Harry Kewell has left Celtic to become head coach of Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos, with Adam Sadler replacing him in Brendan Rodgers’ backroom staff.
Kewell, the former Liverpool and Leeds forward, was brought in as first-team coach at Parkhead by ex-Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou in June 2022 – his first job back in football since being sacked as Barnet manager the previous September.
“I would like to thank Celtic for giving me such a wonderful opportunity to be part of one of the world’s great football clubs,” the 45-year-old Australian wrote on Instagram.
“It has been an absolute privilege to work with Celtic with two great managers in Brendan and Ange. It has been an honour to be part of such a fantastic institution and it is a time in my career and life, which I will never forget.
“I would like to thank everyone at the club and all the fans who have given me and the team such brilliant support.
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“I would also like to thank Brendan for giving me such support in pursuing this new opportunity. It is a very difficult decision to leave Celtic but I feel the management opportunity presented to me is one I would like to pursue.
“I will always be a Celtic supporter and I will always wish nothing but the very best for the club. I hope the club and our supporters can enjoy more and more success.”
Kewell told his new club’s website: “I am incredibly proud and excited to represent Yokohama F. Marinos.
“I would like to thank the club for putting their trust in me to take the team forward. There is a lot of work ahead of us, and I am eager to get onto the training ground to start working with the players.
“We will work together as we aim to bring success to the club. The hard work begins now.”
Sadler was first-team coach at Leicester from 2018 until this summer, working closely with former Foxes boss Rodgers.
“I am delighted to be joining Celtic,” the 44-year-old Englishman told the Hoops’ website.
“It is such an iconic club with such a brilliant history, a phenomenal fan-base and tremendous record of success.
“It goes without saying I am really looking forward to teaming up with Brendan again. We worked closely at Leicester City and enjoyed some good times.
“I know exactly the way Brendan likes to play and what he demands from his players and staff, so I am sure once again we can work together and achieve really positive results.”
Rodgers added: “I am really pleased to welcome Adam to Celtic. He will be a fantastic addition to our coaching team and I know he will bring some great experience and ability to add to the club.
“I would also like to wish Harry all the very best for the future. I really enjoyed working with him, I thank him for all his work and I am sure he will enjoy the great opportunity he has been given in Japan.”
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk says he has paid little attention to how their Premier League title rivals have done over the festive period.
After going top of the table with a win at Burnley on Boxing Day, manager Jurgen Klopp afforded the players the luxury of two days off in a five-day spell with no game before Monday’s visit of Newcastle.
In that time, newly crowned Club World Cup champions Manchester City won twice, at Everton and home to Sheffield United, while Arsenal lost against West Ham.
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“We’ve had a couple of days to spend with our families before we focus on another big game on New Year’s Day,” Van Dijk said.
Asked if he paid any attention to their rivals, he said: “Not at all. I didn’t even watch football. I was spending time with my family. We’ve been away so much recently.”
On the title race, he continued: “I don’t speak about winning the league at this point. I don’t think anyone in this team will do that because we know from experience that anything can happen.
“What we are striving for is consistency and just winning the game ahead of us, which has been key to our success previously.”
The Dutchman partnered the impressive 20-year-old Jarell Quansah in central defence at Turf Moor but Klopp’s rotation policy is likely to see Ibrahima Konate return to face Newcastle on Monday evening.
Van Dijk has been impressed by Quansah in his breakthrough season, in which he has already made 14 appearances.
That has eased some of the pressure caused by Joel Matip’s ACL injury which is likely to rule him out for the remainder of the campaign and would have left Klopp with just three centre-backs.
“I think every challenge which came his way so far he has dealt with it outstandingly in my opinion,” the Netherlands captain said.
“He’s 20 years old and is still growing. As a centre-half you get better with experience and I was never this far as Ibou (Konate) and Jarell when I was that young, doing it consistently.
