A late Christian McCaffrey touchdown gave the San Francisco 49ers a 24-21 win over the Green Bay Packers and moved them one win from the Super Bowl.

The 49ers, the number one seeds in the NFC, had trailed 21-14 heading into the fourth quarter.

Jake Moody cut the gap with a 52-yard field goal before McCaffrey crashed his way over from six yards with 67 seconds on the clock.

Brock Purdy’s 32-yard touchdown pass to George Kittle had given the 49ers a 7-6 interval lead, the Packers responding after the break as Jordan Love threw touchdown passes to Bo Melton and Tucker Kraft either side of McCaffrey’s first score of the night.

The 49ers had not come from behind to win throughout the regular season, but Purdy drove them into position for the decisive score after rookie Anders Carlson had missed a field goal from 41 yards for Green Bay.

In the AFC, the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens saw off the Houston Texans 34-10.

Lamar Jackson threw for two touchdown passes, running for two more as the Ravens pulled away in the second half.

The two teams swapped field goals in the first quarter, Jackson finding Nelson Agholor from three yards in the second quarter before Steven Sims’ 67-yard punt return tied things up at 10-10.

Jackson eased the Ravens in front in the third quarter as he ran in on a score from 15 yards.

The Ravens pulled away in the final quarter, Jackson finding Isaiah Likely from 15 yards and going in himself from eight yards. Nick Tucker capped off the victory with a field goal from 43 yards late on.

The Ravens will host the Buffalo Bills or defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, who meet on Monday, in the AFC Championship game.

The 49ers will entertain the Detroit Lions or Tampa Bay Buccaneers to decide the NFC champions.

Donovan Mitchell and Sam Merrill each scored 18 points to lead seven players in double figures and the Cleveland Cavaliers rolled to their seventh straight victory, 116-95 over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.

Jarrett Allen had 14 points with 11 rebounds and Dean Wade added 17 points as the Cavaliers scored the game’s first 10 points and never trailed to improve to 3-0 this season against the Hawks.

Cleveland is 12-3 since starters Darius Garland and Evan Mobley were injured.

Dejounte Murray tallied 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Atlanta, which had a three-game winning streak snapped.

Hawks star Trae Young left the game with 8:43 remaining after taking a charge from Isaac Okoro. Young, who was hit in the face by an inadvertent elbow, remained on the court for a few minutes but walked back to the locker room with the game out of reach.

Embiid extends streak for surging 76ers

Joel Embiid scored 33 points to extend his franchise-record streak of 30 or more to 20 games, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to their fifth straight win, 97-89 over the Charlotte Hornets.

Embiid, who added 10 rebounds, last failed to reach 30 points in a loss to Boston on Nov. 15, when he had 20 points.

Tobias Harris scored 21 points and Tyrese Maxey contributed 16 with eight assists for Philadelphia, which limited Charlotte to 16 fourth-quarter points after entering the period trailing by four.

Lillard scores 45 as Bucks win

Damian Lillard poured in 45 points and handed out 11 assists as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the lowly Detroit Pistons, 141-135.

Lillard became the first player in franchise history with at least 40 points, 10 assists and five 3-pointers in a game.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, but missed 11 of 22 free throw attempts. Brook Lopez added 19 points as Milwaukee won its fourth in five games.

Detroit dropped to 2-37 in its last 39 games.

AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan said “something must be done” about racial abuse in football after walking off the pitch during a Serie A match at Udinese.

The 28-year-old France international and his team-mates walked off the pitch during the first half on Saturday, Maignan apparently indicating to referee Fabio Marescan he had heard the abuse from the crowd at the Stadio Friuli.

“I heard them making monkey noises,” Maignan told Milan TV.

“After it happened a second time, I went to the dugout to inform them of what had happened behind the goal.

“This shouldn’t exist in the world of football, but unfortunately for many years this is a recurrence.

“We all have to react, we must do something because you can’t play like this.”

He continued: “We accept the boos because that’s how it is away from home, but this issue of racism must not reach this level.

“With all the cameras present and sanctions for these things, something must be done to change things.”

Once play resumed after a short break, Milan won 3-2 with substitute Noah Okafor grabbing the winner in added time.

