Celtic's clash with Rangers on January 2 has been postponed by a month after Scottish Premiership clubs voted in favour of bringing forward the mid-season break.

Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon announced on Tuesday that all outdoor events in the country would be limited to 500 spectators for at least three weeks from December 26 amid a rise in coronavirus cases.

That would have meant the first Old Firm derby of 2022 practically being held behind closed doors, but there is hope that restrictions will be eased – or entirely lifted – by the time the Glasgow rivals meet in the rescheduled fixture on February 2.

Scottish Premierships teams will now start their three-week break after the Boxing Day round of fixtures, rather than on January 3, and the league will resume on January 17.

Games that were due to be played on December 29 and January 2-3, which also includes the Edinburgh and Dundee derbies, have been moved to January 17-18 and February 1-2 respectively.

Neil Doncaster, SPFL chief executive, said in a statement released on Wednesday: "We have had intense and positive discussions with all cinch SPFL clubs over the past 24 hours, since the announcement by the Scottish government of a three-week period of restrictions on fans attending matches. 

"We have advised our clubs that any postponements increase the risk of further disruption to an already highly congested fixture calendar.

"There are mixed views amongst cinch Premiership clubs about what to do for the best. However, a majority favour the postponement of fixtures to give a chance for games scheduled to be played over the festive period to be played in front of fans, once the three-week period of restrictions comes to an end. 

"The SPFL Board has agreed to postpone the 29 December and New Year Premiership fixture cards.

"Championship, League 1 and League 2 clubs voted to continue playing through the government restrictions and we look forward to their festive fixtures over the next fortnight.

"We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Sky Sports and Police Scotland for their flexibility in accommodating these changes and to all cinch SPFL clubs for their clear, positive and constructive feedback as we work together to get through the challenges posed by COVID-19."

Atletico Madrid suffered their fourth successive LaLiga defeat as Granada came from behind to defeat the reigning champions 2-1.

Joao Felix put Diego Simeone's side ahead after just two minutes at Nuevo Los Carmenes, but it was another outing to forget for the visitors.

Atletico were pegged back 15 minutes later by Darwin Machis’ wonderful individual effort, while the in-form Jorge Molina completed the turnaround just after the hour mark.

That gave Granada their first ever win over Atletico, while stretching their unbeaten run to five matches.

Seeking a fourth straight win in this fixture, Simeone's men made an excellent start in Andalusia. 

Joao Felix received the ball just inside the hosts' half and skipped away from German Sanchez and Raul Torrente, before pulling a low drive beyond the reach of Luis Maximiano for only his second league goal of the season.

However, Granada responded well and equalised in emphatic fashion. Picking up the ball on the left wing after a sweeping move, Marchis cut inside before bending a stunning 25-yard effort into the far corner.

That means the visitors have now failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last 14 matches away from Wanda Metropolitano.

Joao Felix thought he had put Atletico back in front just before the break, but his header was chalked off for an alleged foul in the build-up.

The Portugal international then saw a vicious 20-yard drive crash against the post on the hour mark before Granada forged ahead from the subsequent counter-attack.

Molina was unmarked to turn home Colombian Luis Suarez's centre and, although the finish was initially ruled out for offside, the striker was eventually awarded his fifth goal in three games following a consultation with VAR.

Substitutes Angel Correa and Matheus Cunha squandered great chances late on for Atletico, who slipped to yet another defeat.

Inter consolidated their position at the top of Serie A with a slightly scrappy 1-0 win over Torino in their final match of 2021.

This has been a year to remember for the Nerazzurri, ending an 11-year wait for the title under Antonio Conte, but Simone Inzaghi may yet ensure the coming 12 months are equally exciting.

While Inter will surely have to be better than they were against Torino to retain their crown, another Denzel Dumfries goal was enough to secure the three points.

Victory took Inter seven clear at the summit ahead of matches later on Wednesday for challengers Napoli and Milan, able to put their feet up over the festive period before returning to a potentially season-defining sequence of fixtures.

Torino had been encouraged by a laboured Inter start but allowed the champions to break on the half-hour mark and Nerazzurri shirts flooded forward.

