Eddie Howe has revealed he will call a team meeting at Newcastle United to clarify comments made by Allan Saint-Maximin, who appeared to criticise his team-mates.

Saint-Maximin's interview with So Foot was published this week, in which the winger compared himself to Sadio Mane and said he would provide assists more regularly "the day when I have a player capable of finishing the actions".

The 25-year-old has only four assists this season despite creating 45 chances from open play – the eighth-most in the league and most outside the top six.

Callum Wilson, who has been out injured since December, remains Newcastle's top scorer with just six goals. Only Wolves (Raul Jimenez, also six) have had their leading marksman tally so few.

But Saint-Maximin did not intend to criticise his team-mates, Howe says, with both the player and coach seeking to ensure there was no "damage" to the team before a big game away at Manchester City.

"I saw the quotes, spoke with Allan," Howe said on Friday. "I think I need to make this clear that Allan's quotes didn't come across in the way he meant them to.

"He was concerned yesterday. We spoke, and in no way did he mean to damage the team and the unity that we've built. Of course, he said things in an interview, but, as I said, it wasn't in the context that he meant, although it happened.

"We'll be speaking with the squad and making sure there's no fallout from that, because unity has been our strength. It's vitally important that we keep that."

Regardless, Saint-Maximin and Newcastle will be boosted by the return of Wilson, who "looks in a good place and there's a good chance he'll be involved on Sunday".

England right-back Kieran Trippier is "slightly behind Callum" in his recovery but could still feature, while Howe is holding out hope for Fabian Schar to play despite missing training this week following an injury against Liverpool on Saturday.

Newcastle lost 1-0 to Liverpool and now face their title rivals City at the Etihad Stadium, where they have never won in the Premier League, losing their past 12 such matches.

Howe has been beaten in all 11 of his league games against City, including nine against Pep Guardiola – two competition records for one coach losing 100 per cent of their matches against any specific opponent or manager.

But City are coming off a painful Champions League defeat to Real Madrid, potentially making them vulnerable on Sunday, although Howe wants his team to improve, too.

"[The Champions League defeat] can work both ways," Howe said. "It can emotionally affect them in the positive or the negative.

"We will 100 per cent prepare for the best Manchester City, so we have to be the best Newcastle we can be. Looking back to last week, that was the disappointment for last week. We just missed the intensity in our work."

Julian Nagelsmann says Thomas Muller's new contract sends a "positive signal" and hopes other Bayern Munich players follow suit.

Long-serving forward Muller this week extended his deal with the Bundesliga champions until 2024.

Robert Lewandowski, Manuel Neuer and Serge Gnabry are only under contract with the Bavarian giants until the end of next season, while Corentin Tolisso and Niklas Sule are nearing the end of their deals, with the latter set to join Borussia Dortmund as a free agent ahead of 2022-23.

Bayern boss Nagelsmann says it was vital to keep Muller and believes the 32-year-old's decision to commit his future to the club may prompt some of his team-mates to stay.

He said in a press conference on Friday: "It was very important that he extended, this will also send a positive signal to people both within the club and outside of the club.

"It could mean others will follow suit now. I'm really happy about it."

Bayern face relegation-threatened Stuttgart in their final home game of the season at the Allianz Arena on Sunday.

The champions will be presented with the Meisterschale trophy and Nagelsmann wants his side to put on a show in front of a sell-out crowd.

He said: "I want to win the game, even though I have a lot of respect for Pellegrino Matarazzo as a man and as a coach.

"We will give our all to try and win our final home game in front of a sold-out Arena this season."

Stuttgart are 16th in the table and battling to avoid the drop but Nagelsmann says they can pose a threat.

He added: "They're a very versatile team. They can set up in a number of different ways. Matarazzo has some creative ideas. They're in a tough situation as they fight relegation. They've had a number of injuries at key moments this season."

In the past 38 seasons, Bayern have lost their final Bundesliga home game only once and it was Stuttgart who inflicted that defeat on them, winning 4-1 in 2018.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has agreed a two-year contract extension at Emirates Stadium.

