Cristiano Ronaldo will stay at Juventus and his selection as a substitute for Sunday's season opener at Udinese was a mutual decision, according to Pavel Nedved.
Former Juve midfielder Nedved is now a vice-president at the club and was asked about Ronaldo being surprisingly left out of the starting XI in Udine.
Nedved said, according to Sky Sport Italia: "We must not look for sensations where there are none. It was a choice shared with the player.
"At the beginning of the season it is normal that the conditions are not top and the coach tries to field the most competitive team tonight."
Asked whether Ronaldo would remain a Juventus player this season, the last on his contract, Nedved said: "Absolutely yes."
There was nevertheless speculation that Ronaldo had requested to be selected on the bench, with Sky Sport Italia claiming the forward was looking to leave the club before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.
Head coach Massimiliano Allegri insisted this week that last season's Serie A 29-goal top scorer had told him he wanted to stay in Turin, and the Portuguese superstar has condemned what he described as "frivolous" rumours around his future.
Ronaldo has been linked with a return to Real Madrid or Manchester United, while Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have also been credited with interest.
However, any of those clubs would likely have to generate funds before mounting a move for the 36-year-old five-time Ballon d'Or winner, and City are expected to move for Harry Kane rather than Ronaldo.
With Ronaldo watching on from the sidelines, Juventus snatched a third-minute lead at Udinese through Paulo Dybala.
Jamaica had a medal-filled final day of the 2021 World Under20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya on Sunday capped by a gold-medal run in world-record time by the Women 4x100m team. Jamaica won seven medals on the final day and 11 medals overall that included two gold medals.
The team of Serena Cole, Tia Clayton, Kerrica Hill and Tina Clayton, clocked a world-record 42.94 to win by about 10m over a fast-finishing Namibian team that ran 43.76 for the silver medal. Interestingly, Namibia’s anchor Christine Mboma clocked an astonishing 9.86s on the anchor leg.
Nigeria ran a season-best 43.90 for the bronze medal.
Jamaica’s winning time broke the previous world record of 43.27 set by Germany in 2017. The time also erased the championship record of 43.40 set by Sherone Simpson, Kerron Stewart, Aneisha McLaughlin and Simone Facey when the championships were held in Kingston in 2002.
It was Jamaica’s third gold medal of the championships following those won by Tina Clayton in the 100m and Ackera Nugent in the 100m hurdles.
Earlier, Jaydon Hibbert jumped a personal best 16.05m to win the silver medal in the triple jump competition won by Sweden’s Gabriel Wallmark with a mark of 16.43m, a Swedish national U20 record.
Frenchman Simon Gore jumped a personal best 15.85m for the bronze medal.
Jamaica also won a silver medal in the discus in the form of Ralford Mullings who threw a personal best 66.68m to finish behind the now two-time champion Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania who won with a new championship record of 69.81m.
Raman Khartanovich threw a personal best 62.19m for the bronze medal.
Devontie Archer was an unexpected medalist in the 400m hurdles after he finished fourth in a new personal best of 49.78. However, Sweden’s Oskar Edlund, who crossed the finish line first was disqualified which meant that Archer was promoted to third and a medal.
Neutral athlete Denis Novoseletsen won the silver after he too ran a personal best of 49.62 with the gold going to Turkey’s Berke Akcam whose winning time of 49.38 was a national U20 record.
Jamaica mined three additional silver medals in the relays as the 4x100m team of Alexavier Monfries, Bryan Levell, Andrew Gillips and Sandrey Davison clocked an area record 38.61 behind South Africa World U20 record of 38.51.
Poland was third in 38.90, which is a new area record as well.
The final two medals came in the 4x400m relays in which the teams delivered strong performances. The girls ran 3:36.57 to claim silver behind Nigeria’s winning time of 3:31.46. Italy was the other team on the podium clocking 3:37.18.
