Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has no plans to end his glittering career anytime soon as he prepares to take charge of Los Blancos for the 300th time, versus Alaves in LaLiga on Tuesday.

Ancelotti has taken charge of Madrid 299 times across two spells, overseeing 119 games between 2013 and 2015, winning the Copa del Rey in 2013-14 and also leading the Spanish giants to their long-awaited 10th European Cup/Champions League crown.

Since returning to the Santiago Bernabeu in 2021, Ancelotti has overseen a further 180 matches, leading the side to two more Champions League successes, two domestic title triumphs and a further Copa del Rey win.

Ancelotti – who last season became the first coach to win the European Cup/Champions League on five occasions – turned 65 in June, but he intends to coach at the top level for some time yet.

"I'm not thinking about my future whatsoever, I love this job," Ancelotti told reporters at a press conference on Monday.

"I have been lucky enough to coach great clubs, tomorrow it will be my 300th game at the best club in the world, it is something special to be in this dugout, to do it 300 times is not quite a miracle, but it is almost a miracle.

"Sure, you can't compare my tiredness to that of the players. There is pressure, responsibility, but I love it. At the moment I don't see myself as having an expiry date, I'd love to stay here for many years to come."

 

Madrid's only two losses across all competitions last season were both to local rivals Atletico Madrid, a 3-1 defeat in LaLiga on September 24, 2023, and a 4-2 extra-time loss in the Copa del Rey in January.

Should they avoid defeat versus Alaves on Tuesday, they will have completed a full calendar year unbeaten in LaLiga.

They have gone 38 league matches without defeat, closing in on the record held by Barcelona, who went 43 games without losing between April 2017 and May 2018.

The coach praised the resilience of his players, who have repeatedly found ways to salvage results despite injuries biting hard in recent weeks.

"Some records are about winning and others are about not losing. We are coming from a very long run and that means a lot of success, because draws often help you a lot," Ancelotti said.

"I think that in football, if you can't win, at least don't lose. Sometimes a draw gives a better feeling than a defeat. 

"Defeat gives options to improve, that's true. But our success in the Champions League in the past lies in our solidity, in the way we compete.

"It has taken us a while to find this solidity at the start of the season, but we are going to find it, because the mental attitude of the players is very good."

Madrid are second in the LaLiga standings on 14 points, four behind leaders Barcelona, who host Getafe on Wednesday.

The Premier League delivered another weekend of thrills and spills as the 2024-25 season really clicks into gear.

Manchester City fought back late on to draw 2-2 with Arsenal in the headline fixture of the weekend on Sunday.

Chelsea and Liverpool each claimed 3-0 wins, while Manchester United were frustrated by Crystal Palace.

Meanwhile, the bottom six teams in the league remain without a win, which is a Premier League first five games into a season.

But, what did the underlying metrics suggest about the weekend's action?

Unlucky loser: Man Utd

The data has thrown up an interesting storyline this week - there was not really a particularly unlucky loser or lucky winner.

Instead, the results that were most skewed were draws, with United one of the teams that can consider themselves unfortunate not to have picked up all three points.

They mustered 1.7 expected goals (xG) against Palace at Selhurst Park, having 15 shots and missing all five of their big chances. Only Tottenham (seven) created more big chances in total this weekend.

 

United had six shots on target, but found their former goalkeeper Dean Henderson in fine form, with Palace's expected goals on target (xGoT) conceded coming in at 1.9, showing just how well their shot-stopper performed.

Lucky winner: Arsenal

Drawing right at the death may have felt like a defeat for Arsenal, but it is fair to say the pressure had been building for Man City before John Stones steered home in the eighth minute of stoppage time.

Mikel Arteta's team, reduced to 10 men following Leandro Trossard's second booking on the stroke of half-time, set out their stall to defend for the second half, and they very nearly got over the line.

Yet City, who had 77.2% of the ball, were dominant. They had 28 shots in the second half alone, the joint-highest ever by a team on record (from 2003-04) in a single half of Premier League football.

City finished with 2.18 xG, while the Gunners recorded just 0.67 - that was the third-lowest figure across the league this weekend.

Unlucky loser: Southampton

Two of those six teams at the bottom still waiting for a first league win are Southampton and Ipswich Town, who faced off at St Mary's on Saturday.

Southampton looked all set to wrap up their maiden victory of 2024-25 until, late on, Sam Morsy's deflected effort left the hosts stunned.

Only Spurs (3.52) registered a higher xG in the league this round than Southampton (2.49), who missed three of their four big chances.

That being said, Ipswich did have more shots (13 to 11) and recorded 1.69 xG, which suggests the Tractor Boys were at least worthy of one goal.

Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen will undergo surgery after suffering a complete rupture of the patella tendon in his right knee.

The Germany international sustained the injury during Barcelona's 5-1 win at Villarreal in LaLiga on Sunday.

