The Premier League has rearranged games involving Manchester City and Liverpool to set the final schedule for what promises to be an exciting title race.

Pep Guardiola's side are one point ahead of Jurgen Klopp's Reds at the top of the table with five league games remaining for both.

City's trip to face Wolves at Molineux, which was originally supposed to be played on the weekend of their FA Cup semi-final defeat to Liverpool, will take place on Wednesday, May 11.

Meanwhile, with Liverpool's involvement in the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday, May 14, their away game at Southampton has now been set for Tuesday, May 17.

That means Jurgen Klopp's men will have to play two games in the final week of the campaign, with the last matchday scheduled for Sunday, May 22.

Reigning champions City still have to play Leeds United (a), Newcastle United (h), Wolves (a), West Ham (a) and Aston Villa (h).

Meanwhile, Liverpool's remaining games are against Newcastle (a), Tottenham (h), Aston Villa (a), Southampton (a) and Wolves (h).

WIth both teams also involved in the Champions League semi-finals, it promises to be an intense end to the season, especially for Liverpool, who can still win what would be an unprecedented quadruple.

Bruno Guimaraes gambled on a move to Newcastle United despite interest from Juventus as he "couldn't wait" in a World Cup year, his agent says.

Midfielder Guimaraes is set to play for Brazil at Qatar 2022, having scored one goal and assisted three more in just 173 minutes across six qualifying matches.

The 24-year-old maintained that form despite requiring time to settle in England following a £35million (€42.1m) January move from Lyon.

Guimaraes was linked with Juventus and Arsenal among other top sides but instead joined Premier League strugglers Newcastle and had to wait until his sixth appearance for the club to be named in the starting XI.

It is a transfer that looks to have worked out for both Guimaraes and Newcastle, though, as he has subsequently scored four goals and assisted another to lead the Magpies into the top half of the table.

Since his first Premier League start, only three players – Cristiano Ronaldo (seven), Son Heung-min (six) and Gabriel Jesus (five) – have found the net on as many occasions.

Yet Guimaraes is just as comfortable engaging in the more combative side of the game, ranking second over that period for tackles (26), duels (123) and duels won (67).

Rival clubs may wonder how the breakout Selecao star ended up in a relegation battle, but agent Alexis Malavolta explained only Newcastle were willing to strike a deal in January.

In an interview with TuttoJuve.com, Malavolta said: "There was some contact with Juventus, I can confirm that.

"[But] January is a quick window to enter into negotiations, so we couldn't go too long. We had to wait halfway through the month to see some concrete movements.

"Newcastle arrived, and they were serious. Bruno couldn't wait another six months to decide his future in a World Cup year."

Malavolta added Juve were "already interested" in 2020, with Guimaraes part of the Lyon team to eliminate them from the Champions League, but the French club asked at the time for €70m.

Instead, Guimaraes is plotting his future with Newcastle, who spent 150 days in the relegation zone this season but are now up to ninth.

In 2022, only Liverpool have earned more points (38) than Eddie Howe's side (32), encouraging optimism for a potential European push next term.

"His goal was clear from the start: to help the team get out of the relegation zone and take them to the Champions League next season," Guimaraes' agent said.

"And why not try to win the Premier League?

"He has already made it clear in his interviews that he went to Newcastle to be a legend like Alan Shearer. He wants to leave his name in the history of the club.

Erik ten Hag must be given "full control" to rebuild Manchester United, says former Red Devils striker Dwight Yorke.

Ajax coach Ten Hag signed a three-year deal with the option of another year to replace interim manager Ralf Rangnick at the end of the season when the German moves into a consultancy role at Old Trafford.

The 52-year-old will have a sizeable task on his hands in Manchester, with questions surrounding the captaincy of Harry Maguire, and the futures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba.

United also look set to fail to qualify for the Champions League next season, sitting six points behind fourth-place Arsenal, who defeated Rangnick's side 3-1 last Saturday and have played a game fewer.

Indeed, the Red Devils have not lifted a trophy for five years and Yorke called on Ten Hag to embrace the significant challenge in his new role.

"I think [Ten Hag has] got a very difficult job," Yorke told ESPN. "Simply because it has been a bit of a disaster for us as a football club in terms of personnel and where the team is at.

