Juventus winger Federico Chiesa will not play again this season after undergoing knee surgery on Sunday.

The Serie A giants said Chiesa is likely to be sidelined for around seven months, meaning he could return in the early stages of the 2022-23 campaign.

That would give Chiesa a chance to prove his fitness to Italy boss Roberto Mancini ahead of the World Cup starting in November, providing the Azzurri qualify. It definitively means Chiesa can be ruled out of Italy's plans for the World Cup play-offs.

The European champions face North Macedonia in the play-off semi-finals in March and will then meet either Turkey or Portugal for a place in Qatar.

Chiesa was hurt in the thrilling 4-3 Serie A victory over Jose Mourinho's Roma two weeks ago, sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury. He was substituted in the first half of that game.

Juventus said Chiesa's operation had gone to plan, indicating they had been expecting this outcome.

The club said in a statement on Sunday: "This afternoon, Federico Chiesa underwent surgery to reconstruct the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

"The operation, performed at the Hochrum clinic in Innsbruck by Professor Christian Fink and in the presence of Juventus' Dr Stefanini, proved to be a perfect success. The expected recovery time is approximately seven months."

His confirmed absence is a huge blow to Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri, whose side were in Serie A action against Milan on Sunday evening.

Juve have recently appeared to have turned a corner after a rocky start to the season, but they still face a battle to secure a top-four finish and a place in next season's Champions League.

Their Champions League last-16 tie with Villarreal begins in February, and Chiesa will only be a spectator.

After making an impressive impact in Euro 2020, Chiesa scored four goals and provided two assists in 18 appearances for Juve in all competitions this season.

Youssef Msakni sent a COVID-hit Tunisia into the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals with a 1-0 victory over Nigeria, who finished the game with 10 men. 

Tunisia scraped through the group stage and were without head coach Mondher Kebaier and a number of players for the last-16 clash on Sunday after an outbreak of coronavirus in their camp. 

However, they still managed to book a date with Burkina Faso, who overcame Gabon on penalties earlier in the day, in the next round. 

Montassar Talbi had the only shot on target in a dour first half in Garoua, but Msakni's low drive skidded off the turf and into the top-right corner off Maduka Okoye's glove within two minutes of the restart. 

Nigeria were reduced to 10 men in the 66th minute when substitute Alex Iwobi – who had only been on the pitch for seven minutes – had a booking upgraded to a straight red card after referee Maguette Ndiaye reviewed video footage of his tackle on Msakni 

The Super Eagles upped their game as they chased an equaliser, but Moses Simon was unable to beat Bechir Ben Said and Umar Sadiq missed the target in stoppage time as they exited the tournament.

Hakim Ziyech's excellent recent displays for Chelsea are making Thomas Tuchel reconsider his approach. 

A stunning, curling effort from 20 yards saw Ziyech put Chelsea on the path to a 2-0 victory over Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday, with Thiago Silva adding the second. 

It followed his goal against Brighton and Hove Albion, with the former Ajax winger benefiting from a formation change by Tuchel following injuries to wing-backs Ben Chilwell and Reece James. 

Tuchel acknowledged being able to play in a more advanced wide position is benefiting Ziyech and it is something he wants to consider as a long-term option. 

"It was a very nice goal actually. The build-up to the goal was good, the movements around Hakim to bring him into this position, and the shot was, of course, brilliant," said Tuchel. 

"It was one of the very nice goals so far and I am very happy because he deserves it first of all today. It was a very important goal to get the lead and so well done, excellent. 

"It was one of his best matches today because he was very reliable. It was also maybe his best position to be on the wing. We had the wide position on the right wing, that position does not normally exist in that particular manner when we play 3-4-3, it is more of a wing-back. 

"Maybe we can think about doing this. It was good because it gave him the opportunity to take risks where it was possible to take risks. He was very reliable on the ball in moments where it is necessary. 

"The work-rate was always outstanding. You can always rely on him on work-rate and counter-pressing. So yes, well done and he needs to keep on going like everyone else." 

Chelsea have now won four games against Tottenham this season, the three most recent of which have come in January. 