Ter Stegen fell badly after jumping for a ball just before half-time and was visibly in pain as he was carried off the pitch on a stretcher.

All of his weight fell on his right leg as he injured the same knee on which he had already undergone two surgeries in recent years.

He is reportedly set to be out for around seven months, meaning his season could well be over. 

"Tests carried out on the first team player Marc ter Stegen confirm that he has a complete rupture of the patella tendon in his right knee," Barcelona said in a statement.

"On Monday afternoon he will undergo a surgical process and once complete a new update will be released." 

Iga Swiatek has passed Ashleigh Barty to go seventh in the all-time charts for most weeks spent as the WTA's world number one.

Swiatek won her fifth career grand slam title at the French Open in June, though she did suffer third-round exits from the Australian Open and Wimbledon before going out in the last eight at the US Open earlier this month.

However, Swiatek still sits over 2,000 points clear of her closest rival, Flushing Meadows champion Aryna Sabalenka, at the top of the women's world rankings.

She has now spent a total of 122 weeks at the top of the rankings, moving clear of Barty, who spent 121 weeks as the world's top-ranked female player.

Only Steffi Graf (377 weeks), Martina Navratilova (332), Serena Williams (319), Chris Evert (260), Martina Hingis (209) and Monica Seles (178) have now spent more time as world number one than Swiatek since the rankings were introduced in 1975.

Patrick Mahomes feels he has not played his best football in the early stages of the season, despite the Kansas City Chiefs being 3-0 after Sunday's victory over the Atlanta Falcons. 

The Chiefs – who are targeting a historic Super Bowl three-peat this term – opened their campaign with dramatic victories over the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals.

They were handed another stern test by the Falcons in Sunday's late game, relying on their defense to produce two big fourth-down stops in the closing minutes of a 22-17 win.

The Falcons, who impressively dispatched the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2, had multiple chances to score a go-ahead touchdown, only for Kirk Cousins to throw a pair of incompletions in the end zone with just over four minutes to play.

Mahomes threw for 217 yards including touchdown passes to Rashee Rice and JuJu Smith-Schuster, though he also threw a pick to Justin Simmons, who now has six career interceptions against the three-time Super Bowl champion.

"I feel like I haven't played very well and that's not a stats thing," Mahomes said after the game. 

"I just feel like I'm missing opportunities whenever they're out there and not throwing the ball in the exact spot I want it to be at. 

"I'm not playing my best football and we're still getting wins, so I've got to get better to make the offense better."

Mahomes' 659 passing yards for the season ranks 10th among all quarterbacks, while his passer rating of 89.9 is just the 17th-best in the league.

Ahead of a challenging Week 4 visit to the Los Angeles Chargers, Mahomes is determined to step things up.

"It's about me getting back to my fundamentals, putting our guys in the right positions, and then we've got to execute at a higher level offensively," he said.

"If teams are going to make us drive the field, we have to prove that we're able to do that, and I'm sure we'll get a lot of the same this next week with the Chargers."

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone took the positives from his side's performance in a 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.

It marked Atleti's third draw in LaLiga this season, with Simeone's side six points back from leaders Barcelona.

Atleti earned a point at Vallecas Stadium thanks to Conor Gallagher's strike after the break following a sloppy first half in which Isi Palazon had put the hosts ahead.

Next up for Atleti is a derby clash with second-place Real Madrid, and Simeone remained optimistic despite his team's indifferent form.

"In the first half we had more scoring situations than gameplay. Then we saw intensity, involvement, a lot of people in the opposition's half, attacking in different ways," Simeone told reporters.

"I always focus on the positive, on the second half. We conceded a goal but we also had chances to score. We could have won the game.

"[I have] the same enthusiasm to go game by game, to face each one as if it were the last one. We are on that path."

Julian Alvarez went close to finding the net after 20 minutes but hit the woodwork, with the Argentine striker having only netted one goal in six games this season.

However, Simeone is confident that Alvarez and the rest of his forwards will find the sharpness they have been lacking.

"We are convinced that the goals will come. The problem is when the strikers don't have goal situations," the Argentine manager said.

"I liked Julian playing on the left, with a lot of effort. [Angel] Correa came on very well, [Antoine] Griezmann put the team in the opposition half. I was happy with the second half."

The match stats paint a bleaker picture for Atleti, who had fewer shots (10 to 16) than Vallecano, while mustering just 0.53 xG compared to their hosts' 1.85.

Gallagher's form is at least a major bonus for Atleti. The former Chelsea midfielder has scored in successive league games for the third time in his career, while he was involved in 18 duels (winning nine), which is the most by any player for the club this season in LaLiga.

Stuttgart's Deniz Undav said thrashing Borussia Dortmund 5-1 was as good as it gets after scoring twice in a stunning Bundesliga victory for Sebastian Hoeness' side.

