Under-pressure head coach Simone Inzaghi says criticism will help him improve as his Inter side prepare to try and secure a place in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
The Nerazzurri have taken just one point from their past five Serie A matches, slipping to fifth place to put Inzaghi under increasing scrutiny.
Inter were beaten 1-0 at home by Monza on Saturday and have been licking their wounds ahead of a second leg against Benfica at San Siro on Wednesday that they will start with a 2-0 lead.
Inzaghi says he will not be affected by flak that comes his way as that is nothing new to him.
He told reporters on Tuesday: "I don't think it's strange [for questions to be asked over his future].
"Here at Inter, if you read before the Barcelona or Porto matches it was the same thing.
"It's something I'm used to, as long as they criticise me [and not the players] it's not a problem: as far as me and my staff, the criticisms help us to improve more and more.
"We know we have not had the path that Inter should have in the league, like many other teams we've had problems, but there are still eight games to go and we still have a margin.
"We have to be good at isolating ourselves and try to provide an important evening for our fans."
Inter may have a very different squad next season, with Milan Skriniar on his way to Paris Saint-Germain, Romelu Lukaku's loan deal coming to an end and also Stefan de Vrij among a group of players who are nearing the end of their contracts.
Inzaghi will not use that as an excuse.
He added: "We have to be good at isolating ourselves, as far as players are concerned, we have several who have contracts that are about to expire, but I see them working well every day.
"It's part of today's football to always be criticised or in the balance. We have to be good and strong, with a cool head and always think about the next match which at the moment is Benfica."
Manchester City have submitted a planning application for the expansion of the Etihad Stadium, the club announced on Tuesday.
City's statement described "the development of a best-in-class fan experience and year-round entertainment and leisure destination".
The work centres around the Etihad's North Stand, which would be expanded to increase the stadium's capacity to over 60,000, City added.
A revamped fan zone, a new club shop, a club museum and a hotel also form part of the proposal.
City estimate it will bring more than £300million investment into the area, with the work set to take up to three years to complete.
The Premier League champions' announcement came following a period of consultation with supporters, during which City said feedback found fans were in favour of the plans.
The Etihad, listed as the City of Manchester Stadium, is included in the United Kingdom and Ireland bid to host Euro 2028. That bid listed a 61,000 capacity.
Javier Zanetti says under-fire head coach Simone Inzaghi knows Inter must end their Serie A slump as he fights to keep his job.
The pressure increased on Inzaghi when the Nerazzurri were consigned to a 1-0 defeat by Monza at San Siro on Saturday.
Inter have slipped to fifth in the table, two points behind fourth-placed fierce rivals Milan after taking just one point from their past five matches.
Inzaghi's side are still in the hunt for two trophies, leading Benfica 2-0 in their Champions League quarter-final ahead of a home second leg on Wednesday and locked at 1-1 with Juventus in a Coppa Italia semi-final.
Inter vice-president Zanetti played down reports that crisis talks were held with Inzaghi following their latest loss last weekend, but confirmed he had spoken to the former Lazio boss.
The former Argentina international told DAZN: "Let's say we always talk, I like to do it especially with a clear head the day after the match.
"On Wednesday we'll all be together to try to get to this semi-final Champions League that we have been missing for a long time. We hope that the team can respond on the pitch."
Draymond Green pleaded his innocence for the stamping incident that led to his ejection from Monday's 114-106 loss to the Sacramento Kings, calling on referees to help him out.
Green was called for a flagrant-2 foul and subsequently ejected in the fourth quarter of the Game 2 loss in the Golden State Warriors’ playoffs first round loss after an altercation with Kings center Domantas Sabonis.
The Warriors big man stamped on Sabonis’ chest, after the latter fell to the ground and appeared to grab Green's leg as Golden State tried to launch a fast break following Stephen Curry's rebound from Malik Monk's missed two-point attempt.
Lithuanian center Sabonis was on the floor in pain for several minutes. While Green was ejected, Sabonis was called for a technical foul for the grab.
