Carson Wentz will start for the Washington Commanders in their clash against the Chicago Bears despite not being 100 per cent fit due to a bicep injury.

The 1-4 Commanders were unsure whether Wentz would be available for Thursday's contest due to the short turnaround after Sunday's loss to the Tennessee Titans, when he sustained the injury.

However, he threw the ball well in practice, albeit in a walkthrough session, and will lead the offense from the start against the Bears, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports.

The Commanders will hope that Wentz can get through the matchup against the Bears unscathed and then heal up with extra rest before their Week 7 clash at home to the Green Bay Packers, with a 10-day gap between the games.

Wentz's availability is a boost for a Commanders team already without significant members of their offense, with receiver Jahan Dotson and tight end Logan Thomas set to miss Thursday's game.

The Commanders sit bottom of the fiercely contested NFC East, where all their division rivals currently rank 4-1 or better, with the Philadelphia Eagles leading the way as the only undefeated side left across the NFL (5-0).

Toni Kroos has called for a full apology from UEFA for the chaos that occurred outside the Stade de France before the Champions League final.

European football's governing body has already said sorry for what it acknowledged as "frightening and distressing events" that preceded the match between Real Madrid and Liverpool.

Madrid midfielder Kroos wants there to be acknowledgement of mistakes made in the hours leading up to the May 28 match in Paris.

Kick-off was twice delayed due to what UEFA initially described as "security reasons" outside the Stade de France due to crowd congestion.

Liverpool fans complained of heavy-handed policing outside the stadium, with video footage showing tear gas being used on supporters, with Kroos saying his wife, Jessica, and their children were among those held at the entrance.

UEFA blamed ticketless fans trying to force entry and supporters using fake tickets, but it later announced an investigation seeking "to establish a full picture and timeline of what occurred during the day".

Kroos has answered 90 questions for a special edition of a newspaper designed to raise funds for the Toni Kroos Foundation.

Among them, Kicker's Jorg Jakob asked Kroos: "Should UEFA apologise to the fans for what happened in the Paris final?"

Five-time Champions League winner Kroos said, quoted in AS: "I don't know if the investigations have already been closed, but I do think it's time for them to apologise.

"My wife spent two hours at the gates of the stadium with the children. Her feeling is that there was no aggressiveness on the part of the fans of the two clubs.

"What's more: they were very considerate, because there were many children in the crowd.

"Shortly before taking the field, I received a message on my mobile that reassured me: everyone had entered the stadium without any problems. The question only deserves a yes."

Madrid went on to lift the trophy by defeating Liverpool 1-0 after the match started 36 minutes late.

The independent review panel investigating the final chaos is due to publish its full findings by November 2022, UEFA has said.

Angel Di Maria is out of action for the next 20 days but is expected to be fit for the World Cup, Juventus have announced.

The 34-year-old left the field in tears during Juventus' shock Champions League defeat to Maccabi Haifa on Tuesday, sparking fears about his availability for Argentina's World Cup campaign.

La Albiceleste are already sweating on the fitness of Roma's Paulo Dybala, out for four to six weeks with a quadriceps injury, while Lionel Messi has missed Paris Saint-Germain's past two matches.

Juventus shared a positive update on Di Maria's situation on Thursday, however, outlining the expectation that he will be fit for Argentina's campaign in Qatar.

"The diagnostic tests that Di Maria underwent this morning at the J| Medical showed a low-grade lesion of the femoral biceps of the right thigh," a statement read.

"It will take about 20 days for its complete recovery."

Di Maria will miss Juventus' next two Serie A fixtures, against Torino and Lecce, as well as the crucial Champions League clash against Benfica in Lisbon, where Massimiliano Allegri's side need a victory to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive.

The 20-day timeframe provided by Juventus runs until November 2, the date of their final Champions League group-stage clash against Paris Saint-Germain, but Di Maria could return for the Serie A showdown with Inter on November 6.

Argentina begin their World Cup campaign on November 22 against Saudi Arabia, before then facing Mexico and Argentina in Group C.

Robert Lewandowski admits Barcelona forgot how to defend in their 3-3 Champions League draw with Inter on Wednesday as they were so focused on scoring.

Barcelona realistically required victory in their Group C encounter with Inter at Camp Nou to remain in with a shot of avoiding an early elimination for the second season running.

However, Nicola Barella and Lautaro Martinez struck after Ousmane Dembele had given Barca a half-time lead, before Lewandowski levelled up with a deflected shot.

