Marcus Rashford has no intentions of "slowing down" after continuing his impressive scoring form in Manchester United's 3-0 victory over Leicester City on Sunday.

Rashford was twice on target as United cruised to a straightforward win over Brendan Rodgers' side, moving five points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, having played a game more.

The England international has scored 24 times this season across all competitions, his best return in a single campaign, with 16 of those coming in 17 games after the World Cup break.

He has netted 17 goals at Old Trafford in all competitions this term, the most by a player in a single season for United since Wayne Rooney in the 2011-12 campaign.

With a crucial week ahead, in which United face Barcelona in the second leg of their Europa League play-off and meet Newcastle United in the EFL Cup final, Rashford wants to keep improving.

The 25-year-old told Sky Sports: "Overall a good day. They created good opportunities and David [de Gea] made a great save at the end of the first half, without that we can't go on to win the game.

"It's still early in the season, we're fighting for a lot of different things.

"We have another big game in the week to hopefully go through to the next round of the Europa League and then a massive game for us [against Newcastle].

"I don't feel like slowing down and always want to improve."

Erik ten Hag's side are seeking a first major trophy since completing an EFL Cup and Europa League double under Jose Mourinho in 2017.

While Arsenal and Manchester City appear embroiled in a two-horse title race, United are quietly creeping up on the pair.

Rashford says all Ten Hag's men can do is concentrate on themselves in pursuit of a first league title since 2013 under Alex Ferguson.

"We're close but both teams in front of us are good teams and playing good football," he added.

"We have to just focus on ourselves, do as well as we can and keep picking up points."

Liudmila Samsonova progressed after a marathon battle at the Dubai Tennis Championships, while Petra Kvitova breezed through as the seeds escaped unscathed on Sunday.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova, the 12th favourite in the United Arab Emirates, eased past Italy's Martina Trevisan 6-2 6-1 to make a dominant start.

World number 15 Samsonova was made to work to beat Paula Badosa, winning 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 to tee up a clash with Qinwen Zheng, who overcame compatriot Zhang Shuai in straight sets.

Samsonova's triumph took three hours and 22 minutes, the longest match of the WTA Tour season thus far, in a thrilling first-round encounter between two top-20 players.

"Playing against Paula is always tough," 14th seed Samsonova said in her on-court interview. "She's doing unbelievable, so I'm really proud that I stayed on the court until the end.

"I think I'm growing match after match, day by day. I know it's a long journey, and I hope to continue like that."

Barbora Krejcikova, the 2021 French Open champion, cruised into the last 32 with a comfortable 6-4 6-2 victory over Irina-Camelia Begu as she aims to go one better than her runners-up finish two years ago in Dubai.

Another routine victory saw American Madison Keys ease past Jasmine Paolini 6-1 6-1, but there was no such luck for 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.

She was dispatched 6-1 6-1 by world number 26 Marie Bouzkova, while Amanda Anisimova claimed a 6-3 6-2 win over veteran two-time grand slam finalist Vera Zvonareva.

Viktoriya Tomova had too much for Kaia Kanepi in a 6-3 6-1 success, with her reward a second-round clash against third seed Jessica Pegula.

World number four Pegula lost to the in-form Iga Swiatek in the Qatar Ladies Open final on Saturday, and Leylah Fernandez will face the Pole next after beating Julia Grabher 6-4 6-2.

Christophe Galtier claims Paris Saint-Germain's intense fixture schedule played a part in Neymar's latest injury.

Neymar was taken from the field on a stretcher early in the second half of PSG's scintillating Ligue 1 clash with Lille on Sunday, which Galtier's team won 4-3 thanks to Lionel Messi's stunning late free-kick.

Brazilian forward Neymar appeared to go over on his right ankle while challenging Benjamin Andre, and Galtier said the early diagnosis was a sprain.

That could make Neymar a doubt to feature for PSG in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Bayern Munich on March 8.

Asked if bad luck was responsible for the 31-year-old's issue, Galtier told reporters: "No, it's not bad luck.

"There are always reasons for injuries: the schedule, the sequence of games. There is no chance [it is just luck].

"Of course it complicates things and that's the way it is. We have to keep our heads down. We're going to do it again, but with a victory. That's more pleasant."

Neymar has played nine times since PSG's season restarted after the World Cup, in which he also suffered an ankle injury.

The 31-year-old played the whole 90 minutes in Tuesday's 1-0 defeat to Bayern, and in the league loss at Monaco three days earlier.

"[Neymar] is being examined," explained Galtier, who also had to take Nuno Mendes off due to an injury. "He went quickly to have tests to know the severity of his sprain.

"Nuno Mendes stretched his medial collateral ligament a little bit, but it really doesn't look serious at all."

Galtier said ahead of the game that he had spoken with Neymar after the forward was pictured in a McDonald's during a midweek night out in Paris.

