Dusan Vlahovic expressed his delight at the opportunity to play with Angel Di Maria, as the two combined to inspire Juventus to a 3-0 win against Sassuolo.

The former Paris Saint-Germain star opened the deadlock with a bouncing volley and teed up Vlahovic in the second half, which came either side of the Serbian winning and converting a penalty.

Sterner tests will await for Juventus this season, particularly when their Champions League campaign begins next month, but the performance from the two attackers will provide encouragement after last season's frustrations.

Di Maria's creativity is likely to add further opportunities for Vlahovic to extend his excellent record for Juventus, and he took the opportunity after the win to praise his new teammate.

"It's an incredible sensation to play with Di Maria, it's so pleasing to work with such champions and I thank him for the assist. He had an extraordinary game," he told DAZN.

Di Maria was not the only debutant to feature, with Bremer also starting and Filip Kostic introduced off the bench in the second half, with Vlahovic clear there is more to come from the side.

It was a mixed night for Liverpool's South Americans as Darwin Nunez was sent off on his home debut, but Luis Diaz scored a wonder goal to earn a point for the 10-man hosts in a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace.

A frustrating night for Jurgen Klopp's team appeared to be heading for defeat after Wilfried Zaha's first-half opener and Nunez's dismissal just before the hour.

Diaz's superb individual effort got his team level, though, before last season's Premier League runners-up set about trying to find a winner but to no avail.

It represents another early season blow to Liverpool's hopes of running champions Manchester City close again in the title race, already four points behind their rivals, but as with their opening draw against Fulham, it may feel like a point gained for Klopp in the circumstances.

Liverpool started brightly as they tried to find an early opener, with Nunez mishitting a volley at the far post, while Mohamed Salah also went close to scoring from Trent Alexander-Arnold's pull back, but the Egyptian’s side-footed attempt whizzed just wide of the near post.

After absorbing so much at the other end, it was Palace who took the lead in the 33rd minute when Eberechi Eze got away from Fabinho before playing Zaha in on goal, with the Ivory Coast international placing his shot past Alisson into the bottom-right corner.

Liverpool thought they were level just before the break as Harvey Elliott's chip found Nunez down the left side of the penalty area, but his deflected shot came back off the post.

Things went from bad to worse for Nunez as the Uruguayan reacted to being shoved by Joachim Andersen by pushing his head into the Dane, with referee Paul Tierney immediately producing a red card for the Liverpool striker.

However, the Anfield atmosphere soon improved as Diaz dribbled inside several Palace defenders before unleashing a rocket of a shot past Vicente Guaita's despairing dive to his left.

The hosts tried to find a winner despite having fewer players, though Palace could also have won it when Zaha missed a great chance at the far post, but both were forced to settle for a point.

Dusan Vlahovic struck a brace to help Juventus to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Sassuolo in the opening match of their Serie A campaign on Monday.

The Serbian forward struck five minutes either side of the interval to put the Bianconeri in control after Angel Di Maria marked his Juve debut with a maiden goal at the Allianz Stadium.

Massimiliano Allegri's side were not at their best in possession but made their chances count, with their attacking contingent laying down a marker to their rivals.

A shaky start from the hosts provided Sassuolo with encouragement and called Mattia Perin, in for the injured Wojciech Szczesny, into action to deny Gregoire Defrel on two occasions.

Juventus soon found some rhythm and made the breakthrough when Di Maria met Alex Sandro's cross by bouncing a volleyed effort over the head of Andrea Consigli.

Five minutes before the break, Vlahovic bullied Gian Marco Ferrari to win the hosts a penalty and stepped-up to confidently smash home from the spot to open his account for the season.

Sassuolo were the architects of their own downfall following the restart, Kaan Ayhan giving the ball away to Di Maria who fed in Vlahovic to double his tally and continue in the vein that saw him star last term.

Juventus took their foot off the gas in the remainder of the half to ease out a win, with Filip Kostic introduced for the final half hour in a comfortable debut environment.

Alvaro Morata netted a brace as Atletico Madrid got their new LaLiga season off to a winning start with a 3-0 victory over a spirited Getafe side on Monday.

The Spanish international struck in both halves to help Diego Simeone's side kick off their campaign on a triumphant note at Coliseum Alfonso Perez, with Antoine Griezmann adding the third for the visitors.

Quique Sánchez Flores could well feel the final scoreline did his side a disservice, but it will be the Rojiblancos who end this opening weekend with a smile on their face at a job well done.