Stuttgart, surprise runners-up to Bayer Leverkusen last season, produced a brilliant display to hand Dortmund their first league defeat under Nuri Sahin.

Moving up to seventh in the table after back-to-back wins, Stuttgart have also scored at least three goals in each of their last six home Bundesliga matches.

That is a new club record, while they are also unbeaten in their last 14 league games at MHPArena, leaving Undav to hail their performance. 

"When you beat Dortmund 5-1 at home after a performance like that, there’s nothing better really," said Undav, who has scored five goals in all competitions this season.

"I'm very happy and proud of the team. We just need to keep going now and play with the same sharpness against Wolfsburg."

 

Stuttgart head coach Hoeness, meanwhile, said his side had been completely focused.

"We wanted to be sharp and alert going into the game," he added. "We managed to do that and it laid the foundation for an outstanding performance.

"The win was thoroughly deserved, great credit to the whole team."

Simone Inzaghi questioned the attitude of his Inter players after Milan snatched a 2-1 derby victory on Sunday.

Matteo Gabbia popped up with an 89th-minute header to snap Milan's six-game losing streak against their city rivals.

Christian Pulisic opened the scoring at San Siro, before Federico Dimarco equalised for Inter.

Inzaghi felt Inter were the better team, despite Milan having more shots (16 to 13) and accumulating a higher xG (1.7 to 0.7).

However, the Inter coach was left far from impressed with the attitude his players displayed.

"Of course Milan are a very good team. They did better than us this evening and deserved the victory," Inzaghi told DAZN.

"We had the wrong approach and weren't enough of a team, which is rare for us. We didn't start either half with the right attitude.

"It's unexpected, we had worked well over the last couple of days in training, but the approach was wrong in both halves.

"Now we've already dropped a few too many points in Serie A and this is particularly sore."

Milan boss Paulo Fonseca, meanwhile, claimed a much-needed victory early in his tenure, with the Portuguese coach having already come under scrutiny following an indifferent start to the campaign.

"It was an important match. First of all, because it’s a derby that Milan hadn't won in a long time. It was important given the moment we were going through," Fonseca told DAZN.

"I think the players showed a lot of courage and we deserved the win. I don't remember seeing a team that caused this many problems for Inter in a long time.

"It will be a week with a little more confidence, but the important thing for me is to continue seeing the players believe in our ideas, the way they have done so far.

"We know that we must improve, but this was a victory for the players today."

Sri Lanka needed just 15 minutes to wrap up a 63-run win over New Zealand on Monday, Prabath Jayasuriya taking the Black Caps' remaining two wickets to bring up his five-for.

The hosts entered the final day of the first Test in Galle just two wickets from victory after a productive Sunday, when Jayasuriya and Ramesh Mendis took three wickets apiece.

Requiring 68 runs to win, New Zealand were hoping for more heroics from Rachin Ravindra as he resumed at 92 not out, but he lasted just eight balls on Monday morning.

Rachin faced seven dot balls before being trapped lbw by Jayasuriya, with New Zealand reviewing in vain as it was left to the rearguard of Ajaz Patel and Will O'Rourke.

O'Rourke had taken eight wickets throughout the match to keep New Zealand in contention, but he was unable to join Patel in a famous stand as Jayasuriya clinched the victory.

Jayasuriya sent the stumps flying from just the fifth ball O'Rourke faced, putting Sri Lanka 1-0 up in the series ahead of the second Test beginning on Thursday.

Data Debrief: Quick work for Jayasuriya

While Sri Lanka began Monday as favourites for a first Test victory over New Zealand since 2019, Rachin's resilience on day four had just done enough to introduce some anxiety. 

However, Jayasuriya picked up where he left off on Sunday to make it a serene morning for the hosts, conceding two runs and scalping two wickets from the 10 balls he bowled. 

He finished with second-innings figures of 5-68, his eighth red-ball five-for and his seventh in Galle, taking nine wickets for 204 runs across the match as a whole.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick did not want to speculate about the time Marc-Andre ter Stegen could spend on the sidelines after the injury the goalkeeper suffered against Villarreal.

Barcelona maintained their perfect start in LaLiga by winning 5-1 on Sunday.

However, the win was marred by possibly a season-ending injury of their goalkeeper, who had to be taken off in the first half.

"It looks like a serious injury, he felt it, you could see it on the pitch," Flick told reporters.

Ter Stegen fell badly after jumping for a ball just before half-time and was visibly in pain as he was carried off the pitch on a stretcher.

All of Germany international's weight fell on his right leg.

Ter Stegen injured the same knee, on which he already underwent two surgeries over recent seasons, and another operation could prove to be the end his campaign, according to some reports in the Spanish media.

