Antony described Cristiano Ronaldo as a man with "an extraordinary mind" and revealed he has looked to the five-time Ballon d'Or winner for guidance since joining Manchester United.

The former Ajax winger made a scintillating start to his United career, scoring the opening goal in a 3-1 win over Premier League leaders Arsenal at Old Trafford.

Just three days after joining United for an initial £81.3million (€95m), Antony – the 100th Brazilian to play in the Premier League – became the youngest of his countrymen to score on his debut in the competition (aged 22 years and 192 days).

Antony joined Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho in United's three-pronged attack against the Gunners, as former Real Madrid and Juventus star Ronaldo started on the bench for the fifth time this season.

Ronaldo has started just one of United's six Premier League games this campaign, with Rashford (523), Sancho (423) and Anthony Elanga (215) all bettering the 37-year-old's 207 minutes of league action.

Antony then started alongside Ronaldo as United fell to a Europa League defeat against Real Sociedad on Thursday, and the Brazilian is in no doubt as to the Portugal striker's continued quality.

"Words can't describe Cristiano, the best in the world," Antony told United's website.

"In just a few days, I've learnt a lot from him. He has an extraordinary mind and, whenever I talk to him, I take a lot from it.

"I'm sure that we have a strong attack and it's very promising for the future.

"I've come to help my team-mates. Regardless of age, there's immense talent in all the players."

During Ajax's run to the Champions League's last 16 under Erik ten Hag last term, Antony attempted 29 dribbles, more than any other player recorded for the Eredivisie giants.

The 22-year-old showed glimpses of his distinctly Brazilian style on his debut and has pledged he will always look to entertain the Red Devils supporters.

"I've always done this," he said. "Not just here but for all the teams I've played for. I've been doing it ever since I was a child. I've always done it – it's one of my characteristics.

"I am adapting and getting used to things here already. Entertaining is something I've always liked, and I'll continue doing it."

The provisional Formula One grid for the Italian Grand Prix in Monza has been announced by the FIA, hours after the conclusion of Saturday's qualifying.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc secured pole position for the team's home Grand Prix, but the starting grid for Sunday's race was complicated by a raft of penalties issued to a total of nine drivers.

That included championship leader Max Verstappen and Leclerc's team-mate Carlos Sainz, who put in the second and third-fastest laps in Q3, and there was initial confusion on how the penalties across the grid would be applied.

Verstappen, handed a five-place penalty, will start the race from seventh following a debate as to whether he would start from the second row in fourth, depending on whether that penalty was applied before or after others on the grid.

Confusion was not just limited to supporters, as the teams and drivers themselves were left in limbo – AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly taking to social media to ask for clarification, before it was announced he would start from fifth.

"Can someone tell me in which position I will start tomorrow's race?" he asked.

Following the raft of penalties issued, which comes after seven grid penalties were issued in the French Grand Prix, Mercedes' George Russell has suggested the procedure should be changed.

"We're trying to be more sustainable in F1, cutting down the parts and engines we use across a season," he said.

"With more and more races, we have three engines to take us through 23 races, running flat-out on a single engine.

"It's a huge amount. It's normal there are going to be failures along the way. I'm sure F1 will have a rethink along the way."

PROVISIONAL GRID

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

2. George Russell (Mercedes)

3. Lando Norris (McLaren)

4. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)

5. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)

6. Fernando Alonso (Alpine)

7. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

8. Nyck de Vries (Williams)

9. Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo)

10. Nicholas Latifi (Williams)

The Trey Lance discussion has been an impossible one to escape during the NFL's long offseason.

That is largely because the circumstances in which he takes his first steps as a starter are unprecedented.

Lance was selected by the 49ers with the third overall pick in last year's draft after they traded three first-round selections for the right to move into that slot.

After a rookie year largely spent watching on the sideline, he now steps in to start at the most important position for a team who were minutes away from reaching a second Super Bowl in three years last season, which ended in heart-breaking defeat to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game.

Young quarterbacks have taken over Super Bowl-calibre teams in years gone by. Aaron Rodgers took over from Brett Favre in 2008 after the Green Bay Packers had agonisingly lost the NFC Championship Game to the New York Giants in overtime.

