Frank Lampard believes he can get Everton back on track, as the pressure grew on the former Chelsea boss following a dismal 4-1 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion.
Everton were no match for Brighton on Tuesday at Goodison Park, as they were condemned to a fourth Premier League defeat in five games.
Having stayed up by the skin of their teeth last season, Everton sit 16th with 15 points from 18 matches.
Everton might well be in the bottom three by the time they face fellow strugglers Southampton on January 14, but Lampard believes he can turn their fortunes around.
"Since I have been in here we have been in this situation, so it's not a case of fear, it's a case of just keep working," Lampard told reporters when asked if he feared for his future.
"I can't control the talk or the decisions, when you are around this area of the table this is what happens.
"You lose a game like this, I absolutely understand any reaction. I don't listen to too much of it because if you do then it becomes your focal point, so I don't focus on it.
"I'm very confident in myself and will work to turn it around. I can't predict the future. We have to try and win games — it's all we can look at."
Lampard was appointed as Rafael Benitez's successor in January 2022. Of the 36 league games he has overseen, Everton have won just nine (25 per cent), losing 19.
Three days prior to Tuesday's defeat, Everton had frustrated Manchester City to claim a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium, and Alex Iwobi believes a lack of consistency is the main issue.
"I don't think confidence is the issue," Iwobi told Sky Sports. "We showed how we can play against Man City.
"We can't be one minute good one minute bad. We've got to be consistent. The way we discussed in the changing room now is we all want to fix it.
"I'm confident we can get ourselves out of this."
Everton's hierarchy also faced ire from the fans that remained at Goodison Park on Tuesday, with chants of "sack the board" aimed at the directors' box.
Giannis Antetokounmpo continued his red-hot form on Tuesday as he scored a season-high 55 points in the Milwaukee Bucks' 123-113 win over the Washington Wizards.
His 55-point outburst on 20-of-33 shooting – including an impressive 15-of-16 at the free throw line – comes after games of 43 points and 20 rebounds against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, and 45 points, 22 rebounds against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.
In doing so, Antetokounmpo became the first player since Hall-of-Famer Wilt Chamberlain in 1964 to average at least 45 points, 15 rebounds and five assists over a three-game span.
He added 10 rebounds and seven assists against the Wizards, while fellow defensive stalwart Brook Lopez was also terrific. Lopez scored 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting while grabbing 12 rebounds and blocking six shots.
His 2.7 blocks per game is the best figure among those who have qualified for the league leaderboard by playing at least 70 per cent of their team's games, although Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr is averaging 3.1 blocks in his 20 appearances.
Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo boosted his scoring average to 32.8, placing him third in the league, and he is also third in rebounding at 11.8 per game.
With the win, the Bucks are now 24-13, which is tied with the Denver Nuggets for the third-best record overall.
Thunder shock the Celtics
The Oklahoma City Thunder produced one of the more unlikely performances of the season as they broke their franchise scoring record with a 150-117 home win against the league-leading Boston Celtics.
Making the feat even more impressive was the fact that the Thunder were without franchise player and the NBA's fifth-leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander after he was a late withdrawal due to an illness.
OKC were led by Josh Giddey with 25 points (10-of-15 shooting), five rebounds, five assists and two steals as one of five Thunder players to score at least 20.
The 150 points is the second-most the Celtics have ever conceded in a game as Oklahoma City piled on quarters of 34, 40, 48 and 28 in a completely one-sided contest.
Fox delivers game-winner for the Kings
De'Aaron Fox nailed a game-winning lay-up with under one second remaining to give the Sacramento Kings a 117-115 road win against the Utah Jazz.
Fox led all scorers with 37 points on 15-of-22 shooting, adding six assists, three rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
He was supported strongly by two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis, who had 21 points (eight-of-13), 14 rebounds and eight assists to help the Kings into the Western Conference's fifth seed as they seek to break the NBA's longest active playoff drought (2006).
