Atletico Madrid are starting to see the Antoine Griezmann of old, according to head coach Diego Simeone.
Griezmann's brace handed Atletico a 2-1 win at Real Betis on Sunday, with his first goal a bizarre effort straight from a corner that somehow found its way in.
The France international scored just three times in 26 LaLiga appearances (21 starts) last season for the Rojiblancos, and started this campaign slowly due to being mostly limited to substitute outings because of an appearance clause in his loan contract from Barcelona.
However, since the move was recently made permanent, the 31-year-old has been able to feature more and he now has five goals in 11 LaLiga games (five starts) this season.
"It seems we are seeing the Griezmann who left, who is a leader," Simeone said post-match. "We need leaders. He understands his team-mates and a good partnership is being formed."
Griezmann's two goals also put him ahead of Paco Campos as Atletico's third-top scorer of all time, with 147 now to his name.
Simeone, meanwhile, was pleased with the effort of his players, who moved up to third in LaLiga with the win and are now unbeaten in eight away league games, winning seven (D1).
"We found an improved attitude," he said. "When you have talent you need attitude. Attitude matters more than talent. The boys have been making a great effort."
Betis head coach Manuel Pellegrini was left frustrated, though almost saw his team draw level after substitute Nabil Fekir scored a late free-kick and Alex Moreno hit the crossbar with a header in stoppage time, but his team's run of six successive home league wins came to an end.
"I don't remember a save from Rui Silva until 1-0," he said, with Griezmann's opening goal coming from a corner resulting from Atletico's first shot on target in the 54th minute.
"Unfortunately, we lacked a little more creativity with such a closed team near their area. We had two or three opportunities in the first half.
"In the second, already with the score against us, [Atletico] didn't have many chances... but in the end we couldn't tie it."
The West Indies might have been dumped out of the ICC T20 World Cup but Carlos Brathwaite’s name will live on as a reminder of what his former team used to be.
Brathwaite’s incredible performance to win the 2016 World Cup for the West Indies has been voted the greatest T20 World Cup performance during a fan vote conducted by ESPNcricinfo.
The Barbadian allrounder turned commentator single-handedly carried the West Indies to glory in the 2016 final at Eden Gardens. With the West Indies needing 19 from the final over against England, Brathwaite struck four massive sixes off Ben Stokes to secure a second title for the Caribbean men. He finished unbeaten on 34 to go along with his impressive figures of 3-23 when England made 155 batting first.
When he came to the crease, the West Indies were in dire straits at 107-6 with 27 balls remaining.
Brathwaite's blitzkrieg garnered 58 per cent of the vote to beat India’s Yuvraj Singh's 70 in the 2007 World Cup semi-final against Australia. According to the cricket website, Brathwaite's performance also emerged top in an internal ESPNcricinfo staff poll, with Yuvraj in joint second alongside Marlon Samuels' 78 & 1-15 in the 2012 final against Sri Lanka.
As the ball sailed through the night sky over the boundary for the winning runs, West Indies commentator Ian Bishop declared "Carlos Brathwaite, remember the name!" The fans did.
Lorenzo Musetti planned a pizza celebration after landing his second title of 2022 by seeing off Matteo Berrettini in an all-Italian final at the Napoli Cup.
The 20-year-old, who won his first ATP Tour trophy on clay in Hamburg in July, scored a 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 victory over an injury-hampered opponent.
After defying advice from his team to abandon his semi-final on Saturday, Berrettini, bothered by a foot problem, showed up for Sunday's title match and generally moved well but could not prevent Musetti getting his hands on the trophy.
Musetti's win at the hard court event saw him match Berrettini – twice a champion during the grass season – on two titles this year.
They are the only Italians with multiple ATP singles titles in 2022, with Musetti now increasingly close to joining compatriots Berrettini and Jannik Sinner inside the top 20.
This win nudges him a place to number 23 in the rankings, a new career-high position, and it made Musetti the ninth player on the men's tour to win a tournament this year without dropping a set at any point.
