Atletico Madrid returned to winning ways in LaLiga as Giuliano Simeone and Alexander Sorloth earned them a 2-0 triumph over Las Palmas on Sunday. 

Atletico's sixth win of the season moved them up to third in LaLiga after 12 games, while Las Palmas remain inside the bottom three in the Spanish top-flight. 

Diego Simeone's side started strongly at the Metropolitano Stadium, with Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez going closest to netting the first goal. 

But their dominant opening was rewarded in the 37th minute when Simeone was sent through by Nahuel Molina, with the Argentine slotting past Jasper Cillessen for his first LaLiga goal. 

The hosts threatened to extend their advantage before the break, but Samuel Lino and Pablo Barrios saw their efforts unable to trouble Cillessen.

Simeone's side continued to dominate proceedings, finally getting the goal their display merited seven minutes from time, with Sorloth beating the offside trap before curling the ball home to seal the victory.

Data Debrief: Like father, like son

Simeone followed in his father's footsteps against with his goal against Las Palmas, netting his first strike for Atletico in his eighth LaLiga match, almost 20 years after his father and manager, Diego, scored his last goal for the club against Real Madrid. 

But Sorloth also impressed. Since his arrival in LaLiga in the 2021-22 season, only Karim Benzema (46), Vinicius Junior (47) and Robert Lewandowski (56) have scored more goals than the Norwegian (43, level with Iago Aspas). 

Atletico have now won nine of their last 11 matches against Las Palmas in LaLiga (L1), keeping a clean sheet in nine of those games. 

Diana Shnaider knows she will have a target on her back next year after capping her breakout season by beating Katie Boulter in Sunday’s Hong Kong Open final.

Top seed Shnaider cruised to a 6-1 6-2 victory over second seed Boulter in 72 minutes, claiming her fourth WTA Tour title of the year.

Only Iga Swiatek (five) and Aryna Sabalenka (four) have matched that number, but the Russian knows being in that company will take away her element of surprise next season.

"It's nice to be in that company," Shnaider said after her win. "I will definitely push harder to be on the same stage as them, to win more tournaments and at even higher categories. 

“That's the future. This year I did an amazing job. Next year, everyone will be getting ready, knowing my game, 'Oh she's tough,' stuff like that. 

“But it's important for me to play against the best in the world. Even if there are a lot of losses, I'll be as positive as possible, just keep building my game, my mentality, my physical strength. 

“There are a lot of things I can improve and achieve to be, say, a Top 10 player. It's not a rush, I'll have to be patient."

Shnaider also revealed four was her lucky number, having ended a year that saw her rise from world number 97 to 14 with that number of trophies.

"Well, I was born second of April and I just love those combinations with two and four. Obviously it’s the season of 2024," she said. "There are crazy circumstances, like the Hua Hin title I won was happening for the fourth year.

"Then I won Bad Homburg and that was happening for the fourth year. The number just keeps following me. I guess it's like a lucky charm for me."

Trinidad & Tobago is set to create history next month when it plays home to the first-ever Special Olympics Regional Beach Games.

The Games is scheduled to run from November 8 to 10 and is being facilitated by Special Olympics T&T (SOTT), with the Digicel Foundation as one of the event’s main sponsors.

This new regional event will bring together 130 athletes, 70 coaches, and delegates from Special Olympics programmes across the Caribbean and North America to compete in a variety of beach sports, including Aquathlon, Beach Bocce, Beach Soccer, Beach Volleyball and Open Water Swimming, at venues in both Trinidad and Tobago. 

Digicel Foundation Chief Executive Officer Penny Gomez said the company was pleased to be associated with such an important event.

“The dedication and commitment demonstrated by our special athletes and coaches is nothing short of inspiring.

“It’s a great honour for T&T to have been selected to host the inaugural Special Olympics Regional Beach Games, and this recognition of our very own SOTT is very well-deserved,” Gomez said.

Special Olympics T&T (SOTT) is the only Special Olympics programme that currently includes the Beach Games as an annual multi-sport event and has done so since 2016.

The Milwaukee Bucks are struggling to sustain their performance levels over a full game amid their five-game losing streak, says coach Doc Rivers.

The Bucks have failed to win since triumphing in their season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers, going down 114-113 to the perfect Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.

They raced into a 38-30 first-quarter lead at Fiserv Forum before tailing off badly, prompting Rivers to question their fitness.