In stifling evening temperatures in the heart of the Iberian Peninsula, this local encounter proved a cagey affair throughout, punctuated by occasional moments of brilliance.

It was one such sublime passage of interplay that saw Atletico carve out their opener, with Morata the recipient of a fluid succession of passes down the middle before planting a low finish beyond David Soria.

Carles Alena returned fire seven minutes out from the interval with a ranged effort just wide of the mark, while Borja Mayoral rattled the crossbar, but otherwise both teams tended towards a more physical kind of encounter.

Getafe remained fiercely competitive however – but when Joao Felix picked off a poor pass from the back to send Morata back through again just shy of the hour mark, the latter effectively sealed the deal.

Griezmann's breakaway finish moments after Mayoral steered a header past the wrong side of the post with a quarter-hour to spare confirmed the victory – and sets the stage for the potential of another great title battle this term.

The Texas Rangers fired manager Chris Woodward on Monday with less than 50 games to go in a season that will almost certainly end with the team missing the playoffs for a sixth year in a row. 

Expectations were raised in Texas this past offseason after the team spent more than $500million in free agency – most notably the additions of All-Star infielders Corey Seager and Marcus Semien – but at 51-63 the team is headed towards a sixth straight sub-.500 season. 

The third-place Rangers begin play on Monday 23 games back of the first-place Houston Astros in the AL West and 9.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the league's final wild card spot. 

The 46-year-old Woodward was in his fourth season as manager of the Rangers and received a contract extension last November, which ran through the 2023 season and included a club option for 2024. 

He is expected to be replaced by an interim manager. 

Despite falling short of their lofty expectations, the Rangers' offense has seen some improvement this season – ranking fourth in the AL in runs per game (4.48) after finishing last a year ago (3.86) – and the team has only been outscored by two runs on the season after owning a dreadful minus 190 run differential in 2021. 

The inability to close out close games, however, has been their ultimate undoing as they are 6-24 in games decided by a single run. In the live-ball era, the only team to finish a season with a lower winning percentage in one-run games than Texas' .200 was the 1935 Boston Braves at 7-31 (.184). 

Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte have been charged by The Football Association (FA) after their heated confrontation at the end of Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Tottenham on Sunday.

The two head coaches appeared to be antagonising one another during the second half of the dramatic Premier League encounter at Stamford Bridge.

On the final whistle, shortly after Harry Kane headed in Spurs' equaliser, Tuchel and Conte shook hands, with the Chelsea boss pulling the Italian back when he did not make eye contact.

This sparked further words being said and several backroom staff from both teams having to separate the two, which resulted in Tuchel and Conte being shown red cards by referee Anthony Taylor.

The FA said in a statement on Monday: "Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte have both been charged with a breach of FA Rule E3, following the Premier League fixture between Chelsea FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC on Sunday 14 August 2022.

"It is alleged that the behaviour of both managers was improper following the end of the fixture.

"Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte have until Thursday 18 August 2022 to provide their respective responses."

Spurs boss Conte appeared to fan the flames further on Sunday when he took to Instagram to post a story of Tuchel running down the sideline in front of him while celebrating Reece James' goal to make it 2-1 to Chelsea, captioning it: "Lucky I didn't see you… making you trip over would have been well deserved" followed by three laughing emojis.

Stats Perform also understands The FA is looking into Tuchel's post-game comments about referee Taylor, whose performance he criticised.

The FA's investigation will focus on whether Tuchel has brought the game into "disrepute" by implying bias or attacking the integrity of a referee.

The New York Jets have bolstered their offensive line, officially agreeing to terms with veteran left tackle Duane Brown on Monday.

The two sides reportedly agreed to a two-year deal worth up to $22million last week after right tackle Mekhi Becton sustained a season-ending injury at practice.

Brown earned his fifth Pro Bowl selection last season with the Seattle Seahawks and is expected to start at left tackle with his former Seattle team-mate George Fant moving to the right side.

Fant was projected to start at left tackle this season with Becton on the right side but after the latter's injury, Fant will move to the right side keeping Brown in his familiar spot on the left.

Brown, who turns 37 later this month, has played in every game in three of the past four seasons and missed just four over that span. His 203 career starts – all at left tackle – are the most of any active offensive lineman.

A first-round pick of the Houston Texans in 2008, Brown earned first-team All-Pro honours with the Texans in 2012. He spent nine-plus seasons in Houston before being traded to Seattle during the 2017 campaign following a contract dispute.