Speaking in an on-court ATP interview, Musetti said: "It was a really tough first set. Really long and we never broke.
"Matteo is a competitor; even if he was not 100 per cent physically, his capacity to stay until the end, to fight until the end, was a big problem for me to solve.
"Today I think I played not the best tennis, because I think we were both really emotional, really nervous and there was a lot of tension, but in the important moments I played better.
"It's really nice to be here with my family, with the crowd, and it's a really big win for me and an important moment for my career.
"I hope to enjoy and celebrate with great pizza. I will probably enjoy a Pizza Margherita for sure, like Napoletana."
Hugo Lloris saw two mistakes punished as Newcastle United beat Tottenham 2-1 on Sunday to move up to fourth in the Premier League.
Antonio Conte's men hoped to bounce back at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after a chastening defeat to Manchester United in midweek, but Newcastle were good value for the win – even if they had a helping hand.
Decent chances fell to Son Heung-min and Harry Kane, but two errors from Lloris helped Callum Wilson and the in-form Miguel Almiron put Eddie Howe's side 2-0 up and leave Spurs stunned.
Kane pulled one back early in the second half, yet Newcastle ensured it was only a consolation as they moved to within two points of their third-placed hosts.
A purposeful start saw Spurs go close three times through Son early on, with Nick Pope twice denying him and also producing a smart stop to thwart Kane.
But Newcastle looked dangerous when going direct, and one such situation spawned the opener.
Lloris met Fabian Schar's long pass and collided with Wilson, who turned and lofted into the empty net from 30 yards with Spurs given no VAR reprieve.
Their captain was suspect again just before half-time.
His pass was cut out by Sean Longstaff, who headed on to Almiron, and he squeezed a shot under Lloris after breezing past Clement Lenglet.
Newcastle threatened at the start of the second half as well, but a Spurs counter led to a corner and Lenglet's flick-on was nodded in by Kane at the back post.
That was hardly the precursor to a dramatic turnaround, however.
Spurs created precious little as an attacking force thereafter, with Newcastle seeing out a something of a statement win in north London.
What does it mean? Magpies flying high
Spurs had won each of their previous eight home games in the Premier League, a run they had only ever bettered once before in the competition.
That should tell you all you need to know about what a statement victory this was for Newcastle, whose ability to remain so defensively assured and composed after Kane's goal is worthy of praise in itself.
However, it is fair to say Spurs find themselves in a bit of a slump – they remain third in the table but have now lost three of their past five league games.
"Played like Almiron"
The classless comment Jack Grealish made during Manchester City's title celebrations has been mocked a lot lately, and that does not look like changing anytime soon.
That is because Almiron is in such a rich vein of form, his wonderful goal here making it five in as many Premier League appearances – his previous five took 61 games to tally.
Son made to rue misses
Most of Son's five attempts were half-chances really, but he should have scored when one-on-one with Pope in the first half. His ultimately feeble effort prevented Spurs taking the lead, and looking back, that proved rather crucial.
What's next?
Spurs now turn their attention to the Champions League as Sporting CP visit on Wednesday. Newcastle return to action on Saturday when they host Aston Villa.
Yannik Paul won his first title on the DP World Tour in dramatic circumstances on Sunday, claiming a "dream" victory on the final hole at the Mallorca Golf Open.
Paul took a share of the lead into the final round at Son Muntaner Golf Club, but fell behind Marcus Armitage after going two-over-par through the first 15 holes on Sunday.
However, Armitage slipped up over the next two holes to hand Paul a shot at his first title, with Paul Waring and Nicolai von Dellingshausen watching from the clubhouse after both finished 14-under.
Germany's Paul handled the pressure impressively, though, converting a 15-foot birdie attempt on the 18th to avoid a play-off with the duo and seal a one-shot win.
Speaking to Sky Sports after his victory, world number 190 Paul said: "It was tough today. My ball-striking was unbelievable all week.
"I hit it really close the first couple of holes and couldn't make any putts so that was really hard to stay in the moment.
"But luckily none of the other guys really made a lot of putts. I saw after nine holes I was in the lead, and I thought I hit a great shot on 15 but it went over the green.