"There's no hiding place in that. We're not where we're supposed to be. But there's a new beginning, a new start for a manager who a lot of people don't particularly know.

"Obviously, he has done well in Holland. [But] the Premier League is a whole new ball game. Manchester United's manager is on a whole different level.

"You've seen the previous managers that have come there with big names and big reputations and they haven't really got over the line. There's no doubt the job at hand is something he needs to embrace."

Rangnick has previously suggested United may need up to 10 players to compete in the following campaign, with United expected to be incredibly active in the next transfer window.

While Rangnick is expected to oversee proceedings at the club, including transfer activity, in his consultancy role, Ten Hag has already insisted he would not have taken the job without some ruling over signings.

Yorke believes Ten Hag must be given time to succeed and full control to help United transform into a force to be reckoned with once again.

"I keep saying that he has to embrace going in there and have full control," said Yorke, who scored 48 times in 96 league appearances for United between 1998 and 2002.

"If he has full control he can implement his style, his way, and the players that he wants on board to make sure he can get the best out of them. I think that is the key.

"I think they will give him time, the fans are aware of that. But they want to see progress. I know people are saying it will take some time but ultimately they will want to see some progress along the way.

"I can only stand and watch and wish him the best in many respects. But there is no doubt this is the biggest job in world football and with the struggles we've encountered this season, there is no way that is going to be an easy task for him."

Former England international and British and Irish Lion Tom Youngs has announced his retirement from rugby.

The hooker had not appeared for Leicester Tigers this season after taking an indefinite period of leave at the start of the campaign to care for his ill wife.

Now, Youngs – the brother of Ben, England's most capped player, and the son of Nick, another ex-international – is calling time on his career.

The 35-year-old appeared 28 times for his country and in three Lions Tests during the 2013 tour of Australia.

"I had always planned around this season being my last and I am comfortable with the timing of it now," Youngs said.

He added: "I want to thank my family for all that they have done to help me achieve what I have been able to do throughout my career.

"My mum, my dad, my brother and all of my extended family, I am so lucky to have them.

"Finally, to my wife Tiff and daughter Maisie, I am lucky to have you alongside me and would not be where I am without you. Thank you both."

Thomas Tuchel knows "life will go on" at Chelsea after Antonio Rudiger and remains confident he can make the Blues competitive regardless of their transfer business this year.

Chelsea's activity in the upcoming window remains uncertain after the club were sanctioned due to Russian Roman Abramovich's ownership.

Rudiger has told Chelsea he will be leaving at the end of the season, with the defender one of a group of players out of contract while the Stamford Bridge outfit are unable to offer them new terms.

In a World Cup year, Tuchel is unable to offer any real certainty to his team as they consider their futures.

But the coach is backing himself to continue to deliver results even if Chelsea begin 2022-23 with a very different line-up.

"Yes, it's my job," he said ahead of Thursday's game against Manchester United.

"No matter how the situation will be solved and when it will be solved and how things will be settled and how active we can be in the transfer market, at the end, we will dig in and try to squeeze out everything from the squad we have.

"I know I will again fall in love with the squad I have then and try to push the squad to the limit.

"It was a pleasure every single day with Toni, but I'm a bit concerned we talk too much in the past about it; we have not reached all our goals for this season, so there are still things to achieve.

"[These are] big things and he is still a big part of this squad, and we demand still 100 per cent of him.

"This is where the focus is. Then, from pre-season next season, life will go on, if we like it or not, if we are happy about it or not. We will give our very best and I will be fully involved with all my heart and all my knowledge."

This was also perhaps a message for the Chelsea players who will be left behind, with Tuchel acknowledging they were unhappy to learn of Rudiger's exit.

"I don't think that anybody likes it, because Toni is a huge factor in our last one and a half seasons together," he said.

"He gives everybody confidence in the dressing room. He is a unique character, an aggressive leader. He is available like 90 per cent of the matches.

"He plays on an outstanding level and gives you confidence if you play next to him. He takes the focus away towards him, he takes responsibility, loves responsibility.

"I don't think that anybody likes this decision. We have to accept it, and we will accept it.

"Like it or not, there will be life at Chelsea after Toni. For now, for him and for us, the most important thing is that it ends like it started and like it was for the one and a half years, on the highest level possible."

