Emerson Palmieri has completed a season-long loan switch from Chelsea to Lyon.
The Italian full-back moved to Stamford Bridge from Roma in January 2018 and has made 71 appearances for the Blues in total.
However, opportunities have proven scarce and Emerson, a part of the side that achieved Europa League glory in 2018-19, has played just 33 Premier League games for Chelsea.
Having helped Italy win Euro 2020 last month, Emerson has now opted for a fresh challenge in Ligue 1 for this campaign.
Lyon confirmed on their official website that an initial fee of €500,000 has been paid with a potential further €500,000 in bonuses, while a purchase option is included.
It has been a difficult start to the 2021-22 campaign for Lyon, who have taken one point from their first two Ligue 1 games and were beaten 3-0 by Angers on Sunday.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexander Lacazette, Willian and Alex Runarsson have all been absent due to coronavirus, Arsenal have confirmed.
Head coach Mikel Arteta explained Aubameyang and Lacazette were feeling unwell prior to the Gunners' lacklustre 2-0 defeat at new boys Brentford to begin their Premier League campaign last Friday.
It has now been confirmed the strike duo are part of a quartet who missed that game following a positive test for COVID-19, with each player at various stages of their recovery.
Aubameyang, who scored 10 goals in 29 Premier League outings last term, has now returned a negative result and could be in contention to feature against Chelsea on Sunday.
Willian's situation will be monitored ahead of the clash against his former club, but Lacazette and Runarsson have both been ruled out of the derby clash.
Arsenal also provided injury updates on Gabriel, Eddie Nketiah and Thomas Partey after being beaten by a newly promoted side in their opening league match of the season for the first time since 1976-77 against Bristol City.
Partey is expected to return to training at the end of August after sustaining an ankle injury in the pre-season friendly against Chelsea.
Nketiah, who suffered an ankle injury in the same game as his team-mate, will be back in training a couple of weeks later in September, while Gabriel is aiming to be back later this month.
Former hurdles star Edwin Moses believes he would have matched Karsten Warholm's world record time at the Tokyo Olympics had the same technology been available to him during his time on top.
One of the more remarkable moments of the 2020 Games was Warholm's victory in the men's 400 metre hurdles, the Norwegian knocking a huge 0.76 seconds off his record pace of 46.70s.
Warholm was not alone in setting a new Games best at this year's showpiece, with the United States' Sydney McLaughlin also doing so in the women's equivalent with a time of 51.46s.
That has prompted some concerns over the design of the Tokyo track, which is said to have given athletes a one to two per cent performance advantage compared to previous years.
The track technology, footwear and indeed training has come a long way since Moses dominated the men's 400m hurdles between 1977 and 1987 when winning 107 successive finals, during which time he set four world records in the sport.
And two-time Olympic gold medallist Moses, whose fastest time was clocked at 47.02s, has told Stats Perform that he could have held his own against today's crop if the playing field was level.
"I would like to think I could," he said. "When I ran 47.02 I had no competition, no one else was running under 49. It was very, very different," he said.
"I was reading an article recently about the track and technology and they built in a two per cent increase in performance.
"It changes things. It makes it very difficult to look back at Kevin Young or mine that had no assist. With tracks and shoes it becomes a statistically significant difference.
"If Kevin Young was running on that then he'd have had run 45.86, my 47.02 would have been a 46.08.
"I wish I had the opportunity to run on that track and to have that competition. I was way out in front of everyone else. The track has been programmed for speed. They've changed the paradigm."
This year's Olympic men's 400m hurdle final was labelled arguably the greatest ever, with USA's Rai Benjamin hot on Warholm's heels to win silver having also beat the previous world record.
Brazil's Alison dos Santos took the bronze medal with a time of 46.72s, meaning three of the top four fastest times ever posted in the event were set in Tokyo.
"I thought it was a very good race," Moses said. "Rai Benjamin made a couple of errors that probably cost him. Warholm made no mistakes. It always comes down to who makes the least.
"The race could have gone either way. Benjamin could have won by a metre.