Edin Dzeko's square pass from the left evaded Marcelo Brozovic, only to run instead for Dumfries to aim into the bottom-left corner via the post.

Pressure from Ola Aina forced Lautaro Martinez to stab wide when he looked to have the beating of Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, and the inability to add to that lead before half-time ensured a slightly nervy final 45 minutes.

Torino's best effort saw Sasa Lukic's low free-kick parried away, though, as Inter did just enough to end the year on a high, even missing a chance for a second as Alexis Sanchez struck the post.

What does it mean? Stuttering Inter stay on track

Inter had won their previous four games against Torino and scored at least twice in each of them, aiming to extend that run to five matches for the first time in this fixture.

Inzaghi's men were far from convincing, though, only marginally outshooting Torino 14 to 12. Even the narrow margin of victory was scarcely deserved.

Free-scoring champs falter...

Having become the first team since Milan in 1950 to pass 100 Serie A goals in a calendar year last time out, more was expected of Inter than they showed here.

Neither Dzeko nor Martinez were able to aim a single shot on target, with the latter's run of netting in four straight games against Torino ended.

But Denzel delivers

Signed to replace Achraf Hakimi at the start of the season, Dumfries has really come into his own in December. After three Serie A starts up until the beginning of the month, the Netherlands international has since been named in the XI on a further five occasions.

And Dumfries has repaid Inzaghi's faith by scoring his first three Serie A goals, including this crucial winner.

What's next?

Inter face some huge fixtures in the new year but start 2022 at Bologna on January 6. Torino go to Atalanta on the same day.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe is capable of continuing his goalscoring form long into his career similarly to Cristiano Ronaldo, regardless of where he is plying his trade from next season.

That is according to Louis Saha, who also told Stats Perform that he expects Lionel Messi to blow Ligue 1 opponents away once he regains full fitness in the new year.

Mbappe is into the final six months of his existing contract at the Parc des Princes and is free to sign a pre-contract agreement with clubs outside of Ligue 1 from January.

Real Madrid had two bids turned down for the France international in the previous transfer window and remain the strong favourites to land the superstar in 2022.

Mbappe has scored 15 goals and assisted 12 more in 24 outings in all competitions this term in a star-studded attack that also contains Messi and the currently injured Neymar.

Only Mohamed Salah (31) and Robert Lewandowski (33) have been directly involved in more goals than Mbappe this campaign among players from Europe's top five leagues.

And while glad to see Mbappe remain in Ligue 1 for the 2021-22 campaign, Saha understands that his compatriot has a big decision to make on his future in the coming weeks.

"The main thing for me was for him to stay at PSG this year," Saha said. "Whatever he does next year, for me, that was logical for football in general throughout the world. 

"We wanted to see this trio of Mbappe, Messi and Neymar. It's incredible to see and today he has his destiny in his hands. He's a player who is exploding and he's reaching more milestones."

Mbappe recently became the youngest player in Ligue 1 history to score 100 goals for a single team with his second of the game for PSG against former club Monaco.

Since making his debut for PSG in September 2017, the 23-year-old has averaged a goal every 104.63 minutes in all competitions.

That ranks Mbappe behind only four others among Europe's elite attackers over that period and marginally ahead of Ronaldo, who averages a goal every 105.8 minutes at club level.

With Ronaldo still scoring regularly as he approaches his 37th birthday, Saha has challenged Mbappe to hit similar heights.

"If he can match Ronaldo's 40 goals a year average from the age of 20, that's something we want to keep seeing from Kylian," Saha said.

"That is not to put pressure on him. Kylian quite simply has the potential to do that."

Mbappe's 27 direct goal involvements this season is substantially more than PSG's next biggest attacking threat, with Messi second on the list with six goals and four assists.

The record seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has scored just once in 10 Ligue 1 appearances from an expected goals (xG) return of 4.7.

To put that in some context, Mbappe's nine goals in the competition this term have come from an xG of 10.9.

But while Messi's PSG career has yet to truly take off, Saha can see that changing once the Barcelona legend gets some regular starts under his belt.

"You can already see players who are not necessarily in great shape like Messi – imagine when he starts to find his form again!" Saha said. "I don't know how teams will cope. 