Maignan received support on social media after the match, Milan posting on X, formerly Twitter: “There is absolutely no place in our game for racism: we are appalled. We are with you, Mike.”

Inter, leaders of Serie A, were quick to reply to the post in support of their city rivals.

The Nerazzurri added on X: “We are brothers of the world, against all forms of discrimination. By your side.”

The official account of the league, @SerieA, added: “The league condemns all forms of racism.”

France striker Kylian Mbappe said “enough is enough” as he posted a message of support to Maignan on X.

He said: “You are very far from being alone Mike Maignan. We are all with you.

“Still the same problems and still NO solution. Enough is enough. NO TO RACISM.”

Former England and Arsenal striker Ian Wright applauded the “solidarity” in the Milan side and urged teams to “keep walking off” when they hear abuse and called for stronger sanctions.

He wrote on X: “We did ‘playing through it’ and nothing has changed. Points deductions needed, the fines are pointless.”

The Baltimore Ravens moved to within one win of the Super Bowl as they saw off the Houston Texans 34-10.

Lamar Jackson threw for two touchdown passes, running for two more as the Ravens pulled away in the second half.

The two teams swapped field goals in the first quarter, Jackson finding Nelson Agholor from three yards in the second quarter before Steven Sims’ 67-yard punt return tied things up at 10-10.

Jackson eased the Ravens in front in the third quarter as he ran in on a score from 15 yards.

The number one seeds eased away in the final quarter, Jackson finding Isaiah Likely from 15 yards and going in himself from eight yards. Nick Tucker capped off the victory with a field goal from 43 yards late on.

The Ravens will host the Buffalo Bills or defending champion Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.

Nick Dunlap will take a three-shot lead into the final round of The American Express tournament as he chases the first win by an amateur on the PGA Tour for 33 years.

The University of Alabama student shot 10 birdies and an eagle in a third round 60 – equalling the lowest round by an amateur in a tour event – on the La Quinta course to follow his second round 61 as he moved into pole position on 27-under-par.

Phil Mickelson was the last amateur to win on the PGA Tour in 1991.

Overnight leader Sam Burns is three shots back after a 65 at the Stadium Course, one of three used for the tournament and the site of the final round, where Justin Thomas equalled the course record with a 61 to sit a further stroke back.

South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout is the only other player within six shots of the lead.

Playing as a sponsor’s invite, Dunlap is the first amateur to make the cut at the event and while he will not collect the 1.5million dollars (£1.18million) prize money, a win would secure his PGA Tour card for two years.

Natasha Jonas was pushed to the limit but retained her IBF welterweight crown with a razor-thin split decision victory over American rival Mikaela Mayer in a thriller in Liverpool.

Jonas started strongly in the first defence of the world title she won by defeating Kandi Wyatt last July but Mayer steadily grew into the bout and was the busier of the two in several riveting exchanges.

It was an all-action affair but, despite being left with a cut below her left eye, Jonas, who raised her arm aloft at the final bell, was given the nod 96-94 and 96-95 as a third judge sided with Mayer 97-93.

The result divided opinion on social media but, after Jonas extended her record to 15 wins and two defeats with one draw in her home city, she indicated 2024 will be her final year in the sport.

The 39-year-old has won six fights in a row since losing on points to long-time rival Katie Taylor in May 2021, becoming a unified world light-middleweight champion before stepping down to reign at 147lbs.

She told Sky Sports: “Unfortunately I can’t be around forever, this is probably my last year in boxing and we want to make it the best chapter of the book.”

A rematch against an opponent six years her junior, a former unified world super-featherweight champion who was fighting at welterweight for the first time on Saturday night, would surely be welcomed.

Jonas said: “She’s in the top two people I’ve fought, she’s a very, very skilled operator and her time will come again. She beats a lot of the champions that are already here.

“That little bit of fear factor brings out the best in me, I need opponents like her to tango. With no disrespect to the likes of Kandi Wyatt, I knew I would dominate and I was supposed to win.”

Mayer, who slipped to her second defeat in 21 fights, wants a chance at gaining revenge over Jonas.

