Giorgio Chiellini is urging Juventus not to focus all of their attention on Romelu Lukaku when they face Chelsea on Wednesday, also highlighting the qualities of Jorginho, who he is backing to win this year's Ballon d'Or.
Juve made a winning start to their Champions League campaign two weeks ago with a 3-0 victory over Malmo, though they will expect a rather trickier challenge as Chelsea visit Turin on matchday two.
The contest will see Chiellini renew hostilities with Lukaku, their pair having enjoyed some bruising tussles during the Belgian's time in Serie A with Inter.
But the Chelsea player Chiellini seems to hold in the highest regard is Jorginho, a player he featured alongside as Italy won Euro 2020 earlier this year.
That success coupled with Chelsea's Champions League win in 2020-21 saw Jorginho win the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award in August, and Chiellini believes he deserves to add the Ballon d'Or to his collection as well.
Asked about the prospect of going up against Lukaku again, Chiellini said: "Lukaku is a great player, we will have to be careful.
"It will be important not to allow the qualities of champions like Lukaku to come out. He's a great player, whom they paid a lot for. He's not there by chance, but maybe it's a bit diminishing to talk about just the meeting of me and Lukaku – it's not just Lukaku.
"Chelsea have many champions: let's think of our great friend Jorginho, who is the 'lighthouse' of this team.
"I truly hope he can win the Ballon d'or because he's a good friend of mine and it's also an award that would feel like it's mine as an Italian and a player who was involved in the [Euro 2020] win."
Jorginho has not always had it easy at Chelsea, with many critics sceptical of his suitability to the club and English football in general, but Chiellini believes the fact he has outlasted both Maurizio Sarri and Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge is telling.
"I always thought he was a good player but after two or three sessions in the national team under [Roberto] Mancini, I realised just how good he is," Chiellini continued.
"What a top player he is. He maybe doesn't have great physical qualities, but the real difference is in his head, his mentality, and I was really happy because many said he could only play with Sarri.
"Instead, two other coaches arrived at Chelsea and then in the national team. Wherever he goes he plays as a regular, so I'm happy for him and he definitely deserves an award, so I truly hope he wins the Ballon d'Or."
Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri was questioned on the form of his own midfielders, specifically Adrien Rabiot.
The Frenchman has only impressed in spells since joining from Paris Saint-Germain two years ago and Allegri clearly wants more – though he is adamant Rabiot has the capacity to improve.
"It's similar to [Federico] Bernardeschi," Allegri said. "The difference among players is when they come to Juve – if a big club chooses them, there's obviously a reason, but the difference in their career depends on mentality, their specific objective in helping the team and the capacity to improve, being determined in training sessions, scoring, defending.
"These are the elements that make the difference. How many good, technical players haven't been able to explode in their careers because maybe there was something missing?
"Rabiot is a player, if I was him, I'd be very angry with myself because he's a player who's been here two years, how many goals he scored? Ten [six] in two seasons? That's not acceptable. He needs to improve in order to get much better and I'm pretty sure he'll be able to do that this year."
Raphael Varane is convinced Manchester United have a squad that is set up for success despite some alarming recent results.
The last fortnight has seen United lose their Champions League opener to Young Boys and crash out of the EFL Cup against West Ham prior to Saturday's shock Premier League defeat at home to Aston Villa.
Expectations are high for United in 2021-22 after World Cup winner Varane joined from Real Madrid, while long-term target Jadon Sancho came in from Borussia Dortmund and Cristiano Ronaldo made his sensational return from Juventus.
The pressure is back on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer going into Wednesday's match with Villarreal, but Varane is not overly worried as he sees the ingredients required for success within the club.
"What I've been able to see is, with my team-mates, there's a lot of quality in our squad," Varane said as he sat alongside Solskjaer at the pre-match news conference.
"We've got huge potential, I'm convinced of it.
"We're working really hard, we're working well in training and improving all the time. Since the start of the season I think we're on a positive, upward curve.
"There is talent, there's experience there as well. We've got everything you need to have that belief that you can do well.
