Sergio Ramos was sent off as 10-man Paris Saint-Germain scrapped to a 1-1 draw against struggling Lorient at Stade du Moustoir.

On as a half-time substitute, the former Real Madrid defender was making only his third appearance for Mauricio Pochettino's side since making the switch from Santiago Bernabeu.

However, his involvement lasted just 40 minutes as he was dismissed for two bookable offences, while it took a stoppage-time Mauro Icardi header to spare his team-mates' blushes.

Thomas Monconduit's thumping strike just before half-time had looked like it would be enough for the hosts, who at least ended their worst ever run of seven successive defeats.

Sergio Ramos was sent off as 10-man Paris Saint-Germain scrapped to a 1-1 draw against struggling Lorient at Stade du Moustoir.

On as a half-time substitute, the former Real Madrid defender was making only his third appearance for Mauricio Pochettino's side since making the switch from Santiago Bernabeu.

However, his involvement lasted just 40 minutes as he was dismissed for two bookable offences, while it took a stoppage-time Mauro Icardi header to spare his team-mates' blushes.

Thomas Monconduit's thumping strike just before half-time had looked like it would be enough for the hosts, who at least ended their worst ever run of seven successive defeats.

Seeking a 12th win in 14 league meetings with Lorient, PSG began brightly and almost took the lead in the second minute when Icardi steered Nuno Mendes' cross wide.

At the other end, the hosts squandered a glorious opportunity as Terem Moffi raced clear and sold Keylor Navas the dummy, only to chip the ball straight at the grounded goalkeeper.

The woodwork then came to Lorient's rescue as a fierce Lionel Messi volley rattled the post from Icardi's lay-off.

But the hosts got their just rewards for a positive first-half performance that yielded 11 attempts, Enzo Le Fee teeing up Monconduit, who beat Navas with a thumping 20-yard strike off the underside of the crossbar.

PSG turned up the pressure after the break and Angel Di Maria somehow fired over from 10 yards out with the goal at his mercy, before Paul Nardi produced brilliant reflexes to deny Messi from what was a first shot on target for the visitors.

The league leaders were reduced to 10 men as Ramos was shown a second yellow card for a body check on Moffi, yet they snatched a last-gasp equaliser with Icardi heading in from Achraf Hakimi's cross.

Milan moved into second in Serie A, taking advantage of a slip-up by Napoli with a 4-2 win at Empoli.

The Rossoneri entered the game having only lost one of their last nine Serie A meetings with Empoli and Franck Kessie's double, sandwiched by Nedim Bajrami's equaliser, put them on course to continue that run.

Despite a spirited effort from the hosts, Milan pulled away in the second half as Alessandro Florenzi's 62nd-minute free-kick and a fine Theo Hernandez strike made sure of the points despite Andrea Pinamonti converting a late penalty after VAR ruled Tiemoue Bakayoko had handled in the area.

With Napoli beaten at home by Spezia, Milan head into a two-week break in second and four points behind arch rivals and defending champions Inter.

Kessie broke the deadlock in the 12th minute, meeting Olivier Giroud's lay-off from Alexis Saelemaekers' cross with a composed finish into the bottom-left corner.

But it was Kessie's failure to clear from a corner that allowed Empoli to level matters six minutes later as Bajrami's effort proved too hot for Mike Maignan to handle.

Maignan got a crucial fingertip to Pinamonti's effort from a tight angle to turn it around the post.

And his intervention was rewarded further when Kessie restored Milan's advantage by firing his near-post strike through the legs of Guglielmo Vicario three minutes before half-time.

Bajrami went agonisingly close to restoring parity three minutes after the restart as he cut onto his right foot only to see his curling effort rattle the crossbar with Maignan beaten.

Milan made the most of that reprieve, taking complete command through Florenzi, who bent a sublime free-kick into the bottom-left corner shortly after the hour mark.

Hernandez added a further flourish when he crashed home on the half-volley seven minutes later, Pinamonti's penalty serving as little more than a consolation as Milan boosted their title hopes in the final game of the year.

Tottenham edged past London rivals West Ham 2-1 to book their place in the semi-finals of the EFL Cup for a record-equalling 17th time.

West Ham eliminated Manchester United and holders Manchester City to reach this stage but came out second best in an entertaining tie at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Steven Bergwijn and Lucas Moura scored either side of Jarrod Bowen's equaliser in a frantic five-minute spell to give Spurs a slender lead at the midway stage.