“We don’t sustain the game,” Rivers said. “We haven’t been able to sustain 48 minutes.

“We’ve got to figure that out. That’s on us. We have not found the correct rotation yet.”

Damian Lillard was unfortunate to be on the losing team after scoring 41 points with nine assists and shooting 10 of 15 from 3-point range, and he pointed out that several opponents had benefitted from having strong bench options against them.

“I think every team that’s hurt us, they’ve had somebody come in off the bench and have an impact on the game,” Lillard said. 

“They had a guy come in and knock down three 3s when they were bleeding and we had them down and our energy was right. He comes in and, ‘Bang, bang, bang.’"

However, Giannis Antetokounmpo – who had 34 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists – believes the Bucks’ results will soon turn, claiming their displays have improved.

“It doesn’t mean we’re going to go to a five-game winning streak or a 10-game winning streak,” Antetokounmpo said. 

“But I know that we’re playing better. We trust one another better. The ball is moving. There’s a lot of good things that we can do. That’s all we can control.”

Ademola Lookman scored a first-half brace as Atalanta stunned Serie A leaders Napoli with a 3-0 away win on Sunday, moving up to second in the table.

Lookman – who this week finished 14th in the voting for the Ballon d’Or – opened the scoring after 10 minutes with a volley from close range after being teed up by Charles De Ketelaere.

He then doubled La Dea’s lead after the half-hour mark with a long-range strike from another De Ketelaere pass, after Scott McTominay had rattled the post for Napoli.

Substitute Mateo Retegui added the third in stoppage time, sweeping home from Raoul Bellanova’s cross as Gian Piero Gasperini’s men extended their winning run to five league games.

Atalanta, provisionally second on 22 points, have cut the gap to their opponents at the summit to three points. 

They are one point above third-placed Inter – who have a game in hand – and Juventus in fourth.

Data Debrief: Lookman deals Conte reality check

Napoli entered Sunday’s game with the only 100% home record in Serie A this season, having won five of five on their own turf under new boss Conte.

However, they were given a harsh reality check by a potential Scudetto rival as the former Chelsea and Tottenham coach lost a home Serie A match by a three-goal margin for the first time since 2009, when he oversaw Atalanta’s 5-2 defeat to Juventus.

Lookman was the architect, and he has now been involved in more goals across all competitions in 2024 than any other Serie A player (28 – 17 goals, 11 assists).

 

Lando Norris seized pole position for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix by topping a chaotic, postponed qualifying on Sunday, while Max Verstappen will start 17th.

Qualifying was pushed back after heavy rain and thunderstorms prevented it from taking place on Saturday, with the race’s start time also brought forward by 90 minutes.

Five red flags punctuated a chaotic session as Williams pair Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon, Aston Martin duo Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz all crashed.

Norris was almost knocked out in the first session, but he recovered to beat Mercedes’ George Russell to pole, with RB’s Yuki Tsunoda third and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon fourth.

Norris said after the race: “There was a lot going on. I was struggling a lot at the start of the session, I worked on it a lot in the session. 

“A little surprised to be on pole but a good result for us.”

Verstappen, meanwhile, finished 12th but will start in 17th after taking a five-place grid penalty for the race, his fourth penalty in the last two races.

The three-time world champion was left seething about a delay in throwing the red flag following Stroll’s crash in the second session, which he believed allowed other drivers to demote him out of the top 10 before he was prevented from attempting another lap.

He could vault up the grid if some of the damaged cars are unable to start the race, though, while his long-time rival Lewis Hamilton also struggled as he qualified 16th.

India were whitewashed in a three-match home Test series for the very first time as New Zealand sealed a 25-run victory in the final match at Wankhede on Sunday.

Having given themselves hope of avoiding a 3-0 defeat on day two, India found themselves chasing 145 for victory on a difficult pitch after Ravindra Jadeja had Ajaz Patel (8) caught by Akash Deep.

However, Rishabh Pant’s fine 64 off 57 balls was not enough for the hosts as the wickets tumbled around him, Patel scalping six in the second India innings to take his tally for the match to 11.

India lost four within the first eight overs with Patel taking two, sending stumps flying to account for Shubman Gill then having Sarfaraz Khan caught for one run apiece. 

The Mumbai-born seamer finally got Pant’s all-important wicket 22 overs in following a successful review from Tom Latham, and India never looked likely to complete the chase from there.