"Unfortunately Marcus hit a couple of bad shots and then I couldn't have dreamed of a better ending. I'm over the moon.
"I had a lot of good chances the last couple of days that didn't go in and to finish like this is obviously a dream come true."
England's Dale Whitnell finished a shot back from Waring and Von Dellingshausen, with Ryan Fox – who began the day level with Paul – joining him in finishing 13-under.
Christian McCaffrey is expected to make his debut for the San Francisco 49ers against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Former All-Pro running back McCaffrey was traded to the 49ers from the Carolina Panthers on Thursday for second, third and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a fifth-rounder in 2024.
The tight turnaround initially made it look unlikely McCaffrey would be overly involved in a rematch of Super Bowl LIV from the 2019 season.
However, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, McCaffrey will play and the 49ers will have a package of plays ready for him.
The Chiefs will have a new lead runner in their backfield, with rookie Isaiah Pacheco set to get the bulk of the carries over 2020 first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
Kansas City's closest rivals in the AFC West, the 4-2 Los Angeles Chargers, face NFC West opponents themselves in the form of the Seattle Seahawks.
They had hoped to have wide receiver Keenan Allen back from a hamstring injury that has kept him out since Week 1, but his status was still up in the air heading into Sunday.
Star Seahawks wideout Tyler Lockett is set to play having been listed as questionable with a hamstring injury of his own.
The Baltimore Ravens, another prospective AFC contender, have been boosted with tight end Mark Andrews (ankle) and Rashod Bateman (knee) both active for their meeting with the Cleveland Browns.
The Dallas Cowboys will not have to defend D'Andre Swift in Dak Prescott's return to action. Detroit Lions running back Swift is once again inactive because of ankle and shoulder injuries.
Detroit's division rivals the Green Bay Packers are looking to end a two-game losing run and get their offense back on track against the Washington Commanders.
Yet they will be without oft-injured left tackle David Bakhtiari because of a flare-up in his knee. The Packers have remodelled a struggling offensive line, shifting Elgton Jenkins from right tackle to left guard. Yosh Nijman takes over at right tackle, with rookie Zac Tom filling in for Bakhtiari.
Wide receiver Sammy Watkins will return from a knee injury as Aaron Rodgers desperately searches for targets he can trust.
Virat Kohli produced what captain Rohit Sharma hailed as one of the greatest innings by an India batsman in the dramatic victory over Pakistan at the T20 World Cup.
Pakistan looked to be well in control after tallying 159-8 in front of over 90,000 spectators at the MCG and then reducing India to 31-4 in reply.
However, Kohli struck 82 not out, sharing in a fifth-wicket stand of 113 with Hardik Pandya along the way.
When Pakistan's Mohammad Nawaz wobbled under the pressure of delivering the final over of the match, India took advantage and snatched a four-wicket win over their great rivals with a single from the final ball.
India needed 28 from eight balls at one stage, but consecutive sixes from Kohli off Haris Rauf at the end of the 19th over changed that to 16 from six.
Amid high drama as India lost both Pandya (40) and Dinesh Karthik (1) in the closing over, Kohli helped the team he used to skipper over the line.
Rohit said of Kohli's effort: "It is definitely his best for sure. From the situation we were in, and to come out with victory, I think it has to be one of India's best knocks, not just his best knock.
"Because still in the 13th over we were so behind the game and the required rate was climbing up and up. To come out and chase that score was an extremely brilliant effort from Virat, and Hardik played a role there."
Kohli ceded the white-ball captaincy to Rohit soon after last year's T20 World Cup, and Sunday's hero in Melbourne had been struggling for runs until recently finding a little spark.
Rohit said: "We know the qualities that he has, and he's done so well in these type of conditions in all three forms, so obviously he used his experience today more than anything else – staying calm under pressure.
"We know how good he is when the score is in front of him. He's one of the best chasers in the world, so I thought that 100-run partnership was a game-changing moment."
Kohli initially struggled to contextualise what he achieved.
