Frank Lampard is excited for the "amazing challenge" he faces when Chelsea tackle Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Chelsea legend Lampard guides his team into Wednesday's first leg at Santiago Bernabeu less than a week after returning to Stamford Bridge as interim boss until the end of the season.
The former midfielder may well feel he has unfinished business with the Blues in European competition, having been sacked midway through the 2020-21 season – a campaign that saw the club go on to win the Champions League under successor Thomas Tuchel.
While taking on Madrid appears a daunting task for a coach who was out of the game just a week ago, Lampard is ready to lap up the opportunity.
"This is amazing. I've been fortunate to manage in the Champions League, and to be here as a manager, when a week ago I didn't know I'd be here, is a huge honour," he said at a press conference.
"It's an amazing challenge for me personally and for the club.
"I think we have to understand the strength of the Real Madrid team; we have to be disciplined with our game off the ball, understand the threats, the ways they like to score and how they control the game.
"We also have to show our own strengths in our game. We have to have belief and follow through with what the idea is under pressure."
Chelsea have struggled for consistency domestically this season, languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table, and Lampard was asked how and why his squad look to have performed better on the European stage.
"I understand the question because I've viewed it from the outside. The Premier League is also one of the greatest challenges in world football," he replied.
"I think in the Champions League it sometimes offer you some escapism, a different speed of game, they can all contribute to it.
"At this stage, you're playing team of the level of Real Madrid. The comparisons are pretty worthless."
Lampard will have Thiago Silva, Mason Mount and N'Golo Kante available for the trip to the Spanish capital, and he feels they, along with the rest of the squad, can respond to their critics.
"They're all fit. The three players are good and they're here," he said.
"It's normal in a season like this that character gets questioned. The only thing the players can do is prove it on the pitch.
"There's a lot we do behind the scenes, and my job is to convey to them the need to train at a level and to have a mentality at a level, and then they have to show it.
"I'm not questioning there is a lot of character, because I've seen the dressing room. Sometimes players can have a lack of confidence."
Mumbai Indians claimed their first win of the Indian Premier League season as Tim David got them over the line in a nerve-wracking final ball victory over Delhi Capitals.
Having suffered defeat in each of their opening two matches, Mumbai were set 173 to win after they bowled out the Capitals with two balls to spare.
Robbing Delhi of those final two deliveries proved pivotal as Mumbai edged to a six-wicket win, David hitting the winning runs despite some excellent death bowling from Anrich Nortje.
Half-centuries from captain David Warner (51) and Axar Patel (54) had helped Delhi to 172, Warner and Patel combining for a key stand of 67.
But an incredible 19th over in which Jason Behrendorff removed both and, after Kuldeep Yadav was run out, Abishek Porel, prevented Delhi from posting a more imposing total, their innings ended slightly prematurely when Nortje was dismissed.
Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma (65) led what for long periods looked to be a serene chase as they reached 139-1, only for a flurry of wickets to fray the nerves.
Tilak Varma (41) and Suryakumar Yadav (0) went in successive deliveries and Rohit fell to a stunning catch from Porel off a wide yorker from Mustafizur Rahman five balls later.
David (13 not out) and Cameron Green (17 not out) initially struggled to get going but both hit sixes in the penultimate over to leave Mumbai needing five off the last.
Nortje almost miraculously rescued the situation for Delhi by continually nailing his yorker. However, needing two off from the final ball, David punched to long-off and clinched victory with a desperate dive to the crease as Warner's throw to the striker's end proved too high.
Rohit confounds Capitals again
With his half-century in this one, Rohit scored his sixth fifty-plus score against Delhi in the IPL. Only Virat Kohli (8) and Ajinkya Rahane (7) have registered more such scores against the Capitals.
Dreadful start for Delhi
While Mumbai got off the mark, Delhi have now lost each of their first four matches to start the campaign. Only in 2013 (six games) have they endured a longer losing run to begin a season.
Luciano Spalletti promised Napoli can beat Milan without Victor Osimhen as he told his team to "enjoy every moment" of the club's maiden Champions League quarter-final.