But Rodgers had spent three years as Favre's backup in an era where spending an apprenticeship on the bench was de rigueur for highly drafted quarterbacks, and he had previously produced two seasons of stellar play for a Power 5 school during his college career with the Cal Bears.

Lance, by contrast, played just one full season of college ball at North Dakota State in the FCS – college football's second tier – back in 2019, losing the chance to add to his experience as the coronavirus pandemic wiped out his 2020 campaign with the Bison, save for one exhibition that essentially served as a pre-draft audition for the dual-threat signal-caller.

A quarterback of such little experience being given the keys to one of the best teams in the NFL is an objectively fascinating situation, one made even more intriguing by the Niners' decision to hang on to Jimmy Garoppolo, his predecessor, after failing to find a partner for a potential trade.

Rodgers did not have Favre looming as the backup in Green Bay. Favre retired, then came back, but was traded to the New York Jets, leaving Rodgers to plot his path to becoming one of the all-time greats.

Lance will be tasked with keeping a win-now team firmly in contention for a Super Bowl title while dealing with the possibility of the man who twice helped the 49ers to the cusp of the Lombardi Trophy stepping in should he struggle.

The flashes Lance produced in his two starts in relief of an injured Garoppolo last season were promising, but with the 49ers set to kick off their new era against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, can he immediately rise to the challenge of leading the NFL's most interesting team on a deep playoff run they hope will end with a sixth league championship? 

An ideal offensive ecosystem

In order to answer that question, it is important to look at just how strong Lance's supporting cast is.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have put together one of the most complete rosters in the NFL having taken over a team in need of a colossal rebuild in 2017.

Shanahan himself is a key reason for confidence the transition to Lance will work. No play-caller in the NFL does a better job of consistently putting his receivers in space and his quarterback in favourable situations, while his diverse running torments opposing defenses year in, year out.

The league's pre-eminent play-caller also has experience of building an offense around a dual-threat quarterback, having done so while working as offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders under his father Mike as Robert Griffin III produced an Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign.

Shanahan's play-calling acumen is a critical factor in the 49ers' ceaseless efficiency on offense. The 49ers' offense finished last season ranked first in Stats Perform's Efficiency Versus Expected (EVE) metric. EVE looks at down, distance, yards from goal, quarter, time remaining and score difference. Using those six factors, Stats Perform trained a model to predict yardage output for any game situation. From there, the projected yards are compared to the actual yards gained or prevented in those situations.

But San Francisco's superiority in that metric would not be possible without a star-studded cast of offensive skill-position players, which Stats Perform AI ranks as the sixth-best in the NFL coming into the year.

Between Deebo Samuel, whose ability to excel as a dual wide receiver-running back inspired the Niners' turnaround from a 3-5 team to one who came within a whisker of an eighth Super Bowl appearance, fellow wideout Brandon Aiyuk and All-Pro tight end George Kittle, Lance is not short of targets who will make his life much easier.

A run game that ranked eighth in explosive runs of 10 yards or more in 2021 with 58 – a tally Lance's presence will surely embellish – will also provide him with plenty of assistance, as will a defense that has a compelling case for being considered the league's gold standard.

Stellar defensive support

The 49ers' Divisional Round win over the Green Bay Packers last season perhaps provided the clearest evidence yet as to the value of their outstanding defense.

San Francisco shackled back-to-back MVP Rodgers, limiting Green Bay to one touchdown and field goal in an improbable 13-10 road win against the number one seed in the snow at Lambeau Field.

Defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans called a masterful game as the 49ers' defensive front sacked Rodgers five times, and it is the seemingly endless supply of depth on the defensive line that makes Ryans' group arguably the league's most fearsome.

The 49ers led the league in pass rush win rate and did so while blitzing at the fifth-lowest rate in the NFL (20.4 per cent). That D-line now heads into 2022 arguably in an even stronger position. Nick Bosa, coming off a 15.5-sack season, leads an edge rusher rotation that is six players deep and includes a rookie, in second-round pick Drake Jackson, whose pressure rate of 24.2 per cent was fifth among draft prospects at his position last year. 