Spurs have failed to score in six straight meetings with the Blues - the longest barren run against a single opponent in their history - and their goalless streak now stands at 547 minutes. 

Frustrations seemingly boiled over in the stands with Antonio Rudiger appearing to be targeted by missiles thrown by visiting spectators, though Tuchel did not feel the incident warranted sweeping action. 

"I'm not worried. I mean, I sent a message to our fans and supporters [before the game] that we love to have them close to the pitch. We love that it is a brilliant atmosphere, that they are not behind fences, behind nets, whatever. From there everybody needs to show respect and behave and follow guidelines," said Tuchel. 

"In general, I am not concerned because right now I enjoy the atmosphere, also in away stadiums. It is brilliant, and if this is a new trend we should act together so it stops as soon as possible to protect the environment of this game and the atmosphere because it is absolutely unique here in England." 

Antonio Conte claimed Tottenham are "many years" from the level of Chelsea following Sunday's 2-0 Premier League defeat at Stamford Bridge.

Hakim Ziyech and Thiago Silva goals condemned Spurs to a fourth defeat of the season against their London rivals, their away league run against the Blues now standing at one win in 32.

Conte's side lost both legs of the EFL Cup semi-final to Chelsea and have now gone six consecutive games without scoring against the European champions, the first time in their history they have ever failed to find the net in as many matches against the same opponent.

Conte has spoken previously of the need for Spurs to strengthen if they are to challenge the top sides, despite having led them on a nine-game unbeaten run in the top flight after taking over from Nuno Espirito Santo in November.

After their latest loss to Chelsea, which cost them the chance to move into the top four, the former Inter boss suggested it would take many transfer windows to build a squad capable of matching the best.

"I don't like to lose. To comment on a defeat is always difficult for me," he told Sky Sports. "But to have nine games in a row without defeat was important, and in this moment, the gap with the other teams, like Chelsea, it's a really important game.

"I'm proud of the effort of my players. We tried to do everything, but sometimes it's not enough, especially when you're playing against a team like this: a starting XI of strong players; on the bench, around the club, there are other players. There is a big difference between us and a top team."

When asked about strengthening the squad before the transfer window closes, he said: "I repeat, this is not the right moment. The club know very well what I think. There is not one transfer market to close the gap.

"In the last five years, this gap became very, very big. Now, it's not simple to find the solution in a short time. I'm only focused on the players to work. We have four months to try to give everything, but if we think we resolve the situation with the transfer market, it's not the reality.

"You need many years. For sure, we have to start, and there is a point to start. For many years, the quality of the squad decreased instead of improved."

Spurs thought they had taken the lead on Sunday when Harry Kane finished from Steven Bergwijn's cross, but the goal was disallowed for a push in the back of Thiago Silva.

"I know it's difficult to comment, and I don't want to comment on the referee's decision, but to disallow this goal in England was incredible," said Conte.

"But, I repeat, the referee tried to make the best decision."

Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel was also surprised the goal was ruled out at the time, but he had nothing but praise for the effort of his players as they ended a four-game run without a Premier League win.

"We were working extremely hard for it, it was a tough match, but I'm very happy because the effort was outstanding and it was a deserved win," he said. "It's so hard to create chances against them, but I think we were relentless and kept on believing.

"The table is the table. In the end, it's our responsibility to prove ourselves every third day. Now we have a break, and it was important to go into this break with a victory. There is no substitution for a win, and for the feeling. You cannot produce it artificially, so we needed this, but we needed also to do things better and keep on believing."

Chelsea once again downed Tottenham at Stamford Bridge in the headline clash of the weekend's Premier League fixtures.

Fellow title hopefuls Liverpool, who still have a game in hand, closed the gap on leaders Manchester City to nine points with victory over Crystal Palace in south London.

Staying in the capital, Arsenal were held to a goalless draw by lowly Burnley as they lost ground in the race for the top four, while Leicester City shared the points with Brighton and Hove Albion.

With the action all over for a couple of weeks, Stats Perform unpacks the pick of the data from Sunday's fixtures.