New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson will be reevaluated in three weeks he suffered a right hamstring strain during Monday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, the team announced Tuesday.
Late in the third quarter of Monday’s game, Williamson grabbed a defensive rebound and began pushing the ball in transition, before pulling up sharply as he crossed mid-court, holding his hamstring.
He was evaluated in the locker room by the team’s training staff and did not return to the game.
Imaging on Tuesday revealed a strain that will keep him off the floor until late this month at the earliest.
Williamson’s absence will be a blow to a New Orleans club that has been without co-star Brandon Ingram since November 25 because of a left toe injury.
Despite Ingram’s injury, the Pelicans began Tuesday with the third-best record in the Western Conference at 23-14.
Ingram has begun doing individual shooting drills and appears nearing a return, but C.J. McCollum will likely be asked to carry the offensive load in the meantime.
Larry Nance Jr. would be the most obvious candidate to step into Williamson’s forward spot in the starting lineup, but he has played in just two of the past eight games due to a neck contusion and soreness in his right Achilles tendon. Third-year forward Naji Marshall may fill that role until Nance can return.
Dominant when on the court, Williamson has had his young pro career marred – and perhaps defined – by a series of injuries that have kept him on the sidelines. Since being drafted first overall in 2019, Williamson has played just 114 games, and he missed all of last season with a fractured right foot.
Williamson is averaging 26 points, 7 rebounds and 4.6 assists this season in 29 games.
Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Dion Dawkins said the entire team is "devastated" after witnessing team-mate Damar Hamlin suffer a cardiac arrest during Monday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Hamlin was administered emergency CPR on the field before being loaded into an ambulance and rushed to hospital, with the game being suspended halfway through the first quarter.
The Bills confirmed he is currently sedated and in a critical condition, while Hamlin's uncle Dorrian Glenn told NFL Network that his nephew is on a ventilator.
Speaking to CNN, Dawkins reflected on the frightening moment when he realised this was not a normal situation.
"I seen Tre [Tre’Davious White] turn around, I seen Dane [Jackson] sprint over towards him," he said.
"You see the medical staff doing their job, when things like this are going on and they’re waving really fast and calling for the elite medical staff, that’s when we realised something is really really wrong.
"In that moment you kind of just realise you really can’t take anything for granted. It’s just a drastic state… you’re thinking 'what can I do?'
"It immediately breaks you down into prayer, whether you’re a believer or not. In that moment you kind of just have to be vulnerable."
He went on to discuss the risks each player takes every time they step on the field.
"All of us out there, we’re giving our lives to this game," he said. "Not one second of our life is promised, this play has shown this.
"This play has taken a 24-year-old man to his knee and he’s fighting. This is real life. Football is real, it takes 100 percent to play this game. He gives it his all and he’s still giving it his all to this second.
"Damar is a fighter and he’s going to keep fighting. He’s gonna make it and he’s going to just keep pushing."
He added: "We are all devastated, it’s a shock to all of us. It’s a dramatically unique thing that has happened.
"We’re all going through it together. We’re all handling it in different ways."
The Brooklyn Nets will look to extend their winning streak to 13 games when they travel to take on the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.
Brooklyn's current 12-game run is the best streak in the NBA this season, and they are showing no signs of slowing down, with their past two victories against the San Antonio Spurs (139-103) and the Charlotte Hornets (123-106) coming by a combined 53 points.
Over that 12-game span, the Nets have gapped the field as the best offensive team in the league. In fact, their 124.2 points per 100 possessions is 6.0 points better than the second-placed Portland Trail Blazers (118.2).
That gap is greater than the distance between the Trail Blazers and the 24th-ranked Minnesota Timberwolves (112.9).
Their offensive firepower has been ignited by some unbelievable, and perhaps unsustainable efficiency by their All-NBA duo.