The Jets begin the season on September 11 against the Baltimore Ravens and are hopeful of having Zach Wilson at quarterback for the opener.

Wilson suffered a bone bruise and torn meniscus in Friday's preseason opener and is undergoing surgery on Tuesday.

He is expected to be sidelined two to four weeks, but the team will have a better idea of his recovery time after the procedure.

Cameron Smith has withdrawn from this week's BMW Championship, the penultimate event of the 2021-22 PGA Tour season, amid reports he is set to defect to LIV Golf.

The Australian, who claimed his first major at The Open Championship last month at St Andrew's, has pulled out citing discomfort in his hip.

It means Smith, currently number three in the FedEx Cup rankings, will miss out on the final event before the season-concluding Tour Championship at East Lake.

"Unfortunately, Cam will be unable to compete in the BMW Championship this week in Wilmington," agent Bud Martin said. "He has been dealing with some on-and-off hip discomfort for several months and thought it best to rest this week in his pursuit of the FedExCup."

The Brisbane native struggled last week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, where he was handed a two-stroke penalty for playing from the wrong place and, having challenged for the lead at one stage, finished tied for 13th.

Now, he will likely drop further away from the chance to dethrone Scottie Scheffler, particularly if the rumblings about a switch to the breakaway LIV Golf series prove well-founded.

Uncapped utility back Canan Moodie has been called up to the South Africa squad for the first time for the tour of Australia.

Moodie was included in a 34-man squad on Monday for two Rugby Championship encounters with the Wallabies.

The 19-year-old gets the nod in the absence of suspended wing Kurt-Lee Arendse and fellow flyer Cheslin Kolbe, who is recovering from a broken jaw.

Deon Fourie has also been selected, with hooker Bongi Mbonambi facing four weeks on the sidelines due to a knee injury sustained in training last week.

The world champions are smarting from a 35-23 defeat to New Zealand at Ellis Park on Saturday and will get an opportunity to respond at Adelaide Oval on August 27, with Australia also licking their wounds following a 48-17 drubbing at the hands of Argentina.

Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber said: "Bongi has been ruled out for four weeks, but Deon, who is an experienced hooker and flank, has been practising his lineout throws with us, so we are confident that he will be able to fill that void for us in these matches.

"We are also excited to see how Canan slots in during the next few weeks and to see how he adapts to our structures and systems, and we believe he has the skills to slot in for Kurt-Lee and Cheslin.

"This is a settled group of players and includes a wide spread of experience and young players who have made their presence felt, and we believe that they have what it takes to guide us back on track in the Rugby Championship in the matches against Australia."

South Africa squad to tour Australia: 

Forwards: Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, Frans Malherbe, Ox Nche, Trevor Nyakane, Joseph Dweba, Malcolm Marx, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Salmaan Moerat, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (captain), Elrigh Louw, Kwagga Smith, Jasper Wiese, Duane Vermeulen, Deon Fourie, Franco Mostert.

Backs: Faf de Klerk, Jaden Hendrikse, Herschel Jantjies, Cobus Reinach, Elton Jantjies, Handre Pollard, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Andre Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi, Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie, Warrick Gelant, Damian Willemse, Jesse Kriel, Frans Steyn.

Trey Lance has the belief of Kyle Shanahan, but the San Francisco 49ers' head coach does not believe his starting quarterback will "make or break" their 2022 season.

Lance will be the Niners' starter in 2022, replacing Jimmy Garoppolo, who is likely to be released when rosters are trimmed to 53 players if San Francisco cannot find a trade partner.

San Francisco reached Super Bowl LIV with Garoppolo as the starter in the 2019 campaign and narrowly lost last season's NFC Championship Game with the former New England Patriot under center.

However, the Niners traded three first-round picks to move up to the third overall pick in the 2021 draft and select Lance out of North Dakota State, believing him to have the physical gifts and the mental attributes to take their offense to the next level.

They will now see their assessment of Lance put to the test across a full season. Lance started two games in relief of an injured Garoppolo last year and, prior to that, had only one full season of college football under his belt. That came in 2019 when he threw for 28 touchdowns and ran for a further 14 without throwing a single interception as Lance led North Dakota State to an FCS National Championship.

That lack of seasoning makes Lance one of the biggest unknowns of the 2022 season, but head coach Shanahan does not think his performance will be the defining factor for an extremely well-rounded team harbouring Super Bowl aspirations.

