Carlo Ancelotti was not put out by Manchester City being named the team of the year in Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony, saying last season's Champions League glory is proof of Real Madrid's standing.

Madrid finished third in the votes for the team award, despite winning LaLiga and the Champions League last season.

Liverpool finished as runners-up behind City, as they did in the Premier League. The Reds also lost to Madrid in the Champions League final, but won the EFL Cup and FA Cup last term. Indeed, Los Blancos also beat Pep Guardiola's side en route to winning their 14th European crown.

Ancelotti, though, insists Madrid – who won the Super Cup in August and are top of LaLiga after defeating Barcelona in Sunday's Clasico – are still the best.

He said in a press conference: "I don't know the criteria well, because they don't talk about the team. Madrid is the best team and that is why they have won the Champions League.

"I have all the respect for that award. We received the most important award in May."

Madrid did enjoy success on Monday, though, with Karim Benzema taking home the main individual prize after his stunning season in 2021-22, becoming the first French player to do so since Zinedine Zidane in 1998.

Benzema, 34, led Madrid to their success, which came somewhat against the odds – at least in the Champions League.

However, when asked if had been surprised by his achievements since re-joining Madrid from Everton last year, Ancelotti replied: "No, I don't think so. What we have achieved so far has been very good.

"For me it is not so surprising, here you have everything to be successful: history, tradition, competition, quality of the players, atmosphere... At the beginning of last season I had many more doubts than now."

Benzema scored 44 times last season, a tally bettered only by Robert Lewandowski (50) of players in Europe's top-five leagues.

Next on the list after Benzema was Kylian Mbappe, who scored 39 goals for Paris Saint-Germain and appeared all set to join his France team-mate at Madrid until a late change of heart.

Reports last week claimed Mbappe now wanted to leave PSG, though he denied those rumours on Monday. 

Asked if Mbappe would deserve another chance to sign for the club, Ancelotti instead chose to hail the next generation already coming through at the Santiago Bernabeu.

"What is the future? I do not know. On a personal level, I don't know what can happen," he said.

"The future of this club and this team is already written with young players like Vinicius [Junior], Rodrygo, [Aurelien] Tchouameni, [Eduardo] Camavinga, [Federico[ Valverde, [Eder] Militao... who have already written the future of this team.

"The players change, but these players have shown what the future of Real Madrid will be."

Frank Lampard's focus is on getting Dominic Calvert-Lewin fit and firing for Everton as he looks to make a late push for England's World Cup squad.

Calvert-Lewin enjoyed a brilliant 2020-21 campaign, scoring 21 times. That tally included a hot streak of eight goals in seven games to start the season, with his form seeing him make his England debut, scoring four goals in as many starts for the Three Lions, the most by a player since Kerry Dixon in 1985-86.

He was part of England's Euro 2020 squad but the 25-year-old missed much of last term through injury, returning to score the vital goal to keep Everton up in a 3-2 comeback win over Crystal Palace in May, only to suffer a knee injury on the eve of the new season.

With Calvert-Lewin limited to two substitute appearances in Everton's last two matches – defeats to Manchester United and Tottenham respectively – his hopes of making Gareth Southgate's squad for Qatar appear slim, especially with Brentford's Ivan Toney in rich form.

Lampard acknowledges time may be against his striker but is not giving up hope.

"We've got to be careful with Dominic coming back, making sure we gradually bring him in but as quickly as possible," he told reporters ahead of Everton's trip to Newcastle United. 

"We're definitely getting to the stage now where we can hopefully get more minutes out of him.

"It's human nature and a natural mentality of top-level players, they want to play for their countries. The first thing is you play well for your club to get there.

"Because of Dominic's injuries it's put him in this position. My feeling is if he'd been fit and playing regularly he'd be making that case.

"It's step by step for us, Dominic is an England player, he's been in that squad – can we get him fit for us first, see what he can deliver for us, then of course he gets himself into that question."

One Everton player certain to be going to the World Cup if fit is Jordan Pickford. 

The goalkeeper enjoyed a strong start to the season, but made a blunder in Saturday's defeat to Spurs, spilling Matt Doherty's shot and bringing down England team-mate Harry Kane to compound his error.

When asked if he had spoken to Pickford about the mistake, Lampard replied: "No need. He's saved us many times. 

"He's a high, high level of goalkeeper, top bracket in the world for me."

Reece Topley is an injury doubt for England's first game of the T20 World Cup against Afghanistan on Saturday.

The left-arm paceman rolled his ankle during a fielding drill ahead of Monday's warm-up win over Pakistan at the Gabba.

Topley will be assessed before Jos Buttler's side take on Afghanistan in their Group 1 opener at Perth Stadium.