The first leg at San Siro takes place on Wednesday, just 10 days after Napoli suffered an unexpected 4-0 trouncing at home against Milan in Serie A.
That result came almost out of the blue, with Napoli streaking away at the top of the league, where they now hold a 16-point lead over second-placed Lazio as a first Scudetto since 1990 looms.
Osimhen, their 25-goal striker, has not played for Napoli since before the recent international break due to an abductor muscle injury sustained on Nigeria duty.
He missed the Milan game in the league, from which Napoli bounced back with a 2-1 win over Lecce on Friday, and it remains to be seen whether Osimhen returns for the April 18 home leg against the Rossoneri.
"We have won very important games without Osimhen," Spalletti said. "I expect all my players will rely on their team-mates and their own qualities and abilities so that the most brilliant tactics come out."
Captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo agreed with coach Spalletti, saying: "We feel OK even if Osimhen isn't there tomorrow.
"He's a fundamental player, but we can't rely on him. We will have to face this battle with the players who are available. We will have to take any chances possible."
Napoli headed into this week as the competition's top scorers with 25 goals, with their average of 3.1 goals per game the fifth-best in a single campaign – after Bayern Munich in 2019-20 (3.9), Paris Saint-Germain in 2017-18 (3.4), Real Madrid in 2013-14 (3.2) and Liverpool in 2017-18 (3.2).
It is not only Osimhen who has been scoring for them in Europe either, with his haul of four goals in the Champions League matched by team-mates Piotr Zielinski, Giovanni Simeone and Giacomo Raspadori.
The last Italian team to have as many different players scoring four or more goals in a single edition of the Champions League were 2002-03 finalists Juventus (Del Piero, Nedved, Di Vaio and Trezeguet), so that may bode well.
"We need to have fun. We can't go to the pitch and be afraid," Spalletti said in a pre-match press conference.
"We need to take this chance, enjoy the game, enjoy every moment, even tonight. We're going to have dinner, and we need to enjoy dinner, and after dinner, we need to enjoy those hours before we go to sleep. They have to enjoy every single moment and this will be satisfying as well.
"This expression I use – Christmas Eve – for games like this is part of the idea a match has to be enjoyed in every single moment."
The Milan game from April 2 is one Spalletti says his players can forget about.
"Champions do not regret when they fail," he said. "They just recover, they just stand up again, and this team is made of champions.
"We are about to play a match that could represent a turning point in our future. We are aware of this fact, and we are ready for it."
Marc Marquez will miss this weekend's Grand Prix of the Americas as the Repsol Honda rider continues his recovery from a hand injury.
The six-time MotoGP champion suffered a fracture to the first metacarpal bone in his right hand in last month's Portuguese Grand Prix.
He underwent surgery and subsequently sat out the Argentine Grand Prix.
Marquez had been expected to return at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin this week, but he announced on social media on Tuesday that his injury has not yet fully healed.
"I have just had a CAT scan and it was confirmed that the bone is still in the process of healing," he said.
"After talking with the medical team led by Dr. Ignacio Roger de Ona, we have decided not to take any risks and therefore I won't be able to ride in Austin.
"I will continue working and rehabilitating as I have been doing so far to be able to get back on the bike as soon as possible."
Marquez suffered the injury after a crash with Miguel Oliveira early on in Portimao, with the Spaniard found guilty of irresponsible riding for his part in the collision.
The 30-year-old was handed a double long-lap penalty and the FIM confirmed Marquez will serve the sanction when he next features, though Honda lodged an appeal.
The Spanish Grand Prix on April 30 has now been earmarked for Marquez's possible return.
The Detroit Lions are moving on from cornerback Jeff Okudah, sending the former first-round draft pick to the Atlanta Falcons for a fifth-round selection in this year's draft.
The trade was reported by multiple sources on Tuesday.
The Lions selected Okudah with the third overall pick of the 2020 draft, but he has had a hard time staying healthy.
In three seasons with Detroit, Okudah has appeared in 25 games while missing 25 games due to injuries.
Heading into the fourth season of his rookie contract, Okudah will make $5.1million and the Falcons have until May 1 to decide on picking up his fifth-year option.