The boys clocked 3:05.76 in a valiant effort to finish second to Botswana, who took the gold medal in 3:05.22. Kenya clocked 3:05.94 for the bronze medal.
Overall, Jamaica finished fifth on the medal table with three gold, six silver and two bronze medals at the championships.
Rafael Nadal was "practically lame" before he called an early end to his season and has been "stumbling all year round", coach Carlos Moya has revealed.
Former world number one and 20-time grand slam winner Nadal will miss the upcoming US Open but hopes to return in 2022, yet Moya says there are question marks over what the best course of treatment will be for the 35-year-old's foot problem.
In announcing his withdrawal from the rest of the campaign, Nadal declared a foot issue that he has been bothered by since 2005 was behind his decision.
The Spaniard took a break after losing a French Open semi-final to Novak Djokovic, skipping Wimbledon and the Olympic Games.
He attempted to make a return for the hard-court season but lost his second match in Washington to South African Lloyd Harris.
Moya, who was also briefly a world number one, said Nadal had managed to prolong a career that was in doubt 16 years ago, thanks to insoles and treatment.
"But this year the story has changed in many training sessions," Moya said. "He could not finish them and we had to change and ease intensity for the foot, thinking about the tournaments.
"He has been in pain for months and there comes a time when he cannot take it anymore. In the last match he played practically lame.
"The best thing was to stop, rest the foot and refresh the head."
Speaking to Spanish broadcaster Onda Cero's El Transistor show, Moya said: "It is not known where this injury comes from. There is a diagnosis but it is not clear which is the best treatment.
"Rafa's main objective is to regain sensations in his feet and in his head, because stumbling all year round has not helped him."
Cristiano Ronaldo was named only as a substitute for Juventus' opening Serie A match against Udinese amid renewed speculation he wants to leave the club.
Speaking ahead of his side's opening league game of 2021-22, head coach Massimiliano Allegri insisted Ronaldo had told him he wanted to stay in Turin.
Those comments came after the Portugal star posted to social media to hit out at what he described as "frivolous" rumours around his future.
However, on Sunday, Allegri selected Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata as a strike partnership, with Ronaldo on the bench.
Sky Sport Italia then reported that Ronaldo had requested to be left out of the first XI as he is attempting to secure a transfer before the window closes.
Ronaldo has been linked with a return to Real Madrid or Manchester United, while Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have also been credited with interest.
However, any move would appear problematic. Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has already said the 36-year-old will not be returning and Los Blancos are said to be trying to build funds for an attempt to sign Kylian Mbappe.
Selling the France star would likely be the only means for PSG to sign Ronaldo given the huge increase to their wage bill following the free transfer of Lionel Messi, while United must sell before buying again after spending upwards of £105million on Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane.
City, meanwhile, broke the Premier League transfer record by signing Jack Grealish for £100m and are expected to make another push to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham in the next week.
Record signing Romelu Lukaku returns for his second Chelsea debut against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Having last appeared for the Blues during the 2013-14 campaign, Thomas Tuchel hands Lukaku his first start since he rejoined the club and leaves Timo Werner on the bench for the Premier League clash.
The Belgium forward, who netted 24 goals in 36 Serie A appearances to fire Inter to the Scudetto last term, will be joined by Mason Mount and Kai Havertz for support up top.
Christian Pulisic misses out due to COVID-19 with Havertz taking his place, while Reece James replaces Trevoh Chalobah, meaning Cesar Azpilicueta moves back to centre-back.
Behind the visitors' three-man defence, Edouard Mendy retains his place - the former Rennes goalkeeper keeping the most clean sheets in the Premier League (10) since Tuchel's appointment in January.
Chelsea are looking for their fifth consecutive away London derby league victory, last achieving such a feat under Jose Mourinho between January 2005 and January 2006.
However, Mikel Arteta's men were victorious in both fixtures last term, though they have not won three in a row in the competition since February 2004.
