Experienced goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has said that he will not quit smoking despite having gone back on his decision to retire from football to join Barcelona.

With Marc-Andre ter Stegen having suffered a serious knee injury last month, which will keep him out for a long period of time, Szczesny was persuaded to get back into football having left Juventus in August.

But the goalkeeper is of the opinion that what he does off the pitch in his personal life should be of no interest to anyone.

"There are things that I don't change in my personal life," said Szczesny in an interview with Mundo Deportivo.

"It's nobody's business if I smoke. I believe it doesn't affect what I do on the pitch, I work twice as hard."

Szczesny did admit that, while he has no intention of stopping, there are certain boundaries he puts in place.

"I don't do it in front of kids because I don't want to have a bad influence on them," he said.

Despite that, he went on to make it clear that he won't be put off by people trying to catch him out with it.

"Sometimes somebody will take a photo from the trees where I have a cigarette, that's on them, not on me.

"If somebody thinks that I will change the way I am in my personal life they can think again because I am who I am. I've been this way my whole life."

Coco Gauff won an eighth successive match in emphatic fashion as she dispatched Marta Kostyuk 6-4 6-1 at the Wuhan Open.

Fresh from her triumph in Beijing last week, Gauff needed only 61 minutes to get the job done on Thursday.

Gauff, who is aiming to become only the second player to win in Beijing and Wuhan in the same year, will face Magda Linette in the quarter-finals.

"I'm really happy with how I played today," said Gauff.

"It was a pretty straightforward match. Marta and I always have some good battles. Today I was able to get through in straight sets."

Gauff's compatriot Jessica Pegula, meanwhile, was beaten by Wang Xinyu, who is the second Chinese player to reach the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open since the inception of the tournament in 2014 after Qiang Wang in 2018.  

Data Debrief: Gauff brings up 70 WTA 1000 wins

Gauff has registered her 17th win in hard-court WTA 1000 events during 2024, with only Caroline Wozniacki in 2010 (25) and Bianca Andreescu in 2019 (19) managing more wins in such events before turning 21 since 2009.

The 20-year-old is also the youngest player to hit 70 match wins since the WTA 1000 formate started in 2009. She is only the fourth player to reach that milestone before turning 23, joining Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka and Iga Swiatek.

Gauff's next opponent, Linette, is into her first WTA 1000 quarter-final.

Francisco Lindor’s latest huge hit was a sixth-inning grand slam that sent the New York Mets to the National League Championship Series with a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.

Edwin Díaz struck out Kyle Schwarber with two runners aboard to end it as New York finished off the rival Phillies in Game 4 of their best-of-five Division Series, winning 3-1 to wrap up a postseason series at home for the first time in 24 years.

New York will open the best-of-seven NLCS on Sunday against either the San Diego Padres or Los Angeles Dodgers.

For the NL East champion Phillies, who won 95 games and finished six ahead of the wild-card Mets during the regular season, it was a bitter exit early in the playoffs and a disappointing step backward after they advanced to the 2022 World Series and then lost Games 6 and 7 of the 2023 NLCS at home to Arizona.

Perhaps overanxious at the plate with so much on the table, the Mets left the bases loaded in the first and second and stranded eight runners overall through the first five innings.

They put three runners on again in the sixth, this time with nobody out, before No. 9 batter Francisco Alvarez grounded into a force at the plate against All-Star reliever Jeff Hoffman.

With the season on the line, Phillies manager Rob Thomson then summoned closer Carlos Estévez to face Lindor, who drove a 2-1 fastball clocked at 99 mph into Philadelphia’s bullpen in right-center, sending the sold-out crowd of 44,103 into a delirious, bouncing, throbbing frenzy.

With his first homer of these playoffs, Lindor joined Shane Victorino and Hall of Fame slugger Jim Thome as the only major leaguers with two postseason grand slams. The star shortstop also connected for Cleveland at Yankee Stadium in Game 2 of a 2017 AL Division Series.