She said: “I thought I did enough to win. I would have given her the first round or two but after that, I feel like I out-punched her and landed the cleaner shots. I think that fight is worth seeing again.

“I just hope Natasha will be the stand-up champ that she is and give me another shot at the belt – I feel like I deserve it.”

The New York Islanders fired head coach Lane Lambert and replaced him with Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy in a surprising mid-season shake-up.

President of hockey operations and general manager Lou Lamoriello announced the moves Saturday after the Islanders lost their fourth straight game Friday night to the rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks. New York have dropped six of their last seven.

Roy last coached for the Colorado Avalanche from 2013-16, winning the Jack Adams Award in 2014 as coach of the year. Over the last five years, he was the coach and GM of his home-town junior team, the Quebec Ramparts.

Lambert was midway through his second season as the Islanders’ bench boss, accumulating a 61-46-20 record and leading the team to a play-off appearance last season.

Despite an eight-game point streak in December, this year’s squad has been unable to keep pace in the East, and their recent swoon has dropped them out of a play-off slot.

Lambert is the fifth NHL coach fired since the start of this season, joining the Oilers’ Jay Woodcroft, Wild’s Dean Evason, Blues’ Craig Berube and Senators’ D.J. Smith.

Roy played in goal for 19 NHL seasons and is third on the all-time wins list. He won four Stanley Cups as a player.

Manchester United have named Omar Berrada as their new chief executive after raiding rivals Manchester City in a dramatic statement of intent.

United have been looking for a successor to Richard Arnold, who left the club in November, and Berrada appears to fit the bill following his success both on and off the field with City Football Group.

Berrada has been at City for nearly a decade in a variety of different guises, most recently as the chief football operations officer, also bringing significant experience in the commercial sector.

The PA news agency understands owners Joel and Avram Glazer appointed Berrada in consultation with Sir Jim Ratcliffe, whose Ineos firm has agreed to buy a 25 per cent stake in the Premier League club.

Berrada’s start date with his new club will be revealed in due course by United, who confirmed Patrick Stewart will continue as interim chief executive for the time being.

A United statement said: “Manchester United is pleased to announce the appointment of Omar Berrada as its new CEO.

“The club is determined to put football and performance on the pitch back at the heart of everything we do. Omar’s appointment represents the first step on this journey.

“As one of the most experienced football executives at the top of European football, Omar brings a wealth of football and commercial expertise, with a proven record of successful leadership and a passion to help lead change across the club.

“He is currently serving as chief football operations officer for City Football Group overseeing 11 clubs across five continents and, prior to this, held senior roles at Barcelona.

“It is our stated ambition to re-establish Manchester United as a title-winning club.

“We are pleased that Omar will be joining us to help achieve that goal, so that, once again, United fans can see, in the words of Sir Matt Busby, the red flag flying high at the summit of English, European and world football.”

AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan and his team-mates walked off the pitch during the first half of the 3-2 Serie A win at Udinese on Saturday evening.

The 28-year-old France international left the action shortly after his team had taken the lead, apparently indicating to referee Fabio Maresca that he had heard racist abuse from the crowd at the Stadio Friuli.

Maignan was followed by the other Milan players but they returned to the pitch soon after and play was able to resume around seven minutes after Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s goal had broken the deadlock.

Maignan was beaten three minutes later by a Lazar Samardzic shot, before substitute Florian Thauvin scored to give Udinese the lead.

However, fellow sub Luka Jovic earned the visitors a point with a close-range finish with eight minutes remaining, before another second-half replacement – Noah Okafor – won it in added-time.

Before the Maignan incident, Olivier Giroud had been denied in the 16th minute when his shot was saved at the near post by Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye.

The France international striker had another chance three minutes later but he failed to get clean contact on a  ball from Theo Hernandez and Okoye saved.

The visitors opened the scoring in the 31st minute when Loftus-Cheek netted his third Serie A goal of the season,  sidefooting Hernandez’s cutback into the corner with the aid of a slight deflection.

After the incident involving Maignan,  the hosts levelled when Samardzic’s curling left-footed shot from just outside the area gave the goalkeeper no chance.

