In many ways, patience isn't a virtue we can truthfully say is embraced in modern football, whether that's with respect to managers or players.
When someone's level dips, people – or specifically social media trolls – are quick to brandish them "frauds" or "finished" like rabid animals sated by black-or-white so-called "hot takes".
If there's one player on the planet who deserves that patience, it's surely Lionel Messi. But so accustomed has the world become to his usually incomparable excellence that any opportunity to humanise him with blinkered criticism was going to be gobbled up by those who are – bizarrely – so eager for him to fail.
While that's not to say Messi is above criticism, and there have certainly been times this season when questions were fairly asked of his performances, we have to keep in mind a host of extenuating circumstances.
For one, a 34-year-old not being quite as good as he was at 30 is perfectly normal. Then you have to consider he had no pre-season, had major upheaval in his life with the move from Barcelona and then struggled with fitness in the early weeks of the season.
But ahead of a Champions League last-16 second-leg trip to his old nemeses, Real Madrid, Messi appears in fine shape and will no doubt be eager to end his 695-minute goalless run against Los Blancos.
So, if he has been effective lately, what does the criticism of him relate to? And is Messi truly on a downward spiral?
The elephant in the room
Let's get this out of the way nice and early. Yes, it's unequivocal that Messi's output in front of goal is not what we're used to seeing from him.
He has scored just twice in Ligue 1 this season, which admittedly is absurd when you consider he's not failed to reach double figures for league goals since 2005-06 when he netted six times in 17 games.
But let's not forget, for the majority of his Barcelona career, their teams were built around him and, perhaps most importantly, many of those sides were exceptional. Are PSG?
Messi is unquestionably proving wasteful in front of goal, with this the first season since Opta began collecting expected goals (xG) data (2010-11) that he has underperformed in relation to that metric.
So far across all competitions in 2021-22, Messi averages 0.44 non-penalty (np) xG every 90 minutes, but his actual np goals output is 0.23.
There's no argument here – Messi should be scoring more than he has based on the quality of the chances that have fallen his way, but by no means does that mean he's been a liability.
Still creator in chief
While Messi may not be posting the kind of figures in front of goal that we are used to seeing from him, it's worth highlighting how he remains a key contributor on the creative side for PSG.
In fact, if he maintains his 2.65 chances created every 90 minutes (all competitions) for the remainder of the season, it will be his third-most productive campaign ever in that regard.
There is plenty of value in the chances he's creating as well. On a per-90 basis, Messi's expected assists (xA) is 0.38 this season, only a slight reduction on the past two seasons (0.43 and 0.42) when, let's remember, he was playing in a Barca team built entirely around him.
As such, his haul of 10 assists in Ligue 1 has him level at the top of the chart with Kylian Mbappe despite playing 698 fewer minutes than his team-mate.
Further to that, he continues to play an influential role in PSG's build-up play as well and has been particularly effective in recent weeks.
Since February 1, Messi (7.7) comes second to Mbappe (9.2) for the most shot-ending sequence involvements in Ligue 1 (minimum 180 minutes played). But when you only consider passages where they have not had the shot, Messi (6.4) is only behind Marco Verratti (7.0), demonstrating just how involved he is in their general build-up play.
Working in Mbappe's shadow
Mbappe has, of course, been at the fore of PSG's Ligue 1 title surge and progress in the Champions League. With 38 goals involvements, at a rate of one every 74.5 minutes, it's fair to say he has been the one consistently lethal weapon in their star-studded attacking arsenal.
Neymar has been in and out of the team this season due to injury, while Messi's issues we have already gone over. Clearly, if PSG are successful at home – seemingly a certainty – and in Europe, Mbappe, the scorer of their excellent winner in the first leg against Madrid, will have been the catalyst.
But we shouldn't gloss over what Messi has contributed.
His record of 0.82 expected goal involvements per 90 minutes (all comps) is only marginally lower than Mbappe's (0.87). For the latter, this looks like to be his finest individual campaign to date – yet Messi, criticised by some for a perceived lack of output, is operating at a similar level of effectiveness.
Of course, the difference is that Mbappe is proving far more clinical in those goalscoring opportunities, but don't forget it was only last season that Messi scored 38 times in a fading Barca side. That ability doesn't vanish overnight.
It would be far fairer to judge him next season when he will presumably have a proper pre-season under his belt.
Patience. If anyone should be afforded the benefit of the doubt during a settling-in period, it's Messi.
Gregg Popovich did not answer a single question on his record-tying 1,335th NBA win in his post-game news conference – and Jakob Poeltl revealed there was no discussion of the achievement in the San Antonio Spurs locker room either.