Arteta's previous deal – signed when he was appointed in 2019 – ran until the end of next season. He is now set to stay at Arsenal until 2025.

The Spaniard, who won the FA Cup twice as a player with the club, led the Gunners to Wembley glory in 2019-20.

Progress has since been steady, with Arsenal now in pole position to return to the Champions League for the first time since 2016-17, when Arsene Wenger was still in charge.

With four games of the season remaining, Arsenal are fourth, two points ahead of rivals Tottenham, who they play next week.

Pete Carroll does not expect the Seattle Seahawks to trade for Baker Mayfield or another quarterback.

The Seahawks will head into the new season with uncertainty under center for the first time since before they drafted Russell Wilson in 2012.

Wilson was the team's undisputed starter for 10 straight seasons, winning one Super Bowl and losing another, until he was traded to the Denver Broncos this offseason.

The Seahawks received Drew Lock in that trade, but he struggled in three seasons in Denver, while Geno Smith – Wilson's understudy – is an alternative option.

Although Seattle did not draft a QB, they could still have made a big move for a new man, with Mayfield available after the Cleveland Browns signed Deshaun Watson.

But Carroll appeared to rule that possibility out as he outlined the Seahawks' approach to the trade market, albeit not discussing Mayfield directly per league rules.

"We're always competing," the head coach told 93.3 KJR-FM.

"I'm not saying anything you didn't think I was going to say, but fortunately that's always been the way we've operated, and it fits again. So, we're looking.

"I don't see us making a trade for anybody at all. I don't see that happening.

"But we're certainly going to continue to be open to chances to help our club, and meanwhile we're just going to be battling and competing our tails off.

"There's always possibilities, so we keep open to that."

Sergio Garcia appeared to suggest he is ready to join the LIV Golf Invitational Series – the Super Golf League – in a moment of frustration at the Wells Fargo Championship.

The former Masters champion was handed a penalty by a PGA Tour referee during Thursday's first round for taking too long looking for a lost ball at the 10th hole.

A statement later clarified the referee was not aware much of Garcia's time was spent trying to access the other side of a creek where he had been told the ball landed.

This "inadvertent error" meant the time clock was not paused as it should have been, although Garcia's score was not altered following the clarification.

The Spaniard was informed of this decision, but he had already made his anger clear.

Television coverage showed Garcia ranting: "I can't wait to leave this tour. I can't wait to get out of here.

"Just a couple more weeks and I don't have to deal with you any more."

Those comments seemingly confirmed Garcia's decision to head to LIV Golf, which begins its breakaway league in London next month.

Garcia reportedly refused to speak to reporters and clarify his comments following his three-under 67.

Los Angeles Angels manager Joe Maddon is worried baseball fans might start to take Shohei Ohtani's "otherworldly" two-way talents for granted.

In his third start of the year against the Boston Red Sox on Friday, Ohtani struck out 11 in seven shutout innings, allowing only six hits and no walks in throwing 81 of his 99 pitches for strikes.

In the pitch-count era (since 1988, minimum 50 pitches), his 81.8 per cent strike rate is the highest by a visiting pitcher at Fenway Park. Only one Red Sox pitcher – Nathan Eovaldi (82.0 per cent) last season – has topped that mark.

For good measure, Ohtani added two hits – falling just short of a home run with a single in the fourth, before cannoning another single off the Green Monster in the eighth, knocking his number 17 out of the manual scoreboard and driving in a run. He soon scored himself, too.

That late flurry contributed to an 8-0 Angels win that maintained a game-and-a-half lead in the AL West, but the focus after the game was on Ohtani and Ohtani alone.

"I hope you don't start taking that for granted, like it's old hat," Maddon said. "It's just so unusual. It's otherworldly on this level of this game."

Ohtani's start had been delayed by two days due to groin tightness, with the reigning AL MVP revealing he was "pretty fatigued", yet it was worth the wait.

Coming at Fenway Park – "one of my favorite ballparks," Ohtani said – there were inevitable comparisons to 1910s Red Sox legend Babe Ruth, arguably the greatest player of all time.