"PSG are an extraordinary team. I prayed for Mbappe to stay at PSG to see these three exceptional players. Neymar's injury has delayed that, but they have an incredible team. 

"Don't be surprised to see them win the league by 20 or 25 points come the end of the season."

Mick Schumacher could follow his legendary father's footsteps and turn out for Ferrari in Formula One next season after agreeing a part-time role as their reserve driver.

Schumacher, 22, represented Haas in his debut F1 season this year and will do so again in 2022.

But the former Formula Two and Formula Three champion, whose father Michael won seven F1 titles, remains part of the Ferrari Driver Academy.

The Scuderia, where Michael earned five of his championships in consecutive seasons between 2000 and 2004, confirmed on Wednesday the remainder of their 2022 line-up alongside front-line drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

Antonio Giovinazzi remains Ferrari's reserve option, but he will be absent for 11 races due to his involvement in Formula E.

Should a back-up be required in any of the remaining grands prix, Schumacher would instead step in, with Haas turning to Pietro Fittipaldi, their own reserve.

Both Schumacher and Haas ended 2021 without a point, with his best finish 12th in Hungary, but Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto still sees a bright future for the son of a true great.

"He's a Ferrari driver, we should not forget that," Binotto said. "He has been part of our Ferrari Driver Academy.

"The reason we have the Ferrari Driver Academy is to identify the next Ferrari driver for the future.

"Being part of it, if you are doing well, no doubt you may have opportunities. He's had already one season in F1, which is important.

"Mick through the season did well; he improved himself not only in terms of consistency but as well in terms of speed.

"If you look at the last races, he was a lot closer to the cars ahead, and Haas didn't develop the car at all. The fact he was closer proved he had a good improvement on the speed itself."

Australian Open chief Craig Tiley wants Novak Djokovic to participate in Melbourne but will not ask the world number one to disclose any medical reason he has for being unvaccinated against COVID-19.

The first grand slam of 2022 begins on January 17, but it is unclear if reigning champion Djokovic will be competing.

The Serbian, a nine-time Australian Open winner, is yet to disclose his vaccination status.

Following guidance from the Victoria state government, all players, staff and spectators at Melbourne Park must have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus or hold a medical exemption.

Djokovic has been named on the list for the draw and is also due to represent Serbia at the ATP Cup in Sydney, which runs from January 1 to 9.

"If Novak shows up, he'll be vaccinated or have a medical exemption," Australian Open chief executive Tiley told the Australian Associated Press.

"If any player, fan [or] workforce is on site here, you're either vaccinated or you have a medical exemption that's approved and you're on the Australian Immunisation Register.

"That provides us with safety and an extra level of comfort on site.

"We want to have the best players here; I'd love to have Novak here. If he meets those conditions then great, if not, it's disappointing."

Tiley added he does not expect Djokovic to reveal any medical reason for which he may not have received the vaccine, should he receive a medical exemption to feature in the tournament.

"Medically, he doesn't talk to anyone about it. I'm not going to ask Novak that, it's none of my business," Tiley continued.

"[It's] his choice on his medical condition, it's his choice to keep personal and private like all of us would do with any condition we may or may not have. We are not going to force him or ask him to disclose that.

"[If he is here] I will know that he fulfils one of those conditions."

Rafael Nadal is set to play in Melbourne, though that is in doubt after the Spaniard tested positive for COVID-19 this week, following his appearance at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Dubai.

Tiley, however, believes Nadal will have recovered in time.

"I'm confident Rafa will be here," said Tiley. "Players that are testing positive now will complete a period of time until they are no longer infectious and they will be fine.

"If you are going to test positive and you want to play the Australian Open, your timing would be now."

Australia's Marnus Labuschagne has risen to number one in the ICC Test batting rankings.

Labuschagne made his Test debut for Australia in 2018 against Pakistan in Dubai. However, it was during the 2019 Ashes that the 27-year-old came to prominence.

He became the first player to be a concussion substitute in a Test match when he replaced Steve Smith in the second match at Lord's, after the former Australia captain had been struck on the back of the neck.

His resilient 59 helped Australia secure a draw and he was named in the line-up for the following Test and has not looked back since.