"Not many races have come down to the wire like that, especially in a dramatic race like the hurdles. It was a great race, as was the women's."
Warholm may remain the world's best in his discipline, but Moses has tipped compatriot Benjamin to potentially set another world record time in the near future.
"It's possible," he said. "I think Rai could beat the world record this summer. He was still competitive even with those mistakes. Even second placed smashed the record."
Primoz Roglic retook the overall lead at the Vuelta a Espana, while Magnus Cort sealed victory in a tightly contested sixth stage.
Cort claimed a breakaway victory up the summit of Alto de la Montana de Cullera following a 158km route on Thursday.
EF Education-Nippo rider Cort finished just ahead of two-time defending champion Roglic, who could not quite catch the Dane up the 1.9km climb.
However, Roglic's efforts proved too much for Kenny Elissonde, who was dropped on the final ascent and had to relinquish La Roja to Slovenia's Olympic gold medallist.
Indeed, Elissonde fell out of the top 10 altogether, with another pre-race favourite – Colombian star Egan Bernal – rising to fifth in the general classification standings, 41 seconds behind Roglic.
Though Roglic's lead at the top of the GC is 25 seconds, the stage victory belonged to Cort.
"This one is special for me in a very different way. The stages I win are always in sprints and I'm very happy to show I can also do it in other terrains and finish off a breakaway like this today," he said.
"I knew we still had a chance. It's hard to know how big the gap is because they go fast in the bunch before a climb like that to get position.
"I could see we had a little gap. For me it was about getting as quickly as possible to the top. I hoped that none of my breakaway companions could stay in the wheel and I'd keep the bunch behind me. It was very close and I'm very happy that I kept Roglic just behind.
"I looked back with 150 metres to go and I could see him coming. I sprinted with everything I had and I luckily could keep him behind me."
STAGE RESULT
1. Magnus Cort (EF Education-Nippo) 3:30:53
2. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) same time
3. Andrea Bagioli (Deceuninck-QuickStep) +0:00:02
4. Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana-Premier Tech) +0:00:04
5. Enric Mas (Movistar) same time
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 21:04:09
2. Enric Mas (Movistar) +0:25
3. Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno (Movistar) +0:36
Points Classification
1. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) 131
2. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) 130
3. Magnus Cort (EF Education-Nippo) 67
King of the Mountains
1. Rein Taaramae (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) 10
2. Kenny Elissonde (Trek–Segafredo) 7
3. Joe Dombrowski (UAE Team Emirates) 6
What's next?
A 152km route from Gandia to the Balcon de Alicante takes La Vuelta into the mountains. There are six categorised climbs, including a category one summit finish. This is when Roglic, Alejandro Valverde, Bernal and the other favourites could really break clear.
Nick Kyrgios, John Isner and Reilly Opelka have been named by Team World captain John McEnroe as his final three picks for the Laver Cup.
The trio join Denis Shapovalov, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Diego Schwartzman for the team event which runs from September 24-26 at TD Garden in Boston.
Laver Cup newcomer Opelka rose to a career-high world number 23 ranking en route to his first ATP Masters 1000 final in Toronto and defeated world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas, who will play for Bjorn Borg's Team Europe.
Isner, who has featured for Team World since the inaugural event in 2017, reached the semi-finals in Toronto and claimed his 16th ATP Tour title in Atlanta at the start of August.
He described the Laver Cup as "a highlight of my year", adding: "To be on a team with guys we're normally competing against is so different and so much fun. We come together so well as a group, the chemistry is awesome and it's such a great environment to be part of."
Australian firebrand Kyrgios is a striking inclusion in Team World's roster, while Team Europe will be without their big three: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Federer and Dominic Thiem were expected to take part in this year's event, though both were forced to withdraw with injuries.
However, Borg's men still boast six of the world's top 11. World number two Daniil Medvedev leads the line-up, with Tsitsipas and Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Alexander Zverev for company.
Casper Ruud, who collected a 14th win in his last 15 completed matches on tour when he beat Opelka on Wednesday, will feature, while Andrey Rublev and Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini complete the six-man team.
