Cristiano Ronaldo was named only as a substitute for Juventus' opening Serie A match against Udinese amid renewed speculation he wants to leave the club.
Speaking ahead of his side's opening league game of 2021-22, head coach Massimiliano Allegri insisted Ronaldo had told him he wanted to stay in Turin.
Those comments came after the Portugal star posted to social media to hit out at what he described as "frivolous" rumours around his future.
However, on Sunday, Allegri selected Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata as a strike partnership, with Ronaldo on the bench.
Sky Sport Italia then reported that Ronaldo had requested to be left out of the first XI as he is attempting to secure a transfer before the window closes.
Ronaldo has been linked with a return to Real Madrid or Manchester United, while Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have also been credited with interest.
However, any move would appear problematic. Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has already said the 36-year-old will not be returning and Los Blancos are said to be trying to build funds for an attempt to sign Kylian Mbappe.
Selling the France star would likely be the only means for PSG to sign Ronaldo given the huge increase to their wage bill following the free transfer of Lionel Messi, while United must sell before buying again after spending upwards of £105million on Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane.
City, meanwhile, broke the Premier League transfer record by signing Jack Grealish for £100m and are expected to make another push to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham in the next week.
Record signing Romelu Lukaku returns for his second Chelsea debut against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Having last appeared for the Blues during the 2013-14 campaign, Thomas Tuchel hands Lukaku his first start since he rejoined the club and leaves Timo Werner on the bench for the Premier League clash.
The Belgium forward, who netted 24 goals in 36 Serie A appearances to fire Inter to the Scudetto last term, will be joined by Mason Mount and Kai Havertz for support up top.
Christian Pulisic misses out due to COVID-19 with Havertz taking his place, while Reece James replaces Trevoh Chalobah, meaning Cesar Azpilicueta moves back to centre-back.
Behind the visitors' three-man defence, Edouard Mendy retains his place - the former Rennes goalkeeper keeping the most clean sheets in the Premier League (10) since Tuchel's appointment in January.
Chelsea are looking for their fifth consecutive away London derby league victory, last achieving such a feat under Jose Mourinho between January 2005 and January 2006.
However, Mikel Arteta's men were victorious in both fixtures last term, though they have not won three in a row in the competition since February 2004.
Arsenal are without Ben White, who misses out through COVID-19, so Rob Holding comes in at centre-back.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who tested positive for coronavirus prior to the defeat to Brentford last weekend, returns and is listed among the substitutes, but Alexandre Lacazette and Willian are both out after their positive tests.
New addition Martin Odegaard is not in the squad, but Arteta's other midweek signing Aaron Ramsdale makes the bench.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is poised to give Milan a huge early-season lift by roaring back into action.
The extroverted striker is just weeks away from returning to full team training after the knee injury that forced him to miss Sweden's Euro 2020 campaign.
Head coach Stefano Pioli knows a fit Ibrahimovic can transform his team, as was proven when he scored 15 goals in his first 15 Serie A games of last season.
He netted at one goal every 79.47 minutes during that run, and even though his scoring then dried up, the veteran remains a talisman with the Rossoneri.
Asked about Ibrahimovic's condition, Pioli said in a news conference on Sunday: "Physically, he is certainly looking better, even though he's not begun full training with the team and he's forcing things a little bit.
"Next week will be very important for him because he needs to start ball work and that's what he's been missing.
"So we'll see next week whether he's able to actually train with us, and during the international break he might be able to be fit and available.
"I think his role is always the same: Zlatan is a charismatic leader in terms of his character. He's a leader on the pitch as well, he really is the benchmark for everyone.
"He's a significant figure. He's very motivated."
Ibrahimovic stands eighth on the list of top scorers across all competitions over the past 10 seasons, among players competing in Europe's top five leagues.
That is all the more impressive given his goals across two seasons with LA Galaxy are not counted in his total of 247 strikes, and Pioli will know Milan carried a unique threat when Ibrahimovic was on hand last term.