Antonio Conte's side kept their opponents at arm's length in a quieter, albeit equally as tense, second half to remain on course for back-to-back finals in this competition.

West Ham shut out United and City in the previous two rounds but fell behind on Wednesday when Bergwijn exchanged passes with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and finished from close range.

Hugo Lloris twice denied Tomas Soucek as West Ham produced a strong response that saw them level matters through Bowen, who showed great footwork to find space and pick out the far corner after Eric Dier had given away possession.

That was a deserved goal for the visitors, but they were behind once again two minutes later as Bergwijn dribbled through the opposition defence and squared the ball for Lucas to convert from six yards.

Without COVID-positive forward Michail Antonio, the Hammers were relying on Bowen to lead their attack and the versatile forward would have been in again if not for Lloris' quick instincts to come off his line.

Spurs introduced Son Heung-min to partner Harry Kane in an attempt to kill off the contest, but had to survive a scare at the other end when the lively Soucek's cross looped up and hit the top of the crossbar in the closing moments.

Chelsea scraped past Brentford 2-0 in the EFL Cup quarter-finals after Pontus Jansson scored an own goal and Jorginho converted a penalty in the final 10 minutes. 

Just as they did in the Premier League meeting between these sides back in October, Chelsea dominated possession but struggled to create any decent openings. 

Kepa Arrizabalaga did well to keep out Yoane Wissa and Mathias Jensen in the first half, with Thomas Tuchel forced to call upon senior players as he chased the game in the second period. 

The game looked destined for penalties until Jansson put through his own net in the 80th minute and Jorginho put the result beyond doubt when he slotted home a spot-kick. 

Simone Inzaghi lauded his Inter players for an outstanding first half of the Serie A season, pointing out a successful defence of the Scudetto was not always widely expected.

Inter are favourites for a second straight title heading into the second half of the campaign having created a gap at the top of the table through 19 matchweeks.

In beating Torino 1-0 on Wednesday, the Nerazzurri moved seven points clear of Napoli and Milan, who were both in action later the same day.

But Inter had to withstand a tumultuous off-season to get to this point, losing coach Antonio Conte and star players Romelu Lukaku, Achraf Hakimi and, to health issues, Christian Eriksen.

It was not necessarily a given then that the champions would maintain their form from last term, reaching the end of 2021 having scored 104 goals (the most since Milan's 120 in 1950) and won 32 matches (trailing only Juventus' 33 in 2016) in Serie A.

The Torino game, settled by Denzel Dumfries' latest strike, was not Inter's best display either but marked a sixth straight win without conceding for the first time in their top-flight history.

A delighted Inzaghi, who left Lazio to join Inter at the end of last season, told a news conference: "I immediately had great confidence when I joined and met the squad.

"Now, it is probably convenient for everyone to saw that Inter are a juggernaut and are the favourites, but I remember in July that's now what people were saying.

"The players have been good, but for us these results must be motivation to keep pushing, as a journey full of pitfalls awaits us."

Dumfries is not an obvious difference-maker in the final third, scoring twice in 30 Eredivisie games for PSV last season, but he now has three in 16 in Serie A.

Five team-mates have four goals or more, with Inter now boasting options in attack as well as an increasingly sturdy defence.

Defender Alessandro Bastoni told DAZN: "We've gone on a good run of not conceding goals after a tough start.

"It was important to re-establish a solid defence in line with what we were doing last season and we're doing great in that regard.

"Coach Simone Inzaghi's approach gives us an element of surprise which we were perhaps lacking last year. We have a great time together on the pitch and we get on great together. The new players have slotted right in.

"We're on a great winning run and we want to keep this up. We want to experience the feeling of winning the Scudetto, which we got to enjoy last season."

Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke says he and his team-mates remain determined to put things right after Wednesday's loss to Granada extended their run of LaLiga defeats to four.

The reigning champions' woes continued as the hosts came from behind to snatch all three points at Nuovo Los Carmenes.

Joao Felix put Diego Simeone's side ahead after just two minutes in Andalusia, but Darwin Marchis drew Granada level with a stunning individual effort before the in-form Jorge Molina completed the turnaround in the second half.