On the interior, the 49ers are hoping former first-round pick Javon Kinlaw, with his hulking 6ft 5in, 319-pound frame, can put it all together in his third season following knee surgery and form an imposing tandem with Arik Armstead, whose 2021 stunt-adjusted pass rush win rate of 44.34 per cent was fifth among defensive tackles (min. 100 matchups).

Behind the D-line, the coverage versatility of a linebacker core headlined by the game's best in Fred Warner opens a wealth of options for Ryans, yet it may be the additions in the secondary that solidify his defense as the league's elite this season.

The 49ers are starting a fifth-round rookie at nickel corner. That is a frightening sentence on the surface, but Samuel Womack III allowed a burn rate – which measures how often a receiver wins his matchup with a defender on a play where he is targeted – of just 33.3 per cent in his final year with Toledo. That was tied for the best among draftable corners. He backed up those numbers with a preseason that saw him record two interceptions.

While the 49ers are hoping Womack's leap to the highest level is seamless, it is the performance of free-agent signing Charvarius 'Mooney' Ward that could determine the ceiling of this defense. Ward's burn rate of 39.8 per cent was the fourth-best among corners with at least 50 targets last year, with the former Kansas City Chief fifth in burn yards per target (7.96).

The acquisitions of Ward and Womack have significantly strengthened the cornerback room. Though there is justified concern about a lack of depth at safety, Ward's arrival may facilitate the 49ers leaning more on the man coverage in which he specialises, enabling San Francisco to blitz up front more often and perhaps even improve their pressure numbers from a year ago.

Regardless of whether the pressure statistics do get even better, it is clear Lance is entering an outstanding ecosystem for a young quarterback. The 49ers have the talent to survive the ups and downs he may experience. The unknown is whether Lance can take advantage of his environment to help this team realise their glaringly obvious potential by enhancing an already excellent offense.

Becoming the 'because of' QB

Lance is a substantial departure from what the 49ers are used to at quarterback, and there are upsides and downsides to that change in direction.

There is no question Lance will significantly increase the 49ers' threat on deep passes. Last season, Garoppolo completed just nine passes of 21 air yards or more across the entire 2021 season. Lance completed four in his 10 full quarters of play as a rookie.

On top of that, Lance's air yards per attempt average of 10.1 was the second-highest in the NFL among quarterbacks with at least 50 pass attempts.

While the downfield passing game figures to be more explosive, Lance will need to improve in one area where Garoppolo has traditionally excelled.

Garoppolo has consistently done an impressive job of leading his receivers to the ball on throws over the middle, setting up regular opportunities for yardage after the catch.

Over the last three seasons, Garoppolo has averaged 6.7 yards after the catch (YAC) on his completed passes, almost a full yard more than his nearest challenger Patrick Mahomes (6.0).

The same sort of accuracy on throws where the receivers can relieve the burden on the quarterback with YAC was lacking from Lance during the preseason, and curbing a tendency to put those passes behind his intended target will be critical for him to realise his potential in Shanahan's vaunted offensive scheme.

But Shanahan is making a calculated trade-off in switching to Lance. The 'gimme' plays Garoppolo can hit with ease may not come as easy with Lance, but the 49ers will benefit from the 'second reaction' plays the new quarterback can make when the pocket breaks down.

Though Garoppolo can make throws on the move, the improvisation factor is significantly higher with Lance, who last season averaged a gaudy 13.06 air yards throwing on the run. 

On top of his threat as a downfield passer in such situations, Lance also put 8.45 yards per carry on scrambles in 2021. Only Jameis Winston (8.67) had more among quarterbacks with at least 10 scrambles.

Lance adds new dimensions to the 49er offense, but he also has shown substantial promise in a staple feature of the Shanahan attack.

Though it was on a small sample size, Lance displayed encouraging accuracy in the play-action game as a rookie. Ten of his 12 play-action throws were well-thrown, with Lance averaging 14.67 air yards on those attempts.

It is far too early to definitively say Lance will continue to be as accurate on play-action over the course of a full season. However, given the effectiveness of the 49er run game, the play-action should still continue to be extremely effective, with Lance's prowess on the ground giving defenders more to think about when he fakes the hand-off.

Former Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks head coach Chuck Knox once said: "There are two kinds of quarterbacks. There is what I call the 'because of' quarterback and the 'with' quarterback. You win 'because of' Joe Montana or John Elway. You win 'with' Phil Simms or Doug Williams."

