Neymar has slammed critics of him following Paris Saint-Germain's hard-fought 2-1 win over French champions Lille in Ligue 1 on Friday.
The Brazilian had a disappointing first half in PSG's come-from-behind win, playing a key role in the second half including providing the assist for Angel Di Maria's 88th-minute winner.
Neymar has not scored for PSG since netting from the penalty spot in a 2-1 win over Olympique Lyon on September 20, his only club goal of the 2021-22 season, prompting some criticism.
"The critics are normal. I've been playing football for 15 years, I don't care," Neymar told Amazon after the game.
"The most important critic is me. I know what I'm doing on the field for my team.
"Out there they don't know what's going on, what we're doing. And I don't care, I'll continue."
The chemistry between Neymar alongside new signing Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe has been questioned this term for PSG.
The Parisiens are top of Ligue 1 by 10 points, having dropped points only twice in 12 games, but expectations were for a more dominant forward line with Messi's arrival.
Neymar has started six times for PSG since scoring against Lyon, providing three assists during that goalless run.
"It was a very difficult match," Neymar about the Lille win. "They're a good opposition. We fought to the end, we scored."
Lionel Messi was substituted at half-time against Lille as a precautionary measure and should be available for Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League clash with RB Leipzig, according to Mauricio Pochettino.
The Argentina international was a doubt heading into Friday's Ligue 1 meeting with Lille and lasted just 45 minutes before being replaced by Mauro Icardi with his side 1-0 down at the time through a Jonathan David strike.
PSG went on to win 2-1 at Parc des Princes thanks to second-half goals from Marquinhos and Angel Di Maria as they returned to winning ways and stretched their lead at the summit to 10 points on Lens, who have a game in hand.
Messi's departure on the back of another below-par display was undoubtedly the big talking point of the game, but Pochettino does not expect the six-time Ballon d'Or winner to spend any further time on the sidelines.
"We don't think he's injured. He saw the doctor as a precaution, in accordance with the medical staff," Pochettino said at his post-match news conference. "It is hoped that he will be available for the next match."
Messi has now had 15 shots without finding the net for PSG in Ligue 1 – the most of any player in the division – with his only three goals for the club in eight games since arriving from Barcelona coming in the Champions League.
It is the first time since October 2020 that he has gone five league games without scoring, and PSG coped in his absence on Friday as Di Maria set up Marquinhos for the leveller and then tucked in the winner himself two minutes from time.
The Parisiens have won eight points after the 85th minute in the French top flight this season – at least five more than any other side – and Pochettino put that down to the strong character of his side.
"I don't think it's any coincidence that the team responds this way to adversity," he said. "They showed a good state of mind today. We suffered but responded just as well. It's no coincidence we have won 10 out of 12 games."
PSG had lost their previous two matches to Lille, including a 1-0 loss in this corresponding fixture six months ago, with that the most recent occasion they have dropped points at home following their latest fightback.
The runaway leaders were far from their best once again, but Pochettino is pleased with what he saw from his side in an improved second-half display – notably when Messi was off the field.
"The feeling in the first half is that we didn't manage to have control," he said. "That on recoveries from Lille, they created danger too easily, that each attack ended with an opportunity.
"In the second half we were much better. We managed to give this security to the team to engage more in attack, to play. There are always things that can be improved, but the important thing was to win."
PSG have now won 76 per cent of their Ligue 1 games in 2021 (25 out of 33), a success rate that is only bettered by Premier League champions Manchester City (79 per cent) from teams in Europe's top five leagues.
Vinicius Junior has been left out of Brazil's squad for November's double-header of World Cup qualifiers, despite impressing for Real Madrid with his recent form.
The 21-year-old has seven goals and three assists in 13 appearances for Madrid this season, including an incredible solo strike in last week's 5-0 Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk.
Vinicius' 10 direct goal involvements is the most of any Brazilian player from Europe's top five leagues, but he is not part of Tite's plans for the games with Colombia and Argentina.