“He just has to keep going as there are going to be times when it is going to be tough and that’s absolutely normal and it’s how you deal with it.
“He’s learning and he’s a good boy and mentally in the right frame of mind and that’s a good start. I’ll be there for him whenever he needs but at the end of the day he will be just fine.”
Quansah’s self-confidence was evident in a television interview he did after the Europa League game against USG in which he sympathised with Matip’s situation but said his plan was always to get ahead of the 32-year-old in the pecking order.
“I think it came across not in the right way but it’s good that he thinks like this,” Van Dijk said.
“I don’t think he meant it in that way. Still, when I was 20 maybe I would say these sort of things but I totally understand where he is coming from.
“But he should not forget what Joel has meant for this club and the success we had.”
Pep Guardiola is looking forward to a quieter January after his all-conquering Manchester City side brought a hectic December to a satisfactory conclusion.
City played nine games in the final month of 2023, including two during their successful trip to Saudi Arabia for the Club World Cup.
It ended with a comfortable 2-0 victory over struggling Sheffield United on Saturday, a result which, coming after their midweek win at Everton, put the champions firmly at the forefront of the title picture.
The intensity now slackens considerably in the coming weeks, with just two Premier League fixtures – and three games in total – scheduled for January.
They will face an extra FA Cup tie if they beat Huddersfield in the third round next week but, even so, it is a considerable contrast to the recent programme.
“It is nice,” said City manager Guardiola. “We have 27million games in one month, (now) we have three games in the next month.
“It’s like life – some have a lot and some don’t have anything. It is what it is, but I would say it is welcome. I like it.”
Guardiola has regularly voiced his concerns about scheduling and players’ workloads and would welcome moves by the players’ union to try to limit any further increase of fixtures.
It has been reported that the Professional Footballers’ Association is exploring legal options after the recent European Court of Justice ruling in relation to the Super League appeared to reduce the ability of governing bodies to control the sport’s calendar.
Guardiola said: “Only they, the players, can change something – not just in the Premier League, everywhere.
“I’ve said many times we have too many games. The problem is we have just three weeks’ holiday in the summer and it is impossible to regenerate. Just look at the number of injuries at all the teams.
“The only ones who can change it are the players, if they really decide, to make it a better sport.”
City were far too strong for the Blades as they closed out a memorable year in which they won five trophies with goals in each half from Rodri and Julian Alvarez.
United remain bottom of the table with just nine points, but manager Chris Wilder has seen encouraging signs since his recent return to the club and also plans to take advantage of a lighter January.
Wilder said: “I 100 per cent believe the group will be stronger the next time we turn out in a Premier League game, through time on the training ground, through players returning and we are looking at bringing two or three in.
“Let’s have a go in the second part of the season, similar to how we approached this game. I won’t let that standard drop.
“We have to be a better footballing team, but I am sure we will. My teams have always got stronger in the second part of the season through the work we do.”
Sunday’s National Hunt meetings at Uttoxeter and Warwick have both been abandoned due to waterlogged tracks, but Punchestown is set to go ahead.
Each venue had called early-morning inspections due to poor weather forecasts and the worst fears were realised at the two British venues.
Uttoxeter was hit by a further 10.5mm of rain on saturated ground, leaving the course unraceable, with standing water in places.
Warwick brought forward their inspection following 20mm of rain overnight, which made it 54.5mm since last Monday and left the track waterlogged.
However, Punchestown managed to avoid any significant downpours and are set to race on heavy ground.
“Following just 1.5mm of rain overnight, Punchestown is fit for racing and today’s meeting goes ahead,” said clerk of the course Brendan Sheridan.
“The ground remains heavy and having spoken to Met Eireann this morning there is further rain expected later.
“At this stage, Met Eireann are saying we could get 4-5mm but there is a possibility that the showers could get heavier at times and lead to more rain than that. It is a bit unpredictable.
“However, the good news is that the track is raceable and the fixture goes ahead.”