Ralf Rangnick is ready to turn to youth after revealing six first-team players have been ruled out of Thursday's Premier League meeting with Chelsea.

United's 3-1 defeat to Arsenal last week – a fourth straight away loss – effectively ended their chances of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League.

The Red Devils have four games remaining of another trophyless campaign before interim manager Rangnick is replaced by Ajax head coach Erik ten Hag.

Rangnick is expected to use his final month in charge to integrate some younger players into the squad, with Hannibal Mejbri and Shola Shoretire taking part in training this week.

And Rangnick's hand has been somewhat forced ahead of facing Chelsea as Harry Maguire and Jadon Sancho have been ruled out with a knee injury and illness respectively.

Fred, Edinson Cavani, Paul Pogba and Luke Shaw also remain out, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka will undergo a late fitness test on Thursday.

Asked if United fans will therefore get an opportunity to see the likes of Mejbri, Shoretire, Alejandro Garnacho and Alvaro Fernandez, Rangnick said: "It's possible.

"But we also have to be fair to those players – it has to be the right moment. They should have a chance to play well and perform well – we can't just push them into a game.

"We will try to play the best possible team of those players that are available. 

"Right now, it seems we have 14 in our professional team without the youngsters that are available and probably three or four of those young players will be part of the squad."

United have used only four players aged 21 or under in the Premier League this season, while the average age of their starting line-up is 27 years and 200 days.

Only seven sides, opponents Chelsea among them, have named an older average XI in the English top flight this campaign.

While United fans are eager to see some more youth in the side, Rangnick's main focus is on finishing as high as possible before bowing out.

"We have four more games to play," he said at Wednesday's pre-match news conference. 

"The next two games are at home at Old Trafford and we will try to get as many points and win as many games as we possibly can. 

"In order to do that we need to play on the best level we possibly can. Chelsea is a good team but we know that if we play well it's possible to win the game tomorrow. 

"I don't think it makes sense now to still speak and speculate about the Champions League places, we need to be realistic. 

"Even if we win all four games it's not in our hands. What is in our hands is how we play and our level of performance. It's important to finish on the best possible note."

United have lost three of their last four league games – more than they had in their previous 18 – and are six points adrift of fourth-placed Arsenal having played a game more.

But Rangnick has warned his players they cannot afford to feel sorry for themselves as they attempt to salvage some pride in their remaining matches.

"If results are not going well, the morale, energy in the locker room isn't as good as it would be, but still we have to perform, this is what we're getting paid for," Rangnick said.

"It's important for the players, knowing the new manager, to show we are able to beat a team like Chelsea. 

"This is our job, this is what everyone has to do and this is what we have been working for."

As focus slowly shifts towards the next transfer window, Rangnick suggested players will still want to join United even if they are not competing in the Champions League.

"It would be better if we played Champions League next season but this also affects other clubs; it's not only a problem Manchester United has," he said. 

"The renewal of the contract of Bruno [Fernandes] shows this is an attractive club. With a new manager, new approach, this is still a massively interesting club.

"I look forward to helping Erik and everyone at the club to get the best and change the whole approach next season so Manchester United can be a top club."

United are unbeaten in their last eight home league games against Chelsea (W3 D5), keeping five clean sheets in that run since a 1-0 loss in May 2013.

Thomas Tuchel remains focused on the task at hand at Chelsea rather than worrying about the issues surrounding next opponents Manchester United, whom he expects to bounce back.

United head into Thursday's game at Old Trafford having lost three of their past four Premier League matches and looking to avoid three straight defeats for the first time since 2015.

The Red Devils are sixth, six points adrift of the top four and looking increasingly unlikely to play Champions League football next season.

But when United's troubles were put to Tuchel, who has fronted up over Chelsea's issues around their ownership in recent months, he replied with a smile: "Over the last months there was also a lot of talk about Chelsea, so we were not so heavily involved in the talks about Manchester United."

Yet the Chelsea coach insists: "It will always be a big match, for me, no matter the position and what current form they're in. This is how I see it, and that's why we prepare in the best possible way.

"We don't reflect so much on their situation and what's going on in and around the club. We focus on their last matches. We should not get confused by their lack of points, lack of results. For me, this squad is full of quality."

Indeed, Tuchel does not foresee long-term problems under Erik ten Hag, who will take over from Ralf Rangnick at the end of the season.