Crystal Palace 1-3 Liverpool: Reds down Eagles again as Robertson delivers

Liverpool reduced Manchester City's advantage at the top to nine points after a 3-1 victory over Palace, who have lost each of their last 10 league meetings with the Reds.

Virgil van Dijk placed Jurgen Klopp's side in control after just eight minutes at Selhurst Park with his 10th headed goal in the competition – only Sami Hyypia (17) has scored more headers for the Reds in the Premier League.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain added a second after the half-hour mark as he scored in back-to-back top-flight matches for the first time since February 2020.

Both of those goals were created by Andrew Robertson, who now sits joint-second with team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold (both 43) for the most assists in the league since the start of the 2017-18 season, with only Kevin De Bruyne boasting more (52).

Odsonne Edouard halved the deficit in the second half, but Fabinho secured three points with Liverpool's 169th Premier League spot-kick – the joint-most awarded to a team in the competition's history along with Manchester United.

Arsenal 0-0 Burnley: Gunners fail to fire against Clarets

Arsenal have failed to win any of their opening five games of a calendar year for the first time since 1995 after being held to a 0-0 draw by Burnley.

Nick Pope was in excellent form, while Alexandre Lacazette spurned a glorious open-goal opportunity, as the Clarets conceded 20 shots – the most they have faced in the Premier League without conceding since May 2021 (21 versus Fulham).

Lacazette's profligacy meant the Gunners have failed to score in four consecutive matches across all competitions for the first time since December 2005.

Arsenal will be desperate to improve upon their torrid run of form to challenge for the top four, with this stalemate being the first time the Gunners have failed to beat the team starting the day bottom of the table at home for the first time since October 2008.

Leicester City 1-1 Brighton and Hove Albion: Foxes tamed by away specialists

Leicester remained unbeaten at home to Brighton in the Premier League, though Brendan Rodgers may feel they should have claimed victory after a 1-1 draw.

Patson Daka broke the deadlock as he became just the second Foxes player to score in each of his first three home starts in the competition, after Leonardo Ulloa in the 2014-15 season.

The Zambia striker found the net just 26 seconds after the interval, the quickest goal scored in the second half of a top-flight game since February 2020.

However, Danny Welbeck levelled things up as he scored his fourth goal against Leicester in the Premier League, only bettering that haul in games with Aston Villa (five).

Neither side could find a late winner, ensuring the Foxes remain unbeaten at home to the Seagulls in the top flight since December 1980, while Graham Potter's side have only lost one of their last 11 away leagues games – a joint-low with Manchester City.

Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham: Blues make London derby history  

Chelsea registered their fourth win in all competitions this season – and third in January alone – over London rivals Tottenham with a 2-0 triumph at Stamford Bridge.

Harry Kane thought he had struck first before the break but a slight push on Thiago Silva saw his finish ruled out before Hakim Ziyech expertly curled in his fifth league goal for Chelsea – all five of those having come at different venues.

Silva added a second soon after as he became the oldest player (37 years, 123 days) to score in the Premier League since February 2013 to condemn Antonio Conte to his first top-flight defeat as Spurs head coach.

The defender's header was set up by a free-kick from Mason Mount, who provided his 20th assist since the start of the 2019-20 campaign – the most by any Chelsea player across all competitions in that period.

Spurs were unable to breach the Blues' goal, meaning they have now gone six matches across all competitions since last scoring against Chelsea, who became the first side to collect 500 points in Premier League London derby matches (501 points from 272 derbies).

Ismahila Ouedraogo scored the winning spot-kick as Burkina Faso beat 10-man Gabon 7-6 on penalties after a 1-1 draw to advance to the quarter-finals at the Africa Cup of Nations.

A tight game was sent to extra time after a dramatic late equaliser from the Panthers, and an even more tense shoot-out was ultimately decided by the 22-year-old Ouedraogo.

There had been a penalty in normal time after Issa Kabore was brought down by Sidney Obissa in the 14th minute, only for Bertrand Traore to slam his effort against the crossbar.

The Aston Villa man was not to be denied 10 minutes later when he ran on to a through ball from Hassane Bande and slotted in off the post past the onrushing Jean Noel Amonome.