Despite another disappointment, Koke was adamant that the visitors could not be faulted and he is confident that, with persistence, it is only a matter of time before the tables turn in Atleti's favour.

"The situation is difficult, especially because of the last two defeats," Koke said in quotes reported by AS.

"We played good games and in two actions, we lost them. 

"Today, the team has fought, given everything, and we cannot ask for more.

"Psychologically, the team has pulled forward and had chances. The victories are going to come because we are not going to stop trying."

Mark Wood expects a response from England after stern words from Chris Silverwood and a discussion among senior players following their poor start in the Ashes.

Joe Root's side have been comfortably outplayed by Australia in the opening two Tests, most recently succumbing to a 275-run defeat in Adelaide after a nine-wicket loss in Brisbane.

Another crushing blow at the Adelaide Oval leaves England needing a minor miracle to overturn a 2-0 series deficit, the tourists now without a win in 12 Tests in Australia – their joint-longest run Down Under (also 12 between January 1937 to February 1951).

The third Test starts in Melbourne on December 25 and Wood hopes an in-depth chat between players, and an honest evaluation from Silverwood, after defeat in the second Test will leave England in better shape.

"We obviously review the game, chat about what we did well, what we didn't do well, but this time it was sterner from Chris Silverwood," Wood said.

"To hear [Chris Silverwood] speak like that – not because he's under pressure or anything – but to hear him speak like that rather than just being his usual coaching self, he was actually annoyed and wanted a change.

"Hopefully it comes at the right time for us to catch a spark.

"Stokesy [Ben Stokes] and Joe Root spoke to the group about… basically a bit of a kick up the bum saying 'this isn't good enough'.

"We've talked in-depth about how things can get better. Not just words or cliched words, we actually set out what we're going to do in Melbourne practice-wise, what we're going to do differently."

Wood did not feature in Adelaide despite impressing in the opening Test, with Stuart Broad and James Anderson leading the tourists' bowling attack in the latter pink-ball outing.

Right-arm paceman Wood is expected to return for the next Test to offer Root an alternate option to his attack after the England captain criticised his bowlers' lengths.

Root provided a scathing summary earlier in the week as he claimed his bowlers "needed to be braver" and had repeated mistakes from four years ago, but Wood believes his captain's words did not come across in "the way he totally wanted" to.

Wood added: "I don't think there's any friction between the bowlers and the captain. It's not like that at all."

Nevertheless, it is now or never heading into Saturday and the Durham quick believes England can still change their fortunes around.

"We've got to believe we can turn this round," Wood said. "We haven't shown our best stuff yet. We know that Australia have played really well. If we can match them then we believe we can win Test matches here.

"We've just got to up our game in all three areas. At the minute, Australia have scored 400 twice, we've had batting collapses and we've dropped catches.

"We've got facets of the game that need major work. We've now got a couple of days to stop thinking about cricket, get away in Melbourne and enjoy the lead-up to Christmas."

Celtic's clash with Rangers on January 2 has been postponed by a month after Scottish Premiership clubs voted in favour of bringing forward the mid-season break.

Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon announced on Tuesday that all outdoor events in the country would be limited to 500 spectators for at least three weeks from December 26 amid a rise in coronavirus cases.

That would have meant the first Old Firm derby of 2022 practically being held behind closed doors, but there is hope that restrictions will be eased – or entirely lifted – by the time the Glasgow rivals meet in the rescheduled fixture on February 2.

Scottish Premierships teams will now start their three-week break after the Boxing Day round of fixtures, rather than on January 3, and the league will resume on January 17.

Games that were due to be played on December 29 and January 2-3, which also includes the Edinburgh and Dundee derbies, have been moved to January 17-18 and February 1-2 respectively.

Neil Doncaster, SPFL chief executive, said in a statement released on Wednesday: "We have had intense and positive discussions with all cinch SPFL clubs over the past 24 hours, since the announcement by the Scottish government of a three-week period of restrictions on fans attending matches. 

"We have advised our clubs that any postponements increase the risk of further disruption to an already highly congested fixture calendar.

"There are mixed views amongst cinch Premiership clubs about what to do for the best. However, a majority favour the postponement of fixtures to give a chance for games scheduled to be played over the festive period to be played in front of fans, once the three-week period of restrictions comes to an end. 

"The SPFL Board has agreed to postpone the 29 December and New Year Premiership fixture cards.