"I'm not concerned about Man United," Tuchel said.

"First of all, it's not my job; second of all, they will always recover, because the club is a huge club and the squad is full of individual talents. But I am not involved; we have enough to do here."

Given that anticipated improvement, this might be seen as a great opportunity for Chelsea to end a miserable run against United.

The Blues are winless in eight Premier League games against United, only enduring worse stretches against Arsenal (19 matches) and Blackburn Rovers (12) in the competition's history. At Old Trafford, Chelsea's last victory came back in 2013.

However, Tuchel said: "It's not so much now or never, because now they are struggling with results recently.

"We honestly prepare all the time to have the feeling now or never, in every single match. We try to prepare in the best way possible to try to win the match tomorrow."

Rangnick is a former mentor for Tuchel, having "opened our eyes" when the Champions League winner was a player at Ulm and then "opened the door" to him as a coach at Stuttgart.

Tuchel has subsequently won four of their five meetings, all in Germany, although Rangnick came out on top in their most recent encounter.

"It's nice to see him always," Tuchel said of Rangnick. "It's always tough to play against teams like his.

"We will maybe have the time for a quick chat, five minutes, but contact is not on a daily or weekly basis."

Ronnie O'Sullivan declared he would "rather not be playing", claimed he does not "really identify myself as a snooker player anymore", and made the cheeky claim he is only competing for "a bit of quiet time".

Yet the potting game's biggest star is two steps away from matching one of the great records at the World Championship, sauntering through to the semi-finals at the Crucible in Sheffield to close in on a seventh title.

On Wednesday in the Yorkshire city that has hosted this tournament since 1977, O'Sullivan completed a 13-5 quarter-final win over Scotland's Stephen Maguire, with the Essex-based 46-year-old one of a number of cuemen who is showing that middle age is no barrier to success on the baize.

"I'm struggling to see anyone that can compete with Ronnie," Stephen Hendry said on the BBC immediately after the match wrapped up. "He's taken the game to a different level."

Scotsman Hendry, the only man to win seven world titles in Sheffield, said it "would be an honour" for O'Sullivan, with six triumphs so far, to move alongside him.

Already this fortnight, Rocket Ronnie has moved past Hendry on the list of players with the most Crucible wins, going beyond his 70 and reaching 72, and counting.

He has blasted all-comers out of the water with his career total of 1,155 centuries, yet O'Sullivan still defers to Hendry's own greatness, labelling him "our Tiger Woods of snooker".

O'Sullivan, who has been threatening to retire since his teenage years, has battled myriad problems away from snooker during his career. He had drug issues, drank heavily, and was a binge eater.

Just feet away from where he spoke to the media on Wednesday, he once assaulted a junior press officer.

Now he is a gym regular, lives cleanly, and recently returned to the world number one ranking. Many see this world title, and the £500,000 top prize, as his for the taking.

Asked about his training regime, O'Sullivan said: "I wouldn't be able to tell you what it's like to be unfit really. I probably overdo it a little bit. There’s no place I’d rather be, other than the gym or on a run. That’s probably the most important thing in my life, so I do it because I like it, and I enjoy all the friends I've found through running.

"The gym’s a nice place to hang out. Some people like going to the bar or restaurants, but I enjoy going to the gym. I do it for those reasons, not for my snooker."

O'Sullivan and fellow fortysomethings John Higgins and Mark Williams are recognised as snooker's 'Class of 92', a title borrowed from the Manchester United golden generation that featured the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville.

Snooker's kingpin trio made their tour debuts 30 years ago. All are now multiple world champions, and have shown in Sheffield this year they remain formidable competitors.

O'Sullivan plays a canny game on and off the table, taking the pressure off himself.

"I don’t really identify myself as a snooker player anymore," he said. "I just get my cue out because I can do it, and it's probably the easiest thing for me to do, because it’s a bit of quiet time. It just gets me out of the house and around the snooker circuit.

"I'm just here to have fun. If I win, great; if I don’t, I’ve had a fantastic tournament. I’m not motivated by playing anymore, those days have gone. I couldn't put all my eggs in one basket and just play snooker anymore.

"I'd rather not be playing here to be honest. It’s a hard tournament. This tournament and the Masters are my two worst tournaments, I probably enjoy them the least out of all the other ones."