Arsenal are without Ben White, who misses out through COVID-19, so Rob Holding comes in at centre-back.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who tested positive for coronavirus prior to the defeat to Brentford last weekend, returns and is listed among the substitutes, but Alexandre Lacazette and Willian are both out after their positive tests.
New addition Martin Odegaard is not in the squad, but Arteta's other midweek signing Aaron Ramsdale makes the bench.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is poised to give Milan a huge early-season lift by roaring back into action.
The extroverted striker is just weeks away from returning to full team training after the knee injury that forced him to miss Sweden's Euro 2020 campaign.
Head coach Stefano Pioli knows a fit Ibrahimovic can transform his team, as was proven when he scored 15 goals in his first 15 Serie A games of last season.
He netted at one goal every 79.47 minutes during that run, and even though his scoring then dried up, the veteran remains a talisman with the Rossoneri.
Asked about Ibrahimovic's condition, Pioli said in a news conference on Sunday: "Physically, he is certainly looking better, even though he's not begun full training with the team and he's forcing things a little bit.
"Next week will be very important for him because he needs to start ball work and that's what he's been missing.
"So we'll see next week whether he's able to actually train with us, and during the international break he might be able to be fit and available.
"I think his role is always the same: Zlatan is a charismatic leader in terms of his character. He's a leader on the pitch as well, he really is the benchmark for everyone.
"He's a significant figure. He's very motivated."
Ibrahimovic stands eighth on the list of top scorers across all competitions over the past 10 seasons, among players competing in Europe's top five leagues.
That is all the more impressive given his goals across two seasons with LA Galaxy are not counted in his total of 247 strikes, and Pioli will know Milan carried a unique threat when Ibrahimovic was on hand last term.
They won 66.7 per cent of games where he started (12 of 18) and that dipped slightly to 60 per cent when Ibrahimovic was not in Pioli's XI.
Milan begin their 2021-22 season against Sampdoria on Monday, then face Cagliari next weekend, and those may be the only games Ibrahimovic has to miss, if Pioli's fitness forecast proves accurate.
"He's fit and firing mentally," Pioli said of the player who turns 40 in October.
"He's a player that can still be a matchwinner for the team, for himself. So he's very motivated and can't wait to get back into full training with his team-mates.
"The same goes for me: I can't wait to get him back on the training ground."
Pedri has belatedly been given a break from Barcelona duty after featuring in their first two matches of the 2021-22 season.
The Spain midfielder posted a picture from his aeroplane to social media as he headed back to his home in Tenerife.
Barca shared the image with the caption, "deserved vacation".
Pedri will not play for the Blaugrana against Getafe next Sunday, while it remains to be seen if he will be called up by Luis Enrique for the subsequent international break.
The 18-year-old would return to Catalonia in time for Barca's LaLiga clash with Sevilla on September 12.
Pedri had played only a single season with Las Palmas before linking up with Ronald Koeman's Barca at the start of the 2020-21 campaign, but he quickly became a key man.
Since his debut last September, only Bruno Fernandes and Manu Trigueros (both 56) have appeared in more club games across all competitions than Pedri (54, tied with Marcus Rashford) among players in Europe's top five leagues.
But Pedri has also turned out 10 times for the senior Spain team in that period, including in all six matches in their run to the Euro 2020 semi-finals.
And there were a further six appearances at the Tokyo Olympics as the teenager helped Spain take silver.
Having started his 2020-21 season in the Spain Under-21 team on September 3, 2020 – with four games at that level – Pedri has played 74 matches for club and country in less than a year.
Koeman was asked about Pedri's impending departure following Saturday's 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao, in which he was substituted after 62 minutes.
"It's better to give him a break now, so as not to have problems in the month of November," the coach explained.
Rugby Australia remain "confident" the third Bledisloe Cup clash will be staged in Perth, despite New Zealand pulling out of the game next weekend.