Glenn Phillips got in on the act with two wickets in two balls to dismiss Ravinchandran Ashwin (8) and Akash (0) before Patel finished things off when his spin ball beat the attempted sweep of Washington Sundar (12).

Data Debrief: Black Caps make history

This is the first time India have lost a Test series 3-0 on home soil in their history, and the first time they have lost three red-ball matches in any single home series since 1983.

They were last blanked on their own turf in the format in a two-match series versus South Africa in 2000.

It is also the first time New Zealand have ever won three Tests in a single series, while Patel now has 25 wickets in two Tests at the Wankhede Stadium – the most by any visiting bowler at a single venue versus India.

Borussia Dortmund's 2-1 comeback win over RB Leipzig to snap a three-game losing run was a reward for their hard work, coach Nuri Sahin said.

Dortmund, who face Sturm Graz in the Champions League next week, were without nine injured players but dug deep to score twice after visitors Leipzig took the lead.

They came into Saturday's Bundesliga match against second-placed Leipzig having lost three straight games across all competitions, and fell behind to Benjamin Sesko's thumping strike.

But goals from Maximilian Beier and Serhou Guirassy completed the turnaround and saw Sahin continue his strong home form, having won each of his first five league matches in charge at Signal Iduna Park.

"An important win, and in my opinion a deserved win," Sahin told reporters. 

"We started well and the goal did not knock us down. We were rewarded with a goal before half-time and then again after the break. Sometimes you suffer, but with suffering you learn. We are now on a better track and won't veer away."

Sahin had been under mounting pressure following a loss in the Champions League to Real Madrid after leading 2-0, and defeats by Augsburg in the Bundesliga last week and Tuesday's DFB-Cup exit to Wolfsburg.

"On Tuesday I also saw a team that gave everything but were not rewarded in the end. Today we were," Sahin said.

"The boys applied what we planned. The belief in this team is the same even if we had lost seven in a row."

Michel believes Girona's LaLiga match against Leganes should not have been played following flash floods that have devastated parts of eastern Spain.

Girona won a thrilling contest 4-3 on Saturday.

However, the match came after several days of flooding that has left over 200 people dead, with dozens unaccounted for.

Barcelona boss Hansi Flick and Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone earlier criticised the decision to hold most of the LaLiga matches this weekend, a sentiment echoed by Michel.

"We shouldn't celebrate anything since this match shouldn't have been played," the Girona boss said.

"Taking three points after the physical and mental toll of playing in different competitions and travelling, the team gives everything, and that's very positive."

Girona's Miguel Gutierrez, who opened the scoring, marked the goal by holding up a shirt that read: 'This is for you, Henry. Go Valencia'.

"The first shirt I lifted was for my friend Enrique, whose mother is missing. She was swept away by the current, and they’re still trying to find her," he said.

The 23-year-old said the past few days had been emotional.

"I believe the match takes a backseat. Aside from Madrid, the city I've spent the most time in where I have the most friends and connections is Valencia," Gutierrez said.

"I can assure you that I’ve seen videos and been on video calls with friends and it’s a complete disaster, an absolute nightmare." 

Focusing on the match, Michel acknowledged the defensive performance was not good enough from his team, who conceded only eight shots, though five of those were on target, with Leganes scoring three goals from an expected goals (xG) of just 0.4.

"We competed well; the first half was very good, but we conceded two goals from situations we could have defended better," he said.

"Even though I wanted to make changes to bring in the young players at 4-2, the 4-3 score complicated things. It was a tough situation for them. As coaches, we want to control the game more, but it turned out this way."

Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil was unfazed by supporter criticism after his team saw their winless start to the season continue with Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace.

Marc Guehi netted a late equaliser as Palace took a point at Molineux, where Wolves had previously been on course for victory after fighting back from 1-0 down to lead 2-1.

O’Neil’s side have now earned just three points from 10 matches, failing to win any of their first 10 games to start a league campaign for just the third time after 1926-27 (10 games) and 1983-84 (14).  

O’Neil responded to Trevoh Chalobah putting Palace ahead on the hour mark with a triple substitution, introducing Mario Lemina, Goncalo Guedes and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.

Though the former duo impressed after coming on, supporters loudly booed O’Neil’s decision to replace midfielder Tommy Doyle, as speculation regarding his future continues to mount.

