Sam Billings has joined the England Ashes squad, driving more than 500 miles down the Australian coast to ease the tourists' injury crisis.
With Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler both doubtful for the fifth and final Test of England's disappointing Ashes series, Billings got the call to join the squad just 90 minutes before he was due to leave Australia.
The 30-year-old was in Queensland with Big Bash League side Sydney Thunder, and spoke of his surprise at the call-up, after driving down the east coast of the country alone, as a precaution against COVID-19.
"I thought it was a joke," a thrilled Billings said in an interview with BBC Sport's Test Match Special program.
"I was due to go to Brisbane airport to fly home, and instead I went to Gold Coast airport to pick up a rental car, and I was on my way."
Ollie Pope stood in behind the stumps for England on day four of the fourth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, with both Bairstow and Buttler waiting on scans after sustaining hand injuries.
Pope took four catches before the hosts declared at 265-6.
England's prospects of victory look unlikely, given they are chasing a target of 388. However, openers Zak Crawley and Haseeb Hameed were disciplined in a short spell at the crease in the evening session on Saturday, and the tourists' focus will now be on securing a draw to avoid going 4-0 down in the series.
Billings is hoping to make a positive impact in the final Test. Should he feature, he will become the 700th man to represent England in the longest format.
"I've had to bide my time for an opportunity or consistent game time," Billings said. "I'm really enjoying my cricket, to have the chance to play and not just to run the drinks, I've done that too much!
"I want to prove, not only to myself, but also to other people, that I'm not just a fill-in, I am good enough to warrant a place in the side.
"If the opportunity does arise then there's no pressure on me. It's something that no one really expected, and I've got nothing to lose. That's a great place to be, and sometimes that's when you play your best cricket."
Billings then discussed the rather unique overnight journey that he undertook to meet up with the squad.
"It's been quite a long drive, I'm not going to lie," said Billings. "People don't realise how big Australia is. It really is vast."
After an overnight stop near the border between Queensland and New South Wales, the 30-year-old continued his journey "at the crack of dawn" on Saturday morning, and was at least able to take in some of the country's scenery.
"I've been on a motorway through lots of trees, hills and rivers. It's been pleasant, better than the M25!"
Paul Pogba is still "four or five weeks" away from returning to training with Manchester United, interim manager Ralf Rangnick has revealed.
The 28-year-old midfielder has not featured for United since their 2-2 Champions League draw with Atalanta on November 2, having sustained a calf injury on France duty shortly afterwards.
Rangnick previously indicated Pogba could make a comeback early in the new year, but that timescale has now been revised.
"As far as I know, I was told a week ago, it would be a minimum of at least another four or five weeks before he is fit for training again," Rangnick told United's official website.
"I saw him this morning before the training session. He was in the locker room, and I hope he will be back as soon as possible."
Prior to sustaining his injury, Pogba led the way in the Premier League for assists with seven from nine appearances, averaging exactly one assist per 90 minutes on the pitch.
Despite him missing United's last 11 matches, only Bruno Fernandes (eight) has assisted more goals than Pogba for the Red Devils in all competitions this season.
Among players in Europe's top five leagues to have played as many times as Pogba this term, only RB Leipzig's Brian Brobbey has assisted more goals per 90 minutes (1.45).
Pogba is yet to appear under Rangnick, who was appointed as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's temporary successor in late November, but the German will not rush the midfielder's return.
"Right now, he's not been part of the training group and, even if he was back whenever, two, three or four weeks, it will take some time," Rangnick said.
"It's one thing to be training fit, but he needs to be fit for the match and competition in either the Premier League or the Champions League and this will still take some time."
Pogba is into the final six months of his United contract and has been strongly tipped for a free transfer away from Old Trafford at the end of the campaign.
According to reports in the British press on Friday, United have offered Pogba a new deal worth £500,000 a week.
Speaking last month, Rangnick insisted it is not his job to persuade Pogba – or any other United player – to stay at the club.
The Red Devils are back in action on Monday with an FA Cup third-round game against Aston Villa at Old Trafford.