"I think that's a really key issue - we've got to believe in ourselves, be convinced that we can do it. We have got to be ambitious, believe in our own potential and then I think you can achieve things when you do that.
"Everything is there in the right place. Each time we go into a game, we go on that track and keep on that road of positivity, think on how we can improve in little details.
"We are on the right road."
Varane may have to hold a weakened United defence together when they face Villarreal at Old Trafford.
Fellow centre-back Harry Maguire is out for a few weeks with a calf injury, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka is suspended and Luke Shaw will be a late fitness check.
United face a tough test, having failed to win in their five previous meetings with Villarreal, scoring just once in those contests.
Villarreal are also unbeaten in their last 16 major European games (W12 D4) across the Europa League and Champions League, the longest current run of any side.
Ahead of the key Group F clash, Varane agreed the pressure of playing for United can be compared with what he experienced during his time at Madrid.
"Big clubs are always wanting a lot of their players, they expect a lot from the players," he said.
"There are a lot of demands. It is always hard to make comparisons but I believe that it's fairly similar in terms of the hopes and demands and expectations at big clubs.
"After a defeat or a draw, you know what it's like, it's always very negative when that happens.
"The key is to keep up good runs of results and be positive. That pressure you kind of live with it at big clubs - there is always a lot of expectation, for sure."
Inter struggled as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Shakhtar Donetsk in Tuesday's Champions League clash.
Nicolo Barella, who was denied by the crossbar, and Edin Dzeko spurned first-half opportunities, with Roberto De Zerbi's hosts also faltering with a multitude of chances at the Kiev Olympic Stadium.
Manor Solomon and Tete both went close for Shakhtar, but with neither able to beat Samir Handanovic, the Ukrainian outfit settled for a creditable goalless draw against the Serie A champions.
The teams are left on a point apiece in Group D as they suffer similarly timid starts and will need to make up early ground on Real Madrid and Sheriff, who meet later on Tuesday.
The opening chance of the contest saw Solomon surge inside and thrash his effort past the left-hand post before Barella blasted an effort against the bar from long-range at the other end.
Inter's carelessness in possession almost cost them, with Tete angling wide and Pedrinho smashing over either side of Lautaro Martinez's whipped effort failing to find the corner.
Dzeko should have opened the scoring after ghosting onto Federico Dimarco's corner but wastefully prodded over from close range as the two sides continued to trade first-half chances.
Milan Skriniar produced a vital last-ditch block after the break to deny Pedrinho following Dodo's cutback as the hosts boasted 66 per cent of the possession against their uncharacteristically sloppy opponents.
Mykola Matyvenko then gifted Martinez the chance to break the deadlock, but the forward could only skew over the bar when one-on-one with Andriy Pyatov before Dodo selfishly lashed high of Inter's goal.
Substitute Joaquin Correa offered Shakhtar a late scare as he drifted inside and curled towards the far corner, only for Pyatov to turn behind the post before denying Stefan de Vrij from the resulting corner as the match ended level.
Mumbai Indians put an end to a three-game losing streak to boost their play-off hopes in the Indian Premier League, beating Punjab Kings by six wickets.
Saurabh Tiwary made 45 and Hardik Pandya hit an unbeaten 40 as the reigning champions overhauled their opponents' score of 135-6 with an over to spare on Tuesday.
Looking to beat Mumbai for a third time in a row – a feat they had not managed since a run between the 2008-09 seasons – Punjab Kings simply failed to fire with the bat. They appeared to be making solid progress when their opening pair reached 36 without loss, only to then lose four wickets for the addition of just 12 runs.
Kieron Pollard claimed two in one over, including dismissing fellow West Indian Chris Gayle for one. Captain KL Rahul followed soon after, hitting a slower bouncer straight to Jasprit Bumrah at short fine leg to depart for 21.
Aiden Markram led a recovery of sorts, finishing as the top scorer in the innings with 42. Deepak Hooda contributed 28 while Harpreet Brar ended up unbeaten on 14, though both struggled to up the run-rate in the closing overs.
Ravi Bishnoi provided hope for Punjab Kings by dismissing Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav with successive deliveries in the powerplay, but Pollard came out at number six in the order to rush his team to victory, making 15 not out from just seven balls.