He said at the post-match presentation: "It's a surreal atmosphere, I have no words, no idea how that happened. I am really lost for words.
"The calculation was simple. Nawaz had one over to bowl, so if I could take Haris down, they would panic. From 28 in eight, it came down to 16 in six. I tried to stick to my instincts."
On reflection, Kohli agreed it rated as one of his finest innings. He ranked it even above another famous 82 not out – one that he scored against Australia in Mohali, in the 2016 edition of this competition.
"Standing here, I just feel like it was meant to be," he said. "Till today, Mohali was my best innings, against Australia. Today, I will count this one higher."
Holger Rune surprised top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas with a straight-sets victory in Sunday's Stockholm Open final to land his second ATP title.
Still just 19, Rune added to his maiden crown in Munich five months ago with a 6-4 6-4 triumph over world number five Tsitsipas in a match lasting 95 minutes.
Tsitsipas, who was seeking a 10th ATP title and a third this season, had not dropped a set in his previous three matches en route to the final.
However, he was broken in the third game of both sets against Rune, who is the second teenager after Carlos Alcaraz to win multiple ATP titles in 2022.
Rune fired 20 winners and saved the only break point he faced – that coming in the sixth game of the second set – on his way to becoming the first Danish champion in this event.
"It was an unbelievable match from my side," Rune said in his on-court interview. "I knew it was going to be difficult, but I just tried to stick to the game plan.
"I had to play my best tennis today, and it was good that I could find the level. I am super happy. It was very close to perfection.
"I was making a lot of returns and playing pretty well behind my serve. Stefanos is an amazing player, who always makes it difficult. It was a super fun match to play."
Felix Auger-Aliassime clinched the European Open title by beating Sebastian Korda in straight sets in Antwerp, replicating last week's Firenze Open triumph to maintain his strong run of form.
Auger-Aliassime swept aside J. J. Wolf to emerge victorious in Italy a week ago, and was in control from the start on Sunday as he beat another American to win his third ATP title of the year.
The Canadian seized the initiative when he broke Korda's serve to go 4-2 up in the opener, before saving two break points early in the second set.
Korda failed to conjure up another opportunity to break as Auger-Aliassime wrapped up a routine 6-3 6-4 win by holding to love.
Auger-Aliassime has responded brilliantly to his first-round exit at the Astana Open earlier this month, winning eight consecutive matches – six of them in straight sets.
Meanwhile, the 22-year-old has now won three of his past four ATP Tour finals, failing to drop a set in any of those victories after losing each of his first eight final appearances.
Auger-Aliassime's victory also represented a major boost to his hopes of reaching next month's ATP Finals in Turin, strengthening his grip on the final qualification spot for the tournament.
Antoine Griezmann scored a double, including a goal direct from a corner, as Atletico Madrid won 2-1 at Real Betis on Sunday to move up to third in LaLiga.
The visitors struggled to create chances but took the lead early in the second half when Griezmann's inswinging set-piece somehow found its way into the net, before the France international added a second following a neat move down the right.
Manuel Pellegrini will have been frustrated to lose a game in which his Betis side were arguably on top prior to falling behind, and they gave themselves hope when Nabil Fekir scored a late free-kick, but were unable to find another goal.
The win moves Diego Simeone's Atletico above Real Sociedad after their defeat at Real Valladolid on Saturday.
It was a relatively uneventful first half, though the hosts did suffer a blow when Luiz Felipe was forced off injured after just 20 minutes, replaced by Victor Ruiz.
Borja Iglesias hit a hopeful shot at Jan Oblak's near post five minutes before the break to record the first effort on target of the game. The ball was then in the Atletico net two minutes after the restart when Henrique fired a shot into the top right corner of the net from the edge of the box, but a VAR check found Iglesias to have been offside in the build-up.
Salt was firmly rubbed into the wounds in the 54th minute when the corner from Griezmann made its way through a crowd, with German Pezzella unable to keep it out at the far post.