Team Europe have landed the title in each of the three editions of the tournament so far, with Prague, Chicago and Geneva having served as hosts.
Seventeen-year-old Tina Clayton ran a personal best 11.09 to win the 100m at the 2021 World U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya this morning.
Lionel Messi and Neymar have been training together for Paris Saint-Germain, but Mauricio Pochettino refused to comment whether the pair would feature against Brest.
PSG travel to Brest on Friday fresh from back-to-back Ligue 1 wins against Troyes and Strasbourg, the first time in three years they have begun a new domestic season in such fashion.
Despite a positive start to their campaign, interest continues to centre around Messi, who arrived in Paris after a shock exit from Barcelona amid the club's financial difficulties in August.
However, it remains unclear whether the highly anticipated pairing of Messi and Neymar will be reunited to form a formidable trio with Kylian Mbappe at Stade Francis-Le Ble.
"We haven’t decided the squad yet but we will do so shortly," Pochettino responded in Thursday's news conference when asked about Messi.
"We will analyse whether he can be in the squad. In terms of what Lionel Messi brings, everybody knows that.
"His presence here in terms of what he represents is something we have talked about a lot in recent days.
"I am pleased with how he has settled in and how he has connected with squad. When you have talent at this sort of club, the understanding is not just in the dressing room but also on the pitch."
As part of a fearsome frontline with Luis Suarez at Barcelona between 2014 and 2017, Messi and Neymar between them created 2.1 chances for one another per 90 minutes, resulting in 22 assists for the duo.
But, like Suarez when he moved to Barcelona, it is Messi who will have to quickly link-up with an already established pairing, Mbappe and Neymar.
Neymar's injury troubles have meant that he and Mbappe have only played 3,552 minutes together – less than half as many as Messi and Suarez – though they have combined for 102 chances (2.6 per 90) and 21 assists (one every 169 minutes).
However, as with questioning over Messi's inclusion, Pochettino kept his cards close to his chest as to whether Neymar would feature.
"As I said, we are assessing that and of course, we take physical and footballing attributes into account," the head coach reiterated. "Within the squad, we have to find the right balance."
Mbappe, who is the only player to have recorded more than one assist following a ball carry in Ligue 1 this term (two), is the third part of Pochettino's forward puzzle, but his future remains in question.
With just a year left on his current deal, links to Real Madrid were expected to be quashed by Messi's arrival as the Frenchman realises his opportunity to challenge for Champions League glory at the Parc des Princes.
"I think he [Kylian Mbappe] is very motivated and working hard ahead of this season," the former Tottenham boss added. "We are thinking the same things we have been thinking in recent weeks. He is our player and I want him to be here this season."
"The most important thing is Kylian Mbappe is calm and knows what he is doing. He knows what he wants to do. We know that he is our player. We want him to be here.
"My conversations with Kylian Mbappe are all about football. He has another year on his contract and even if he doesn’t renew, he is still a PSG player and we are pleased with him, and from what I understand, he is pleased with us."
Lazio have completed the signing of Pedro from arch-rivals Roma.
The former Spain winger will remain in the Eternal City in a new era for Lazio under Maurizio Sarri.
Lazio did not state whether they had paid a fee for Pedro or the length of contract he has signed.
The 34-year-old was not part of Jose Mourinho's plans and has now been reunited with Sarri, who he played under at Chelsea.
Pedro has been given the number nine shirt after passing a medical on Thursday.
The former Barcelona wideman made 27 appearances for Roma in Serie A last season, scoring five goals and providing two assists.
Pedro created 29 chances and had a dribble success rate of 64.44.
Lazio travel to Empoli for their first game of the 2021-22 Serie A season on Saturday.
Bayern Munich could be without Manuel Neuer for Sunday's home clash with Cologne after the goalkeeper missed training on Thursday.
Neuer pulled off four saves to help Bayern to a 3-1 win over DFB-Pokal holders Borussia Dortmund in the DFL-Supercup on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old was on top form to deny Marco Reus – who later curled in a sublime consolation goal – and Erling Haaland in the first half at Signal Iduna Park.
