Speed is a highly valued asset in the NFL and if you needed any reminder of the premium the league places on wide receivers who can create separation with raw acceleration, it arrived during perhaps the wildest offseason in history.
A frenzy of blockbuster trades was capped off last month by the Miami Dolphins parting with first and second-round picks in this year's draft, two fourth-round selections and a 2023 sixth-rounder to acquire Tyreek Hill from the Kansas City Chiefs.
Miami subsequently made Hill the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL by signing him to a four-year, $120million contract extension, including $72.2m guaranteed.
The price teams are prepared to pay for speed receivers of Hill's calibre is an extremely promising harbinger for wideouts in this month's draft who share his ability to take the top off of a defense.
Among another uber-talented class of players at the receiver position, one man stands above the rest in possessing that specific trait, Alabama's Jameson Williams.
His hopes of going in the first round took a huge hit when Williams tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the National Championship Game in January, ending a sparkling sole season with the Crimson Tide after he transferred from Ohio State.
Yet between the significant advancements in ACL recovery - giving Williams a chance of making an impact in his rookie year - and how desperate NFL teams are for big-play receivers who can flip the field in an instant, it still appears likely he will hear his name called on night one in Las Vegas.
A first-round draft status would be the least Williams deserves, with the advanced metrics and his Alabama tape combining to paint a picture of a receiver who is not only the top deep threat in the draft, but also has an extremely compelling argument for being considered the best all-round receiver in this deep class.
Belated big-play impact
His injury meant Williams was unable to take part in any pre-draft athletic testing but, while teams have not had the chance to put a 40-yard dash time next to his name, the impact of his speed was obvious during a brief but ultra-productive stay with Alabama.
Having made only 15 catches in two seasons at Ohio State, where he played behind two receivers expected to go in the first round in Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, Williams took full advantage of his opportunity to shine down in Tuscaloosa.
Williams racked up 79 catches for a team-high 1,572 yards, with his 15 touchdown catches tied for third in the FBS.
Nine of Williams' 15 touchdown catches were for 40 or more yards, while no player in the FBS produced more than his nine receptions of at least 50 yards, four more than the wideout who stepped into his third receiver role at Ohio State, Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Landing with college football's modern-day juggernaut undoubtedly helped his cause, but the 2021 season was one in which Williams' established himself as the premier downfield weapon in the FBS by separating more consistently and more dramatically than any of his peers near the top of this year's receiver draft board.
Feel the burn
Blending elite speed with lower-body flexibility that enables him to be a substantial threat on double moves, Williams thrived running post-corner and corner-post routes downfield during his time with Alabama, with his proficiency in creating substantial separation going deep reflected by his burn rate.
Burn rate measures how often a receiver wins his matchup with a defender on a play where he is targeted. Williams did so on 74.6 per cent of his targets in 2021.
Williams' burn rate was superior to that of Wilson (71.6 per cent), Olave (69.9), USC's Drake London (71.3) and Arkansas star Treylon Burks (64.8).
He comfortably led the way in burn yards per target, his average of 19.34 nearly five full yards better than that of his nearest challenger, Cincinnati's Alec Pierce (14.74), and was also the cream of the crop in burn yards per route (4.9).
In other words, none of the other receivers anticipated to be in the first-round conversation came close to generating as much separation as Williams, who was the class of this field when it came to defeating his defender's coverage.
Yet in the endless quest for mismatches that is the NFL in 2022, it is not just Williams' success in separating that makes him such an intriguing prospect, it is the varied nature of a skill set ideally suited to where modern passing games are going.
Slot machine
There has arguably never been a better time to enter the NFL as a receiver who can win because of that extra gear at their disposal.
Hill coalesced perfectly with Patrick Mahomes during their time together in Kansas City and, as quarterbacks blessed with Mahomes' extraordinary arm talent become the archetype in the league, there figures to be an increasing demand for receivers who can get behind the secondary along with wideouts with the size and catch radius to mitigate inaccurate throws.
Williams may not have an intimidating frame at 6ft 2in and 189 pounds, but he does possess outstanding ball tracking ability and the body control to turn off-target throws into completions.
Elite receivers of all moulds - from route-running aficionados Cooper Kupp and Davante Adams to yards after catch monsters like Deebo Samuel and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' physically imposing duo of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin - are spending an increasing amount of time playing, and thriving, from the slot.