Garoppolo has produced game-winning performances for San Francisco, but while he has operated the offense extremely efficiently, he is firmly in the 'win with' category. In the biggest games where the team has asked him to put them over the top, he has not delivered.

The 49ers moved up for Lance due to their belief he can be a 'because of' quarterback. He may not perform with the same efficiency as Garoppolo, but he has already delivered showings to suggest he can be the decisive factor for a team who have come agonisingly close to glory. Lance's ability to reproduce those flashes over the course of an entire season will determine whether the 49ers were right in their assessment.

A last-gasp volley from Marcelo Brozovic spared Inter's blushes as they overcame Romelu Lukaku's absence to snatch a late 1-0 win against Torino in Milan.

The Croatian latched onto Nicolo Barella's lob into the box in the 89th minute to steer the ball just beyond Vanja Milinkovic-Savic and spark wild celebrations.

Inter, still without the injured Lukaku following his absence for their midweek UEFA Champions League loss to Bayern Munich, had looked lacklustre throughout, without a cutting edge.

But Simone Inzaghi will still take this victory with all the jubilation it was greeted with, while Ivan Juric will be left to rue what could have been for his stubborn visitors.

Bayern Munich must "take a good look at ourselves" if they are to get their Bundesliga season back on track after being held to a third straight draw, so says Thomas Muller.

Julian Nagelsmann's side followed up 1-1 draws against Borussia Monchengladbach and Union Berlin with a 2-2 draw against Stuttgart at Allianz Arena on Saturday.

Mathys Tel struck in the first half to put Bayern ahead on home soil, the 17-year-old becoming the club's youngest league goalscorer in the process.

Chris Fuhrich equalised in the second half for Stuttgart, who are winless in six games this season, but Jamal Musiala's strike had Bayern on course for all three points.

However, having had two goals ruled out and hit the crossbar, Serhou Guirassy was fouled by Matthijs de Ligt in the box and stepped up to convert the 92nd-minute penalty.

And Muller believes the latest of the stalemates has left him the most disappointed he has felt after a game this season.

"Today I'm angry for the first time," he told Sky Sport. "I'm mad at ourselves. If we want to win every game, and that's our aim, then you have to play until the very last minute.

"If we are going to stay top of the table, we have to take a look at ourselves."

Nagelsmann made six changes on the back of the midweek win over Inter in the Champions League, with another tough European test against Barcelona to come on Tuesday.

The 35-year-old guided Bayern to a 10th successive Bundesliga title last season, but his side have won only three of their past nine league matches stretching into last season.

Asked if he is feeling under additional pressure, Nagelsmann told reporters: "I don't know if the pressure got higher. Pressure is always subjective and comes from the outside. 

"We'll continue to work, train tomorrow and Monday, analyse the opponent and try to come up with good ideas for the Barcelona game.

"We didn't play well in the first 30 minutes today, which is a bit normal after a Champions League game. Then we had a good 15 minutes and deservedly took the lead. 

"In the second half, we had chances to score the third and kill off the game, but we didn't. So in the end we only got a point."

Bayern had won 67 of their previous 106 Bundesliga encounters with Stuttgart – no Bundesliga side has beaten another as many times.

Stuttgart were good value for their equaliser when it arrived, though, having put Bayern under intense pressure.

De Ligt was penalised for catching Guirassy in the box, with referee Christian Dingert awarding the spot-kick after being instructed by VAR to check the pitchside monitor.

"That was the correct decision," Nagelsmann said. "Matthijs played a good game. It's a pity he conceded the penalty, but it happens. We move on."

Marco Rose insisted he took no extra satisfaction from beating Borussia Dortmund after he began his RB Leipzig tenure with a 3-0 thrashing of his former employers.

Goals from Willi Orban, Dominik Szoboszlai and Amadou Haidara got Rose's Leipzig reign off to the ideal start on Saturday, as they moved to within four points of Dortmund in the Bundesliga table.

Rose led Dortmund to a second-placed finish in his single season in charge last term, but was dismissed in May.

His exit allowed Edin Terzic, who performed the role of technical director during Rose's reign, to step back into the Dortmund dugout, and some had suggested the duo were set for an awkward reunion at the Red Bull Arena.