Xavi's men went all out for a winner and were caught out by Robin Gosens late on, though Lewandowski's second goal did at least keep them in the competition for now.

Inter are three points better off than Barcelona and can eliminate the Catalan giants from the competition with a home win against pointless Viktoria Plzen in two weeks' time.

Lewandowski took his tally to 14 goals in all competitions this term – only Erling Haaland has scored more in Europe's top five leagues – but it was a day of disappointment. 

"We wanted to score so much that we forgot about the defence," the Poland international told Movistar+. "Inter got through on goal too easily and often had a man over in attack.

"We've had a lot of injuries in recent weeks and it's not easy to change the line-up all the time. We've lacked stability and that maybe explains the situation.

"Inter are tough opponents for any striker. They defend with five players and also have a defensive midfielder. 

"We tried to attack with many players but it meant we lost coverage. We scored three goals but conceded the same amount. We were disappointed not to get the win."

The high-scoring draw with Inter was only the fourth time in their Champions League history Barca have conceded three goals in the second half of a game.

It also marked the first time in six visits to Camp Nou in the competition Inter have avoided defeat, paving the way for the Nerazzurri to wrap up qualification at Barca's expense.

Gosens, the scorer of the visitors' third goal, told Inter TV: "This was a match between two sides that wanted to win. We showed we have the right spirit to do well at Camp Nou.

"This is one of the most important stadiums in the world and not everybody comes away from here with a point. We stayed in the game and played like a real Inter side.

"This result must now stimulate the team to give even more. We know we've hurt a team like Barca and this must encourage us to do even more."

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag hailed Cristiano Ronaldo's "phenomenal" record of scoring 700 club goals and joked "not many players even achieve 700 games".

Ronaldo hit the latest milestone in his remarkable career with the winning strike in last Sunday's 2-1 win at Everton after being introduced from the substitutes' bench.

The Portugal forward has endured a frustrating time of things under Ten Hag, having so far started just one of United's eight Premier League matches under the Dutchman.

But ahead of facing Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League on Thursday – a match Ronaldo looks set to start – Ten Hag lauded the superstar forward's goalscoring longevity.

"It's phenomenal. Football is [about the] team and we express this in a way," Ten Hag told United's official website. 

"I think Cristiano, he knows we can't do it without the team but I must say it's a huge individual performance. If you achieve this, it's incredible. 

"Seven hundred club goals. Not many players even achieve 700 games, and he scored 700 goals. I'm really happy for him. I really want to tell you that and I congratulate him."

Of those 700 goals scored by Ronaldo, five came for Sporting CP, 118 in his first spell at United, 450 with Real Madrid, 101 at Juventus and 26 in his second stint at Old Trafford.

The 37-year-old will be looking to add to that tally against Cypriot side Omonia as United aim to avoid an unwanted first.

They have lost their past two home European matches, against Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad – never before have they lost three in a row, with this their 198th game.

United recovered to beat Omonia 3-2 last week and are second in Group E at the midway stage, three points ahead of Sheriff and three behind leaders Real Sociedad.

"It's another important game for us," Ten Hag said. "We want to be first in the group. We are three points behind Sociedad and so we have to win. 

"That is the first [target], and we have to score goals, that is the second [target]. So we have to prepare for the game properly because we are playing against a tough opponent. 

"They will be ambitious and they will be fighting so they are well organised. It's not easy to score goals. We had that experience last week, so we have to be good."

Bill Belichick was typically guarded when asked about Mac Jones' status as starting quarterback once he is fit to return for the New England Patriots.

Second-year quarterback Jones has missed the Pats' past two games with an ankle injury but did manage to return to practice on Wednesday.

Reports said Jones did still not have full mobility during the session, though, meaning his availability for Sunday's showdown with the Cleveland Browns remains unclear.

Bailey Zappe completed 17 of 21 passes for 188 yards, finishing with one touchdown and an interception on a steady debut outing when acting as understudy for Jones in last week's triumph over the Detroit Lions.

Head coach Belichick was asked whether Jones can return this week, to which he replied: "We'll see where he is today. I don't know."

Belichick was also non-committal about whether Zappe's performances will determine who starts under center.

"They're totally independent, it doesn't have anything to do with it," he added.

For his part, Zappe is taking things in his stride and ready to step into the breach once more should he be called upon.