Gabon thought they were level four minutes before half-time as a long ball from skipper Bruno Ecuele Manga found Aaron-Salem Boupendza, who cut inside and finished well but was ruled to be offside.

Obissa received his marching orders in the 67th minute after picking up a second yellow card, but Gabon still forced extra time as a 91st minute corner was headed in by Ecuele Manga, though went down as an Adama Guira own goal after diverting in off the Burkinabe midfielder.

An extra 30 minutes could not separate the sides and so the game went to penalties, with both teams scoring six of their first eight attempts.

After Lloyd Palun hit Gabon's ninth penalty against the bar, Ismahila Ouedraogo finally ended things by sending Amonome the wrong way, booking the Stallions' quarter-final place against either Nigeria or Tunisia next Saturday.

A big week now approaches for Tottenham – while no manager will ever admit to being happy about losing, Spurs' 2-0 defeat to Chelsea on Sunday may actually do Antonio Conte a favour.

The Italian has hinted at his desire to bring in reinforcements this month. Until this point, Spurs have not given into his apparent demands, but another loss to Chelsea might force their hand.

The last week of the transfer window is about to begin and there is every reason to think it could define Spurs' season given the clues on show at Stamford Bridge.

This contest arguably lacked the usual lustre in the build-up given how recently they tussled in the EFL Cup, a two-legged semi-final that left the two clubs looking worlds apart.

Even Conte himself was damning in his appraisal of their respective outlooks, suggesting there was no comparison between his side and the team that won the Champions League last season.

Chelsea won their EFL Cup tie 3-0 on aggregate, thus Conte knew changes were going to be required here.

He returned to his former club with a plan, but perhaps few expected him to go – for want of a better phrase – 'full Mourinho'.

The 'Special One' built much of his reputation on being tough to beat, and Conte certainly made several decisions that were Jose Mourinho-esque, not least the fact he deployed full-backs in front of full-backs on the flank as the Italian seemingly set his side up to be functional rather than entertaining.

That's not to say Chelsea didn't find some joy. Mason Mount proved a nuisance with his movement in the half spaces in attack, with Spurs struggling to pick him up as he seemed to fall outside of the jurisdiction of everyone in defence and midfield.

That was evident as early as the first minute as his cross found Romelu Lukaku, who volleyed over – later, they combined in exactly the same way but the Belgium striker completely missed his kick.

Eventually Spurs reacted to Mount's presence with another Mourinhoism, as Pierre-Emil Hojbjerg slotted in to plug the gap in that area, something Mourinho's central midfielders often used to do in his classic Chelsea sides that went with two banks of four.

With Harry Kane accompanied by Steven Bergwijn in the Lucas Moura role up top, Spurs' grand plan was pretty clear as they hoped to be able to capitalise on any rare forays forward – it looked as though they had as well, with the Dutchman picking out the England captain to net just before half-time, only for the goal to be wiped out for a slight push on Thiago Silva.

But there was seemingly an ulterior motive surrounding Conte's selection and tactics as well, as he appeared to be sending message to sporting director Fabio Paratici.

Three viable and available central attacking players were completely left out, with Dele Alli, Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso all missing – the latter even confirmed on social media that he was fit.

Harvey White, still awaiting his Premier League debut, and Dane Scarlett, a 17-year-old, were selected ahead of them on the bench, with Conte's decisions here a not-so-subtle evaluation of the attacking midfielders available to him.

The fact is, this came just two days after Conte said he hoped "the club will listen to me" regarding their transfer dealings before the end of the month – he didn't reveal what he had put across to his employers, though these exclusions were surely a hint at the very least.

Given the options otherwise available to him – as in the players he trusts in midfield – Conte perhaps didn't actually have much of a choice to deploy this set-up.

But can Spurs realistically hope to qualify for the Champions League with their only trusted central midfielders being Hojbjerg, Harry Winks and Oliver Skipp? You would think not, and certainly not on the evidence of this match, with Spurs barely laying a glove on Chelsea bar the disallowed Kane goal as the hosts were allowed to control the midfield.