England will face a qualifier in their second World Cup match next Wednesday, then face hosts Australia two days later.

The quick has made an impressive return to the international stage after fears his career could be over due to back injuries.

Topley played in all three of England's matches in the recent T20I series win over Australia, having featured in four of the seven games in the 4-3 victory in Pakistan.

Dustin Hopkins lined up the field goal that would settle the Los Angeles Chargers' clash with the Denver Broncos and thought to himself: what's the worst that could happen?

Already carrying a hamstring injury, Hopkins figured he may as well take a full-blooded kick for glory and hold nothing back.

"In my mind, it was already at a point where it was a, 'Well, screw it' moment," said Hopkins. "Pretty much, if it's already feeling this bad at this point, let's just give it a ride."

The overtime heroics from Hopkins, who kicked four field goals in all, secured a 19-16 win for the Chargers, with quarterback Justin Herbert saluting the kicker.

"We have so much respect for him. We know that he is hurting," said Herbert. "He's tough. That's all you can say about him. For him to go out there and play and put up with some pain like that, it's great to see from him."

Chargers head coach Brandon Staley saw his team nullify the threat of Russell Wilson after the first quarter, in which the Broncos quarterback completed all 10 of his passes, including a 39-yard touchdown to rookie tight end Greg Dulcich.

The Chargers rallied from 10-0 adrift but could only manage one touchdown that came at the start of the second quarter, with a 15-play drive capped off by a six-yard Austin Ekeler touchdown dash.

They had to grind it out, and Staley said: "This is a complete team win. It was a tough, rugged game. They have an outstanding defense over there. It was tough sledding in every way for all four quarters and overtime. It was just a tough and rugged game. It took everybody in Powder Blue to win it."

He added: "The fact that we're able to show our resilience in all three phases, and then be able to finish that game on our home field in front of our fans, I'm really proud of our group today."

Losses to the Chiefs and the Jaguars came as early season setbacks for the Chargers, but Herbert has been encouraged by the wins that have followed against the Texans, Browns and now the Broncos.

"I thought 4-2 has been a big step up for us," he said, "especially where we were at with 1-2.

"For us to answer back and to win three games in a row like that, I think it says a lot about our team, our defense, our special teams, because they have stepped up big time. It's been awesome to see from them."

Herbert completed 37 of his 57 passes for 238 yards and one interception. This made him the only quarterback in the Super Bowl era to throw as many as 57 passes in a game with no TDs but still win, Opta said.

Australia have made Pat Cummins their 27th one-day international captain.

Cummins already captains the nation's Test side and will now double up on leadership duties after replacing Aaron Finch as ODI skipper.

Finch retired from the format last month and fast bowler Cummins acknowledged he would be a tough act to follow.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed playing under Finchy and have learnt an enormous amount from his leadership," Cummins said.

"They are significant shoes to fill, although we are extremely fortunate to have a one-day squad with a huge amount of experience."

There had been reports that David Warner could see his lifetime leadership ban ended and he would assume the role, but this announcement puts an end to that speculation.

A proposed amendment to Cricket Australia's integrity code would have paved the way for Warner to take on the job, four years on from his involvement in a ball-tampering scandal.

However, it will be Cummins who leads the side when Australia take on England in a three-match series in November.

Anthony Davis declared the Los Angeles Lakers can banish sorry memories of the previous two seasons by roaring back to past glories in the new campaign.

The Lakers, NBA champions in 2020, lost in the first round of the 2021 playoffs before trailing in 11th in the Western Conference last term with a 33-49 record, missing out on the postseason.

Considering their star-studded squad, those were underwhelming performances, but this year Davis says the story can change. He is talking about championships again.

"We're motivated to get back to where we belong," Davis said.

"The last two seasons were not what we envisioned. It was not Lakers basketball and we know that, not what our organisation's standard is."

Coach Frank Vogel was sacked in April and Darvin Ham has come in, charged with getting the best out of a roster that, along with Davis, features the likes of LeBron James and Russell Westbrook.

The star trio are listed as probable for Tuesday's season-opening game against last season's champions, the Golden State Warriors, at Chase Center.

Westbrook has been waylaid by a hamstring injury, and it remains to be seen how Ham uses him, if fit. He appears set for a reserve role, initially.

If the Lakers needed any reminder about their 2021-22 failings, it will come when the Warriors collect their championship rings, with the Los Angeles players knowing they simply were not a factor last time out.

After losing five of six warm-up games, the Lakers will know they cannot let that form drip into the new campaign.