Asked whether he had already thought of a replacement, Flick said: "I don't like this question right after the game. First we have to see what happens with Marc, he's our captain.

"I'm very sad about what happened. Please understand that I don't want to answer this question. I haven't been able to speak to Ter Stegen."

Robert Lewandowski, who scored twice in the rout, dedicated the win to Ter Stegen.

"We don't know exactly what happened, he's in hospital, but of course we are very sad, and this victory is for him," Lewandowski said.

Rory McIlroy admitted golf is "testing" him more than usual after enduring yet another near miss at the BMW PGA Championship, losing to Billy Horschel in a play-off.

McIlroy, Horschel and Thriston Lawrence were forced into a three-way play-off after they all finished 20-under through four rounds at Wentworth.

Lawrence carded a final round of 65 to close a two-shot gap to McIlroy and Horschel, but the South African bogeyed the first play-off hole to put himself out of contention.

Horschel then wrapped up his second triumph at Wentworth with an eagle on the second, having previously triumphed at the event in 2021.

McIlroy has endured a frustrating year, missing two close-range putts when in pole position to win the US Open in June, then slipping again on the final round to finish second at last week's Irish Open.

Speaking after Sunday's play-off, the Northern Irishman said: "Last week was a tough one but I left there with my head held high with the way I played the last hole, trying to make three.

"Two weeks in a row I've played well. Just not quite well enough. The game is testing me a little more than it has done in the past, but that's fine.

"It could have been a different year but the nice thing is there's next year and the year after and the year after and the year after.

"If you think of my career as a 30-year journey, it's only one year in a 30-year journey, and hopefully the other 29 are a little more productive or a little bit better."

Horschel, meanwhile, admitted the struggles of the four-time major winner, a close friend of his, put a slight dampener on his victory.

"I'm thrilled and excited for the way I played," Horschel said.

"At the same time I'm a little disappointed – Rory is a great friend of mine and he's a generational talent. I know how close he's been this year so I feel for him.

"I needed a bit of luck. There was a lot of luck on my side to get this victory today."

Sam Darnold tied a career high with four touchdown passes to continue a strong start for himself and the Minnesota Vikings, who moved to 3-0 on the season with Sunday's 34-7 rout of the previously unbeaten Houston Texans.

Darnold finished with 181 passing yards to outplay 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud, who was intercepted twice and sacked four times by a relentless Minnesota defence that shut down Houston's high-powered offence nearly the entire afternoon.

Aaron Jones caught one of Darnold's touchdown throws while adding 102 rushing yards for Minnesota, a team with the longest odds to win the NFC's North division entering the season. Former Texan Jonathan Greenard spurred the defensive effort with three sacks of his ex-teammate Stroud.

Stroud's day began ominously as his first pass of the game was deflected at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by the Vikings' Kamu Grugier-Hill, setting up Minnesota at the Houston 21-yard line. Six plays later, Darnold hit Justin Jefferson for a 6-yard touchdown pass for a 7–0 lead nearly three minutes into the contest.

Houston (2-1) missed a long field goal on its next drive, and the Vikings increased the margin with a six-play, 56-yard series capped by Jones' 8-yard touchdown reception late in the first quarter.

The Vikings marched 77 yards in eight plays to start the second half and went up 21-0 on Darnold's 4-yard scoring pass to Jalen Nailor. 

Houston put together its best drive of the day later in the third quarter to get on the board on Stroud's 8-yard touchdown pass to Cam Akers with 3:56 remaining in the period.

After Will Reichard's 35-yard field goal gave Minnesota a 24–7 advantage seven seconds into the fourth quarter, Stroud was picked off by Camryn Bynum on the ensuing possession to give the Vikings the ball back near midfield. 

The interception led to Darnold's fourth TD pass of the game, a 2-yard strike to Johnny Mundt with 10:14 left to play.

Reichard knocked home a career-long 58-yard field goal with under five minutes left for the final points.

Stroud finished with 215 yards on 20-of-31 passing, while former Vikings star Stefon Diggs had 10 catches for 94 yards for the Texans.

 

Steelers move to 3-0, Chargers' Herbert re-injures ankle

The Pittsburgh Steelers are also on a three-game winning streak to begin the season after pulling away for a 20-10 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, who saw star quarterback Justin Herbert leave the contest in the third quarter due to an ankle injury that had him questionable to play going in.

Pittsburgh scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to move to 3-0 behind another solid performance from quarterback Justin Fields, as well as another stout effort from a defence that produced five sacks and limited the Chargers to 168 total yards.

Fields had a rushing and passing touchdown to remain undefeated as a Steeler and help give Los Angeles (2-1) its first loss under new head coach Jim Harbaugh. The former Chicago Bear completed 25 of 32 passes for 245 yards and an interception while making a third straight start with expected No. 1 quarterback Russell Wilson still dealing with a calf injury.

