Chelsea have continued their January spending spree with the signing of right-back Malo Gusto from Lyon.

The France Under-21 international has signed a seven-and-a-half-year deal at Stamford Bridge, but he will spend the remainder of the 2022-23 season on loan at Lyon.

Gusto, who has made 54 appearances for Lyon since making his debut in January 2021, is reported to have cost Chelsea an initial £26.3million (€29.9m) plus various add-ons.

He becomes Chelsea's seventh signing of the window following the arrivals of Mykhaylo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke, Andrey Santos, David Datro Fofana and Joao Felix, the latter joining on loan from Atletico Madrid.

The 19-year-old attacking full-back will provide long-term competition and cover for Reece James, who has missed the majority of this season through injury. 

Chelsea are also rumoured to still be in the market for a central midfielder, having so far been frustrated in their attempt to sign Argentina World Cup star Enzo Fernandez from Benfica.

Erik ten Hag has no complaints with Manchester United's fixture schedule and insists his squad is deep enough to cope with challenging on multiple fronts in the second half of the season.

United beat Reading 3-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday to advance to the last 16 of the FA Cup, while Wednesday's 3-0 first-leg win over Nottingham Forest means they are all but assured of a place in the EFL Cup final.

The Red Devils are also still in Europa League contention, with a knockout play-off round tie against Barcelona on the horizon, and are fourth in the Premier League with 18 games to go.

Ten Hag's side potentially have nine matches to come in February, but the Dutchman considers that a positive as United bid to end a six-year wait for a trophy.

"I don't complain," he told reporters. "We know what the fixture schedule is; we have to deal with this.

"At clubs we have to set squads and squads are big enough to deal with it and I think players like to play.

"You can build and construct a good team when you play often and, in my perspective, when you play often the same you are getting the routines in."

Ten Hag surprised many by naming a strong starting line-up against Championship side Reading, with Harry Maguire coming into the side as the only change from the Forest match, which followed on from a 3-2 league loss at Arsenal.

"If you see everything in the perspective of the result, after a defeat we've bounced back," Ten Hag said. "I was happy with the performance at Arsenal, but we made mistakes.

"We have to work on those mistakes but now twice we have had good performances and two good results."

Casemiro's second-half double and a neat finish from Fred earned United victory over Reading, who had Andy Carroll sent off but pulled one back through Amadou Salif Mbengue.

United lost key midfielder Christian Eriksen to injury prior to the hour mark, but Ten Hag says it is too early to determine if the Denmark international is going to spend any time on the sidelines.

"It's always difficult to say in this moment so short after the game has finished," he said.

"But it's an ankle [problem]. We have to see what the diagnosis is, so it will be a minimum of 24 hours before we know that and then I can say more."

United are back in action on Wednesday with the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final against Forest, before returning to league action at home to Crystal Palace next weekend.

The Los Angeles Lakers are furious after an obvious foul on LeBron James' potential game-winner was missed, with the Boston Celtics going on to secure a 125-121 victory in overtime.

Playing in Boston, James was spectacular with a game-high 41 points on 15-of-30 shooting, adding nine rebounds and eight assists, but the game was tied at 105-105 after Jaylen Brown's and-one with four seconds remaining.

The four-time MVP and four-time NBA Finals MVP would be the player entrusted with the last shot for the Lakers, and after driving left and getting all the way to the rim, James was smacked on his shooting arm by Jayson Tatum with under one second on the clock.

But the foul went un-whistled, with James, All-NBA team-mate Anthony Davis and the entire Lakers bench erupting in fury as the game was sent to overtime.

Los Angeles guard Patrick Beverley was issued a technical foul after bringing over a camera to the referee in an effort to show crew chief Eric Lewis the clearly botched call, and the Celtics went on to score 20 in the extra period, led by Brown with 11 of his 37 total points.

Speaking after the loss, Davis made it clear he felt cheated by the referees.

"It was bull**** at the end of the day," he said. "It’s unacceptable, and I guarantee nothing will happen to the ref. We got cheated tonight, honestly. 

"[Beverley] got all ball on Brown, [but they] called a foul. LeBron, they smack across his arm. Unacceptable, to be honest. The refs were bad – they were bad tonight."