Over the past 12 games, Kevin Durant is shooting 59.2 per cent from the field – well above his career-best field goal percentage of 53.7 from his 2016-17 and 2020-21 campaigns. It is the same story for Kyrie Irving, who has led the team with 29.3 points at 54.3 per cent shooting, which would both comfortably set new career-highs.
The all-time record for team three-point percentage in a season belongs to the 1996-97 Charlotte Hornets at 42.7 per cent, while during this stretch the Nets have shot the three-ball at an unprecedented 44.2 per cent.
Unless that pair – who are both in their 30s – as well as the Nets as a whole are truly about to shatter their own personal and franchise records, they will, at some point, have to come back down to earth.
However, there is no indication the Bulls will be the team equipped to stand in their way.
During the Nets' winning streak, the Bulls have had the third-worst defense in the NBA, conceding 119.2 points per 100 possessions.
A big part of that has been their inability to rebound and finish off their defensive possessions. They are allowing 16.8 second-chance points per game – the second-most – while at the same time being the league's worst offensive rebounding team, grabbing only 21.9 per cent of their own misses.
The Bulls have also been the absolute worst team in the league at restricting three-pointers, allowing an average of 15.7 made threes per game at an efficient 38.6 per cent.
But while the three-pointer has been the Nets' best friend and the Bulls' worst enemy, it is also the most volatile method of scoring, and teams will generally regress to the mean over the course of an 82-game season.
It means the Nets will not keep shooting this well, and the Bulls will not continue to get lit up from long range at this rate – and while it is impossible to predict when things will begin to swing in the opposite direction, both teams are due for a change of fortune.
PIVOTAL PERFORMERS
Brooklyn Nets – Kyrie Irving
While Durant is the Nets' undisputed best player, Irving is the X-factor, and his strong games generally coincide with wins.
Irving is shooting 52.6 per cent from the field and 43.7 per cent from deep in the 18 wins he has been a part of, while those figures plummet to 44.9 per cent from the field and 24.7 per cent on three-pointers in his nine losses.
Chicago Bulls – Zach Lavine
It is a similar story for the Bulls, who have DeMar DeRozan as their consistent centrepiece, but rely on Zach Lavine to bring the additional firepower to a team lacking in three-point threats.
For the season, the Bulls are hitting just 10.6 three-pointers per game – the fourth-worst figure in the league – but in the 15 wins Lavine has played in he has hit 3.5 threes per game at a red-hot 46.1 per cent clip. It is a stark difference to his 2.2 made threes at 30.6 per cent in his 18 losses.
KEY BATTLE – Who can control the paint?
It seems clear that whoever catches fire from long range will likely emerge victorious, but with so much volatility attached to high-volume three-point shooting, it may come down to whichever team gets the easiest baskets.
A diet of lay-ups, dunks and free throws will always be the most sustainable form of offense, and the Nets are a team that lack much true size beyond starting center Nic Claxton.
If Bulls center Nikola Vucevic can impose his will on Claxton early and perhaps get him into foul trouble, it could open up the paint and force Ben Simmons to play extended minutes as the Nets' primary rim protector, which is not where he shines defensively.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The Bulls have won three of their past four meetings with the Nets, including the most recent fixture on November 1, coming away 108-99 victors after holding Irving to just four points.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will be without their franchise player for Tuesday's home game against the Boston Celtics after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was ruled out due to an illness.
Gilgeous-Alexander, 24, is in the midst of a breakout season that has him the favourite for the Most Improved Player award.
After averaging 24.5 points per game this past season on shooting splits of 45/30/81, the Canadian has jumped up to 30.8 points per game on 49/35/91 to sit fifth in scoring.
Almost a lock for his first All-Star appearance this season, Gilgeous-Alexander has helped his relatively mediocre Thunder team to a 10-9 home record, although they are 5-12 on the road, leaving them with the sixth-worst record in the league at 15-21.
