Jurgen Klopp believes Liverpool will head into the 2022-23 season "as confident as possible" about the prospect of challenging on all fronts once again.

Liverpool fell short of an unprecedented quadruple last season, faltering in both the Champions League final and on the last day of the Premier League season after lifting the EFL Cup and FA Cup.

Liverpool relied on penalties in both of their cup successes as they failed to score in five and a half hours of football in major finals last season, which led to concerns over their ruthlessness in front of goal.

Darwin Nunez has since arrived at Anfield from Benfica in a deal reportedly worth £64million (€75m), with a further £21.4m in potential add-ons, in a move that Klopp will hope provides greater reliability in attack.

Star forward Mohamed Salah has also penned a contract extension and, despite Sadio Mane leaving for Bayern Munich, Klopp remains convinced Liverpool can compete with Manchester City once more.

"As confident as possible. You never know obviously but I saw today on the plane a squad full of quality," he told reporters at Sunday's news conference in Thailand, where Liverpool are on a pre-season tour. 

"You always need a little bit of luck, how we all know, if you want to win a trophy. But to play a good season you need first and foremost consistency, that's what it's all about and that's what we will try.

"I have no doubt about the quality of the boys. We brought in new players – yes, we lost a few players – but we brought in new players; if you want, fresh blood, really helpful.

"There are no places already sorted, who will play where. The boys will make pressure, which is important.

"We have five subs from now on in the Premier League as well – we have to get used to that, we have to adapt to that. I'm really looking forward to it.

"There are no guarantees in football but there's a good chance that we play another good season, I would say."

Liverpool face fierce rivals Manchester United in Bangkok on Tuesday in what will be Erik ten Hag's first game in charge of the Red Devils.

The Reds hammered United by an aggregate scoreline of 9-0 in the Premier League last season, and Klopp insists there will be no such thing as a friendly between the two teams.

"Manchester United, a new manager, trained a little bit longer than us so might be, I'm not sure, in a better situation in the moment," he added.

"But we see it as an important test because it's against United and we don't play friendlies, obviously both teams don't play friendlies against each other, so we will see what we can do.

"We never prepare for one match, we prepare for a full season. That means the boys who started Monday last week had a proper start so far, we could train in the way we wanted.

"We had now a full week already and we are now here to play two games in Asia, first this one and then in Singapore against Crystal Palace. So, we have to see.

"We have to train and we have to play, it means the games are actually like a session as well but the boys have to go really hard.

"Let's see where we stand in this specific moment and then we can go home to England and then we go from there to Austria for another camp."

Formula One chiefs are investigating "unacceptable" behaviour from spectators at the Austrian Grand Prix.

The conduct of fans at the Red Bull Ring this weekend has been in the spotlight after Lewis Hamilton was cheered following a crash in qualifying on Friday.

Mercedes driver Hamilton hit out at the "mind-blowing" reaction of supporters, which are mainly made up of Max Verstappen followers at Red Bull's home race.

It comes a week after Verstappen was jeered by a section of the grandstands at the British Grand Prix, where Hamilton is a home favourite.

The race weekend at Spielberg has also seen reports of sexist and homophobic abuse, as well as other forms of harassment.

F1 addressed those allegations in a statement released ahead of the main event on Sunday.

"We have been made aware of reports that some fans have been subject to completely unacceptable comments by others at the Austrian Grand Prix," the statement read.

"We take these matters very seriously, have raised them with the promoter and event security, and will be speaking to those who reported the incidents.

"This kind of behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated."

Verstappen will start Sunday's race on pole after winning Saturday's sprint, while Hamilton – still seeking his first victory of the 2022 campaign – is down in eighth.

Matthijs de Ligt leaving Juventus would be a "great loss" for Massimiliano Allegri's side, according to former Bianconeri defender Andrea Barzagli.

Barzagli formed a formidable centre-back trio with Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci during his time in Turin, with the latter pair still playing for Juve when De Ligt arrived for €85.5million from Ajax in 2019.

The Netherlands international has fallen short of expectations during his first three years, leading to transfer speculation with Chelsea, Manchester United and Bayern Munich apparently interested.

De Ligt played more minutes (2,675) than any other Juve outfield player in the 2021-22 Serie A season as Allegri's side finished fourth after a poor start to the campaign.

While questions remain over the leadership qualities of De Ligt, who Juve chief executive Maurizio Arrivabene says wants to leave, Barzagli believes the centre-back would be missed at the Allianz Stadium.

