Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri insisted he would play the same way again despite his side's "ugly" Champions League last-16 exit at the hands of Villarreal on Wednesday.
The Bianconeri conceded three goals in the final 12 minutes to Unai Emery's side – two of which came from the penalty spot – to suffer a 3-0 defeat at the Allianz Stadium, following a 1-1 draw in the first leg three weeks ago.
It was Juve's joint-heaviest home defeat in the Champions League and saw them dumped out at the last-16 stage for the third consecutive season.
Despite that, Allegri has no regrets over the way he set his side up and refused to criticise his players.
"I would play it the same way, as the players did well for 65 minutes," he told Amazon Prime Italia. "At a certain point, Villarreal put everyone in defence and only an incident could break that deadlock.
"We have to accept this defeat, it's ugly, but I cannot complain about the lads as they played well.
"This is football, sometimes it goes in your favour, sometimes it's against you. It's just about accepting that."
Villarreal scored with all three of their shots on target to equal their biggest margin of victory in the Champions League.
Juve largely struggled to break them down at the other end, and Allegri believes they lost their discipline after Gerard Moreno's opener from the penalty spot.
"We tried to move the ball around," he added. "Villarreal had nine men behind the ball and didn't even try to counter at one stage.
"We had our chances in the first half. They were aiming to either take it to extra time or make the most of incidents.
"We were naive on the penalty and rather than turning it around, we conceded another two goals and lost control of the match."
Juan Cuadrado's 50th Champions League appearance for Juve ended in disappointment, yet the Colombia international wasted little time in turning his attention to domestic action.
"We had a good first half, didn't take our chances and that affected us," he said. "We tried to move the ball more to create spaces after the break, but Villarreal defended well and were happy to wait for a counter-attack.
"We tried to do what the coach asked, move the ball around more to create spaces, but Villarreal were so well set out in defence that the only way of finding a way through was crosses. This is football.
"We now have to fight to the end to do well in Serie A. It's natural to feel upset, but we still have objectives in Serie A and the Coppa Italia. We need to turn the page quickly and try to be at 100 per cent for those remaining matches."
Chelsea's culture was pivotal to them overcoming tough circumstances to reach the Champions League quarter-finals, according to Thomas Tuchel.
There were question marks over the Blues' ability to travel to Lille for the second leg of their Champions League games after sanctions were imposed on their owner Roman Abramovich by the United Kingdom government.
Upon arrival in France, there were concerns the game may not have been able to go ahead after the European Union hit Abramovich with further sanctions.
However, Chelsea - who are expected to be sold to new owners before the end of the season - were able to take on Lille and fought back after falling behind to Burak Yilmaz's first-half penalty.
Goals from Christian Pulisic and Cesar Azpilicueta sealed a 4-1 aggregate win over the Ligue 1 champions, with Tuchel claiming a record-breaking 32nd victory after 50 Champions League games as a coach.
"The quarter-finals is a big step. We showed resilience and mentality to overcome difficulties. We did what was necessary. We dug in and got a deserved win. It's difficult here," Tuchel told BT Sport.
"Chelsea has this kind of culture within the club where we work every day. What I found from day one was a football first mentality. Everybody pushes the first team every three days, everybody goes to the limit and is focused on football.
"We've been trying to implement an atmosphere. This culture is already installed and this helps us now to focus with difficult and distracting times because it's always there.
"We encourage the players. It feels so good we can still produce results and I'm proud."
Chelsea struggled to create chances until Pulisic's goal on the stroke of half-time, while Xeka hit the post for Lille before Azpilicueta's goal.
Tuchel said: "We weren't so good in the first half. The pitch was horrible and it made things complicated. It was a new pitch not ready to play on. The tactics weren't right in the first 20 minutes, I take responsibility. Then it was more fluid.
"It was very important to calm everyone down. We were lucky with the post.
"We hope and expect to carry on. We want to compete. It took a lot of sacrifice, we fought hard to be in the last eight. We're excited for the draw. We have a game in Middlesbrough three days later."
Chelsea have now won four straight knockout games in the Champions League for just the second time. The last time they achieved that feat was in 2011-12, when they beat Bayern Munich on penalties in the final.
Cesar Azpilicueta praised Chelsea's resilience after their win over Lille on Wednesday sent them into the Champions League quarter-finals.
The Blues triumphed 2-1 in the second leg of the last-16 tie at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, going through 4-1 on aggregate. Yet it was not as easy as the scoreline suggested, with Burak Yilmaz putting Lille ahead in the first half.
However, Christian Pulisic equalised on the stroke of half-time and Azpilicueta put the result beyond doubt when he completed the turnaround in the 71st minute.
Chelsea are facing extraordinary circumstances following the freezing of owner Roman Abramovich's assets in the United Kingdom, but Azpilicueta showed pride in the team's ability to focus on the task at hand.
