Girona’s dream season continued as they brushed aside Alaves 3-0 to return to the top of the LaLiga table.

Artem Dovbyk scored twice and Portu also hit the mark as Michel’s men stretched their unbeaten league run to nine games.

The hosts started well in their quest to leapfrog Real Madrid as Dovbyk connected with a cross from Yan Couto but his header was deflected wide.

The Ukrainian finally broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute after Couto’s initial effort was deflected by Alaves keeper Antonio Sivera into his path and he headed the opener.

Alaves fought back strongly and Girona keeper Paulo Gazzaniga had to be alert to catch a header from Samu Omorodion as the visitors continued to look dangerous on the counter-attack.

However, no-one was making a bigger impact than Couto who repeated his service for the second goal by firing in the cross from which Portu steered his first-time shot into the net.

Girona were well in command but Alaves continued to have their chances with Rafa Martin heading just wide from a Ruben Duarte free-kick.

Girona effectively wrapped up victory in the 59th minute when Couto fell under pressure from Javi Lopez, and Dovbyk swept home from the penalty spot.

Valery and Pablo Torre had further chances to increase Girona’s lead but their job was already done as they booked their place back at the LaLiga summit.

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Damontae Kazee's hit on Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. was quite costly.

The NFL suspended Kazee without pay for the remainder of the season for violating rules designed to protect the health and safety of players.

The announcement came two days after Kazee was ejected in the second quarter of Saturday's 30-13 loss at Indianapolis for delivering a forceable hit to a diving Pittman. Kazee made contact with Pittman's head, and the receiver left the game and went into the concussion protocol.

NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan issued the suspension on Monday, and wrote in a letter to Kazee that, "You had an unobstructed path to your opponent and the illegal contact could have been avoided."

Runyan also referenced multiple prior instances of hits that violated rules designed to protect player safety.

The suspension means Kazee will miss the Steelers' final three regular-season games and any potential play-off games, should Pittsburgh qualify. The Steelers are 7-7 and just outside the play-off cutoff.

By being banned for three games, Kazee will forfeit around $208,000 in game checks.

Kazee, a seven-year veteran, has appeared in all 14 games this season, ranking third on the Steelers in tackles with 61, and is tied for the team high with two interceptions.

Napoli manager Walter Mazzarri hailed a “thrilling” match in prospect after his side were drawn against Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League.

The Serie A champions will face their LaLiga counterparts in February after progressing from a tough group which contained Real Madrid, Braga and Union Berlin.

It took a victory on the final matchday against the Portuguese side before qualification was confirmed.

And their reward is a meeting with a Barca side who last played at this stage of the competition in 2021 having been eliminated in the group stage in each of the last two seasons.

Mazzarri replaced the sacked Rudi Garcia in November with two games of the group to go and helped salvage their campaign after dropped points against Real and Union had placed their future in the tournament in jeopardy.

“I said after the match against Cagliari that all the teams who have qualified for the round of 16 are strong and therefore any draw would be difficult,” said Mazzarri.

“This one against Barcelona is especially difficult. For Napoli it will be a thrilling prospect.”

Mazzarri could turn to youngsters Giovanni Simeone, Alessandro Zanoli and Gianluca Gaetano for Tuesday’s Coppa Italia last-16 meeting at home to Frosinone, with the opportunity to rest more established players against the side sitting 13th in Serie A.

Striker Victor Osimhen is one of the players likely to sit out, with either Simeone or Giacomo Raspadori coming in to deputise.

Piotr Zielinski, Mathias Olivera and Eljif Elmas all missed the recent meeting with Cagliari, but Mario Rui could return.

Frosinone boss Eusebio di Francesco called on his side to be more clinical in front of goal against the champions after they went down 2-1 to Lecce on Saturday.

“We have to be a little more concrete and, when the team plays interesting patterns, it’s good,” he said.

“But we have to be more determined and aggressive in front of goal.”

Fluminense rode their luck as they progressed into the FIFA Club World Cup final with a 2-0 victory over Al Ahly in Jeddah.

Jhon Arias converted a 71st-minute penalty awarded when Marcelo was hacked down by Percy Tau, but the goal came in a second half controlled by the Egyptian champions until they ran out of steam.