James echoed those sentiments, saying this is not the first time this season he has felt disrespected by officials.

"You saw my reaction… it’s challenging," he said. "I don’t get it. 

"I'm attacking the paint just as much as any other guy in this league that’s shooting double-digit free throws a night. I don’t get it. I don’t understand it."

He added: "You guys seen some of the games we lost this year, with late-game missed calls. I don’t understand what we're doing. 

"I watch basketball every single day. I watch these games every single game, and I don’t see it happen to nobody else. It's just weird."

Head coach Darvin Ham joined the chorus of discontent.

"The best player on Earth can’t get a call – it’s amazing," he said. "You have to call a cat a cat, you can’t look at something and try to pretend it’s not what it is. 

"He’s a guy that tries hard to play the right way. Doesn’t flop, plays downhill, plays a strong, physical brand of basketball. 

"Just because he doesn’t flop or doesn’t flail and he’s not screaming when he’s shooting the ball like I see a ton of other players doing, he gets penalised for it.

"As much as you try not to put it on officiating, it’s becoming increasingly difficult. I don't want to see another Last 2 Minute report – they can save that. It doesn't do no one any good."

In an Instagram story, where he included a still photo of the foul, Lakers guard Dennis Schroder also voiced his frustration.

He wrote: "The refs gotta start getting fined for their mistakes! They also giving technical fouls to people who are reacting to their mistakes.

"The replay center should also use replay to get these calls right, especially on an important play like the OBVIOUS foul on LeBron at the end of the game.

"This needs to stop… to lose 3-5 games this season off of referees' mistakes is really hard."

In an uncommon occurrence, crew chief Lewis confirmed the botched call immediately after the game finished.

"There was contact," he said. "At the time, during the game, we did not see a foul. The crew missed the play."

The loss has the Lakers fall to 23-27, sitting 13th out of 15 teams in the Western Conference.

LeBron James' 41 points were not enough to prevent his Los Angeles Lakers from going down 125-121 in a controversial overtime loss on the road against the Boston Celtics.

In the latest edition of the league's most decorated rivalry, James was a man on a mission, finishing 15-of-30 from the field, six-of-12 from deep and five-of-six from the free throw line as the only Lakers player to score more than 16.

He added nine rebounds and eight assists, and he should have been awarded potential game-winning free throws after he was clearly hit on the arm while driving for a layup with under a second remaining in regulation.

But the Celtics got the call in Boston, and it would be Jaylen Brown stepping up in the extra period to deliver a win for the home fans.

Brown scored 11 of his team-high 37 points in overtime, finishing 13-of-23 from the field with nine rebounds, picking up the slack for team-mate and MVP candidate Jayson Tatum.

Tatum had a respectable stat line of 30 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals, but he shot a dismal eight-of-25 from the field, while Sixth Man of the Year contender Malcolm Brodgon chipped in a game-changing 25 points (eight-of-15), six rebounds, four assists and two steals off the bench.

For the Lakers, it was Anthony Davis' second game back after five-and-a-half weeks on the sideline dealing with a foot injury, and he came off the bench again for 16 points (six-of-15), 10 rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Celtics, and improved their league-leading record to 36-15. 

The Lakers fell to 23-27, and although they sit 13th in the Western Conference, they are only three games behind the Minnesota Timberwolves in the sixth seed.

Clippers extend winning streak to five

The Los Angeles Clippers are enjoying their longest winning streak of the season after making it five in a row with Saturday's 120-113 victory against the Atlanta Hawks.

The Clippers were led by their resurgent two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, who scored a game-high 32 points on 12-of-20 shooting while adding eight rebounds and four assists.

There were fears Leonard's prime had been stolen from him by injuries after scoring a total of 50 points in his first five games of this campaign, but over his past 10 fixtures he sits eighth overall in points per game at 29.3.

Over that span he is shooting 55.6 per cent from the field, 47.2 per cent from deep and 92.5 per cent from the free throw line while adding 7.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.9 steals per game, improving the Clippers' record to 28-24.

Kyrie stays red-hot in New York showdown

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving posted his sixth consecutive game with at least 30 points and six assists to defeat the New York Knicks 122-115 at home.

