Former US Open winner Sloane Stephens claimed her first WTA title since 2018 after downing Marie Bouzkova in three sets in Sunday's Abierto Zapopan decider in Guadalajara.

American sixth seed Stephens triumphed 7-5 1-6 6-2 in an epic final which lasted two hours and 28 minutes against 96th-ranked Bouzkova.

Stephens, who won the 2017 US Open, has struggled to re-discover her previous levels of success in recent years, having gone undefeated in the first six WTA singles finals of her career and reaching the world number three ranking.

But Sunday's triumph – Stephens' seventh career WTA title - marks a major return to form for the 28-year-old who lost in the first round of last month's Australian Open to Emma Raducanu.

Stephens had trailed 4-1 in the first set but hit back before Bouzkova double faulted on break point at 5-5.

However, the Czech responded in a one-sided second set, breaking Stephens early and never looking back.

The American claimed the first break of the deciding set at 3-2, with Bouzkova letting slip a 40-0 lead, with Stephens' forehand leading her to victory.

Joel Embiid is feeling good about the new-look Philadelphia 76ers labelling his partnership with James Harden as "unstoppable" after Sunday's 125-109 win over the New York Knicks.

In Harden's second game for the 76ers since his trade from the Brooklyn Nets, the 2018 MVP recorded a triple-double with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 16 assists.

Embiid added a game-high 37 points with nine rebounds and four blocks, as the 76ers put on 125 or more points for the second straight game.

"Unstoppable," Embiid said after the game. "What are you really going to do?

"He's a great passer, and obviously I've got someone [next to me] that attracts a lot of attention to him, so you've got to make a decision. Do you stay on me, or do you stay on him?

"And if you want to guard both of us with the other guys, now you've got Matisse [Thybulle] diving to the rim or wide-open shooters that have got one job to do, and that's make shots. That's all we got to keep doing.

"Like I was saying in the locker room, I'm happy I don't have to post up every single possession, so it's great."

The Knicks had no answer for the pair, with Embiid getting to the stripe 27 times, making 23 free-throws, while Harden made 10-of-10 from the free-throw line.

"That's our job every single night, is to put pressure on that rim," Harden said. "That creates opportunities for ourselves and our teammates.

"There's a lot of opportunities Joel had with and-ones where he just didn't convert, but that pressure night-in and night-out consistently is going to be tough for teams to cover."

In another ominous sign for the 76ers, who improve to 37-23, Harden said he was feeling the best he has physically for a long time, having endured hamstring issues during his time with the Nets.

"I feel good. It's my second game in damn near a month, but just my body feels great," Harden said. "Feels great. I haven't felt this way in a really, really long time.

"So just my pop, me getting to the rim, my extra step, feels really great. So just got to continue to work, continue to build my body and legs and keep pushing."

Pedro Martinez secured his maiden ATP Tour title with a 4-6 6-4 6-4 victory over Sebastian Baez at the Chile Open on Sunday.

Both players were competing for their first success in Santiago, with fourth seed Martinez appearing in his second tour-level final after losing to Casper Ruud in Kitzbuhel in July.

World number 72 Martinez sat six places above his opponents in the rankings, but it was seventh seed Baez who claimed the first set before the Spaniard bounced back to send the match to a decider.

Martinez carried that second-set impetus into the final set, eventually triumphing after 2 hours and 48 minutes as he condemned Baez to just his third loss in 29 outings in Chile since the start of the 2021 season.

Sepp Straka birdied three of the final five holes to clinch his maiden PGA Tour triumph after overnight leader Daniel Berger crumbled at the Honda Classic on Sunday.

Straka became the first-ever Austrian to win a PGA Tour title while he was the sixth first-time winner on the tour this season.

The 28-year-old Austrian started the final day tied for second in a group of four alongside Shane Lowry, Kurt Kitayama and Chris Kirk who were five strokes behind Berger.

But Straka carded a final-round four-under-66 highlighted by his late flurry in wet conditions at Palm Beach Gardens to win outright at 10-under overall.