"It has not been a normal last few weeks," Azpilicueta told BT Sport. "We are playing every three days, difficult games. We are happy to go through and win the game.
"This group fights against everything. We know we have to do the best we can on the pitch. That is what we do. We stay together, we fight together.
"Everything outside, the noise, it could sometimes be easier to let it go and lose the focus. But that's not us. We do everything we can that we have in our hands. From there, we have to keep playing every three days."
The 32-year-old also scored a rare goal for Chelsea, only his 16th in 463 appearances for the club.
"I'm not very used to scoring, so I'm happy to score and put us through the quarter-finals," he said.
"The first half, I don't think we started very well. They were very active, we knew it was going to be difficult. We made a few mistakes, they were dangerous, but the reaction was very good."
Chelsea will face Middlesbrough in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.
Harry Kane becoming the leading Premier League scorer of away goals has been hailed an “outstanding achievement” by Tottenham boss Antonio Conte.
The England captain surpassed Wayne Rooney by netting for the 95th time away from home in the English top-flight during Spurs’ 2-0 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion.
After Cristian Romero gave the visitors the lead at the Amex Stadium, Kane sealed the point onto Rodrigo Bentancur’s throughball before slotting past Robert Sanchez.
Despite enduring a slow start to the campaign, the striker took his goal tally to 22 across all competitions, and Conte heaped praise on the 28-year-old.
"It is an outstanding achievement for him, but we are talking about a world-class striker," the head coach said.
"I am pleased for Harry to score in this way because at the start of the season, he struggled a bit and didn't score a lot and now he knows very well with this team, he has great opportunities to score in every game.
"To have a striker like him makes us stronger but at the same time, his feeling now is positive because he knows he will have chances."
Victory at the Amex moved Tottenham to within three points of fourth-placed Arsenal with 10 games remaining.
And Conte was thrilled by the efforts of his players, who recorded a first away win over Brighton since September 2018.
"I am very pleased for a good performance and because we got three points," the Italian continued.
"It is the final part of the season, and it is vital to get three points. We want to stay very close to the top to see what will happen at the end of the season.
"In my opinion, we are playing very well and improving a lot with the ball and also tonight, we also showed solidity defensively."
Kane added: "I was really pleased to get the goal and help the team win the match. Milestones are great especially away from home.
"It is always tough, so to know you can do it year-on-year against tough opposition is nice, but it is all about the team and working hard.
"We got ahead in the game, and then I think we controlled it. Overall, it was a really good night away from home.
"We played good football; we just have to keep winning games."
Brooklyn Nets' new star acquisition Ben Simmons received an epidural injection while he was away from the team during the team's trip to Orlando.
Simmons is yet to play a game this season. He was traded by the Philadelphia 76ers after making himself unavailable due to mental health reasons following the fallout from their 2021 playoffs defeat to the Atlanta Hawks, while a back injury has delayed his Nets debut.
In Wednesday's press conference, coach Steve Nash said the hope was that the injection would assist the healing process.
Nash went on to say that the team will have to wait-and-see how Simmons reacts to the treatment, and that there is no current timetable for his return to practice.
Liverpool moved just one point behind Manchester City in the Premier League title race after beating Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.
Second half goals from Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino were enough to seal victory for Jurgen Klopp's men, who avoided some scares before taking control just before the hour.
Mohamed Salah started the game on the bench after picking up a slight foot injury in Saturday's 2-0 win at Brighton and Hove Albion, with Sadio Mane, Luis Diaz and Jota making up the Reds' forward line.
Mikel Arteta will be unhappy with the result but his side remain in fourth place, a point ahead of Manchester United with two games still in hand, while Liverpool are now breathing down City's neck at the top.
Virgil van Dijk had Aaron Ramsdale working early as he headed a Trent Alexander-Arnold corner towards goal, but the Arsenal goalkeeper was able to palm it away.
The Gunners had the better of the first half without really creating any chances, though Gabriel Martinelli in particular was troubling Liverpool down the hosts' left side.
Sadio Mane had the ball in the net early in the second half though it was ruled out for offside, before sloppy play from Thiago gave Martin Odegaard the chance to score, but Alisson made a fantastic save to deny the Norwegian.
Thiago made up for that mistake shortly after with a tremendous throughball for Jota, whose left-foot shot squirmed past Ramsdale at his near post to give the visitors a 54th-minute lead.
Klopp decided to make two changes immediately after with Jota and Luis Diaz coming off for Salah and Firmino, and it was the latter who doubled the lead just after the hour mark, with the Brazilian flicking an Andy Robertson cross into the net from close range.
What does it mean? Imperious Liverpool giving us a title race
If we're honest, most people thought it was over. Man City were 14 points clear at the top just a few weeks ago, albeit Liverpool had two games in hand at the time.