If that goal was fortunate, the second was well-earned as a move featuring Nahuel Molina, Angel Correa and Matheus Cunha ended with the Brazilian finding Griezmann, who ran through and prodded the ball beneath Rui Silva in the Betis goal.
Substitute Fekir curled a beautiful free-kick into the top-left corner of Oblak's goal to provide late drama, but Atletico were able to hold on for three points.
Mikel Arteta acknowledged Gabriel Jesus would be "disappointed" with a profligate showing as Arsenal were held at Southampton on Sunday.
The Gunners were in the ascendancy at St Mary's as Granit Xhaka opened the scoring in the 11th minute, finding the net in consecutive games for just the second time in his Arsenal career.
Jesus twice could have extended Arsenal's lead in the first half, blasting narrowly wide before being denied by Gavin Bazunu when through one-on-one.
The Brazil forward was also thwarted by a last-ditch Mohamed Elyounoussi block after the interval; the Saints midfielder teed up Stuart Armstrong shortly after as the home side battled to a 1-1 draw.
Arsenal manager Arteta suggested Jesus, who attempted a game-high four shots without beating Bazunu, would be the first to vent his frustrations after misfiring in front of goal.
"I'm sure today he will be disappointed knowing Gabi," Arteta said. "He's having the chances, and he's always there. It's a shame he couldn't put them away."
Arsenal moved two points clear of Manchester City at the Premier League summit, although that lead could have been four points if not for an underwhelming second-half performance.
The Gunners ended a 27-game run of matches without a draw in the Premier League, with Arteta recognising his side slipped below their high standards after a strong opening 45 minutes.
"I think the team looked really fresh at the start," the Spaniard added. "I put it more down to the way we played. We should have played better in the second half."
Tyson Fury's co-promoter Bob Arum has revealed talks over a heavyweight unification fight with Oleksandr Usyk will begin next week.
Usyk claimed the WBA Super, IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring heavyweight belts by beating Anthony Joshua in London last year, before retaining them in August's rematch in Saudi Arabia.
The Ukrainian's second win over Joshua led to speculation he would face WBC heavyweight champion Fury in a unification bout, but he quickly ruled making out a return to the ring in 2022.
Fury will face Derek Chisora for a third time in December, but all the signs point to him meeting Usyk next year.
Arum – who promotes Fury alongside Frank Warren – told Sky Sports he would meet with Usyk and his manager Egis Klimas to discuss the bout in the coming days.
"I'll be having dinner with them without any question, probably on the Thursday night [October 27]," Arum said.
"I'll have a very long discussion with them about what their plans are and when it could be in their best interests to get the fight on.
"I know from previous conversations with both of them that they want that fight against Tyson Fury."
Fury has won 32 of his 33 professional fights, with a draw against Deontay Wilder in 2018 the only blot on his record, but Arum feels Usyk would provide the Gypsy King with a serious test.
"If there's anybody around who really has a good, good chance with Tyson Fury, it's Oleksandr Usyk," Arum added.
Meanwhile, Arum also believes Fury's meeting with Chisora will serve as perfect preparation for facing Usyk, who was taken the distance by the 38-year-old in October 2020.
"Chisora wasn't selected by Frank Warren and myself for Tyson just out of the blue," Arum said.
"Yes, Chisora lost twice early on to Tyson, but remember his fight with Usyk where he gave Usyk life and death. A lot thought that he might have eked out a victory.
"If you're getting ready to fight Usyk, fight a guy who went in with him and carried him into deep waters.
"Chisora is not just a walkover. Chisora has demonstrated tremendous punching power and if you lose concentration and he hits you in the right place on the chin, it's dangerous."
Arsenal missed the chance to regain their four-point lead at the Premier League summit after Stuart Armstrong's second-half equaliser held the Gunners to a 1-1 draw at Southampton.
The Gunners had enjoyed their best start to a top-flight campaign and dominated the first half on Sunday at St. Mary's Stadium, with Granit Xhaka opening the scoring.
Arsenal continued to look good value for their lead, with Gabriel Jesus spurning a couple of chances, but Southampton fought back as Armstrong levelled in the 65th minute.
