Koln boss Steffen Baumgart quickly turned his attentions towards containing Bayern Munich after watching his rampant side hit Werder Bremen for seven on their return to Bundesliga action on Saturday.

Baumgart's men, who began the day four points behind their visitors in the table, ended an incredible opening period 5-1 up after Linton Maina, Ellyes Skhiri and Denis Huseinbasic added to Steffen Tigges' double.

Huseinbasic's 36th-minute strike gave Koln the earliest five-goal lead in their Bundesliga history, before Skhiri's second, coupled with a Marco Friedl own goal, rounded off the scoring after the break.

While Baumgart was pleased to see Koln halt a five-game winless run in their first outing since the World Cup, he refused to get carried away ahead of Tuesday's daunting clash with the champions.

"It's a game that you won't always have, of course," he said at his post-match press conference.

"We scored five goals from the first five shots on goal. We are happy about the result. We went forward with a lot of speed and earned the goals.

"On Tuesday, however, we have a team in front of us that shot down other teams with a similar result. We know what to expect."

Saturday's win represents the first time Koln have hit seven goals in a game since a 7-0 thrashing of Eintracht Frankfurt in October 1983.

The visitors, meanwhile, are now winless in their last 11 Bundesliga trips to Koln (D6 L5).

Napoli must seize their "unprecedented opportunity" to win the Scudetto after reaching 50 points at the halfway mark of the Serie A season by beating Salernitana, says Luciano Spalletti.

Goals from Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Victor Osimhen helped Napoli to a routine 2-0 victory over the strugglers on Saturday, moving them 12 points clear of second-placed Milan ahead of the Rossoneri's trip to Lazio on Tuesday.

The result made Napoli just the third team to reach 50 points in the first half of a Serie A season, after Juventus (in 2013-14 and 2018-19) and Inter (in 2006-07).

No side has ever failed to win Serie A after reaching a half-century of points at this stage of a campaign, and head coach Spalletti knows Napoli have an incredible opportunity to claim their first league title since 1990. 

"We know that we have an unprecedented opportunity," Spalletti told DAZN after the win. "We must not squander the possibilities we have. We must remain humble and do things professionally."

Napoli had to remain patient before making the breakthrough in Salerno, recording their lowest shot tally in the first half of a Serie A match (two) since February 2021 (one v Atalanta).

The Partenopei were good value for their victory after Di Lorenzo hammered home on the stroke of half-time, however, leading Spalletti to praise the way they improved as the game went on.  

"These matches can be conditioned by us having too much responsibility," he said.

"You have to take the field with the right mentality and always play football well, with the correct rhythm, which is what makes you win the games. 

"In the first half we couldn't find the spaces and indeed we could have risked some dangerous restarts. In the second half, however, everyone did very well."

As well as his first goal of the season in Serie A, Di Lorenzo's opener represented his first league strike on the road since he found the net at Sassuolo in March 2021.

Reflecting on Napoli's incredible campaign to date, the captain credited his team-mates for their response to the pre-season exits of key players including Kalidou Koulibaly, Fabian Ruiz, Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens.

"It's a beautiful first half [of the season]," he said. "We lost important players last summer, but we got off to a great start with a new group. We have to continue like this.

"We've improved a lot in game management. We know that every game will be difficult. Tonight's is a great victory."

Diego Simeone is ready to get Memphis Depay "hooked" on Atletico Madrid's passion following his arrival from Barcelona.

The Netherlands international made his debut as a second-half substitute in Saturday's 3-0 victory over Real Valladolid at the Civitas Metropolitano.

Depay's move comes after Joao Felix's loan to Chelsea and provides Simeone with another option in the final third, though he does not see the forward as a "pure striker" to lead the line.

"I see him as similar to [Diego] Costa, who wasn't a pure striker. When we put him as a striker, it was because he had the conditions and he wanted to play on the wing," he told DAZN.

"Depay has strength, power. You need to work and help us and we need to help you.

"He has played little, and we will give him minutes and training and get him hooked on our passion."