Asked about supporter discontent after the game, O’Neil said: “I’m fine, it’s my job. The three substitutes made a big difference, I thought we were excellent from then.

“They can voice their opinions, of course, it’s my job. Mario made us an awful lot better, he snuffed out so many balls and turned them into attacking situations for us.

“We need to be better, of course. A lot of it ends up being my responsibility, which I’m happy to take. Criticism around subs, goals can land on my doorstep, that’s what I’m here for.”

O’Neil then added: “I’m disappointed because it was a really brave fightback to spin the game from 1-0 down to 2-1 up, it took a lot of effort.

“Disappointed because having worked so hard to get in front, once we got in front I thought we had a good chance of seeing it out.

“I thought we’d have to defend a couple of moments but not be under any sort of siege, so we’re disappointed we came up short with one.”

Palace have now won more points from their last two matches (four) than they did through their first eight of 2024-25 (three), but boss Oliver Glasner was frustrated that they failed to put Wolves away when 1-0 up.

“It was our third game in six days with a very tight squad. The only thing we can blame ourselves is for not deciding the game when we could’ve done,” he said.

“We had the momentum with the crowd booing, this is what we could and should have done better. All of a sudden Wolves went 2-1 up and then it was back to the players who reacted, they came back again and what makes me proud is we went for the win.”

Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, including a jumper with three-tenths of a second left, and the Cleveland Cavaliers remained perfect with a 114-113 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night.

The 7-0 Cavaliers are one win away from matching their best start in franchise history. They won their first eight games in 1976-77.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists for the Bucks, who have lost five straight since winning their opener. Milwaukee wasted a brilliant performance from Damian Lillard, who had 41 points with nine assists and shot 10 of 15 from 3-point range.

Lillard had put Milwaukee ahead by hitting a step-back jumper with 9.8 seconds remaining.

After shooting a combined 17 of 73 on 3-point attempts in losses at Boston and Memphis, the Bucks were 18 of 39 from beyond the arc in this one. Their hot start from long range helped them build a 16-point first-quarter lead.

After Lillard put Milwaukee ahead, Cleveland called timeout. Evan Mobley inbounded a pass to Mitchell, who caught it while barely avoiding a backcourt violation. Mitchell briefly lost control of the ball, but regained possession in 3-point range, dribbled inside the arc and hit a 19-footer.

Thunder defeat Clippers to remain unbeaten

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 25 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder extended their undefeated start to the season by beating the Los Angeles Clippers 105-92.

All five Thunder starters scored in double figures, and the six straight wins to begin the season marked the team's best start since moving to Oklahoma City from Seattle in 2008.

Norman Powell scored 24 points and James Harden added 12 points and 13 rebounds, but the Clippers dropped to 0-4 in their new arena despite holding double-digit leads in each of those defeats.  

The Clippers got off to a good start from 3-point range, making eight long balls in the first quarter, but went 3 for 16 the rest of the way.

Aaron Wiggins hit a 3 to end the third quarter for an 81-78 lead, and the Thunder followed that up by scoring the first seven points in the fourth to create separation.

Booker leads Suns to 4th straight win

Devin Booker had 28 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, and the Phoenix Suns used a dominant third quarter to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 103-97.

Kevin Durant scored 21 points for Phoenix, which won its fourth in a row.

The Suns led by as many as 26 points, but the Trail Blazers cut the deficit to 99-97 in the final minute. Booker and Tyus Jones each made two free throws in the final 21 seconds to seal the win.

Grayson Allen scored 18 off the bench, making a team-high four 3-pointers. Jones and Bradley Beal each finished with 15 points, while Jusuf Nurkic had a game-high 15 rebounds.

Trailing 47-43 at halftime, Phoenix scored 44 in the third quarter to take a 22-point lead by the end of the period. The Suns had zero turnovers in the third quarter after committing nine in the first half.

Booker and Allen each had 10 points in the third quarter, while Portland only managed 18 points in the period.

Anfernee Simons and Jerami Grant led the Trail Blazers with 20 points apiece. Deni Avdija scored 13 points and former Sun Deandre Ayton had 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Paulo Fonseca downplayed the significance of next week's Champions League clash with Real Madrid following Milan's gritty 1-0 away win over Monza.

Milan are seventh in Serie A following Saturday's win, which came courtesy of a Tijjani Reijnders header.