Ash Barty moved a step closer to a second Adelaide International title in three seasons as she crushed defending champion Iga Swiatek's hopes in the semi-finals.
Competing as a stepping stone towards her principal goal of challenging for the Australian Open title later in the month, home favourite Barty sped to a 6-2 6-4 win over the 2020 French Open winner.
She served fewer aces than Swiatek – five to the seven fired down by the 20-year-old Pole – but Barty's powerful forehand proved decisive as she made snappy work of ending the contest.
Barty will face Elena Rybakina in Sunday's final, after the Kazakh beat Japan's Misaki Doi 6-4 6-3. Queenslander Barty beat Dayana Yastremska in the 2020 final.
Having won the French Open and Wimbledon already in her career, Barty will be the favourite at the Australian Open, which begins on January 17 in Melbourne.
The world number one, by seeing off ninth-ranked Swiatek, boosted her win-loss record against top-10 WTA rivals to 8-1 since the beginning of last year.
Barty said, quoted on the WTA website: "It is exciting to be able to play well here in Australia. This is where I want to play my best tennis. I want to give myself an opportunity to play for titles in Australia.
"It's something really exciting to start the year off as an Aussie player in front of our home fans."
Reflecting on a positive performance, Barty, who has also reached the doubles final with Storm Sanders, said: "I felt like on Iga's service games I was able to get into most of them, which is important when you're playing someone who can dominate with that first ball and first strike.
"I felt like I was able to build pressure over time, making her play a lot of balls on her service games, not giving her too many cheapies."
Swiatek is entered into next week's Sydney Classic and learned on Saturday that she faces a testing opener there, having been drawn to face Great Britain's US Open champion Emma Raducanu in a standout first-round match.
At the Melbourne Summer Set 2 tournament, Russian third seed Daria Kasatkina suffered a shock 6-2 6-0 semi-final defeat at the hands of American world number 78 Amanda Anisimova.
Anisimova goes on to face fellow unseeded player Aliaksandra Sasnovich for the title, after the Belarusian beat American Ann Li 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 6-3.
Most of the games in the additional week added to the NFL season have little meaning.
However, the much-publicised 'biggest season ever' will end in dream fashion for the league, with the Las Vegas Raiders hosting what essentially amounts to a play-in game in their shiny new stadium against a Los Angeles Chargers team trying to become big business in one of the largest media markets.
It is winner-take-all, with the victor securing a place in the Wild Card round and the loser left to wonder what might have been.
And, given the teams involved, it is certain to attract monster ratings as the primetime finale to the regular season.
That begs a little-discussed question. Should the NFL, having already extended the regular season and the postseason, follow the NBA's lead and make play-in games a permanent fixture of the calendar by instituting a play-in tournament?
NBA tournament met with criticism
The NBA implemented play-in games for the 2019-20 season and expanded to a play-in tournament, contested by seeds 7-10 in each conference, for 2020-21.
It received sharp criticism from LeBron James, who said: "Whoever came up with that s*** needs to be fired."
Yet James produced the most compelling argument for the play-in tournament remaining in place as his Los Angeles Lakers met the Golden State Warriors in the 7-8 matchup and he hit the decisive three-pointer over Stephen Curry in a 103-100 thriller.
Such high-profile names delivering such high-stakes drama will have only vindicated those in the league office who backed the play-in tournament, and surely somebody among the NFL's powers that be will have paid attention.
Marquee matchups
The NFL does not need star names to be on show for people to watch. As the United States' number one sports league, primetime NFL games typically attract huge television audiences regardless of who is playing.
There is little doubt a play-in tournament would be a success in that sense, and in it would provide some hugely attractive matchups this season.
With seven teams from each conference qualifying for the playoffs, an equivalent tournament in the NFL would need to involve the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth seeds.
Were the season to end today, that would mean a bracket with the Indianapolis Colts, Chargers, Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC. In the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings would contest the tournament.
In other words, it would put eight franchises steeped in history into winner-take-all games in front of massive international audiences.