Neymar set up Kylian Mbappe's opener at the Parc des Princes and then made it 2-0 to PSG in the 17th minute, but Lille hauled themselves level through Bafode Diakite and Jonathan David's controversially awarded penalty.

Jonathan Bamba completed the turnaround for Lille, who boasted a better expected goals (xG) total than their hosts (2.5 to 2.3), but Mbappe equalised before Messi curled in a wonderful free-kick in the fifth minute of added time.

"The difference on this game? It's very easy. The difference was Messi, it was Mbappe," said Lille coach Paulo Fonseca.

"That's the difference, because I think the whole game we dominated.

"We created a few chances, we played our game, and I think we deserved another result. But that's how it is, that's football. But I think the difference was Messi and Mbappe."

Julian Nagelsmann has been ordered to explain his behaviour towards the match officials after Bayern Munich's 3-2 defeat at Borussia Monchengladbach.

The German Football Association (DFB) will receive an official letter from disciplinary chiefs this week and his response will dictate whether further action follows.

Nagelsmann was left furious by Dayot Upamecano's red card in the eighth minute of Saturday's Bundesliga game, after the French defender tangled with Alassane Plea.

It was reported after the final whistle that Nagelsmann confronted referee Tobias Welz, reportedly storming through the media area to loudly knock on the official's door.

Nagelsmann described the red-card incident to reporters as "a minimal touch", but he has admitted he went overboard when confronting Welz and the referee's assistants.

Now the fiery reaction could see him facing punishment, with the DFB saying in a statement it was investigating Nagelsmann for "unsportsmanlike comments".

"As a first step, Julian Nagelsmann will be written to by the control committee at the beginning of the new week and asked to comment on the alleged incident," the DFB said.

"After the statement has been received and evaluated, the committee will decide on the further progress of the procedure."

Nagelsmann posted an apology on Twitter after the game, writing: "Emotions are part of sport. And given the red card, I had to vent after the game.

"However, I have to apologise for the choice of words to the team around Tobias Welz. Unfortunately I went too far there."

Marcus Rashford continued his remarkable goalscoring form as Manchester United cruised to a 3-0 Premier League win over Leicester City.

Rashford was on target with a brace at Old Trafford on Sunday to help United overcome a poor start and make it eight wins from their last 11 league games.

Jadon Sancho made sure of the points with a well-worked third for United, who are now only five points behind leaders Arsenal, albeit having played a game more.

The comfortable nature of the victory allowed United to rest Rashford for much of the second half ahead of Thursday's Europa League second leg at home to Barcelona and next Sunday's EFL Cup final against Newcastle United, in which they will look to win a first trophy since 2017.

Leicester dominated the early stages and would have taken the lead in the eighth minute if not for fine goalkeeping from David de Gea, who denied Harvey Barnes after he had played a one-two with Kelechi Iheanacho following sloppy play in possession from Fred.

The Foxes wasted several superb chances to open the scoring and De Gea was once again a thorn in their side when he produced heroics to claw away Iheanacho's goal-bound header from a Timothy Castagne cross.

Their profligacy was punished moments later when a lazy pass from Wout Faes was pounced on in style by United, Bruno Fernandes' throughball with the outside of the boot finding Rashford to lash into the bottom-left corner.

Faes was guilty of more questionable defending when United went close to doubling their lead, Diogo Dalot afforded too much space in the penalty area but unable to make telling contact with an excellent Fernandes cross.

United did make it 2-0 in the 56th minute when Rashford slid home after being played through by Fred, with the VAR deeming Faes had played him onside after the assistant had initially raised his flag.

Sancho then ensured there would be no Leicester comeback, slotting in from closing range after a neat exchange with the impressive Fernandes.

Kylian Mbappe insisted he was not making a comment against Neymar when he referred to his Paris Saint-Germain club-mates having to "eat well and sleep well".

Mbappe was one of PSG's heroes on Sunday as they snatched a 4-3 victory over Lille in a thrilling Ligue 1 encounter.

Neymar teed up Mbappe's opener and himself made it 2-0 to the hosts at Parc des Princes inside 17 minutes, only for the Brazil forward to go off with an apparently serious ankle injury early in the second half as Lille restored parity and then took the lead through Jonathan Bamba's superb strike.

Yet Mbappe dragged PSG level, setting the stage for Lionel Messi to win it with a sublime free-kick deep into stoppage time, ending a three-match losing streak for PSG, who trail 1-0 in their Champions League last-16 tie with Bayern Munich.

Mbappe urged his team-mates to take care of their fitness and energy levels ahead of the second leg on March 8, but a day later Neymar was pictured in a McDonald's branch on a night out in Paris.

Christophe Galtier revealed in the build-up to Sunday's match that he had discussed the matter with Neymar, but Mbappe was adamant his comments were not meant as a slant against his fellow superstar forward.