There will be Flat racing in the UK, with Lingfield staging an all-weather fixture.
Artemi Panarin scored three goals and Igor Shesterkin got the win on his 28th birthday to lift the NHL-leading New York Rangers to a 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
Vincent Trocheck had a goal and three assists and Mike Zibanejad had an assist to extend his point streak to a career-high 10 games.
Shesterkin stopped 34 shots and the Rangers rebounded from Friday’s loss to the Panthers to improve to 6-0 in the second of back-to-back games this season. They are the first team to reach 50 points.
NHL points leader Nikita Kucherov scored his 25th goal as the Lightning dropped their second straight.
Panthers beat Canadiens for 4th straight win
Eetu Luostarinen scored two power-play goals and Anthony Stolarz made 18 saves as the Florida Panthers won their fourth straight, 4-1 over the Montreal Canadiens.
Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe added third-period scores for the Panthers, who have allowed only eight goals during the four-game win streak, one shy of their season high.
Cole Caufield had the lone goal for Montreal, which has lost two straight in regulation following a five-game point streak.
Ryan’s shootout goal gets surging Oilers over Kings
Derek Ryan scored the deciding goal in the fourth round of the shootout and the Edmonton Oilers extended their winning streak to four games, 3-2 over the Los Angeles Kings.
Connor McDavid scored one goal and set up another by Leon Draisaitl in his 600th career game and Stuart Skinner made 26 saves for the Oilers, who improved to 11-3-0 in their last 14 games.
Kevin Fiala and Adrian Kempe had goals as the Kings dropped to 7-6-4 at home.
Chris Hoy was knighted in the New Year Honours List on this day in 2008 after winning three cycling gold medals at the Beijing Olympics.
In a move that broke with tradition, Hoy’s knighthood came while he was still competing and he took part in London 2012 as Sir Chris.
The Scot told the PA news agency: “To become a knight from riding your bike, it’s mad.
“But it is, genuinely, just an amazing honour, it’s also great for the sport.”
Hoy added that was just as pleased to see his mother Carol receive an MBE for her work on sleep-related illnesses.
Hoy was one of 10 Olympic cyclists to be honoured, while a number of Olympic coaches and officials were also recognised.
He went on to win two golds in London to take his tally to six before announcing his retirement in 2013.
The Detroit Pistons put an end to their NBA record-tying 28-game losing streak on Saturday, defeating the Toronto Raptors 129-127 behind Cade Cunningham’s 30 points and 12 assists.
It was the first victory since Oct. 28 for the Pistons, who matched the Philadelphia 76ers’ record of 28, split over the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. They finished one shy of the record for the four major American and Canadian leagues, set by the NFL’s Chicago Cardinals during World War II.
Jalen Duran had 18 points and a season high-tying 17 rebounds for Detroit, which clinched the win by going 11 for 12 from the free throw line in the final minute.
Pascal Siakam scored 35 points and Dennis Schröder added 28 for the last-place Raptors, who have lost five of six.
Toronto traded OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn to the Knicks earlier in the day for RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.
Haliburton’s big game lifts Pacers past Knicks
Tyrese Haliburton had 22 points and a franchise record-tying 23 assists and Myles Turner added 28 points to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 140-126 win over the New York Knicks.
Haliburton became just the third player in NBA history with consecutive 20–20 games. He tied Jamaal Tinsley’s franchise assists record, set against Washington on Nov. 22, 2001.
Magic Johnson (Dec. 18-19, 1984) and John Stockton (March 1 and 3, 1990) are the only other players with two straight games of at least 20 points and 20 assists.
Donte DiVincenzo scored a career-high 38 points and Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle each added 28 for the Knicks, who lost their season-high third straight.
Doncic lifts Mavericks in return
Luka Doncic scored 25 of his 39 points in the second half in his return to the lineup to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 132-122 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Doncic added 10 assists and eight rebounds after sitting out Thursday’s loss at Minnesota due to soreness in his left quadriceps.