"Matthijs did not show his maximum potential despite the excellent championship last year, in which he began to take responsibility for leading the defence and the team," Barzagli told Tuttosport.

"De Ligt arrived at Juventus when he was young and with the pressure of having been paid a lot, with two great defenders in front of him like Chiellini and Bonucci.

"It is not easy when you get paid like that and there are expectations. It is difficult to find continuity and have the right confidence with two monsters like that in front.

"If he were to leave, it would be a great loss for Juventus and also for the Italian championship."

Lewis Hamilton has criticised spectators for their "mind-blowing" decision to cheer when he crashed in Austrian Grand Prix qualifying.

The Mercedes driver lost control into Turn 7 and skid into the barriers close to the Red Bull Ring grandstands, which are largely packed with Max Verstappen fans this weekend.

Hamilton was on course to challenge Verstappen for pole prior to Friday's crash, but he instead finished in 10th before being bumped up a place after Sergio Perez was penalised.

Speaking after making up one position to finish eighth in Saturday's sprint race, which establishes the grid for Sunday's main grand prix, Hamilton hit out at those who cheered.

"I don't agree or condone any of that, no matter what," he said. "A driver could have been in hospital and you are going to cheer that?

"It is mind-blowing that people would do that, knowing how dangerous our sport is. I am grateful I wasn't in hospital and wasn't injured.

"You should never cheer someone's downfall, someone's injury or crash."

Hamilton escaped unhurt, with the incident coming less than a week on from Zhou Guanyu's horror crash at the British Grand Prix when he somehow avoided any serious injuries.

Red Bull's Verstappen was booed by a section of supporters at Hamilton's home race at Silverstone, but the Briton is not a fan of drivers being jeered.

"It shouldn't have happened at Silverstone, and it shouldn't have happened here," he said.

Verstappen won the sprint to claim eight points and start on pole for the Austrian Grand Prix, while Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are second and third respectively.

Lamar Jackson is hopeful of having a long-term deal with the Baltimore Ravens before training camp but is not thinking about a possible holdout.

Jackson is entering the final year of his rookie contract, with seemingly little progress made on an extension.

He is due to earn $23million in 2022 and when asked by USA Today if he would agree to a deal before camp, Jackson replied: "Hopefully.

"I'm not going to say 'yeah' right now. Hopefully. But it's God's timing."

On the subject of a potential holdout, Jackson said: "I don't have that on my mind."

The league's pre-eminent dual-threat quarterback, Jackson won the MVP award in his second season in 2019 after throwing for 3,127 yards and 36 touchdowns with just six interceptions. He also ran for 1,206 yards and seven scores.

However, the Ravens suffered a shock Divisional Round loss to the Tennessee Titans to end that season and were eliminated at the same stage of the 2020 campaign by the Buffalo Bills.

Jackson endured an injury-hindered 2021 season, throwing 16 touchdowns to 13 interceptions and adding a career-low two touchdowns on the ground as the Ravens missed the playoffs with an 8-9 record.

No player in the NFL has a higher yards-per-carry average over the course of the last three seasons than Jackson's 6.36.

Veterans are scheduled to report to Ravens training camp on July 26.

Erik ten Hag hopes "one or two" of the Manchester United youngsters travelling with the senior side for pre-season can break into his squad for the new season, but he warned it will not be easy.

Ten Hag was appointed as successor to interim manager Ralf Rangnick in May after the German and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before him presided over a dreadful season that culminated in United finishing sixth.

Their points total of 58 was the worst United have ever recorded in the Premier League, while the 2021-22 campaign saw them fail to finish a league campaign with a positive goal difference for the first time in over 30 years.

That haul of 58 points was six fewer than David Moyes – and Ryan Giggs as his caretaker replacement – managed in the 2013-14 season, which was the first following Alex Ferguson's retirement.

With many players seemingly coming to the end of the road with United, all signs pointed towards a massive rebuild occurring over the transfer window; several signings were expected after Rangnick suggested they needed as many as 10, while there was an expectation some younger players would get a chance.

Things have not really gone to plan on the transfer front yet, with left-back Tyrell Malacia the only new face, but United did head out on their pre-season tour with a host of youngsters in the travelling party.

Charlie Savage, Zidane Iqbal, Alejandro Garnacho, Nathan Bishop, Matej Kovar, Ethan Laird, James Garner, Facundo Pellistri and Amad Diallo are all with United in Bangkok, waiting to stake their claims, but Ten Hag suggested they are probably not even aware of how hard they will need to work to impress him.

"What I want to see is that they learn but also they show themselves because they have to deserve a position in top football," Ten Hag told MUTV.