''I'm preparing to do what my coaches tell me I'm supposed to be doing,'' he said. ''Right now, that's to take practice reps and do what I can do to help the team.''

The Pats are bottom of the AFC East standings through five games with a 2-3 record.

Manny Machado hailed a "huge" win for the San Diego Padres after playing a starring role in levelling up the NLDS against the top-seeded Los Angeles Dodgers.

Home advantage at Petco Park beckons for the Padres in the third and fourth games, with the series tied at 1-1 after the early proceedings in LA.

The Dodgers had taken a 5-3 win in Game 1, but Bob Melvin's Padres came back a day later and flipped that scoreline in their favour to level the series.

Machado enjoyed silencing the Dodgers fans. He had a stint with Los Angeles in 2018 before joining up with the Padres, making him a target for some in the crowd.

"Any time you come to Dodger Stadium, you know the fans are going to be on you. Any time you go to any stadium, the fans are going to be on you," Machado said.

"That's the beauty of postseason baseball. That's why you want home field advantage. Coming here, taking one from them at their place and going back home now 1-1, being able to maybe even win it at home will be fun in front of our fans that deserve it."

Machado played a key role by going two-for-five, including a first-inning solo homer along with a third-inning RBI, while Jurickson Profar got his fifth RBI this postseason to put the Padres up 4-3 in the sixth inning.

Jake Cronenworth added another with a solo blast over right-field in the eighth inning before Josh Hader closed it out.

Machado added: "[We're] going 1-1, going back home, so that's huge.

"We're going to compete. Ultimately at the end of the day we know that they're the division champs. They own the best record in baseball. They've played very well against us all year, but at the end of the day we're going to go out there and compete, and we're going to go out there and leave it on the field. We're going to try to do everything possible to help our team win every single day.

"We want to get to the World Series, we want to bring a championship to San Diego. Ultimately, the group is just getting together and just grinding this out."

With this National League Divisional Series tantalisingly poised following Wednesday's 5-3 win, manager Bob Melvin spoke of his anticipation of the next two games back in San Diego on Friday and Saturday, and what they would mean to fans of his team.

The Padres last reached a World Series in 1998, so the prospect of edging closer to that goal should ensure a feverish atmosphere. The double-header at home will be the Padres' first postseason games in front of their own fans since 2006.

"They've been waiting for this for a while, and they've supported us all year," Melvin said.

"The drama that took place during the regular season, I think we had 10, 12 walk-offs or something like that, that they were a big part of.

"They incentivise us. We feel like they're part of us. To be able to reward them, get home, and have some playoff games for them, it feels really nice."

Giannis Antetokounmpo has no concerns over the Milwaukee Bucks' poor preseason results but does want to see an improvement to the team's "habits".

The Bucks are 0-5 in exhibition games following a 107-97 defeat to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, a clash in which Antetokounmpo had 24 points on the back of 6-for-21 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds.

While such results may seem at odds with the Bucks' standing as one of the favourites for the NBA title this coming campaign, Antetokounmpo acknowledged there is plenty of time to find rhythm during the regular season.

However, the Greek superstar wants to see an improvement with some basics on the floor.

"It doesn't worry me," Antetokounmpo said. "What worries me is our habits and building good habits.

"Right now, we're not vocal enough. We're not urgent enough. We're not hungry enough. But at the end of the day, it's the preseason. We have the whole regular season to find ourselves."

Having featured for Greece at Eurobasket during the close season, Antetokounmpo has had his minutes carefully managed by the Bucks, with the Nets game just his second tune-up action.

While conceding to feeling "a little bit out of rhythm", Antetokounmpo is ready to once again set the tone for the Bucks.

"It's not going to be easy. I think sometimes your mind forgets and thinks it's going to be easy. But I feel like, me personally, you've got to come out and set the tone, play hard," he added.

"Build good habits, play to improve, play for the team. And as a team, we have to be hungry, we've got to play together, we have to defend better."

Grayson Allen (illness), Pat Connaughton (calf) and Wesley Matthews (ankle) were all absent against the Nets - the latter having sat out all of the Bucks' warm-up matches.

Khris Middleton will definitely miss their season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers having only recently returned to practice following wrist surgery.

But Antetokounmpo has confidence in the depth of the roster.

"Guys are down, who knows when they're going to get back, so this is who we have right now," he said. 

"We still have a great team, but we're seven or eight days from the next game and when it really counts. We've got to buckle down and start trying to build good habits."