Of course, it's worth saying Spurs were also a little unfortunate. Whichever way you look at it, the disallowing of Kane's goal was harsh, and Hakim Ziyech's gorgeous opener was a moment of magic. 

Silva's second was controversial as well because the foul that was awarded from which Mount set up the Brazilian appeared to be questionable.

Yet even if they had still been within touching distance of Chelsea heading into the latter stages, a quick glance at the benches showed an incredible gulf in talent available to the managers.

There's a lot of work to be done with Spurs' squad and the next week could make or break their season.

Lorenzo Insigne moved alongside Diego Maradona on Napoli's all-time list of leading goalscorers after hitting his 115th goal for the Serie A club.

The Italy international converted a penalty early in the second half of Sunday's 4-1 derby win against Salernitana.

That meant he joined Maradona in a tie for third place in the Napoli record books.

Dries Mertens heads that list and slotted a penalty just before half-time to give Napoli a 2-1 lead, his 144th goal for the club.

Belgium international Mertens stepped aside to allow Insigne to take responsibility for the second spot-kick in the 53rd minute.

Insigne had come on as a substitute for the start of the second half, and Mertens said: "I left the second penalty to Lorenzo because it was important to him."

Writing on Instagram after the match, Insigne expressed his delight at the victory.

He will leave at the end of the season to join Toronto FC, but the 30-year-old insisted he would always hold the club dear.

"The derbies are not played… they are won…. We continue like this until the end," Insigne wrote. "Always and forever FORZA NAPOLI."

Insigne is now six goals behind second-placed Marek Hamsik on the Napoli goalscoring list.

The late Argentina legend Maradona remains the greatest and most revered player in Napoli's history, having joined from Barcelona in 1984 and spent seven years in Naples.

He helped Napoli win league titles in 1986-87 and 1989-90 – the only Serie A championships the club have won – and his death in November sparked an outpouring of grief in the city.

Sunday's goal was Insigne's sixth goal of the season across all competitions, with Napoli's win moving them just four points behind Serie A leaders Inter.

Mertens believes Napoli can still push Inter hard for the title, saying on the club's website: "We must continue like this and look only at us. The championship is still long and we can be protagonists."

Carlo Ancelotti suggested "small details" cost Real Madrid in a 2-2 draw with Elche that required a spirited late recovery.

The LaLiga leaders missed the chance to move six points clear at the top of the table as they were held by their 15th-placed opponents, who took a surprise 2-0 lead at the Santiago Bernabeu.

After Luka Modric's penalty gave them hope – his first spot-kick for Madrid after Karim Benzema, who earlier missed from 12 yards for the first time in LaLiga, went off injured – it took a stoppage-time header from Eder Militao to spare Madrid's blushes and extend their year-long unbeaten home run in the Spanish top flight.

While Madrid were waiting to discover the extent of Benzema's injury, Ancelotti said he was disappointed with the manner in which Elche scored – netting twice away at Madrid for the first time since January 1989.

But the coach was at least encouraged by his team's response, remaining unbeaten against Elche since 1978, having now scored at least two in 10 of the 12 games in that span.

"They scored a goal with a centre. For the second goal, we could have been more compact," Ancelotti said. "They are small details that have cost us two points

"We are not happy, but there are many things we have to consider. 

"We conceded two goals and we reacted well. Usually these games are lost, but it speaks very well of the squad."

There are 11 days until Madrid return to action when they face Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals, 12 days before taking on Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League round of 16.

"We have a small break, and we arrive well-positioned in all three competitions," Ancelotti added. "That's what we wanted to do. 

"We are there, now comes the most important period of the season."

Bayern Munich restored their six-point lead at the Bundesliga summit with an extremely comfortable 4-1 win over Hertha Berlin on Sunday. 

The reigning champions saw their advantage halved when Borussia Dortmund beat Hoffenheim on Saturday, but it did not look like remaining at three points once Corentin Tolisso opened the scoring at the Olympiastadion.

Thomas Muller doubled Bayern's lead before the break and, after a string of impressive saves, Alexander Schwolow gifted Leroy Sane a tap-in with a wayward pass across the face of his own goal.