The All Blacks and the Wallabies were due to meet at Optus Stadium on August 28, but New Zealand Rugby (NZR) opted against travelling due to concerns over coronavirus.
Rugby Australia (RA) announced it was "incredibly disappointed" at the move, while Wallabies head coach Dave Rennie stated in no uncertain terms he was "bloody angry" over the decision.
Playing the Test in the United Kingdom or South Africa had been suggested as an alternative, but RA chief executive Andy Marinos hopes the trans-Tasman rivals can still do battle in Perth next month.
"We're working hard now with the West Australian government and the stadium to see if we can't move that to September 4," Marinos told Channel Nine on Sunday.
"We remain optimistic and confident we can get the game away eventually in Perth."
NZR chief executive Mark Robinson denied claims that RA had not been told that the All Blacks would not fulfil the fixture before it was announced.
He said: "We had calls right through from Wednesday, Thursday, we put something in writing on Thursday and then we spoke to them before anything was released.
"Certainly I know that senior All Blacks and Wallabies were discussing the situation and our players were making them aware of the reality of our situation."
NZR also announced the All Blacks' two home Rugby Championship Tests against South Africa – scheduled for September 25 and October 2 – will not be played in New Zealand following government advice that the Springboks would not be able to enter the country due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Christian Yelich hit two home runs including a grand slam as the Milwaukee Brewers won 9-6 over the Washington Nationals in the MLB on Saturday.
Yelich tallied six RBIs, going three-for-five, while Kolten Wong provided a highlight with a spectacular tag from an in-field pop-out.
Left-fielder Yelich was the star, though, having struggled recently, with no home runs from his previous 69 at-bats.
Yelich delivered early with a solo home run at the bottom of the first inning with the Brewers 2-0 down. He also drove in a run in the fifth inning with a bouncing base hit to make it 3-2 before Wong tied it up with an outrageous run to home plate as the Nats fell asleep.
With the Brewers 5-4 down at the bottom of the eighth, Yelich provided the knockout punch with his 454-foot grand slam to deep right-field.
Yelich has 38 RBI and 66 hits, along with eight homers for the season. The Brewers improve their record to 75-49, firming up their grip on top spot in the National League Central.
Nine in a row for Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers made it nine consecutive wins as new recruits Trea Turner and Max Scherzer begin to really find their groove, recording a 4-3 win over the New York Mets.
Turner scored his first home run for the Dodgers since his move from the Washington Nationals last month with a lead-off homer.
Scherzer, who was also traded in from the Nats last month, sent down eight strikeouts across his five innings on the hill, allowing only one earned run.
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola was spectacular with 11 strikeouts, retiring the first 18 San Diego Padres' batters, including his brother Austin, before his side lost 4-3 in extras.
LaMonte Wade Jr scored a pinch-hit go-ahead two-run homer in the ninth inning to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 6-5 win over the Oakland Athletics.
The New York Yankees piled on five runs in the fifth inning as they defeated the Minnesota Twins 7-1 with Giancarlo Stanton and Luke Voit both driving in two.
Mariners pitchers mauled by Astros
Starting pitcher Logan Gilbert had a tough shift on the hill for the Seattle Mariners as they were whacked 15-1 by the free-wheeling Houston Astros. The Astros piled on four runs in the third inning and another six in the fifth, as Gilbert was pulled having allowed nine earned runs. Gilbert's replacement, Robert Dugger, did not fare much better, allowing seven hits.
D.J.'s dazzling double play
D.J. Peters produced an amazing double play as the Texas Rangers won 10-1 over the Boston Red Sox. With the Rangers up 2-1 at the bottom of the third inning, Peters pulled off a tough outfield catch from Rafael Devers before a bullet long-range throw to first completed a spectacular double out.