Dodgers rout Padres to force Game 5

Mookie Betts, Will Smith and Gavin Lux homered to back an eight-pitcher shutout as the Los Angeles Dodgers staved off elimination with an 8-0 rout of the San Diego Padres in their NL Division Series.

The Dodgers snapped a two-game losing streak and now return home for a deciding Game 5 between the NL West rivals on Friday night.

The winner will have home-field advantage in the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets, who eliminated the Philadelphia Phillies in their NLDS.

The Dodgers got a superb effort by opener Ryan Brasier and seven fellow relievers in a bullpen game, holding the Padres to seven hits and extending their scoreless streak to 15 innings. Evan Phillips, who got the win, retired Jurickson Profar, Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill on five pitches in the sixth.

With All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman sidelined by a troublesome right ankle sprain, Betts and Shohei Ohtani needed to produce to keep LA's season alive. They did just that, with Betts driving in two runs on two hits and Ohtani bringing in one run and reaching three times.

The Padres started Dylan Cease on short rest and gave up Betts’ home run in the first inning and put two runners on with one out in the second and was chased by Ohtani’s RBI single to right. 

Smith followed Max Muncy’s leadoff double in the third with a home run to extend the lead to 5-0.

Lux’s two-run shot off Wandy Peralta in the seventh capped a three-run inning for the Dodgers.

Stanton’s home run gives Yankees 2-1 lead

Giancarlo Stanton snapped a tie in the eighth inning with a solo home run and New York’s bullpen pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings as the Yankees edged the Kansas City Royals 3-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their AL Division Series.

Stanton finished with three hits, drove in two runs and stole a base for the first time in four years for the Yankees, who will turn to six-time All-Star pitcher Gerrit Cole on Thursday night with a chance to reach the American League Championship Series.

The Royals used four relievers before Kris Bubic took over for the eighth. The left-hander struck out Austin Wells before Stanton hit his 3-1 pitch nearly 420 feet to left to give New York the lead.

The Royals tried to answer off Luke Weaver in the bottom half, getting Bobby Witt Jr.'s first hit of the series and a two-out single by Salvador Perez. Weaver recovered to get Yuli Gurriel to fly out to end the threat, and he also handled the ninth to earn the save and cap a stellar performance by the New York bullpen.

The Yankees won despite another frustrating night in the postseason for MVP front-runner Aaron Judge. He went 0 for 4 with a walk and is now 1 for 11 with only an infield single through three games against the Royals.

It helped that the powerful Yankees drew nine walks Wednesday night, giving them 22 for the series.

Tigers get second straight shutout

Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson each drove in a run, and the Detroit Tigers used six pitchers in a 3-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians for a 2-1 lead in their AL Division Series.

The Tigers will have a chance to advance to their first ALCS since 2013 on Thursday night in Game 4 at Comerica Park.

Cleveland has gone 20 straight innings without scoring since opening the series with a five-run first and a two-run sixth in its 7-0 win.

After AL Cy Young Award favourite Tarik Skubal helped Detroit shut out Cleveland in Game 2, manager A.J. Hinch put a stream of pitchers on the mound and kept the Guardians quiet at the plate.

Detroit reliever Will Vest entered with two on and two outs in the seventh and got David Fry to line out to Matt Vierling at third.

Keider Montero retired the side in order in the first, and the previously slumping Greene hit a two-out RBI single in the home half.

Brant Hurter gave up five hits in 3 1/3 innings, Beau Brieske pitched two innings, and Sean Guenther got one out before Vest threw 1 1/3 innings. Tyler Holton handled the ninth for the save.

It's the first time Detroit has recorded two shutouts in a postseason series. It's also the first time since the 1905 World Series that the first three games of a postseason series were all shutouts.

The Guardians had a chance to score in the third. Steven Kwan reached on a one-out infield single and advanced on shortstop Tyler Sweeney's throwing error. José Ramírez was intentionally walked with two outs, but Josh Naylor hit an inning-ending groundout.