Winning inside and out is a prerequisite for top-tier wideouts at the NFL level, and that is a box Williams checks emphatically.
Able to win with patient and intelligent footwork at the start of his route and through varying his route speeds, Williams' physical gifts have seen him develop into a substantial threat to pick up yardage after the catch on underneath routes that can be run from the slot, with his advanced metrics when lined up inside nothing short of astonishing.
Williams ran 132 routes from the slot in 2021 and was targeted 40 times. His burn rate from the slot was 77.5 per cent compared to 73 per cent when he lined up as an outside receiver.
He averaged 26.53 burn yards per target and 8.04 burn yards per route from the slot, while he produced a big play on 59.7 per cent of slot targets.
Those numbers dwarf his still impressive statistics as an outside receiver - 15.46 burn yards per target, 3.62 burn yards per route and a big play rate of 41.7 per cent - though that disparity is largely a product of Williams running a lot of his deeper routes from the slot.
Indeed, Williams' average depth of target from the slot was 19.3 yards, compared to 11.5 yards from the outside.
Such a gulf is unlikely to exist in the pros. In a league so heavily influenced by Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay and their offensive system, Williams should expect to see his speed utilised to stretch the field horizontally as much as vertically at the next level. The Dolphins' aggressiveness in trading for Hill despite Tua Tagovailoa's arm paling in comparison to that of Mahomes perhaps foreshadowed that teams whose quarterbacks cannot so easily access downfield throws may still be interested in pursuing a burner of Williams' talents.
But, with the Green Bay Packers - who traded Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders and lost their deep threat, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, to Kansas City - and the Chiefs both possessing two picks in the second half of the first round, Williams could yet find himself catching passes from either Aaron Rodgers or Mahomes and executing the best-laid gameplans of Matt LaFleur or Andy Reid.
The college football world only got a fleeting glimpse of what Williams could do when given a featured role for a dominant program. More prolonged pain for NFL defenses will come if he ends up landing with a team that can claim to have one of the NFL's best arms and a sharp offensive mind in their employ.
Novak Djokovic suffered a stunning defeat in his first ATP Tour match since February, the world number one losing in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Djokovic's status as an unvaccinated player has limited his ability to compete on the tour this year. He missed the Australian Open in January after a saga surrounding his visa eventually resulted in his deportation on public health grounds, while laws around vaccination against COVID-19 in the United States prevented him from playing at Indian Wells and Miami.
Despite his inactivity, the Serbian - whose sole appearance on tour this year came during a run to the quarter-finals in Dubai - was expected to prevail on the clay against his Spanish opponent after receiving a bye in the first round.
But there were evident signs of rust in a mistake-riddled display against the world number 46, who remarkably emerged victorious to set up a meeting with either Dan Evans or David Goffin.
The tide looked to have turned in the second set tie-break, when an exquisite whipped forehand from Djokovic sent the match to a decider.
However, Djokovic, who committed 51 unforced errors, immediately surrendered the momentum by dropping serve in the first game of the third and he was broken twice more as Davidovich Fokina powered to a 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 victory in just under three hours.
"I knew that Nole hasn't had that confidence because he didn't play a lot," Davidovich Fokina said.
"This win is so special for me. I look at him every tournament. Here in Monte Carlo, full people [capacity], against the number one, I enjoy every moment."
Earlier, Evans saw off Benjamin Bonzi while Goffin, fresh off his triumph in Marrakech, came through against Jiri Lehecka to set up their second-round meeting.
Tenth seed Taylor Fritz defeated Monegasque wild card Lucas Catarina in three sets and 16th seed Lorenzo Sonego saw off Ilya Ivashka in straight sets. Laslo Djere, a semi-finalist in Marrakech, also progressed to the second round.
Kim Clijsters has called time on her latest tennis comeback, announcing her retirement from playing in official tournaments.
The Belgian surprisingly stepped away from the sport in 2007, before returning in 2009 to win back-to-back US Open titles in 2009 and 2010 before being crowned the 2011 Australian Open champion.
Clijsters retired again after the 2012 US Open, where she was beaten in the second round, before returning in February 2020 at the age of 36.
The former world number one's first match in over seven years came at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, losing in straight sets to Garbine Muguruza, while her last official match was in October, when she was defeated by Katerina Siniakova in the first round at Indian Wells.
