Real Valladolid took a massive stride towards LaLiga safety as they moved out of the relegation zone after a shock 3-1 home win against Barcelona at Jose Zorrilla.

The hosts had lost their last five games, but stormed into a two-goal lead after 22 minutes when Andreas Christensen's own goal was followed by Cyle Larin's penalty.

Gonzalo Plata’s second-half strike put the result beyond doubt before Robert Lewandowski grabbed a consolation late on.

The result moves Paulo Pezzolano's side above Getafe and into 17th in the LaLiga table, while Barca remain in search of their first league win since being crowned champions a fortnight ago.

Valladolid had the ball in the net after just 82 seconds when Christensen headed Darwin Machis' cross past his own goalkeeper.

Machis and Raphinha went close at either end before the hosts doubled their advantage in the 22nd minute, Larin converting from the penalty spot after Plata was brought down by Eric Garcia.

Barca were denied an instant response with Masip producing a fine pair of saves to deny Raphinha and Christensen from close range.  

Alejandro Balde fired wide shortly after the break, but Valladolid continued to impress, nearly adding a third when Plata's cross struck the outside of the post.

Ferran Torres came closest to igniting a comeback for Xavi's side, but the substitute was unable to turn home Balde's cross at full stretch.

Instead, Valladolid would seal the points in the 73rd minute when Plata's composed finish from Larin's cross was awarded after a VAR check. 

Lucas Rosa's deft chip hit the post for the home side late on, though they were denied a clean sheet when Lewandowski pulled a goal back six minutes from time.

Roberto De Zerbi revealed Lewis Dunk has played through the pain barrier to aid Brighton’s European quest as he backed his captain for an England recall.

Seagulls centre-back Dunk has been ever-present in the Premier League this campaign but could begin on the bench against champions Manchester City on Wednesday evening due to ongoing calf and back issues.

Albion boss De Zerbi admits the 31-year-old took time to adapt to his high-intensity, possession-based style of play after he replaced Graham Potter in September.

Yet the Italian says influential leader Dunk has since cemented his status as a guaranteed starter and “deserves” another shot at international football.

“At first it was not so easy for him to understand my idea but he gave me total availability,” said De Zerbi.

“I would like him to be more open because he doesn’t speak a lot but he’s an example inside of the dressing room, inside of the pitch.

“He’s playing with a lot of problems because he has calf and back problems but he is playing every game.

“Tomorrow he can start on the bench but I don’t know because if he can play with me in Brighton, he has to play always.”

England manager Gareth Southgate will on Wednesday name his squad for next month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia.

Dunk was capped by Southgate in a 3-0 friendly win over the United States in November 2018 but has not featured again for his country.

“He deserves to play in the national team,” said De Zerbi.

“It’s not my work to decide the players of the national team but for us it should be a target.

“I hope he can play in the national team.”

Brighton secured continental football next term with two games to spare thanks to Sunday’s 3-1 win over relegated Southampton.

Sixth-placed Albion will almost certainly be in the Europa League due to their healthy goal difference but need one more point to banish any prospect of having to settle for the Europa Conference League.

De Zerbi has warned the Seagulls must improve their squad during the summer in order to avoid potentially following divisional rivals Leicester and West Ham in slipping from European contenders to relegation candidates.

The Foxes are on the brink of falling into the Sky Bet Championship after playing in Europe during the previous two seasons, while David Moyes’ Europa Conference League finalists were in danger of the drop for much of this campaign.

“I push with Tony (Bloom, Brighton owner) to improve the squad every day,” said De Zerbi.

“I don’t want my club to spend too much money but we have to improve. To compete in four competitions, we have to improve and know the situation.

“Leicester, West Ham this year explain the Premier League.

“If you don’t improve year by year you can find a surprise the year after because our achievement this year is not important for the next year.

“Next year we will start not in sixth position, we start level with the other teams.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has called for more than 100 Premier League charges levelled against the club for alleged financial regularities to be resolved immediately.