Additionally, it would prevent awkward tiebreaking scenarios such as the one that could come to pass in the NFC, where the Niners will miss out if they, the Eagles and Saints all finish 9-8 because of an inferior conference record, this despite them beating the Eagles in Week 2 of the regular season.
Yet a play-in tournament would likely meet stern opposition for several reasons.
Safety concerns
The decisions to expand the playoff field to 14 and then extend the regular season by an extra game were not exactly wildly popular, and it's unlikely the NFL Players Association would be thrilled about eight teams potentially having to play two more games just to get into the playoffs.
Those teams would be at a competitive disadvantage to the rest of the field that would have the benefit of a bye week, though the counter-argument would be that winning your division - and therefore avoiding the tournament - would be more meaningful.
And beyond concerns about player safety, asking teams to possibly risk losing a playoff place to a team they outperformed in the regular season is likely to be an extremely tough sell.
The NFL is not exactly struggling for eyeballs, so at this point adding a play-in tournament would be viewed by many as needless following the recent expansion of the schedule, with the negatives in terms of player safety and potential competitive disadvantages in the early rounds of the playoffs outweighing the benefits in revenue and eliminating tiebreakers.
But, with the 17th regular-season game perceived by some as a stepping stone to an 18th, there is no guarantee the NFL is done with schedule expansion. And, nothing, not even what would certainly be a controversial play-in tournament, can be ruled out.
Kevin Durant has reiterated that he will not try and force or persuade Kyrie Irving to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Irving had been left off the Brooklyn Nets' initial roster for the 2021-22 season, as he had elected against receiving a vaccine.
New York City's vaccine mandate means the seven-time All-Star cannot play home games unless he gets vaccinated.
Irving would have been available to play most road games, though the Nets elected not to include him at all.
That changed when, due to a depleted roster caused by a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, Irving was recalled, and the point guard returned with a 22-point display in Wednesday's win over the Indiana Pacers.
Yet Irving could not feature on Friday as the Nets went down 121-109 at home to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Durant insisted the Nets must accept Irving's decision.
"I told him how important he is, how much I want him to play, play every game," Durant told reporters.
"But I'm not about to force somebody to get a vaccine, like that's not my thing. So he can play basketball? Nah, I'm not about to do that.
"We've had conversations about wanting him to be a part of the team and conversations about him being here full-time, but that's on his time. Whatever decision he want to make, he's going to make.
"It's on us to be professionals no matter what and do our jobs. All of us, from the owner down to the equipment manager, so whenever he ready, he'll be ready."
In Irving's absence, Durant and fellow star man James Harden delivered 29 and 16 points respectively for the Nets, but Milwaukee, inspired by Giannis Antetokounmpo's 31 points, had too much.
"I haven't even asked for an explanation," Durant continued. "It ain't my place I don't think. So I'm ready for whatever, that's been my whole mentality.
"It's a weird situation, who knows? I don't understand most of this s***. COVID, all of this stuff has been crazy."
Harden added: "It felt good honestly to have him back [on Wednesday]. It felt good. It felt like an extra life that we had.
"But we got to live with what we're dealt with, and that's home games we've got to figure ways and even road games.
"Just because Ky's on the road with us doesn't mean it's going to be easy for us as well. So we've got to mesh, we've got to find ways to win games."
Bucks talisman Antetokounmpo was asked whether his approach would be different.
"When it comes to basketball, I feel like I can talk to them," he replied. "I've got to let them make their decision. They're grown men and every situation is different.
"I cannot pressure somebody to do something that he doesn't feel comfortable doing. I can tell you why I did it. Why I felt comfortable doing it. To protect my family, to protect my mom and stuff, stay safe, and you just hope he understands that. But if he doesn't want to do it, I can't keep pressuring him."
Memphis Depay and Sergino Dest have returned to Barcelona's squad for Saturday's LaLiga clash with Granada.
Both players have been absent since Barca's 3-0 Champions League loss to Bayern Munich on December 8.
Depay has been sidelined with a hamstring injury, while Dest – a reported January target for Bayern – has struggled for fitness and recently tested positive for coronavirus.