Herbert completed 12 of 18 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown before bowing out shortly after being sacked late in the third quarter. The 2020 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year sustained a high ankle sprain in the Chargers' win over the Carolina Panthers last week. 

The game was tied at 10-10 at the time of Herbert's departure. Fields then moved the Steelers 73 yards in 12 plays on the ensuing possession to set up Chris Boswell's 30-yard field goal in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.

After the Chargers were forced to punt with Taylor Heinicke at quarterback for their next series, Fields hit Calvin Austin over the middle and the wide receiver sprinted past the Los Angeles defence for a 55-yard touchdown that put Pittsburgh up 20-10 with 7:02 remaining.

The Chargers then went three-and-out and never got the ball back again, as Pittsburgh ran out the clock after taking possession with just under five minutes left.

Herbert showed no effects of the injury early on, as he connected with Quentin Johnson for a 27-yard touchdown pass to give the Chargers a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. The Steelers answered with a 13-play, 70-yard drive that Fields ended with a 5-yard touchdown run with 10:17 left before half-time.

Cameron Dicker put Los Angeles back ahead with a 28-yard field goal late in the first half, but Boswell's 38-yard field goal with 9:05 remaining in the third quarter created a 10-10 tie.

 

Dalton sparks Panthers to first win in first start in place of Young

Andy Dalton threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns to give the Carolina Panthers the spark they needed with a 36-22 road win over the Las Vegas Raiders, the first victory for first-year head coach Dave Canales.

Dalton was called into action after Canales opted to bench struggling 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young following two straight losses to begin the season. The 14-year veteran made the rookie coach's decision a wise one by completing a sharp 70.3 per cent (26 of 37) of his passes while directing an offence that put up 437 total yards, surpassing the 352 Carolina mustered in two games with Young at the controls.

Diontae Johnson put up 122 yards and a touchdown on eight catches as Dalton's top target, while the Panthers also got a lift in the running game from Chuba Hubbard's 114 yards on 21 carries.

Tre Tucker and Jakobi Meyers had touchdown catches for Las Vegas (1-2), which came out flat off last week's 26-23 upset road win over the Baltimore Ravens. Gardner Minshew threw for 214 yards on 18 of 28 passing with one touchdown and one interception.

Dalton marched Carolina right down the field on the game's first possession, a nine-play, 70-yard drive he capped with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Hubbard. 

The Raiders tied the game on Alexander Mattison's 2-yard run late in the first quarter that completed a 97-yard series, but the offence stagnated from there as the Panthers scored the next 26 points to put the contest away.

Dalton tossed two more touchdown passes in the second quarter, a 5-yarder to Johnson and a 31-yard strike to Adam Thielen, to send Carolina into half-time with a 21-7 advantage.

The Raiders continued to get nothing going offensively in the third quarter as the Panthers pushed the lead to 27-7 entering the fourth on two Eddy Piniero field goals.

Hubbard accounted for 52 yards from scrimmage on an 11-play, 84-yard drive that ended on Miles Sanders' 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter. The Panthers missed a 2-point conversion try to keep it a 33-7 lead.

Minshew found Meyers for a 13-yard touchdown as well as the ensuing 2-point try to get Las Vegas within 33-15 with just under 11 minutes left. The Raiders also scored in the final minute via backup quarterback Aidan O'Connell's 8-yard touchdown pass to Tucker that followed Pineiro's 26-yard field goal.

 

Rams rally to edge hobbled 49ers on late field goal

Joshua Karty's 37-yard field goal with two seconds left capped a fourth-quarter rally that propelled the Los Angeles Rams to a sorely needed 27-24 win over the San Francisco 49ers in a clash of NFC West rivals each dealing with a slew of early-season injuries.

The Rams trailed 21-7 late in the third quarter and 24-14 in the fourth before ripping off 13 points in the final 6:15 to deal defending NFC champion San Francisco (1-2) a second straight loss following a season-opening victory over the New York Jets.

San Francisco was playing without three star offensive players with running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve and both wide receiver Deebo Samuel (calf) and tight end George Kittle (hamstring) inactive. Los Angeles (1-2) came in short-handed as well with its top two receivers, Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, sidelined and multiple starters on the offensive line out as well.

Tutu Atwell helped fill the void with 93 receiving yards on four catches, and the Rams also got a big lift from Kyren WIlliams' 89 rushing yards and three touchdowns, including a 15-yard scoring catch from quarterback Matthew Stafford. 

Stafford finished with 221 yards and one touchdown on 16-of-25 passing to help Los Angeles avoid an 0-3 start.

The 49ers lost despite three touchdown passes from Brock Purdy to Jauan Jennings, who racked up 175 yards on 11 receptions while stepping up in Samuel and Kittle's absence. Purdy completed 22 of 30 throws for 292 yards without an interception.