The Warriors All-Star claimed it was the second time in two games that he had been grabbed, citing a similar incident in Game 1 involving Monk and calling for more assistance from the officials.
"My leg got grabbed," Green told reporters. "Second time in two nights. Referees just watch it. I've got to land my foot somewhere.
"I'm not the most flexible person, so I'm not stretching that far. I could only step so far in pulling my leg away. It is what it is."
Green said the referees told him he had been ejected because he "stomped too hard", while he was not surprised Sabonis stayed down injured given the impact.
Sabonis refused to be drawn on the incident, nor whether there was any animosity between him and Green as a result.
"It's playoff basketball," Sabonis told NBA on TNT. "This is it, we're here to fight. Every time we step on the floor, we're going to give everything for our team-mates and the franchise.
"We're both fighting for the rebound. We fell on each other, stuff happens, it's basketball, we've got to move on, next play."
Doc Rivers' "cursing" had the desire effect as the Philadelphia 76ers stepped it up in the second half to take a 2-0 lead over the Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference playoff series.
The Nets led Game 2 at Wells Fargo Center on Monday by five points at half-time and Rivers decided just over a minute into the third quarter it was time for him to unleash some verbal volleys.
Sixers head coach Rivers' intervention sparked his side into life and they went on to win 96-84.
Tyrese Maxey top scored with 33 points, including six three-pointers, while Joel Embiid finished with 20 points, 19 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks.
Tobias Harris also weighed in with 20 points and 12 rebounds as Philadelphia took command of the first-round series before travelling to New York for Game 3 on Thursday.
Asked what Rivers said during a huddle early in the third quarter, James Harden said: "Cursing us out. That's it. Just cursing us out.
"The first possession, we didn't run a play that he drew up, for whatever reason. But we got it right."
Rivers felt the Sixers made life difficult for themselves before raising their game to dominate the second half.
"We got guys to the right space," Rivers said. "Joel was patient. James was patient. We moved the ball, we got every shot we wanted.
"That was a hard game, because we got outside of ourselves in the first half. I thought we were forcing it. We were trying, nothing selfish, but we're trying to score all of us, instead of being there giving you the answers with their traps. Trust your stuff, trust your spacing, move the ball and the right guys are going to end up with the ball.
"And if we do it enough, eventually, Joel, you're gonna get one-on-ones, and then you're going to dominate the game. And I thought we did that in the second half."
Cam Johnson led the Nets with 28 points but they were unable to level the series.
The Boston Bruins continued their historic season with a 3-1 Game 1 victory in the first-round series against the Florida Panthers at TD Garden on Monday.
Boston put together the greatest regular season record in NHL history at 65-12-5, beating the previous record held by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings (62-13-7) by three wins.
Kicking off their Eastern Conference playoff campaign, the Bruins jumped ahead in the first period through a David Pastrnak goal, before Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk added one each in the second period either side of Matthew Tkachuk's lone Panthers score.
While the Bruins came out with the win, they finished on the wrong end of the total shot count 32-29, also trailing slightly in hits (44-43).
Head coach Jim Montgomery said the score was not indicative of the general play, but at this time of year they will take whatever they can get.
"Results matter more than the process right now," he said. "When we look at our five-on-five game, we were not very happy with our process.
"So we can get better there, but the result was really good, and I think the result comes from we had some players play really well, especially our goaltender.
"The intensity of the playoffs, it surprised us a little bit, and I think we had a little bit of nerves."
Marchand is no stranger to playoff hockey, winning the Stanley Cup with the Bruins back in 2011, and he made it clear Boston are not happy with just the regular-season record.
"I don't think we've ever been satisfied with any game we've had this year," he said. "It's always good to start the first game with a win, but we haven't accomplished anything yet."
Tkachuk credited the Bruins with the way they improved the longer the game went on.
"There were parts of our game that were good, and I feel like [the Bruins] got a little bit better as it got on," he said. "Especially when you have a two-goal lead, it's easier to play.
"You're playing safer, and they packed it in pretty good on us, but I'm confident in our team, in our game, and seeing a lot of things that I think we could hang with these guys."