Serge Gnabry added a fourth as the visitors' relentless pressure finally told in the closing 15 minutes, though Jurgen Ekkelenkamp lobbed home a consolation 35 seconds after being subbed on.

Tolisso had a goal ruled out for offside by the VAR in the second minute, with Schwolow making saves from Sane, Kingsley Coman and Robert Lewandowski to keep the game level midway through the first half.

After Ishak Belfodil threatened for the hosts, Tolisso stooped to head Coman's left-wing delivery into the bottom-right corner and give Bayern a deserved lead.

Tolisso missed an open goal and Schwolow kept out Lewandowski, but Bayern got their second on the stroke of half-time when an unmarked Muller guided Joshua Kimmich's free-kick home.

Suat Serdar was unable to hit the target from six yards out, and Bayern were out of sight when Schwolow's pass to Linus Gechter was intercepted by Sane, who was left with a simple finish into a vacant net.

Gechter did well to clear a looping effort from Gnabry off the line, but the winger was not to be denied again, drilling home a fine finish for Bayern's second goal in four minutes.

Dayot Upamecano had not even been on the pitch for a minute when he sold Manuel Neuer short with a back pass and, after the keeper thwarted Stevan Jovetic, Ekkelenkamp lofted in the follow-up to complete the scoring.

Antonio Conte saw his unbeaten Premier League run as Tottenham boss end on familiar turf as Chelsea claimed a 2-0 derby win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

A stunning finish from Hakim Ziyech and a Thiago Silva header early in the second half gave the Blues the victory as they became the first team to pass 500 points in London derby matches in the Premier League era.

Silva had earlier been involved in a controversial incident, Harry Kane seeing a goal disallowed at 0-0 after a hand in the back of the defender sent him tumbling to ground.

For Spurs, whose only win in their past 32 away league matches against Chelsea came against Conte's side in April 2018, it was a first league loss since the 3-0 reverse at home to Manchester United in October that brought Nuno Espirito Santo's short reign to an end.

Romelu Lukaku passed up the best early openings, slicing a shot over the bar in the first minute and missing the ball from a teasing Mason Mount cross when he should have done better.

Spurs had barely offered a threat until Kane gathered Steven Bergwijn's low cross and drilled home a finish on the turn, but the goal was was ruled out for a push on Silva.

The visitors were lucky not to go a man down before half-time, though, VAR deeming no further action was needed for a Matt Doherty foul on Malang Sarr and Japhet Tanganga somehow escaping even a free-kick for pulling back the shirt of Callum Hudson-Odoi after previously being booked.

It was Tanganga who was left for dead by Hudson-Odoi a minute after the restart, the winger then teeing up Ziyech to curl a sublime finish into the top-left corner and put Chelsea ahead.

Hugo Lloris denied Ziyech a second soon after as Chelsea ramped up the pressure, with Mount whistling a shot just over the bar from Hudson-Odoi's cut-back.

The Chelsea winger was proving a real handful for Spurs and, after Eric Dier tripped him down the left wing, the resulting Mount delivery was glanced in via the head of Silva.

What does it mean? Chelsea close on City as Spurs suffer top-four blow

The defeat means Spurs stay seventh, having missed out on the chance to leapfrog Arsenal, West Ham and Manchester United to climb into the top four.

Chelsea move to within 10 points of leaders Manchester City, having played a game more, with Liverpool a point further ahead.

Mercurial Mount

Mount was exceptional on the right of the Chelsea attack as he exploited space whenever Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was dragged out of position trying to break up passing lanes.

The England midfielder created a team-high four chances and found the target with five of nine crosses, including the head of Silva for the second goal.

Conte counts cost of Tanganga inaction

After Tanganga escaped a second yellow card, it looked likely Conte would substitute him at half-time to remove the risk of falling a man behind.

His decision not to proved key to Chelsea's breakthrough, as he allowed Hudson-Odoi to run clear for fear of being punished for any attempt to halt his run. It was 2-0 before he was finally replaced by Lucas Moura.

What's next?

Chelsea host Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup on February 5 after their winter break before their Club World Cup campaign begins. Spurs's fourth-round clash is at home to Brighton and Hove Albion on the same day.