Zion Williamson will be day-to-day despite exiting the New Orleans Pelicans' 120-103 preseason loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday early with left ankle soreness.

The 2019 NBA Draft top overall pick missed all of last season with a foot injury, meaning there was concern with his departure with 6:42 left in the second quarter against the Heat after rolling his ankle entering the lane.

But Williamson and Pelicans head coach Willie Green both clarified that the decision was precautionary.

Green said: "He's doing fine. Looks like, I think, he might have rolled his ankle a little bit. He’ll be day to day."

Williamson had 11 points on three-of-seven shooting until that point, having spent a few more minutes on court trying to play through pain.

"It was one of those things where it happened and I popped back up, like, 'Yeah, I'm straight,'" Williamson said.

"Played a few minutes after that, it felt fine. Then they sent me to the back just to double check. We wanted to look at it, had a doc look at it, and he just said a little day-to-day soreness. And, but outside of that, I personally feel fine. Wasn't bad news from the docs."

Williamson averaged 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists in the 2020-21 season, where he became an All-Star, having played only 24 games in his rookie season.

The Pels have one more preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, before starting their NBA campaign against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.

The San Diego Padres tied up the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a nail-biting 5-3 victory in a game that included five solo home runs on Wednesday.

Manny Machado played a key role going two-for-five, including a first-inning solo homer along with a third-inning RBI, while Jurickson Profar got his fifth RBI this postseason to put the Padres up 4-3 in the sixth inning.

Jake Cronenworth added another with a solo blast over right-field in the eighth inning before Josh Hader closed it out.

Yu Darvish pitched five innings with seven strikeouts but allowed seven hits and three runs.

The Dodgers had their chances, with nine batters left on base, while they did not have a hit with a runner in scoring position all night.

Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy and Trea Turner all scored solo home runs for the Dodgers. Freeman, who went two-for-four, got on base with a ninth-inning double but Will Smith was caught short of the wall in right-field by Juan Soto to end it.

Clayton Kershaw had six K's across five innings for the Dodgers, restoring his position as the MLB's all-time leading postseason strikeout leader with 213.

Pitcher Brusdar Graterol made a key play down 4-3 in the sixth inning, throwing out Wil Myers at home from a Trent Grisham bunt, but the Dodgers could not capitalise with the Padres' bullpen again exceptional, led by Robert Suarez.

The next two games of the NLDS are at Petco Park where the Padres will be playing in front of their fans in a postseason game for the first time since 2006.

Wright leads Braves to level up with Phillies

Kyle Wright threw six stellar innings as the Atlanta Braves squared the NLDS as they blanked the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0.

After a lengthy rain delay, Wright allowed only two hits with one walk, whilst striking out six Phillies, before reliever A.J. Minter pitched a perfect seventh inning.

The Braves piled on all three runs in the sixth inning with three consecutive two-out singles, as Ronald Acuna Jr overcame a 96mph fastball from Zack Wheeler to his elbow to break the tie, driven in by Matt Olson whose line hit got by first baseman Rhys Hoskins on an in-between hop.

Austin Riley's gentle dribble got Dansby Swanson to home plate, before Travis d'Arnaud grounded to center-field to drive in Olson.

Coco Gauff won the battle of the American teenagers as she progressed into the San Diego Open second round with a 6-3 6-3 over Robin Montgomery on Wednesday.

The 2022 French Open finalist beat fellow 18-year-old Montgomery in a rain-affected match in one hour and 23 minutes, to clinch a last-16 clash with Bianca Andreescu.

The match marked Gauff's first game on tour since losing to Caroline Garcia in the US Open quarter-finals last month, although she had to endure an overnight rain delay, resuming on Wednesday up 6-3 3-2.

Gauff only needed 20 minutes on Wednesday to close out the victory, finishing the match with 3-0 aces, winning 76 per cent on her first serve and converting four of seven break points.

Croatian qualifier Donna Vekic continued her strong run with a 6-3 6-2 win over 2022 US Open quarter-finalist Karolina Pliskova. Vekic moved into the third round, having beaten Maria Sakkari in the first round too.

Fourth seed Jessica Pegula eased her way into the third round with a 6-3 6-1 victory over wild card Coco Vandeweghe in only 69 minutes. Pegula can secure her first WTA Finals qualification this week.