Saturday's results
New York Yankees 7-1 Minnesota Twins
Tampa Bay Rays 8-4 Chicago White Sox
Kansas City Royals 4-2 Chicago Cubs
Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 Detroit Tigers
Milwaukee Brewers 9-6 Washington Nationals
Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 New York Mets
San Francisco Giants 6-5 Oakland Athletics
Cleveland Indians 5-1 Los Angeles Angels
Houston Astros 15-1 Seattle Mariners
Cincinnati Reds 7-4 Miami Marlins
Atlanta Braves 5-4 Baltimore Orioles
Texas Rangers 10-1 Boston Red Sox
Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 St Louis Cardinals
Colorado Rockies 5-2 Arizona Diamondbacks
San Diego Padres 4-3 Philadelphia Phillies
Mets at Dodgers
The Dodgers (78-46) will chase 10 straight wins when they take on the Mets (60-63) again in the final game of their four-game series.
Jamaica double Olympic champion, Elaine Thompson-Herah, had no comment regarding the pre-race comments of Sha’Carri Richardson after handing the American a crushing defeat at the Prefontaine Classic on Saturday.
Thompson-Herah clocked a new personal best of 10.54 in the women’s 100m, just outside of the longstanding world record set by Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988. Similar to the finish at the Olympics a few weeks ago, her compatriots Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.73) and Shericka Jackson (10.76) we second and third.
Heading into the race, however, the focus had been on the return to the sprints of American Sha’Carri Richardson. Richardson had run 10.72 in April and won the US trials to set up the prospect of an intriguing match-up at the Olympics. The 21-year-old was, however, suspended ahead of Tokyo after returning a positive test for marijuana.
Ahead of the Wanda Diamond League, many framed the race as an Olympic do-over for the American, who certainly headed into the event sky-high on confidence with plenty of pre-race chatter to boot. It did not go to plan. Richardson finished last in 11.14, and at the end of the race, the Olympic do-over had the same three medallists as the original. On Richardson’s placing and pre-race chatter, the decorated sprint queens had no comment.
“I wasn’t watching Sha’Carri to be honest,” Fraser-Pryce, who went viral for a cheeky post-race smirk as she passed by the American being interviewed, said.
“No, you shouldn’t have,” Fraser-Pryce replied when anyone should have really been surprised by another Jamaican sweep.
Fraser-Pryce may well have a point, perhaps expecting Richardson, who is yet to win a major medal, to match up to the in-form Jamaican 100m medallist, who in total have 8 Olympic medals between them and three of the four fastest times in history, might have been a stretch.
“I didn’t hear much of that,” Thompson-Herah said when quizzed on the American's pre-race comments.
“No comment on that,” the athlete added when asked for her assessment of Richardson’s performance.
Andrey Rublev finally got the better of compatriot Daniil Medvedev after a flashpoint involving a courtside camera in the Western and Southern Open semi-finals.
Rublev will now face Alexander Zverev in the decider, having ended Medvedev's bid for a Toronto-Cincinnati double.
Medvedev had never even dropped a set to his fellow Russian in four prior ATP Tour meetings and appeared to be on course for another dominant victory when he took the first set.
But the world number two clattered into a camera early in the second and all momentum was soon lost.
Medvedev complained about the positioning of the camera, claiming it had caused a hand injury and aiming a kick at the lens.
He swiftly called for treatment as his performance started to fall well below his lofty standards, with Rublev finally able to win a set after breaking in an epic 15-minute game.
A series of unforced Medvedev errors allowed Rublev to break again in the decider and seal a stunning 2-6 6-3 6-3 triumph.
Third seed Zverev fought back from a double break down in the final set to progress to the final with a 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-4) win over second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The epic match lasted two hours and 41 minutes, with Zverev responding strongly after appearing unwell to book his spot in the final against Rublev.
Rublev gets his Daniil degree
Asked to reflect on finally toppling Medvedev, Rublev told Amazon: "It's always tough to play against Daniil and to beat him.
"I think it gives me a bit more confidence that I can play against him, I can compete against him. There are still so many things to improve, but it's like I've passed university."