While there was excitement for Depay's maiden outing, it was the display of a pink-haired Antoine Griezmann that dazzled the spectators, with the France international pulling the strings.

Setting up Alvaro Morata and Mario Hermoso either side of a goal of his own, Griezmann has flourished in a deeper role but believes he can still perform to a higher standard.

"I know I have a lot of freedom here, having to work defensively. When I can do offensively, it helps me to be happy," he told DAZN.

"I'm enjoying myself, I haven't reached my best level yet. I'm getting closer little by little. I really enjoy fighting for this coach and this club.

"It's my home, it's the joy that people give me. All the workers of the club make me very happy; I enjoy it a lot with my team-mates.

"When I do weird or colourful hairstyles, it shows that I am very happy."

Tyson Fury believes his return to the ring is "imminent" as talks over an undisputed world heavyweight title fight with Oleksandr Usyk continue.

Fury has been tipped to face Usyk since he overcame Derek Chisora in a trilogy bout last month, with the Ukrainian defending his WBA-Super heavyweight, IBF and WBO belts against Anthony Joshua in August last year.

Fury's co-promoter Frank Warren said a draft contract for the fight had been sent to Usyk's team earlier this month, with a March date provisionally pencilled in.

On Saturday, the WBC heavyweight champion was in attendance for Chris Eubank Jr's bout with Liam Smith in Manchester, where he offered an encouraging update on the talks with Usyk's camp.

Asked by Sky Sports when he would be returning to the ring, Fury said: "Hopefully quite soon. I don't know when, but it's imminent.

"Hopefully we see it in the next few months or whatever. I am ready to rock and roll as always. I am looking forward to the challenge.

"You would have to ask all the promoters and lawyers about how far away we are and all of that. 

"Like I always say time and time again, we are never in the ring until we are in the ring, and nothing is ever on until you see me walk into that ring.

"You never know, and saying you want to fight somebody and actually doing it is very different. We have seen these big fights not happen in the past many, many times.

"Usyk seems to be up for it and I can't do any more. I just do what I do and hopefully we get the thing all sorted out."

Antoine Griezmann starred as Atletico Madrid returned to winning ways in LaLiga with a 3-0 victory over Real Valladolid.

Three goals in 10 first-half minutes at the Civitas Metropolitano put Diego Simeone's side in control en route to their first league victory of 2023.

Griezmann's stellar assist set up Alvaro Morata's opener, with the France international then adding his own name to the scoresheet with a cheeky finish.

It was also Griezmann's delivery that led to Mario Hermoso firing home on the rebound as Los Colchoneros set down a marker in the fierce battle for a top-four finish.

Morata started brightly and opened the scoring in the 18th minute, deceiving a defender with a feint and slotting past Jordi Masip after Griezmann's outrageous backheel.

The hosts doubled their advantage five minutes later as Griezmann flicked Nahuel Molina's driven cross beyond Masip at the near post.

Hermoso soon added a third, blasting in from close range after his initial header from Griezmann's free-kick was parried by the goalkeeper.

Thinking ahead to the midweek Copa del Rey clash with Real Madrid, Diego Simeone shuffled his deck before the hour, and the introduction of Barcelona-linked Yannick Carrasco drew jeers from sections of the crowd.

But Atletico continued to threaten, Koke hitting the crossbar and Angel Correa seeing a low drive strike both posts.

Memphis Depay, making his debut after joining from Barca, was introduced for a 15-minute cameo as Atletico ultimately coasted to a straightforward victory that puts them three points clear of the chasing pack.

Jadon Sancho "has a way to go" before returning to Manchester United's matchday squad, says Erik ten Hag, who has ruled the winger out of Sunday's clash with Arsenal.

Sancho has not played for United since a 1-1 draw with Chelsea in October, with Ten Hag describing his absence as the result of "circumstances with fitness and mood".

While the 22-year-old returned to team training earlier this week, he will not be involved when United bid to extend their unbeaten Premier League run to seven games against title-chasing Arsenal.