Davis said: "Our standard is to compete for championships, and in the last two seasons we have not. So, it's motivation and hunger from every guy on the floor, everybody in the locker room, all the coaches, the front office, to make sure that we get back to that level of basketball that we know we can play at."

Provisional World Cup squads are expected this week, and Gareth Southgate – despite a few late injury headaches – is likely to have already nailed down the majority of his England group.

There do remain some question marks, however, and perhaps none are more prominent than in attack, where Harry Kane is the established starter but the role of back-up has been shared among an ever-changing cast.

Since Russia 2018, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Ollie Watkins, Callum Wilson and Danny Ings have all played and scored for England. But either form or fitness has deserted each of them.

That would appear to leave three contenders in Tammy Abraham, whose Roma place is no longer assured, Ivan Toney, the recent call-up yet to make his international debut, and Marcus Rashford.

Abraham and Toney were each included in Southgate's latest England squad, although neither featured in games against Italy and Germany where the Three Lions needed goals. Meanwhile, injury robbed Rashford of the opportunity to re-establish himself in the group.

At one stage, Rashford was assured of his place in every international squad, if not necessarily every team.

The Manchester United man has earned 46 caps for England, and all but three of those have come since Southgate's September 2016 appointment.

However, for all those accusations of Southgate defying club form to pick his 'favourites', Rashford has been punished for below-par displays for United, having scored a measly five goals in 32 games last season.

Rashford's last action for England was his missed penalty in the Euro 2020 final against Italy after appearing as a substitute for the final minute of extra time at Wembley. He has not started for his country since before that tournament.

But the 24-year-old has rediscovered something approaching his best form this season, netting five goals and assisting three in 11 matches for United. Rashford is far outperforming Abraham (two goals and one assist in 13 matches) in that regard, although he still trails flavour-of-the-month Toney (eight goals and three assists in 11 matches).

Toney's case is clear then – except Southgate is not looking for a forward to come in and lead the line against Iran on November 21.

Only Jordan Pickford (14 starts, 1,380 minutes) and John Stones (14 starts, 1,324 minutes) have started more matches or played more minutes for Southgate at major tournaments than Kane (13 starts, 1,222 minutes).

Assuming no injury to Kane that would alter the entire conversation, Rashford is auditioning for the position of primary attacking reinforcement – one he has filled twice for Southgate in the past.

Across the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020, no England player made more appearances (10) or played more minutes (205) as a substitute than Rashford.

In 63 minutes from the bench for United this season, Rashford has scored two goals and assisted another. Abraham has yet to contribute to a goal in 91 such minutes for Roma, while Toney has a sole assist in 18 minutes.

As illness reduced Rashford to a substitute role against Newcastle United on Sunday, he showed how dangerous his hard running can prove late in matches.

Both he and Fred passed up huge chances, but only Casemiro (0.45 – 0.01 xG, 0.44 xA) produced more combined expected goals and expected assists in the whole match than Rashford (0.43 – 0.31 xG, 0.12 xA) did in an 18-minute cameo against the Premier League's meanest defence.

On that occasion, Rashford was appearing, as he would in place of Kane, as a centre-forward after being brought on for Cristiano Ronaldo. But his versatility is a key attribute Toney does not possess.

For United this season, five of Rashford's nine starts have come as a lone striker, with the other four as a left-sided winger.

Longer term, his starts through the middle have been far less regular. Rashford's 21 England starts have included 10 from the left, three from the right and eight as a central striker. Of those eight, seven have been as part of a forward pair.

His sole appearance in a Three Lions line-up in the sort of role Kane is used to was in a 3-1 Nations League Finals defeat to the Netherlands, in which Rashford was replaced by Kane at half-time after opening the scoring.

If England are in need of a spark in Qatar – whether from the start or as a substitute – Southgate is likely to turn to a player who can complement Kane rather than replace him, perhaps explaining the watching briefs for Abraham and Toney in September.

Importantly, Rashford has previously supported Kane to good effect, most notably in a 3-2 win against Spain in October 2018, when Kane teed up Rashford for the second goal and the pair each provided a further assist for Raheem Sterling, who is also set to start again at the World Cup.

As Kane and Tottenham visit Old Trafford on Wednesday for the pick of the midweek Premier League action, Rashford will no doubt hope to be restored to the United XI ahead of Ronaldo.

But were he to instead play from the left or come on for the veteran forward later in the match, the England hopeful might provide Southgate a more accurate representation of what he could expect if selected next month.

Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson confirmed he injured his hamstring in his side's 19-16 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night.

Wilson began the game brightly, finishing the first quarter with a perfect 10 completions from 10 attempts including a touchdown to rookie tight end Greg Dulcich to build a 10-0 lead at quarter-time.