Tau was presented with a superb chance to redeem himself soon after but his shot failed to match the quality of the long ball played in by Hussein El Shahat.

Veteran midfielder Felipe Melo had to come to Fluminense’s rescue earlier in the half, El Shahat forced a save from Fabio and Mohamed Hany also went close.

Al Ahly were open to the counter attack as they searched for the equaliser and while German Cano was kept out, John Kennedy produced a fine finish after being picked out by Matheus Martinelli for the Brazilians’ second.

Fluminense, making their debut in the competition, will face either Manchester City or Urawa Red Diamonds in Friday’s final at King Abdullah Sports City.

Pep Guardiola has called for change as the fixture burden on players continues to increase.

The Manchester City manager was speaking in light of FIFA’s decision to expand the Club World Cup to a 32-team tournament from 2025.

Guardiola insists he is not against the new event in principle – and City are already guaranteed a place – but he feels something has to give somewhere to ease the workload on players.

The Spaniard told reporters at a press conference: “I am not against the new competitions. I am against the lack of time to recover from year to year.

“This is what I am complaining (about) all the time. For me it doesn’t matter to play every three days, six days, seven days. It is OK.

“But it is really tough to finish the season and then in three weeks restart again and go to Asia, to be financially stable, or the States. That is really, really tough, for ourselves and especially for the players. For myself, things should change. This is my point.

“But how do you change when (after) you finish the season, you go to the States to play another competition? This is the problem.”

Guardiola was speaking in Saudi Arabia, where Champions League winners City are preparing for this year’s edition of the Club World Cup.

They face Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds, the Asian champions, in their semi-final in Jeddah on Tuesday.

“It’s a pleasure to be here, it’s an honour,” said Guardiola.

“It’s the first time Man City are here. That shows how difficult it is. We won’t take it for granted. We take it as a privilege.

“Of course we want to win it. It is a trophy we don’t have. We want to close a little circle, that we have won all the trophies we could do. This is the last one.”

Midfielder Bernardo Silva admitted the schedule facing players at the top level was difficult but was not complaining.

The Portuguese said: “We were not consulted but we try to do our jobs, to represent our clubs the best possible way, and the people that pay our salaries and the fans that support us.

“The reality is the amount of games we have nowadays, and even more with the new competitions, if you look at it, it is a bit crazy because of the rest that players get and the risk of injury is up quite a lot.

“At the end we cannot complain because we earn a lot of money but in my opinion, for the people that love the game, and are entertained by the game, if we have this many games for so long, at the end the games will lose the energy and the intensity.”

City again seem likely to be without striker Erling Haaland, who has missed the last three games with a foot injury. Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku are also with the squad as they near returns to action but they are not expected to play.

Tributes have been paid to “no bigger Blue” Bill Kenwright at a memorial service for the former Everton chairman.

Kenwright died in October aged 78 just a couple of weeks after a major operation to remove a cancerous tumour from his liver and after his family held a small, private funeral, his friends and colleagues from the world of football and entertainment attended Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral to pay their respects.

Current Toffees manager Sean Dyche and his first-team squad – as well as the club’s youth teams – were present as well as former managers and ex-players.

Sir Kenny Dalglish headed a delegation of officials and former players from Everton’s near-neighbours Liverpool, boxer and I’m A Celebrity runner-up Tony Bellew and Coleen Rooney, the wife of former Everton forward Wayne, were also in attendance, while there were also stars of stage and screen.

Mayor of Manchester and Everton fan Andy Burnham said: “Nobody was a bigger Blue than Bill. Nobody had a bigger heart than Bill.

“The legacy of Bill Kenwright is countless acts of generosity which lifted thousands of lives.”

On the building of a new ground at Bramley-Moore Dock, which the club will move to for the start of the 2025-26 season, Burnham said Kenwright’s “mission has been accomplished”.

However, Burnham said his proudest moment came when Kenwright was asked to address the service for the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster held at Anfield.

“His finest hour came in front of the Kop in 2014: here was the chairman of my football club giving a speech which was so right and so full of emotion – and I couldn’t have been prouder of him that day,” he added.

Margaret Aspinall, the former chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group who lost her son James in the 1989 disaster which claimed 97 lives, built up a close relationship with the former Everton chairman after he offered his support in the wake of the tragedy.