However, Dest tested negative on Friday and was part of Barca's travelling party for their showdown at Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes.
Gavi and Alejandro Balde have also recovered from COVID-19 lay-offs, while Ez Abde is included in Xavi's 23-man squad for the first time this year.
Depay's return in particular is a huge boost for Xavi as the forward's 10 direct goal involvements this term – eight goals and two assists – is double that of any other Barca player.
Fifth-placed Barcelona have lost just one of their past nine LaLiga games and are unbeaten in five away from home.
The Catalan giants have won eight of their last 10 visits to Granada in LaLiga, scoring at least three goals in each of their previous four trips to Los Carmenes.
Novak Djokovic will be "p***ed off" and more determined than ever to win the Australian Open if he is freed from detention on Monday, according to Nick Kyrgios.
The nine-time champion at Melbourne Park had his visa revoked when he arrived in Australia this week, with Border Force officials determining he had "failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet the entry requirements".
He secured an injunction to avoid immediate deportation on Thursday and is spending the weekend at the Park Hotel, also home to refugees and asylum seekers, before his case is heard in court on Monday.
His lawyers have filed a detailed response and called for Djokovic to be liberated, also revealing the 34-year-old Serbian tested positive for COVID-19 on December 16 and has made a full recovery.
Djokovic has a startling 82-8 win-loss career record at the Australian Open and has earned $21,775,855 (US dollars) for his endeavours at the first grand slam of the tennis season.
Should he be cleared to play this time, and successfully defend his title, it would make him the outright leader for men's grand slam titles with 21, nudging him ahead of Rafael Nadal, who is also set to compete, and Roger Federer, who is absent.
Kyrgios has been a fierce critic of Djokovic in the past, but the Australian firebrand this week said the handling of the Belgrade superstar's case had been "really bad" and those taking satisfaction from his situation should "do better".
Having aired those views on social media, Kyrgios expanded on his thoughts in a news conference on Saturday, saying: "For the sport, we need him here.
"I'm feeling for him now, it's not really humane what’s going on. If he's allowed to play the Australian Open, I don't want any bar of him. I reckon he's going to be p***ed off.
"He's going to be very determined to play well and stick it to everyone. And I don't want any bar of that Novak."
Kyrgios claimed media coverage of his comments about Djokovic has "divided us", stating his past remarks have been "blown out of proportion".
In January 2021, Kyrgios described Djokovic as "a tool" after reports he was seeking privileged quarantine restrictions ahead of last year's Australian Open.
Speaking to the No Challenges Remain podcast in 2019, Kyrgios said of Djokovic: "I just feel like he has a sick obsession with wanting to be liked. He just wants to be like Roger [Federer]."
There has been obvious animosity in the past, but this time around Kyrgios is siding with Djokovic. He wants there to be a greater respect shown by Australia towards the world number one.
"I feel he's helped us as well. Like during the bushfires, he was supportive, he was helping us out," Kyrgios said.
"I feel like I could use this as a publicity stunt. I could just agree with the general person and say, 'Yeah, this isn't good', and use it. But I don't think that's right."
Canada will face Spain in their first ATP Cup final after eliminating defending champions Russia in Saturday's semi-final in Sydney.
Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Russian duo Daniil Medvedev and Roman Safiullin 4-6 7-5 10-7 in the doubles to complete a tense 2-1 victory for Canada.
World number 14 Shapovalov edged Safiullin 6-4 5-7 6-4, but US Open champion Medvedev levelled up with a 6-4 6-0 win against Auger-Aliassime in the other singles match.
That set up a doubles showdown for the right to face Spain, who overcame Poland on Friday, which Canada came from behind to win.
Russia held in the opening set to take the lead, though a break of serve late in the second set for Canada ensured the contest would be decided by a tie-breaker.
Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime held their nerve at the Ken Rosewall Arena, recovering from 6-5 down to win 10-7.
It marks a remarkable comeback in more ways than one for Canada, who lost their first four matches of the competition.
"Denis helped me and the team to push myself," Auger-Aliassime said in his on-court interview.
"We had a tough start in the doubles, so to be able to come back in this way, it's really a team effort.