Speaking to Sky Sports, however, Rose said he took "zero point zero" satisfaction from beating his former colleague. 

"I really enjoyed being with the club. This is a great club," he said.

"I've met great people. In the end, it didn't fit any more, I had to go. I have a very good relationship with Edin. I wish BVB and the boys personally all the best."

Rose was later full of praise for his side's performance, declaring: "We were very present from the first minute. It wasn't perfect in terms of content, but we were intense, showed something and took the whole stadium with us.

"But I'm very happy with how we performed today. One of the keys to our success was definitely that we were able to use our pace and bring the quality of play onto the pitch.

"Leipzig is my home, with which I identify strongly. I feel very comfortable, I really like the people, and you saw that you can spark something together here."

Leipzig's clean sheet was just the second they have ever kept against Dortmund, with the other coming in their first competitive meeting in September 2016. Die Roten Bullen had conceded at least once in each of the teams' subsequent 12 meetings. 

Rose, meanwhile, has claimed just his second victory in his last seven games against BVB (five losses).

Goalscorer Szoboszlai worked with Rose at Salzburg between 2017 and 2019, and says he owes his career to the 45-year-old.

"I've known Marco since my time in Salzburg," he said. "We had both good and bad times together. But it's very clear, if he hadn't been there in my career, I wouldn't be where I am now."

Rose will face another of his former clubs when Leipzig go to Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga next Saturday, though he must first navigate a Champions League trip to reigning champions Real Madrid on Wednesday.  

Soren Kjeldsen carded a superb eight-under 64 on a belated second day of the BMW PGA Championship, tying for the lead with Viktor Hovland.

Having seen play postponed on Friday following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, matters resumed at Wentworth with Kjeldsen posting one of the scores of the day.

The Dane moved to 12 under for the tournament, but that was only enough for a share of the lead after Hovland built on his own 64 with a four-under 68.

Hovland had jointly held the lead with Tommy Fleetwood and Andy Sullivan at close of play on Thursday.

Fleetwood fell away in the second round, though, with a round of one over par – including a double-bogey at the four-par sixth – leaving him five back.

Rory McIlroy, pipped to the PGA Tour Player of the Year award by Scottie Scheffler on Saturday, continued his strong form with a seven-under 65.

That effort, which included an eagle at the par-five fourth, moved McIlroy to 11 under, one shot off the lead alongside Thomas Detry and Rafa Cabrera Bello.

Meanwhile, the round of the day – and indeed the tournament so far – belonged to Australia's Min Woo Lee, who bounced back spectacularly from Thursday's 76 with a sensational 10-under 62, guided by two eagles and seven birdies.

Neymar scored the only goal of the game as Paris Saint-Germain returned to the top of Ligue 1 with a 1-0 win over Brest, though the French champions were indebted to Gianluigi Donnarumma following his penalty save.

The Brazilian volleyed home his eighth strike of the campaign after half an hour to settle a scrappy affair, maintaining the hosts' unbeaten start.

However, Christophe Galtier's side survived a scare in the final 20 minutes as Donnarumma kept out Islam Slimani's spot-kick to preserve their led.

PSG have now won each of their last 10 league matches against Brest, and appear strong favourites for yet another title after extending their unbeaten home league run in to 25 games.

Brest came under intense pressure inside the opening 20 minutes with Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi all going close for the Parisians. 

The visitors' struggles appeared set to worsen when Christophe Herelle received a red card for fouling Neymar, but they were reprieved after a VAR check revealed the PSG forward had strayed offside before the challenge occurred.

The Brazil international broke the deadlock on the half-hour mark, however, controlling Messi's wonderful lofted ball before firing past Marco Bizot.

The Brest goalkeeper did well to thwart Messi and Mbappe before the break, while the latter was also denied by the offside flag.

The woodwork then came to the visitors' rescue within five minutes of the restart; Messi heading against the post from Mbappe's cross.

Despite registering 12 shots on goal, PSG were almost made to pay for their lacking of cutting edge in the 70th minute when Presnel Kimpembe fouled Noah Fadiga in the box.

However, Donnarumma guessed correctly to keep out Slimani from 12 yards and ensure his side's return to the Ligue 1 summit.