Tite has instead recalled Barcelona playmaker Philippe Coutinho, who has one goal and zero assists across 10 outings in all competitions this season.
The most recent of Coutinho's 63 caps for his country came against Peru in October 2020.
Leeds United winger Raphinha and Ajax prodigy Antony are also part of the Selecao's 23-man group.
Fabinho is one of three Liverpool players to have been called, along with Roberto Firmino and Alisson, despite Jurgen Klopp saying on Friday he is "concerned" about a knee injury that will keep the midfielder out for a third game running this weekend.
Brazil have won 10 and drawn one of their opening 11 CONMEBOL qualifiers and lead the way at the top of the standings, with their place at Qatar 2022 potentially being confirmed next month.
Brazil squad: Alisson (Liverpool), Ederson (Manchester City), Gabriel Chapeco (Gremio); Danilo (Juventus), Emerson Royal (Tottenham), Alex Sandro (Juventus), Renan Lodi (Atletico Madrid), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Lucas Verissimo (Benfica), Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain), Thiago Silva (Chelsea); Casemiro (Real Madrid), Fabinho (Liverpool), Fred (Manchester United), Gerson (Marseille), Lucas Paqueta (Lyon), Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona); Antony (Ajax), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City), Matheus Cunha (Atletico Madrid), Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain), Raphinha (Leeds United).
Angel Di Maria completed Paris Saint-Germain's 2-1 comeback win against Lille in a game that saw Lionel Messi substituted at half-time.
Messi was a fitness doubt ahead of Friday's match at the Parc des Princes after missing training on the eve of the contest, and he was taken off with PSG a goal behind, his Ligue 1 goal drought continuing.
Jonathan David's 31st-minute strike had reigning Ligue 1 champions Lille on course for a third successive win over the current pacesetters, but Marquinhos equalised 16 minutes from time and Di Maria fired in a late winner.
Mauricio Pochettino's PSG side have now won all eight home matches this season, scoring at least twice in each of those, and are 10 points clear at the top of Ligue 1 having played a game more than second-placed Lens.
West Indies vice-captain Nicholas Pooran hopes to see more batsmen taking responsibility as the team struggles to find its footing at the ICC T20 World Cup.
The defending champions opened the tournament with back-to-back losses against England and South Africa but got on the board after squeezing past Bangladesh by 3 runs in the United Arab Emirates on Friday.
Despite notching the win, the team is yet to put a solid batting performance together after getting very little from the top of the order and with several players yet to hit top form. Along with Roston Chase, captain Kieron Pollard and the returning Jason Holder, Pooran, who received the man of the match award, was among those managing to make an impact this time around.
Pooran, who entered the line-up uncharacteristically at number 7, made an impactful 40 from 22 balls.
“Me and Polly talked about batsmen taking responsibility and doing what’s necessary for the team. In the tournament our batting hasn’t clicked yet, so we are chopping and changing,” Pooran said following the match.
“Hopefully guys put their hands up when it’s their day. Today I felt like it was just one of those days that I needed to put my hand up, especially losing Polly there for a bit, someone had to take the responsibility,” he added.
Prior to that, Pooran had struggled to get runs on the board after scoring 13 runs in the first two games.
Lionel Messi was replaced at half-time in Paris Saint-Germain's clash with Lille on Friday as the superstar forward's Ligue 1 goal drought continued.
The Argentina international was a big fitness doubt for the contest at Parc des Princes after sitting out training on Thursday with a muscle injury.
He was deemed fit enough to start but was not a decisive figure in the first half, failing to find the target from his two shots.
With Kylian Mbappe also absent due to illness, Mauricio Pochettino decided to replace Messi with Mauro Icardi at the interval as PSG trailed 1-0.
Messi remains without a Ligue 1 goal in five matches since joining the French giants from Barcelona on a free transfer in August.
His 15 shots is the most of any player yet to score in Ligue 1 this term.