"That's what the ATP Cup is about. You can still win after being one-all and losing a tough singles. It's really about the team effort and we're happy to be through."
Australia's Usman Khawaja is expecting to miss out on a place in the side for the final Ashes Test, despite his stunning display at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
England will need to bat out the final day at the SCG on Sunday, and perhaps hope for help from the weather, as they look to seal a draw from the fourth Test and stave off the threat of a 5-0 series whitewash.
The tourists will resume on 30-0, their highest opening partnership of the series so far, after Australia declared on 265-6 in their second innings.
England had kept themselves in the fight thanks to Jonny Bairstow's century on day three, and added 36 runs to their overnight total in the morning session on Saturday.
Their bowlers started well, reducing Australia to 68-3 by the time Khawaja came to the crease, and Steve Smith's dismissal then left the hosts at 86-4.
Yet Khawaja, who marked his recall in place of coronavirus-hit Travis Head with 137 in the first innings, went on to thwart England's bowling attack once more, with his unbeaten 101 leading Australia into a 387-run lead.
Khawaja, who played for New South Wales and currently is a star man for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League, became the first player to score a hundred in each innings of an SCG Test since former Australia captain Ricky Ponting in January 2006, also against England.
However, the 35-year-old, who had not appeared in an Australia Test team since facing England at Headingley in 2019, does not expect his performance to be enough to secure his spot in the XI for the final match in Hobart.
"At the moment I'm quite resigned to the fact that I'll probably miss out," Khawaja told reporters. "That's just from talking to [head selector] George Bailey about continuity. That's important, I'm not totally against that process.
"I felt like throughout my career, a lot of changes were made and I was on the wrong side of them, so I'm the first to say that I think there needs to be structure and stability. I know how hard it is for a cricketer chopping and changing.
"I actually like the processes that the selectors have been taking throughout the series, so at the moment I'm not really expecting to play the next match, but I'll always be ready.
"Someone else may get COVID or something else happens. Heady batted beautifully in that first Test. I'd be very surprised if too much changed. Scotty Boland was amazing last game, something I'm not sure I'll see again, and he was going to be dropped. It's just the reality. It sucks, but that's just cricket."
While Khawaja is not expecting to play in Tasmania, he may also be joined in watching on by England trio Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Bairstow.
Stokes scored a resilient 66 as he battled through a side strain in England's first innings, while both Buttler and Bairstow did not field on Saturday after sustaining hand injuries.
Ollie Pope filled in at wicketkeeper, taking four catches, while Sam Billings has been called up by England for the Hobart Test, and assistant coach Graham Thorpe does not know if the trio will be fit to return.
"We've obviously got some blows. It's possible [they will miss the final Test] but we will be assessing all of that at the end of the game," he told reporters.
Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte has suggested the club must match his ambition as he looks to improve Spurs.
Conte only signed a contract for a year and a half after taking over from Nuno Espirito Santo in November.
The former Inter coach believes that is not an issue, however, as he insisted he has joined Spurs to help build the club.
However, Conte – who left Inter last year after winning the title amid financial limitations – also implied that Tottenham must match his ambition in order to grow.
"I signed a contract for this season and next season," Conte told a news conference ahead of Spurs' FA Cup third-round tie with Morecambe.
"I think that we decided together, the club and I, to go for this decision. I think that I don't need a long contract to be sure to work for a club. I think that the club has to appreciate my job and then extend my contract, but only if I showed the club I deserve this.
"I'm not a coach that wants many years of a contract. Also, it's not fair, because I know very well I'm a top coach with an important salary for the club.
"I'm open to improve the Tottenham situation and I decided to sign a contract with this club and I'm available to give my opinion, to give my vision, and it won't be a problem for me, a short contract – only one year to go. It's OK because Tottenham has to be sure 120 per cent to continue to work with me.
"I'm happy to work with this group because they are giving me great availability. But at the same time, you know the club has to know my vision, has to know my opinion about the situation and especially what is our ambition."
Conte has overseen a turnaround in fortunes for Spurs, going unbeaten in his first eight Premier League games in charge, winning five of them.