San Francisco took a 21-7 lead when Jennings got behind the Los Angeles defence to haul in Purdy's 31-yard dart with 7:01 left in the third quarter. The Rams quickly answered, though, with a six-play, 70-yard drive that Williams finished with a 3-yard run to make it a one-score game just over three minutes later.

The 49ers moved inside the Rams' 10-yard line on the subsequent possession, but settled for Jake Moody's 26-yard field goal for a 24-14 advantage with under 12 minutes to go.

Karty's 33-yard field goal trimmed Los Angeles' deficit to seven points with 6:15 remaining, and Moody missed a 55-yard attempt on the ensuing drive to give the Rams the ball near midfield with 2:43 left.

Stafford found Atwell for a 50-yard gain on the next snap, and Williams crossed the goal line from four yards out two plays later to tie the game at 24-24 with 1:51 remaining.

After the Rams forced a quick punt, 49ers linebacker De'Vondre Campbell was called for a 25-yard pass interference penalty that set up Karty's winning kick.

The 49ers dominated the first quarter, building a 14-0 lead on a pair of touchdown passes from Purdy to Jennings from 13 and four yards out.

After stalling on their opening two possessions, the Rams got untracked with a 16-play, 87-yard drive that consumed nearly eight minutes. Williams finished it with a 15-yard touchdown catch late in the second quarter to get Los Angeles within 14-7 at the half. 

 

Ravens hold off Cowboys behind Henry's big game

The Baltimore Ravens were also able to avert a dreaded 0-3 start, though they needed to hold off a frantic fourth-quarter comeback attempt from the Dallas Cowboys to secure an important 28-25 win.

Baltimore (1-2) opened up a 28-6 lead after three quarters behind big rushing efforts from Derrick Henry and quarterback Lamar Jackson, then held on after Dak Prescott led Dallas on a late rally in which the Cowboys outscored the Ravens 19-0 in the fourth.

Henry amassed 151 yards and two touchdowns in his biggest game since joining Baltimore in free agency, while Jackson had 87 yards and a touchdown on the ground in addition to throwing for 182 yards and a touchdown.

The Ravens put up 274 rushing yards to help withstand Prescott's 379 yards and two touchdowns through the air as well as a 65-yard field goal from Dallas kicker Brandon Aubrey, the second-longest in NFL history.

Baltimore dominated the game's early stages, however, as the offence scored touchdowns on its first two drives and the defence kept the Cowboys out of the end zone for the first three quarters.

The Ravens needed just five plays to take a quick 7-0 lead, as Jackson followed a 30-yard completion to Charlie Kolar with a 9-yard touchdown run less than 5 1/2 minutes in. 

After Aubrey knocked through his career-long field goal to get Dallas on the board, a 56-yard pass from Jackson to Nelson Agholor set up Henry's 1-yard run that increased the margin to 14-3 late in the first quarter.

The Ravens went ahead further on Jackson's 13-yard touchdown pass to Rashod Bateman with 25 seconds left in the first half, capping an 8-play, 88-yard drive. The Cowboys were able to position themselves for Aubrey's 51-yard field goal, however, that trimmed the lead to 21-6 at half-time.

Baltimore continued to move the ball at will to begin the second half, as Henry ripped off a 29-yard run before scampering into the end zone from 26 yards out on the opening possession of the third quarter.

Dallas finally came to life with two fourth-quarter touchdowns that came less than two minutes apart. After Prescott's 1-yard run brought Dallas within 28-12 after it failed on the 2-point conversion, the Cowboys recovered an onside kick to get the ball back near midfield.

Prescott finished the resulting 7-play drive with a 15-yard touchdown toss to Jalen Tolbert, though the Cowboys again couldn't convert the 2-point try as Baltimore's lead dwindled to 28-18 with just over seven minutes left. 

The Dallas defence then forced a three-and-out before Prescott led an 11-play, 91-yard series culminating in KaVontae Turpin's 16-yard touchdown catch that made it a three-point game with 2:53 to go.

Dallas didn't get the ball back again, however, as Jackson completed a critical 9-yard pass to Zay Flowers on 3rd-and-6 to help allow the Ravens to run out the clock.

 

Barkley's two touchdowns lift Eagles over Saints

Saquon Barkley rushed for 147 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 1:01 remaining that gave the Philadelphia Eagles a 15-12 victory over the previously unbeaten New Orleans Saints.

Barkley also had a 65-yard touchdown run to help Philadelphia (2-1) bounce back from blowing a late lead in a frustrating 22-21 loss to Atlanta on Monday night, in which the Falcons quickly marched down the field for a winning touchdown in the final seconds.

The Eagles' defence redeemed itself this time, however, by holding a potent Saints offence to 219 total yards and keeping it out of the end zone until the fourth quarter. New Orleans (2-1) had scored a combined 91 points in winning its first two games.