Atlanta will hope a change of scenery will give Okudah a fresh start and help shore up a pass defense that ranked among the worst in the NFL in 2022.
Only five teams had fewer interceptions than the Falcons' 10 last season, while opposing quartebacks posted a 95.7 passer rating – fourth highest in the league.
In 15 games last season, Okudah had one interception, seven pass breakups, 73 tackles – including two for loss – and one forced fumble.
Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell believes success can be just around the corner after securing a two-year contract extension at Stamford Bridge.
The 26-year-old England international's new terms tie him to the Blues until 2027, having initially joined in 2020 on a five-year deal from Leicester City.
Initially signed by Frank Lampard, Chilwell has transitioned through different eras at Stamford Bridge – working under Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, before coming full circle with Lampard's recent return to the club on an interim basis.
Although Chelsea have struggled this season, sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League, Chilwell is delighted to secure his future with the west London side.
He had been linked with Manchester City but is going nowhere, which suits him, and feels the future can be bright.
"I feel very settled at Chelsea and have really enjoyed my time on the pitch here, so I’m very pleased the club want me to be part of the project long-term, and am very happy to sign this extension to my contract," he told the club's website.
"We are working hard for success and I will do my best to bring more smiles to the faces of the fans who have made me feel so welcome."
Chilwell was part of a Champions League-winning side in his debut season at Chelsea and fought his way back from a serious knee injury to re-establish in the Blues ranks.
He has made 25 appearances across all competitions this season, 17 as a starter, and has contributed two goals and two assists.
Julian Brandt believes he can achieve "something big" with Borussia Dortmund after ignoring interest from elsewhere to sign a new three-year contract.
The Germany international has shone in his attacking midfield role for BVB this term, playing a huge role in a title challenge that could go to the wire.
Brandt, who turns 27 in May, signed his latest contract on Tuesday, quashing the prospect of him being able to leave on a free transfer at the end of next season.
Liverpool and Arsenal are among the teams who have been linked with Brandt in recent weeks, and that comes as little surprise considering his strong campaign.
Only three midfielders in the Bundesliga have created more chances this season that Brandt's 57, which puts him 30 ahead of his nearest midfield club colleague, Jude Bellingham (27).
Brandt has eight goals and four assists in the league, with his 12 goal involvements also setting the benchmark for Dortmund's midfielders, putting him two ahead of Marco Reus and four clear of Bellingham.
He has played 164 passes, including crosses, into the opposition box, far and away the most of any Dortmund player, with his threat from the flanks making him a valuable asset.
Considering he has played 931 passes in all, more than one in six of those on average have gone into the penalty area (18 per cent).
With uncertainty lingering over Bellingham's future, as clubs look closely at the England international, Dortmund made sure to tie up former Bayer Leverkusen star Brandt to new terms.
Brandt said: "Even after four years, I still have a lot of fun every single day being part of precisely this team, being on the pitch with these lads and playing football for this highly emotional club with its extraordinary fans.
"In honesty, the feeling of being in the right place at the right time has always been the most important point of my sporting life. And that won't change either. I'm looking forward to the coming years in black and yellow and I'm sure that we'll have the opportunity to celebrate something big together."
Dortmund announced the extension on their website, describing it as "a core element of the medium-term squad planning", with sporting director Sebastian Kehl saying Brandt has "undergone another enormous development in the last year, is significantly more focused in his play off the ball, regularly sets up goals and shines himself as a goalscorer".
Michael Salisbury has been dropped from refereeing duties after his failure to award a penalty while acting as the VAR for Tottenham's win over Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.
Kaoru Mitoma was tripped by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg during the Seagulls' 2-1 loss at Spurs but no penalty was awarded by referee Stuart Attwell, and the VAR did not summon him to the pitchside monitor for another look.
Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer at the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), is said to have apologised to Brighton since.
Attwell has not been stood down and will be the VAR for Wolves' home match against Brentford on Saturday, before operating as the fourth official for the London derby between West Ham and Arsenal a day later.
However, Salisbury, the VAR official for Saturday's game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, will see no action this weekend.
Assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis, who is being investigated for an alleged elbow on Liverpool defender Andy Robertson during the Reds' 2-2 draw with Arsenal at Anfield, is also not involved this weekend.
The PGMOL will not consider Hatzidakis for any matches until the investigation is completed.
Arsenal are "very disappointed" with the decision to push back their crucial Premier League clash with Chelsea at short notice due to policing concerns.
The league leaders had been due to host London rivals Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on Saturday, April 29, but the game will instead be played three days later on Tuesday, May 2.
Both Arsenal and the Premier League expressed regret at the decision, which was taken after the Metropolitan Police revised its position on policing the match.
A statement on Arsenal's official website on Tuesday read: "After working to try to find a solution with the Met Police, we are very disappointed with the impact and disruption this fixture change will cause to our supporters, particularly after this match had been initially approved for a Saturday evening kick-off."
The Premier League added in a separate statement: "The initial scheduling of this match was approved at a Safety Advisory Group (SAG) meeting in February.
"However, the Metropolitan Police has now revised its position regarding the kick-off time and requested a further SAG meeting which determined the match had to be rescheduled.
"We regret the need to move this fixture at late notice and the impact this will have on supporters."
Arsenal's under-18 side are scheduled to face West Ham in the FA Youth Cup final in late April, while Arsenal Women take on Wolfsburg in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final on May 1, with both games at Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners travel to West Ham and host Southampton in their next two games, before heading to title rivals Manchester City – whom they lead by six points having played a game more – ahead of their rescheduled meeting with Chelsea.
West Indies all-rounder and current Tornadoes Women captain Stafanie Taylor scored 61* but could not prevent her team from going down by six wickets to Spirit Women in their FairBreak Invitational T20 fixture at the Kowloon Cricket Club in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
Taylor won the toss and elected to bat first, scoring her 61* off 48 balls and hitting 10 fours in the process to help her team post a respectable 150-4 off 20 overs.
Stere Kallis and Dane Van Niekerk also provided valuable contributions of 37 and 28, respectively.
Their total, however, proved to be not enough in the end as Spirit Women needed only 15.4 overs to reach 155-4. Captain Nicola Carey led the way with a magnificent 28-ball 84* including seven fours and seven sixes. Natthakan Chantham also made 35*. Aliya Riaz took 2-15 from three overs for the Tornadoes.
Taylor’s Tornadoes finished last in the six-team table with two points from five games.
France international Wissam Ben Yedder was sentenced to six months and one day in prison and fined €133,798 by a Spanish court on Tuesday for tax evasion.
The 32-year-old forward has had the prison sentence suspended, with the offence dating back to his time playing in Spain.
Ben Yedder spent three seasons at Sevilla, arriving from Toulouse in July 2016 and leaving to join Monaco in August 2019.
A ruling from the Provincial Court of Seville, dated March 9, was released and outlined how Ben Yedder failed to submit an income tax return on time and "consciously falsified" a self-assessment by not declaring interest he received as income in three accounts, also not declaring earnings from a sponsorship deal with Adidas.
The court said Ben Yedder paid €225,323.25 initially and later added a payment of €51,007.41 to cover for what was found to be the shortfall, plus interest, once it was discovered he should have paid €267,597.40.
The fine imposed on Ben Yedder, agreed by all parties, amounts to 50 per cent of the total described by the court as the "defrauded fee".
The prison element of the punishment has been suspended for two years, conditional on him not reoffending.
"In view of the imposed sentence of six months and one day in prison and the lack of a criminal record, together with the fact of having satisfied civil responsibilities, it is appropriate to agree to the suspension," the court stated.
Paris Saint-Germain defender Nordi Mukiele will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing an operation on his damaged hamstring.
The one-cap France international has featured in 25 of PSG's 42 games in all competitions since arriving from RB Leipzig last August, starting 14 of those.
However, the 25-year-old has not played since sustaining the injury in the second leg of PSG's Champions League last-16 tie with Bayern Munich last month.
The Ligue 1 leaders confirmed on their official website on Tuesday that Mukiele will not figure in the eight league games they have left this season.
"Nordi Mukiele is suffering from a serious hamstring injury. To minimise the risk of recurrence, the Paris Saint-Germain medical staff opted for an operation," the statement read.