Despite this, O'Sullivan has the six wins in Sheffield and a record seven at the Masters, a London-based tournament that is the second most prestigious on the circuit.

"I’d actually prefer going to Leicester and playing in the [low-profile] Championship League," O'Sullivan said. "I know you guys might think that sounds crazy, but it’d mean I don’t have to put up with any pressure, and I love it. But you’ve got to show up to this one and give it your best."

O'Sullivan has found he is often mobbed in Sheffield, as the biggest fish in the goldfish bowl of the 17-day tournament, bona fide British sporting royalty.

He complained last year of being troubled in a nearby cafe by a fan he reckoned to be drunk, but if it is privacy that O'Sullivan wants, then it is privacy he will get.

"It’s all right," he said. "The cafe give me my own room now upstairs, so when I go in there it’s really good. I’ve got a nice hotel and a good system going. I try to keep as much quiet time for myself as I can, because it's quite hectic round here."

The FIA is continuing to evaluate plans to double the number of Formula One sprint events to six next year.

Silverstone staged the inaugural sprint race last year and the first of three on the 2022 calendar was staged at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix last weekend.

All 10 F1 teams are if favour of having six sprint events on the 2023 schedule.

F1's governing body is still considering whether to approve such an increase.

An FIA statement said: "With the first of three sprint events of the 2022 season popular with fans and stakeholders last weekend at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Formula One and the teams were supportive of an extension to six sprint events for the 2023 season, running with the same format as in 2022.

"While supporting the principle of an increased number of sprint events, the FIA is still evaluating the impact of this proposal on its trackside operations and personnel, and will provide its feedback to the commission."

Max Verstappen won the sprint at Imola to take pole position and duly converted that into a race victory on Sunday.

It has been five years since a defensive lineman was last taken first overall in the NFL Draft.

Back in 2017, Myles Garrett's name had been written in pen next to the number one slot for a long time before the Cleveland Browns officially gave him the distinction of being the first player off the board.

Garrett was seen as a can't-miss prospect, and he has lived up to that billing, with his 361 career quarterback pressures the fourth-most in the NFL since 2017.

All the signs are pointing to an edge rusher going first overall again in 2022. However, while Garrett was a sure thing, the Jacksonville Jaguars appear set to select a player who is anything but.

Talk of Aidan Hutchinson and Kayvon Thibodeaux going number one has given way to the belief Georgia's Travon Walker will be hearing his name called first in a class filled with more divisive prospects than clear-cut stars.

Walker has emerged as the favourite despite finishing his college career with Georgia, which ended with the Bulldogs winning the National Championship, with just 9.5 sacks.

His stock has risen sharply in the wake of stunning athletic performance at the NFL Scouting Combine, yet given his mediocre production compared to his contemporaries in the edge class and the role he played for Georgia, selecting Walker would represent a substantial gamble by the Jags.

A year on from selecting Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick, it is a gamble Jacksonville cannot afford to backfire.

Walker's production woes

Any conversation about Walker must begin by addressing the elephant in the room: the production, or lack thereof.

Walker had 3.5 sacks over his first two seasons before displaying a marked improvement in that regard as Georgia's dominant defense laid the foundation for their National title.

Indeed, he registered six sacks, 17th among all defenders in the SEC, yet his pressure numbers are illustrative of a player who failed to impact the quarterback on a consistent basis.

Walker registered 31 pressures on 259 pass-rush snaps for a pressure rate of just 12 per cent, which is in stark contrast to the player he appears to have usurped as the number one pick, Michigan star Hutchinson, who had a pressure rate of 30.8 per cent in 2021.

Only 16 of Walker's pressures involved him beating a pass blocker. Hutchinson beat a pass protector on 72 of his 85 quarterback pressures.

Yet the paucity of pass rush production is in part a reflection of how Walker was utilised by the Bulldogs.

Though Walker played 96 more snaps as a pass rusher than a run defender, his goal in attacking pass protectors was not always to get to the quarterback but to soak up attention from the offensive line and open rush lanes for second-level defenders.

As a result, teams evaluating Walker only saw flashes of his potential as a pass rusher, but it is the combination of those flashes and his astounding athletic profile that appears to have enticed the Jaguars into taking a significant risk.