City were referred to an independent commission in February over alleged rule breaches between 2009 and 2018, with the Premier League also accusing City of not co-operating since the investigation started in December 2018.

The sheer scale of the charges, which the club strongly deny, and the magnitude of the implications if found guilty suggest it is a case which will drag on for months, possibly years.

However, Guardiola does not want a cloud hanging over his side’s remarkable achievements and wants a resolution as soon as possible.

But the Catalan, who has a contract until 2025, stressed he would not walk away from the club while potential sanctions remain.

“I will stay next season while there are 110 breaches against us,” said Guardiola, who when asked whether he could extend three or four years beyond that added: “No, no, no. These two are enough.

“What I would like is if the Premier League and judges could make something as soon as possible, then if we have done something wrong everybody will know it.

“And if, we are like we believe as a club for many years, in the right way then the people will stop talking about that.

“We would love it tomorrow, this afternoon better than tomorrow.

“Hopefully they are not so busy and the judges can see both sides and decide what is the best because in the end I know fairly what we won we won on the pitch and we don’t have any doubts.

“We accept it is there. If it happened it happened. (But) let’s go, 24 hours sit down and lawyers present. Don’t wait two years. Why don’t we do it quicker?

“Let’s have it as soon as possible for the benefit of everyone. We want to defend our principles and if people doubt, OK, let’s go, let’s do it as soon as possible please.”

The alleged breaches concern the reporting of accurate financial information, the submission of details of manager and player pay information within the relevant contracts, a club’s responsibility as a Premier League member to adhere to UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations and to the league’s own profitability and sustainability regulations.

The club are also alleged to have breached rules requiring them to co-operate and assist with the Premier League’s investigation into those breaches, which the league says began in December 2018.

City have just won a fifth title in six seasons, and have won it seven times since 2011, and are chasing a treble with FA Cup and Champions League finals to come, but while the charges still loom large over the club Guardiola is not close to losing his hunger to win more domestic titles.

“Introduce me to a manager who doesn’t want to win. I’m scared to lose, I don’t want to be criticised, I want respect from my players,” he added.

“What we say, what we do, is to win. I accept my defeats because I always accept that the opponents can be better and beat us.

“So when people say we failed or lost it is like the others are s***. But the others can be good and beat us. It’s like ignoring the other ones.

“When people say now that next season just Manchester City can win the Premier league they are stupid comments.

“Next season will be tough because all clubs want to beat us. That is the challenge. Next season we defend our crown, it belongs to us for one year and we will work for it.

“If they (rivals) want it they have to do it better than us. But if it happens, we will congratulate them.

“United can beat us (in the FA Cup). Inter can beat us. They have three Champions Leagues, we don’t have any, but we have to do our best to try to avoid it.”

The kick-off return is moving closer and closer towards extinction.

The NFL owners approved a rule on Tuesday that allows teams receiving a free kick (kick-off or safety kick) to get the ball at their own 25-yard line if the team calls for a fair catch anywhere behind their own 25.

The rule has been put in place for just the 2023 season, and will be revisited next offseason.

The intention behind the new rule stems from player safety with concussion rates on kick-offs will be reduced by 15 per cent, according to NFL executive Jeff Miller.

Kick-offs are considered the most dangerous play in the NFL, as data shows concussions occurs more than twice as often on them than on plays from scrimmages.

While the new rule should help with head injuries, it also takes away an exciting part of the game. Under the new rule, models suggest that the kick-off return rate will decrease from 38 per cent to 31 per cent.

There will almost certainly be a backlash among players and coaches, as the new rule will likely bring about more squib kicks and other unreturnable kicks.

This is the second major rule change made to kick-offs in the last decade with the backdrop of player safety in mind.

In 2016, the NFL moved touchbacks on kick-offs up to the 25-yard line from the 20, with the rationale teams will take the ball five yards closer to their own end zone rather than risk getting tackled behind the 25. And fewer returns would also likely mean fewer injuries.