"The operation will be performed in Finland today and will keep him out of action until the end of the season."
PSG also said midfielder Renato Sanches will miss between three and four weeks with an adductor injury sustained in last weekend's win over Nice.
Christophe Galtier's side are six points clear of closest challengers Lens, who they host in their next match on Saturday.
Milan coach Stefano Pioli is embracing his team's history of fulfilling their dreams as they prepare to face Napoli in the Champions League quarter-finals as underdogs.
With Napoli running away with the Serie A title, sitting 16 points clear already, Milan are generally considered outsiders for their upcoming Champions League duel.
But Milan beat Napoli 4-0 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona as recently as April 2 in a major shock, and the Partenopei will once again be without talismanic striker Victor Osimhen.
Milan not being favourites is no issue for Pioli, however, as he pointed to their Scudetto success last season as being somewhat out of the ordinary.
Asked what he was expecting from Wednesday's contest at San Siro, Pioli told reporters: "I think we'll see balance.
"It's the first of two matches. It's impossible to repeat matches from in the league – we know we have to play a great game.
"We have to play a great game because the opponents require a great level of play. Napoli are the team with the best attack in the Champions League and who have won the most games after Bayern. They are a very strong team, they have great quality.
"We also need to be attentive. Napoli have great quality and know how to take advantage of every mistake.
"Serie A is another story. I think we have every chance to play and do well in the two games. With the power of our dreams we won the Scudetto last year, so dreaming is good for us."
The absence of Osimhen is a particularly significant boost for Milan, given Napoli had expected him to be fit again for the first leg after sustaining an abductor injury on international duty.
Osimhen has been a huge factor in Napoli's remarkable charge at the top of the Serie A table, with Luciano Spalletti's men closing in on a first Scudetto since 1990.
Osimhen has scored 25 times across all competitions, with none of those goals coming from the penalty spot – among players from the top five leagues, only Erling Haaland (38), Kylian Mbappe (28), Marcus Rashford (27) and Robert Lewandowski (26) have netted more non-penalty goals than the Nigerian.
Nevertheless, the defeat to Milan earlier this month was the only match Napoli have failed to win out of nine without Osimhen this term, and this was not lost on Pioli.
"We're talking about a great centre-forward, he's scored repeatedly both in the league and in the Champions League [but], up until the match against us, Napoli had always won without Osimhen," Pioli told Sky Sport Italia.
"We're talking about a great team that has all the qualities to be fearsome."
He added: "The preparation has always been the same. With Osimhen, Napoli are stronger in depth, without him a little less. We keep everything in consideration, but we go ahead with our own concepts."
Robert Lewandowski expressed his desire for Lionel Messi to return to Barcelona ahead of next season.
Club legend Messi left Barcelona in 2020, after financial issues at the club prevented the renewal of his deal, and joined Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi's contract in the French capital runs out in June and an exit seems increasingly likely, particularly after his name was booed by some fans during the recent Ligue 1 defeat to Lyon – with supporters venting their frustration at the club's policy of signing big-name players without yielding results in the Champions League.
A return to Camp Nou has often been touted and Lewandowski, who joined the club last year from Bayern Munich, wants to play alongside Messi next season.
"Messi belongs to Barca and if he comes back it will be something incredible," he said at the launch of the 18th book of Solidarity Stories of Sport.
"We know your place is here in Barcelona. I don't know what will happen, but I hope that next season we can play together."
While Barcelona are poised to win LaLiga for the first time since the 2018-19 season, the club exited the Champions League at the group stage and were eliminated from the Europa League by Manchester United.
A Copa del Rey elimination at the hands of Real Madrid prevented a potential treble for the Catalan side, who won the Super Cup earlier in the season, and Lewandowski feels that Barcelona will improve next year.
"It's still early days for LaLiga. We are taking steps and it is not easy," he explained.
"We have a lot of new players and a lot of injuries, like in the group stage of the Champions League or the last game against Madrid, so it's been difficult.
"At Bayern it has always been normal, but Barca is in the process of becoming great again. We have to be patient and I'm sure next season will be better."
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