"You have to deserve your position. It means you have to deliver every day, that demands a certain style, a certain way of life that they have to adapt to, that they probably don't know yet.

"But I am really looking forward to seeing if they can do it.

"I hope one or two, they can prove themselves and they come into the squad but, if they want to enter the dressing room, they have to deserve it."

United will play their first pre-season match – and first under Ten Hag's stewardship – in Bangkok on Tuesday when they face bitter rivals Liverpool.

They are also due to face Melbourne Victory, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano in pre-season, with the latter being Ten Hag's first game at Old Trafford on July 31.

Damian Lillard insisted that while he wants to compete for an NBA title, he wants to do it with the Portland Trail Blazers and will be able to "live" with it if he does not achieve that goal.

Lillard confirmed a two-year extension with the Blazers, seeing him through to the 2026-27 season with the team that took him with the sixth pick in 2012 NBA Draft.

The six-time All-Star played only 29 games for Portland this past season, undergoing abdominal surgery in January before being shut down for the rest of the campaign.

Speaking at a news conference to announce the signing at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, the 31-year-old made it clear he is will be loyal to Portland as long as he can compete there.

"I've always said that if I do something that goes against who I am, and say I do end up winning, I know me better than any of y'all know me," Lillard said.

"So I'd be happy with it, because I don't think anybody wouldn't be happy being a champion, but it wouldn't be as fulfilling to me as I would want that moment to be.

"It's going to get done or it's not going to get done. I don't want to go out there with this crazy uphill battle that I'm fighting and we need a miracle times 10 to get it done. I just want a shot at it, and if that happens and it doesn't work out, then I can live with that."

While Lillard was sidelined, the Blazers made pulled off a number of trades before the February deadline, which included sending back-court partner CJ McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans.

They have then made moves to build around Lillard this off-season, acquiring Jerami Grant from the Detroit Pistons as well as signing free agent Gary Payton II, who was a key defensive piece to the Golden State Warriors' title run.

With that in mind, Lillard takes a sense of pride in Portland opting to build around him while he recovered, especially in this era of player power in the NBA.

"I don’t think that you earn something like this just by going out there and scoring a bunch of points," he said.

"Something that’s missing in our league is character, and the fight and the passion and pride about, you know, not just the name on the back, but the name on the front, and how you impact the people that you come in contact with."

Alex Verdugo led the way for the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, as they dramatically came from behind to defeat the New York Yankees in extra innings.

Verdugo claimed three hits from five at-bats and sparked his side's fightback, scoring the game-tying single in the eighth inning.

Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo gave the Yankees a 5-3 lead with RBI doubles in the 10th inning, both scoring off Jake Diekman.

However, the Red Sox left-fielder responded, scoring a two-run single in the bottom of the extra inning to cap off a three-run frame and hand his side the win over their old rival.

Boston moved to second in the American League East at 46-39, but the Yankees still hold a 15-game lead with the MLB's best record at 61-24.

Rodon rolls for Giants

Carlos Rodon was in spectacular form to inspire the San Francisco Giants to a 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres in divisional ball.

The Giants had lost eight of their past 10 games and Rodon's last start capped off a five-game losing streak. The 29-year-old pitched a complete game, allowing his only run in the second inning.

The left-hander retired 22 of the Padres' final 23 batters while allowing only three hits for only the third complete game of his career.

Mets make it count in extra innings

The New York Mets overcame injuries to Starling Marte and James McCann to maintain their lead in the National League, defeating the Miami Marlins 5-4 in extra innings.

Tomas Nido hit the game-tying double with two outs in the 10th inning, before scoring the winning run on a throwing error by Marlins reliever Tanner Scott.

After retiring the number 17 to honour Keith Hernandez, the Mets secured their fourth walk-off win of the season and improved to 7-0 in extra innings, while moving their record to 53-32.

Max McGreevy holds a one-stroke lead at the Barbasol Championship, sitting on 17-under after a rain-interrrupted Saturday caused havoc during the third round.

Heavy rain in Kentucky has meant tournament organisers at Keen Trace have had to work around the conditions, and it only continued on Saturday, with staff even trying to empty the puddle-filled bunkers with buckets at one stage.

The final groups only started their rounds at 7:20pm local time, but were only able to get through three holes before darkness suspended play again.

Leading at the start of the day's play, Matti Schmid sits one stroke from McGreevy, and Adam Svensson moved level with him following a birdie on the par-three second hole.