Clijsters took to Instagram on Tuesday to announce her decision, posting: "I want to share with you that I have decided to no longer play official tournaments. I can't wait to see what new adventures will cross my path. Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the past two years!"
Mother of three Clijsters revealed stepping away from tennis again had "been on my mind for a while."
"I still love to hit the ball," she told the WTA website. "With my schedule, three, four days was enough to keep my rhythm under control but definitely not good enough if I decided to play another tournament. Say, if I picked Australia, it's three, four weeks. That's just not possible at this stage in our family life.
"Life just sort of takes over, right?"
Clijsters won three US Open singles titles in all, as well as her Australian Open crown, and in 2003 won both the French Open and Wimbledon doubles titles with Ai Sugiyama.
She became world number one on four separate occasions, winning 41 overall titles and boasting a career match record of 523-131 (80.0 per cent).
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson has said he and his team-mates "want to win everything" ahead of a busy period that could see them end the season with an unprecedented quadruple.
The Reds have already won the EFL Cup and are a point behind Manchester City in the Premier League title race as well as still participating in the Champions League and FA Cup.
Liverpool will have 13 more games left to play between now and the end of May should they reach the finals of both those competitions, but Alisson is confident the team can deal with the hectic schedule.
Speaking at a news conference ahead of the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Benfica, a tie in which they lead 3-1, the Brazilian stopper was asked about the physical demands of being in so many competitions.
"At this level we need to be prepared for that and we are," he said. "We have great fitness staff, we are training every day for that. We have targets, all the finals, all the games, as many games as is possible for us in the season.
"We want to win everything, so we are ready for that. Of course, it's not easy, sometimes we feel tired, but you need to put in your mind that you have energy enough to deal with every challenge."
Alisson has played 41 games for Liverpool in all competitions this season, keeping 22 clean sheets, and paid tribute to the players in front of him.
"It's massive [having a strong defence as a goalkeeper]. I have top players playing in front of me. No matter who is playing, they are always performing to the highest level possible, so I am really happy to be part of this team," he added.
The former Roma goalkeeper acknowledged the strength of Benfica ahead of Wednesday's second leg at Anfield.
"It was a tough game," Alisson admitted. "They have quick strikers, they have a strong striker as a number nine [Darwin Nunez]. I know Everton as well from Brazil, I know his qualities, how good he is.
"They gave us a lot of work to do, but we are ready to face them, we are ready and prepared to face that match to achieve our goals."
Pep Guardiola says Manchester City cannot be "tired" as they continue to compete on multiple fronts for silverware, with the prizes too big for them to falter in the final weeks.
The Premier League champions travel to face Atletico Madrid at Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final, with Kevin De Bruyne's goal having given them a 1-0 aggregate lead.
It is a match that comes sandwiched between two encounters with domestic rivals Liverpool.
The Premier League title challengers played out a thrilling 2-2 draw on Sunday and will meet in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley on Saturday.
That hectic schedule is more of a badge of honour for Guardiola however, who explained that his side will not be sluggish when there are a trio of trophies at stake in the final few months of the campaign.
"We are close to the end of the season, where you have to be grateful to be here," he told his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
"I would love to have more time, but in that moment, you are not tired. When you are so close to reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League, or the FA Cup, you are not tired."
Atleti failed to attempt a shot in the first leg. Since 2003-04, when Opta began collecting such data, the fewest shots recorded by a team across two legs of a Champions League knockout tie is four, by Shakhtar Donetsk against Bayern Munich in 2014-15.
However, Guardiola knows his side will likely need to remain on the offensive and expects to face a different proposition to the defensively taut team that visited the Etihad Stadium last week.
"It will be slightly different," he added. "They play at home, and they create momentum.
"With the passion [that] all the fans [and] all the history that they have, there will be moments they will be aggressive and create problems."
Guardiola has faced Atleti away from home on six previous occasions as a manager (W3 L3), with the most recent of those being a 0-1 defeat in the Champions League while in charge of Bayern Munich in 2015-16.
It will be City's 100th game in the Champions League – they have won 55 of their first 99, which is already the most by an English side through a century of games in the competition. Overall, only Real Madrid have won more of their first 100 games in the competition (57).