“On behalf of our city we are all going to miss Bill tremendously. Bill Kenwright will never walk alone,” she said.

Kenwright’s long-term partner, the actress Jenny Seagrove, admitted: “He wasn’t my Bill, he was our Bill. He never forgot where he came from.”

Former Everton midfielder Peter Reid also spoke at the service, saying: “What a fitting tribute it would be if we could win a trophy for him. No pressure Dychey.”

Current captain Seamus Coleman said that on his arrival at the club from Sligo Rovers in 2009, Kenwright “helped me understand what Everton Football Club meant to people. Thank you Mr Chairman for making me an Evertonian”.

Away from football, Rufus Norris, artistic director of the National Theatre, described Kenwright as “legendary”.

“He was an absolute giant in the theatre world,” he said.

Everton in the Community’s Spirit choir sang Elton John’s ‘I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues’, while there were also solo performances from Marti Pellow and former Spice Girl Mel C, who sang a song from Kenwright’s long-running West End musical Blood Brothers.

In keeping with his theatrical background there was a standing ovation from the congregation at the conclusion, which finished with a soundbite of Kenwright himself saying: “For one last time, good night and God bless.”

Pep Guardiola wants to “close a little circle” and add the Club World Cup to Manchester City’s trophy haul.

City, who claimed a glorious treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup last season, are in Saudi Arabia for the global competition this week.

They face Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds, the Asian champions, in their semi-final in Jeddah on Tuesday hoping to secure a place in Friday’s final.

City are strong favourites for the tournament but manager Guardiola insists it is far from a foregone conclusion.

Guardiola told reporters at his pre-match press conference: “It’s a pleasure to be here, it’s an honour.

“It’s the first time Man City are here. That shows how difficult it is. We won’t take it for granted. We take it as a privilege.

“Of course we want to win it. It is a trophy we don’t have. We want to close a little circle, that we have won all the trophies we could do. This is the last one.

“I don’t know if we’ll have another chance. Maybe it is a once in a lifetime. It is difficult to be here.

“I think the players know it and we are going to try to perform well tomorrow.”

City’s recent form has been inconsistent with just one win in their last six Premier League games.

Their latest frustrating result came on Saturday as they were pegged back by two late goals to draw 2-2 against Crystal Palace.

That left them five points behind leaders Arsenal but Guardiola is not concerned about performances.

He said: “We prefer better results but, except the Aston Villa game, our performances were excellent.

“We have to improve how we finish our games, be more aware of what we have to do in certain moments but hopefully we can maintain our level of passion and desire to play at a high level with and without the ball against Urawa.”

City are waiting on the fitness of striker Erling Haaland, who has missed the last three games with a foot injury.

Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku have travelled with the squad as they near returns from injury but are unlikely to play.

Midfielder Bernardo Silva said: “Erling is a big player for us, we can’t deny that, but the big strength at City in my time here is, no matter who is missing, we are the same team and we fight for all the titles.”

Silva insisted there was no lack of motivation among the players for the tournament.

He said: “When you play the FIFA Club World Cup there is no tiredness. We are motivated to come here and play the competition.”

Manchester City have been fined £120,000 after their players surrounded referee Simon Hooper in the 94th minute of their 3-3 draw with Tottenham earlier this month.

Hooper made the contentious call to bring play back after he initially played advantage following Emerson Royal’s mistimed challenge on Erling Haaland.

Haaland was able to get back to his feet and produce a through ball which sent Jack Grealish away, but Hooper blew his whistle to end their hopes of scoring a potential winner during that play against Spurs.

It sparked an animated reaction from Man City’s players with Haaland in particular incensed along with manager Pep Guardiola on the touchline.

Haaland expressed his frustration again at full-time and later made clear his bemusement with a post on social-media site X.

The Football Association has now fined City after they admitted their players behaved in an improper way.

“Manchester City FC have been fined £120,000 after their players surrounded a match official at the Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur FC on Sunday 3 December, an FA statement read.

“Manchester City FC admitted that they failed to ensure their players did not behave in an improper way during the 94th minute.

“An independent Regulatory Commission imposed this sanction following a hearing.”