Stephen Curry had 25 points and Chris Paul scored a season-high 24 to become the 37th player in NBA history to accumulate 22,000 career points.
Golden State lost its third straight to fall two games under .500.
The Dallas Cowboys survived three attempts at a late two-point conversion as they held on to beat the Detroit Lions 20-19.
The NFC North champion Lions had moved within a point of the Cowboys when Jared Goff found Amon-Ra St Brown for a touchdown pass with 23 seconds remaining.
Opting for a two-point conversion, the Lions had a successful attempt ruled out for illegal touching before a Cowboys interception was wiped out for offside.
Goff’s final pass attempt was incomplete, lifting the Cowboys to 11-5 as they kept up the pressure on the Philadelphia Eagles in the fight for the NFC east title.
A Goff interception had given Brandon Aubrey the chance to kick the Cowboys seven points ahead in the final two minutes, the rookie stretching his record to 35 successful field goals to start his career.
Dak Prescott threw for 345 yards and two touchdowns for the Cowboys, including a 92-yard effort to CeeDee Lamb in the first quarter.
The Detroit Pistons have won for the first time in 29 matches after matching the NBA’s longest losing streak.
The Pistons ended their losing run after 28 matches as they beat the Toronto Raptors 129-127 at home – their first win since the third game of the season on October 28.
Trailing by eight points at half-time, they fought back to lead by four heading into the fourth quarter.
They stretched that advantage to 11 points with less than six minutes on the clock, but the Raptors pulled it back to 126-122 with 17 seconds remaining but the Pistons held on end their losing run.
Cade Cunningham scored 30 points for the Pistons, Jalen Duren adding 18 points and 17 rebounds.
The win means the Pistons’ losing run equals the NBA’s longest by the Philadelphia 76ers across two seasons in 2015 while their 3-29 record leaves them two wins behind the San Antonio Spurs for the worst record this season.
Teenage sensation Luke Littler is daring to dream after he continued his historic World Darts Championship journey by downing hero Raymond van Barneveld to reach the quarter-finals.
The 16-year-old has set the Alexandra Palace tournament alight on debut and is the youngest player ever to reach the last eight after a stunning 4-1 win.
He showed maturity and talent way beyond his tender years to get past the five-time world champion, who he used to imitate in front of the television as a three-year-old.
Littler, who has made the world sit up and take notice, will come back on New Year’s Day for a winnable quarter-final tie against Brendan Dolan and is dreaming of going all the way.
“It’s incredible beating one of my idols on the biggest stage of all, I still can’t believe it,” he said.
“I think I am daring to dream now, I have seen the draw.
“I am only three wins away now. I’m so young, only 16 and I have got nothing to fear, I have got no-one to fear, my game can be better than anyone’s on the day and I have shown it there against one of the greatest who have graced that stage.
“With performances like that I can go all the way.
“I’ve pictured myself winning it. I look at the draw and see Brendan next and then Chris Dobey against Rob Cross in the other quarter.
“I fancy myself. I do fancy myself.”
He was not even born when Van Barneveld won the last of his five titles.
Video footage has emerged of a three-year-old Littler copying ‘Barney’s’ celebration and has admitted it was a dream to play him on the Ally Pally stage.
He added: “It is unbelievable, 13 years ago I was doing his celebration throwing on my little board and I have just beaten him on the biggest stage.”
“Barney said to me at the end, ‘You can go all the way. I hope you go all the way’. I said, ‘Thank you’.
“He is a true gentlemen. I respect Raymond very well.
“Raymond was incredible. It was incredible to see his iconic walk-on, I am so glad I got the job done. It wasn’t easy.”
Next up is Dolan, who beat his second former world champion in three days when he ousted Gary Anderson 4-3.
It looked like the Northern Irishman, who dumped out Gerwyn Price in the third round, was heading out as Anderson rallied from 2-0 down to lead 3-2.