Popovich, in his 26th season with the Spurs, oversaw a 117-110 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers to move level with Don Nelson's all-time benchmark.
But the five-time champion and three-time Coach of the Year reserved no time for reflection on that feat in a short chat with the media.
Popovich preferred instead to discuss the Spurs' poor free-throw shooting, their "sloppy" first half and a strong defensive showing.
And Poeltl suggested it was a similar story in private, with the center – who had 18 points – expecting the 73-year-old to remain humble when he moves past Nelson with his next win.
"You guys know Pop," Poeltl said. "I don't think he really cares about stuff like that.
"It didn't even really get mentioned. I doubt it will get mentioned when we get the next win. It's just how he is."
It was left to Lakers coach Frank Vogel to salute his opposite number's accomplishment then.
"[I have] incredible respect for who he is as a coach," Vogel said. "We all, younger coaches, look up to him and admire him and respect what he's done and what he means to our game.
"I'm certainly happy for him. I wish it wasn't against us, but Pop's the best."
Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rovers believes Ben Simmons deserves a tribute when the Brooklyn Nets visit on Thursday.
Simmons left the 76ers acrimoniously with a trade to the Nets after more than five years with Philadelphia.
The 25-year-old point guard endured a difficult 2021 playoffs leading to a fallout with the 76ers, demanding a trade and sitting out the first half of the season before the Nets move materialised.
Simmons and 76ers center Joel Embiid fell out too, ramping up the tensions with the latter posting a cryptic Twitter update upon Simmons' exit last month.
“I do actually,” Rivers said when asked if Simmons deserved a tribute video upon his return. “Ben did a lot of good things here.
"It didn’t end well, right? Just like marriages and all kinds of other things that don’t end well but Ben did a lot of good things here.
"It’s funny, I don’t know if we are or not, but if we did, I’d have no issues with it.”
Simmons won the 2018 Rookie of the Year, had been a three-time All-Star and two-time NBA All-Defensive First Team member with the 76ers reaching the playoffs in all four of his seasons with the side.
The Australian is yet to debut for the Nets and unlikely to play on Thursday as he builds up his conditioning having not played all season at the 76ers but may attend the game with the team.
Rivers sarcastically added: "Our fans are so silent so I can't imagine anything happening."
Meanwhile, James Harden shrugged off any talk of nerves ahead of the match-up where he will face his former Nets teammates for the first time since last month's trade with Simmons.
"I'm not nervous, it's basketball," Harden told reporters after Monday's 121-106 win over the Chicago Bulls. "I've put the work in to just play my game and live with the results.
"Honestly every game is a big game for us. We're fairly new, we've got championship aspirations so every game is a learning process for us no matter who we're playing."
If you want an underdog story in the Champions League last 16, then Tuesday's action should not disappoint.
Salzburg are likely to have the support of most neutrals when they visit heavyweights Bayern Munich in the second leg of their tie, having drawn the first leg 1-1 in Austria.
Inter are less used to being the team trying to spring the upset, but their task is a much taller one against a Liverpool side holding a 2-0 lead from the game in Milan.
And as the Opta data reveals, neither Salzburg nor Inter have much statistical reason for hope of progression.
Bayern Munich v Salzburg
Bayern staved off a surprise defeat in the first leg thanks to Kingsley Coman's late equaliser, and history is firmly on their side in the return match.
Indeed, Bayern have won all five of their games in European competition when hosting an Austrian opponent, scoring 15 goals and only conceding three in return. They have also progressed from five of their previous seven Champions League knockout ties when drawing away from home in the first leg.
Should Salzburg do what is considered close to the impossible and prevail at the Allianz Arena, they will end a long wait for Austrian sides in Europe's top competition. They are looking to become the first Austrian side to progress beyond the last 16 in the European Cup/Champions League since Austria Wien in the 1984-85 campaign.
Salzburg are, however, winless away from home in the Champions League this season (D1 L2) and have only won once away from home in the competition across the last two campaigns (D1 L4) – a 3-1 victory at Lokomotiv Moscow in December 2020.
Bayern talisman Robert Lewandowski was kept abnormally quiet in the first leg. He did not attempt any of Bayern's 22 shots, marking the first time in his career he has not recorded a shot attempt in consecutive Champions League appearances (77 minutes played v Barcelona and 90 minutes v Salzburg – zero shots).
Keeping Lewandowski under wraps for a third successive game in the competition seems highly unlikely, but Salzburg will almost certainly need to do so if they are to defy the odds.
Liverpool v Inter
Jurgen Klopp was keen to reject any talk of Liverpool being in a comfortable position in this tie following a 2-0 win at San Siro.