Pep Guardiola was caught off guard after Fernandinho said he will not renew his Manchester City contract.
Fernandinho has been a pivotal figure for City since his arrival from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2013.
He has helped the club win four Premier League titles, one FA Cup and the EFL Cup six times.
However, at the age of 36, he is now back-up to Rodri in Guardiola's midfield, while the Brazilian is also able to fill in at centre-back if required.
Fernandinho has made 23 appearances across all competitions this season, though only 12 of those have been starts and on Tuesday, he suggested he will not be signing a new deal, with his contract due to expire at the end of 2021-22.
"I don't think so," he told a news conference when asked if he would be extending his stay in Manchester.
"I want to play regularly. I will go back to Brazil. I decided with my family, which is the most important for me."
Guardiola, however, was taken by surprise.
"Oh, I didn't know. You give me the news," City's manager said when it was his time to face the media.
"I didn't hear it. We will see what happens. I don't know what will happen. He is so important. I'll ask him.
"At the end of the season we talk, maybe it's because of his family. I would love it. We will talk."
Expanding on his appreciation of Fernandinho, Guardiola added: "The role he plays this season, I like the people who behave behind the scenes.
"I know what he has done, he handles many of our players and stars for the benefit of the team. I praise him and he was here when I arrived.
"We know him well, from day one to now always here. An incredible player for Man City. There are things nobody knows but I know exactly."
City face Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, holding a 1-0 advantage from the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has once again taken aim at the Premier League and broadcasters for their scheduling of games.
The Reds have five fixtures remaining in a busy April across three competitions, with a potential sixth game if they get past Benfica in the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Liverpool remain a point behind Manchester City in the Premier League title race after their 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, with a repeat fixture against Pep Guardiola's men to come in the FA Cup semi-finals next weekend.
Klopp was particularly unhappy with the decision to schedule his team's trip to Newcastle United on Saturday April 30 for a 12:30 (BST) kick-off, as it would be the next game after a potential Champions League semi-final first leg.
Speaking at a news conference ahead of the game against Benfica at Anfield, Klopp was asked about the potential of winning four trophies, having already claimed the EFL Cup earlier this season.
"The only game I am concerned about is tomorrow night, Benfica," he said. "Then, because of the success we had so far we play Saturday, City.
"Then we play [Manchester] United [on Tuesday, April 19], then we play Everton [on Sunday, April 24], then if we get through tomorrow night we have the [Champions League] semi-final, then BT and the Premier League give us Newcastle away at 12:30.
"It's just not okay. If we play a Champions League semi-final, if you find another league in the world and another broadcaster where they put one team who is in the semi-final, might be two, might be three English teams, on a 12:30...What? What are you doing? Why would you do that?
"So that's why it's so difficult [to win four trophies], but nothing happens because nobody cares."
The German coach insisted his line-up against Benfica will not be influenced by Saturday's FA Cup semi-final being on the horizon, despite having a 3-1 advantage heading into the second leg.
"The next game has absolutely no influence on the line-up for tomorrow night, but the last game [against City] has, so we have to see. Obviously we have a really super intense schedule.
"There is nobody injured as far as I know, but we have to have a look who is fresh enough for this game.
"We see it as a super important game. We tried so hard last year to get qualified for the Champions League, and now we can make it to the semis, which is incredible and that's what we want to show tomorrow night, that it really means a lot to us."
Klopp was also asked for his thoughts on Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez, who scored Benfica's goal in the first leg in Lisbon last week.
"Extremely good-looking boy," he joked. "Really good, really good. He played pretty much in front of me, with his tough battles with Ibou Konate. Physically strong, quick, was calm with his finish.
"If he stays healthy, it's a big career ahead of him."
Stephen Pagliuca has pledged to keep Chelsea out of any new plans for a European Super League should his bid for the club prove to be a success.
Pagliuca is one of the interested parties in buying Chelsea, with the club up for sale after Roman Abramovich was sanctioned following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
On Monday, it was reported that NBA chairman Larry Tanenbaum and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin had agreed to back Pagliuca's bid, which is one of four proposals to have made a final shortlist, with the deadline for final offers to be made set for April 14.
Pagliuca had not previously commented publicly on his move to purchase the club but has now outlined his intentions for Chelsea in a statement released to Sky News.