Bowlers help dethrone Kings
Mumbai Indians have lost 13 games against Punjab Kings in the history of the IPL, the joint-most for the franchise against any rival in the tournament.
However, they came out on top this time thanks mainly to their bowling attack. Krunal Pandya and Bumrah both claimed 1-24, while Nathan Coulter-Nile's four-over stint conceded just 19 runs.
All-round excellence in Abu Dhabi
Pollard may be better known for his big-hitting exploits with the bat, but the all-rounder has now reached the milestone of 300 wickets in Twenty20 cricket, meaning he becomes the first player to achieve both that feat and also score 10,000 runs in the format.
He dismissed Gayle for just the second time in T20 action, tempting the left-hander to have a go at a slower delivery that only ended up in the safe hands of Hardik Pandya.
Lionel Messi will start for Paris Saint-Germain against Manchester City in their blockbuster Champions League clash.
Messi has missed PSG's last two games because of a knee injury and was a doubt for the match at the Parc des Princes.
However, he will get the chance to face a City side led by former boss Pep Guardiola, with whom he won three LaLiga titles and two Champions League crowns during their storied time together at Barcelona.
Messi was named in PSG's starting XI, meaning he will line up alongside Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in a frightening front three.
In his pre-match media conference, Guardiola conceded he did not have a plan to stop that trio.
"I don't know, with this amount of quality I don't know what we should do to stop them," he said.
"The talent cannot be stopped – we have to do it as a team. Individually we cannot put the pressure on one player to solve the skills and talents they have.
"We have to be compact, together and help each other, know we are going to suffer and be in pain, and how you handle the pain in these moments…you have to be able to suffer for 90 minutes."
Hoping to help heighten City's suffering will be midfielder Marco Verratti, who had also been troubled by a knee problem.
Verratti sustained the injury while on international duty with Italy and has made only two appearances for PSG this season, the last coming in August when Messi made his debut at Reims.
But Verratti also has a place in the starting XI and will hope to produce a more telling impact than in his previous Champions League appearance, which saw PSG knocked out by City in the semi-finals back in May.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are dealing with significant injury issues at cornerback and may be about to turn to one of the best to play the position to solve those problems.
According to multiple reports, the Bucs are hosting five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Richard Sherman for a visit with a view to adding him to an ailing secondary.
Sunday's defeat to the Los Angeles Rams saw the Buccaneers lose Jamel Dean to a knee injury.
Reports suggest Dean has avoided a serious injury but, with nickel corner Sean Murphy-Bunting on injured reserve with a dislocated elbow, the Bucs require help at cornerback.
That may now come in the form of veteran Sherman. However, if he is to truly be an asset to the Bucs, he will need to bounce back from his performance in limited action in 2020.
Injuries restricted Sherman to five games for the San Francisco 49ers last year and, in his 150 pass coverage snaps as an outside corner, he allowed a burn – which is when a receiver wins his matchup with a defender on a play where is targeted – 72.2 per cent of the time.
That was the fourth-worst rate among outside corners with a minimum of 200 total snaps. Sherman allowed an average of 12.11 burn yards across his 18 targets, above the average of 10.51 and gave up a big play on 34.1 per cent of his targets (the average for outside corners was 27.2).
However, his burn yards per snap average of 1.45 yards was tied for 20th with Dean, speaking to the respect opposing quarterbacks still gave to Sherman through their unwillingness to test him in coverage. Indeed, Dean was targeted on 16.1 per cent of his coverage snaps compared to 12 per cent for Sherman.
And Sherman would likely point to his 2019 season as evidence he can still perform at the highest level.
A Pro Bowler and second-team All-Pro two seasons ago as he helped the 49ers to Super Bowl LIV, Sherman still gave up a burn on 50.9 per cent of targets, just above the average of 50.4 for outside corners with at least 200 snaps.
Yet his burn yards per snap rate of 1.17 was sixth-best for outside corners and his burn yards per target average of 7.54 over 55 targets was also sixth.
Seventh among outside corners with a big play percentage allowed of 16.9, Sherman has recent history of helping a contender come within touching distance of climbing the mountain.