New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen has selected rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler to make his first regular-season NFL start on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Allen confirmed Rattler as the starter on Wednesday with usual starter Derek Carr to miss at least one game because of a left oblique injury that occurred in the fourth quarter of New Orleans’ 26-13 loss in Kansas City on Monday night.

The decision means that Rattler, for the time being, moves ahead of second-year pro Jake Haener on the depth chart.

Haener replaced Carr after his injury in Kansas City and also played late in a pair of lopsided victories to start the season.

“We just internally talked a lot about it and felt like in this particular game he was going to give us the best chance to win,” Allen said of Rattler. “He’s a rookie so we’re going to have some challenges that go along with that, but I think we’ll have a good plan for him.”

Rattler was selected by the Saints in the fifth round of last spring’s NFL draft out of South Carolina.

He will become the fifth rookie quarterback to start his season, joining Caleb Williams (Bears), Jayden Daniels (Commanders), Bo Nix (Broncos) and Drake Maye, who is scheduled to also make his first career start Sunday for the Patriots against Houston.

Lee Carsley revealed that John Stones will lead out England in their Nations League clash against Greece on Thursday, with Harry Kane set to start the encounter on the bench.

Stones, who has made 81 caps for the Three Lions since his debut in 2014, will captain his nation for the first time at the start of a match. 

During Gareth Southgate's tenure, only Kane (81) and Kyle Walker (70) made more appearances than Stones (68 - level with Jordan Pickford). 

The Manchester City defender has become a mainstay in the England side in recent years, helping his nation to their two major tournament final appearances in consecutive European Championships.

"It's everything I could have dreamed of as a kid. More for my family, to be able to see me walk out as England captain is a special moment," Stones said. 

"One I can't thank Lee enough for. An incredible moment for me.

"To be walking out with the armband on is an absolute honour and a moment I'll cherish forever."

"It was a great conversation I was able to have with John to ask him to captain the team," Carsley added. 

"It's a brilliant achievement, something he deserves with the amount of caps he's got, the level of professionalism he's shown, the example he is to young players."

Carsley later confirmed Kane could still play a part against Greece and would be in the running to face Finland on Sunday.

Kane, who marked his 100th England appearance with two goals in the Three Lions' 2-0 win over Finland last month, suffered an ankle injury in Bayern Munich's draw with Bayer Leverkusen in his final match before the international break.

The 31-year-old has since trained away from the main group of players. 

"Harry is nursing an injury, a small knock, something we won't take a chance with," said Carsley.

The interim Three Lions boss was also asked about the role of Cole Palmer, with the Chelsea forward enjoying a fine start to the Premier League campaign. 

Palmer has scored six goals in seven games in the league this term, four of which came in a stunning display against Brighton, becoming the first player in Premier League history to net four times before half-time in a single match. 

The 22-year-old leads the Premier League for the most goal involvements this campaign (11), with only Bukayo Saka (27) creating more chances in the top flight this season than Palmer (23 - level with Andreas Pereira and Dwight McNeil). 

Palmer was also recently named England's Men's Player of the Year for 2023-24, and Carsley expects him to carry on his impressive form in England's next two fixtures.

"Cole is in fantastic form. He's carried that into this week," said Carsley. "Such an exciting player, a player I've worked with for four, five years now.

"Cole, along with a lot of other attacking players who have put themselves into a great position to start the game."

Manchester United's Amad Diallo has withdrawn from the Ivory Coast's Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double-header against Sierra Leone due to illness. 

Diallo, who has made six appearances for his country, has since returned to Manchester ahead of the Red Devils' upcoming Premier League fixture against Brentford.

The 22-year-old earned his first cap for the Elephants in 2021, and was recalled to Emerse Fae's group after a 15-month absence in June for wins over Zambia and Chad.

Ivory Coast know that two wins against the Leone Stars will seal their progression to the tournament, which takes place in Morocco at the end of next year. 