Game 2 will also take place in Boston on Wednesday before the series heads to Florida.
Shohei Ohtani helped his Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing streak on Sunday, igniting a 5-4 road win against the Boston Red Sox.
Ohtani started on the mound at Fenway Park, giving up one run while striking out three batters across the opening two innings.
He also collected a base hit in the first frame, and followed it with another single in the second, before rain arrived and forced a weather delay.
With his arm cooling down during the lengthy break, Ohtani was replaced by Tucker Davidson upon resumption, but the five runs the Angels put up in the first two innings proved to be enough.
The catalyst for their bright offensive start was Hunter Renfroe, connecting on a three-run homer with the game's fourth at-bat. Renfroe then added his fourth RBI of the contest an inning later with a ground-out.
Red Sox star Rafael Devers tried to ignite a late comeback in the bottom of the ninth, with his RBI single bridging the gap to 5-4 while runners remained on first and second base with one out, but Rob Refsnyder and Masataka Yoshida could not muster a hit from either of the final two at-bats.
After the win, Angels manager Phil Nevin said the team would discuss moving up Ohtani's next start due to his limited workload this time out.
Rangers pitch combined one-hitter
There was an injury scare for Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom, but it could not sour their terrific 4-0 shutout of the Kansas City Royals.
DeGrom was withdrawn after four innings of work with what the team called a precaution due to wrist soreness, but he held the Royals hit-less during those four innings, and the bullpen only allowed one hit the rest of the way.
Dane Dunning came in and tossed four innings in relief, allowing one hit and one walk in a great showing, while the bulk of the offensive damage was done by a three-run homer from Josh Jung in the first inning.
It was Jung's third home run of the season, and team-mate Marcus Semien joined him with three for the campaign after a solo homer of his own.
Rays keep home run streak alive in loss
The Tampa Bay Rays suffered a disappointing 8-1 road defeat at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds, but not before keeping their historic home run streak alive.
The Rays were down 8-0 in the last inning when Josh Lowe hit a consolation home run, but with it, he marked the 17th consecutive game Tampa have hit a home run in to start the season.
Tampa Bay slipped to a still league-leading 14-3 record with the loss, but they are now just three games with a home run away from tying the 2019 Seattle Mariners for the longest streak to start a season in MLB history.
The Golden State Warriors' title defense is on rocky ground after Monday's 114-106 loss to the Sacramento Kings left them 2-0 down in their playoffs first round series.
To make matters worse for the reigning champions, Draymond Green faces a ban for Game 3 back at Chase Center after being ejected for stomping on Domantas Sabonis with 7:03 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Kings led 91-87 at the time with the contest wide open until Sacramento pulled away with 12 of the final 17 points. The Warriors were left to rue 20 turnovers, along with making 13-of-40 three-point attempts.
De'Aaron Fox, who finished with 24 points on 10-of-23 shooting with nine assists, made a three-point shot with 2:17 remaining before Sabonis assisted Davion Mitchell's triple for 112-103 with 1:17 left. Sabonis scored 24 points on eight-of-12 shooting with nine rebounds and four assists.
Warriors guard Stephen Curry shot three-of-13 from three-point range, finishing with 28 points and six assists, while Klay Thompson made five-of-10 from beyond the arc in his 21-point haul.
Andrew Wiggins contributed strongly again with 22 points and five rebounds, while Green had four rebounds, five assists and eight points before his ejection.
The Green incident came when Sabonis fell to the ground amid a scrum of players attempting to rebound Malik Monk's failed two-point attempt.
The Kings center appeared to grab Green's leg as the Warriors tried to launch a break, prompting the reaction. Green's right foot landed heavily on Sabonis' chest, with the Lithuanian remaining on the floor in pain as the officials reviewed the play.
The officials called Sabonis for a technical foul for grabbing Green's leg, with the Warriors center given a flagrant-2 foul, prompting his automatic ejection and potential suspension.
The Kings fans at Golden 1 Center yelled at Green during the review, with the four-time All-Star egging them on, waving them on and holding a hand to his ear calling for more.