Irving, who was named an All-Star starter mid-week, scored a game-high 32 points on 12-of-27 shooting with nine assists, six rebounds and two steals.

Over his past six games, his 36.3 points per game is eclipsed only by Portland Trail Blazers icon Damian Lillard (38.3), while Irving's 7.8 assists would also be a new career-high as he shoulders a massive workload in the absence of injured superstar Kevin Durant.

Speaking publicly for the first time on Saturday, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support and well wishes he has received since he suffered a cardiac arrest while playing against the Cincinnati Bengals on January 2.

Hamlin said now was "the right time" to speak after the Bills' season ended and because he needed time to recover and gather his thoughts.

"It was just a lot to process within my own self – mentally, physically, even spiritually. It's just been a lot to process," he said. "But I can't tell you how appreciative I am of all the love, all the support and everything that's just been coming in my way."

Hamlin then said he has come to peace with what happened on the field when he collapsed after making what appeared to be a routine tackle of Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, who struck Hamlin squarely in the chest.

"What happened to me on Monday Night Football I feel is a direct example of God using me as a vessel to share my passion and my love directly from my heart with the entire world," he said in a five-and-a-half-minute video posted on his Instagram account.

Hamlin appeared in the video almost a week after he made his first public appearance during the Bills’ playoff loss to the Bengals last Sunday. He was shown on the video board holding up his hands in the shape of a heart, in what has become his signature gesture, while also pumping up the crowd.

Titled 'Thank You: A message from Damar Hamlin' the video opens with Hamlin walking into view, placing down a jacket and taking a seat in a dimly lit room with the word 'Bills' prominently displayed behind him. Hamlin shows no after-effects of the injury while wearing a white T-shirt with the name of his charitable foundation, Chasing Millions, printed on the front and with a gold chain with the initials ''DM'' hanging around his neck.

Hamlin thanked his teammates, training staff, and the medical staff at both the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and Buffalo General Medical Center, where he split his recovery. He also thanked those who donated more than $9million to his charity over the past four weeks.

"While I'm so thankful to everybody, I know that it isn't enough just to be thankful. This is just the beginning of the impact that I wanted to have on the world," Hamlin said in closing the video by making a heart sign with his hands.

Joel Embiid made it clear he is only concerned about winning a championship after dominating in the Philadelphia 76ers' 126-119 victory against reigning back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.

Embiid – who has finished runner-up in each of the past two MVP votes – was spectacular on Saturday, finishing with a game-high 47 points on 18-of-31 shooting, a game-high 18 rebounds and equal game-highs with three steals and two blocks.

He outplayed Jokic, who still posted a terrific stat line of 24 points (eight-of-12 shooting), nine assists and eight rebounds, but his seven turnovers were the third-most he has had in a game this season,

It continued a remarkable campaign for Embiid, improving his league-leading scoring average to a career-high 33.8 per game, while also shooting a career-best 53.2 per cent from the field. He is shooting a career-best 86.1 per cent from the free throw line while leading the league at 10.0 made free throws per game.

When asked after the win if he feels he should be the MVP, Embiid said he is no longer concerned about the award.

"I don't know, that's up to you guys to decide," he said. "Like I told you, I'm done arguing for myself. It's all out there.

"But the focus is on winning. As long as we win, I know everything is going to take care of itself. If we keep winning, and everyone stays healthy, I've got a better chance of going out there and winning a championship."

Embiid also had his streak of five consecutive selections as an All-Star starter snapped this past week as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant and Jayson Tatum claimed the three frontcourt spots in the East.

He said he feels that is an indication that he is "not well-liked", but he is not bothered by it.

"I'm used to it," he said. "It's not the first time. I think it's more of a motivation to go out and win the whole thing – that's the only way I'm probably going to get that respect.

"I was not surprised, I think it's well documented that I'm not well-liked. That's cool. I don't know if it's because I troll a lot or that I guess I'm an a****** – but it's cool. 

"I keep being me, I keep being an a******, and I keep trolling, and if people don't like it, that's their problem. But like I said, it all goes back to winning."

The 28-year-old believes winning would cure everything, and that the current 76ers roster – with a healthy James Harden – has the balance required to go all the way.