Danielle Collins was another American victor, triumphing 6-2 6-4 over Italy's Martina Trevisan in one hour and 27 minutes, reaching her third quarter-final of the year.

Ben Simmons acknowledges that part of being Ben Simmons means he is going to hear plenty of criticism via social media.

The Brooklyn Nets swingman, who has often been on the wrong end of tough criticism, also understands that it is just social media and he can’t let it bother him.

The 26-year-old once again received plenty of jibes after a video of him airballing a shot during an event in a Brooklyn park on Sunday went viral.

It was just another instance of insults directed at the former number one overall pick, but he understands he just has to brush it off.

"It finds me all the time," Simmons told ESPN prior to Wednesday night's preseason game against the Milwaukee Bucks. "And it doesn't f---ing stop. Sometimes I'm even sick of it, but then I'm like, 'OK, I'm Ben Simmons, you know? It comes with being Ben Simmons right now'.

"Even the other day there was a clip of me airballing a shot at the park. Meanwhile, like 10 guys airballed multiple shots. So it's like people will find one clip and try to make it that everything - like Ben can't do [this or that].

"Like come on man, you think I'm just airballing every shot? It's not true. But it comes with it, and you got to have tough skin and I realize that, but nah, I can't take everything personally. It's social media."

And there has been plenty of hostility aimed his way over social media in the last 16 months - despite him not playing a game in that time.

In the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals, he was ridiculed mercilessly for passing up a wide-open dunk late in the Philadelphia 76ers’ Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

That was his final game for the Sixers, as he sat out last season due to mental health concerns while being called soft by his critics. He then never suited up for the Nets after being acquired at the trade deadline due to a lingering back injury.

Simmons, though, tells himself the reason he is on the receiving end of so much mockery is because he can still produce at a high level on the court.

"Because people know what I can do, what I'm capable of," Simmons said. "I believe that's what it is. Like if I was somebody that wasn't capable of doing certain things, I don't think people would be on my ass as much.

"And I don't mind it because it kind of motivates me in a way. Obviously, sometimes it's a lot for anybody to deal with that, but I look at it a little bit like a respect thing, in a way."

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp claimed Wednesday's 7-1 Champions League win away to Rangers has completely changed the mood within the group ahead of Sunday's clash with Manchester City.

The Reds have endured a difficult start to the 2022-23 season, particularly in the Premier League, where they are 10th with 10 points from eight games. Klopp's side also lost their opening Champions League game with a poor 4-1 loss away to Napoli, compounding their issues.

Wednesday's emphatic win in Glasgow, which included a record-breaking Mohamed Salah hat-trick within six minutes and 12 seconds, came after losing 3-2 to Arsenal.

Klopp argued the win had made the mood "completely different" and even joked about getting drunk amid the celebrations.

"It changed the mood, definitely," Klopp told reporters. "It is completely different. We usually drink a beer after away games, but it is that long ago that I drank beer and I probably will be drunk after one.

"It changes the mood completely and that's good, but we all know who we are welcoming on Sunday and this will be a different game. It is better to go into a game with the feeling we've got tonight than any other."

Klopp utilised Salah off the bench against Rangers, coming on in the 68th minute, along with Diogo Jota, who was a 73rd-minute substitute before providing the assists for all three of the Egyptian's goals.

Andy Robertson returned from a knee injury to make his first appearance since Napoli loss in early September as a 67th-minute substitute as well.

Darwin Nunez, Roberto Firmino and Jordan Henderson were among those brought off, although Klopp declined to give much away when asked if the changes were in preparation for City.

"The changes tonight were because we could do it, but Diogo Jota didn't start because I got a call this morning that he feels a little bit his muscle," the German said.

"He could play but he should not play for too long, so it was my decision to decide do I start him for 30 minutes or do we bring him [on] for 20? So that was obviously the right thing to do.

"Hendo played a lot, Darwin now played a lot after not playing that much and you have all of these kind of things in your mind when you do the changes.

"Actually, the first 11 was really good but the changes made gave us the next step with us and that was very, very pleasing. It was good, but that’s it and now we recover and prepare for the next game."

On taking on City, who are second in the Premier League, he added: "We don’t have to make a big thing of it, but the best football team in the world right now is coming to Anfield on Sunday.

"We will see what we can do, but it's not now that we are with a big mouth and telling them come and we are waiting. Not at all. It was for us tonight, for different reasons, incredibly important. Yes, 7-1 is a freak result, we know that."