"They were pretty tough [conditions]," Straka said after the win. "For a little while the wind let down before the rain started which was nice but on the last hole, that second shot into the green it started pouring rain. I was glad I could hit that one on the green two-putt."

Straka and Lowry went into the 18th hole tied at nine-under, but the Irishman could only make par, while the Austrian's two putt earned him the decisive birdie.

Lowry had led by as much as two strokes down the back nine but Straka surged with a fine approach on the 14th setting up birdie, while he sunk a birdie putt from off the green on the 16th to draw level.

Kitayama finished third at eight-under, with Berger's final-round four-over-74 seeing him slide from a five-stroke lead to three shots off the pace.

The American, who resides nearby to Palm Beach Gardens in Florida, saw him lead evaporate quickly, with a double bogey on the third hole, along with bogeys on the fifth and sixth.

Berger, ranked 20th on the PGA Tour, holed a clutch bunker shot on the seventh hole along with a chip for birdie on the 14th but could not do enough to retrieve his lead.

Barcelona head coach Xavi compared Pedri to Blaugrana legend Andreas Iniesta, while he hailed the performance of Ousmane Dembele against Athletic Bilbao.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's fourth goal in his past two LaLiga appearances put the Catalan side in control against Athletic on Sunday, before a late flurry added deserved gloss to the scoreline.

Substitute Dembele, whose future remains in doubt after failing to agree to an extension on a contract that expires at the end of the season, scored one and assisted two more for substitutes Luuk de Jong and the fit-again Memphis Depay.

With those involvements, Dembele become the first Barca substitute to play a part in at least three goals in a single LaLiga game in the 21st century.

After moving back into LaLiga's top four with a 4-0 success, Xavi reserved special praise for midfielder Pedri and Dembele.

"How [Pedri] understands the game, it's wonderful to watch him play," Xavi told reporters. "He reminds me a lot of Andres Iniesta, I haven't seen many talents like that.

"I see many scenarios for Dembele, we have seen the Dembele that we want and know he is capable of doing."

Asked whether the France international will stay at the club, Xavi added: "That is no longer my thing, I have always said that he has been very professional."

Barca sit level on points with Atletico Madrid, who ran out 2-0 victors against Celta Vigo on Saturday, and moved just one shy of third-placed Real Betis after they fell to Sevilla.

The Blaugrana still boast a game in hand over their fellow top-four contenders and Xavi refused to give up hope on any possible outcome in LaLiga.

"The feelings are getting better and better," he continued. "The team is training very well, that's why the results come.

"We have worked very well and it has paid off against a team that has a very good middle and low block and that defended very well.

"Even with the [seven] changes they made, they are a strong team. Putting four goals past Athletic is not easy at all, Marcelino's teams are always very hard-working and difficult.

"We're fourth, we'll go for third, then second and if it reaches us we'll go for first. You have to be realistic and humble and keep working day by day, nothing more."

Barca have lost just one of their past 15 top-flight fixtures and will look to continue their impressive run of form when they visit Elche next Sunday.

Luciano Spalletti was delighted to have quietened Napoli's critics after Fabian Ruiz's 94th-minute strike saw off Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico and propelled the visitors to the Serie A summit.

After Lorenzo Insigne had opened the scoring, Pedro's superb late volley looked to have denied Napoli a crucial victory, only for Fabian to curl in a brilliant last-gasp winner to put Spalletti's men ahead in an enthralling title race.

Napoli's return of 18 points from their eight league matches in 2022 is the best in Serie A, as they bid for a first Scudetto since the Diego Maradona era, while the late goal condemned Lazio to just their second home defeat of the league campaign.

Spalletti, who joined in with his players' wild celebrations after the goal, said after the contest Napoli deserved the victory, but he seemed more concerned with quietening those who have criticised his men.

"I think overall the team deserved the victory," he told DAZN.

"I want to underline that everyone keeps moaning that this team doesn't have character, it's soft, it's sluggish; I want to hear them say that now.