Now, after 29 games each, the Reds sit just a point behind Pep Guardiola's side, and will go top for at least a brief period if they avoid defeat to Watford at Anfield in their next league game.
Liverpool have now won their last nine Premier League games, scoring 23 goals and conceding just two in this run. Away from home, the Reds have only failed to win five of their 15 league trips this season (D3 L2).
Jota the slotter downs Gunners again
Some players have better records against some teams than others. Robbie Fowler had a great record against Arsenal, Roberto Firmino has a very good record against Arsenal, and Diogo Jota has an outstanding record against *checks notes*… Arsenal.
The Portugal international has scored six goals in last five appearances against the north London side in all competitions. Indeed, only Jamie Vardy (five) has netted as many goals at the Emirates Stadium as a visitor than Jota.
Arsenal's woeful Reds record continues
The hosts were more than a match for Liverpool in the first half, but just could not find that extra bit of quality to ensure the score matched their efforts, similarly to how they lost to Man City at home earlier in the season having played well.
Arsenal have now won just one of their last 19 meetings with Liverpool in all competitions (D8 L10), beating them 2-1 at home in July 2020 after Klopp's men had already been crowned champions.
What's next?
Arsenal travel to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday while it's FA Cup quarter-final action for Liverpool as they head to Nottingham Forest – who knocked the Gunners out in the third round – on Sunday.
Thomas Tuchel set a record for the most Champions League wins after 50 games as a coach in Chelsea's 2-1 win over Lille on Wednesday.
The Blues' triumph at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in their last-16 second leg put Tuchel on 32 victories from a half-century of matches.
It sent him past the previous benchmark set by Zinedine Zidane, who managed 31 wins in his first 50 Champions League games in the dugout.
Chelsea had to come from behind to complete a 4-1 aggregate success against Lille, though. Christian Pulisic and Cesar Azpilicueta overturned Burak Yilmaz's opener from the penalty spot to send them into the quarter-finals.
Manchester United star Paul Pogba is offering a reward for information after his home was burgled on Tuesday.
The burglary took place while the midfielder was appearing in the second leg of United's Champions League last-16 clash with Atletico Madrid at Old Trafford.
In a statement posted on his social media channels, Pogba revealed he subsequently rushed home "not knowing if our children were safe and unharmed."
The France international said the intruders were in his home for five minutes while his children were asleep in their bedroom.
Juventus were dumped out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage for the third consecutive season after a dismal 3-0 second-leg defeat to Villarreal on Wednesday.
The two sides drew 1-1 in the first leg in Spain three weeks ago and Juve looked the more likely side to progress to the quarter-finals for much of the match at the Allianz Stadium.
Unai Emery's side produced a sensational final 12 minutes, though, sealing a memorable win thanks to penalties from Gerard Moreno and Arnaut Danjuma either side of Pau Torres' close-range finish.
Massimiliano Allegri's men looked crestfallen at the end as their 12-game unbeaten run came to an end in spectacular circumstances.
Cesar Azpilicueta scored the winner as Chelsea came from behind to beat Lille 2-1 and advance to the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Amid questions over Chelsea's ability to travel and play in Europe because of EU sanctions imposed on their owner Roman Abramovich, the Blues kept their continental campaign alive by seeing out a 4-1 aggregate success in the last-16 tie.
Burak Yilmaz put Lille in front at Stade Pierre-Mauroy when he drilled home a spot-kick, but Christian Pulisic restored parity in the third minute of first-half stoppage time.
Xeka hit the post for Lille in the second half but Azpilicueta ended their hopes of progression and ensured it was holders Chelsea who were in the hat for the quarter-final draw.
Chelsea struggled to turn their dominance of possession in the opening half an hour into chances and saw Andreas Christensen hobble off injured in the 33rd minute.
Lille were awarded a penalty when Jorginho was deemed to have handled the ball after referee Davide Massa reviewed the video footage, with Yilmaz firing home to halve the aggregate deficit.
However, Chelsea restored their two-goal cushion in the tie before half-time when Pulisic guided Jorginho's excellent throughball into the bottom-left corner.
Yilmaz angled a header wide shortly after the restart, while Antonio Rudiger bent a half-volley narrowly outside the post from the edge of the box on the hour mark.
Xeka headed a cross from Yilmaz against the upright before Azpilicueta met Mason Mount's cross at the back post and steered the ball past Leo Jardim to clinch victory in the 71st minute.
What does it mean? History for Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel was taking charge of his 50th Champions League game at Stade Pierre-Mauroy and he made history by beating Lille.
It was his 32nd victory in the competition, which is the most by a manager upon reaching a half-century of games. He surpassed the mark set by Zinedine Zidane, who won 31 of his first 50 matches as a coach in the Champions League.