Ricardo Gouveia remained a further stroke back on 15-under while Sean O'Hair took advantage of the softer conditions, moving to 14-under after three birdies in the opening four holes.

O'Hair is tied with Kevin Streelman and Trey Mulinax, with third-round play scheduled to resume on Sunday morning.

Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic crossed paths on the practice courts and began making plans to party after Sunday's Wimbledon final, on an unconventional day of build-up to the trophy match.

The pair were once grudge rivals, with Kyrgios ripping into Djokovic on the 'No Challenges Remaining' podcast in 2019, saying the Serbian had "a sick obsession" with wanting to be popular, in the way Roger Federer has enjoyed the love of tennis crowds.

More recently, though, Kyrgios sympathised with Djokovic's plight in January when the Serbian was detained and ultimately deported from Australia in a row over his vaccination status.

That served to stem the flow of bad blood, and Kyrgios has gone as far as to suggest there is a budding "bromance" between the pair.

Djokovic is not quite so sure about that, but the needle that once existed is unlikely to be a factor on Sunday, at least initially. Given the volatility both men may bring onto the court, the rapport could be seriously tested as the match goes on.

Even Djokovic has forecast "fireworks", but that does not necessarily mean ill-feeling.

On Centre Court, Djokovic will be aiming for his seventh Wimbledon title, which would see him tie Pete Sampras as the second most prolific winner of the men's singles in the Open Era, behind Federer's haul of eight.

On Saturday, Serbian journalist Sasa Ozmo quoted a conversation between the pair at Wimbledon's Aorangi practice courts, where Djokovic is said to have told Kyrgios: "It took you five years to say something nice about me, haha."

According to Ozmo, who reports for Sport Klub, Kyrgios replied: "But I defended you when it mattered."

Djokovic then reportedly said: "You did, I appreciate that."

The conversation continued on social media, with Kyrgios writing on Instagram: "We friends now?"

Djokovic quipped in reply: "If you are inviting me for a drink or dinner, I accept. P.S. Winner of tomorrow pays."

Kyrgios was not satisfied with that level of celebration, proposing instead: "Let's go to a nightclub and go nuts."

Djokovic and Kyrgios have played twice before, and Kyrgios won both times without dropping a set. They came in 2017 though, at Acapulco and Indian Wells, when Djokovic was at a relatively low ebb.

Now the 35-year-old from Belgrade is targeting a title that would take him to a career haul of 21 grand slam titles, one behind men's all-time leader Rafael Nadal.

It will be a 32nd grand slam final for Djokovic, a men's record, and he is chasing a fourth consecutive Wimbledon title, and a seventh in all. His lone defeat in a Wimbledon final came in 2013 when Andy Murray beat him in straight sets.

In contrast, Kyrgios will be contesting his first grand slam singles final. He won the doubles with Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Australian Open in January, but this is a massive step up, and he could be coming in slightly cold, after his semi-final against Nadal was cancelled due to the Spaniard's injury withdrawal.

The last Australian men's champion at Wimbledon was Lleyton Hewitt in 2002, but Ash Barty delivered in the women's singles last year, before retiring in March.

Kyrgios, at 40th in the ATP rankings, is the lowest-ranked Wimbledon men's singles finalist since 2003 when his fellow Australian Mark Philippoussis was a lowly 48th on the list.

He is the first unseeded man to reach a slam final since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the 2008 Australian Open.

Djokovic beat Tsonga that day to land his first grand slam title, and has enjoyed 14 years of plenty since.

That serves as a reminder of the company Kyrgios will be keeping, potentially out of his depth but maybe just enough of a threat if all aspects of his game come together.

Charles Leclerc does not want a repeat of the tussle he experienced with team-mate Carlos Sainz in the sprint race as he targets victory in the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Ferrari drivers saw Max Verstappen race away from them in the sprint, the championship leader benefiting from the duel between Leclerc and Sainz to take the maximum eight points.

Verstappen eventually claimed triumph by 1.6 seconds from Leclerc, who insisted the Scuderia drivers must not risk losing time and wearing down their tyres by fighting with each other again at the Red Bull Ring.

He said: "I think tomorrow is going to be a long race and tyre management will be quite a bit more important compared to today, so probably tomorrow we cannot afford to do what we did today.

"We lost a little bit of time, but again when Max had the gap he also managed his pace, so we'll never know… but I felt like we were strong towards the end – probably stronger than at the beginning. Whether it [would have been] enough I really don't know."

Verstappen now leads the drivers' championship by 38 points, with Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, who climbed from 13th to fifth in the sprint, his closest challenger. Leclerc is a further six points back.