Under the ex-Chelsea and Italy boss, Tottenham have scored 14 league goals, conceding just four times.
That is in contrast to 11 top-flight goals netted and 16 goals conceded across 10 games during Nuno's brief stint, with the Portuguese overseeing five wins and as many defeats.
Spurs are far more creative under Conte, averaging 11.5 chances per game compared to 7.1 under Nuno.
Their expected goals (xG) average per game has also doubled, from 1.0 to 2.0, while they are better defensively, facing on average 10 shots per match as opposed to 15, with their mean xGA (expected goals against) value dropping from 1.5 to 0.78.
"When I decided to sign with Tottenham, I know what happened recently in the story of the club," Conte said.
"When you arrive at a new club, you have to go into the situation to understand it very well and to know it very well.
"Outside you can only imagine. It's the same with the players. Outside, you can give an evaluation about a player and then I think when you are the coach of the player and you live with the player day by day, you understand everything about the player and I think it's the same for me.
"I am enjoying my time in Tottenham because I have found a group of players who have shown me a great availability, and they show me the will, the desire to improve in many aspects, and when you have this type of player you are happy."
Novak Djokovic tested positive for COVID-19 in December and was later given the go-ahead by Australia's Department of Home Affairs to travel to Melbourne, his lawyers said on Saturday.
The men's tennis world number one is being detained at the Park Hotel in Melbourne ahead of a court hearing on Monday that should determine whether he is allowed to stay in Australia.
The Australian Open begins on January 17 and Djokovic's legal team are battling for him to be freed in order to prepare for and participate in the tournament.
Australian Border Force officials cancelled his visa application on Thursday, stating Djokovic had "failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet the entry requirements to Australia".
Djokovic had been granted a medical exemption by organisers of the first grand slam of the year, but his fate now hangs in the balance.
His lawyers filed a detailed submission to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia on Saturday, in which it was stated that Djokovic was granted a temporary activity visa on November 18.
This did not contain any conditions regarding his vaccination status, lawyers for Djokovic said, adding that the Serbian then tested positive for coronavirus, after a PCR check, on December 16. This was confirmed by the Institute of Public Health of Serbia, the 34-year-old's lawyers said.
Subsequently, having recovered from COVID-19, Djokovic was informed he was eligible to play the first grand slam of 2022 by Tennis Australia officials.
According to details filed by his lawyers, Djokovic received confirmation on December 30 from Tennis Australia's chief medical officer that he had been awarded a medical exemption to compete, on the basis he had recently recovered from the virus.
"Mr Djokovic had also received, on 01 January 2022, a document from the Department of Home Affairs in regard to his Australian Travel Declaration," his lawyers said.
This document, according to his representatives, stated that Djokovic was informed "[his] responses indicate[d] that [he met] the requirements for a quarantine-free arrival into Australia where permitted by the jurisdiction of your arrival".
If cleared to leave his hotel and compete in the Australian Open, Djokovic will be seeking a 10th title at Melbourne Park and a 21st grand slam. He currently shares the men's record of 20 major titles with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
It's possible that no manager in European football has had a greater transformational effect on a club this century than Diego Simeone has had at Atletico Madrid.
Of course, it's impossible to actually prove/disprove that, but when you consider his eight trophy successes is almost a quarter of all the major silverware the club have ever won, most counterarguments would dissipate.
Yet 2021-22 has been far from smooth, and they could head into Sunday's trip to Villarreal 17 points behind pacesetters Real Madrid, assuming Los Blancos beat Valencia 24 hours earlier.
Part of Atletico's problem is they seem to have lost the defensive solidity that's been a cornerstone of Simeone's tactical plan in his decade at the club.
Sunday's match will be the first since the 10-year anniversary of his bow as Atletico coach on January 7, 2012, providing the opportunity to look at how much of a challenge this season is proving to be.
11 away games, no clean sheet
Nothing is more indicative of Atletico's current malaise than their struggles to shut teams out – they're not getting battered, but we're so used to seeing them boast the shrewdest defence in LaLiga.