But all the signs are against Inter pulling off a turnaround at Anfield. Only one team in Champions League history has lost the first leg of a knockout stage tie by two or more goals at home and still gone on to progress, with Manchester United doing so against Paris Saint-Germain in the 2018-19 last 16 (0-2 at home, 3-1 away).
Inter's record in England does not inspire optimism. The Nerazzurri have lost four of their previous five away games against English sides in the Champions League (W1), although their victory in this run did come the last time one of these fixtures came in the knockout stages of the competition – 1-0 v Chelsea in the last 16 in 2009-10; a season in which they went on to lift the trophy.
If they are to turn the tie on its head, then Edin Dzeko may be the man to provide the goals. He has scored in three of his last four starts at Anfield across all competitions, including the most recent two.
The Bosnia-Herzegovina forward has not finished on the winning side in any of these three games, however, drawing 2-2 in 2012 and losing 2-1 in 2015 with Manchester City and losing 5-2 with Roma in 2018.
And as they discovered in the first leg, Inter will be coming up against one of Europe's stiffest defences. Since the start of the 2017-18 season, Liverpool have kept more clean sheets in Champions League home games than any other team (15 in 24 games). In fact, among teams who have played more than 10 home matches in the competition in this period, their clean sheet percentage of 63 per cent is also the best of any side.
All-Star Draymond Green has revealed he is targeting a return to the NBA next week after being sidelined since January with a lower back injury.
Green has not played for the Golden State Warriors since January 9, with the side struggling recently, losing nine of their past 11 games.
The 32-year-old four-time All-Star revealed that he was hoping to play next week when the Warriors face the Washington Wizards.
"Next Monday, the 14th, against the Wizards. That is the date I am targeting," Green said on his podcast 'The Draymond Green Show'.
"I am excited as hell. It's been two and a half months, almost ... I have never missed that much time during the season ... this is something different for me. I am extremely excited to get back out there with my guys to try right this ship."
Green was absent as the Warriors lost 131-124 to the Denver Nuggets on Monday, marking their fifth straight defeat.
The game was a catch-up fixture rearranged from December 30 due to COVID-19, which left Warriors head coach Steve Kerr frustrated, particularly with another game on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers.
"It puts us in a way tougher spot than them," Kerr told reporters pre-game. "We had to fly here again. They didn't have to make an extra trip.
"They've got to play a back-to-back, I know. This was just another in many, many games rescheduled around the league that are inconvenient for everybody, but necessary to keep the league going, so you just do what you have to do."
On Green's progress, Kerr added: "He's had about a week, week and a half of being on the court almost every day, getting a lot of shots up, scrimmaging. He's feeling a lot better and coming along."
The Philadelphia 76ers maintained their perfect record with James Harden in the side with a 121-106 win over the slumping Chicago Bulls on Monday.
Joel Embiid scored 43 points with 14 rebounds while Harden had 16 points, eight rebounds and 14 assists as the 76ers made it six wins from their past seven games.
The 76ers are also 5-0 with Harden in the side, while the Bulls have lost their past five games.
Embiid recorded his 10th 40-plus point game this season, along with his 10th game this season with 40 or more points and 10 or more rebounds. The 76ers center also had his fourth quarter for the season with at least 15 points and five rebounds, which is an NBA high.
For the Bulls, All-Star DeMar DeRozan had 23 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, while Zach LaVine added 24 points.
Jokic records 18th triple-double
Nikola Jokic backed up Sunday's 46-point haul with another triple-double as the Denver Nuggets defeated the short-handed Golden State Warriors 131-124. Jokic had his 18th triple-double of the season by three-quarter time and finished with 32 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists. The Warriors, who rested Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins in the catch-up game, have lost nine of their past 11 games.
Luka Doncic scored 35 points, with 16 rebounds and seven assists in a tense game, where the All-Star received a technical foul, as the Dallas Mavericks won 111-103 over the Utah Jazz. Doncic's game marked his third this season where he has scored 35 or more points and 15 or more rebounds, with Oscar Robertson the only other guard to achieve the feat in a single season.
Victor Oladipo returned for the first time since April last year for the Miami Heat scoring 11 points in 15 minutes as they beat the Houston Rockets 123-106, while top draft pick Cade Cunningham (28 points and 10 assists) lifted the Detroit Pistons to an over-time win over the Atlanta Hawks 113-110.
Spurs equals record as Lakers slump
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich tied Don Nelson's all-time NBA record for most coaching wins (1,335) as they won 117-110 over the Los Angeles Lakers without LeBron James. Russell Westbrook struggled in James' absence, with 17 points shooting five-of-14 from the field with five turnovers.