Cesar's a lad you can count on
Azpilicueta marked moving level with Didier Drogba on 74 major European appearances for Chelsea with a finish the iconic striker would have been proud of. Frank Lampard (115) and John Terry (121) are the only outfielders to have played more continental games for the Blues.
Burak fights back
Yilmaz was an unlikely hero in Lille's Ligue 1 title run last season and he did his best to help them pull off another shock against Chelsea. He became the third oldest player to score in the Champions League at 36 years and 244 days old – behind only Ryan Giggs (37 years, 148 days) and Paolo Maldini (36 years, 333 days).
What's next?
Chelsea have an FA Cup quarter-final at Middlesbrough on Saturday, when Lille travel to Nantes in Ligue 1.
The Tennessee Titans are releasing future Hall of Fame wide receiver Julio Jones after an injury-riddled year saw him miss nearly half of the season.
As well as missing games, the 33-year-old showed signs of decline in his on-field play, finishing with career-low marks in yards, touchdowns, and receptions – both on a per-game basis and in total.
The trade to acquire Jones – which involved sending a 2022 second-round pick and a 2023 fourth-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons – will go down as a painful one for the Titans in a draft stacked with exciting wide receiver prospects, many of whom will be available in round two.
Tennessee do still have one of the NFL's most exciting young receivers in A.J. Brown, who finished with 869 receiving yards and five touchdowns despite missing four games in 2021.
Jones' departure does, however, create a gaping hole behind Brown on the depth chart, signalling there will be some incoming help for quarterback Ryan Tannehill, either in the draft or in free agency.
Tottenham boosted their Premier League top-four hopes with a 2-0 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium.
Goals from Cristian Romero and Harry Kane moved Antonio Conte's side to within three points of fourth-placed Arsenal – although that margin will increase should the Gunners avoid defeat against Liverpool later on Wednesday.
Romero opened his Tottenham account in the 37th minute when he diverted Dejan Kulusevski's effort past Robert Sanchez.
Kane doubled the visitors' lead and sealed the points 12 minutes after the break; becoming the Premier League's all-time leading away scorer as he netted his 95th such goal from 139 appearances.
Aiming to end a run of five successive defeats, Brighton almost gifted their opponents the lead inside five minutes.
After taking a heavy touch way outside his penalty area, Sanchez's attempted clearance was charged down by Kane. Despite having an empty goal to aim at, the England captain could only drag wide from a tight angle.
The visitors enjoyed over 56 per cent of the possession during the first half and eventually made their superiority tell eight minutes before the break.
Following a patient build-up, the well-placed Romero deflected Kulusevski's low first-time shot beyond Sanchez for his maiden Tottenham goal.
Kulusevski was presented with a tremendous opportunity to double the lead as he capitalised on Shane Duffy's loose header soon after, but Sanchez was quickly out to deny the Juventus loanee.
Tottenham did get their second goal following a quickfire counter in the 57th minute. Rodrigo Bentancur's throughball released Kane, who neatly slotted home.
Sanchez prevented Sergio Reguilon from increasing the advantage, but the visitors held on to claim a first win at the Amex Stadium since September 2018.
Harry Kane has broken the record for most Premier League goals scored away from home after netting in Tottenham's clash at Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old put Spurs 2-0 up at the Amex Stadium, and in the process moved to 95 goals from 139 away appearances, and ahead of Wayne Rooney's 94 in the competition.
Kane surpassed the former Manchester United and Everton striker's benchmark despite having played in 104 fewer such games in the competition.
The next four from the England captain in the ranking - Rooney, Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard and Andrew Cole - all made over 200 appearances in the EPL.
With the goal, Kane also moved to 12 goals in the Premier League and 22 in all competitions for the year.
Zack Greinke is returning to where he started his major league career, agreeing to a one-year, $13 million contract with the Kansas City Royals, pending a physical, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
The Royals selected Greinke with the sixth overall pick of the 2002 draft and he made his MLB debut for the club two years later.
Spending his first seven seasons in Kansas City, Greinke won the 2009 AL Cy Young Award with a league-leading 2.16 ERA and 242 strikeouts in 229 1/3 innings.
Pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015, he won his second ERA title, recording a 1.66 ERA, and finished second in NL Cy Young voting.
The 38-year-old, who has been selected to six All-Star Games and has won six Gold Gloves, has also pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Angels, Arizona Diamondbacks and spent the last three seasons with the Houston Astros.
In 29 starts and one appearance out of the bullpen last season, the right-hander went 11-6 with a 4.16 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in a team-leading 171 innings.
The ERA and WHIP were both his highest since 2016, when he posted a 4.37 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in his first season for Arizona.
He ranks 23rd on the all-time strikeout list with 2,809 and third behind Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander among active pitchers, but his strikeout rate of 6.32 per nine innings last season was his lowest since it was at 5.61 during his second year in the majors in 2005.
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