Things broke down for the Broncos' offense after that, with Wilson going on to complete just five-of-18 passes the rest of the way as their only points in the last three quarters came from a pair of Brandon McManus field goals.

After the game, Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett opened up his press conference by listing Wilson among the injuries for the game, saying he hurt his hamstring and not expanding any further.

When questioned about it in his own interview, Wilson confirmed he did indeed have to nurse the injury through the latter stages of the contest after feeling it pull in the fourth quarter..

"Yeah, I got my hammy," he said. "I was kind of scrambling and moving around on one, and had to throw it away. It got me pretty good in the fourth quarter, but I just tried to play through it and all that.

"I felt good moving around, running around, throwing it and everything else – especially early on – and then that happened. 

"So that was kind of a little unfortunate, but, you know, [we were still] trying to find a way to win the game."

Wilson entered the game with a nagging shoulder injury, and he said his "shoulder did good", but that "the only thing that matters is us winning".

If Wilson did indeed strain his hamstring, even a minor injury will likely mean at least one game on the sideline, while a medium-severity strain would force him to miss two or three games at a minimum.

The loss relegates the Broncos to a 2-4 record through Week 6, with a home fixture against the New York Jets scheduled for this Sunday.

Victoria Azarenka has booked a clash with the top seed of the Guadalajara Open after defeating Elina Avanesyan 6-4 6-2 in Monday's opening round.

In the last event of the season before the WTA Finals, Belarus' Azarenka was too strong with her return game for her Russian opponent, winning 53 per cent (32-of-60) of her return points while capitalising on five-of-seven break point opportunities to earn a shot at world number eight Paula Badosa.

While Azarenka has no chance of qualifying for the WTA Finals – with only the top-eight players in the rankings making it through – Belinda Bencic is one of the players who can sneak in with a great result this week.

Needing to make the semi-finals to have a chance, she got off on the right foot with a 7-5 6-7 (10-12) 6-3 win against Leylah Fernandez in her opening match.

Petra Kvitova can also qualify if she reaches the final, and she started without issue, defeating Bernarda Pera 6-3 7-5.

Ekaterina Alexandrova had an outside chance of claiming a WTA Finals spot if she won this tournament, but she was the victim of the day's biggest upset, falling 6-4 7-6 (10-8) to Camila Osorio.

At 22nd in the world, Liudmila Samsonova is the lowest-ranked player in the field with a mathematical chance at qualification, but she is a step closer after handling Kaia Kanepi 6-1 7-5.

Despite Fernandez's earlier loss, it was a strong day for the Canadians, with Bianca Andreescu proving too good in her 6-2 6-4 victory against Jil Teichmann, and Rebecca Marino also only needed two sets to defeat Ann Li 6-2 7-6 (7-2).

China's Lin Zhu came from a set behind to beat France's Alize Cornet 3-6 6-3 6-4, while Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk had a much quicker result in her 6-1 6-3 triumph over Belarus' Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

World number 34 Elise Mertens had no problems in one of the biggest mismatches of the day as she defeated world number 185 Asia Muhammad 6-3 6-2, and Sloane Stephens needed only 54 minutes to advance 6-0 6-2 past Linda Fruhvirtova.

In the last match of the night, Mexico's top chance Fernanda Contreras Gomez was eliminated by Alja Tomljanovic 6-2 6-1.

The Los Angeles Chargers needed a Dustin Hopkins field goal in overtime to defeat the Denver Broncos 19-16 on Monday night.

Despite the final result, it was a bright start for Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, who completed all 10 of his passes in the first quarter, including a 39-yard touchdown to rookie tight end Greg Dulcich to lead 10-0 at quarter-time.

Whatever adjustments the Chargers made during the first break seemed to have an immediate effect, with Wilson only completing five of his next 18 passes as the Broncos could only muster a pair of field goals the rest of the way while committing 151 yards of penalties – a Monday Night Football record since penalty yardage began being tracked in 2000. 

The Chargers also only had one touchdown in the game, opening the second quarter with a 15-play drive capped off by a six-yard Austin Ekeler touchdown run.

A field goal from either side in the final minute of the half had the Broncos up 13-10, and they continued to trade field goals the rest of regulation, with Hopkins nailing his third of the night to tie the game at 16-16 with four minutes remaining.

Neither team was able to mount a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter, and things looked headed for the tie after overtime started with four consecutive three-and-out punts. But the fourth was unsuccessfully fielded by Broncos punt returner Montrell Washington after a blocking teammate was pushed into him, resulting in a fumble and turnover.