Martin Odegaard saw a late strike ruled out as Arsenal moved two points clear of second-placed Manchester City, while Southampton extended their unbeaten run to three games and climbed into 15th.
Gavin Bazunu denied a fizzing Xhaka drive and Odegaard whipped narrowly wide, though Arsenal's early dominance soon paid dividends after 11 minutes.
Ben White overlapped down the right and clipped in a low centre for Xhaka, who expertly fired into the roof of the net.
Jesus almost doubled the lead but blasted just wide and should have sent Arsenal in two goals ahead at half-time when he volleyed straight at Bazunu one-on-one following a smart Xhaka throughball.
A last-ditch Mohamed Elyounoussi thwarted Jesus after the interval before the midfielder teed up Armstrong at the other end, with the Scotland international sliding past Aaron Ramsdale.
Odegaard thought he had grabbed a late winner, only for the assistant to flag for a goal-kick after Kieran Tierney failed to keep the ball in play in the build-up.
What does it mean? In-form Gunners falter
Arsenal's failure to grind out wins was a regular flaw in recent seasons, yet they went some way to easing those concerns with some resolute performances in the nine victories from their opening 10 league games.
Mikel Arteta's side appeared set to earn yet another narrow triumph, though an underwhelming second-half showing – coupled with a lack of clinical finishing – saw them drop points for just the second time this season.
With Chelsea to follow in November and City showing no signs of relenting in their title pursuit, Arteta will be frustrated to drop points at Southampton, who had lost seven of their last 11 Premier League home games.
Great Granit
Xhaka's impressive form for the Gunners continued as the Switzerland international scored his fourth goal in all competitions this season, matching his best return for Arsenal in a single campaign.
The Gunners have never lost in 18 games when Xhaka has scored (W15 D3), though Arsenal will be frustrated to not leave the south coast with victory here.
Jesus fails to deliver
Jesus has been a leading figure within a new-look Arsenal side, blending his hard-work ethic with an eye for goal up top, though the Brazil international failed to fire for the Gunners at Southampton.
The forward attempted a game-high four shots but only found the target with one of those, squandering presentable opportunities in either half in a disappointing showing.
What's next?
Arsenal head to PSV in the Europa League on Thursday before hosting Nottingham Forest on Sunday, while Southampton visit Crystal Palace the day before.
Leon Goretzka says Robert Lewandowski "was spoiled" at Bayern Munich as he taunted his former team-mate over Barcelona's Champions League struggles.
Barca face being eliminated from the competition in the group stage in successive campaigns for only the second time heading into Wednesday's tie with Bayern at Camp Nou.
The Catalan giants will be unable to advance to the last 16 should they lose or if Inter beat Viktoria Plzen, while they will also be eliminated should both games be drawn.
While Barca have struggled in Europe of late, Bayern have reached at least the quarter-finals in all but one of the past 11 seasons, which Goretzka says can be taken for granted.
"Lewy was very spoiled at Bayern, always being at least in the round of 16 and progressing," Goretzka told reporters. "But now we can no longer take that into account."
Bayern beat Barca 2-0 in last month's reverse fixture, in which Lewandowski missed two presentable opportunities, and are already assured of a place in the knockout stages.
The German side have defeated Barcelona in nine of their 12 Champions League encounters, including the past five in a row.
Only Bayern themselves against Real Madrid (10) have lost more games against a single side in the competition's history, and Goretzka is targeting another victory next week.
"If we play against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, it can be a preparatory game or a Champions League final, it doesn't matter," the Germany international added.
"It's going to be a super cool game that we're looking forward to. And we will also do everything to win it."
Lewandowski has scored five Champions League goals for Barca, each of those coming at Camp Nou – the most ever by a Barca player after their first two matches.
The prolific striker lifted the famous trophy with Bayern in 2020, but he will have to settle for Europa League football – at best – if results go against his side.
"It's their last chance," Bayern striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting said. "I'm definitely looking forward to the game and to seeing Lewy.
"He's a world-class player and a great guy. Playing against Barcelona is always something special."
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