They won 66.7 per cent of games where he started (12 of 18) and that dipped slightly to 60 per cent when Ibrahimovic was not in Pioli's XI.
Milan begin their 2021-22 season against Sampdoria on Monday, then face Cagliari next weekend, and those may be the only games Ibrahimovic has to miss, if Pioli's fitness forecast proves accurate.
"He's fit and firing mentally," Pioli said of the player who turns 40 in October.
"He's a player that can still be a matchwinner for the team, for himself. So he's very motivated and can't wait to get back into full training with his team-mates.
"The same goes for me: I can't wait to get him back on the training ground."
Pedri has belatedly been given a break from Barcelona duty after featuring in their first two matches of the 2021-22 season.
The Spain midfielder posted a picture from his aeroplane to social media as he headed back to his home in Tenerife.
Barca shared the image with the caption, "deserved vacation".
Pedri will not play for the Blaugrana against Getafe next Sunday, while it remains to be seen if he will be called up by Luis Enrique for the subsequent international break.
The 18-year-old would return to Catalonia in time for Barca's LaLiga clash with Sevilla on September 12.
Pedri had played only a single season with Las Palmas before linking up with Ronald Koeman's Barca at the start of the 2020-21 campaign, but he quickly became a key man.
Since his debut last September, only Bruno Fernandes and Manu Trigueros (both 56) have appeared in more club games across all competitions than Pedri (54, tied with Marcus Rashford) among players in Europe's top five leagues.
But Pedri has also turned out 10 times for the senior Spain team in that period, including in all six matches in their run to the Euro 2020 semi-finals.
And there were a further six appearances at the Tokyo Olympics as the teenager helped Spain take silver.
Having started his 2020-21 season in the Spain Under-21 team on September 3, 2020 – with four games at that level – Pedri has played 74 matches for club and country in less than a year.
Koeman was asked about Pedri's impending departure following Saturday's 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao, in which he was substituted after 62 minutes.
"It's better to give him a break now, so as not to have problems in the month of November," the coach explained.
Rugby Australia remain "confident" the third Bledisloe Cup clash will be staged in Perth, despite New Zealand pulling out of the game next weekend.
The All Blacks and the Wallabies were due to meet at Optus Stadium on August 28, but New Zealand Rugby (NZR) opted against travelling due to concerns over coronavirus.
Rugby Australia (RA) announced it was "incredibly disappointed" at the move, while Wallabies head coach Dave Rennie stated in no uncertain terms he was "bloody angry" over the decision.
Playing the Test in the United Kingdom or South Africa had been suggested as an alternative, but RA chief executive Andy Marinos hopes the trans-Tasman rivals can still do battle in Perth next month.
"We're working hard now with the West Australian government and the stadium to see if we can't move that to September 4," Marinos told Channel Nine on Sunday.
"We remain optimistic and confident we can get the game away eventually in Perth."
NZR chief executive Mark Robinson denied claims that RA had not been told that the All Blacks would not fulfil the fixture before it was announced.
He said: "We had calls right through from Wednesday, Thursday, we put something in writing on Thursday and then we spoke to them before anything was released.
"Certainly I know that senior All Blacks and Wallabies were discussing the situation and our players were making them aware of the reality of our situation."
NZR also announced the All Blacks' two home Rugby Championship Tests against South Africa – scheduled for September 25 and October 2 – will not be played in New Zealand following government advice that the Springboks would not be able to enter the country due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Christian Yelich hit two home runs including a grand slam as the Milwaukee Brewers won 9-6 over the Washington Nationals in the MLB on Saturday.
Yelich tallied six RBIs, going three-for-five, while Kolten Wong provided a highlight with a spectacular tag from an in-field pop-out.
Left-fielder Yelich was the star, though, having struggled recently, with no home runs from his previous 69 at-bats.