Labuschagne has averaged 62.14 from 20 Tests, and has scored 74, 0 (not out), 103 and 51 in his four innings in the 2021-22 Ashes as Australia cruised into a 2-0 lead.

He has hit six centuries, including one double-hundred against New Zealand in January 2020.

Labuschagne's career-high 912 rating points saw him leapfrog England captain Joe Root, who has had a brilliant 2021 when it comes to run-scoring, even if his side have struggled.

Indeed, Root has now scored 4,859 runs as England Test captain, surpassing the previous record set by Alastair Cook (4,844).

Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and India's new white-ball captain Rohit Sharma complete the top five.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam, meanwhile, has risen to the number one spot for T20I batsmen, though he is tied with England's Dawid Malan.

Mitchell Starc has bowled impressively in the Ashes so far and has moved into the top six for bowlers.

LeBron James is bullish that he will be fine for the Los Angeles Lakers' next game on Thursday despite an injury scare in Tuesday's 108-90 loss to the Phoenix Suns.

James went down writhing in pain in the third quarter after landing awkwardly on his left ankle when driving to the basket.

The 36-year-old, who has had ankle issues this season, punched the floor at the time, but eventually got up to play on, finishing with 34 points and seven rebounds.

The four-time MVP was benched late but was confident he would be fine to play the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday, brushing off questions about the ankle concern.

"I stepped on Jae Crowder's foot," James snapped at the post-game news conference when asked about what happened.

When pressed on the severity of the injury, he added: "Yeah, I'll be ready for the next game."

James clearly was not in a mood to discuss the concern as the Lakers' frustrating season continued, slipping to a 16-16 record after being dispatched by the Western Conference leaders.

The Suns and the Golden State Warriors continue to streak ahead in the west, boasting 25-5 and 25-6 records respectively.

"The Western Conference has got some really good teams right now, obviously Phoenix and Golden State are playing extremely good basketball," James added.

"For the majority of the season they've been extremely healthy. That definitely helps in terms of their chemistry."

The defeat comes with Anthony Davis sidelined with a knee injury for the next four weeks and leaves James uncertain about their status as genuine title contenders.

"I feel like that's a question I ask myself after every game," James said when asked if the Lakers were only good on paper rather than reality. "I don’t know, I don’t think so.

"We don’t know. We have no idea what this team could be. We haven’t been whole. February was the last time we played the same starting lineup or had the same rotation off the bench, it's been a long time so it's hard to assess that."

LeBron James hurt his ankle but played on as the Los Angeles Lakers were humbled by the in-form Phoenix Suns 108-88 led by Devin Booker with 24 points on Tuesday.

The Lakers had a major injury scare, with All-Star forward Anthony Davis already sidelined, after James rolled his left ankle driving to the basket in the third quarter, leaving him punching the floor.

The four-time MVP soldiered on, finishing with 34 points and seven rebounds, but spent the final few minutes on the bench as the Lakers were brushed aside by the Suns who improve to 25-5.

Phoenix have four straight and won six of their past seven games, having started the season 1-3. The Suns had seven different players in double figures on Tuesday.

Booker starred in his second game back after a hamstring injury with 24 points including six three-pointers, along with nine rebounds and seven assists. Suns center Deandre Ayton had 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Talen Horton-Tucker had a nightmare game for the Lakers, shooting one of 13 from the field and none of eight from beyond the arc, while Russell Westbrook had 22 points and 10 rebounds but also seven turnovers.

Lillard's heroics in vain as Blazers lose

Damian Lillard's 39 points, including six triples, were not enough to lift the Portland Trail Blazers past the New Orleans Pelicans, going down 111-97. Brandon Ingram finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, while Jonas Valanciunas had 10 points with 16 rebounds.

Jalen Brunson stepped up in Luka Doncic's absence with 28 points including three triples in the Dallas Mavericks' 114-102 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 26 points with 12 rebounds and seven assists for the Wolves.

Julius Randle had 21 points and 11 rebounds as the New York Knicks overcame the Detroit Pistons 105-91.