Crushing the Combine

Though his Georgia defensive line mate Jordan Davis stole the show at the Combine with his remarkable performance in the 40-yard dash, Walker's pre-draft workout stands among the finest in NFL history.

Measuring at 6ft 5in and 272 pounds, Walker tore down the track in 4.51 seconds, putting him in the 98th percentile for defensive ends. His 10-yard split of 1.62 seconds was not quite as impressive but was still good enough for the 70th percentile.

Walker's arm length (35 and a half inches), hand size (10 and three-quarter inches) and wingspan of over seven feet (84 and a quarter inches) all measured in the 95th percentile for his position.

In the vertical jump and broad jump, which gauge lower-body explosiveness, Walker was in the 80th and 87th percentile respectively. In the three-cone drill, used for edge players as an assessment of their flexibility to turn the corner and beat an offensive tackle to the outside, Walker posted a time of 6.89 seconds that put him in the 93rd percentile.

Walker's testing suggests he has the physical skill set to blossom into an explosive and bendy pass rusher whose arm length should allow him to win hand fights with offensive linemen, with half the battle for pass rushers being the ability to make contact before the pass protector.

Evidence of his potential to develop into that player was sporadic during his college career, but the glimpses of that promise were undoubtedly tantalising.

A home-run swing

With Georgia frequently mixing up their defensive fronts, Walker played in a variety of roles. He was used as a defensive end in both 4-3 and 3-4 fronts and also played as a 3-technique defensive tackle lined up on the outside shoulder of the guard.

As such, it is difficult to know what Walker's best position is, though his versatility is undoubtedly part of his appeal.

Walker's athleticism clearly makes him a mismatch problem for guards when pass rushing from the inside. He had 13 pressures from the defensive tackle spot, with nine of those seeing him beat a pass protector, his quickness off the snap extremely tough for interior offensive linemen to react to and posing them significant issues when Walker was used in a stunt by the Georgia defensive line.

That same burst has facilitated his – albeit limited – success on edge. Though he needs to do a better job of translating his speed to power, when he does do so and gets his long arms into the pads of blockers, he can produce an impressive bull rush to help collapse the pocket.

On the top of that, Walker has fleetingly displayed the ability to get around the corner and flatten to the quarterback, with the acceleration he demonstrated on the 40 track showing up in the closing speed he displays when he has a path into the backfield and an opportunity to force a negative play.

Such closing speed can also be a substantial asset in the run game, in which Walker's arm length and power in his hands come into play in helping him disengage from blocks, freeing him to hunt the ball carrier.

Defending the run was certainly Walker's strength statistically last season, with only UAB's Alex Wright (18.7 per cent) and Hutchinson (17.9 per cent) recording a better run disruption rate among edge rushers than Walker's 12.9 per cent.

Of course, excelling as a run defender is a long way from being enough to justify a number one overall selection and, to make such a decision, the Jaguars must believe they can harness the untapped pass rush potential and refine a limited set of moves, with the rip move and the push-pull the only two with which Walker has enjoyed anything resembling consistent success.

The Jaguars do have a highly experienced defensive line coach who would be tasked with developing Walker. Brentson Buckner has worked with the likes of Chandler Jones and Jason Pierre-Paul during his career and was the defensive line coach for the then Oakland Raiders in 2019 when Maxx Crosby had 10 sacks as a rookie fourth-round pick.

Crosby, however, did not have the massive burden of expectation of being the number one overall pick.

Too often the Jaguars have seen top-five picks go to waste. Between 2012 and 2017 they picked in the top five for six consecutive drafts and only one of those selections, now Los Angeles Rams star Jalen Ramsey, even made a Pro Bowl.

In an era that will be defined by whether they take advantage of the gift of having Lawrence fall into their lap with the top overall pick last year, they cannot afford to miss on premium draft picks.

By likely taking Walker over Hutchinson, the Jags are going with the home-run swing over the prospect most believe to be a pro-ready day-one contributor. If they are to turn their fortunes around and contend with Lawrence, that swing must make contact.

World number one Iga Swiatek will not play the Madrid Open after suffering a shoulder injury.

The Pole is in stunning form, having won four titles in a row after prevailing in the Stuttgart Open last time out.

Before that, the 20-year-old – whose winning streak stands at 23 matches – had lifted the trophy at the Qatar Ladies Open, Indian Wells and Miami Open.