Since then, he has endured injury issues and off-field troubles this offseason. However, if those problems are behind him and the Bucs feel he can get close to his 2019 levels, then Sherman is worth a low-risk signing for a Buccaneers team aiming to remain at the summit.
Fabio Cannavaro has stepped down as head coach of Guangzhou as the Chinese Super League side continue to face an uncertain future.
The legendary former Italy centre-back was in his second spell in charge of the club having returned in November 2017, two years after being replaced by Luiz Felipe Scolari.
He guided Guangzhou to the title in 2019 but his position was called into question following last year's runners-up finish.
And with troubled majority shareholders Evergrande Group reportedly on the brink of collapsing, Guangzhou have decided to cut short Cannavaro's latest spell in charge.
"After friendly negotiation, Guangzhou Football Club decided to terminate the contract with Mr. Fabio Cannavaro," a club statement read on Tuesday.
"Since November 2017, Mr. Cannavaro has served as the head coach of the Guangzhou team, leading the team to win the 2018 Chinese Football Association Super Cup champion, the 2019 Chinese Football Association Super League champion and many other honours.
"Here, I would like to sincerely thank Mr. Fabio Cannavaro for his great efforts and positive contributions to the Guangzhou team, and wish him all the best in the future."
Ian Rush, John Aldridge and Jamie Carragher were among those to pay tribute to Roger Hunt on Tuesday after he died aged 83.
The former Liverpool and England international passed away on Monday following a long-term illness.
Hunt won the World Cup with England in 1966, playing all six matches and scoring three times. He earned 34 caps for the Three Lions.
He joined Liverpool in 1959, firing 41 goals in 42 games to drag them out of the second tier and into the First Division under the stewardship of Bill Shankly.
The forward managed 285 goals in 492 games for the club, which was a record until Ian Rush surpassed the haul in 1992, but no player has ever scored more league goals for the Reds than Hunt's 244.
And Rush led the tributes to an Anfield legend, posting: "Very sad to hear of the passing of Sir Roger Hunt, someone I would always look up to. He was a fantastic goalscorer and a true gentleman on and off the pitch. My thoughts are with his family. May he rest in peace."
John Aldridge, another Liverpool goalscorer, used to play with Rush up top and he echoed his strike partner's sentiments.
"I'm absolutely gutted to hear of the passing away of one, if not the best LFC [Liverpool] strikers Sir Roger Hunt," Aldridge wrote on Twitter.
"What a striker and a true gentleman, I had the great pleasure of being with him on many occasions. RIP my Nu 1 [number one] legend and hero."
Phil Thompson grew up idolising Hunt before making his debut at Anfield, where he would later become assistant manager, and posted his condolences to social media.
"What an awful day, the passing of my true hero who I'm glad to say became a friend," Thompson said. "A humble man and a legend of the game. RIP Sir Roger."
While ex-Liverpool centre-back Jamie Carragher added: "RIP Sir Roger Hunt, one of the greatest goalscorers our club has ever seen. Sir Roger along with the other legends from the 60s made LFC the club it is today."
Former club Liverpool, who Hunt enjoyed an 11-and-a-half year spell with, joined a host of names paying tribute to the 83-year-old, posting: "The thoughts of everybody at Liverpool FC are with Roger's family and friends at this sad and difficult time."
While Reds head coach Jurgen Klopp hailed a Kop legend, who "comes second to no-one in his importance in the history of Liverpool FC", FA Chief Executive Mark Bullingham promised a fitting tribute for Hunt at England's next home game.
"English football has lost another great with the passing of Roger Hunt," said Bullingham.
"On behalf of the FA, our thoughts are with his family and friends today. Twice a league champion with Liverpool, either side of a memorable FA Cup success in 1965, Roger will always be treasured by fans across the country as one of our World Cup winners of 1966.
"He will forever be remembered at Wembley Stadium and we will pay tribute to his memory before our home fixture with Hungary next month."
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Cristiano Ronaldo almost guarantees goals as Manchester United prepare to face Villarreal in the Champions League.