"You've got James Harden, obviously he's been playing great basketball," he said. "You've got Tyrese Maxey, Tobias has been great, P.J. Tucker... we've got a group that fits with each other.

"We'll find that out in the postseason. But I think as far as the fit, you've got everything. Everybody fits with each other, we've got shooters, we've got defenders, and we've got James Harden. So I think we've got a good chance."

The 76ers are now 32-16, sitting second in the Eastern Conference while owning the third-best record in the league.

Max Homa produced his best round of the week to erase a five-stroke deficit and win the Farmers Insurance Open with a score of 13 under.

Low scores were hard to come by on the difficult Torrey Pines South Course, with only three players posting final scores of 10 under or better, while Homa's 13 under was the worst winning score of the season so far.

Coming into Saturday's final round at seven under, Homa posted seven birdies and one bogey to shoot 66, tying the round of the day and finishing with a birdie on the last to win by two strokes.

It is the sixth PGA Tour win of Homa's career, and he now has back-to-back multi-win seasons after also collecting the opening event of the campaign at September's Fortinet Championship.

The only other player to shoot a six-under 66 in the final round was Keegan Bradley, flying up the leaderboard into outright second place at 11 under, while world number eight Collin Morikawa finished alone in third at 10 under. 

Sam Ryder was the outright leader after the second and third rounds, but he ended up in a tie for fourth at nine under due to a 75 in his final trip around the course that twice hosted the U.S. Open.

Coming into the event with four wins from his previous six starts, and starting Saturday at 10 under, Jon Rahm had to settle for seventh after a two-over 74, tying with former world number one Jason Day.

Erik ten Hag is waiting for a full diagnosis on Christian Eriksen's ankle injury after the midfielder was pictured leaving Old Trafford on crutches.

The Denmark international was on the receiving end of a strong challenge from Reading striker Andy Carroll during Manchester United's 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round victory.

Carroll avoided punishment from referee Darren England for the tackle, though he was later sent off for two bookable offences.

Eriksen's injury is a cause of concern for United, with crucial Premier League clashes and a Europa League showdown with Barcelona on the horizon, and Ten Hag is waiting for a full assessment on the problem.

"It's always difficult to say so soon after the game finished, but it's an ankle [injury] and we have to see what the diagnosis is," he told a post-match press conference.

"It will be a minimum of 24 hours before we know that, and then I can say more."

Victory for United keeps the club in contention across all competitions this season and the performance of Antony caught the eye, having provided the assist for Casemiro's opener.

Ten Hag had called for more from the pre-season signing following the midweek EFL Cup win against Nottingham Forest and, while he has seen progress, feels there is still more to come.

"I have some experience with him. We have to challenge him and if you challenge him he can adapt, adjust his game, that is what we have to do, definitely," he added.

"He has to be more variable, more dynamic, but also he needs his team-mates and his team-mates around him. But also [needs to know] how to use your team-mates.

"He has to work on that, but he is investing in that at the moment, and you see the progress. But still I think there is a lot of room for improvement."

Myles Turner has decided against becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season after signing a two-year, $58million extension with the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.

Turner, 26, was playing in the final year of his four-year, $80m rookie extension, and he will now add two more years at essentially the same salary ($20.9m next season, $19.9m in 2024-25).

The Pacers were able to secure Turner on two more relatively affordable seasons after deciding to capitalise on their extra cap space this campaign. His new deal includes a $17.1m increase on his salary for the current season – increasing it from $18m to $35.1m – which is the largest re-negotiation bump in league history.

It indicates a surprising change of heart for Turner, who had been open about his desire to leave via trade or free agency, but has instead found himself flourishing with a career-best season on a Pacers team seemingly already finished with their rebuild.

Turner previously shared how he was unhappy with his role as a supporting piece while All-Star Domantas Sabonis patrolled the interior – often spending entire offensive possessions standing in the corner spacing the floor.

However, with Sabonis being shipped to the Sacramento Kings this past season in exchange for point guard and rising star Tyrese Haliburton, Turner has found himself in a featured role, and he has taken full advantage.

The six-foot-11 defensive anchor has always been an elite shot-blocker, sitting top-five in blocks per game (2.4) for the seventh consecutive campaign after leading the league in the 2018-19, 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.