But Dolan composed himself and won the final two sets to reach the last eight.
“I’m over the moon,” he said. “I just think so much of Gary and how brilliant he is.
“It is not a bad couple of days. There has certain things that have happened that maybe make me think it’s meant to be.”
Pre-tournament favourite Luke Humphries again survived a scare as he prevailed in an epic thriller with Joe Cullen, winning a sudden death leg in the final set.
The pair were locked at three sets all and five legs all, with Humphries taking out 100 to win on his 10th match dart.
“It was one of the best games I have ever been apart of. Every time I looked around it was just treble after treble. No one deserved to lose, Joe did not deserve to lose that,” Humphries said.
Teenage sensation Luke Littler continued his historic World Darts Championship journey by downing hero Raymond van Barneveld to reach the quarter-finals.
The 16-year-old has set the Alexandra Palace tournament alight on debut and is the youngest player ever to reach the last eight after a stunning 4-1 win.
He showed maturity and talent way beyond his tender years to get past the five-time world champion, who he used to imitate in front of the television as a three-year-old.
He peppered the treble 20 nine times and finished with an emphatic average of 105.01.
Littler, who has made the world sit up and take notice, will come back on New Year’s Day for a winnable quarter-final tie against Brendan Dolan and will be dreaming of going all the way.
Life has changed immeasurably since ‘The Nuke’ came into the tournament on the back of winning the World Youth Championship last month.
He is now a recognisable name and has enjoyed celebrity status after bursting on to the scenes with wins over Christian Kist, Andrew Gilding and Matt Campbell.
Littler and his family received complimentary tickets to watch Arsenal in the Premier League on Thursday night, while players from his beloved Manchester United sent him good luck messages before the match.
He has catapulted himself into the mainstream and whatever happens between now and Wednesday’s final, it will be Littler’s journey that is the talking point of the tournament.
He was not even born when Van Barneveld won the last of his five titles.
Video footage has emerged of a three-year-old Littler copying ‘Barney’s’ celebration and has admitted it was a dream to play him on the Ally Pally stage.
Littler enjoyed Van Barneveld’s famous walk-on as much as the raucous crowd, but soon got down to business, throwing a maximum on just his second visit and raced to the first set after an 11-dart leg.
He continued to dominate and went 3-0 up before moving one leg from dreamland.
Van Barneveld made him work hard for it by winning the next leg, but nothing was going to stop the teenager in the next set as the apprentice beat the master in style.
Next up is Dolan, who beat his second former world champion in three days when he ousted Gary Anderson 4-3.
It looked like the Northern Irishman, who dumped out Gerwyn Price in the third round, was heading out as Anderson rallied from 2-0 down to lead 3-2.
But Dolan composed himself and won the final two sets to reach the last eight.
“I’m over the moon,” he said. “I just think so much of Gary and how brilliant he is.
“It is not a bad couple of days. There has certain things that have happened that maybe make me think it’s meant to be.”
The Boston Red Sox decided to move on from oft-injured Chris Sale on Saturday, trading the veteran left-hander to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for infielder Vaughn Grissom.
The Red Sox will also send cash to the Braves to cover a portion of the $27.5 million salary Sale is owed in 2024, the final guaranteed season of a $160 million, six-year contract.
Sale is a seven-time All-Star but has battled injuries since he was acquired from the Chicago White Sox in December 2016. He made nine trips to the disabled and injured lists with the Red Sox, mostly due to shoulder and elbow ailments.
Sale helped Boston to a World Series title in 2018 but has made only 56 starts in the last four years, going 17-18 with a 4.86 ERA. He was 6-5 with a 4.30 ERA in 20 starts and 102 2/3 innings last season.
He joins a Braves rotation that projects to include Spencer Strider, Charlie Morton and Max Fried.