High up in his statement, Pagliuca made specific reference to turning down any offer to be in a Super League, with Chelsea having been one of the 12 sides involved in the breakaway proposal in April 2021.
"Throughout my life and career, my ethos has always been to operate quietly, with integrity, and let my actions and results speak loudly," the statement read.
"However, it is imperative to clarify and assure supporters about our bid group and its commitments, to emphasize how seriously we take our potential responsibility to Chelsea.
"Our first focus and goal is to make strategic investments to continue competing for championships and trophies.
"We will support our players and managers to make sure that Chelsea are habitual winners and title contenders, whether in the Premier League, Champions League or the Women's Super League, the only Super League we intend competing in, for the record.
"In addition, we will continue to invest in the youth academy to develop the stars of the future and we would not be in this process if we did not have an exciting and inclusive vision for Chelsea."
Pagliuca also stressed that there would be no plans to alter Chelsea's colours, name or logo, while suggesting a new stadium - or the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge - would also be on the agenda.
"Chelsea is a world-class team, in a world-class city, with world-class fans: it deserves a world-class stadium," he said, before emphasising the importance of the club's community endeavours.
Julio Cesar believes his former club Inter have "all the possibilities" to retain their Serie A title after a productive weekend for the Nerazzurri in the Scudetto race.
Simone Inzaghi's side beat Hellas Verona on Saturday before seeing title rivals Napoli lose at home to Fiorentina and league leaders Milan draw 0-0 at Torino.
Inter now sit second, ahead of Napoli on goal difference and two points behind Milan, but with a game in hand on both and a superior goal difference.
Speaking with Stats Perform courtesy of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Cesar compared the current Inter team to the one he played in, which won a treble in the 2009-10 season.
"Since Inter won the title [last season], Juventus' streak has been interrupted," he said. "When I was at Inter, Juventus was the team to beat. Now, after the title, responsibility always increases.
"Today, the club has a wonderful structure at La Pinetina. I had the opportunity to visit the place. Everything has changed. Having said that, I think that the football played on the pitch makes the difference.
"This championship is very balanced. Inter is in second place behind Milan, the season is still open.
"We have Milan, Inter and Napoli, which are all in contention for the title. There are six games left and Inter have all the possibilities to win the Scudetto. Inter is a strong team, although they had peaks and valleys, but I guess this is normal during a season."
Cesar also had words of praise for current Inter stopper Samir Handanovic, believing that a lack of Champions League football during his time at the club has led to people underestimating the Slovenian.
"I think Samir has shown his value since he joined Inter," he said. "However, his quality was not always recognised because Inter was out of the Champions League for many years.
"Playing in the Champions League allows you to step up your game. Samir has brought the right confidence, he has become the captain and the leader of the team. Inter must be ready to give credit to the work that Samir has done."
Inter have been linked with a move for Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana at the end of the season, but Cesar is unsure if the Cameroonian would displace Handanovic.
He added: "Even if a younger keeper will join the club – I am not sure about Onana's age [26] but I imagine he is a young talent – Samir is still a keeper who knows the club's environment very well.
"Even if Onana will join Inter, Handanovic will be the first choice. Winning the title could also give him the confidence in persuading the club to be their first choice also for next year. He is talented and he keeps himself physically fit, so he could be the first goalkeeper for the next two years."
It was perhaps not the most surprising news when it emerged on Monday that coach Frank Vogel had been dismissed by the Los Angeles Lakers. One of the most star-studded teams of all time inexplicably failed to even make the NBA Play-In tournament, finishing the season with a record of 33-49 and in 11th place in the western conference. However, it would have been astonishing to imagine this scenario in September, when Vogel was handed a one-year extension to his deal, and especially a year prior to that when he was lifting an NBA championship in his first year with the Lakers. How did we get here, though?
Vogel enjoyed a good start to his career in coaching, making it to the play-offs with the Indiana Pacers in each of his first four years, reaching the conference finals in 2013 and 2014.
After six years in Indiana, he moved to the Orlando Magic, but was unable to repeat the trick there with a young team, with an overall regular season record in his two years in Florida of 54-110, failing to reach the post-season in either campaign before being fired in 2018.
A year later, he was appointed by the Lakers, making a great start as he boasted a regular season record of 52-19, before going on to win their first championship in 10 years.