"This team definitely has character. We lost to Barcelona [4-2 in Naples] after getting a result at Camp Nou, it was my fault because I told them to take that approach.

"I see an ugly atmosphere around this team, people trying to say we lack character. I want to see them say that now.

"We got knocked down, we got straight back on our feet again and poured forward to find the winner. I don’t think it's a bad thing to say this was a deserved victory." 

Fabian has now scored the most goals from outside the box in this Serie A this season, with all six of his strikes coming from range. Moreover, the midfielder has now netted as many goals this term as he did in the 2019-20 and the 2020-21 campaigns combined.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has vowed he will not call quits on his career until he has "won something with this Milan side".

The Sweden international celebrated Scudetto success in 2011 with Milan and lifted the Supercoppa Italiana the following season, but Stefano Pioli's side are yet to lift a trophy since the striker returned in 2019.

The Rossoneri sit second in Serie A this campaign, having been displaced by Napoli – who required a last-gasp winner to defeat Lazio on Sunday – following a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to strugglers Udinese.

Pioli's team are also still in contention for the Coppa Italia as they face neighbours Inter across a two-legged semi-final tie, the first leg of which comes on Tuesday.

Ibrahimovic, who has been sidelined with an Achilles injury sustained against Juventus on January 23, insists he will not retire until he has won something with the current Milan outfit.

"My future is football, my world is football," Ibrahimovic told reporters.

"I am disappointed that I am not able to play at the moment, this really pains me, especially when the team is doing well. 

"I want to be there and help the team. We've done great things since I arrived, and now we are only missing one element: a trophy.

"We are fighting to achieve this, I won't quit until I have won something with this Milan side."

Ibrahimovic penned a one-year extension at Milan last April to keep him at the club until the end of the season.

The 40-year-old has not featured in over a month but has eight goals in all competitions this season, with no Milan player scoring at a greater rate than his average of one every 133 minutes.

Milan, without Ibrahimovic, will look to get back to winning ways in the league when they visit fellow title contenders Napoli on Sunday after their Coppa Italia clash with Inter.

Virgil van Dijk and Jordan Henderson both hailed Liverpool's "special" EFL Cup triumph over Chelsea after sealing a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory on Sunday.

An enthralling final that saw both teams have goals disallowed had to be settled from the spot, and after a run of 21 successful spot-kicks, Chelsea's substitute goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga blazed over the bar to hand the Reds record success in the competition.

Van Dijk netted the Red's third kick of the shoot-out but he was instrumental in another of the match's key turning points.

Joel Matip had a second-half goal disallowed after his centre-back partner was ruled offside when blocking defender Reece James.

Speaking to Sky Sports after lifting the trophy, Van Dijk praised his team's maturity and work-rate but expressed his confusion at the decision to disallow Matip's goal.

"[It was] very special," the 30-year-old said of the victory.

"There was a lot of hard work, as we expected before the game, a lot of calm nerves [needed]. The penalties overall were all quite good apart from the last one [from Kepa].

"We have matured and been through quite a lot over the last two seasons, the way we play and additions we have made.

"It was an intense game and offside goals were also a thing, and that rule of playing on until whenever [when an offside call is tight] is annoying. It is something we have to consider taking out for next season.

"I told the ref I don't understand [the offside decision]. I wasn't even participating, the ball went over my head and I did not even go for the ball. It is a game of challenges, and you are allowed to block a move. 

"I think when Manchester United played away at Burnley [in a Premier League draw earlier this month], there was a similar thing that was also disallowed and I don't understand it."

Ousmane Dembele netted his first LaLiga goal of the season and added two assists in a dazzling cameo as Barcelona moved back into LaLiga's top four with a 4-0 win over Athletic Bilbao.

Dembele has become an unpopular figure with Barca fans after failing to agree an extension to his contract, which expires at the end of the season, but his thunderous effort six minutes after arriving from the bench made sure of a Camp Nou victory on Sunday.