United have drawn their last five meetings with Villarreal, including the 2021 Europa League final which they went on to lose on penalties, while managing to score just once.
Therefore, the Premier League club will be hoping the 36-year-old, who is the Champions League's all-time leading scorer, can help them halt that barren run.
Ronaldo has never netted against Villarreal in four previous appearances against them for United in the competition, only facing Lille and Benfica as often without finding the net.
However, he scored 13 times against the Spanish side during his time with Real Madrid, a factor Solskjaer hopes will work in United's favour.
Ronaldo has four goals in as many games for United, though he failed to strike for the first time since re-joining the club in the Premier League defeat to Aston Villa last time out.
"Of course Cristiano, you can almost say when he starts it is one guaranteed goal," Solskjaer said at his pre-match news conference when asked if Ronaldo could be the difference.
"He has that record and he will score goals.
"It is not going to be easy for us, but it is not going to be easy [for Villarreal] to play against Cristiano.
"He has 13 goals in 15 against Villarreal [for Madrid] which means he enjoys playing against them.
"He knows Raul Albiol, Pau Torres, top defenders. He is determined to score every time he is on the pitch. We have to play well to create chances."
Ronaldo will break former Madrid team-mate Iker Casillas’ record for Champions League appearances if he plays, setting a new record of 178 games.
It will be the Portugal international's first Champions League game at Old Trafford for United since April 2009 against Arsenal. He was directly involved in 12 goals in his final 15 home games in his first spell for the Red Devils in the competition, netting seven and providing five assists.
With Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka out, and Luke Shaw's status uncertain, United are poised for a defensive reshuffle, so Solskjaer will hope Ronaldo and the attack can carry the load with his team under pressure after losing the Group F opener to Young Boys.
The United manager added: "It is a group stage, there are only six games and you need 10 or maybe 12 points to go through.
"We lost three points last time. If you end up with zero or one point after two games you need to win the last four games probably, so not a must-win game but it is a very important one."
Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel has revealed N'Golo Kante will miss Wednesday's Champions League clash with Juventus after testing positive for coronavirus.
The France international made his sixth appearance of the season on Saturday when playing an hour of Chelsea's 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League.
However, Kante has since contracted COVID-19 and will serve a period of isolation, ruling him out of the Blues' European tie with Juve and league clash with Southampton ahead of the international break.
Speaking at a pre-match news conference on Tuesday, Tuchel also confirmed Christian Pulisic, Reece James and Mason Mount will not make the trip to Turin because of injury problems.
Juventus will also be without some key players at the Allianz Stadium as Paulo Dybala and former Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata have been ruled out.
The Turin giants were in the relegation zone after picking up just two points from their first four Serie A matches, but back-to-back wins have lifted them up to 10th.
Massimiliano Allegri's side also saw off Malmo 3-0 in their opening Champions League match two weeks ago to make it 11 wins in their past 12 group-stage matches.
Despite losing Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United last month, Tuchel is still expecting a big test when Chelsea travel to Turin.
"They are so experienced and such a big club with so much Champions League experience," he said.
"They will enjoy the different competition. They have had a bit of a rough start according to their results in Serie A, but they were convincing in the Champions League.
"You never know with players that are missing. The guys who come in want to show they are reliable. We play Juventus at Juventus.
"It's a no-brainer that demands respect to the quality and tradition of the club.
"We need to refocus and regroup and face a tough challenge with positive energy and determination to bounce back from our defeat to Manchester City."
Ronaldo scored 101 goals in 134 appearances for Juve across his three seasons at the club before returning to United, 14 of those goals coming in the Champions League.
Only six other players scored more goals in the competition than Ronaldo over that period, but Tuchel does not believe the Portuguese's surprise exit hinders Juve's chances of European success, even if they are now a weaker side.
"Time will tell, but every team without Cristiano is weaker. He shows it every time he is on the pitch, in the Premier League and in the Champions League," Tuchel said.
"They have lost a great champion, a great personality, but you can be a great team and win things, too, even without him.
"And they are. They have experience, talent, depth and a quality coach. They have winning DNA, the winning mentality.