Asked about Sancho's return to the group by MUTV on Saturday, Ten Hag said: "It is the next step. He still has a way to go.

"He will know that, but when he makes this progress, then he can return to the group for games. 

"Of course, we all hope for that, because he is a great footballer. He has great skills that can help us. 

"We have to cover so many games, but especially we need quality players, and he is definitely a quality player who can make the difference, and we are expecting that from him."

United remain the only side to beat Arsenal in the Premier League this season, and they are bidding to complete just their second league double over the Gunners since Alex Ferguson's 2013 retirement on Sunday, having beaten them home and away under Jose Mourinho in the 2017-18 campaign.

While United will be without Sancho and suspended midfielder Casemiro in north London, they have no other major absences to deal with, and Ten Hag is hopeful of another positive performance.

"As you know, Casemiro is absent, but for the rest, we have a good team, which has to battle with Arsenal," he said.

"We have to go head-to-head, and we are convinced we are in a good way. We have a prepared team and a good plan and energy, and we will be acting on that."

Christian Gunter was lost for words after his Freiburg side were thumped 6-0 by Wolfsburg on their return to Bundesliga action on Saturday.

Freiburg entered the two-month break second only to Bayern Munich in the table after winning four of their final five league games of 2022.

But any thoughts of possibly rivalling 10-in-a-row champions Bayern were put into perspective by Wolfsburg at the Volkswagen Arena.

Christian Streich's side were behind after just 59 seconds through a Patrick Wimmer strike, before Jonas Wind's double put the hosts in complete control before half-time.

Yannick Gerhardt and Ridle Baku joined the scoresheet in the second half, and Luca Waldschmidt beat Mark Flekken from the penalty spot to complete the scoring.

"I don't have any explanation. It wasn't expected. We have to look at what went wrong," Freiburg captain Gunter told Sky Sport.

"It's extremely painful to start like this in 2023. Everything came together for them; it was a very bad day for us."

Freiburg's heavy loss sees them drop to fourth below Eintracht Frankfurt and Union Berlin, with all three sides five points behind leaders Bayern.

Reflecting on a chastening day for his side, Freiburg head coach Christian Streich said: "We lost 6-0 and didn't have a chance.

"After the first minute, we got to know how good Wolfsburg are. In the end, we lost 6-0. What can I say? Maybe it's best I don't say anything."

Wolfsburg's win was their fifth in a row in Bundesliga – their best run since 2014 when winning six in a row – and moves them within four points of the Champions League spots.

"We got off to a very good start," Wolfsburg coach Niko Kovac said. "From our second shot, we scored our second goal, then it was a sure-fire success from there.

"Basically, you can't go wrong from there. I'm happy with the way this team is developing."

Schalke remain rooted to the bottom of the Bundesliga table and broke a miserable record with a 36th consecutive away match without victory on Saturday.

The seven-time German champions, who were promoted back to the Bundesliga last season, have not won away from home in the top flight since a 2-1 success at Werder Bremen in November 2019.

A 3-0 reverse at the hands of Eintracht Frankfurt extended their wretched barren run to 36 matches, moving clear of Karlsruher's prior record – a 35-match sequence that ended in 1981.

The Eintracht loss just about summed up Schalke's season, with the comfortable margin of victory for the home side belying a match in which the visitors enjoyed the better of the chances.

Their 19 attempts – worth a combined 1.9 expected goals (xG) – failed to yield a goal, however, and Eintracht picked their opponents off by scoring with each of their three shots on target, including two in the closing stages.

Schalke have scored only 13 goals this season from shots worth 18.2 xG. Ahead of Saturday's late match in the Bundesliga, that underperformance of 5.2 xG was comfortably the biggest in the division.

Striker Simon Terodde, who squandered three chances, told Sky Sport: "We had a lot of chances to score before the break but also afterwards.

"Frankfurt were ice cold. Three chances, three shots on goal – they all went in."

Coach Thomas Reis, whose side are five points adrift of nearest rivals Hertha Berlin at the bottom, added he "enjoyed" Schalke's performance but acknowledged they were undone by "individual moments".