"After intense last weeks and winning four titles in a row, it's time to take care of my arm that has been fatigued since the Miami Open and I haven't had a chance to handle it properly," Swiatek, the 2020 French Open champion, wrote in a statement posted to Twitter.

"I need a break from playing so intensively in order to treat my arm well and that's why, unfortunately, I have to withdraw from the Mutua Madrid Open. 

"My body needs rest. I'm going to take some time to prepare for Rome and Paris. See you soon there.

"Hopefully, I will play in Madrid many times in the future – I'm looking forward to it."

Swiatek was due to be top seed in the Spanish capital.

Vinicius Junior says "there are no words" to describe Karim Benzema's form as he backed his Real Madrid team-mate to win this year's Ballon d'Or.

Benzema, on his 600th appearance for Madrid, scored twice in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to Manchester City in their Champions League semi-final first leg at the Etihad Stadium.

The France international's first was a difficult twisting finish to drag Madrid back in the game at 2-0 down and the second a calm Panenka penalty late on to leave the tie well poised.

He now has 41 goals in as many games for Los Blancos this season, a tally bettered only by Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski (48 in 43) across Europe's top five leagues.

The 34-year-old is the fifth Madrid player to score over 40 goals in a single season, after Cristiano Ronaldo, Ferenc Puskas, Alfredo Di Stefano and Hugo Sanchez.

Benzema also leads the scoring charts in the Champions League this term with 14, one more than Lewandowski, whose Bayern side were eliminated by Villarreal at the quarter-final stage.

Having finished behind Lionel Messi, Lewandowski and Jorginho in last year's Ballon d'Or, Vinicius insists Benzema should land the 2022 award.

"There are no words that can describe how Benzema is playing," Vinicius said. "He deserves the Ballon d'Or.

"I hope my brother Benzema ends up winning LaLiga, the Champions League and Ballon d'Or."

Benzema scored a hat-trick in the second leg of the last-16 win over Paris Saint-Germain and another treble in the first leg of the quarter-final victory against Chelsea.

His nine goals in the knockout stages has been bettered only once in a single Champions League campaign – Ronaldo scoring 10 in the 2016-17 edition.

Vinicius is not alone in backing Benzema to win the Ballon d'Or, with former team-mate Mesut Ozil tweeting on Tuesday: "Give my boy Benzi the Ballon D'Or."

Ex-Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand agreed with that assessment, quoting the tweet and adding the word "Facts".

That post by Ferdinand was liked by Benzema, whose prospects of being crowned the world's best player could be bolstered by helping France to World Cup glory in December.

Rather than bask in his glorious form, however, the prolific striker accepts his side have a lot of work to do if they are to advance any further in this season's competition.

"A defeat is never good, but we are excited about this Champions League and the important thing is we never give up," he told Movistar+. 

"Now we have to go to the Bernabeu and we need the fans like never before to do something magical, which is to win.

"We entered the game without confidence, and that's what happens with an opponent like Manchester City. In this game a little bit of everything was missing."

Chris Paul was perplexed by a "ridiculous" technical foul he received in the Phoenix Suns' Game 5 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Paul described the officiating as "out of control" after he was hit with an eight-second violation when the Suns were leading 100-92 in the fourth quarter.

Phoenix went on to win 112-97 at Footprint Center on Tuesday, taking a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference playoffs first-round series.

Paul, who scored 22 points and contributed 11 assists, made his feelings clear when asked about his technical foul, revealing he merely said "C'mon'' at the scorer's table as he wanted a review.

He said: '"It's out of control, that's ridiculous. It is what it is. We try not to get fourth-quarter techs on our team. That's a big deal."

Mikal Bridges starred with 31 points as the Suns gave themselves the opportunity to wrap up the series in Game 6 in New Orleans on Thursday.

The 25-year-old small forward said: "I'm ready to play tomorrow. I'm energised, my team-mates keep me going. I'm itching my knee right now, talking about it.

"I'm ready, I love being out there with my team-mates. They're my best friends, it makes it way easier."

Paul said of Bridges' exploits: "He doesn't miss games, he guards the best players every night and then he has 31."

Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram had fingers taped up following the game, but says he will play in Game 6.

"It's fine," Ingram said. "It got a little banged up during the game, but I'll be all right."