Vogel's second season was not as smooth, with a 42-30 regular season record. A dramatic Play-In victory against the Golden State Warriors brewed excitement that another dramatic championship run could be on the cards, but a 4-2 defeat to the Phoenix Suns in the first playoff round ended those hopes.
Despite that setback, his post-season win percentage of 66.7 is the third-best in Lakers history, behind only Pat Riley (68.5) and Paul Westhead (68.4).
However, even after having faith shown in him with a one-year contract extension in August 2021, Vogel was unable to add to those figures with a spectacular failure to reach the post-season this year.
The regression in 2020-21 had largely been put down to injury issues suffered by two of his stars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and with those two back fit and after trading to bring Russell Westbrook in from the Washington Wizards, the Lakers went into the 2021-22 season as one of the favourites to go all the way.
While Davis and James have suffered further injury setbacks, the latter has still had one of his most productive seasons of an illustrious career, and a failure to get anything like the best out of Westbrook has also been a factor.
James averaged over 30 points per game (30.3) for the first time since 2007-08, with only Joel Embiid averaging more across the league (30.6), though it was the first season since 2009-10 in which Westbrook averaged fewer than 20 points per game (18.5).
The 33-year-old did not hold back when asked about Vogel on Monday, saying at his exit interview: "I think it's unfortunate, to be honest, because I've never had an issue with any of my coaches before.
"I'm not sure what [Vogel's] issue was with me, or I'm not sure why, but I can't really give you an answer to why we really never connected."
The writing was on the wall towards the end of the season, with the Lakers losing eight straight games to miss out on the Play-In tournament, only slightly improving their record with two final wins before the end of the regular season, and ultimately, the end of Vogel's time in LA.
Rio Ferdinand has defended Harry Maguire's Manchester United form, with the ex-England man comparing his struggles to those of Gerard Pique when he played for the club.
The centre-back became the most expensive defender in history when he arrived at Old Trafford from Leicester City in 2019.
Yet he has struggled to replicate the form he has enjoyed for Gareth Southgate's Three Lions since his capture, particularly during a dismal 2021-22 campaign.
Ferdinand has backed the United captain however, pointing to the combination of differing styles between club and country that may have left him shortchanged at the Red Devils.
"In an England shirt he’s been nothing but phenomenal," he said on YouTube show Vibe with FIVE. "He’s been unreal. You can’t say he’s a dead player, he’s been unbelievable for England.
"What I’m saying is, for England he’s been great, but they play a particular way of football that probably suits him."
Ferdinand pointed to Barcelona stalwart Pique, who emerged as one of the game's modern greats after leaving Manchester for Camp Nou, to reinforce his suggestion about adapting to the game.
"Gerard Pique was at Man United, you could argue that he might not have had the career that he’s had at Barcelona if he stayed at Man United because of the way he plays," he added.
"It’s like boxing, styles make fights – it’s the same in football. The way of Man United’s football, and the way that they are trying to play, hasn’t suited him.
"But [there is] also form and confidence. His confidence has taken a big knock.
"I don’t care who you are. You could be Messi, Ronaldo, Zidane, Mbappe all these players – if their confidence is low they are not the same player."
Maguire's form has not seen him dropped from the international set-up however, unlike team-mates Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, both of whom were left out by England in March.
Even without a reversal of fortunes, the centre-back will be expected to feature heavily for the Three Lions when they head to the Qatar 2022 World Cup at the end of the year.
Russell Westbrook feels he was never given a fair shot at delivering the best version of himself throughout a frustrating first season at the Los Angeles Lakers.
The 2017 MVP was acquired from the Washington Wizards during the offseason but struggled for form across the 2021-22 campaign.
Westbrook posted his lowest points-per-game season average for over a decade, as the Lakers missed out on the playoffs.
Speaking in his final media conference of the term, Westbrook hit out at "narratives" about his arrival, and added he felt he was forced to "prove himself" in a superstar side.
"People create narratives of me and who I am and what I do and what I believe in that are just not true," he stated.
"I'm always having to prove myself again and year after year after year, which is to me, just unfair. There's literally no reason to have to do that.
"So when I first got here, I just felt that I never was given a fair chance just to be who I needed to be, to be able to help this team."
Championship-winning coach Frank Vogel was dismissed on Monday, and Westbrook was candid on his relationship with the now-ex Lakers man, admitting he believed they struggled to click.