"Frankfurt capitalised on their few opportunities," he said.

Everton owner Farhad Moshiri said a decision on Frank Lampard's future does not rest with him.

Moshiri, who has hired six permanent managers since he invested into the club in 2016, was in attendance as Everton lost 2-0 to West Ham on Saturday at London Stadium.

That marked an eighth defeat in nine games for Everton across all competitions, leaving them 19th in the table, level on points with last-placed Southampton.

Yet Moshiri, who publicly backed Lampard prior to a crunch defeat to Southampton last week, claimed a decision on the manager is not in his hands.

"I can't comment. It's not my decision," he told Sky Sports.

Bill Kenwright and the rest of the club's board watched on from the stands against West Ham, having not attended Goodison Park for the Southampton game due to concerns over their safety.

Kenwright, the Everton chairman, was also asked if time was up for Lampard.

"It's been a bad run of results for us all and for Frank," he said. "But I would never say that to you, ever.

"We've got to start winning, haven't we? Bad time."

Moshiri said in an interview with talkSPORT earlier this month he had previously made decisions on managerial appointments based on the wants of fans.

Lampard told Sky Sports: "Those things are not my choice; it's my job to work and focus and keep my head down. If they are difficult conditions, I just have to do my job."

When asked if he felt the support of Everton's hierarchy, he responded: "I know there are issues, I'm not trying to close my ears to anything. It's just about how you work, the support you feel, the communication, that sort of thing.

"We communicate all the time, we have done since I've been here. I try to do the best I can for the club."

Speaking in his post-match press conference, West Ham manager David Moyes, who spent 11 years at Everton and has been under pressure himself, said he hoped the Toffees stood by their boss.

"I hope Everton stick with Frank, I think he's a top bloke from my conversations and the times I've been with him," Moyes said.

"I would hate to think Everton would go down because they mean so much to me."

While Everton are yet to make a signing in January, Moyes thanked West Ham's board for the support they have shown him with the addition of Danny Ings, who made his debut off the bench.

"I've had brilliant support from the board and even buying Danny shows they want to do whatever they can to help," he added.

Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic have called for changes to the Australian Open schedule after several late finishes in Melbourne.

Three-time grand slam champion Murray bowed out of the season's opening major on Saturday following a four-set defeat by Roberto Bautista Agut in round three.

The 35-year-old arrived in the clash having already spent over 10 hours on court across his victories over Matteo Berrettini and Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Murray's 4:05am local time finish in the latter match was the third-latest in tennis history after he recovered from two sets down to deny the home favourite in a thrilling clash that took five hours and 45 minutes to settle.

The Briton subsequently voiced his concerns with scheduling, which tournament director Craig Tiley has no plans to change.

He reiterated those worries after defeat by number 24 seed Bautista Agut, suggesting the Australian Open could follow the trend set by another of the sport's major events.

"I'm sure if you went and spoke to some sleep experts and sports scientists – the people that actually really know what's important for athletes to recover – they would tell you that sleep is the number one thing, that that's the most important thing," he said.

"Finishing matches at four in the morning isn't good for the players. I would also argue it's not good for the sport, anyone involved in it. I do think there's some quite simple things that can be done to change that.

"I think the US Open went to playing two matches in the day session. That would stop the day matches running into the night session starting too late.

"I think that's quite a simple one that you could look at. You'd still get quality matches during the day. The people who bought ground passes would get to see more of the top players, which would be excellent for them.

"I think if you did that, you could also potentially bring the night sessions slightly earlier, as well, like 6:00 or 6:30. That time, those few hours, can make a difference to the players."

Nine-time Melbourne champion Djokovic, who overcame injury to defeat Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets, concurred with Murray.

"I think that players' input is always important for tournament organisation. Whether it's decisive, we know that it's not, because it comes down to what the TV broadcasters want to have," Djokovic said. "That's the ultimate decision maker.