"Championship, League 1 and League 2 clubs voted to continue playing through the government restrictions and we look forward to their festive fixtures over the next fortnight.

"We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Sky Sports and Police Scotland for their flexibility in accommodating these changes and to all cinch SPFL clubs for their clear, positive and constructive feedback as we work together to get through the challenges posed by COVID-19."

Atletico Madrid suffered their fourth successive LaLiga defeat as Granada came from behind to defeat the reigning champions 2-1.

Joao Felix put Diego Simeone's side ahead after just two minutes at Nuevo Los Carmenes, but it was another outing to forget for the visitors.

Atletico were pegged back 15 minutes later by Darwin Machis’ wonderful individual effort, while the in-form Jorge Molina completed the turnaround just after the hour mark.

That gave Granada their first ever win over Atletico, while stretching their unbeaten run to five matches.

Seeking a fourth straight win in this fixture, Simeone's men made an excellent start in Andalusia. 

Joao Felix received the ball just inside the hosts' half and skipped away from German Sanchez and Raul Torrente, before pulling a low drive beyond the reach of Luis Maximiano for only his second league goal of the season.

However, Granada responded well and equalised in emphatic fashion. Picking up the ball on the left wing after a sweeping move, Marchis cut inside before bending a stunning 25-yard effort into the far corner.

That means the visitors have now failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last 14 matches away from Wanda Metropolitano.

Joao Felix thought he had put Atletico back in front just before the break, but his header was chalked off for an alleged foul in the build-up.

The Portugal international then saw a vicious 20-yard drive crash against the post on the hour mark before Granada forged ahead from the subsequent counter-attack.

Molina was unmarked to turn home Colombian Luis Suarez's centre and, although the finish was initially ruled out for offside, the striker was eventually awarded his fifth goal in three games following a consultation with VAR.

Substitutes Angel Correa and Matheus Cunha squandered great chances late on for Atletico, who slipped to yet another defeat.

Inter consolidated their position at the top of Serie A with a slightly scrappy 1-0 win over Torino in their final match of 2021.

This has been a year to remember for the Nerazzurri, ending an 11-year wait for the title under Antonio Conte, but Simone Inzaghi may yet ensure the coming 12 months are equally exciting.

While Inter will surely have to be better than they were against Torino to retain their crown, another Denzel Dumfries goal was enough to secure the three points.

Victory took Inter seven clear at the summit ahead of matches later on Wednesday for challengers Napoli and Milan, able to put their feet up over the festive period before returning to a potentially season-defining sequence of fixtures.

Torino had been encouraged by a laboured Inter start but allowed the champions to break on the half-hour mark and Nerazzurri shirts flooded forward.

Edin Dzeko's square pass from the left evaded Marcelo Brozovic, only to run instead for Dumfries to aim into the bottom-left corner via the post.

Pressure from Ola Aina forced Lautaro Martinez to stab wide when he looked to have the beating of Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, and the inability to add to that lead before half-time ensured a slightly nervy final 45 minutes.

Torino's best effort saw Sasa Lukic's low free-kick parried away, though, as Inter did just enough to end the year on a high, even missing a chance for a second as Alexis Sanchez struck the post.

What does it mean? Stuttering Inter stay on track

Inter had won their previous four games against Torino and scored at least twice in each of them, aiming to extend that run to five matches for the first time in this fixture.

Inzaghi's men were far from convincing, though, only marginally outshooting Torino 14 to 12. Even the narrow margin of victory was scarcely deserved.

Free-scoring champs falter...

Having become the first team since Milan in 1950 to pass 100 Serie A goals in a calendar year last time out, more was expected of Inter than they showed here.

Neither Dzeko nor Martinez were able to aim a single shot on target, with the latter's run of netting in four straight games against Torino ended.

But Denzel delivers

Signed to replace Achraf Hakimi at the start of the season, Dumfries has really come into his own in December. After three Serie A starts up until the beginning of the month, the Netherlands international has since been named in the XI on a further five occasions.

And Dumfries has repaid Inzaghi's faith by scoring his first three Serie A goals, including this crucial winner.

What's next?

Inter face some huge fixtures in the new year but start 2022 at Bologna on January 6. Torino go to Atalanta on the same day.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe is capable of continuing his goalscoring form long into his career similarly to Cristiano Ronaldo, regardless of where he is plying his trade from next season.