That's simply not the case this season.
Their 22 goals conceded is bettered by seven teams and isn't far off being twice as many as Sevilla (13), LaLiga's strongest defence this term.
Atletico's issues have been particularly prominent on the road. They've not secured an away clean sheet in LaLiga in any of their previous 11 such games, which is their worst run since December 2010 (17 matches).
No team has more away clean sheets across the top five leagues than Atletico (85) since Simeone's first match, but Manchester City (82) are closing in, fast.
Missing home comforts
The away struggles alluded to before also translates to defeats, with Atletico losing each of the three most recent matches on their travels.
It's worth remembering that two of those came to Madrid and Sevilla, first and second in the table, but typically Simeone's Atletico are solid enough that such sequences don't occur, regardless of the opposition.
In fact, prior to this run, Atletico had not conceded two or more goals in three successive away league games since January/February 2014.
If they lose to Villarreal, it will be their first streak of four consecutive defeats on the road since December 2011, the month Simeone was appointed.
Yellow Submarine on the rise
It wasn't so long ago that Unai Emery appeared to be in danger of being sacked, then he held talks with Newcastle United but ultimately rejected them.
Some might even suggest that his show of loyalty then bought him a little more time at the Ceramica.
As it turns out, Villarreal staying their hand seems to have worked out well. While they may only be as high as eighth, fourth-placed Atletico are just four points ahead of them.
Their recent run has been crucial to that as well, having won each of their past four league games, the most successive LaLiga victories they've managed under Emery.
The end is Unai?
Atletico can perhaps take confidence from the fact Emery has a dreadful record against Simeone.
He has never beaten the Argentinian in 15 matches across all competitions, the most games Emery has managed against another coach without a win in his entire career.
On the flip side, every record or streak is there to be broken – this particular one surely cannot go on forever, and this is one of the more beatable Atletico teams Emery has faced.
He will hope the end of that particular run is nigh.
Giannis Antetokounmpo registered a seventh successive 30-point game against the Brooklyn Nets as he propelled the Milwaukee Bucks to victory.
In the first meeting between these teams at the Barclays Center since last season's overtime win for the Bucks in the playoffs, Antetokounmpo stole the show on his return from a one-game illness absence.
Milwaukee lost to the Toronto Raptors without their talisman, a second straight defeat after a shock reverse to the Detroit Pistons, but the reigning NBA champions snapped that mini losing streak in style with a 121-109 triumph on Friday.
Antetokounmpo had 31 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. He went into the game having recorded 30 or more points and at least 10 rebounds in each of his previous six appearances against Brooklyn, including postseason meetings.
The Bucks were without several key players, including Jrue Holiday, and coach Mike Budenholzer due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, but they just had too much in the form of Antetokounmpo, who was ably supported by Bobby Portis, who had a double-double of 25 points and 12 rebounds.
The Nets has snapped a three-game losing streak on Wednesday by beating the Indiana Pacers, with Kyrie Irving returning.
However, Irving was not available for this home game, as he cannot play in New York state due to not being vaccinated against COVID-19.
Kevin Durant scored 29 points and James Harden added 16, but the Bucks had too much as they moved onto 26-15 for the season, though the Nets remain ahead of Milwaukee in second place in the Eastern Conference.
LaVine leads the way as Bulls roll on
The Chicago Bulls top the East and their winning run was extended to nine games thanks to a 130-122 defeat of the Washington Wizards.
Zach LaVine had a game-leading 27 points, as the Bulls ended a run of three games in which they had won by five points or fewer.
The Bulls have now matched their longest winning streak since 2010-11, when Chicago won nine in a row to finish the regular season.
James and Jokic rampant
LeBron James led the Los Angeles Lakers to their first four-game winning run of the season as he scored 32 points against the Atlanta Hawks, adding eight rebounds and nine assists in a convincing 132-118 victory.
The Lakers are now 21-19 and sixth in the Western Conference, a place ahead of the Denver Nuggets, who had reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic reach 20 points for a seventh straight game in a 121-111 win over the Sacramento Kings.
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