Brogdon injured as Pacers burnt by Heat

The Indiana Pacers' starting five combined for a measly 46 points in their 125-96 defeat to the Miami Heat. The Pacers were not helped by a sore right Achilles to Malcolm Brogdon which forced him off after eight minutes.

Veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will miss Milan's Serie A game with Empoli on Wednesday due to a knee injury.

Milan head coach Stefano Pioli confirmed the 40-year-old Swedish forward's absence along with Rafael Leao leaving him short of attacking options.

Ibrahimovic has netted seven league goals this term for Milan, who have only managed one point from their past two games, slipping four points behind leaders Inter in the league

"[Leao] won’t be there tomorrow, he’ll be back against Roma. Ibrahimovic won’t be there tomorrow because of an overload on his knee," Pioli told reporters.

Pioli was more positive about captain Alessio Romagnoli's prospects of playing, along with Theo Hernandez after illness amid an injury crisis at the club, without Simon Kjaer, Davide Calabria, Ante Rebic and Pietro Pellegri also out.

"Theo has become more complete, now he does the defensive phase better too," Pioli said.

"He gives us a lot on the attacking side. He’s better, I hope he’ll be in top condition tomorrow."

Pioli added that he paid little attention to the criticism levelled at his side lately, following Sunday's 1-0 home loss to Napoli who leapfrogged them into second spot.

"I read little, but some things are useful to improve," he said. "Against Napoli, Milan played a good match.

"We make mistakes that are not allowing us to get results, clearly we need to do something more. We need more quality."

Pioli added: "When results don’t come it’s right to be less calm, but also more determined.

"We have to think about tomorrow’s game, we want to get back on track after a home defeat. We wanted to score more points in the first half of the season than we did last year. It won’t be possible, but we want the three points tomorrow."

Milan have 39 points after 18 games, but have only collected eight points from their past seven league games.

Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic has tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of next month's Australian Open and is experiencing "severe" symptoms.

World number 23 Bencic returned a positive test, along with Ons Jabeur, after competing at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.

The pair are the third and fourth players to have tested positive after travelling to the Abu Dhabi event, following 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu and 20-time major winner Rafael Nadal.

Bencic wrote on Twitter: "Unfortunately and even though I am fully vaccinated, I recently tested positive for Covid-19.

"I am currently isolating and taking all precautionary [measures] to get through this as best as possible as I am experiencing quite severe symptoms (fever, aches, chills)."

The Mubadala World Tennis Championship typically serves as a warm-up event prior to the Australian Open which is due to begin on January 17 in Melbourne.

World number 10 Jabeur, who defeated Bencic in Abu Dhabi, is experiencing "strong symptoms" and isolating in her native Tunisia.

Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi is happy with the Nerazzurri's first half to the season but says you do not win trophies for being top at Christmas.

The Nerazzurri face Torino on Wednesday knowing that win, lose or draw they will sit top of the Serie A at Christmas, currently holding a four-point lead from Napoli and Milan who are both on 39 points.

Inzaghi took over at Inter following a challenging off-season for the champions with Antonio Conte exiting along with Romelu Lukaku but has steadied after a slow start yet he is motivated for more.

“It’s normal to be pleased at the moment," Inzaghi told Inter TV. "We’re thrilled to be top of the table heading into the winter break, but we know we don’t get any trophies for that.

"It’s a great feeling, but it should also spur us on to achieve more.

“We’re in good form. The players are all committed. We’re lucky enough to be working well together despite having so many fixtures to play.

"We’re doing well, but we know there’s still a long way to go. We’ve seen that over the first 18 games of the season the leaders have changed quickly."

Inter boasts an impressive record after 18 games, with 13 wins and only one defeat, having scored a league-high 48 goals despite Lukaku's off-season departure.

The Nerazzurri have won six in a row in the league and are undefeated in 10 games, dating back to October's 3-1 loss to Lazio.

Inzaghi's side have also qualified for the last-16 of the Champions League where they will face Liverpool.

"We’re on track in terms of what was asked of us, which was to get back into the last 16 in the Champions League and to be in the top four in the league, so we’re pleased," Inzaghi added.

"The players are working very hard and there’s motivation to keep going down this path, with all the many challenges that lie in wait.”