On the flip-side, the Celtics own the league's best record at 26-11, and the league's best offense, scoring 117.2 points per 100 possessions. Meanwhile, the Thunder are way down with the 24th-ranked offense (110.5) despite Gilgeous-Alexander playing all but three games.
Antonio Conte acknowledges he will have to leave Tottenham if he can no longer accept the club's position as unlikely Premier League and Champions League contenders.
Spurs approach Wednesday's Premier League trip to Crystal Palace five points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester United after suffering a dismal 2-0 defeat against Aston Villa on New Year's Day.
Tottenham have now won just one of their past four Premier League games either side of the World Cup break, and their poor run has added fuel to speculation regarding Conte's future.
The former Chelsea, Juventus and Inter boss has been linked with an exit on several occasions since taking the reins in November 2021.
While Conte is content at Tottenham for now, he says his commitment to the club can only last while he remains comfortable with their inability to compete for major honours.
"My task is to help the club, to create a base, and then to try to improve," Conte said on Tuesday.
"If you say to me, 'the challenge for you is to win the Premier League, to win the Champions League'… This is not the task in this moment.
"I found the club in a difficult position for many reasons. Now my task – I understand it very well – is to help the club go in the right direction and to create a foundation.
"Then, if I am satisfied to continue to do this work and to one day see the result, I will continue to stay. If I'm not convinced 100 per cent, then I can leave my work.
"This is my big challenge here. If I want to stay here, then I have to accept this. Otherwise, if I don't want to accept this, then I have to go."
Spurs supporters vented their frustration towards chairman Daniel Levy during Sunday's loss to Villa, but Conte outlined the need for unity.
Asked about audible chants calling for Levy to leave at Tottenham's last game, Conte said: "Honestly, I did not hear this.
"All I can say is it is important in this moment to have togetherness between fans, players and the club. We must stick together.
"I understand fans want to win trophies and be competitive, but to go to this step you need to create a base. I can't tell you anything different."
Michael Smith wants to "take over the sport" after becoming world champion for the first time with a stunning 7-4 victory over Michael van Gerwen in an epic final on Tuesday.
Smith is a two-time runner-up at Alexandra Palace, having been beaten in the 2019 and 2022 finals by Van Gerwen and Peter Wright respectively, but he finally got over the line with a stunning display in which he hit a nine-dart finish - only the second time that has been done in a PDC World Championship final.
After Van Gerwen won the opening set, they took a leg each in the second before an extraordinary third leg, with the Dutchman missing double 12 for a nine-dart finish, only for Smith to step up to the oche and take out 141 for the nine-darter himself and send the crowd into ecstasy.
The match continued to be a topsy-turvy affair, with Van Gerwen looking to have seized control by taking a three sets to one lead, only for Smith to roar back and win four sets on the spin to open up a 6-3 advantage.
Van Gerwen pulled it back to 6-4, but Smith sunk in double-eight with the 11th set tied at two apiece to win the title, as well as become world number one.
Asked how being described as a world champion sounded, Smith told Sky Sports: "[It] sounds amazing. I don't want to start getting into the crying and emotions.
"Michael let me off there, and for once I finally took a chance I didn't deserve. I want to apologise to Michael, I've been in that position.
"It's 1-1 now in the worlds. I took my chances, but he knows and I do that it won't be the last world final between us. He is the best player in darts, I've said it for years, and you have to take your chances and I finally did that.
"I want to do what this man has [Van Gerwen] done, I want to take over the sport."
Smith says the crowd spurred him on to hit the incredible nine-dart finish, explaining: "I didn't hit a nine-darter in practice today but I keep going 180, 180, miss, so I thought, 'Do one now, give the crowd what they deserve.'
Van Gerwen was humble in defeat after missing out on the opportunity to become a four-time world champion, stating: "He played really well. I had my chances, we all know that.
"When you don't hit them, he'll throw everything at you. You can only blame yourself, but it doesn’t take anything away [from Smith] because he played brilliantly all the way through.