A statement by the Elephants read, “The Ivorian Football Federation informs the Press and the public that the player, Amad DIALLO, arrived in group on Monday October 7, 2024, as part of the 3rd and 4th Days of the CAN qualifiers Morocco 2025, is declared forfeit for health reasons.”

Diallo is the latest player within Erik ten Hag's ranks to withdraw from international duty with their respective nations. 

Argentina's Alejandro Garnacho, England's Kobbie Mainoo and Morocco's Noussair Mazraoui are the other players left out as a precaution. 

Diallo has made 10 appearances for United this season in all competitions, scoring once in his side's 2-1 defeat to Brighton at the start of the 2024-25 campaign. 

However, he has yet to fully nail down a starting berth, with Ten Hag so far rotating his wide options with Garnacho and Marcus Rashford.

Italy head coach Luciano Spalletti believes Daniel Maldini has been the creative spark the national side has been lacking ahead of their Nations League clash with Belgium. 

Maldini could follow in the footsteps of his father, Paolo, and grandfather Cesare, both former Italy captains, should he represent the Azzurri at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday. 

The 22-year-old came through the ranks at Milan, managing 24 appearances in all competitions and scoring once, but spent three seasons out on loan from 2022 to 2024. 

Maldini spent the second half of last season on loan with Monza before making his move permanent in July, netting five goals in 19 outings to help Raffaele Palladino's side to a 12th place finish in Serie A. 

Now under the guidance of Alessandro Nesta, Maldini has begun to flourish, completing more dribbles (12) than any of his team-mates in the league so far. 

The young Italian was one of four players given their senior call-up by Spalletti for their Nations League fixtures against Belgium and Israel, with the Monza forward replacing Lazio's Matteo Zaccagni. 

And Spalletti is confident Maldini can make an impact, saying: "He is the (kind of) player we were missing."

Italy come into the contest off the back of an impressive opening to their Nations League A2 group, beating Israel and France last month. 

After a disappointing Euro 2024 campaign that saw them lose to Switzerland in the round of 16, Spalletti insisted that their encounter against Belgium is crucial to their development.

"We will immediately become a great team in every match where we will be able to give the best of ourselves," Spalletti said.

"It is a crucial match for our future."

Spalletti, however, has his eyes set on the 2026 World Cup, a tournament the Azzurri have won on four occasions throughout their history. 

But Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 editions of the competition, but have since won the European Championships against England in 2021 under Roberto Mancini. 

While Spalletti signified the importance of the World Cup's influence on the Azzurri's illustrious history, he said his players must focus on each game as it comes. 

"It is a tournament that has determined our history, it has made many people happy," Spalletti concluded. 

Novak Djokovic believed his straight-set triumph against Roman Safiullin at the Shanghai Masters was almost perfect, while reiterating his desire to compete at the very top. 

Djokovic, featuring in his first tournament since his shock US Open exit, was largely untroubled in a 6-3 6-2 win against the Russian on Wednesday. 

The world number four's triumph also saw him become the first player to reach 10 quarter-finals at the tournament in Shanghai, claiming his 37th victory in the process. 

Djokovic is on a quest to claim his 100th ATP tour title, hoping to join the elite club that includes only Jimmy Connor and Roger Federer who have reached that milestone. 

The Serbian had already beaten Alex Michelsen and Flavio Cobolli to reach the round of 16, and will face Czech teenager Jakub Mensik for a place in the final four. 

And the 24-time grand slam champion said his tennis at the tournament so far is bringing him "a lot of joy". 

"Very close to 10. The [past two matches] are some of the best matches I've played in a while," Djokovic said. 

"I'm enjoying myself on the court and when you play well you are feeling good, there is a lot of joy in striking a tennis ball.

"These matches and sensations are the reasons why I still play.

"I believe I can play at a high level and it's about keeping that consistency.”

Rinku Singh's explosive half-century and Nitish Kumar Reddy's maiden 50 helped India to an 83-run victory in their second match of their T20I series against Bangladesh. 