The last time Messi went five league games in a row without scoring was October 2020 in LaLiga with Barcelona.
Emma Raducanu's hopes of facing idol Simona Halep in the semi-finals of the Transylvania Open were brutally ended by a crushing defeat to Marta Kostyuk on Friday.
US Open champion Raducanu claimed her first ever regular WTA Tour win in Cluj earlier this week, with the 18-year-old keen to impress in the homeland of her father, but Kostyuk denied her the chance of a dream last-four clash with Halep.
The 19-year-old Ukrainian swept Raducanu aside in just 57 minutes, winning 6-2 6-1 as Kostyuk furthered her own burgeoning reputation in the game by reaching a third semi-final of the year.
Raducanu proved her own worst enemy, her 41 unforced errors more than double Kostyuk's 16, with the latter feeling confident as early as the first game when two double faults helped her break the Briton's serve.
"I don't know how I won the first game, I think that's where everything started," Kostyuk said. "I somehow won that game and I gained this confidence, like I'm not going to lose this match.
"After that, by the fifth game maybe, I figured out how to play her – today. Maybe next time I play it's going to be different tactics."
Top seed Halep enjoyed a similarly straightforward victory as she lost just two games en route to a 6-1 6-1 win over Romanian compatriot Jaqueline Cristian, a particularly impressive feat given she had been suffering with a back injury this week.
That success preserved Halep's 100 per cent record against fellow Romanians.
On the other side of the draw, second seed Anett Kontaveit was also an impressive winner as she disposed of Anhelina Kalinina 6-1 6-3 in just over an hour. Kontaveit has won 24 of her last 26 matches and will be the firm favourite against unseeded Rebecca Peterson, who beat Lesia Tsurenko 6-2 3-6 6-3.
At the Courmayeur Open in Italy, third seed Liudmila Samsonova cruised into the semis thanks to a swift 6-1 6-2 demolition of Anna Kalinskaya. She will meet Clara Tauson – seeded fifth – after the Dane came through a more gruelling 3-6 6-4 6-2 win over Ann Li.
The other semi will be contested by Donna Vekic and Jasmine Paolini, who were straight-sets winners over Wang Xinyu and Dayana Yastremska, respectively.
Top seed Andrey Rublev crashed out of the St Petersburg Open after a straight-sets defeat by Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp in the quarter-finals.
A recent US Open quarter-finalist, world number 69 Van de Zandschlup claimed the first top-10 win of his career on Friday.
The 26-year-old also advanced to the semi-finals of an ATP event for the first time.
There, he will face 2011 champion Marin Cilic, who was a 6-4 3-6 6-3 winner over third seed Roberto Bautista Agut.
Denis Shapovalov was another big-name casualty in Russia, the second seed going down 4-6 3-6 against world number 53 Jan-Lennard Struff.
Although, there were better fortunes for fifth seed Taylor Fritz. The Indian Wells semi-finalist is yet to drop a set this week after prevailing 6-4 6-2 against John Millman.
Elsewhere, Matteo Berrettini was the victim of another upset at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.
The Wimbledon champion went down 1-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-7 (5-7) following a two-hour 40-minute battle with Carlos Alcaraz.
Reaching his first ATP 500 semi-final, the Spanish teenager claimed another big scalp having defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas at Flushing Meadows last month.
However, second seed Alexander Zverev remained on course for a fifth title of the season, as he claimed his 300th tour-level win.
The Australian Open finalist beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4 3-6 6-3, avenging his fourth-round defeat by the Canadian at Wimbledon in July.
Mikel Arteta hailed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for leading from the front as the Arsenal captain adapts to a changing role from previous seasons.
Arsenal endured a tough start to the new Premier League term, losing their opening three games before responding with six wins from eight unbeaten games across all competitions.
Aubameyang has been key to their upturn in form, having been involved in five goals in his last six top-flight appearances (four goals, one assist) with the Gunners climbing into 10th.
The forward has operated in a more central role this campaign, as opposed to cutting in from the left flank, and has led the line effectively so far.