"I'm not sure what his issue was with me, or I'm not sure why, but I can't really give you an answer why we never really connected," he added.
"Maybe you know, that's something that he has to answer but from the get go I was feeling [I had] to prove myself to him and my capabilities and what I've been able to do for this game.
"It's unfortunate, but it's really not come out of my hands."
Karim Benzema's brilliance was the difference as Real Madrid stormed into a 3-1 lead over Chelsea last week.
The 34-year-old, as evergreen as they come, was at his sublime best once again with a sensational hat-trick at Stamford Bridge to put Madrid on the verge of reaching the Champions League semi-finals.
It followed on from his three goals in that remarkable comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 and it would not be unreasonable to expect Benzema to hit another hat-trick on Tuesday when Thomas Tuchel's reigning European champions visit the Santiago Bernabeu, such is the France international's prolific form.
"To say that we are dependent on Benzema is the truth, there is no need to hide it," said Carlo Ancelotti in Monday's news conference previewing the second leg.
"I am very happy to be dependent on Benzema."
While Benzema thrives with that dependence on his shoulders, Chelsea visit the Spanish capital without the striker they hoped would take them to the next level. It is safe to say that Romelu Lukaku's return to Stamford Bridge has not gone to plan.
Having rediscovered his best form over two seasons with Inter, driving the Nerazzurri to their first Serie A title in over a decade, Lukaku has come closer to resembling the much-maligned version of himself that struggled at Manchester United.
Lukaku will be absent through injury for what is his team's biggest game of the season, a rather fitting summary of how his second spell at Chelsea has played out so far.
All going wrong for Rom
It seemed the perfect match. Lukaku was fantastic for Inter, providing not only goals but also adding creativity to his game as he formed a supreme partnership with Lautaro Martinez.
Lukaku directly contributed to 35 goals in Serie A alone last season, converting 25 per cent of his 96 shots and creating 52 chances for team-mates, with 10 of those being big chances - defined by Opta as an opportunity from which a player would reasonably be expected to score.
The Belgian averaged a goal every 120 minutes and converted 20 of the 39 big chances that came his way, as Antonio Conte helped get Lukaku back to his best.
But matters could hardly be more different at Chelsea.
Lukaku has hinted that Tuchel's style does not suit his preferred way of playing, though his ability to drop deep and link the play at Inter seemed to have put the 28-year-old in good stead to do the same with the likes of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic in west London.
The drop-off has been significant – just 12 Premier League starts, five goals and zero assists, while he has created only 16 opportunities and converted 17.2 per cent of his 29 shots, just 11 of which have been on target.
Lukaku's 12 goals in all competitions do slightly exceed his expected goals (xG) of 11.8, showing he is at least scoring at a rate that reflects the quality of chances that have come his way, though he headed wide from Chelsea's best opportunity of the first leg (0.29 xG).
Chelsea won the Champions League without a recognised number nine, given Tammy Abraham's failure to cement a place under Tuchel and Werner's hit-and-miss form, which has continued into this campaign.
Indeed, Havertz netted the winner in Porto against Manchester City last May and in recent weeks has been the player Tuchel has utilised to lead Chelsea's line, even with Lukaku fit. It was the Germany forward who scored for the Blues against Madrid last week and he seems set to continue up front.
All going right for Benzema
In contrast, Benzema is at the very top of his game. His hat-trick at the Bridge took him to 37 goals for the season. That tally far exceeds his xG (28.3), illustrating just how excellent his finishing has been.
That supreme ability was on show in all its glory in the first leg. His opener was a quite wonderful header that he somehow kept down and floated beyond Edouard Mendy - Opta's xG model suggests there was just an eight per cent chance of that opportunity resulting in a goal.
Benzema's second, another header under three minutes later, was equally impressive, while his third came as a result of his aggression in the press, forcing a mistake that gave him a simple finish into an empty net.
Similar to Lukaku in Serie A last season, Benzema is converting roughly a quarter of his attempts across all competitions, and he has already crafted 66 chances for others and contributed 13 assists.
Of strikers in Europe's top five leagues, only Robert Lewandowski has scored more goals than the Frenchman, who has as many assists as Lionel Messi and scores every 84 minutes.