After Atletico Madrid had leapfrogged the Blaugrana with their win on Saturday, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang continued his fine recent scoring form to set Xavi's side on their way, before Dembele struck and then twice crossed for Luuk de Jong and the fit-again Memphis Depay in the closing stages.

And with Real Betis beaten by rivals Sevilla, Barca are now just a point behind third place with a game in hand as their season maintains its upwards trajectory.

Gerard Pique saw a header cleared on the line by Oier Zarraga while Ferran Torres tested Unai Simon with a stinging volley as Barca dominated the opening exchanges.

The reward for Xavi's hosts arrived on 37 minutes when Aubameyang acrobatically finished after Pique headed against the crossbar from Dani Alves' corner.

Torres should have doubled his side's advantage past the hour mark, but his tame effort was pushed away by the onrushing Simon, who then denied Aubameyang's weak header.

Simon was powerless to stop Dembele, though, as substitute Frenkie de Jong found the winger, who smashed a left-footed attempt in from the left side of the box, earning a touch off the post as he put the game beyond doubt.

There was still time for Luuk de Jong to flick a header into the bottom-left corner following Dembele's pinpoint delivery from the right, before the France international repeated the trick to find Depay, who turned in from close range for the final goal.

FIFA has confirmed Russia must compete in their upcoming matches as the Football Union of Russia (RFU).

The order from world football's governing body comes in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which began on Thursday, with fighting having escalated over the weekend.

FIFA has been put under increasing pressure to sanction Russia, with UEFA having already stripped St Petersburg of this season's Champions League final, while the football associations of Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic all jointly outlined their refusal to play Russia.

This cast doubt over next month's World Cup qualifiers, with Poland set to face Russia in a play-off semi-final, with the winner of that match to play either Sweden or the Czech Republic for a place in Qatar.

On Sunday, FIFA confirmed Russia would have to play under a neutral banner of the RFU, similar to how the International Olympic Committee had the country's athletes represent the Russian Olympic Committee following a state-sponsored doping scandal.

Russia's flag cannot be displayed, nor can their anthem be played, and all of their home matches must now take place at a neutral venue, behind closed doors.

A statement read: "FIFA would like to reiterate its condemnation of the use of force by Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. Violence is never a solution and FIFA expresses its deepest solidarity to all people affected by what is happening in Ukraine.

"FIFA calls again for the urgent restoration of peace and for constructive dialogue to commence immediately. FIFA remains in close contact with the Ukrainian Association of Football and members of the Ukrainian football community who have been requesting support to leave the country for as long as the current conflict persists."

"With regard to the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers, FIFA has taken good note of the positions expressed via social media by the Polish Football Association, the Football Association of the Czech Republic and the Swedish Football Association and has already engaged in dialogue with all of these football associations. FIFA will remain in close contact to seek to find appropriate and acceptable solutions together."

However, FIFA's sanctions do not go far enough, according to Polish FA president Cezary Kulesza, who tweeted: "Today's FIFA decision is totally unacceptable.

"We are not interested in participating in this game of appearances. Our stance remains intact: Polish National Team will NOT PLAY with Russia, no matter what the name of the team is."

FIFA's sanctions followed on from the English FA confirming it would boycott any upcoming matches against Russia for the foreseeable future, at any level.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was delighted that his decision to start back-up goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher in the EFL Cup final paid off.

Kelleher became the youngest goalkeeper to start an EFL Cup final since 2011 after Klopp kept faith with him for the showdown with Chelsea at Wembley on Sunday.

A thrilling final went to spot-kicks after a pulsating two hours of football ended goalless, with both sides missing a plethora of chances.

In a high-quality penalty shoot-out, Kelleher slotted home the 21st successful spot-kick in a row, before opposite number Kepa Arrizabalaga – who had only come on for penalties – cleared the crossbar with his own kick, resulting in an 11-10 Liverpool victory in the shoot-out as they sealed a record ninth EFL Cup success.

Speaking to Sky Sports after lifting the trophy, Klopp said that Kelleher deserved his moment in the spotlight.

"I think even in professional football, there should be some space for sentiment, to be honest," Klopp said.