Indeed, Aubameyang (four) ranks second at the club for possession won in the final third, only behind Emile Smith-Rowe (nine), while also sitting fifth among club charts for chances created (eight).
Utilised as Arsenal's spearhead who leads the press, Arteta credited Aubameyang's willingness to adapt to his new role and praised the 32-year-old's leadership qualities.
"We had various conversations and obviously where you have a season where as a team we haven’t fulfilled our expectations, and individually we haven’t, we have to find the right reasons why," Arteta said at Friday's pre-match news conference.
"How we can change that, how we can improve them, how we can help him to improve certain things that are going to have a huge impact on the team.
"And he’s been so willing to do that from the start. I am so pleased because again, his role is different to one that he had two or three years ago, and now he needs to lead in every sense – and he’s doing that and I’m really happy with him."
Aubameyang's finishing seems to have improved as well, given he has outscored his expected goals (3.08) in the Premier League after eight appearances with four strikes to his name.
Arteta also believes his experienced striker is enjoying his new role, which is producing results on and off the pitch.
"I think he is, and I think you can see it on the pitch," the Arsenal manager responded when asked if Aubameyang was enjoying himself.
"He’s playing with a smile on his face, he’s transmitting energy, passion, willingness – and not only that but outside the pitch as well.
"That’s what I want – a happy Auba leads with his character, and that’s what he’s able to transmit to everybody, and that energy is always positive."
West Indies great Michael Holding is hoping Quinton de Kock recognises he made a "silly, dumb mistake" after refusing to take the knee at the T20 World Cup.
South Africa were without talismanic wicketkeeper De Kock for Tuesday's clash with West Indies after he refused to play for "personal reasons".
Cricket South Africa (CSA) later confirmed De Kock was absent for the Group 1 Super 12 match in Dubai due to his refusal of a board directive to take the knee, which has become a gesture of support and unity in the fight against racism.
De Kock issued an emotional statement on Thursday after productive talks with CSA as he promised to take the knee from now on, saying he was "deeply sorry for all the hurt, confusion and anger that I have caused".
Holding, who has regularly spoken about the need to combat racism, expressed his hope that De Kock will learn from the episode and deliver on his promise going forward.
"I don't know him well enough to say that what he did he meant," Holding told Stats Perform, when asked about De Kock's initial decision.
"What I am hoping is that he recognises he made a silly, dumb mistake by sticking to his principle of not taking the knee.
"If you believe in a cause, you do what everyone else is doing to support that cause. You don't automatically find your own way to support that cause because then no one will know you support it."
In the wake of George Floyd's death last year, Holding spoke powerfully about combatting racism, and his book Why We Kneel, How We Rise has been nominated for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2021 award.
"The worldwide accepted gesture for supporting Black Lives Matter and believing everyone's life is equal is to take the knee," Holding said.
"You don't say, I'm not going to do what everybody else in the world recognises as the way forward, that's not the way it works.
"You do what is accepted as the norm, the way that everyone has seen as the gesture to support the movement and that's all I'll say on the matter.
"If he can't understand that then I can't help him understand but one would hope, as I say, he just made a silly mistake and he now understands the reason behind it – if not, then I'll send him a copy of my book!"
It remains unclear whether De Kock will return to the Proteas side, who face Sri Lanka in their next group game on Saturday.
Asif Ali produced an inspired cameo as Pakistan defeated Afghanistan by five wickets to maintain their 100 per cent record at the T20 World Cup.
Pakistan left it late in the Group 2 clash in Dubai as they chased their opponents' total of 147-6.
Skipper Mohammad Nabi and Gulbadin Naib led the way with 35 each for Afghanistan, who aimed to build on their thumping 130-run win over Scotland on Monday.
The in-form Mohammad Shahzad went for just eight and missed the opportunity to become the first Afghan to reach 2,000 men's T20I runs.