The victory came as a relief, with Rublev believing he was unfortunate even to be trailing in the first set.
"Inside I was thinking, when I was 6-2, the score shouldn't be like this," he said.
"The points were really tight, some little outs, little mistakes, some good shots from Daniil. The score was not real [in] the first set.
"Even the third set, I won 6-3 but the match was so intense. You saw so many rallies, so many long rallies, and it was so tough.
"It was a super mental match, a super physical match, exactly like a chess match."
Zverev's Novak mentality
Tokyo 2020 gold medalist Zverev had trailed 4-1 in the third set against Tsitsipas, but fought back with two breaks before winning in a tie-break.
"After I did the first break back I thought 'OK I have the chances'," Zverev said during his on-court interview. "I felt like he was not serving bombs. I felt like I was always in the rallies but I was losing the rallies because I was a bit low energy, so I started being a bit more aggressive, a bit of the Novak mentality that I had against him at the Olympics as well."
Zverev has a 4-0 record against final opponent Rublev but he was wary of his opponent.
"Favourite or not, I think if you're in the final, there's no easy opponent," he said. "Today he played incredible beating Medvedev."
Ronald Koeman had no complaints as Barcelona could only draw at Athletic Bilbao, hailing his battling side and Memphis Depay in particular.
Depay scored his first Blaugrana goal 15 minutes from time at San Mames to cancel out Inigo Martinez's opener and secure a point.
The Netherlands international became the first Barca player to have a goal involvement in each of his opening two LaLiga appearances (one goal, one assist) since both Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez in 2011-12.
Yet Depay could have added to his tally as he squandered the best of his three chances – valued at 0.24 expected goals – four minutes from time.
"I could have scored two goals," he told Barca TV. "In the end, I did it with the left.
"I am very pleased to have scored, for having scored my first goal, but disappointed not to have scored the second chance I had."
Koeman was pleased with Depay, however, adding: "He has scored a great goal and had a chance for another. We must highlight the attitude of the team after the 1-0 against.
"[Depay] has effectiveness, speed, strength. He's a great player, that's why we've signed him. You have to have personality, here the demand is better and he takes it well."
Indeed, despite Depay's late chance, Koeman suggested Barca would have been fortunate to win.
They had 67.3 per cent of the possession but just nine attempts to Athletic's 16.
"We initially lacked calm and the ability to find the free man," Koeman said. "We made mistakes and couldn't get out.
"Little by little we entered the game, we reacted well after the 1-0 and in the end we were better. We could even win, but maybe it would have been too much."
Barca had some issues at the back, with Eric Garcia sent off late on after Gerard Pique had departed with injury.
In a worrying trend, this is the sixth time in Pique's past 13 LaLiga starts he has failed to see out the full match, as many substitutions as in his previous 111 outings.
But Koeman said Pique's problem was "not serious and I hope he will be available for next week".
Jamaica double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah put away a top-quality field to massively improve an already impressive personal best, at the Prefontaine Classic, Wanda Diamond League meet in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday.
Fresh off an impressive triumph at the Tokyo Games, Thompson-Herah was in no mood to slow down, and in fact, went considerably faster. The Jamaican pulled away from compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the final metres of the race to stop the clock at 10.54, just .05 second outside of the world record set by the United States' Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988.
In almost identical fashion to Tokyo, Fraser-Pryce was second in 10.73, with Shericka Jackson third in 10.76.
Prior to the race, a lot of the attention was focussed on the return of flamboyant United States sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson who missed out on a match-up with the Jamaica trio at the Olympics, after serving a brief suspension for testing positive for marijuana.
Expectations had been heightened for the sprinter’s return after emphatically winning the US trials before the Games. In Eugene, however, she was nowhere to be found. Richardson got away slowly and never got into the race, ending at the back of the field in a pedestrian 11.14. Thompson-Herah now has the two fastest times outside of the longstanding world record set by Griffith-Joyner.
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