Maxey stars as 76ers open up 2-0 lead
Tyrese Maxey drained six three-pointers as the Philadelphia 76ers claimed a 2-0 lead in their playoffs first round series with a 96-84 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Maxey scored a game-high 33 points for the 76ers, including a triple from Joel Embiid's pass with 1:54 remaining to open up a 12-point lead. Maxey's total was a playoff career-high.
Embiid pulled down 19 rebounds, with 20 points on six-of-11 shooting and seven assists, while Tobias Harris added 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Philadelphia showcased their depth, with James Harden only having eight points on three-of-13 shooting and seven assists.
The Nets had started strongly, leading by 10 points in the second quarter with Cam Johnson having 22 first-half points but he finished with only 28. Brooklyn only used eight players.
The 76ers turned the game in their favour with a 24-14 third quarter, condemning the Nets to their seventh straight postseason loss, having been swept by the Boston Celtics at this stage last year.
Frank Lampard's start to life back at Chelsea has not gone according to plan.
The Blues have lost all three of their games under Lampard, who was appointed on an interim basis earlier in April following Graham Potter's dismissal.
That run included a 2-0 defeat at Real Madrid in the first leg of a Champions League quarter-final tie, with Los Blancos heading to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday with a club record in their sights.
Tuesday's other game sees Serie A leaders Napoli go up against Milan, who lead 1-0 from the first leg of that all-Italian encounter.
With the help of Opta numbers, Stats Perform previews the first two Champions League matches of the week.
Chelsea v Real Madrid: Los Blancos hunting sixth straight knockout win
Madrid have won their last five Champions League knockout matches, their joint-longest winning run in knockout games in the competition.
All five wins have come against English teams, with only Barcelona (seven in a row between 2014 and 2016) having a longer winning run against English clubs.
Karim Benzema scored Madrid's opener in last week's 2-0 win at Santiago Bernabeu. The striker's last 11 Champions League goals have come against English teams, while his last 14 have all been in the knockout stages of the competition, the longest such run by a player in Champions League history. Benzema has 14 goals and two assists for Madrid in his last nine appearances in the knockout stages.
Madrid's second was teed up by Vinicius Junior, who has been involved in 20 goals in his last 20 Champions League appearances, scoring 10 goals and assisting 10 goals in this time. Since the start of last season, the Brazil winger is the only player to reach double figures for both goals and assists in the competition.
Madrid have progressed from 18 of their 19 Champions League ties after winning the first leg by two or more goals, failing only in 2003-04 against Monaco in the quarter-finals.
Chelsea do have some hope, however. They have progressed from five of their last seven Champions League ties when losing the first leg away from home, and done so in each of the last two when losing by two clear goals (vs Napoli in 2011-12 and Paris Saint-Germain in 2013-14).
The Blues have lost two of their last three European matches against Madrid (W1), both in Champions League quarter-finals across the last two campaigns. They had not lost any of their first five against them before this (W3 D2).
Napoli v Milan: Serie A leaders out to avoid third Rossoneri reverse
Napoli have already lost twice to Milan in April, losing 4-0 in Serie A at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium and 1-0 at San Siro in the first leg of this tie. The last side to beat them three times in one season was Lazio in the 1994-95 campaign.
The omens are good for Milan, who have won their last three away matches against Napoli, all in Serie A, their joint longest away winning run against them.
Milan have not reached the Champions League semi-finals since the 2006-07 season, when they went on to win the competition. They have only been eliminated twice after winning the first leg of a knockout tie – in 2003-04 v Deportivo de La Coruna in the quarter-final (4-1 first leg, 0-4 second leg) and 2012-13 v Barcelona in the last 16 (2-0 first leg, 0-4 second leg).
Napoli are, however, unbeaten in their last 12 home Champions League matches (W9 D3) since a 4-2 defeat to Manchester City in November 2017. They have won their four home games this season, scoring at least three goals in each victory.
That being said, Napoli have been eliminated from their last 10 European knockout ties after losing the first leg, last progressing to the next round after suffering a first-leg deficit in the 1988-89 UEFA Cup quarter-final against Juventus.