And Red Sox starter Rich Hill acknowledged it may now take another 100 years for anyone to match Ohtani's feats.

"He's the best player in the league," Hill said. "I think that's one thing everybody can pretty much unanimously agree upon.

"It's pretty special to see somebody like that come along. I think everybody should be really appreciating what we're seeing, because it’s something we haven't seen in 100 years and we may never see it again for another 100 years."

Anthony Elanga is eager at the prospect of working under Erik ten Hag when he eventually takes over as manager at Manchester United.

Despite a turbulent season that saw Ole Gunnar Solskjaer dismissed in November, the 20-year-old Elanga has progressed under his interim replacement, Ralf Rangnick.

Elanga was not in a first-team squad in the Premier League this season until Rangnick's arrival and since then has made 19 league appearances.

However, Ten Hag's football with Ajax has Elanga excited with what he can bring to Old Trafford.

"You can see the way Ajax are playing in Europe," he told Sky Sports. "He's a great manager with a fantastic record in Europe. I've seen how good he is with developing young players, so that's one of the reasons I'm really excited to work with him.

"Obviously we're focused on finishing the season strongly, but we're also feeling very, very positive about next year. His experience in Europe, developing young players like myself and we've got other young players coming up. He'll bring exciting football to Old Trafford.

"It all starts from pre-season and how we take in his instructions and tactics. He'll be a great addition to the club and I'm really, really excited to work with him."

Elanga has started to establish himself at United, with 25 appearances in all competitions this season, claiming three goals and two assists in that time.

The attacker believes the difficulty of this campaign at Old Trafford, that will likely result in a failure to qualify for the Champions League, has still provided him an important learning experience.

"Playing 25 games for the first team and making my international debut, I've personally learnt a huge amount," Elanga said.

"Despite what's happened this season, I still feel I've learnt a lot and I'm ready to take my game to the next level next season."

Manchester United will next face Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.

We are in the home stretch in the Premier League, which means everything is at stake – in the fantasy leagues, that is.

It is that time of the year when fantasy managers start to go over which games matter at opposite ends of the table to maximise points hauls.

Stats Perform has you covered with some Opta-powered recommendations below, so here are our suggestions for a new goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and striker.

EDERSON (Manchester City v Newcastle United)

Following their dramatic Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid, there is a possibility Manchester City players might actually breathe fire on Sunday against Newcastle United.

It will likely mean sporadic and low-quality opportunities for the Toon and, ultimately, light work for Ederson in City's goal.

Another clean sheet for the Brazil international will see him record at least 20 in a Premier League season for the second time, the last being in 2018-19. The next best to Ederson's 90 clean sheets since 2017-18 is Liverpool's Alisson, with 64.

GABRIEL MAGALHAES (Arsenal v Leeds United)

Arsenal's Champions League hopes could hinge on this weekend, with nearest rivals Tottenham coming up against Liverpool. The Gunners need points against favourable opponents.

Only Chelsea's Reece James (five) has scored more Premier League goals for defenders this season than Gabriel's four for Arsenal, with all of them coming from corner situations.

With that in mind, Leeds are one of the five sides in the Premier League this season to have conceded at least 10 goals from corners.

DEJAN KULUSEVSKI (Liverpool v Tottenham)

However, Arsenal's need to pick up points against Leeds does not mean Tottenham players are off-limits, and Antonio Conte's side on the counter-attack are a tough proposition for any club in Europe.

Dejan Kulusevski has come to life at Spurs after a middling spell at Juventus, with no player in Europe's top five leagues providing more assists since his first start in the Premier League. 

On top of Kulusevski's eight assists, only Son Heung-min (15) and Harry Kane (14) have been involved in more Premier League goals than him (11) over the same period.

RICHARLISON (Leicester City v Everton)

Leicester's struggles in possession once again came to the fore on Thursday against Roma, and on Sunday they will have to back up against one of the Premier League's most dynamic players in transition.

Richarlison has almost single-handedly propelled Everton's push for Premier League survival, with six involvements in their last eight goals.

At this rate (12 goal involvements), the Brazil international is on track to match his tally of 16 from the 2019-20 season.