Udinese took the lead in the 62nd minute, through Thauvin. The 30-year-old former Newcastle winger capitalised on weak defending from Fernandez and Tijani Reijnders before beating the exposed Maignan with a left-footed shot.

Yacine Adli should have done better for the visitors when unmarked at the far post in the 79th minute, then Giroud headed wide, under pressure, soon after.

The visitors equalised in the 82nd minute, Jovic reacting quickly to finish off from close range after Giroud’s deflected shot had struck the bar, just seven minutes after the Serbian’s introduction.

Giroud saw a shot tipped over in added time before Okafor got the visitors’ winner in the third minute of added-time, blasting in unmarked at the far post after Giroud had won a header.

The goal extended Milan’s winning run to four matches and reduced the gap on table-topping city rivals Inter to six points.

Tunisia claimed their first point in Africa Cup of Nations Group E as Hamza Rafia’s strike secured a 1-1 draw with Mali in Korhogo.

The 2004 champions, looking to bounce back from a shock 1-0 loss to Namibia in their opener, fell behind in the 10th minute via Lassine Sinayoko’s second goal of the tournament before hitting back through Rafia 10 minutes later.

While Jalel Kadri’s third-placed team get off the mark, Eric Chelle’s Mali top the group with four points, having beaten South Africa 2-0 in their first match.

Tunisia threatened in the opening few moments as Sheffield United’s Anis Ben Slimane’s curling free-kick from the left was punched away by goalkeeper Djigui Diarra.

Mali then grabbed the lead with what was their first real attack, Sinayoko collecting the ball from Kamory Doumbia, turning, squeezing past two men as he advanced into the box and drilling a low shot that went in off the far post to add to his goal against South Africa.

As Tunisia sought a swift reply captain Youssef Msakni’s header was intercepted on the line by Kiki Kouyate, and two minutes later they were level when Ali Abdi’s cutback teed up a Rafia strike, with Diarra getting a touch but unable to stop the ball going in.

The closing stages of the first half saw Doumbia shoot off-target, before Ben Slimane and Abdi did the same at the other end.

After the break, Bechir Ben Said did well to turn a Doumbia drive around the post and Sinayoko then failed to take two good chances in quick succession, missing the target on each on occasion.

Tunisia substitute Sayfallah Ltaief subsequently saw a strike blocked by Sikou Niakate and Tottenham’s Yves Bissouma, having also come off the bench, fired a free-kick wide late on as the sides shared the points.

Maro Itoje inspired a second-half fightback as Saracens secured a place in the Investec Champions Cup round of 16 by beating Lyon 39-24.

The England lock scored two tries in 11 minutes to help the three-time European champions progress from Pool One.

Scrum-half Ivan van Zyl, flanker Juan Martin Gonzalez and wing Lucio Cinti also claimed touchdowns at the StoneX Stadium, with Owen Farrell kicking four conversions and two penalties.

Lyon, without an away win in all competitions for almost a year, led by 12 points at half-time.

Centre Josiah Maraku collected a try double and wing Davit Niniashvili also scored, while Lyon skipper Leo Berdeu booted a penalty and three conversions, but Saracens ultimately avoided making a first pool-stage exit since 2011.

Saracens were immediately into their stride, putting together impressive phase-play, and they went ahead after just four minutes.

England forwards Itoje and Ben Earl set up a strong attacking position, and Van Zyl took a quick penalty to cross unopposed.

Victories for Lyon over Bristol and the Bulls meant they arrived in north London having already qualified, but they stunned Saracens through an opportunist 15th-minute score.

Saracens were on the attack, but Van Zyl’s pass was intercepted by Lyon’s Georgia international wing Niniashvili, who sprinted 80 metres to claim a try that Berdeu converted.

Berdeu extended Lyon’s lead with a 26th-minute penalty, and Saracens’ initial promise had evaporated as the visitors began to assert control.

Lyon displayed composure and accuracy in attack, and it was no surprise when they extended their lead just before half-time.

Saracens found themselves in a prolonged defensive mode, with Lyon patiently creating an opportunity to strike, with Maraku touching down and Berdeu converting for a 17-5 interval lead.

Lyon were good value for their advantage, but it was cut by seven points early in the second period when Itoje pounced for a try that Farrell converted.