That is according to Louis Saha, who also told Stats Perform that he expects Lionel Messi to blow Ligue 1 opponents away once he regains full fitness in the new year.

Mbappe is into the final six months of his existing contract at the Parc des Princes and is free to sign a pre-contract agreement with clubs outside of Ligue 1 from January.

Real Madrid had two bids turned down for the France international in the previous transfer window and remain the strong favourites to land the superstar in 2022.

Mbappe has scored 15 goals and assisted 12 more in 24 outings in all competitions this term in a star-studded attack that also contains Messi and the currently injured Neymar.

Only Mohamed Salah (31) and Robert Lewandowski (33) have been directly involved in more goals than Mbappe this campaign among players from Europe's top five leagues.

And while glad to see Mbappe remain in Ligue 1 for the 2021-22 campaign, Saha understands that his compatriot has a big decision to make on his future in the coming weeks.

"The main thing for me was for him to stay at PSG this year," Saha said. "Whatever he does next year, for me, that was logical for football in general throughout the world. 

"We wanted to see this trio of Mbappe, Messi and Neymar. It's incredible to see and today he has his destiny in his hands. He's a player who is exploding and he's reaching more milestones."

Mbappe recently became the youngest player in Ligue 1 history to score 100 goals for a single team with his second of the game for PSG against former club Monaco.

Since making his debut for PSG in September 2017, the 23-year-old has averaged a goal every 104.63 minutes in all competitions.

That ranks Mbappe behind only four others among Europe's elite attackers over that period and marginally ahead of Ronaldo, who averages a goal every 105.8 minutes at club level.

With Ronaldo still scoring regularly as he approaches his 37th birthday, Saha has challenged Mbappe to hit similar heights.

"If he can match Ronaldo's 40 goals a year average from the age of 20, that's something we want to keep seeing from Kylian," Saha said.

"That is not to put pressure on him. Kylian quite simply has the potential to do that."

Mbappe's 27 direct goal involvements this season is substantially more than PSG's next biggest attacking threat, with Messi second on the list with six goals and four assists.

The record seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has scored just once in 10 Ligue 1 appearances from an expected goals (xG) return of 4.7.

To put that in some context, Mbappe's nine goals in the competition this term have come from an xG of 10.9.

But while Messi's PSG career has yet to truly take off, Saha can see that changing once the Barcelona legend gets some regular starts under his belt.

"You can already see players who are not necessarily in great shape like Messi – imagine when he starts to find his form again!" Saha said. "I don't know how teams will cope. 

"PSG are an extraordinary team. I prayed for Mbappe to stay at PSG to see these three exceptional players. Neymar's injury has delayed that, but they have an incredible team. 

"Don't be surprised to see them win the league by 20 or 25 points come the end of the season."

Mick Schumacher could follow his legendary father's footsteps and turn out for Ferrari in Formula One next season after agreeing a part-time role as their reserve driver.

Schumacher, 22, represented Haas in his debut F1 season this year and will do so again in 2022.

But the former Formula Two and Formula Three champion, whose father Michael won seven F1 titles, remains part of the Ferrari Driver Academy.

The Scuderia, where Michael earned five of his championships in consecutive seasons between 2000 and 2004, confirmed on Wednesday the remainder of their 2022 line-up alongside front-line drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

Antonio Giovinazzi remains Ferrari's reserve option, but he will be absent for 11 races due to his involvement in Formula E.

Should a back-up be required in any of the remaining grands prix, Schumacher would instead step in, with Haas turning to Pietro Fittipaldi, their own reserve.

Both Schumacher and Haas ended 2021 without a point, with his best finish 12th in Hungary, but Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto still sees a bright future for the son of a true great.

"He's a Ferrari driver, we should not forget that," Binotto said. "He has been part of our Ferrari Driver Academy.

"The reason we have the Ferrari Driver Academy is to identify the next Ferrari driver for the future.

"Being part of it, if you are doing well, no doubt you may have opportunities. He's had already one season in F1, which is important.

"Mick through the season did well; he improved himself not only in terms of consistency but as well in terms of speed.

"If you look at the last races, he was a lot closer to the cars ahead, and Haas didn't develop the car at all. The fact he was closer proved he had a good improvement on the speed itself."