Naomi Osaka has been handed a difficult first round draw against 2017 US Open winner Sloane Stephens upon her return to the WTA Tour at Indian Wells which starts on Wednesday.
Four-time major winner Osaka has not played competitively since her 2022 Australian Open third-round exit to Amanda Anisimova in January.
The Japanese, whose ranking has dropped to 78th, had been handed a wild card for Indian Wells but was upgraded to the main draw after Camila Giorgi's withdrawal.
The Indian Wells draw was made on Monday with Osaka to face Stephens who won her first WTA title since 2018 with last month's Abierto Zapopan crown.
The top seeds all have been waived through to the second round with top seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Aryna Sabalenka book-ending the draw.
Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Alexander Zverev has been issued a suspended eight-week ban and $25,000 fine by the ATP following his expulsion from last month's Mexico Open in Acapulco.
Zverev was withdrawn from the Acapulco event after an extraordinary outburst during a doubles match where he became angered at a call made the umpire, who overruled a decision from the line judge.
After losing the next point, which was match point, Zverev smashed his racquet against the umpire's chair three times. Zverev then shouted at the umpire that he had "destroyed the whole f****** match" before striking the chair again.
The ATP subsequently withdrew Zverev from the singles draw of the event due to unsportsmanlike conduct at the time and issued a statement on Monday after a review detailing the sanctions, including a suspended eight-week ban for aggravated behaviour.
"The review determined that Zverev committed Aggravated Behaviour under the Player Major Offense section of ATP Rules," the ATP statement said.
"As a result, Zverev has been issued an additional fine of US$25,000 and a suspension for a period of eight weeks from any ATP-sanctioned event.
"However, the fine and suspension are withheld on the condition that, over a probation period ending 22 February 2023 (one year from the incident), the player does not incur a further Code Violation that results in a fine for unsportsmanlike conduct… and verbal or physical abuse."
The German had been fined $40,000 at the time as well as forfeiting full event prize money of $31,570 and all ATP rankings points from the Mexico Open. He has since apologised for his actions.
Tottenham manager Antonio Conte says qualifying for the Champions League would be like winning the Premier League title for Spurs.
The former Chelsea and Inter boss took over at Spurs in November but has been forthright in his scathing assessment of the club's situation which he said surprised him.
Conte became the first Spurs manager to go unbeaten in his first eight games in charge but progress has stalled after an underwhelming January transfer window.
The Italian had previously remarked that Tottenham had a "one per cent possibility to finish fourth" but Monday's 5-0 win over Everton saw Spurs draw level on 45 points with sixth-placed West Ham United and sit three points behind fourth-placed Arsenal.
"You know I don't like to speak about ambition and reaching a place in the Champions League because I like to play to win the league and win trophies, but in this situation this could be our Champions League, our Premier League title if we are able to reach fourth place," Conte said at the post-game news conference.
He added: "Now we have 12 games to play until the end of the season,' he said. 'I listen and you ask me in every press conference about the top-four race.
"I said to my players that it's right to take responsibility about this because I think that from when I arrived to now we are stronger.
"In January two players made us more complete. I think that we can fight. We can fight for this target. It's important to have this ambition and it's not right to hide our ambition and we'll see what happens.
"We'll try to do everything and at the end we'll see what happens. Now we have only 12 games to play, not a trophy to play for. For this reason it's right to take the responsibility, me, myself, I have to be the first."
Conte's side have won three of their past four Premier League games, including winning 3-2 at leaders and champions Manchester City. The Italian told Sky Sports after the game his expectations have elevated.
LeBron James has been ruled out of the Los Angeles Lakers' game with the San Antonio Spurs on Monday due to "significant" knee soreness.
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel revealed the news prior to tip-off with James battling soreness in his knee following Saturday's 56-point display in the 124-116 win over the Golden State Warriors.
Vogel said the issue was ongoing and part of the 37-year-old's game-to-game management.
"He had some soreness in the knee the day after the game that [normally] subsides by the next game," Vogel told reporters pre-game.
"When we got here [San Antonio] the soreness today was still significant enough for us to rule him out."
The Lakers are struggling with a 28-35 record seeing them sit ninth in the Western Conference but James has been exceptional this season.
The 2003 number one Draft pick is averaging 29.4 points per game this season, behind only Joel Embiid with 29.5.
James, who is also averaging 8.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists this season, has the fourth highest league-wide minutes per game this season with 36.8.
"With the heavy load that he's carrying for us this year, we know that's [games out] always a possibility," Vogel said.