Yelich delivered early with a solo home run at the bottom of the first inning with the Brewers 2-0 down. He also drove in a run in the fifth inning with a bouncing base hit to make it 3-2 before Wong tied it up with an outrageous run to home plate as the Nats fell asleep.
With the Brewers 5-4 down at the bottom of the eighth, Yelich provided the knockout punch with his 454-foot grand slam to deep right-field.
Yelich has 38 RBI and 66 hits, along with eight homers for the season. The Brewers improve their record to 75-49, firming up their grip on top spot in the National League Central.
Nine in a row for Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers made it nine consecutive wins as new recruits Trea Turner and Max Scherzer begin to really find their groove, recording a 4-3 win over the New York Mets.
Turner scored his first home run for the Dodgers since his move from the Washington Nationals last month with a lead-off homer.
Scherzer, who was also traded in from the Nats last month, sent down eight strikeouts across his five innings on the hill, allowing only one earned run.
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola was spectacular with 11 strikeouts, retiring the first 18 San Diego Padres' batters, including his brother Austin, before his side lost 4-3 in extras.
LaMonte Wade Jr scored a pinch-hit go-ahead two-run homer in the ninth inning to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 6-5 win over the Oakland Athletics.
The New York Yankees piled on five runs in the fifth inning as they defeated the Minnesota Twins 7-1 with Giancarlo Stanton and Luke Voit both driving in two.
Mariners pitchers mauled by Astros
Starting pitcher Logan Gilbert had a tough shift on the hill for the Seattle Mariners as they were whacked 15-1 by the free-wheeling Houston Astros. The Astros piled on four runs in the third inning and another six in the fifth, as Gilbert was pulled having allowed nine earned runs. Gilbert's replacement, Robert Dugger, did not fare much better, allowing seven hits.
D.J.'s dazzling double play
D.J. Peters produced an amazing double play as the Texas Rangers won 10-1 over the Boston Red Sox. With the Rangers up 2-1 at the bottom of the third inning, Peters pulled off a tough outfield catch from Rafael Devers before a bullet long-range throw to first completed a spectacular double out.
Saturday's results
New York Yankees 7-1 Minnesota Twins
Tampa Bay Rays 8-4 Chicago White Sox
Kansas City Royals 4-2 Chicago Cubs
Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 Detroit Tigers
Milwaukee Brewers 9-6 Washington Nationals
Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 New York Mets
San Francisco Giants 6-5 Oakland Athletics
Cleveland Indians 5-1 Los Angeles Angels
Houston Astros 15-1 Seattle Mariners
Cincinnati Reds 7-4 Miami Marlins
Atlanta Braves 5-4 Baltimore Orioles
Texas Rangers 10-1 Boston Red Sox
Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 St Louis Cardinals
Colorado Rockies 5-2 Arizona Diamondbacks
San Diego Padres 4-3 Philadelphia Phillies
Mets at Dodgers
The Dodgers (78-46) will chase 10 straight wins when they take on the Mets (60-63) again in the final game of their four-game series.
Jamaica double Olympic champion, Elaine Thompson-Herah, had no comment regarding the pre-race comments of Sha’Carri Richardson after handing the American a crushing defeat at the Prefontaine Classic on Saturday.
Thompson-Herah clocked a new personal best of 10.54 in the women’s 100m, just outside of the longstanding world record set by Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988. Similar to the finish at the Olympics a few weeks ago, her compatriots Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.73) and Shericka Jackson (10.76) we second and third.
Heading into the race, however, the focus had been on the return to the sprints of American Sha’Carri Richardson. Richardson had run 10.72 in April and won the US trials to set up the prospect of an intriguing match-up at the Olympics. The 21-year-old was, however, suspended ahead of Tokyo after returning a positive test for marijuana.
Ahead of the Wanda Diamond League, many framed the race as an Olympic do-over for the American, who certainly headed into the event sky-high on confidence with plenty of pre-race chatter to boot. It did not go to plan. Richardson finished last in 11.14, and at the end of the race, the Olympic do-over had the same three medallists as the original. On Richardson’s placing and pre-race chatter, the decorated sprint queens had no comment.