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was quick to back goaltender Louis Domingue, following their 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday.

The Rangers tied their playoff series up at 1-1 after Pittsburgh's 4-3 win in triple-overtime at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

One of the key figures in that overtime win, Domingue was given a start by Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, but gave up key goals to Ryan Strome and Chris Keider via deflections.

Crosby backed his teammate following the loss, bringing saves he did make with Game 2 in the balance in perspective.

"The fourth was a bad bounce, a couple of tips there," Crosby said. "I thought he [Domingue] was solid. I thought he made some big saves, especially when there was a one or two-goal difference, that kept us in it."

The two-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner believes the Penguins simply need to start better and put three periods of hockey together to progress past the Rangers.

"It's the playoffs," Crosby said. "There are going to be swings of momentum but I thought that in both games, as they've gone on, we've probably gotten better. We just have to find a way to come out of the gates a bit better.

"You don't want to get down two, we've done that a couple of times now. It's not something we want to make a habit of.

"We get that late one and we had some really good chances early in the third and didn't convert, and they got a bounce. That's what it came down to."

In other NHL playoff results on Thursday, a Cale Makar goal gave the Colorado Avalanche a 2-1 overtime win over the Nashville Predators, moving to 2-0 in their series.

Meanwhile, the Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers tied up respective series with the Calgary Flames and Washington Capitals.

An overjoyed Oliver Glasner praised his side's ability to withstand a resilient West Ham, as Eintracht Frankfurt qualified for the Europa League final on Thursday.

Carrying a slender 2-1 lead on aggregate into Thursday's second leg, Eintracht gave themselves critical breathing room with Rafael Borre's 26th-minute goal, eventually winning 1-0 on the night and going through 3-1 over the tie.

Even with West Ham needing to chase the game, Aaron Cresswell's first-half dismissal meant Eintracht had the majority of possession, yet they still gave up higher-quality chances. A 10-man West Ham actually generated a higher xG of 1.62 in comparison to the hosts' 1.13 over the 90 minutes.

Nevertheless, Glasner was proud of his team's defensive effort.

“Slowly something is falling into place," he said post-match. "What the team did again was unbelievable. West Ham threw everything in the balance of the game.

"It was a difficult early phase and with West Ham facing elimination we played really well and scored a great goal. In the second half we defended the long balls and set pieces with everything we had.

"We said to the players: 'I don't know if you are the best players or if we are the best coaches. But we are exceptional as a group and together we can be the best.' It was a wonderful evening."

With the win, Eintracht secured their first European final in 42 years, when they won the UEFA Cup in the 1979-80.

Despite a fiercely contested game which saw eight yellow cards and two red cards, including the dismissal of West Ham boss David Moyes, the final whistle saw fans at the Deutsche Bank Park flood the pitch in jubilant scenes.

Following the match, Glasner did not hide or play down the gravity of the occasion or what awaits in Seville.

"It's the best thing when you can make so many people happy," he said. "There is always tension in the game.

"I saw yesterday that you can lead 1-0 in the 90th minute and then be 2-1 behind two minutes later. If that can happen to Manchester City, it can happen anywhere, anytime. After that, this recognition is wonderful after the final whistle. It's an evening you'll never forget.

“I said in the dressing room that I don’t even know what to say before [Borussia Monchengladbach] in three days. For us, it’s all about this final.”

The New York Mets produced a remarkable ninth-inning comeback to stun the Philadelphia Phillies 8-7.

It was all Philadelphia early in front of their home fans, piling on four runs in the first inning, with Bryce Harper's RBI double to deep left-field the highlight.

Nick Castellanos also batted in one of the four early runs, and then added another in the second inning to make it 5-0 through two innings in a rough start for Mets pitcher Taijuan Walker. 

Walker's work came to an end at the end of the fourth inning after Harper and Castellanos both hit solo home runs, with Harper's 427-foot shot the biggest hit of the game, opening up a 7-0 lead.

Starling Marte finally got the Mets on the scoreboard with a solo home run in the sixth inning, but that would be all Phillies ace Aaron Nola would give up, pitching seven full innings for one earned run from three hits and one walk, striking out seven.