"I wasn't what I wanted to be, but that’s part of the game and you have to take it on the chin.
"It's part of the job unfortunately. When we celebrate it's a nice job, and when we lose games it's hard. We all know that."
Manchester United must become "smarter" after benefitting from good fortune in Tuesday's comprehensive 3-0 win against Bournemouth, according to Erik ten Hag.
United moved level with third-placed Newcastle United in the Premier League table – as well as five points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham – as Casemiro, Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford got on the scoresheet at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils look well set to push on for a top-four finish after winning four consecutive league games either side of the World Cup break.
But having seen David de Gea make fine saves to deny Philip Billing and Jaidon Anthony when United were 2-0 up, Ten Hag was frustrated by what he perceived to be a lack of control.
"I'm happy with the result. Today it was not our best game," he told BBC Sport. "We have to be honest, we didn't play that smart as a team.
"We made great goals, but at times we were quite lucky, and we had some great saves from David. We could have been smarter as a team.
"There were big spaces at 2-0 up, sometimes we have to keep the ball and recognise when to go for goal. That is the next step."
In-form forward Rashford was reintroduced to United's line-up, having scored the winner from the bench at Wolves on Saturday after his late arrival for a team meeting led to him being dropped.
After rounding off the victory with his late tap-in, Rashford has now scored in three successive Premier League games.
"It was, once again, a great performance from him," Ten Hag said of Rashford.
"I said before the season, and the same with [Anthony] Martial, I believe in the goals because the [other] players will always create, so focus from minute one and the chances will come."
United's next two Premier League fixtures pit them against title contenders Manchester City and Arsenal, but Ten Hag is reluctant to look beyond Friday's FA Cup third-round tie against struggling Everton, who might well have a new manager should Frank Lampard be dismissed following a 4-1 humbling at the hands of Brighton and Hove Albion.
"We have to go from game to game. The next game is a cup one, but we want to win every game. That has to be the approach," he added.
"We don't want to look any further ahead, we'll focus on that, it will be a tough game. We need every energy in the preparations and when we kick off on Friday."
Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal should have been awarded two penalties in the goalless draw against Newcastle United, describing the decisions not to point to the spot as "scandalous".
The Gunners dropped points at Emirates Stadium for the first time in the Premier League this season, missing the opportunity to open up a 10-point advantage over Manchester City, who play Chelsea on Thursday.
Arsenal were not short of openings against Eddie Howe's third-placed side, firing 17 attempts at goal, but just four were on target and the leaders were not at their best in the final third.
Gunners boss bemoaned two decisions that did not go the way of his side, with his view that referee Andy Madley should have punished Dan Burn for a shirt pull on Gabriel Magalhaes and given a handball against Jacob Murphy right at the end.
"I'm extremely proud of my players, the way we played, the way we dominated the game, the way we tried and continued [to try], how we dominated the game," he told Sky Sports.
"We were missing in the final third, that is the final part, we had so many situations to finish those better, and then we had two scandalous penalties.
"They're two penalties, it's very simple. I'm talking about what I've seen and it's two scandalous penalties.
"When you cannot win, you do not lose. We kept a clean sheet, we had a really good performance, and we go again.
"I wanted to win the game but we drew it and we should have done certain things better, especially in the final third, and we should have had two penalties to win the game."
Arsenal are likely to shuffle their squad for Monday's FA Cup third round clash against Oxford United, before what could be a north London derby against Tottenham on January 15.
Manchester United strengthened their grip on a spot in the Premier League's top four as Marcus Rashford continued his fine run in a 3-0 win over Bournemouth.
Having scored the winner from the bench at Wolves on Saturday, Rashford returned to the starting line-up at Old Trafford and capped a dominant United performance with a late tap-in.
United had earlier taken the lead when Casemiro hammered Christian Eriksen's excellent left-wing free-kick home before Luke Shaw doubled their advantage with a neat finish.
