Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is convinced Karim Benzema will be awarded the Ballon d'Or later this month.

Benzema played a talismanic role as Madrid won LaLiga and the Champions League last season, scoring 44 goals in 46 appearances in all competitions.

The striker has already hit the net three times in four league games this season, and is set to return from a three-week injury absence against Osasuna on Sunday.

The next winner of football's most prestigious individual honour will be announced on October 17, and Perez is in no doubt as to who will receive it.

"Benzema has already received the UEFA best player of the year award and in the coming days, he will be awarded the Ballon d'Or," Perez said, in comments carried by Mundo Deportivo.

"No one doubts it."

Benzema's recent absence has failed to prevent Madrid from making a perfect start to their title defence, winning their first six games of the season in LaLiga.

Los Blancos are the only team in Europe's top five leagues to have maintained a 100 per cent winning record this campaign, and Perez has been delighted by their form.

"We have a squad to keep dreaming of all the challenges and challenges that will come. Real Madrid does not allow complacency or relaxation," he added.

"After winning the European Super Cup, we have won all the games we have played, being the only club in the five major leagues that has achieved it. This is the path."

Erling Haaland made Premier League history after the Manchester City forward became the first man to score three consecutive home-game hat-tricks in the competition with his derby-day haul against Manchester United.

The Norway international, who became just the third City player to net a trio of goals in a derby encounter between the two clubs, was at the centre of a dominant display from Pep Guardiola's men at the Etihad Stadium.

Having already torn up the top-flight scoring charts with a blistering start to the campaign, the attacker added to his growing goal collection with a trio of superb finishes on Sunday.

In the process, he became the first player in the competition's history to score hat-tricks in three home matches on the trot, having also achieved the feat against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest last month.

It means that Haaland now has as many Premier League hat-tricks as Cristiano Ronaldo, who cut a forlorn figure as an unused substitute for Erik ten Hag's brittle visitors on the bench.

The forward was also joined by team-mate Phil Foden in vying for the matchball as the England international swiftly followed him to become the fourth City hat-trick scorer in Manchester derby history, two of which Haaland assisted to rack up five overall goal involvements.

A hat-trick each for Erling Haaland and Phil Foden gave Manchester City a 6-3 win against Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

It was a ruthless performance from the Premier League champions, who were four goals up at half-time after tearing United apart time and again with their pass and move football.

Antony scored with an excellent strike early in the second half and Anthony Martial came off the bench to add two more late on to make the score a bit more respectable, but it was an otherwise dominant showing from City against Erik ten Hag's men.

Pep Guardiola saw his team go back to within a point of leaders Arsenal at the top of the league, and remain the only unbeaten team in England's top flight this season.

Phil Foden became the youngest player to hit 50 goals in a Pep Guardiola team as he scored two in a first-half rampage by Manchester City in Sunday's derby.

The England international scored City's opener and added their fourth as the home side led Manchester United 4-0 at the break. They were his first goals in Manchester derbies, with this his eighth appearance in such a game.

Between those goals, Erling Haaland delivered another masterclass of finishing with a clinical double strike, and it was Haaland's cross that Foden fired in to reach his half-century.

It meant Foden got to 50 goals in all competitions for City at the age of 22 years and 127 days.

Lionel Messi was 22 years and 164 days old when he reached 50 under Guardiola at Barcelona.

To give that some context, it is important to remember Messi had played four seasons for Barcelona before Guardiola took charge ahead of the 2008-09 season, while Foden has only ever played for Guardiola in City's first team.

Messi reached 50 for Guardiola in just his second season under the Spanish boss, while Foden made his City debut almost five years ago, in a Champions League game against Feyenoord.

Bowler Mukesh Kumar and batsman Rajat Patidar have earned their first call-ups to India's ODI squad for the three matches against South Africa.

The first match is slated for Thursday in Lucknow, before the second game in Ranchi on October 9. The teams will then face off a final time in Delhi two days later.

Shikhar Dhawan has been named India's captain, while Shreyas Iyer will be vice-captain for the series.

Dhawan is expected to open the batting with Shubman Gill, though Ruturaj Gaikwad is also reportedly in contention for that role.

Patidar will form part of the pace attack, alongside Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj and Avesh Khan.