The rule change, however, has taken the ball out of the hands out of kick-off returners, and decreased the likelihood of an exciting return.

There were only nine kick-off returns for touchdowns last season – the fewest in a non-strike season since the 1970 merger.

Richard Gould has forecast a “very long and successful future for The Hundred” despite the impending departure of one of its chief masterminds at the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Even before its inception into the domestic calendar two years ago, the 100-ball competition has polarised opinion while its position at the peak of summer – the third season will take place from August 1-27 – has attracted intense debate.

Reports last month claimed the ECB was open to reviewing The Hundred, which is still only played in the UK, with one alternative being a T20 format of two divisions featuring promotion and relegation.

More scrutiny on its long-term future came on Tuesday as Sanjay Patel, who led The Hundred’s creation and is its managing director, announced he will leave the ECB at the end of the 2023 competition.

After paying tribute to Patel, ECB chief executive Gould said in a statement: “There’s no doubt that The Hundred has been a success, helping cricket reach new audiences, bringing in important revenue and propelling the game forwards.

“It plays an important role in our game and I’m looking forward to a very long and successful future for The Hundred.”

Gould and ECB chair Richard Thompson were prominent critics when The Hundred was first broached during their time at Surrey, but the pair have reversed that stance in their new positions.

Any major changes to The Hundred are unlikely to be introduced in the short-term given the ECB’s broadcast partnership that runs until 2028 with Sky, one of the tournament’s major champions, while the BBC’s free-to-air arrangement covers at least the next two editions.

The increased exposure the women’s game has had in the first couple of seasons is regularly highlighted as an unqualified success while there is evidence that the scheduling, marketing and ticket pricing have helped attract new fans and a broader demographic to cricket grounds.

A report from Worcestershire chair Fanos Hira, a chartered accountant, attaches a £9million loss to the first two seasons but the ECB argues that it turned a profit of £11.8m.

Patel, who first joined the ECB in 2015, said: “I will miss this job and the people immensely but once we’ve completed the third season of The Hundred I believe the time will be right for me to look for a new adventure.”

Everton have activated their option to extend the contract of midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure by 12 months.

It represents quite a turnaround in four months for the Mali international who, in the latter days of Frank Lampard’s reign, was training away from the first-team squad after a disagreement with the then Toffees boss.

Having been brought back into the fold when Sean Dyche was appointed in late January, the 30-year-old has scored four goals – ending a drought dating back to September 2021 – in his last nine games, including two in the crucial 5-1 win at Brighton earlier this month.

“Everton can confirm the club has activated the option to extend Abdoulaye Doucoure’s contract until the end of June 2024,” read a club statement.

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from May 23.

Allan Saint-Maximin celebrated.

As did Kieran Trippier.

And the whole of Newcastle.

Flashback to when Alan Shearer had some hair.

Patrice Evra voiced his support for Vinicius Junior.

A post shared by Patrice Evra (@patrice.evra)

James Anderson had a chuckle at Joe Root’s tweet.

Virat Kohli said RCB should be proud of their efforts this season.

Michael Vaughan was back in Mumbai.

Sir Ian Botham reflected on a great week in Spain.

Sergio Garcia celebrated.

McLaren turned the clock back.

Then and now.

Rob Burrow was up for an award.

A post shared by Rob & Lindsey (@rob7lindsey)

Good morning, Usain Bolt.

Sale Sharks have tapped into Sir Alex Ferguson’s revered motivational powers ahead of the Gallagher Premiership final against Saracens.

The former Manchester United manager visited Sale’s Carrington training base on Tuesday, where he addressed the squad.

Ferguson oversaw two Champions League triumphs and 13 Premier League title successes during a remarkable and lengthy spell as United boss.

And the 81-year-old Scot became Sale’s latest keynote contributor after rugby league great Jamie Peacock spoke to the players ahead of their play-off victory over Leicester earlier this month.