Philadelphia also received a huge game from Dallas Goedert. The tight end compiled career highs of 10 catches and 170 receiving yards, 61 of which came on a late reception that led to Barkley's deciding touchdown.

The Saints were clinging to a 3-0 lead after three quarters in a game where both teams failed to convert several scoring opportunities, but that all changed when Barkley broke through the line of scrimmage and out-sprinted the New Orleans secondary to put the Eagles ahead with 13:17 to go.

New Orleans countered with Blake Grupe's 38-yard field goal on the following possession, then got the ball back at midfield with 6:41 left after Eagles coach Nick Sirianni had Jake Elliott try a 60-yard field goal that missed the mark.

The Saints proceeded to go 50 yards in nine plays and took a 12-7 lead on Derek Carr's 13-yard touchdown pass to Chris Olave with 2:03 remaining. New Orleans failed on the subsequent 2-point conversion attempt.

Faced with a 3rd-and-16 with just over a minute left, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts found Goedert open on a crossing route and the tight end raced down the sideline before being brought down at the New Orleans 4-yard line.

Barkley powered into the end zone on the next play, then scored on the 2-point conversion to give the Eagles a 15-12 edge.

Reed Blankenship then sealed Philadelphia's win by intercepting Carr with 48 seconds to play.

Hurts completed 29 of 38 passes for 311 yards but was intercepted in the end zone early in the second quarter, one of a few first-half possessions in which Philadelphia came away empty after moving into scoring range.

Carr managed just 142 yards on 14-of-25 passing with one touchdown and the late interception.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kerry Carpenter hit two home runs, including the tie-breaking blast in the sixth inning, and the surging Detroit Tigers moved into possession of an American League wild card spot with Sunday's 4-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

The Tigers' sixth win in seven games moved them one game ahead of reeling Minnesota and into a tie with also-slumping Kansas City for the AL's second wild card. The Twins lost both games of a doubleheader with the Boston Red Sox, who got a three-homer game from Triston Casas to win the opener 8-1. The Royals have now lost seven straight following Sunday's 2-0 defeat to the San Francisco Giants.

Spencer Torkelson also homered while Trey Sweeney delivered a run-scoring double for Detroit, which last reached the post-season in 2014. 

Cedric Mullins had a two-run homer for Baltimore, which is four games up on the Tigers and Royals for the first wild card.

Carpenter drilled a pitch from Albert Suarez into the right field seats in the sixth inning for a 4-3 lead that Detroit's bullpen made stand by holding the Orioles scoreless over the final four innings. Jason Foley finished it out with a perfect ninth for his 26th save.

The Tigers had taken a 2-0 advantage on Torkelson's second-inning homer and back-to-back doubles by Jace Jung and Sweeney later in the frame. Carpenter's first homer of the afternoon increased the margin in the third.

Baltimore drew even with a three-run fifth inning, with Mullins cutting the deficit to 3-2 with his 18th homer of the season. Gunnar Henderson followed with a single before scoring the tying run on Jordan Westburg's double.

 

Mets edge Phillies to keep rival from clinching NL East

Brandon Nimmo's tie-breaking solo home run in the sixth inning provided the difference as the New York Mets prevented the Philadelphia Phillies from clinching the National League East with a 2-1 victory.

The result kept Philadelphia's magic number to win the division at one but, more importantly, dropped the Phillies one game back of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the race for the NL's best record. The Dodgers rallied for a 6-5 win over the Colorado Rockies on back-to-back home runs from Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts in the ninth inning.

New York took three of four matchups from their division rivals in the weekend series and are now tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the NL's final two wild-card spots, with the Atlanta Braves two games behind both teams.

Nimmo's drive off Philadelphia ace Zack Wheeler just eluded the glove of a leaping Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos and cleared the wall to snap a 1-1 tie. Relievers Jose Butto and Edwin Diaz successfully protected the one-run lead over the final three innings, with Diaz working the last two to earn his 20th save.

Wheeler (16-7) struck out eight over seven innings while permitting just two runs in a hard-luck loss.

The Phillies got their lone run in the opening inning when Trea Turner singled, moved to second on a wild pitch from New York starter Tylor Megill and scored on Alec Bohm's single.

New York pulled even an inning later when Tyrone Taylor followed Mark Vientos' double off Wheeler with a run-scoring single.

Taylor and Jose Iglesias each had two hits for the Mets, while Castellanos and Turner each went 2 for 4 for Philadelphia.

 

White Sox tie modern era record with 120th loss

The San Diego Padres rallied for three eighth-inning runs to hand the Chicago White Sox their 120th loss of the season, a 4-2 setback that tied an MLB record for most defeats in a season in the post-1900 era.