But it is his offense that has taken the biggest leap with Sabonis out of the picture, posting career-highs across the board.

Turner is averaging career-highs in field goal makes (6.3) and attempts (11.6), three-point makes (1.6), three-point percentage (39.1), free throw makes (3.3) and attempts (4.3), rebounds (7.9) and points (17.5).

He has played in 42 of a possible 51 games this season, and is looking like he has turned the corner physically after only managing 42 appearances in the entirety of this past season and 47 games in 2020-21.

The Pacers are 24-27, sitting ninth in the Eastern Conference, although they are only 1-9 since Haliburton suffered an injury against the New York Knicks on January 11, having not played since.

Jurgen Klopp defended himself from criticism amid a difficult season for Liverpool as he insisted he did not become a "bad manager overnight".

Liverpool are ninth in the Premier League at the season's halfway point, trailing leaders Arsenal by 21 points and fourth-placed Manchester United – who have played a game extra – by 10.

It is a far cry from last season when they entered the final weeks of the campaign with the possibility of winning four trophies.

They ended up with an FA Cup and EFL Cup double, losing out to Manchester City in the Premier League and Real Madrid in the Champions League final.

Liverpool have been badly impacted by injuries throughout the season, while some key players have struggled for form.

A lot of the criticism is falling at the feet of Klopp, but he spoke defiantly ahead of Sunday's FA Cup fourth-round clash with Brighton and Hove Albion.

"I didn't become a bad manager overnight," Klopp told reporters. "I was never as good as people probably said or not as bad as some people might think.

"But imagine if you [the media] were here today talking to another coach of Liverpool because last season we'd won all four trophies and I said, 'See you later, [I'm going on] holiday!'.

"Imagine if you saw a different [manager] and he has to explain these things and he tells you how it is. Nobody would listen!

"They'd say last season was great and this year is not great – so go!

"You have to have wide shoulders and really just take it. It's tough, I'm sorry, but we will go for it with all we have to get out of it and then play in a way that the people can't wait to go to the stadium again.

"Hopefully we can get through this together and get much closer again. From there we all know anything can happen.

"So far, we've not given the fans much this season, but we are still in two cup competitions, and we'll not give up in the league. Why should we?

"Other teams are doing really well and we respect them a lot, but we want to beat them and I will see how we can do that at Brighton."

Klopp does not want to blame Liverpool's problems entirely on their injury woes, though at the very least he believes they would be much closer to the top four had the likes of Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota not missed the majority of the season up to now.

"It was clear it would be difficult, but with lesser injuries I think we can agree we could easily have had at least five points more," he added.

"Okay, that still wouldn't make a brilliant season, but we would be fighting for the Champions League. That's a normal season.

"But injuries to decisive players have made it an especially average or bad season so far, and you cannot just replace them.

"On top of that, if you don't have time to train and you have three days until the next game, it's not like you can invent football in those one and a half sessions."

Fashionista Serge Gnabry has been told to smarten up his act by Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn.

After a dressing-down from sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic, the fallout continued on Saturday after Gnabry's trip to Paris Fashion Week on his recent day off.

Salihamidzic branded Serge Gnabry "amateurish" after the Germany forward returned from Paris to put in a disappointing display in the Bundesliga draw against Koln on Tuesday.

Rather than spending his downtime in Paris last Sunday, Salihamidzic felt Gnabry should have been resting between games to ensure he was in his best condition to turn on the style for Bayern.

Gnabry was only a substitute for Saturday's game with Eintracht Frankfurt. It was the third game in succession where Bayern have been held 1-1, seeing their Bundesliga lead whittled down to one point.

Kahn, speaking ahead of the game, said the best way for a player to answer any critics would be to ensure their on-field performance was unimpeachable.

"If I know that it's not the best time, then I have to go on the pitch, score three goals and be the best man. That would be my answer to a topic like that," Kahn told German broadcaster Sky, addressing the Gnabry situation.

Bayern's players had plenty of time off after the World Cup, where Gnabry was a member of the Germany squad that tumbled out at the group stage.

"We now simply expect performance – and we demand it," Kahn said. "We discussed this with Serge. Hasan spoke to him and made it clear. I think he understood."