Benzema is the heartbeat of a Madrid side pushing for a double, crucial to everything Los Blancos do in attack, dropping into midfield to aid the build-up as well as being in the right place to finish chances.
Lukaku, meanwhile, is on the periphery at Chelsea and though the £97.5million (€115m) outlay may yet prove worthwhile, he is not going to be able to stand up and be counted when his side might just need him the most.
That, perhaps, is a sign it was simply never meant to be for Lukaku at Chelsea after all.
The Champions League quarter-final second legs are here, and the competition's two most recent winners must overcome first-leg deficits to reach the final four on Tuesday.
Defending champions Chelsea were downed by a stunning Karim Benzema hat-trick at home to Real Madrid, who are bidding to be crowned European champions for a 14th time.
Bayern Munich, meanwhile, suffered a shock reverse at Unai Emery's Villarreal, who will surely require a remarkable defensive performance to keep the free-scoring Bundesliga leaders at bay in Bavaria.
Here, Stats Perform unpacks the pick of the data from Tuesday's crucial European ties.
Real Madrid v Chelsea: Benzema brilliance puts hosts in driving seat
Benzema's Stamford Bridge hat-trick has put Los Blancos on the brink of a semi-final spot, and he will be looking to continue his incredible European campaign when Chelsea try to overcome a 3-1 deficit in Spain.
After hitting consecutive European trebles, Benzema's tally of 11 goals is a new record for the most strikes by a French player in a single edition of the competition, and matches his record across the last two editions combined (he scored six goals in 2020-21 and five in 2019-20).
The 34-year-old's understanding with Vinicius Junior caused Chelsea all sorts of problems in London, and the duo have now assisted each other a combined five times in the Champions League this term (Vinicius providing four assists, Benzema one), the most of any two team-mates in the competition.
Carlo Ancelotti will qualify for the semi-finals for a record eighth time if Madrid can maintain their advantage against his former employers, equalling Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are making their first trip to the Santiago Bernabeu in European competition, and must become the first English side to win a Champions League game there by more than one goal to have any chance of progressing.
Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy's costly mistake at Stamford Bridge has left the Blues on the brink of an exit, with his dire pass to Benzema representing his first error leading directly to a goal in 20 appearances in the competition.
Chelsea may be encouraged by the fact they have not lost both legs of a Champions League tie since going down to Bayern Munich in 2019-20's last 16, and have won three and drawn two of their last six meetings with Los Blancos.
However, with Madrid progressing from nine of their previous 10 ties after winning an away first leg (the exception being a 5-3 aggregate loss to Ajax in 2019), Chelsea look unlikely to revive their title defence.
Bayern Munich v Villarreal: Emery eyes landmark success against Bavarian giants
Elsewhere, Bayern Munich are looking to avoid consecutive last-eight eliminations when they host Villarreal, with Arnaut Danjuma giving Unai Emery's men a precious 1-0 first-leg lead.
Danjuma has six Champions League goals this term, with only Robert Lewandowski (12), Benzema (11), and Mohamed Salah (eight) managing more, and could prove the visitors' best outlet on the counter-attack.
Indeed, Villarreal will certainly require a resolute defensive performance in Munich, having conceded 22 shots in their surprising home triumph.
However, Julian Nagelsmann's side were uncharacteristically wasteful in Spain, and their four shots on target last Wednesday marked the lowest such tally managed by a team to attempt over 20 shots in the competition this season.
Bayern unquestionably have what it takes to turn the contest around, however, and haven't gone consecutive Champions League games without scoring since a 5-0 aggregate loss to Real Madrid in 2013-14's semi-final tie.
Lewandowski will carry the burden of rescuing the Bavarian giants, having already scored two European hat-tricks in Munich this season (against Benfica and RB Salzburg). Only Cristiano Ronaldo (for Real Madrid in 2015-16) has ever managed three trebles in one Champions League campaign.
If the Yellow Submarine can pull off a remarkable success at the Allianz Arena, Emery will progress beyond the competition's quarter-finals for the first time in his career.
But the omens do not make for great reading for the Spaniard. The only previous time a side of his won an opening leg in the competition's knockout stages (Paris Saint-Germain's 4-0 win over Barcelona in 2017), they became the first team to be eliminated after winning a first leg by four goals, falling to an incredible 6-1 away loss.
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