Sale have reached their first Premiership final since 2006, when they won the title at Tigers’ expense and were inspired by the likes of Jason Robinson, Charlie Hodgson and Sebastien Chabal.

Saracens now await at Twickenham on Saturday, with the highest-placed teams following the regular Premiership season going head-to-head.

Asked how Ferguson’s visit materialised, Sale rugby director Alex Sanderson joked: “We’ve got a special Man United red phone like the bat phone in the corner of the office for emergencies.

“No, I got a call from Ged (Sale part-owner Ged Mason) asking about it and it fell into place. They are good friends with a shared investment with racehorses.

“We thought we would try and wring a little bit of gold out of Sir Alex – and he didn’t disappoint.

“He had the lads on the edge of their seats and he came up with some real good bits of advice – not new stuff, but when it comes from Sir Alex’s mouth, it is gospel, isn’t it?

“It is small percentages of what you can add, an increased feeling of how special this week is. It was good to have him in and good to have him in our corner.”

Sale centre Manu Tuilagi had already been inspired by Ferguson ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, when he was invited by then England boss Eddie Jones to speak with the squad.

Tuilagi said: “It was amazing seeing him again. We met him in 2019 just before the World Cup. He is a legend of the world.

“He said a few words and gave us some wisdom to take into the weekend. He has been at the top of his game, he knows what he is doing.

“You learn from people like that who have been there and done it.”

And Sale number eight Jono Ross, who plays his final game before retirement on Saturday, added: “Obviously a few of us – including myself – are very much in awe of Sir Alex, but he is a fantastic man and it was really nice just to take little bits and bobs off him.

“It is pretty special when someone of that magnitude walks into the building and as you can expect, the boys were glued to his every word.

“He achieved so much within the game and the way he speaks, you turn your head and listen.

“Sir Alex spoke about a few things that worked for him. He said he definitely remembers the losses more than the wins, so don’t lose, basically!”

Sale captain Ben Curry, meanwhile, was due to undergo surgery on Tuesday after suffering a serious hamstring injury during the play-off game.

“He should be back in time for the start of the World Cup, but that’s being fit,” Sanderson said.

“He would have done all of the prep and none of the lead-in, so it would be wholly on (England head coach) Steve Borthwick’s shoulders to see fit whether or not he is worthy of being included.

“He (Curry) has been very much involved – he’s been getting good luck messages in from Man United players. He has been upbeat, despite the fact he might miss the World Cup and he will miss the (Premiership) final.”

Ross County manager Malky Mackay reminded his players they were still in control of their own destiny despite a late, late blow at Motherwell.

County will be safe from relegation if they win their last two cinch Premiership games, at home to St Johnstone on Wednesday and away to basement rivals Kilmarnock on Sunday.

Mackay was frustrated by VAR decisions after his side saw a penalty award rescinded and then got a handball decision against them following an intervention from Clydesdale House that allowed Kevin Van Veen to net deep into stoppage-time at Fir Park.

County were edging out of the danger zone at the time but now go into the final two games a point behind Killie.

Mackay said: “It’s still in our hands. I said to the players at Motherwell how proud I was of them.

“We could have made better decisions on the ball but there was no quarter given or asked – it was a terrific game of football considering the scoreline right up to the 102nd minute.

“Decisions have happened and my players kept their cool.

“We’ve now got to dust ourselves down because we’ve got St Johnstone in Dingwall which is one that we look forward to.

“The boys are together. They’ve been great. Other than the anomaly of the Hearts game, they’ve been great over the last six weeks.

“Anyone who has seen us – the Celtic game, the win at St Johnstone, the Aberdeen game and how close that was, then beating Livingston and Dundee United and a close game at Motherwell – we have a group that is really at it considering where we are in the league.

“You just hope that a bit of the fortune turns for us. But you can’t rely on luck – you have to go and make your own.”