“I wasn’t watching Sha’Carri to be honest,” Fraser-Pryce, who went viral for a cheeky post-race smirk as she passed by the American being interviewed, said.
“No, you shouldn’t have,” Fraser-Pryce replied when anyone should have really been surprised by another Jamaican sweep.
Fraser-Pryce may well have a point, perhaps expecting Richardson, who is yet to win a major medal, to match up to the in-form Jamaican 100m medallist, who in total have 8 Olympic medals between them and three of the four fastest times in history, might have been a stretch.
“I didn’t hear much of that,” Thompson-Herah said when quizzed on the American's pre-race comments.
“No comment on that,” the athlete added when asked for her assessment of Richardson’s performance.
Andrey Rublev finally got the better of compatriot Daniil Medvedev after a flashpoint involving a courtside camera in the Western and Southern Open semi-finals.
Rublev will now face Alexander Zverev in the decider, having ended Medvedev's bid for a Toronto-Cincinnati double.
Medvedev had never even dropped a set to his fellow Russian in four prior ATP Tour meetings and appeared to be on course for another dominant victory when he took the first set.
But the world number two clattered into a camera early in the second and all momentum was soon lost.
Medvedev complained about the positioning of the camera, claiming it had caused a hand injury and aiming a kick at the lens.
He swiftly called for treatment as his performance started to fall well below his lofty standards, with Rublev finally able to win a set after breaking in an epic 15-minute game.
A series of unforced Medvedev errors allowed Rublev to break again in the decider and seal a stunning 2-6 6-3 6-3 triumph.
Third seed Zverev fought back from a double break down in the final set to progress to the final with a 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-4) win over second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The epic match lasted two hours and 41 minutes, with Zverev responding strongly after appearing unwell to book his spot in the final against Rublev.
Rublev gets his Daniil degree
Asked to reflect on finally toppling Medvedev, Rublev told Amazon: "It's always tough to play against Daniil and to beat him.
"I think it gives me a bit more confidence that I can play against him, I can compete against him. There are still so many things to improve, but it's like I've passed university."
The victory came as a relief, with Rublev believing he was unfortunate even to be trailing in the first set.
"Inside I was thinking, when I was 6-2, the score shouldn't be like this," he said.
"The points were really tight, some little outs, little mistakes, some good shots from Daniil. The score was not real [in] the first set.
"Even the third set, I won 6-3 but the match was so intense. You saw so many rallies, so many long rallies, and it was so tough.
"It was a super mental match, a super physical match, exactly like a chess match."
Zverev's Novak mentality
Tokyo 2020 gold medalist Zverev had trailed 4-1 in the third set against Tsitsipas, but fought back with two breaks before winning in a tie-break.
"After I did the first break back I thought 'OK I have the chances'," Zverev said during his on-court interview. "I felt like he was not serving bombs. I felt like I was always in the rallies but I was losing the rallies because I was a bit low energy, so I started being a bit more aggressive, a bit of the Novak mentality that I had against him at the Olympics as well."
Zverev has a 4-0 record against final opponent Rublev but he was wary of his opponent.
"Favourite or not, I think if you're in the final, there's no easy opponent," he said. "Today he played incredible beating Medvedev."
Ronald Koeman had no complaints as Barcelona could only draw at Athletic Bilbao, hailing his battling side and Memphis Depay in particular.
Depay scored his first Blaugrana goal 15 minutes from time at San Mames to cancel out Inigo Martinez's opener and secure a point.
The Netherlands international became the first Barca player to have a goal involvement in each of his opening two LaLiga appearances (one goal, one assist) since both Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez in 2011-12.
Yet Depay could have added to his tally as he squandered the best of his three chances – valued at 0.24 expected goals – four minutes from time.
"I could have scored two goals," he told Barca TV. "In the end, I did it with the left.
"I am very pleased to have scored, for having scored my first goal, but disappointed not to have scored the second chance I had."