Mohammad Rizwan's eight runs were enough to take him beyond 1,000 in T20 internationals since the start of 2020, however, he fell to Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who claimed another wicket after taking five against the Scots.
Captain Babar Azam top-scored with 51 but paid the price for a questionable shot choice as he was bowled by Rashid Khan and Pakistan headed into the penultimate over requiring 24.
Step forward Asif, who produced four thumping sixes from six balls to make it three wins out of three for Pakistan.
Asif delivers again
Afghanistan appeared to be gaining the upper hand when Babar and Shoaib Malik were dismissed within five balls of each other at the end of the 18th over.
But the whole complexion of the contest turned on its head with Asif on strike.
The all-rounder hit 25 from just seven balls and farmed the strike to magnificent effect, producing another devastating display of power after his 12-ball 27 against New Zealand.
Bittersweet for Rashid
After dismissing Babar and Mohammad Hafeez, Rashid took his T20I wicket tally to 101.
He became the fourth player to reach 100 T20I wickets after Lasith Malinga, Shakib Al Hasan and Tim Southee.
Nevertheless, his efforts were not quite enough to give his nation a second successive win.
Real Madrid captain Karim Benzema will miss his first game of the season on Saturday after being left out of the squad for the trip to Elche.
Benzema is being rested, according to Spanish media reports, after playing in every match so far this season.
The 33-year-old French striker has played 1,158 minutes out of a possible 1,170 so far this term, and has hit 11 goals in 13 games across all competitions so far.
Benzema also has eight assists to his name for Madrid in 2021-22, five more than any other player on the team has managed.
He heads the LaLiga scoring charts with nine goals in that competition from just 10 games, but coach Carlo Ancelotti appears convinced that the skipper could do with a break, and assured that Madrid can cope for a game without him.
Elche sit 15th in the table and have lost nine of their last 10 encounters with Madrid in LaLiga, drawing only during this stretch in their last home meeting in the competition, 1-1 last December. They last beat Madrid in March 1978 (3-1).
The home side will be glad there is no sign of Benzema, given he has been directly involved in four goals in his last four LaLiga games against Elche (3 goals, 1 assist), including a brace in the last meeting in March, when he grabbed a stoppage-time winner in a 2-1 home victory.
Spanish newspaper Marca reported on its website that Benzema has experienced some discomfort in his instep in recent games, with Ancelotti deciding this was a convenient time to let him take a breather.
Benzema has not scored in his last two games, the 2-1 Clasico win over Barcelona and the midweek goalless draw with Osasuna.
Vinicius Jr, enjoying his best season yet for Madrid, features in the squad for Elche and will be aiming to add to his seven goals across all competitions already this season. The 21-year-old Brazilian has netted at a rate of one goal every 144.29 minutes.
Madrid sit second in LaLiga heading into the weekend, three points behind leaders Real Sociedad but with a game in hand, and on the same 21-point mark as Sevilla and Real Betis.
After the Elche game, Madrid return to Champions League action when they host Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday, having beaten the Ukrainians 5-0 in Kiev in their last match in the competition.
Sergi Barjuan has urged Barcelona's players to add greater substance to their style as the stop-gap head coach pointed the way forward in the post-Ronald Koeman era.
The clash with Deportivo Alaves on Saturday may prove to be Sergi's only game as boss of the first team, with Barcelona eager to bring Xavi to the club.
Sergi's regular role is as coach to Barcelona B, and he has had precious little time with the senior stars since Koeman was dismissed on Wednesday, after a 1-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano .
Barcelona head into the weekend in a lowly ninth position, nine points behind leaders Real Sociedad, albeit with one game in hand.
They have played the same number of games as Real Madrid, who sit six points clear of Barcelona and already have a Clasico win in the bag this season.
Sergi believes Barcelona can get back on track and said in a news conference on Friday: "We have to be united, people have to come to the ground tomorrow.
"The way of playing will not change, but maybe some tactical concepts could provide the solution. The style is non-negotiable."