The Dutchman has won five of the last seven races and has an outstanding record at his team's home circuit.

He has won three of the last four Austrian Grands Prix and also prevailed at the Red Bull Ring in last season's Styrian Grand Prix.

However, Verstappen labelled his tyres "tricky" and is not anticipating a routine success across the 71-lap feature race.

"We had good pace at the beginning and after that we were very closely matched, it was as a sprint should go, it was quite flat out," said Verstappen.

"I do expect tomorrow is going to be a very interesting battle again."

George Russell will start fourth in a Mercedes that appears to lack the straight-line speed to mount a serious challenge for victory in Spielberg.

His team-mate Lewis Hamilton will start eighth having claimed the final points place in the sprint.

The seven-time world champion has experienced an eventful weekend, crashing in qualifying on Friday and being involved in a first-lap collision with Pierre Gasly before fighting back from 11th to eventually get past Mick Schuamcher's Haas for eighth spot.

"I'm grateful I managed to survive out there today," Hamilton said. "The team did such a great job to get the car back together last night and this morning. A big thank you to them, and I'm glad I brought it back mostly in one piece.

"We are slower on the straights, so I had to wait until I was out of the DRS train to overtake the cars in front. That's why it took a few laps to get ahead of Mick. Hopefully we can race stronger tomorrow – fingers crossed!"

There are six world titles split between the two drivers starting 18th and 19th. Sebastian Vettel, who was handed a suspended €25,000 fine for walking out of Friday's drivers' briefing, finished 19th in the sprint following a collision with Alex Albon that sent Vettel's Aston Martin into the gravel.

Fernando Alonso's Alpine failed to start the sprint due to an electrical issue. Valtteri Bottas, a two-time winner of this race, is the only man behind Alonso on the grid after the Alfa Romeo driver incurred a penalty because of his latest engine change.

Xander Schauffele moved 18 holes away from successive tournament wins after snatching the lead with another excellent round at the Scottish Open.

Schauffele, who went into moving day four shots off the pace set by American compatriot Cameron Tringale, followed up his second-round 65 with a four-under 66 to move to seven under through 54 holes at The Renaissance Club.

It would have been even better for Schauffele, who prevailed last time out at the Travelers Championship, if not for successive bogeys at 17 and 18 to end the round.

But his two-over 72 on Thursday must now feel like a distant memory, with Schauffele going into the final 18 holes with a two-stroke lead over Rafa Cabrera Bello, who is in prime position to qualify for the Open Championship at St Andrews next week as the highest-placed player yet to clinch a spot in the final major of the year.

By contrast, Tringale endured a day to forget with a four-over 74 that dropped him back to three under.

It appeared as if he would strengthen his chances of victory when he eagled the par-five third. However, he did not make another gain the rest of the way, carding six bogeys.

Jordan Spieth perhaps looms as Schauffele's most ominous challenger. The 2015 Open champion began the day seven strokes back but closed to just three off the pace following a 66 that included eagles at the 10th and the par-four 15th hole.

Spieth sat in a group of three players on four under, with Ryan Palmer – also in the mix for a place at The Open – and Jordan Smith also firmly in contention. Smith had a hole-in-one on the 17th on Friday and went close to doing the same on Saturday, another fine tee shot leaving him with a tap-in for birdie.

Alex Smalley would be the third and final Open qualifier as it stands after a 67 took him to three under, putting him alongside Tringale and U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick.

Ons Jabeur said she was simply "not ready" to win a grand slam after losing in three sets to Elena Rybakina in the Wimbledon final.

The Tunisian world number two won the first set of Sunday's title match but then faded and slid to a 3-6 6-2 6-2 defeat.

Russian-born Rybakina, who switched nationality to Kazakh four years ago after being offered financial incentives to do so, was able to celebrate a surprise maiden slam title.

Jabeur was disappointed after the loss and told reporters in a news conference: "I couldn't do more, I really tried deep inside everything that I can.

"I did everything since the beginning of the year to really focus on this tournament, I even have the trophy picture on my phone.

"It wasn't meant to be. I cannot force things. I'm not ready for it probably, to be a grand slam champion."

The 27-year-old was optimistic of her chances of eventually making a breakthrough at the highest level, and perhaps a chance will come at the US Open in September.

She said: "I cannot wait to look forward to the next one.

"If I have another final I will learn more from it. I cannot wait to really improve a lot of things in my game.

"I want to [continue to] be a top-five player, I want to win more titles, I want to win a grand slam."