"This is the first time I've played against Juventus. I will face a team of our level and these challenges make us a better team. "
Chelsea have lost each of their past four away games against Italian teams in the Champions League, with each defeat coming against a different side – including Juve in 2012-13.
The Blues scraped past Zenit 1-0 in their opening Group H match but, as reigning European champions, Tuchel accepts his side no longer enter any game as underdogs.
"It is difficult for that to be the case when you've won the title," the German coach said. "We won this competition last season when we weren't favourites.
"Now it's easy to consider ourselves as favourites and to accept that. We've won it before. We have showed all of our abilities.
"We need to play with freedom but also be realistic. The standards are high for us and hopefully the performances and results arrive step by step."
Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has been ruled out for Wednesday's Champions League match against Villarreal and could miss "a few weeks" of action with a calf injury.
Maguire and fellow defender Luke Shaw both suffered injuries in the disappointing 1-0 Premier League defeat to Aston Villa last time out.
And manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed the centre-back is set for a spell on the sidelines.
But he had more positive news on Shaw, who is in contention to face the Spanish side and does not look poised for a long spell out regardless of whether he is able to start the match at Old Trafford.
"Luke has been in on Tuesday, so I will give him a chance to be involved," Solskjaer said at his pre-match news conference.
"He did not train with the team [but] hopefully Luke can be involved.
"Harry is more or less definitely out, it doesn't look good. It is his calf, that might take a few weeks.
"Let's see how quickly he recovers. He wanted to play against Villarreal, he missed the last game [against them in the Europa League final]."
With Aaron Wan-Bissaka already suspended after a red card in the opening Group F defeat against Young Boys, United could be forced to change three members of their regular back four alongside Raphael Varane.
Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Diogo Dalot and Alex Telles are among the candidates to come into the starting XI.
Solskjaer added: "We will have to make a few changes. You always look at the opposition and sometimes you need to make adjustments.
"But we look at ourselves mostly. The more injuries you get, you might need to do tactical changes. I have got Eric, Rapha, Victor. Alex and Diogo 100 per cent fit."
The last five meetings in European competition between United and Villarreal have all ended in draws.
Four of those encounters were goalless, the exception being the 2021 Europa League final, which Villarreal won 11-10 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
"You expect what you have learned in the last few seasons," added Solskjaer. "We have played each other five times, every time has been a draw.
"They are very well organised, technically very good. They can play from the back. It is hard to press against them, which I thought we did well in the final.
"Difficult to create chances against and we have to be better to create chances. It was an even final."
United go into the key game looking to end an unwelcome trend.
They are winless in their last seven matches against Spanish teams in the Champions League (D3 L4), with their last such victory coming against Real Sociedad back in October 2013 (1-0).
Julian Nagelsmann hailed Serge Gnabry's unique ability as Bayern Munich prepare to face Dynamo Kiev in Wednesday's Champions League clash.
Bayern crushed Barcelona 3-0 in their Group E opener and have won the most games (20), while scoring the most goals (73) across the last three Champions League campaigns.
Robert Lewandowski has been directly involved in 27 goals in his last 17 appearances in the competition and has ended on the winning side in all 17 games, the joint-longest run of wins by a player in the tournament's history.
However, Nagelsmann preferred to focus on Gnabry, who has scored three and assisted twice this term, ahead of the visit of Dynamo.
"I didn't do anything with [Gnabry] consciously and didn't have that many conversations," Nagelsmann told reporters on Tuesday when asked about Gnabry's form.
"I've known him for a long time, if not as long as Niki [Niklas Sule]. We already had a good connection in Hoffenheim and it works properly.
"For me, he is very important as a type, he brings in a good mood. In terms of play, he is of course also important, he has a good degree, a good feeling and good ideas.
"The player with quality in connection with the character, I look forward to seeing him every day.
"I see it that he has to be free and not think too much about what he is doing. He does a lot about instinct and has the street footballer gene."
Gnabry ranks fourth for chances created (12) across all competitions for Bayern this term, while also placing fourth for dribbles completed (16) as he continues to fight for his place alongside Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala and the absent Kingsley Coman.