Leading 7-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, ESPN gave the Phillies a win probability of 99.9 per cent – but the ninth inning would be one to remember for Mets fans.

Marte led off the inning with an infield single, with Francisco Lindor driving him home with a two-run homer for two of the eight Mets hits in the final frame.

Pete Alonso doubled as the next man to the plate, and after an out, Jeff McNeil singled to put runners on first and third.

Mark Canha's infield single brought Alonso home, but a strikeout for the next batter still left the Mets trailing 7-4 with two outs.

J.D. Davis kept the game alive with a clutch double, bringing one more run home to leave runners on second and third, needing a base hit from Brandon Nimmo to tie the game.

Nimmo delivered, bringing home the two runners to tie the game at 7-7.

Not done there, Marte came back to the plate and collected his second hit of the inning, with his long double hitting the wall on the full to bring Nimmo home from first base and take the 8-7 lead, before the next batter grounded out.

Mets closer Edwin Diaz made no mistakes, retiring the last three batters in order for an unlikely victory.

Ohtani gives MVP performance

Shohei Ohtani showed why he could be in line to go back-to-back as the American League MVP, as he dominated the Boston Red Sox to give the Los Angeles Angels a 8-0 win.

Ohtani pitched seven shutout innings for the Halos in his pitching debut at Fenway Park, striking out 11 while only allowing six hits and no walks over 99 pitches.

He also went two-for-four with the bat, driving in a run with a base hit in the eighth inning.

Astros walk-off against Tigers

The Detroit Tigers gave the Houston Astros a scare in the ninth inning, but the Astros sent their fans home happy with a 3-2 walk-off win.

In a strong pitching showing from both teams, the only two runs through eight innings were solo home runs to Jose Altuve and rookie Jeremy Pena to give the Astros a 2-0 lead.

Jeimer Candalario tied the game in the top of the last inning with a two-run homer, but any hope of a win was short-lived as Kyle Tucker hit a walk-off base hit in the bottom of the ninth.

Colo Colo were unable to make up ground on River Plate in the Copa Libertadores, playing out a 1-1 draw away to Alianza Lima on Thursday.

The Chilean side translated their early dominance into a goal in the 22nd minute albeit from a dead ball, when Leonardo Gil's corner was flicked on by Maximiliano Falcon, with an unmarked Lucero tapping in at the back post.

The visitors had a chance to double the margin only five minutes later when Pablo Miguez was called for a hand ball in the penalty area, but Lucero hooked his attempt and failed to hit the target.

Alianza made them pay straight out of the interval, equalising in the 46th minute. After some aerial tennis, Hernan Barcos deftly brought the ball down and played through Wilmer Aguirre, who fired past Brayan Cortes.

In what was ultimately a tight second half, Falcon had an opportunity to retake the lead for Colo Colo deep into stoppage time from another corner, but his unmarked header went agonisingly wide.

Although the draw leaves Los Albos only three points behind River Plate in Group C with seven points from four games, Fortaleza sit three points behind in third and can still relegate them to the Copa Sudamericana spot.

River Plate drop points in Brazil

The Colo Colo draw came after River Plate's shock 1-1 stalemate with Fortaleza at the Estadio Castelao.

After conceding only one goal over their opening three victories in Group C, Los Millonarios were down 1-0 in only the fourth minute, with Lucas Crispim setting up Silvio Romero.

Enzo Fernandez equalised 13 minutes later from the penalty spot after Tomas Pochettino was brought down, but despite good chances in the second half, River failed to capitalise and make it four victories from four.

Bragantino deny Velez a first Group C win

Velez Sarsfield's hopes of progressing to the knockout stage were dealt a blow after their 1-1 draw with RB Bragantino.

Veteran Lucas Pratto put El Fortin ahead in the 14th minute with a neat finish from an acute angle, and looked as though they were going to hold out for their first group-stage win in Sao Paulo.

With the goal, Pratto now has the highest active number of goals in the competition, scoring 28 times.

