough for victory.
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