"I would agree with [Murray's] points. I think we have days when the day sessions go longer, but probably more days statistically in average where they finish – say five, six max – and you can start the night session an hour earlier at least.

"For the crowd, it's entertaining, it's exciting. For us, it's really gruelling. Even if you go through and win, prevail in these matches, you still have to come back.

"You have your sleeping cycle, rhythm disrupted completely, not enough time really to recover for another five-setter. Something needs to be addressed in terms of the schedule after what we've seen this year."

Dusan Vlahovic and Leonardo Bonucci aimed to rally the troops after Juventus were served with a 15-point deduction.

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) confirmed on Friday that Juve would be punished in the wake of an investigation into the club's past transfer dealings.

Ex-Juve director Fabio Paratici – who is now at Tottenham – as well as former chairman Andrea Agnelli were also handed long bans from Italian football.

The deduction has seen Juve drop from third to 10th ahead of Sunday's meeting with Atalanta, which had been set to be a tussle between two teams embroiled in a fight for Champions League qualification.

But Vlahovic, a big-money acquisition from Fiorentina last year, had a bullish message.

"We are not afraid of losing a few points," the 22-year-old posted on Instagram. 

"We are not afraid of rolling our sleeves up. We are not afraid of our opponents. We must not be afraid of anything.

"Because when they think we have fallen, we'll get back up stronger than ever.

"This is us, this is Juventus."

Captain Bonucci had a similar message.

He posted on Instagram: "Juventus are like a seven-headed dragon: cut one off and another will always emerge. She never gives up."

Southampton's Premier League clash with Aston Villa was briefly suspended following the appearance of a drone at St Mary's.

The drone was spotted flying above the stadium in the 42nd minute of the match, which was goalless, with play subsequently halted by referee Michael Salisbury.

The players returned to their dressing rooms while several supporters left their seats as Southampton's safety officer surveyed the situation.

However, play resumed nine minutes later with the hosts looking for a victory that would lift them out of the relegation zone.

Graham Potter said it was a "positive day" despite being denied a win as struggling giants Liverpool and Chelsea played out a 0-0 draw at Anfield.

The Chelsea head coach has seen his team win just two of their last 10 games (D2 L6) but was happy enough with the result, despite it seeing them remain in 10th place in the Premier League.

Kai Havertz was denied a goal in just the third minute after a VAR check found him to be offside in an otherwise fairly eventless game on Saturday.

"I thought the performance was good," Potter told BT Sport after the stalemate. "I was happy with the team, the energy, what we tried to do. At Anfield, it is always tough. It's a clean sheet and a point [and] we move forward.

"First half, we were decent, unlucky not to get the goal. It is what it is. They started the second half well, and we adjusted a couple of things and gained control, had a couple of chances. Overall, a positive day, apart from the fact we wanted three points."

At his post-match press conference, Potter was asked about Mykhaylo Mudryk, who made his debut off the bench and went close to scoring a couple of times.

"He's not played since November. He hasn't had any game time. It would've been a risk. He'll get better the more he is with us," the former Brighton and Hove Albion head coach said as he explained why the big-money arrival from Shakhtar Donetsk did not start.

Potter added regarding Mudryk and another new arrival, on-loan Joao Felix, who was suspended following his debut red card at Fulham: "They're top players. Sometimes people think us coaches turn top players into top players. But Mudryk, Joao, they understand the game. It's just fine-turning it a bit."

Chelsea are now without a win in their last six Premier League away games on the road (D3 L3), their longest run in the competition since September to December 2015 (D3 L4).

Mason Mount – who has been linked with a move to Liverpool at the end of the season – was also of the opinion that it was a good point for Chelsea.

"You know this is going to be a tough place to come," he told BT Sport. "Overall, we controlled a lot of it. We could have taken our chances.

"It has been tough lately, we want to win games. I feel like it is getting better and we worked hard today.

"We'll definitely take this today. The final passes weren't there – if it was maybe we would have scored a few in the first half, but as I said, this is a tough place to come.

"They press you and force mistakes, like [they did in] the second half, and I think we came through that."