His save from Reus was particularly excellent, the Germany goalkeeper sticking out a leg to deny the Dortmund captain, whose effort had an expected goals (xG) estimation of 0.596, which registered it as the second-best chance of the match overall.
However, in the second half, Neuer had to take extra time over taking a goal-kick after he had been clipped on the ankle by Haaland, who had attempted to pressurise the Bayern captain.
That tackle has now resulted in an injury for Neuer, with Bayern confirming he was unable to train on Thursday.
"Manuel Neuer sustained a capsule [joint] injury in his right ankle during the Supercup victory over Dortmund, so the captain will not take part in today's training," a Bayern tweet read.
It remains to be seen whether Neuer will be fit enough to be involved in Julian Nagelsmann's first Bundesliga home game in charge of Bayern.
Steve Smith, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell and Pat Cummins are the big names who will return to the Australia set up for the T20 World Cup.
The four stars did not feature in Australia's recent tours of the West Indies and Bangladesh. Aaron Finch's team suffered a 4-1 defeat in the latter series, while they also lost the T20 series to the Windies.
However, Australia's white-ball captain will be able to call on big hitters Smith, Warner and Maxwell, as well as paceman Cummins, for the World Cup, which takes place in the United Arab Emirates and Oman in October and November.
They are joined by Josh Inglis, who has been rewarded for his outstanding form with a first international call-up.
The wicketkeeper-batsman has had a brilliant domestic season in both Australia and England, having been the leading run scorer in county cricket's T20 competition, and takes his place in the 15-man squad.
"Josh has been on our radar for some time with his performances in white ball cricket and more recently in the Vitality Blast where he topped the run charts," selection chair George Bailey said.
"He offers the squad flexibility in the batting order with his adaptability, counterattacking ability and power striking. He is a player we are excited about for the future."
Alex Carey is the biggest name to miss out at Inglis' expense, with Matthew Wade the first-choice wicketkeeper.
Nathan Ellis, Dan Christian and Daniel Sams have been named as travelling reserves.
Australia's T20 World Cup squad:
Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins (vc), Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa. Travelling reserves: Dan Christian, Nathan Ellis, Daniel Sams.
This should have been a season for Inter fans to enjoy, on the back of a title triumph and with European football returning to some semblance of normality.
Instead, they have lost coach Antonio Conte, top scorer Romelu Lukaku and standout wing-back Achraf Hakimi. Talk of a Tottenham move for Lautaro Martinez – seemingly linked to Harry Kane's future – has not been ruled out entirely.
It leaves the reigning Serie A champions picking up the pieces, with the club's dire financial situation dampening hopes of a successful title defence.
Although there have also been new arrivals, Simone Inzaghi and a 35-year-old Edin Dzeko clearly are not in the same class as Conte and Lukaku.
Inter will be slightly different this season and it is highly likely they will be slightly worse for it.
Downgrade to Dzeko
In Lukaku, Inter have sold a player in his prime coming off his best campaign to date. In Dzeko, the Nerazzurri have brought in a veteran whose Serie A career just plunged to new depths.
Lukaku netted 24 times en route to Inter's Scudetto, while Dzeko's final year with Roma brought only seven league goals.
The Bosnia-Herzegovina international did play a mere 1,825 minutes, but it was his poor form while on the pitch that saw him limited to 20 starts despite featuring in 31 matchday squads.
Dzeko's shot conversion rate of 10 per cent was higher than in two of his seasons in the capital and only margainally lower than 2017-18's 10.5 per cent when he scored 16 times. The decreasing frequency of his attempts was an issue, managing just 3.5 shots per 90 minutes, a trough to contrast to the 2016-17 peak of 5.3.
Inter's new forward fell some way short of his expected goals (xG) total of 13.3 – a failing only partially explained by the expertise of opposition goalkeepers, who prevented 3.6 Dzeko goals according to expected goals on target (xGOT) data, which analyses the quality of the shot rather than the quality of the chance.