Koeman was pleased with Depay, however, adding: "He has scored a great goal and had a chance for another. We must highlight the attitude of the team after the 1-0 against.
"[Depay] has effectiveness, speed, strength. He's a great player, that's why we've signed him. You have to have personality, here the demand is better and he takes it well."
Indeed, despite Depay's late chance, Koeman suggested Barca would have been fortunate to win.
They had 67.3 per cent of the possession but just nine attempts to Athletic's 16.
"We initially lacked calm and the ability to find the free man," Koeman said. "We made mistakes and couldn't get out.
"Little by little we entered the game, we reacted well after the 1-0 and in the end we were better. We could even win, but maybe it would have been too much."
Barca had some issues at the back, with Eric Garcia sent off late on after Gerard Pique had departed with injury.
In a worrying trend, this is the sixth time in Pique's past 13 LaLiga starts he has failed to see out the full match, as many substitutions as in his previous 111 outings.
But Koeman said Pique's problem was "not serious and I hope he will be available for next week".
Jamaica double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah put away a top-quality field to massively improve an already impressive personal best, at the Prefontaine Classic, Wanda Diamond League meet in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday.
Fresh off an impressive triumph at the Tokyo Games, Thompson-Herah was in no mood to slow down, and in fact, went considerably faster. The Jamaican pulled away from compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the final metres of the race to stop the clock at 10.54, just .05 second outside of the world record set by the United States' Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988.
In almost identical fashion to Tokyo, Fraser-Pryce was second in 10.73, with Shericka Jackson third in 10.76.
Prior to the race, a lot of the attention was focussed on the return of flamboyant United States sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson who missed out on a match-up with the Jamaica trio at the Olympics, after serving a brief suspension for testing positive for marijuana.
Expectations had been heightened for the sprinter’s return after emphatically winning the US trials before the Games. In Eugene, however, she was nowhere to be found. Richardson got away slowly and never got into the race, ending at the back of the field in a pedestrian 11.14. Thompson-Herah now has the two fastest times outside of the longstanding world record set by Griffith-Joyner.
World number one Ash Barty reached yet another final on Saturday at the Western and Southern Open, where she will face wildcard Jil Teichmann.
Barty is through to her sixth title match of the season – and first in Cincinnati – after beating Angelique Kerber in straight sets.
In action on the WTA Tour for the first time since winning at Wimbledon, having gone to the Tokyo Olympics in the intervening period, the Australian came through a sloppy spell in the second set to advance 6-2 7-5.
Teichmann is next, taking on Barty for the first time after a stunning run continued with victory over Karolina Pliskova.
The world number 76 had already eliminated Naomi Osaka and Belinda Bencic and was a deserving 6-2 6-4 winner against Pliskova.
Barty finds the balance
Barty had been racing towards victory when she took the opener on Kerber's serve, her second break, and then went 2-0 up in the second.
But Kerber gave the favourite a scare by winning each of the next three games, belatedly finding joy against the Barty serve.
The All England Club champion has won more matches than any other player on tour this year, though, and regained her composure to break twice more for a 39th triumph of 2021.
"It's never, ever a walk in the park against Angie," Barty said. "She's an exceptional competitor and I think early on in that second set she went to another gear and it took me a few games to go with her.
"That was the change – she was able to lift her game and, even though there were some close games, she won the big points early on in the second set.
"I'm glad that I was able to find a way through there in the end.
"I had to find the balance of being aggressive and not getting too passive and letting Angie dictate.
"She moves exceptionally well, puts the balls in difficult positions, and I felt like when I was able to control the court I did a better job.
"In the games I got broken, she just saw too many second serves and was able to be assertive.
"I'm really happy to get through in the end, and to be playing for a title here in Cincinnati is awesome."
'Random' run wears on
Despite facing three seeds in succession, Teichmann has not dropped a set since losing the first against Osaka in the last 16.