Remco Evenepoel said it felt "amazing" to effectively clinch Vuelta a Espana general classification glory and answer his critics in style.

The 22-year-old will be garlanded on Sunday as Belgium's first Grand Tour winner since Johan De Muynck took the 1978 Giro d'Italia title.

The Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider safely navigated Saturday's 181-kilometre stage from Moralzarzal to Puerto de Navacerrada, considered the last serious test for the riders.

On Sunday, it will be an essentially processional 96.7km ride from Las Rozas to the finish in Madrid, with a sprint in store once the riders reach the capital.

Richard Carapaz won Saturday's stage, his third victory of the 2022 edition of La Vuelta, attacking decisively as the summit of the Puerto de Cotos closing ascent approached. He has taken King of the Mountains honours too, in a highly successful Vuelta performance.

Evenepoel crossed the line in sixth place, with his overall lead of two minutes and five seconds over Enric Mas meaning he can prepare to stand on top of the podium at the Plaza de Cibeles on Sunday.

"I don't know what going through my head and my body right now, but it's amazing," Evenepoel said, after crying tears of happiness.

Evenepoel faced criticism during and after the World Championships last year, when he questioned Belgium's race tactics and suggested he might have won a gold medal if the team had chosen him as a leader.

Wout van Aert and Jasper Stuyven were the leaders instead and Belgium finished empty-handed, but on Sunday the country will have a confirmed Grand Tour champion.

"All the bad comments I got from last year, I think I answered everybody with my pedals," Evenepoel said on Eurosport. "I've been working so hard to come here in the best shape possible, and to now win this Vuelta is amazing."

He said the victory was "for Belgium, for my team-mates, for my parents, for my fiancee", adding: "I was really stressed this morning. I didn't sleep too much last night because you just know what's coming to you, and it was a super tough stage, but I'm just super happy that I won La Vuelta.

"I didn't even think about winning a stage. I just wanted to win the general classification. It's an amazing year. It's the best year I can imagine and wish for."

Carapaz at the summit

INEOS Grenadiers' Carapaz has enjoyed a superb Vuelta. He is one of only two riders, along with Mads Pedersen, to win three stages at this year's race, doubling his career total of Grand Tour stage wins, while the Ecuadorian is the first South American to win the mountains classification at La Vuelta since 2004.

STAGE RESULT 

1. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) 04:41:34
2. Thymen Arensman (Team DSM) +0:08 
3. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) +0:13
4. Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) same time
5. Enric Mas (Movistar) same time

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 78:00:12
2. Enric Mas (Movistar) +2:05
3. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) +5:08

Points Classification

1. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) 379
2. Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) 174
3. Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 133

King of the Mountains

1. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) 73
2. Robert Stannard (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 36
3. Enric Mas (Movistar) 28

The Las Vegas Raiders and tight end Darren Waller have agreed to a three-year, $51million contract extension, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Saturday.  

Waller, who turns 30 next week, was already under contract for the next two seasons, so his new deal keeps him tied to the Raiders through 2026.  

The 2020 Pro Bowl selection had no guaranteed money left on his previous deal, with this extension giving Waller some insurance on the eve of the Raiders’ 2022 campaign.  

Drafted in the sixth round by the Baltimore Ravens in 2015, Waller was a practice squad player to begin his career and had just 18 career catches through the 2018 season.  

Since 2019, Waller has made 252 catches for 3,006 yards – both second in the NFL by tight ends over that span – and caught 14 touchdowns.  

Waller broke the Raiders single-season franchise record by making 107 receptions in 2020, eclipsing Tim Brown's mark of 104 catches that stood for 23 years.  

The Raiders’ passing offense is poised to be productive and stable for years to come, with Waller, quarterback Derek Carr and receivers Davante Adams and Hunter Renfrow all under contract through at least the 2025 season.  

Conor McGregor is confident he will get his trilogy fight against Nate Diaz as he congratulated his old rival on reaching the end of his UFC contract.

Diaz is set to enter free agency after Saturday's UFC 279, where he is now to face Tony Ferguson following a late change.

The American has been fighting exclusively in the UFC since 2007, with the highlight of his career a pair of bouts against McGregor, which the pair split.