Just when Saracens looked like they might have some much-needed momentum, they were undone when Farrell twice had kicks charged down in rapid succession.

Lyon prop Jerome Rey blocked the first attempted clearance, then lock Joel Kpoku replicated it and Maraku gathered the bounce for his second try. Berdeu’s conversion made it 24-12 before Farrell kicked a short-range penalty.

And when Saracens decided to go route-one, it was rewarded as Itoje collected his second try, this time from a lineout drive, and Farrell’s conversion left his team just two points behind.

The fly-half then kicked another penalty as Saracens edged in front, before Gonzalez’s score finally ended an impressive Lyon challenge and Cinti added try number five.

England are enlisting retired stars such as Chris Ashton and Jonny May to help young players deal with the type of scrutiny that has compelled Owen Farrell to take a break from international rugby.

Farrell is missing the Guinness Six Nations to prioritise his and his family’s mental well-being following the World Cup and it’s build-up, during which he was heavily criticised online for being sent off for a dangerous tackle against Wales.

The Saracens fly-half may have already played his final game for England as he considers a move to Racing 92, which would make him ineligible for Test selection.

Aware of the demands on his players, especially emerging talent such as Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Oscar Beard and Fin Smith, head coach Steve Borthwick is keen to ensure they are properly supported.

“The environment we create around the players is vital. It’s vital in any team but especially the England team,” Borthwick.

“The England team, as we all respect, has more scrutiny upon it than any other national team in world rugby.

“That’s the nature of it so creating an environment where the players are supported and cared for is really important.

“We have looked at it and are exploring how we improve that from where we were to where we are now to try and get ahead of the societal element.

“The way we work and intensity with which we work is going to be a level up so off the field I think it needs to be incredibly enjoyable.

“They need to be able to have fun and spend time with each other, relaxing with each other so that this is an environment where you get better and you improve, and it’s fun and it’s enjoyable to be around.

“We will have that and there will be the mentors that we have within the squad – the senior guys, the guys that have had many caps.

“And there are the people from outside the squad that always offer their support to help in any way, shape or form that they can.

“Chris Ashton has offered support to help in any way he can with any of the young wingers. And Jonny May has offered his support to help the young ones. That’s really important to us.”

Ronnie O’Sullivan laid on a “mind-boggling” masterclass as he booked his place in Sunday’s World Grand Prix final with a 6-1 win against China’s Ding Junhui.

Even by O’Sullivan’s standards, one week after sealing a record-extending Masters title, he produced a special display at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, which included four quickfire century breaks.

When he sank the final black to set up a meeting with three-time winner Judd Trump, the match was a little over 70 minutes long.

O’Sullivan made a superb start, making two centuries in the opening three frames to lead 2-1, with his potting close to perfection.

He opened with a break of 135 and, after Ding responded with a score of 85 to level it up at 1-1, O’Sullivan followed up with a 128.

He made a break of 88 in the fourth frame to open up a 3-1 lead, with all four frames before the interval taking just under 45 minutes.

Ding, who beat compatriot Zhang Anda 5-1 to book his semi-final place, was under pressure, but after being given a chance at the start of the fifth frame, he faltered when on 28.

O’Sullivan ruthlessly punished him, compiling a score of 90 to motor 4-1 ahead with an average shot time, up to the end of the fifth frame, of 14 seconds.

Ding erred on a tricky safety shot early in the sixth frame and O’Sullivan stepped in to rattle off his third century – 128 – to lead 5-1 after one hour and four minutes.

He pounced on another Ding mistake in frame seven and faultlessly cleared the table for a final break of 124.

Match commentator and former world champion Ken Doherty told ITV4 that it was the best session of snooker he had ever seen.

Doherty said: “He’s such an artist, such a genius. It’s artistic, poetic, it’s balletic. It’s like snooker from the gods without a shadow of a doubt.”

Co-commentator and former Masters champion Alan McManus added: “I’ve seen it and I don’t believe it.

“It was mind-boggling. It was actually one of those ‘I was there’ nights because frankly it cannot get any better that that.

“From the very start to the very end it was perfection.”