Singh reached 50 runs in just 26 deliveries before being bowled out by Taskin Ahmed, with India making light of the tourists' batting order to claim an unassailable advantage. 

India started poorly during the Powerplay, losing Sanju Samson (10), Abhishek Sharma (15) and Suryakumar Yadav (eight) inside the opening six overs. 

However, a 108-run stand from Reddy (74) and Singh (53) steadied the ship, before the former was bowled out by Mustafizur Rahman (2-36). 

Hardik Pandya's 32 runs helped India battle through the closing stages as they ended their innings 221-9, handing the tourists an uphill task to seal an unlikely victory. 

And Bangladesh replicated the hosts' poor start with the bat, with their run chase seeing Parvez Hossain Emon (16), Najmul Hossain Shanto (11) and Litton Das (14) fall early. 

Mahmudullah's knock of 41 proved in vain as the wickets continued to tumble around him, with Bangladesh ending 135-9 and hoping to avoid a series whitewash in the final match on Saturday. 

Data Debrief: Reddy takes centre stage

At the age of 21 years and 136 days, Reddy is the fourth-youngest player to hit a maiden T20I half-century for India.

Current Indian skipper for Tests and ODIs, Rohit Sharma, was the youngest to hit a maiden T20I 50 for India at the age of 20 years and 143 days against South Africa in 2007. 

In only his second T20I, Reddy scored a brilliant 74 in just 34 balls, with four boundaries and seven sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of 217.65.

Joe Root is targeting "many more runs" after overtaking Alastair Cook as England's all-time leading Test run-scorer.

The 33-year-old surpassed Cook's previous high of 12,472 on day three of the first Test against Pakistan on Wednesday.

Root reached the mark by piling on 71 runs in the blistering Multan heat and reached 176 not out at the end of play with England 492-3.

"I'm obviously proud but still feel there is plenty more left to do, and many more runs left to get," Root is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.

"More than anything, the way we played as a team is what stands out - we've got ourselves back in a really good position."

Root's 12,578 runs consist of 35 centuries, 1,355 fours and 44 sixes, coming across 146 matches.

He is now fifth on the all-time list of run-scorers across all nations, with only Rahul Dravid (13,288), Jacques Kallis (13,289), Ricky Ponting (13,378) and Sachin Tendulkar (15,921) ahead of him.

And with time still on his side age-wise, Cook has backed the man who took his England record to overtake each of those legendary names.

"I would be betting on Root to do it," Cook told Test Match Special. "I don't see Root losing that hunger and ability to keep driving himself forward for the next couple of years.

"He's just this consistent run-scoring machine. There are other geniuses who can play genius innings, but Root is a genius with consistency."

England have never conceded as many as Pakistan's 556 and gone on to take a first-innings lead, but they trail by just 64 runs heading into day four.

"We've still got an opportunity to win the game, which is really exciting," Root added. "Hopefully we can kick on tomorrow."

When the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty played for the Commissioner’s Cup Championship in June, it seemed a foregone conclusion the teams would meet further down the road with much more at stake.

That time has come, as the Liberty will host the Lynx in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday in a matchup of teams that posted the top two records during the regular season.

New York went 5-0 in Commissioner’s Cup play while Minnesota posted a 4-1 record en route to a meeting on June 25 in the championship game of the in-season competition that started in 2021.

The Liberty entered as the defending champions of the Commissioner's Cup and with a 15-3 overall record, while the Lynx came in with a 13-3 mark.

Minnesota went on to win its first Commissioner's Cup championship with a 94-89 victory at New York.

The Lynx also took two of three meetings in the regular season, but the Liberty (32-8) managed to finish two games ahead of Minnesota (30-10) in the final standings.

“I think the regular season doesn’t mean anything, they are an amazing team,” Minnesota forward Napheesa Collier said.

“It’s going to be a great series, great basketball. Two teams with great players competing.”

Collier was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year and was runner-up to Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson for the WNBA MVP award.