Jose Hurtado equalised for Bragantino in the 84th minute with his first-time volley, keeping them in second with five points and putting Estudiantes in box seat to progress from Group C.

A chip-in on the 15th hole propelled Jason Day to the outright lead on his way to a seven-under 63 in the opening round of the Wells Fargo Championship.

After a solid front nine, where he birdied three of his first five holes, it was an action-packed second nine. He birdied 10, 12, 14, 15 and 16, with his sole bogey coming on the 13th.

Only posting three top-10 finishes from 22 events last season – with a best result of tied-seventh – Day is already in search of his third top-10 result this season in his 11th event, seemingly rediscovering some of the form that has seen him spend 51 weeks as the world number one.

Speaking to the media after stepping off the 18th green, Day was careful to not get ahead of himself, but emphasised his focus on creativity as opposed to just technique.

"I'm obviously, I think, a long way away from being that confident in myself in regards to my game," he said.

"But I feel like [with what I've worked on with my swing] I'm a little bit more creative on the golf course, because at some point you have to get out of the technical aspect and go more creative.

"I feel like things are progressing nicely, and I just have to keep my head down and keep going.

"It is actually very encouraging [to be healthy and confident in his body] because typically if I play well, then people ask me how my back is, and that's probably not something you want to always constantly want to be talking about.

"I've done a lot of work, and been very diligent and disciplined in my approach to staying healthy. I get hiccups every now and then, but for the most part – touch wood – I've been really good."

There was a spectacular start to the day for American Joel Dahmen, who was six under through eight holes, including four consecutive birdies starting on the fifth, before cooling off and finishing at six under for outright second.

One shot further back in the group tied for third were England's Aaron Rai and Callum Tarren, who had just one bogey between them.

Rickie Fowler highlighted the next group at four under after coming back from one over through eight holes, with four birdies, one eagle and one bogey in the last 10. 

Fowler sat one stroke ahead of a logjam at three under, which included defending champion Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Max Homa and Matt Kuchar, with England's Matt Fitzpatrick and India's Anirban Lahiri at two under.

Ons Jabeur became the first player representing an African nation to reach the final of a WTA 1000 tournament as she set up a clash with Jessica Pegula at the Madrid Open.

Tunisian Jabeur, who beat Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic and two-time grand slam winner Simona Halep to reach the semi-finals, needed just an hour and one minute to secure a routine last-four win over Ekaterina Alexandrova.

The world number 10 dominated her Russian opponent in a 6-2 6-3 win, before setting her sights on victory in what will be her sixth career final on the WTA Tour but first at such a high tier.

"I'm going to put a positive here. I want to win this final," Jabeur said after her win. "I'm going to put my heart, my favourite drop shot, my forehand in.

"I'm just going to really give my best. I don't want to regret [anything]. The main important thing for me, I know it's winning the title, but [also] knowing that I gave it all during the match and not regretting that. I know if this one [title] is not coming, then there is another one.

"I keep pushing myself to do better. The proof is that from Charleston [where Jabeur lost the final to Bencic last month], I worked really hard to be in the finals here. Like I said, I'm going to leave my heart on the court on Saturday."

Jabeur will face American Pegula in Saturday's final after she registered a 6-3 6-4 triumph over Switzerland's Jil Teichmann.

The 12th seed was tested when Teichmann fought back from a break down to 4-4 in the second set, with 28-year-old Pegula managing to dig deep to break once more and reach what is also her first WTA 1000 final.

Saturday's contest will represent just the fourth final of Pegula's career, and the first since losing to compatriot Serena Williams in straight sets at the 2020 Auckland Open, but she will enter the top 10 of the WTA rankings with a win.

"I knew I was close to the top 10, but it's so hard, you have to step up and do really well to win a tournament," Pegula said on court.

"I'm just so happy to be in the final, it's my first final in a 1000. I've been knocking on the door in the last few tournaments, [but] I was able to take care of business today."

Jabeur and Pegula have met on four previous occasions with each player boasting two victories each, Jabeur winning their last meeting at the last-16 stage of this year's Dubai Tennis Championships.

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