The 22-year-old Grissom batted .287 with five home runs and 27 RBIs over 64 games during the past two seasons for Atlanta. He made 41 starts and second base and 19 at shortstop.
Juventus moved to within two points of Serie A leaders Inter Milan thanks to a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Roma.
Adrien Rabiot scored the only goal of the game early in the second half as Massimiliano Allegri’s side took advantage of Inter’s draw at Genoa on Friday to close the gap on their title rivals.
The win maintained Juve’s unbeaten record at home in Serie A this season as they bid to win the Scudetto for the first time since 2020, while the defeat leaves Roma seventh in the table and 17 points off the top.
Jose Mourinho’s side came into the game buoyed by last week’s 2-0 home win against defending champions Napoli and were also boosted by the return of Paulo Dybala, who had missed the last three games due to a thigh injury.
They duly made a bright start at the Allianz Stadium and were unlucky not to take the lead inside four minutes, Bryan Cristante’s well-struck shot taking a deflection off Dusan Vlahovic and slamming into a post as goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny could only look on.
Vlahovic was also quickly into the action at the other end, curling a left-footed shot wide and slashing another effort with his other foot off target in quick succession.
Romelu Lukaku was similarly inaccurate for the visitors before Vlahovic finally got an effort on target after turning Diego Llorente on the edge of the area, only to see his shot superbly blocked by Gianluca Mancini.
Vlahovic looked determined to break the deadlock and even attempted a spectacular bicycle kick from outside the area which flew comfortably wide, before Kenan Yildiz produced a more threatening effort after being set free on the counter by Manuel Locatelli.
Dybala went closer still at the other end with an instinctive shot with the outside of his left foot which was inches wide, but an entertaining first half ended goalless thanks to a brilliant intervention from Roma defender Evan Ndicka.
Filip Kostic’s left-foot volley was struck into the ground and beyond goalkeeper Rui Patricio after Roma failed to deal with a long throw into the box, but Ndicka read the situation and cleared the danger with a perfectly-timed diving header.
The deadlock was finally broken within two minutes of the restart, Vlahovic cleverly flicking the ball into the path of Rabiot to allow the France international to beat the advancing Patricio at his near post.
Dybala remained Roma’s best hope of an equaliser and produced a shot on target from just outside the area midway through the second half, but Szczesny was able to make a comfortable save.
Weston McKennie then should have doubled Juve’s lead when he was found six yards out by substitute Federico Chiesa on a swift counter-attack, only for the United States international to shoot straight at Patricio.
Chiesa also had a goal ruled out for offside, but the home side saw out six minutes of added time without too much difficulty to secure all three points.
The New York Knicks made a splash Saturday, acquiring forward O.G. Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors for forward RJ Barrett and guard Immanuel Quickley, according to multiple media reports.
The Knicks will also receive forward Precious Achiuwa and guard Malachi Flynn in the deal, while the Raptors will also be getting the Detroit Pistons’ 2024 second-round draft pick.
The move is a major shakeup in the Eastern Conference, where the Knicks are hoping to compete with top teams like the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers.
Anunoby, 26, has been mentioned in trade speculation for the last two years. He is in the third season of a four-year, $72million contract but has a player option for next season. ESPN reported Saturday that the Knicks are “determined” to sign Anunoby to a new contract next offseason.
One of the best and most versatile defenders in the NBA, Anunoby is averaging 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists this season.
Anunoby was placed on the trade block because of his expiring contract and his positional and size redundancy with fellow forwards Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam.
Quickley, who finished second in last season’s Sixth Man of the Year voting, could move into a starting role and fill the void at point guard that Fred Van Vleet left when he signed with the Houston Rockets over the summer.
The Raptors also get a former third overall pick in Barrett, who scored 20 points per game just two seasons ago but has struggled with efficiency.
Barrett, 23, is averaging 18.2 points and 4.3 rebounds this season, while Quickley is averaging 15 points and 2.5 assists.
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