It is a weaker India squad as none of the members of the T20I set-up have been named in the ODI pool, with those players due to travel to Australia on October 6 ahead of the T20 World Cup.
 

India squad: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubhman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Deepak Chahar.

Barbora Krejcikova claimed her first title of the year by beating top seed Anett Kontaveit in the inaugural Tallinn Open final on Sunday.

Krejcikova had not won a singles title since her third triumph of 2021 in Prague last July, but ended her drought with a 6-2 6-3 defeat of the top seed.

The Czech ended the home favourite's hopes of being crowned champion in a showpiece match that was over in an hour and 21 minutes.

Kontaveit had won 24 consecutive indoor matches on hard courts, but she was no match for the 2021 French Open champion.

Krejcikova won 71 per cent of points on Kontaveit's second serve, breaking twice in the opening set and three times in the second.

She drew first blood to go 4-2 in the first following precise groundstrokes off both wings, then broke for a second time to seal an opening set in which Kontaveit made 13 unforced errors.

World number four Kontaveit responded with a break in the opening game of the second set, but failed to back that up with a hold.

Kontaveit had the initiative again at 3-1, but there was a sense of deja vu as her opponent broke straight back and served out the match after moving 5-3 in front with another break.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez appeared to again promote the idea of a European Super League as he warned the current state of football shows it is "sick".

Perez has been a leading figure in calls for Europe's elite football clubs to secede from UEFA competitions in recent years, and he was chairman of the proposed Super League in 2021.

The breakaway competition collapsed on the back of shaky alliances between clubs as well as political and public pressure, with each of the five aligned Premier League clubs withdrawing in the days following the announcement.

One of Perez's primary arguments for the concept was to allow Europe's elite to play one another more often, though Madrid did face Inter, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool on their way to winning the Champions League last season.

"To fix a problem, you have to first recognise that you have a problem," Perez said at the club's AGM on Sunday. "Our sport is sick. It is losing its leadership as a global sport.

"We mustn't be confused by the impact of Real Madrid's European Cup run when we were involved in seven games of the highest intensity and interest.

"That was the result of the draw, and of the quality and greatness of our team. It was a spectacle that helped bring excitement back to the viewers.

"That's why we believe European competitions must change, to offer fans top-level games year-round between the strongest teams, with the best players competing."

The 75-year-old also cited tennis, where the recently retired Roger Federer has regularly faced fellow elite players Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

"In tennis, Nadal and Federer have played 40 times in 15 years. Nadal and Djokovic have played 59 matches in 16 years," Perez added, quoted by ESPN.

"In football, we've only played Liverpool nine times in 67 years. We've played Chelsea four times in the history of the European Cup. What sense does it make to deprive fans of all these games?"

Perez also spoke of a recent ranking from Forbes of the world's 50 most valuable sports teams, which had Madrid down in 13th, below several US sports teams.

"We were top in all sports, and now we've fallen to 13th," he said. "We've been overtaken by 12 clubs from American sports. They must be doing something very well in the United States and very badly in Europe.

"Football is losing the global entertainment battle against other sports and other platforms.

"We need a professional, modern, transparent management, not based on old structures designed in the last century. 

"Recently the chairman of the European Clubs' Association [Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi] said – talking about the Super League – that Real Madrid are afraid of the competition. Maybe the president of the ECA has to be reminded who Real Madrid are. Competition is in our DNA."

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois faces a spell on the sidelines after suffering an injury with Belgium during the international break.

The 30-year-old completed 90 minutes as Belgium lost 1-0 to the Netherlands in last Sunday's Nations League clash, but appeared to be in some discomfort during the game.

Madrid host Osasuna in LaLiga on Sunday as they return to action after the last international break before November's World Cup, but will be without their star goalkeeper.

The Spanish and European champions released a statement ahead of the clash with Osasuna stating Courtois had suffered a hernia issue.

However, Carlo Ancelotti's side did not confirm how long the back injury will keep Courtois on the sidelines as Madrid await results from scans on the former Chelsea man.

Courtois remains the only player to have played every minute of the season so far for Madrid, who are undefeated this campaign, but that run will end with Andriy Lunin expected to replace him.

Pep Guardiola left Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte on the bench for Manchester City's clash with Manchester United, while Rodri missed out altogether for the Premier League champions with injury.