Olivier Giroud could be crucial for Milan. The veteran campaigner has been directly involved in six goals in nine appearances in the Champions League this season (four goals and two assists) – the most by a Milan player in a single campaign since Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 2011-12 campaign (nine – five goals and four assists).
Super Bowl-winning quarterback Patrick Mahomes revealed he is still rehabbing the high ankle sprain that he battled through during last season's playoffs.
Mahomes led the Kansas City Chiefs to the Super Bowl LVII title with an MVP display in their 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on February 12.
The Chiefs QB dealt with the ankle issue throughout the postseason after sustaining the injury in their divisional round playoff win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Mahomes said he is back throwing to receivers and running backs but still working through the issue as the Chiefs commenced their offseason program on Monday.
"It's been more about just kind of managing it, getting the mobility back as best as I possibly can," Mahomes told reporters.
"I wouldn't say I'm 100 per cent. ... It's just when you go through a grind of a week of training and you're trying to push it and go through the rehab process.
"But at the same time you want to make sure you're still building, you might be a little sore on the weekends. But I think we've done a great job of pushing it to the right limit to where now I'm throwing.
"There will still be a little bit of limitations going the next few weeks, but I'm going to be happy with where I'm at and we'll keep pushing it and getting me to the right spot before the beginning of the season."
Mahomes did not require surgery on the high ankle sprain, which was different to a toe/foot injury two years ago that impacted his start to the corresponding season.
"The foot, with having the surgery and having that cast on it, it just really cut my mobility down a lot and so I had to really work through that even into the season that next year," Mahomes said.
"With the ankle, I've felt like we've improved, especially these last few weeks, a ton as far as the swelling. That went down finally. I don't have that soreness just as much as I was having it after a few days of work.
"With the improvements that we're making these last few weeks, I have a great feeling that by the time we get to training camp, it wouldn't even be any question at all. We'll continue to work through it.
"By OTAs [starting in May], I don't think there'll be any limitations on reps or anything like that, especially if I'm not running around a ton.
"But at the same time, we'll continue the rehab process and making sure by the time we get to training camp, I can just roll out there and feel perfectly fine."
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is itching to get into the 2023 season after an injury-riddled campaign as reigning Super Bowl champion.
After winning it all in Super Bowl LVI, Stafford went into his offseason program dealing with a lingering elbow issue that would not allow him to throw. He ended up being held out from throwing altogether in the offseason program and was still limited during training camp.
Stafford's spotty preparation led to one of the worst statistical seasons of his career. In his nine starts before a season-ending spinal cord contusion, Stafford led the Rams to a 3-6 record with 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
His 10 touchdowns were the fewest in any of his 13 seasons where he has made at least eight starts, while his 10.1 yards per completion was also a career low, and his 231.9 yards per game were the fewest since his rookie year back in 2009.
After two concussions and his spinal cord injury, while also playing on a Rams team seemingly trending in the wrong direction looking forward, there was plenty of speculation if Stafford would play on in 2023, but he told reporters on Monday that he is raring to go.
"I'm not 25, but I definitely feel good," Stafford said after turning 35 in February. "It's fun to be as refreshed as I am coming back into this building.
"I'm in a good head space as far as how I'm feeling [and] what I'm able to accomplish while I'm here, and that puts me in a good mood.
"It gets me excited to be here and kind of helps me make sure that my attitude, my energy level, is at the correct place every single time I come in here – and I feel like it's there right now."
While admitting he is not able to throw every day with reckless abandon like he once could, Stafford said he is "ready to go [and] ready to play".
"It's kind of nice that I'll be able to go out there and have a much more normal offseason experience and be able to be out there and do what I love to do," he said.
"I'm probably not a human Jugs machine like I used to be, [but I] can still get it out there and throw it around a bunch.
"So, it'll be a process as it always is to try and stay as healthy as you possibly can at all times. But I definitely feel like I can go out there and compete and do everything I want to do, which is fun and exciting for me."