"Is Trey ready to take it on his shoulders?" Shanahan told Peter King's Football Morning in America. "He shouldn't be. He hasn't gone through it enough.

"I believe in him as a man, as a person. I believe in his talent. I don't think he is going to make or break our season, just like in 2019 and last year, I didn't think Jimmy was going to make or break our season."

Shanahan, though, suggested attempting to deliver for a team under pressure to win a sixth Super Bowl title after going agonisingly close in two of the last three seasons could negatively impact Lance.

"But what sucks is when you're learning how to play and you're not there yet, how do you not get worse sometimes when that pressure's on you and you need to go through the growing pains?" Shanahan added.

Lance went 1-1 as a starter last year, throwing for 603 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions in his brief time on the field. He also ran for 168 yards and a touchdown.

According to Stats Perform data, Lance was the second-most aggressive quarterback in the NFL in terms of pushing the ball downfield. Among quarterbacks with at least 50 pass attempts, only Drew Lock (10.20) averaged more air yards than Lance (10.10). 

Lance was still accurate despite regularly attempting low-percentage throws. No player to average at least 9.0 air yards had a better well-thrown rate than Lance, who delivered an accurate, well-thrown ball on 77.1 per cent of his attempts.

In his first preseason game of 2022, Lance played two offensive series, completing four of his five passes for 92 yards including a 76-yard touchdown to rookie wide receiver Danny Gray in a 28-21 win over the Green Bay Packers.

Lance will take part in joint practices between the 49ers and Minnesota Vikings this week but will not play in Saturday's second preseason game.

Two-time Grand Tour winner Egan Bernal will make his return to racing on Tuesday after seven months out of action following a serious training crash.

The INEOS Grenadiers rider was training near his home city of Bogota in January when he struck a parked bus while riding at high speed.

The collision left Bernal requiring surgery on his spine, while he also suffered two collapsed lungs, fractures in his right leg and kneecap, a broken thumb and a lost tooth.

Bernal spent several days in intensive care and later said the crash nearly killed him, while he believed there was a 95 per cent likelihood "of becoming a paraplegic".

In February, he had a second operation on his spine before eventually returning to the bike a month later.

Now, his team confirmed he will make his comeback to racing in the Tour of Denmark – which begins on Tuesday – after this final step of his rehabilitation was approved by medical staff.

Bernal said: "After what happened to me in January this has been the moment I've been waiting for – to race with my team-mates again.

"I can't emphasise enough how hard the last eight months have been for me, both physically and mentally. That day, and the journey that I have been on since will be a part of me forever, it's something you never forget, as is the support that I have received from my family, my girlfriend, the team, INEOS as well as my fans.

"As humans we really rely on each other in our times of need, and this year has been a time of need for me – I can't thank everyone who has been there for me enough.

"That support has been invaluable in motivating me every day to work hard to be able to race again. To you all, a heartfelt thank you."

Deputy team principal, Rod Ellingworth, added: "When you think back to where Egan was only eight months ago, it's incredible the progress he has made.

"He's shown the world the true strength of his character, and demonstrated remarkable grit in returning to race-readiness. We're still on a journey with Egan, but lining up at the Tour of Denmark is a significant and hard-earned milestone.

"Egan's long-term recovery has and continues to guide our medical and physical programme of support – our targets have always been performance-led not race-led, and the entire INEOS Grenadiers family is proud and delighted for Egan that his determination and application will now see him return to the race environment he has craved for so long."

Primoz Roglic has been passed fit to go in search of a fourth consecutive Vuelta a Espana title.

Roglic abandoned the Tour de France last month after suffering a dislocated shoulder and a back injury when he crashed on stage five.

The Slovenian battled on despite those injuries before withdrawing ahead of stage 15.

Roglic will be Jumbo-Visma's main man in the Vuelta, though, having recovered to ensure he will be on the start line in Utrecht on Friday.

Jumbo-Visma sports director Merijn Zeeman said: "We are delighted that Primoz can start in the Vuelta after his serious injury in the Tour de France.

"Logically, he didn't have the best preparation, but we greatly respect him for how he managed to get ready.

"We have a good and balanced team at the start that can optimally support Primoz in all areas. It is a pity that Koen Bouwman will not make it to the start due to his injury. We would have loved to see him in the Vuelta in the great form he displayed during the last Giro d'Italia."

American climber Sepp Kuss and double time trial world champion Rohan Dennis from Australia are among Roglic's team-mates in the Vuelta.