Chicago (36-120) matched the 1962 expansion New York Mets, who finished 40-120, for the most losses in a season in baseball's modern era and have six more chances to eclipse the dubious record. The White Sox will open a three-game series at home with the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday.

The White Sox took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the eighth that quickly evaporated as San Diego's Donovan Solano and Luis Arraez led off with consecutive doubles, with Arraez's hit off Fraser Ellard scoring pinch-runner Tyler Wade. 

Ellard then threw a wild pitch that advanced pinch-runner Brandon Lockridge to third. Jurickson Profar followed with a sacrifice fly that put the Padres ahead in front of Fernando Tatis' solo homer that increased the lead to 4-2.

The comeback win kept the Padres three games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West. San Diego has won four straight and holds a three-game lead on the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Mets for the league's top wild card. 

Profar finished 2 for 3 and drove in another run with a solo homer in the bottom of the third that tied the game at 1-1. The White Sox had briefly gone ahead on Korey Lee's solo homer in the top of the inning.

Chicago went back in front on Miguel Vargas' solo homer in the sixth, his second hit in four at-bats for the game.

Both starting pitchers performed well while not factoring in the final outcome. San Diego's Yu Darvish struck out nine while allowing two runs in 6 1/3 innings, while Chicago's Sean Burke fanned eight while yielding one run on two hits in six innings. 

 

 

 

Max Verstappen said after the Singapore Grand Prix that his punishment for swearing in a news conference could speed up his exit from Formula One.

Verstappen, who finished second behind title rival Lando Norris on Sunday, has often said that he is not motivated by having a long career in the competition. 

The Dutchman has now gone seven Grand Prix without a pole position and seven without a victory, but did halt his two-race podium drought this time around. 

But Verstappen's weekend was dominated by his actions off the track rather than on it, saying the controversy could make his departure from the sport a lot quicker. 

"These kinds of things definitely decide my future as well, when you can’t be yourself or you have to deal with these kinds of silly things," Verstappen said.

"Now I am at the stage of my career where you don’t want to be dealing with this all the time. It’s really tiring.

"For me, that is not a way of continuing in the sport, that’s for sure."

On Friday in Singapore, Verstappen was ordered by race stewards to "accomplish some work of public interest" swearing while describing his car’s performance in Baku while speaking in the official pre-event news conference on Thursday.

He staged a protest against the decision by giving short answers in the official post-qualifying news conference. 

Verstappen called the penalty "ridiculous" and was backed by Norris and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.

"If you can’t really be yourself to the fullest, then it’s better not to speak," Verstappen said.

"But that’s what no one wants because then you become a robot and that’s not how you should be going about it in the sport.

"You should be able to show emotions in a way. That’s what racing is about. Any sport.

"Anyone on the pitch, if they get tackled, or get pushed, or they are not happy with something or there is a frustrating moment, or something they get asked about, it’s quite normal there can be a sort of reaction."

There was also an emotional moment for Verstappen's former Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, with the Singapore Grand Prix potentially his final race in F1. 

Rumours had swirled in the build up to this weekend's race that the eight-time Grand Prix winner would be replaced at RB by Liam Lawson for the final six races of the season. 

The Australian recorded the fastest lap and was voted the driver of the day, but Ricciardo gave his clearest indication that this weekend may be the end of his career in the sport. 

Referring to his fastest lap attempt, Ricciardo said: “It was maybe just to have one last crack at doing a fast one, if it is to be it.”

Pushed on whether that meant Singapore may have been his last Grand Prix, Ricciardo replied: “Possibly, I have to acknowledge that.

"It’s been a little bit of a race-by-race situation and I would have obviously loved the weekend to have gone better. It didn’t, so I have to prepared for this maybe being it.

"I do feel, let’s say, at peace with it. 

“At some point, it’ll come for all of us… I think also, I tried to get back into Red Bull, it didn’t work out, so then I also have to say, ‘Okay, what else am I ultimately doing here and trying to achieve?’

"Let’s say maybe the fairytale ending didn’t happen, but I also have to look back on what it’s been. Fourteen or so years and I’m proud.

“I think when you’ve experienced the highs of winning, you can only fight for P10 for so long."

Ricciardo was spotted taking his time getting out of the cockpit, the Australian appearing to savour the final moments with the car after a gruelling 62-lap race.

Across his 13-year career, Ricciardo has won eight times, with his latest win coming for McLaren at the Italian Grand Prix back in 2021. 

But as he crossed the line for potentially the final time, the Australian struggled to hold back the tears. 

“A lot of emotions, because – look I’m aware it could be it, and I think it’s also just [being] exhausted after the race," Ricciardo concluded. 

"So it’s like a flood of many emotions and feelings and exhaustion.

“The cockpit is something that I got very used to for many years,” added the veteran of 257 Grand Prix starts, tearing up. “I just wanted to savour the moment.”

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