"He is a young boy, we ask him to do a lot in the competition to get us to the final, and then I [should] tell him 'you won't play'?

"I'm two things, a professional football manager and a human being, and the human being won.

"It's so nice that it paid off, he deserves it.

"When I told Ali [regular goalkeeper Allison] that he would not play, at the training centre we have a wall showing all the goalkeepers are who won something [in the club's history]. He said 'great, let's win and put Caoimhin on there as well!'

"That's exactly how it should be, it's absolutely great."

Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool's EFL Cup triumph can be the "springboard" to achieve a remarkable quadruple after they edged Chelsea for a record ninth win in the competition.

Jurgen Klopp's side sealed their first EFL Cup for a decade with a thrilling 11-10 penalty shoot-out victory following a goalless encounter at Wembley Stadium.

Having pressed back into contention for the Premier League, and still in the FA Cup and Champions League, the Reds are looking at a potentially unprecedented silverware haul.

Former Reds defender Carragher certainly believes they can taste further success in the coming months, and hopes their victory over Thomas Tuchel's Blues can launch them onto more glory days this season.

"It can be a springboard," he told Sky Sports. "Liverpool are involved in four trophies, they've won the first one, it's going to be really tough to win the other ones, but this could be a really special season.

"Not just for this group, but Liverpool's history as a club - to getting close to winning three or four trophies, it could be really special, and this could be the start of it."

Another former Liverpool player, Jamie Redknapp, raised concerns about Tuchel's decision to bring Kepa Arrizabalaga on specifically for the shoot-out, with the Spaniard not saving any of Liverpool's 11 penalties and skied the one he took over the bar.

"I hope it puts to bed the idea of bringing on goalkeepers on for shoot-outs," Redknapp told Sky Sports. "[Edouard] Mendy's one of the world's best goalkeepers, and then you bring on Kepa instead. [It's] ridiculous.

"I didn't like his behaviour when the penalties were being taken, and then he took one of the worst penalties you'll ever see. I don't understand why you'd do it."

Caoimhin Kelleher expressed his delight after netting the winning penalty in Liverpool's EFL Cup final triumph over Chelsea, acknowledging he did not realise that his spot-kick had proven decisive at the time.

The enthralling Wembley showpiece saw four goals disallowed across a goalless 120 minutes before 21 consecutive penalties were scored in an incredible penalty shoot-out.

Kelleher, who started the game ahead of Alisson as Jurgen Klopp kept faith with the man who had helped the Reds to Wembley, converted the 21st spot-kick.

Kepa Arrizabalaga was brought on to replace Edouard Mendy specifically for the shoot-out deep into extra-time but shot over to hand Liverpool their first domestic cup in 10 years.

Kelleher told Sky Sports in the aftermath that he was delighted with the success, but admitted he had not realised that he was the match-winner at the time.

"I thought I'd saved one, I got close to a few and then when it came down to me, I didn't even realise I'd scored the winning penalty!", he said.

"I forgot that I'd scored the winning one, all the penalties from the lads were class, and I was just happy to score."

When asked if he had channelled his youth as an outfield player when taking his kick, the 23-year-old responded: "I think it was more hit and hope!

"I got a hand on a few, but all the penalties were very high quality, and I'm just thankful we were able to win.

"I thought we had scored when we got that goal [Joel Matip's second-half disallowed effort], and it was obviously disallowed. They had a few disallowed too, so I think over the game a draw was a fair result."

Kelleher also revealed his exchange with Klopp after the tense finale, with the Liverpool manager telling his young keeper that he had written his name into the club's history.

"He [Klopp] just said 'well done for scoring the winning penalty, there's a wall at Liverpool with all the goalkeepers who have managed to win cups, and he said 'now's your chance to join them!'," he added.

The 11-10 shoot-out win over Chelsea represented the highest-scoring penalty shoot-out in history between two English top-flight teams, with Liverpool's backup keeper eventually proving the unlikely hero in the Reds' record ninth EFL Cup win.