Victory moved Erik ten Hag's side five points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham and level with Newcastle United, who drew against leaders Arsenal.
United took advantage of a set piece to go ahead 23 minutes in – Casemiro volleying Eriksen's delivery into the top-left corner.
Lloyd Kelly's last-ditch tackle denied Rashford while Eriksen saw another free-kick deflect over as Bournemouth avoided further damage before the break.
Bournemouth's luck ran out within four minutes of the restart as Shaw swept home a cut-back from Alejandro Garnacho, who had replaced the injured Donny van de Beek.
Anthony Martial nodded Casemiro's whipped delivery wide at the far post, though David de Gea was called upon to make strong saves to keep out Philip Billing and Jaidon Anthony at the other end.
Garnacho clipped the outside of the post with a fine curling effort but United had their third when Rashford turned Bruno Fernandes' cut-back home following an outstanding pass from Shaw.
Arsenal missed the opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to 10 points as they were held to a goalless draw by Newcastle United.
In a game of few clear-cut opportunities, the Gunners made an electric start to the game but could not take advantage, while Joelinton missed the best chance for Newcastle in the final moments of the first half at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
Third-placed Newcastle's resilient display continued into the second period, leaving Arsenal unable to score in a Premier League game for the first time this season and ending their 100 per cent home record in the top flight.
Manchester City can cut the advantage held by Mikel Arteta's side at the summit to five points if they beat Chelsea on Thursday.
The New York Yankees made an addition to their front office on Tuesday, hiring Brian Sabean as executive advisor to senior vice president and general manager Brian Cashman.
Sabean, who began his career in major league baseball with the Yankees nearly four decades ago, spent the last 30 years with the San Francisco Giants and was the architect of the franchise’s World Series championship dynasty over the last decade.
The 66-year-old Sabean served as the Giants’ GM from 1996 to 2014 before being promoted to executive vice president of baseball operations – a position he held until after the 2018 season, when he stepped down to serve as a scout.
During his 18 years of service as the Giants’ GM, the franchise won the 2010, 2012 and 2014 World Series championships, four NL pennants and five division titles.
The Giants released a statement thanking him for his services.
“The San Francisco Giants would like to extend its deepest gratitude to Brian Sabean for his enormous contributions to our organisation and wish him the best of luck in his new position with the New York Yankees.”
Sabean’s first job in MLB was for the Yankees, working as a scout in 1985. The following year he was promoted to director of scouting and by 1990 he we named vice president of player and development.
He held that position through the 1992 season before being hired by the Giants as assistant to the GM and vice president of scouting/player personnel.
Cristiano Ronaldo does not have a clause in his Al Nassr contract that would allow him to join Newcastle United if they qualify for the Champions League, Eddie Howe has said.
Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo was unveiled by Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr on Tuesday after signing a two-and-a-half-year deal following his Manchester United exit.
According to reports on Monday, the Portugal forward asked to be allowed to return to the Premier League with Saudi-backed Newcastle if they finished in the top four this term.
However, speaking ahead of Newcastle's clash with Arsenal, Newcastle head coach Howe denied that is the case.
"We wish Cristiano all the best in his venture, but from our point of view there's no truth in that," Howe told Sky Sports.
Ronaldo is the Champions League's all-time record scorer with 140 goals and has won the competition once with United and four times for Real Madrid.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Ronaldo effectively confirmed he will not join another European club before retiring.
"In Europe, my work is done. I won everything and played for the most important clubs in Europe," he said.
"This is a great opportunity for me [at Al Nassr], not only in football but to change the mentality of the new generation in Saudi Arabia.
"I had many opportunities in Europe, Brazil, the United States and even Portugal, but I gave my word to this club, for the opportunity to develop football in this amazing country."
Ronaldo, who has also previously played for Sporting CP and Juventus, could make his Al Nassr debut against Al Tai on Thursday.
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