"I saw that people were talking about Ney, about what happened," Mbappe told Amazon Prime Sport. "It was not a [comment] against Neymar.

"In the context, we need everything except a fight. It's really advice for everyone.

"Because, as I said, when you have everyone, we saw it at the start of the match, when everyone is there, the teams have to worry.

"I hope Ney will come back soon because he is an important player for us."

The sight of Neymar being taken off on a stretcher was not promising for PSG, and Galtier said: "It's probably a sprained ankle, we will see the seriousness. He is being examined."

PSG's prospects looked bleak until Mbappe and Messi stepped up late on to ease what could have been mounting scrutiny on Galtier's position.

"The term is relief. It's the emotional lift," Galtier added.

"The match was very important for everyone, for the players, for me. We knew that a victory was mandatory to reset the dynamic.

"A coach who loses four games in a row, even more at PSG, is obviously in difficulty; there may be a lot of doubt around. What I can tell you is that I have the permanent support of my sports management and my president. It is very important."

The Manchester United Supporters' Trust has expressed concerns around the two public bids for Manchester United and wants prospective new owners to "explicitly commit to backing" Erik ten Hag.

A 'soft' deadline for bids for United passed this week, with Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS and a Qatari group fronted by banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Al Thani announcing they had made offers.

However, MUST identified issues with both bidders in a statement released ahead of kick-off in Sunday's match against Leicester City.

Ligue 1 clubs Paris Saint-Germain and Nice are respectively owned by Qatar Sports Investments and INEOS, causing potential issues if United were entered into the same European competition as the pair. MUST noted "questions about sporting integrity".

It added there were also "questions about whether any bids will also be based on high levels of debt". The takeover by the Glazer family put United into debt for the first time since the 1930s, with that debt reaching £514.9million in their most recent accounts.

Apparently in relation to concerns around Qatar's human rights record, the statement continued: "We also note the importance that any owner respects the rights of all people, particularly women and the LGBTQ+ community."

MUST added: "We urge all bidders to open a dialogue with fans groups alongside the bidding process with the club, in order to discuss their proposals including the above issues."

Neither the INEOS nor the Qatari bid referenced manager Ten Hag, impressing in his first season at Old Trafford, and this was the final point made by MUST.

"Everyone can see the progress the team is making under Erik Ten Hag," MUST said. "After the frustrations of the last decade, it is clear that enormous strides are being taken.

"Any prospective bidder needs to explicitly commit to backing Erik and his plans to restore United to glory."

England Test captain Ben Stokes expects Harry Brook to become a "global superstar" after the batter starred once again versus New Zealand.

Yorkshire's Brook has taken to international red-ball cricket with ridiculous ease, amassing 623 runs from his eight innings in Stokes and Brendon McCullum's side.

While the 23-year-old did not manage a fourth straight century, having scored three tons in Pakistan, his contributions were again vital against New Zealand in the first Test at Mount Maunganui.

Brook scored 89 off just 81 deliveries in the first innings and a 41-ball 54 in the second to help England to a crushing 267-run victory – their 10th win in 12 Tests under Stokes.

He is scoring at a strike rate of 96.88 and averaging 77.87, owing to the aggressive brand of cricket Stokes and McCullum have instilled, much to his captain's delight.

"Brooky is carrying on from his amazing series in Pakistan," Stokes told Sky Sports after Sunday's win over the Black Caps.

"He is a fantastic talent. I think he will go on to be a global superstar.

"The more senior guys with the bat have to take a lot of credit for allowing the young guys to go out and express themselves.

"They are trying to put on a show, which is what everyone wants to do and is being allowed to do. It has taken the weight off everyone's shoulders and the expectation only comes from the dressing room."

Victory over New Zealand marked a sixth straight Test victory for a reinvigorated England, with James Anderson and Stuart Broad taking much of the credit for their record-breaking exploits.

The veteran pair became the most successful partnership in the history of five-day cricket, tallying 1,009 wickets combined by the end of the match to surpass the previous best of 1,001 achieved by Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.

Stokes was again keen to deflect the praise away from his own captaincy methods as he lauded the wealth of riches he can call upon with both the bat and ball.

"Not only have I got an unbelievable bowling attack, we've also got a seriously skilled and very brave batting line-up," he added. 

"As much as it is me captaining the side, the team obviously have to take a lot of credit for the sort of record I have as a captain, even more than myself."

Rohit Sharma will miss the first ODI for India against Australia due to "family commitments" and Hardik Pandya will act as stand-in captain.

Rohit's absence means Pandya will captain the ODI team for the first time after making his debut in the format in 2016.

The opener is set to be played in Mumbai on March 17 after the ongoing Test series, in which India have already retained the Border-Gavaskar trophy by taking a 2-0 lead with two red-ball matches to play.