Whichever wingers Nagelsmann utilises, the head coach also appreciates the different challenge that the reigning champions of Ukraine – who have never won away at Allianz Arena in Europe – will propose as he looks to assert his dominance on the Champions League.
"They are always favourites in the league and play that way," he continued. "They are often very low in games in the Champions League. Benfica failed to score, it will be our main task to play around the block.
"We want to get three points and stay ahead in the table. Otherwise, the plan is more tactical. We want to put a lot of pressure on possession. We also have to avoid counter-attacks.
"It's about making it clear that we are one of the favourites. In the end, the team that lifts the trophy has to be the one that has won the most games. We want to be that team."
Jalen Hurts took ownership after the Philadelphia Eagles crashed to a poor 41-21 loss at NFC East rivals the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football.
Quarterback Hurts completed 25 of 39 passes for 326 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, adding 35 yards from nine carries on the ground.
Much of his production, though, came with the game out of reach. The Cowboys led 27-7 just a minute into the second half when Trevon Diggs intercepted Hurts for a pick-six and the Eagles ultimately fell to 1-2.
"I didn't execute and I didn't do a good enough job of leading," said second-year pro Hurts after the game.
"I didn't do a good enough job of running our offense and doing the things that I need to do. This one is on me.
"I like to see me play better, that is something I can control. I'll learn from this.
"I learn from it and move on. I take responsibility for how this game went. I'm learning from it and we're gonna be a better team from it. I believe that."
The Eagles now have a short week before a difficult home game on Sunday with the Kansas City Chiefs.
They will face Patrick Mahomes and a Chiefs team who have the same record, reeling with a point to prove after losing consecutive games to the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers.
"We're on a short week and no one's going to feel sorry for us," added Eagles coach Nick Sirianni.
"The Chiefs aren't going to feel sorry for us. We got to rest our bodies, get our bodies right.
"We're going to have to watch this tape on the way home, get the corrections to our guys written down, and they're going to have to look at them on their own because we're going to have to be moving on to the Chiefs really quick."
While Hurts led an impressive offensive showing in Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons, the Eagles are yet to get much production from their pass-catchers.
Quez Watkins – who has caught all seven of his targets for 186 yards – is the Eagles' receiving yards leader but that total is good enough for just 37th in the NFL through three weeks.
The Seattle Mariners have adopted Ted Lasso's mantra as they chase down a playoff place: "Believe".
Unlikely football manager Lasso uses that one-word message in the popular television show, and it is one that rings true with the Mariners as they seek to end a 20-year postseason wait.
Seattle must still reel in two teams in the AL East to take a place in the Wild Card Game, but their belief is not wavering.
A 13-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Monday opened up a two-game gap to their AL West rivals, with Mitch Haniger hitting a pair of three-run homers.
"We've got five games left, folks," manager Scott Servais said. "Here we sit. It's been some kind of season we've had, and we've still got a lot to play for."
Haniger missed all of last season but now has 37 home runs this year, ranking ninth in MLB.
Only Willie Mays (41 in 1954) and Ted Williams (38 in 1946) have ever scored more home runs in a season after not appearing in any professional league the previous year.
A's pitcher Cole Irvin gave up five runs for his fifth loss in five starts in 2021 against the Mariners. The 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers, against Tom Glavine, were the last team to face a lefty starter at least five times in a season and win on every occasion.
Irvin is not alone in having a tough time against this team, though. Seattle have not been shut out in 92 games, the longest streak in the major league this season.
Two years on from propping up the division, the Mariners are a serious prospect again. They are 8-2 across their past 10 games, the form team in the American League, and, of course, they believe.
"Believe," read a simple banner that hung in T-Mobile Park during this latest victory.
"That was pretty cool," Servais said. "You know every team's got their thing. It's the world we live in. And right now, it's the Ted Lasso world.
"Our guys are having fun, and we should all enjoy it, because we've had some kind of season."
Haniger added: "That's what is fuelling and firing us. As a team, we want to win every single game the rest of the season.
"Just come in every day, prepare to win and that's the goal. It's just control what we can control when we go out there."
Seattle host Oakland again on Tuesday.
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