"That's why we continue to list him as questionable to see how it responds in the 48 hours between games. This is just one of those days where it was significant enough to hold him out."
Vogel said he was "hopeful" the four-time NBA MVP would be fit to play the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have confirmed All-Star center Jarrett Allen will be sidelined indefinitely after being diagnosed with a left middle finger fracture.
Allen suffered the injury in Sunday's 104-96 win over the Toronto Raptors that improved the Cavs' record to 37-27.
The 23-year-old only played 10 minutes, scoring six points with two rebounds, before sustaining a quad injury that forced him out of the game, with the finger issue later emerging.
"A CT scan administered today at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health revealed a fracture and he will undergo additional evaluation and treatment," the Cavs said in a statement on Monday.
"No timetable has been set for his return to basketball activities and his status will be updated as appropriate."
Allen has been a key part of the Cavs' surprise playoffs push, averaging 16.1 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks this season.
The Cavs are already missing Collin Sexton (knee), Caris LeVert (foot) and Rajon Rondo who was signed after Ricky Rubio's season-ending ACL injury.
Allen got his maiden All-Star call-up this season as a replacement for the injured James Harden.
The NFL has informed its teams that the salary cap will be set at $208.2 million per franchise for the 2022 season, according to reports.
This is up from last season's cap of $182.5m by $25.7m, and matches up with previous projections from December.
The league's cap had dropped from $198.2m for the 2020 season as a result of COVID-19 implications as teams played in front of limited or no crowds, but will now raise beyond $200m for the first time ever.
The NFL Network reported the figure on Monday, and is the maximum amount agreed upon by the NFL and NFL Players Association in May last year.
Everton boss Frank Lampard took few positives from the humiliating defeat at Tottenham, but stressed he is ready for the challenge of a relegation battle.
Harry Kane scored twice as Spurs ran riot in north London, winning 5-0 to condemn Everton to their 14th defeat in their last 18 Premier League games.
Everton sit 17th on 22 points with 13 games remaining. It is their lowest points tally at this stage of a top-flight season in the club's history.
While Lampard was not able to take anything upbeat from his team's display on Monday, he emphasised the importance of staying united and positive heading into crucial home games against Wolves and Newcastle United. Indeed, Everton need to make the most of their home matches, considering they are now winless in 11 successive away games in the league.
"We have to think of the bigger picture, [there are] 13 games to go, for us, eight of those at home," Lampard told Sky Sports. "Teams around us are having difficulties but that's where we're at.
"Before I came in there were issues and they are becoming clearer, but it's important the positivity stays, but not stupid positivity, there's nothing positive about tonight apart from maybe Anthony Gordon.
"I have no problem with the challenge, I knew what it was, the general feeling has been very good and we can't lose that because people will throw things at us for one bad game.
"I had 20 years as a player. I had 50, 100 periods like this. Everything is relative. It is important you stick together and work hard.
"I am confident, [but] that doesn't mean anything. I didn't walk into the building with a magic wand.
"The feeling at this club when I came here was we could be going down, it was clear around the club and city, it was up to me to change that and I thought we had changed that, but this is a test of that.
"I can't wait for the next two games at Goodison. I will be ready for them, the players will be ready for them, they have to be ready for them."
Everton's main issues came in defence, with Michael Keane and Seamus Coleman particularly poor. However, they failed to create a meaningful chance or have a shot on target, finishing the match with an expected goals (xG) of 0.26.
Harry Kane was delighted with his own performance after surpassing Thierry Henry's Premier League goals tally as Tottenham thrashed Everton 5-0 on Monday.
Kane netted twice in a dominant Spurs win to overtake the Arsenal legend's total of 175 Premier League strikes, volleying home his 176th in the competition shortly before the hour against a dire Toffees team.
After beating Leeds United 4-0 in their last outing, Spurs have scored four or more goals in consecutive league games for the first time since December 2018, and their haul of nine goals in their last two top-flight games equals the tally they managed across their previous seven.
The Spurs captain, who has registered 11 goal involvements in his last 12 league games (nine goals and two assists), was delighted with his double after Antonio Conte's men sealed a dominant win.
"No game in the Premier League is easy," the 28-year-old told Sky Sports. "Credit to how we set up and [how] we punished them on the break.
"All in all, [it was] a really good Monday night.
"It is all about getting those chances and I am always confident I am going to hit the target. I always try and keep the ball low. Hard work and practice, it is no secret.
"Over the last few years, my game has changed a bit in terms of dropping into the pockets. I played as a number 10 in the youth team, as teams and managers change, you have to adapt your game."
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