Lukaku, on the other hand, outstripped his xG figure of 23.8, even if his attempts were only worth 22.9 xGOT.
It is not only as a scorer that Dzeko slips below Lukaku's standards either. Chelsea's latest record buy was a creative force last term, providing 11 assists. Dzeko had three.
Indeed, Lukaku crafted a team-high 52 chances – or 9.4 per cent of Inter's 552 shots across the campaign – while Dzeko laid on 29 (5.3 per cent of Roma's attempts). Dzeko was more involved in build-up play than Lukaku, averaging 49.7 open play sequences per 90 to his predecessor's 44.4, but he could not match Lukaku in terms of passing accuracy (68.8 per cent), passing accuracy in the opposition half (64.8) or passing accuracy in the final third (58.5).
Unsurprisingly, the former Giallorossi favourite also cannot play at the same pace as Lukaku. Dzeko was involved in only six fast breaks to Lukaku's league-leading 17, although he did score twice from such situations. Roma were second in the league in this regard – behind Inter.
But even if the Nerazzurri do slow slightly with Dzeko in the side, his work in moving the ball up the field is still comparable to Lukaku's. He had more carries (7.9) and progressive carries (4.5) than Lukaku last term, while operating in the same ballpark for carry distance (92.6 metres), attempted dribbles (2.9) and completed dribbles (1.3) – all numbers per 90.
The percentage of his touches Dzeko took in the opposition box (17.3) tallied closely (18.3 per cent for Lukaku), too, with the previously prolific attacker's game peculiarly now suited to work away from goal.
An aerial force
As part of his link-up play, Dzeko offers a clear focal point. His 60.4 per cent success rate in aerial duels ranked fourth among Serie A forwards with 100 or more such tussles. Lukaku won only 42.9 per cent in a category led by Zlatan Ibrahimovic (65.7 per cent). Dzeko's 52 flick-ons also put him fourth.
But Dzeko's heading ability does also give Inter a greater threat inside the penalty area. The striker was joint-third for headed attempts (20, excluding blocks), with his 1.0 per 90 double Lukaku's 0.5. As with his feet, Dzeko was wasteful in this regard, scoring only one header while new Inter colleague Martinez nodded in four goals, but a greater sample size shows the danger he can pose. Since his 2015 Serie A debut, Dzeko leads the way for headed attempts (203, excluding blocks) and his 16 goals – making up 18.8 per cent of his total of 85 – are tied for third.
Dzeko therefore looks a good fit in an Inter side who last season topped the charts in succeeding with 24.6 per cent of their open play crosses, leading to a joint-high 92 headed shots and 14 headed goals.
Whether that crossing quality is still at the club is another matter.
Inter's wings clipped
Only nine defenders in Serie A last term attempted 100 crosses, but Hakimi, marauding up the right, was one of them. Within that select group, his crossing accuracy of 23.9 per cent ranked third – just ahead of Leonardo Spinazzola, another exciting wing-back and Dzeko's former Roma team-mate (23.5 per cent).
Hakimi's departure for Paris Saint-Germain robs Inter of that quality and the 36 chances he created. There is pressure on Denzel Dumfries, a €12.5million recruit, to fill that void. He created 41 chances in the Eredivisie last season, yet only five of his 50 crosses were successful.
That ability to deliver from wide positions is merely one of Hakimi's array of attributes, too, with the €60m man carrying the ball 22.7 metres further per 90 than Dumfries while also contributing a goal or assist every 178.1 minutes, compared to the Netherlands international's 308.5 minutes.
Inter should at least have increased creativity from midfield, where free signing Hakan Calhanoglu offers an upgrade on the recuperating Christian Eriksen. Calhanoglu, playing for rivals Milan, had league highs in chances created (98) and chances created from set-pieces (50) in 2020-21. Milan led Serie A in goals from set-pieces (16, excluding penalties), but Inter ranked joint-fourth (16) and will surely now improve.