Diaz dealt McGregor his first UFC defeat in March 2016, before the Irishman gained revenge via a majority decision in August of the same year.

There has long been talk of the possibility of a third fight between the pair, and Diaz this week told Inside Fighting it is "for sure going to happen at some point".

McGregor appears to be of the same belief, posting on Twitter: "Congrats Nate Diaz on making it to the end of his contractual obligations with the UFC, and as a bona fide superstar goer.

"An incredible feat. Fair play. Our trilogy will happen."

Diaz is facing Ferguson this weekend after original opponent Khamzat Chimaev's failure to make weight prompted a late shake-up at UFC 279.

Chimaev will instead face Kevin Holland, leaving Li Jingliang – Ferguson's planned opponent at 170lbs – the task of taking on Daniel Rodriguez, who is Holland's opponent at 180lbs.

McGregor also weighed in on this drama, writing: "My opinion is they should have pulled Khamzat from the card entirely.

"Reconfiguring bouts, and with a more favourable bout for the failed cutter, will only make many others in the game follow suit. The smirks on the scale were enough for me. Pull from the card and starve."

Ferrari chairman John Elkann knows the team have committed "far too many mistakes" in Formula One this year, stating they "must improve".

The Scuderia have become the main rivals to fellow constructor Red Bull after Mercedes' struggles this season.

Charles Leclerc looked set to push Max Verstappen hard, but a series of major errors and poor judgement calls from the team cost Ferrari a realistic shot at the reigning world champion.

Ahead of Sunday's Italian Grand Prix at home circuit Monza, where Leclerc is on pole, Elkann explained his faith in team principal Mattia Binotto and his crew, but suggested there is only so far his patience will stretch.

"We have great faith in Mattia Binotto, and we fully appreciate everything he and all our engineers have done," he told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"But there's no doubt that the work at Maranello, in the box on the wall, and behind the wheel must improve. We must continue to progress

"That applies to the mechanics, the engineers, the drivers, the entire management team, including the team boss. We have seen far too many mistakes, from reliability issues to driving errors and strategic blunders.

"We have trusted in Binotto and his team. That was the right decision. It has paid off and we can thank them that Ferrari is competitive and winning again. But I'm not satisfied. I think we can always improve."

Scottie Scheffler received an overwhelming majority of the votes as he was named PGA Tour Player of the Year for 2022.

Scheffler, the world number one, has enjoyed a brilliant year, winning his first major title at The Masters in April.

The 26-year-old won in four of his first six starts this year, becoming the first player since Jason Day in the 2014-15 season to do so, and finished T2 at the US Open alongside Will Zalatoris, one shot back from champion Matt Fitzpatrick.

Other than his triumph at Augusta, Scheffler won the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, the Phoenix Open and the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Only the great Tiger Woods (eight victories) has previously won four tournaments, including a major and a WGC competition, in the same season.

Scheffler was presented with the Jack Nicklaus Award live on ESPN's College GameDay ahead of the college football meeting between the Texas Longhorns and the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday.

A Dallas native, Scheffler received 89 per cent of the votes to clinch the award ahead of Rory McIlroy and Cameron Smith. He is the first player to win the Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year, PGA Tour Rookie of the Year and PGA Tour Player of the Year.

"On behalf of the PGA Tour, congratulations to Scottie on his remarkable season and his unprecedented achievements," said PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan in a statement.

"Undoubtedly, one of the highest compliments a player can receive is the endorsement from his peers, and the fact that Scottie's season was both dominant and consistent spoke volumes to the membership. 

"As gratifying as it has been to see his development on the course over the last several years, we are equally thankful that Scottie has embraced the role as an ambassador of the PGA Tour and the game of golf. With young stars like Scottie leading the way, the PGA Tour is in great hands for many years to come."

Scheffler finished the 2021-22 season with 11 top-10 finishes in 25 starts, though he was just pipped to the FedEx Cup title by McIlroy.

The Northern Irishman won three tournaments over the course of the season, and became a de facto spokesperson for the PGA Tour amid the LIV Golf Invitational Series breakaway.

Smith - who like McIlroy recorded three victories, though unlike the world number three clinched a major title at The Open Championship - is one of the biggest names LIV Golf have lured away from the PGA Tour.