The Rossoneri, who have been crowned champions of Europe on seven occasions, are 25th in the new-look Champions League standings, having taken three points from their opening three matches.

But Fonseca did not think his team would be overawed at the prospect of facing 15-time European champions Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday.

"I am always fired up for every game and do not think that Real Madrid is any more important than what we played tonight," Fonseca told Sky Sports Italia.

"I strongly believe in teamwork. Nowadays, football is challenging; we need to function as a team at all times, and that’s what we’re striving to achieve."

Speaking to DAZN, Fonseca added: "On Tuesday, we face Real, but it doesn't matter if it's Real Madrid or any other team; we need points to improve our position in the standings. I hope it will be a great night for all of us."

While Monza dominated the first half, they could not find the margins to score. Milan rallied in the second half, with Fonseca acknowledging that the first-half performance was below par.

"I was concerned in the first half as we weren’t aggressive enough and didn’t win enough individual duels, but I don’t really remember Monza's chances in the second half," Fonseca said.

"We adjusted what we needed to do during the half-time break and it was a totally different game after that."

Substitute Rafael Leao entered the match late and came close to scoring twice in the closing stages.

"He came on well, it is important to have this reaction from Rafa and that's what I want to see. I think he is ready to play in Madrid," Fonseca said.

Steve Borthwick reckons England are "banging on the door" of the elite nations after their close loss to New Zealand.

England went down 24-22 to the All Blacks in Saturday's Test match at Twickenham.

Mark Tele'a scored the decisive try for New Zealand, who beat England twice in July, in the 76th minute.

England missed the chance to win it late on when George Ford missed a drop-goal attempt, after he had struck the post with a penalty.

But coach Borthwick, who was immensely proud of his team, feels England showed they are capable of mixing it with the best teams in the world, despite losing four of their last five Tests.

"It is a mixture of immense pride at the performance against a very tough New Zealand team and one of incredible disappointment," Borthwick told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"They are the emotions we balance and will work through over the next few days.

"When we started two years ago we wanted to get England right to the top of world rugby again. You can see the team banging on the door."

With the pre-match build-up having been dominated by Joe Marler's jibe at New Zealand's pre-match haka routine, tries from Tele'a and Will Jordan put New Zealand in control.

Marcus Smith's penalties kept England in contention, though, and he set up the hosts' only try when he intercepted a loose pass and teed up Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.

Yet England ultimately failed to hold on to an eight-point advantage, with Ford having to be consoled by his team-mates after the match.

Next up for England are Australia, with fixtures against South Africa and Japan also in store.

"We really have to find a way of winning these close ones," said captain Jamie George. "We put ourselves in a really good position after 60 minutes.

"Eight points is a lot in Test match rugby but we probably went chasing the game a bit and gave away too many penalties. We have to be smarter in that respect."

England walked up to the halfway line to face the haka, something George explained was planned prior to Marler's comments.

"That was always our plan before Joe's comments but we did it in a respectful way," said George. "I saw a smile on Scott Barrett’s face, I was smiling, and it was done in good spirits."

Liam Livingstone hit a tremendous century as England beat West Indies by five wickets in Saturday’s one-day international, taking the three-match series to a decider.

Livingstone’s heroics ensured England got over the line with 15 balls to spare in Antigua despite being set a daunting target of 329 for victory.

Windies captain Shai Hope had earlier struck 117 runs from 127 balls after John Turner had Brandon King caught at backward point and Evin Lewis snared down the leg side. 

Hope was finally caught by Livingstone off Jofra Archer’s delivery in the 47th over, before the stand-in England skipper took over with the bat to drive his team to victory.

He counted five fours and nine maximums in his haul as England recovered from the early losses of Will Jacks (12) and Jordan Cox (four) to complete their chase.

Phil Salt (59), Jacob Bethell (55) and Sam Curran (52) also hit half-centuries for the tourists, with Livingstone fittingly wrapping up the win by smashing 23 runs in a brilliant penultimate over.

Data Debrief: Livingstone picks up the pace

Midway through their innings, England knew they needed to up the pace in order to reach a total they had only managed when batting second 10 times in their ODI history.

Livingstone led the way. Following his first 50 balls faced, he slammed 82 runs off just 35 deliveries, the fastest acceleration by any England batter after 50 balls faced in the format's history.

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