Collier finished in the top five in the league in scoring (20.4 points per game), rebounds (9.7), steals (1.9), double-doubles (18) and player efficiency (25.7), but she’s been even more dominant in the play-offs.

The sixth overall pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft is averaging a league-high 27.1 points and tops all post-season players with a 32.9 efficiency rating to go along with 9.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.0 blocks per game.

“She’s improved every season. She’s just been incredible,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said.

“Every game, it’s more than scoring how she helps our team. When she plays like the MVP, we're tough to beat.”

The Lynx booked their ticket to the WNBA Finals with an 88-77 win over the Connecticut Sun in the decisive Game 5 of the semifinals on Tuesday.

New York has been idle since eliminating the two-time defending champion Aces in Game 4 of the semis on Sunday.

“Talk about the schedule, who cares. Nobody’s going to feel bad for us,” Reeve said.

“Got to go hooping right away and we’ll do that.”

The Liberty exacted a measure of revenge on Las Vegas after losing to the Aces in four games in last season’s WNBA Finals, but star point guard Sabrina Ionescu said New York needs to remain focused.

“We haven’t done anything yet, I think we all understand that,” Ionescu said. “We want to come out and continue to be the best team like we have been all year.

“We’re three wins away, and that’s really important to understand. We’ve got to come out and we’ve got to punch because nothing has been given to us yet.”

Ionescu and forward Breanna Stewart form an imposing 1-2 punch for the Liberty.

Stewart averaged 20.4 points (fourth in the league) during the regular season and Ionescu added 18.2 per game. Ionescu ranked fifth in the WNBA in both assists per game (6.2) and 3-pointers made (107).

In the play-offs, Ionescu is averaging 20.7 points and Stewart is pouring in 20.0 per game.

Minnesota is playing in its record seventh WNBA Finals and looking to break a tie with the Houston Comets and Seattle Storm for the most titles in WNBA history with its fifth championship.

New York, meanwhile, has lost in each of its previous five WNBA Finals appearances.

“We're going to the Finals and we're hosting Game 1 and Game 2,” Stewart said.

“We're ready to go. Just the feeling of not (being) satisfied."

Game 2 is Sunday before the series shifts to Minnesota for Game 3, and if necessary, Game 4. A winner-take-all Game 5 would be in New York on October 20.

Nico Collins, the NFL's leader in receiving yards this season, will miss at least the Houston Texans' next four games after the team placed him on injured reserve Wednesday.

Collins, who has amassed 567 receiving yards during Houston's 4-1 start, injured his hamstring on a 67-yard touchdown catch during the first quarter of the Texans' 23-20 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. 

The standout wide receiver will be eligible to return for the Texans' Week 10 clash against the Detroit Lions on Nov. 10.

After recording 80 catches, 1,297 receiving yards and eight touchdowns during a breakout 2023 campaign, Collins was on pace for an even better season in 2024. His 32 catches are tied for third in the NFL, while his seven receptions of 25 or more yards are tied with Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson for the most in the league.

Collins also tops the AFC South-leading Texans with three touchdown catches through five games.

“Nico has been the best receiver in the NFL this year," Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said when updating Collins' injury on Monday.  "So, do you replace him? No, everybody just steps up and whatever role you’re asked to do, just step up and play your role the proper way."

The Texans still have proven options at wide receiver despite Collins likely out for the next month.

Stefon Diggs is a four-time Pro Bowl selection who led the NFL in receptions (127) and receiving yards (1,535) with Buffalo in 2020, while Tank Dell produced 709 yards and seven touchdowns on 47 catches as a rookie in 2023 before having his season cut short after 11 games by a fractured fibula.

Diggs led the Texans with 82 yards on six catches last week in his first meeting with the Bills since being traded by Buffalo to Houston in the off-season.

"Nobody has to be Nico," Ryans said. "There is one Nico. He’s done a great job of that. Now, whoever is next, when your number is called, make the plays that you are supposed to make.”