Continuing that sequence against Barty will be a tough ask, but few would have anticipated Pliskova being brushed aside quite so easily.
Teichmann herself has no explanation for a sensational run of form.
"It's tough to explain," she said. "When I ask my coaches what they think of me, they always say, 'You're just an unexpected person, you do random things', so I guess that's one of them.
"I'm feeling really, really good here, the conditions, serving good, moving well, when I can I attack, I defend... What I'm feeling here, I cannot even describe it.
"It's a dream. I'm playing centre court, a final against the world number one. I cannot ask for anything else."
Memphis Depay's first goal for Barcelona secured a 1-1 draw for Ronald Koeman's side against Athletic Bilbao at San Mames on Saturday.
Barca started life without Lionel Messi – who joined Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month – with a 4-2 win over Real Sociedad last weekend, but they were well off the pace for much of the clash with Marcelino's side.
The hosts had seven shots to Barca's three in a lively first half and they deservedly went ahead five minutes after the restart when Inigo Martinez steered a header past Neto.
Former Lyon forward Depay ensured a share of the spoils 15 minutes from full-time, though, lashing home from an acute angle moments after Frenkie De Jong had hit the crossbar.
Eric Garcia was then sent off in the final moments of the match as Barca dropped their first points of the new season.
Martin Braithwaite squandered a glorious opportunity to put Barca ahead after six minutes, the Denmark international inexplicably blazing over from 10 yards after Depay's cross was deflected into his path.
That miss should have been punished five minutes later, but Oihan Sancet's instinctive effort crashed back off Neto's crossbar.
Inaki Williams headed over from inside the six-yard box shortly after the half-hour mark, while Ronald Araujo – who had earlier replaced the injured Gerard Pique – saw an overhead kick ruled out for a foul by Braithwaite in the build-up.
Araujo was in the thick of the action at the start of the second period, acrobatically clearing Alex Berenguer's strike off the line, but he was powerless to stop Martinez storming in to head home Iker Muniain's corner in the 50th minute.
Neto pawed away Sancet's powerful strike soon after as Athletic continued to press, before Frenkie De Jong crashed a sumptuous half-volley against the crossbar.
His Netherlands team-mate was not to be denied, though, Depay thundering an effort past Julen Agirrezabala from a tight angle to secure a point for Koeman’s below-par side, who had Garcia dismissed deep into stoppage time for bringing down Nico Williams as he bore down on goal.
Mikel Arteta reckons Arsenal must be "perfect" to beat Chelsea on Sunday as he looks to get the north London club back among the Premier League challengers.
The Gunners started the new top-flight campaign in lacklustre fashion, going down to promoted Brentford 2-0 in the opening game.
A derby with Thomas Tuchel's side is next up and, after defeating Chelsea 3-1 in the same fixture last term, Arteta knows what it will take to be successful again at Emirates Stadium.
"What we have to do is perform, perform at the highest level," he replied when asked in a pre-match media conference if a draw would be a positive result.
"We know that to beat Chelsea we need to be perfect.
"Individually and collectively, we have to have an extraordinary game. The focus is going to be that."
Arsenal also triumphed 1-0 at Stamford Bridge towards the end of the previous season, too. They have not won three in a row against Chelsea in the league since a successful run between January 2003 and February 2004.
While Chelsea could be buoyed on by their record signing Romelu Lukaku making his return, Arteta has added Martin Odegaard and Aaron Ramsdale to his squad.
Asked whether spending money came with added pressure, Arteta made clear it is all part of the long-term planning at the club to get them back contending again.
"We are a football club that tries to make the right decisions and move forward," the Spaniard said.
"It’s never been down to me. When we have success, titles, or when we have difficulties, it's down to us with me here, and it will be like this in the future.
"What we want to do is bring this club back to where it was. We are going to do that, the timing of it is a little more complicated than people think, but the aim is to do that.
"The only aim going into all matches is to win, nothing else. Achieving that as quickly as possible is the only objective we have."
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