After again failing to get a first down, the Chargers called on Hopkins to end it, and while playing with an injury, he sealed the win with his fourth field goal from four attempts.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert completed 37 of his 57 passes for 238 yards and one interception, while Wilson finished 15-of-28 for 188 yards and one touchdown. Ekeler was the top skill-position player, rushing 14 times for 36 yards and a touchdown while catching 10 of 16 targets for 47 receiving yards.

The Atlanta Hawks announced they have signed wing De’Andre Hunter to a four-year, $95million contract prior to Monday’s deadline for teams and players to reach rookie-scale extensions.

ESPN reported terms of the new deal, which will begin next season and run through the 2026-27 campaign.

The fourth overall pick of the 2019 draft after the Hawks traded up to select him, Hunter has averaged 13.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game through his first three NBA seasons and shot a career-best 37.9 per cent from 3-point range in 2021-22.

The 24-year-old is also valued for his defensive ability and versatility as the player often assigned to guard opponents top scoring threats.

Hunter is coming off a 2021-22 season where he averaged 13.4 points in 53 games and starred in Atlanta’s first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat. He averaged 21.2 points for the series and recorded a career-high 35 points and 11 rebounds in the Hawks’ Game 5 loss.

The University of Virginia product becomes the latest core player that Atlanta have locked up on a long-term deal. All-Star guard Trae Young and forward John Collins agreed to five-year extensions last offseason, while center Clint Capela is under contract through 2024-25 after signing a two-year extension in September 2021.

Atlanta, who finished 43-37 last season and earned the Eastern Conference’s eight seed through the play-in tournament, also acquired standout guard Dejounte Murray from the San Antonio Spurs in July. The 2021-22 All-Star is signed for two more seasons.

Game 5 of the ALDS series between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians has been pushed back to Tuesday after the scheduled fixture on Monday was rained out.

The teams are tied at 2-2 through four games after Gerrit Cole pitched seven innings with eight strikeouts to help the Yankees extend the series with a 4-2 win in Sunday's Game 4.

For the Yankees, Jameson Taillon was scheduled to start in the series decider, while Aaron Civale was set to take the hill for the Guardians. It is not yet known if the extra day of rest will impact the decision on the game's starters.

The winner of Game 5 will play the Houston Astros in the ALCS, with Game 1 scheduled for Wednesday.

The Miami Dolphins are preparing to have Tua Tagovailoa return as the team’s starting quarterback for their Week 7 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters Monday.  

Tagovailoa resumed football activities last week and cleared concussion protocols on Saturday, but remained inactive during Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings.  

"The plan is for him to approach the game as the starter," McDaniel said. “He'll be able to get those reps on Wednesday… we felt really good about how he was able to get back on the field."

Tagovailoa last had a full week of practice in Week 3 and has been inactive since being carted off the field with a concussion on September 29.  

The Dolphins jumped out to a 3-0 start this season, and their third-year quarterback appeared on his way to a career year. Miami is 0-3 since, and McDaniel is hoping that having Tagovailoa under center again will help the team find its way back in the win column.  

"He's a captain. He's a captain for a reason, and as I've told you guys from the onset, I think he's a very, very good player at that position," McDaniel said. "So very good players, they definitely give people a boost – not because of what other people aren't but more just because he is who he is.  

"So he's a strong fabric of this team, and that's exciting when you get to go play with one of your brothers, which is why the team will be excited, and it will be exciting." 

Tagovailoa’s first injury of the season came on September 25 when he took a hit from Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano and appeared to hit his head on the ground. He stumbled when he got up and was immediately taken to the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion.  

He returned to the game shortly thereafter and was not in the concussion protocol the following week, despite questions about why he was allowed to return to the game after displaying motor impairment.   

Just four days later, Tagovailoa was slammed to the turf by Cincinnati Bengals lineman Josh Tupou in a startling scene that has left many to question the NFL's efforts to minimize head and neck injuries, and led to the league altering their concussion protocol to prevent a similar situation from happening again.

Both injuries occurred after Tagovailoa extended plays outside the pocket.

"There's risks in this game and you've got to be able to control the controllables," McDaniel said. "One thing for him is you love his competitive nature, but there is a time in a play where you have to kind of concede, and that's where he's kind of been focusing on because it's something that's not natural to him.

"He wants to break every tackle, and he doesn't like when plays don't work. Well, sometimes they won't. 

"So that's something that he's mindful of, and I think that that's a consistency of all the really great quarterbacks that you think of, the guys that you look up to, the guys that kind of set forth the example of how to play the position, they do find ways to be available.

"Part of that is that concession, but that is – all things considered, that's probably a good problem to have in terms of a competitor. You just need to be able to understand your importance to the team and how sometimes the best play you can make is a throwaway."