City manager Guardiola made three changes for the first Manchester derby of the season, with Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake operating at centre-back.

John Stones was another absentee due to a hamstring injury sustained on international duty, while Guardiola decided to name Dias among the substitutes as Kyle Walker came in at right-back.

Fitness issues for Rodri ruled the Spain international out of the clash at Etihad Stadium, with Ilkay Gundogan starting in midfield behind Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and the in-form Erling Haaland up top.

"It is an injury. Yesterday in the training session he felt something. It was a little more than a niggle in his leg so we did not want to take the risk," Guardiola told Sky Sports of Rodri's injury.

"It is an important role but a strength the biggest clubs have is that excuses don't exist. Nobody is second in the locker room."

Erik ten Hag made just one alteration to his side that defeated Sheriff last time out in the Europa League as Diogo Dalot replaced Cristiano Ronaldo, who dropped to the bench.

Casemiro was again forced to settle for a place among the substitutes, with United head coach Ten Hag opting for Scott McTominay and Christian Eriksen in midfield.

Marcus Rashford kept his place in the starting XI despite injury concerns over the international break, while Antony Martial was deemed fit enough to make the bench.

Johann Zarco says he was happy to give Francesco Bagnaia a helping hand in the MotoGP title race rather than push for a Thailand Grand Prix victory on Sunday.

Miguel Oliveira secured his second win of the season on a wet day in Buriram following a delayed start due to heavy rain, with Bagnaia third behind Jack Miller.

Zarco moved up to fourth as he thrived in drier conditions late in the race, but the Pramac Racing rider resisted the temptation to push for victory at the risk of damaging Bagnaia's title hopes.

With Fabio Quartararo only able to finish 17th, Ducati's Bagnaia reduced the defending champion's lead in the standings to only two points with three races to go.

Zarco said: "I was waiting for it to get drier, but it came a bit too late. The amount of water at the beginning of the race was difficult for me.

"The others had a bit more pace and I could not attack too much, I was sliding, so I've lost positions.

"Then it took time to get dry, if it could get dry a bit earlier I would have taken the advantage much earlier and could think about the victory.

"Four laps from the end I was there and two laps from the end almost fighting for the podium, but also hesitating a bit with Pecco as he is doing a great championship.

"I didn't want to make a mistake in the Ducati group. I was really hoping for victory today in these conditions, but I stayed fourth and it's good enough for me."

He added: "It's kind of being clever in the championship. I have lost too many points many races ago.

"I need to race to try to catch a victory, but I have nothing to fight for [in the championship battle], so that's why.

"We are a big group at Ducati, I think if we can sometimes give help in some way, I'm pretty glad the race has been like that."

Aleix Espargaro finished back in 11th and is 20 points adrift of Quartararo, while rookie Marco Bezzecchi crossed the line in 16th after starting on pole for the first time.

Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City will continue to be "perfect" when he leaves the club.

The 51-year-old is in the final year of his current deal and has refused to be drawn on questions around his future beyond this season.

Guardiola has had a successful spell at City since arriving in 2016, winning four Premier League titles, four EFL Cups and an FA Cup.

Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the derby against Manchester United on Sunday, the City boss said he is just focused on his immediate duties, but did say he has no concerns about the club's prospects even when he does finally depart.

"I would say my future is lunchtime because I'm starving. I didn't have breakfast," he initially joked.

"When I started to be a manager I think 'next month, next week' but for years [now] I think 'what a waste of energy' thinking what's going to happen next season.

"I want to enjoy the preparation for United, be part of another derby, try to beat them... three days later we have another Champions League game, we prepare for that one, this is my job.

"The moment happens with the club [when] we are going to decide but as I said in the press conference, if I stay here, perfect, if I don't stay here, the club will be perfect too because I know how strong they are and how good [their decisions are]."

Guardiola will go head-to-head against his former Bayern Munich colleague Erik ten Hag at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, with the Dutchman having coached the club's second team when Guardiola was in charge of the first team in Bavaria.

The former Barcelona head coach said he was happy to see people like Ten Hag and new Brighton and Hove Albion boss Roberto De Zerbi in the Premier League as he is a fan of their approaches.

"[When Ten Hag was at Ajax] what he has done speaks for itself," he said. "Of course, Ajax always demand so I think this approach, positivity... honestly I'm so happy that he's here in England.