Trying to run it back
If mixed results are anticipated from direct replacements for Lukaku, Hakimi and Eriksen, those moves at least indicate some unlikely joined-up thinking in spite of the chaotic nature of this off-season. Inzaghi's appointment also suggests Inter plan to change little from last season, even with the numerous notable departures.
Like Conte and Inter, Inzaghi's Lazio consistently lined up with a 3-5-2 formation in 2020-21, with their approaches also not dissimilar.
Lazio's press was a little more aggressive, allowing 11.6 passes per defensive action to Inter's 12.8 and also engaging in more pressed sequences (543) despite having slightly more possession (52.9 per cent) than Inter (52.0 per cent). Lazio also scored eight goals from high turnovers.
However, between the replacement of a speedy Lukaku with a slower Dzeko and Inter's pre-existing preference for build-up attacks (119) over direct attacks (80), Inzaghi's playing style might have to be a little more patient this term, even if the new number nine's physical presence will give them an outlet.
These are minor tweaks, though, that should mean Inzaghi can adapt to Inter or Inter to Inzaghi.
Defending champions have rarely had it so tough when preparing for a new campaign, but Inter have done all they can to ensure a new-look side can continue to find success.
Two-way Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani produced another masterclass in Wednesday's 3-1 win over the Detroit Tigers.
Ohtani hit his 40th home run of the MLB season and dominated across eight innings on the mound midweek.
The Japanese sensation allowed six hits, while striking out eight batters and walking none.
Ohtani became the first MLB player to register 40 homers in a season that he pitched at least 15 games. The previous record was Babe Ruth's 29 in 1919.
He also has 18 steals in 122 games for the Angels this season. According to Stats Perform, the only player in major history to reach 40 homers and 15 stolen bases in fewer team games was Ken Griffey Jr. in 1998 (117th game).
Dodgers roll on
World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers blanked the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-0 for their sixth consecutive victory. Max Muncy had two home runs to fuel the Dodgers, who moved within three games of the National League (NL) West-leading San Francisco Giants. San Francisco lost 6-2 to the New York Mets. Mitch White became the first Dodgers reliever to go 7.1 scoreless innings pitched since Ed Roebuck in 1960.
The Atlanta Braves edged the Miami Marlins 11-9. Freddie Freeman hit for the cycle for the second time in his career. According to Stats Perform, Freeman is the first NL first baseman in history to hit for the cycle more than once.
Red Sox swept by Yankees
The Boston Red Sox left New York emptyhanded after being swept by American League (AL) East rivals the Yankees following a 5-2 victory. Nick Pivetta gave up four runs in the second inning.
Polanco does it again
Jorge Polanco delivered another walk-off win for the Minnesota Twins, this time an 8-7 victory over the Cleveland Indians after 11 innings. Polanco hit a game-ending based-loaded single. Each of the last three Minnesota victories have ended with a Polanco walk off. He is the first player with a walk-off RBI in three consecutive team wins since David Ortiz in the 2004 playoffs and first in the regular season since Tony Pena in 1982, per Stats Perform.
Wednesday's results
Chicago Cubs 7-1 Cincinnati Reds
Minnesota Twins 8-7 Cleveland Indians
Colorado Rockies 7-5 San Diego Padres
New York Mets 6-2 San Francisco Giants
Washington Nationals 8-5 Toronto Blue Jays
New York Yankees 5-2 Boston Red Sox
Los Angeles Angels 3-1 Detroit Tigers
Atlanta Braves 11-9 Miami Marlins
Tampa Bay Rays 8-4 Baltimore Orioles
Milwaukee Brewers 6-4 St Louis Cardinals
Seattle Mariners 3-1 Texas Rangers
Kansas City Royals 3-2 Houston Astros
Chicago White Sox 3-2 Oakland Athletics
Arizona Diamondbacks 4-2 Philadelphia Phillies
Los Angeles Dodgers 9-0 Pittsburgh Pirates
Mets at Dodgers
The Dodgers (75-46) will put their winning streak on the line when they host the Mets (60-60) on Thursday. Max Scherzer toes the mound for the Dodgers, while the Mets will counter with Rich Hill.
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