He added: "Tomorrow we have to win the game because LaLiga is open. We have to recover the idea of vertical football."
Former Barcelona and Spain defender Sergi will be without Ansu Fati for the game due to the teenager's knee injury, but Ousmane Dembele could be involved for the first time this season, with the winger back in training after his own knee lay-off.
Sergi said: "I want to put some joy back into the team and get them enjoying their football again. I need all the players to be plugged into turning this situation around."
Playing a vertical game, which would mean being more direct, would seem an obvious move given the personnel available to Barcelona.
Feeding the ball as early as possible to the experienced and capable likes of Memphis Depay and Sergio Aguero may be the smartest option for a team who have struggled to find an identity since Lionel Messi's move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Barcelona have played fewer long passes (449) than any team in LaLiga this season, according to Opta data, but they have played the most possessional passes (6,364), as well as the most passes in the opposition's half (3,431).
Clearly, they are struggling to find a winning formula with their keep-ball game. This has not been helped by their finishing, with just 15 goals scored from an expected goals (xG) total of 18.7.
While Barcelona have lost their last two LaLiga games, to Real Madrid and Rayo, Alaves have picked themselves up after taking just three points from their opening eight matches and have beaten Cadiz and Elche back to back.
Barcelona have not lost any of their last 20 games at home to Basque opponents in LaLiga (W18 D2) since their 2-1 loss against Alaves in September 2016.
Alaves have kept only one clean sheet across their 16 away games against Barcelona in LaLiga, conceding 53 goals across those games. The shutout came in a shock 1-0 win in February 2000.
Sergi said of his opportunity to lead the Barcelona first team: "First of all, I would like to thank the club for the trust they have placed in me. Secondly, I want to send a big hug to Koeman because we have worked side by side these months.
"I arrive in a complex situation, but we are already working. We will have to look for the opponent's weaknesses and try to break their streak with our game."
Jason Holder is hopeful West Indies can reproduce the jubilation he felt during the winning moment against Bangladesh in their final two T20 World Cup Super 12 games.
The Windies prevailed to keep their hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive as they successfully defended 142-7, a total they reached in an innings that saw captain Kieron Pollard retire in the 13th over only to return for the final five balls.
Holder, drafted into the squad as a replacement for the injured Obed McCoy, came straight into the side and the former captain delivered critical runs at the death, hitting two sixes in an unbeaten 15, and claiming (1-22) with the ball.
It was Andre Russell who delivered the winning moment, however, his superb yorker ensuring Mahmudullah could not get the four runs needed off the final ball to lead Bangladesh to victory.
"The last ball that Russell bowled. Obviously, four runs, one ball to bowl the perfect yorker, which was a dot ball, was phenomenal," Holder said afterwards.
"A lot of jubilation went through my veins especially, and then all the guys obviously played really well.
"So, yeah, that moment was the best moment for me. Let's hope the next two games we can feel similarly."
Having suffered defeats to England and South Africa, West Indies will need to win each of their last two matches to stand a chance of progressing to the last four. With three defeats from three, Bangladesh's hopes are essentially over.
Pollard delivers... eventually
The 13th over appeared to be one that could potentially end West Indies' prospects of progression as Pollard retired and Russell was run out from the next delivery, leaving the Windies 62-4.
Nicholas Pooran (40) and Roston Chase (39) recovered the situation but, after they each fell in the 19th over and Dwayne Bravo was dismissed to start the last, Pollard returned to partner Holder and followed successive maximums from the ex-skipper with one of his own off the final ball to push the Windies to what proved a match-winning score.
Bangladesh's still waiting for semi-final berth
Mahmudullah (31 not out) did his best to get Bangladesh over the line, but his side are left with only pride to play for in the final two games. Bangladesh have still yet to reach the last four of this tournament.
"Definitely we'll play for our pride," Mahmudullah said.
"We've been trying hard and hard to get a win. Two more games to go. We'll put our everything definitely to win these last two games."
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