"I like it when, for example, Roberto De Zerbi is now in Brighton, I like managers that have this spirit to be positive and it doesn't matter [who] the opponent [is], if you are stronger or weaker, 'I go and try to do my game'.

"When you have two teams, both have to adjust a little bit to the other one in a way, but [when you] say to your players 'be ourselves to do it', the football game is always nice."

Fabio Quartararo endured a Thailand Grand Prix nightmare as Miguel Oliveira secured his second victory of the season on a wet Sunday in Buriram.

Quartararo's lead over Francesco Bagnaia in the battle for the MotoGP title is down to only two points with three races to go after the reigning champion could only finish 17th.

Bagnaia had been 18 points adrift of the championship leader after crashing out on the final lap in Japan last weekend, but reduced the deficit by taking third place at the Chang International Circuit, where Aleix Espargaro finished back in 11th

Oliveira secured a brilliant win after starting back in 11th, with Jack Miller second and Bagnaia holding on for the final podium spot under pressure from Johann Zarco and Marc Marquez.

Rookie Marco Bezzecchi retained his lead following a delayed start due to heavy rain, but had to drop into second behind Miller as punishment for exceeding track limits at Turn 1.

Quartararo plummeted from fourth to 17th on the opening lap, with title rival Bagnaia briefly in second before Miller passed him.

Espargaro made contact with Brad Binder early in another exhilarating race, with Luca Marini sliding off into the gravel and Oliveira moving into second spot as the track dried out.

Marquez surged into fourth place as Quartararo continued to struggle, while Espargaro's title hopes suffered another blow when he was given a long-lap penalty for his clash with Binder.

Oliveira powered past Miller to take the lead 11 laps from the finish and there was no catching the Red Bull KTM rider, as he won for the first time since the second round of the season in Indonesia.

TOP 10

1. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) 41:44.503
2. Jack Miller (Ducati) +0.703
3. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) +1.968
4. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +2.490
5. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) +2.958
6. Enea Bastianini (Gresini) +13.257
7. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) +14.566
8. Alex Marquez (LCR Honda) +14.861
9. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) +15.365
10. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) +18.097

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Riders

1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 219
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 217
3. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) 199
4. Enea Bastianini (Gresini) 180
5. Jack Miller (Ducati) 179

Teams

1. Ducati 398
2. Aprilia Racing 321
3. Red Bull KTM 285
4. Pramac Racing 278
5. Monster Energy Yamaha 250

Center Steven Adams has signed a multi-year extension with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Though terms were not officially disclosed when the agreement was announced on Saturday, a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN stated it to be a two-year, $25.2million deal.

The 29-year-old New Zealander has altered his role in recent years, having previously averaged 13.9 points per game in consecutive seasons for the Oklahoma City Thunder between 2017 and 2019.

Last season, he averaged just 6.9 points for the Grizzlies, but had his best campaign ever for both rebounds (10.0 per game) and assists (3.4 per game).

In fact, his 349 total offensive rebounds and 4.6 offensive rebounds per game were the best numbers in the league, breaking the single-season franchise records set by Zach Randolph during the 2009-10 season.

The Grizzlies begin the 2022-23 season at home to the New York Knicks on October 19.

Yoshihito Nishioka produced an impressive display to shock Denis Shapovalov in the Korea Open final and win his first ATP Tour title in four years.

The Japanese player earned a 6-4 7-6 (7-5) triumph in a competitive contest against fourth seed Shapovalov on Sunday that lasted just under two hours.

Victory gave Nishioka his first trophy since the Shenzhen Open in 2018 and capped a memorable week that also saw him defeat top seed Casper Ruud at the ATP 250 event in Seoul.

Nishioka took a big step towards the second title of his career by breaking Shapovalov at a crucial moment when he was 5-4 up in the opener, both players having earlier saved break points.

His Canadian opponent was in the ascendancy after claiming an early break in the second set but Nishioka fought back from 3-1 down to force a tie-break and then won four of the first five points in the breaker.

Despite Shapovalov reducing the deficit, he was consigned to defeat when he sent a forehand wide, Nishioka dropping to his knees in delight after converting his second match point.

Shapovalov, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year, has now lost in four consecutive ATP final appearances and still has just one career title to his name.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.