Ravindra Jadeja returned to Test cricket with career-best bowling figures of 7-42 in the second innings as India secured a six-wicket victory on Sunday, and he featured in the squad having not played an ODI since July 2022.

Shreyas Iyer was included after a back injury ruled him out of the 50-over series with New Zealand and the first Test with Australia, while Jasprit Bumrah remained absent as he recovers from a similar issue to Iyer.

There were no changes to the red-ball squad for the final two Tests of the series with Australia, but no vice-captain was named with KL Rahul, who acted as Rohit's deputy for the first two matches, struggling for form having mustered just 117 runs over his last five matches in the format.

Lionel Messi scored a stoppage-time free-kick as he and Kylian Mbappe came to Paris Saint-Germain's rescue in a pulsating 4-3 victory over Lille.

PSG's prospects looked bleak when Jonathan Bamba's stunner put Lille 3-2 up after Neymar had gone off on a stretcher with an ankle injury.

The Ligue 1 champions had seemed in control after 17 minutes of Sunday's clash at Parc des Princes thanks to Mbappe and Neymar, only for Lille to deservedly haul themselves level through Bafode Diakite's header and Jonathan David's contentiously awarded penalty.

Yet Mbappe, who prodded home in the 87th minute to restore parity, paved the way for Messi to curl in a wonderful free-kick off the right-hand upright deep into the seven minutes of added time.

Brittney Griner will return to the WNBA for the 2023 season after reportedly signing a one-year deal with the Phoenix Mercury following a 10-month detainment in Russia.

Griner was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport in February 2023 for bringing under a gram of cannabis oil into Russia in vape cartridges.

The two-time Olympic gold medallist said she made an "honest mistake", with her lawyers arguing she was using the cannabis for medicinal purposes and was unaware of its illegal status in Russia.

She was subsequently jailed for nine years for drug possession and drug smuggling with criminal intent, but was released in December in a prisoner exchange that saw convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout return to Russia.

Griner stated she planned to play for the Mercury in 2023 following her return to the United States, and the team have reportedly agreed a deal for the eight-time WNBA All-Star to feature in the upcoming season.

Griner was drafted first overall by the Mercury in 2013, going on win the 2014 WNBA championship by sweeping the Chicago Sky in the finals.

Her last game for the team before her imprisonment also came against the Sky in a 2021 WNBA finals defeat after one of the best seasons of her career, during which she averaged 20.5 points, 1.9 blocks and 9.5 rebounds per game.

Griner will look to help the Mercury bounce back after suffering a first-round exit in the WNBA Playoffs in August, with the team set to begin their 2023 campaign against the Los Angeles Sparks on May 19.

Neymar was taken off on a stretcher in Paris Saint-Germain's Ligue 1 clash with Lille on Sunday.

The Brazil star had assisted Kylian Mbappe's opener and put PSG 2-0 up in a thrilling first half at Parc des Princes.

But with PSG leading 2-1, Neymar had to go off shortly into the second half following a clash with Benjamin Andre, in which he appeared to injure his right ankle.

The 31-year-old was ultimately unable to walk off and was evidently in distress as he was carried from the field.

Insult was added to injury for PSG when Marco Verratti was adjudged to have fouled Tiago Djalo in the penalty area, with Jonathan David duly converting from the spot to restore parity.

Neymar's injury could present a huge blow to PSG's Champions League hopes; they trail Bayern Munich 1-0 heading into the second leg of their last-16 tie at Allianz Arena.

There is just under three weeks until that clash on March 8, and Christophe Galtier – who also lost Nuno Mendes to injury in the first half – will be hoping Neymar's issue is not as serious as it first appeared.

Thorbjorn Olesen won his second DP World Title in the space of a year after carding a bogey-free 66 final round at the Thailand Classic.

Olesen, whose victory at the British Masters in May 2022 had ended a four-year wait for a win, won by a comfortable four strokes having taken a two-shot lead into the final day.

The 33-year-old finished at 24 under for the tournament as he collected the seventh DP World Tour title of his career.

Olesen, who will move back into the top 100 next week, has gone on to win six tournaments on the Tour when holding a 54-hole lead.

"It's very special. Obviously the British Masters win was incredible, with my family, and it had been a long time since I won the last time," said the Dane after claiming his first title in Asia.

"But equally this one, all the hard work and all the sacrifice from my wife. It's really nice.

"It felt really good, felt steady, I felt like I was in control and I just enjoyed playing golf."

Olesen's compatriot Oliver Hundeboll, meanwhile, played the shot of the round as he sunk a hole-in-one on the 13th.

Alexander Knappe carded a brilliant 67 after seven birdies from his final nine holes, with the German finishing T3 along with Joost Luiten, two shots back from second-place Yannik Paul.