Real Madrid have taken aim at rivals Barcelona following Joan Laporta's 'club of the regime' allegations with a four-and-a-half-minute video.
Barcelona president Laporta leapt to his club's defence at a Monday press conference amid allegations they made payments to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former vice-president of the technical committee of referees.
The Blaugrana are subject to a UEFA investigation with prosecutors in Spain pursuing charges for alleged corruption. Barca are accused of having paid over €7million to a company owned by Negreira.
Laporta opted to turn the spotlight on Madrid when claiming his club have no case to answer, suggesting Real have "historically and currently" been favoured by arbitration decisions, attaching it to former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco.
That led Los Blancos to respond with an extraordinary and lengthy video which was broadcast on social media and Real Madrid TV, detailing Barcelona's links to Franco.
The video initially asked "which is the team of the regime?" in clear response to Laporta's comments before compiling its case.
"The Camp Nou was inaugurated by Franco's general minister, Jose Solis Ruiz," the video stated.
"Barcelona made Franco an honorary member in 1965… presented him with awards on three occasions."
The video also pointed out Barcelona's success in comparison to Madrid during the initial Franco era, 1939 until his death in 1975, along with that his administration helped save the club from bankruptcy three times.
Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr has been rewarded for his spectacular shot-blocking season by being named the 2022-23 Defensive Player of the Year.
The first of the NBA's annual regular season awards was announced on Monday prior to Game 2 between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets, with more to follow in coming days.
Jackson, 23, was drafted fourth overall by the Grizzlies in the 2018 NBA Draft as an 18-year-old, showing a rare skill-set during his time at Michigan State.
Standing at six-foot-10 with a seven-foot-five wingspan, Jackson was the only player in all of college basketball during his draft year to average at least three blocks per game and a made three-pointer per game.
He struggled mightily with foul trouble early in his professional career – leading the league in fouls per game in each of his first two seasons – but after injuries derailed his third campaign, he returned in his fourth season as a new player.
In the 2021-22 season he began to fulfil the potential he promised on the defensive end, playing a career-high 78 regular season fixtures while leading the league in blocks per game (2.3) for the first time.
Entering this campaign as the reigning blocks king, Jackson took things a step further, posting a career-high 3.0 blocks per game while boasting one of the gaudiest block rates of all time.
While Jackson was on the floor, he blocked 9.58 per cent of all opponent shots – the seventh-highest rate of all-time – and an even higher figure than Myles Turner's 8.85 per cent when he averaged 3.4 blocks per game in the 2020-21 season.
Among full-time starters, no player in the NBA this season boasted a better individual defensive rating than Jackson's 106.6, turning the Grizzlies into the league's best defense during his minutes on the court.
Meanwhile, during the 19 games Jackson has missed this season, the Grizzlies' defensive rating of 114.8 would rank them 21st, between the Charlotte Hornets and the Washington Wizards.
While it does not go into consideration for his Defensive Player of the Year award, Jackson also had a career-best season on the offensive end, scoring a career-high 18.6 points per game while averaging career highs in field-goal makes (6.6), field-goal percentage (50.6) and free-throw makes (3.8).
He is currently in the first year of a four-year, $105million extension – which has turned into a bargain deal due to his rapid ascension into fringe All-NBA status.
Also receiving votes were Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez, Cleveland Cavaliers second-year star Evan Mobley and Golden State Warriors future Hall-of-Famer Draymond Green.
Giannis Antetokounmpo's MRI came back clean, leaving Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer "mostly optimistic" over his availability for Game 2 on Wednesday.
Antetokounmpo exited Sunday's 130-117 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series after landing heavily on his back in the first quarter.
A post-game X-ray came up clear, and Monday's MRI has given his team hope the two-time MVP can return for Game 2 in Milwaukee on Wednesday, with Budenholzer thankful for the two days of rest between games.
"He's still sore, but I think progress," Budenholzer said. "He's getting some treatment, and we'll just continue to monitor him for the next day or two.
"[We're] probably fortunate there's two days between games.
"I think still mostly positive, mostly optimistic. But we'll see how he feels over the next day or two."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
