Xavi has shown faith in the "different" Ousmane Dembele and Miralem Pjanic to play important roles for his sides, following Barcelona's 2-2 draw with Juventus on Tuesday.

Pjanic made a strong first appearance for the pre-season while Dembele scored a poised brace and performed well despite the result, reflecting the confidence shown in him since Xavi took over as Barcelona's head coach last November.

The 25-year-old's first of the night was a particularly impressive solo action, showing his trademark dexterity on a mazy dribble, wriggling his way past three Juve defenders before finishing from an acute angle.

The Barca boss demanded more consistency from the France international post-match, but is buoyed by both his talent and new-found enthusiasm after extending his contract.

"He has shown what he is capable of, making a difference from the right wing with one-on-two actions," Xavi said afterwards. "He is a different player, special and he gives us a lot.

"He has to make a difference, be more consistent, score more goals. I don't know Dembele from before but since I've arrived, I see him happy and he always tells me that he's involved in the project. I see him like that since November, that's why I insisted so much on to stay."

The 42-year-old also saved special mention for another polarising figure among Barcelona fans, Miralem Pjanic, who made his first appearance for the club upon returning from a loan spell at Besiktas.

When asked about the midfielder's performance, the similarly cerebral Xavi was effusive in his assessment.

"I liked it a lot," Xavi said. "He gives us a lot with the ball, he found the interiors very well. He has an exclusive vision of football in general, because there aren't many who see the game like that with their first touch.

"He always looks forward, looks very well for the pass to nine. He has played a great game."

Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios was a late withdrawal from the Atlanta Open, after he was originally scheduled to play Peter Gojowczyk on Tuesday.

Kyrgios' replacement in Adrian Mannarino eventually defeated Gojowczyk 6-3 7-6 (9-7), but the Wimbledon finalist's withdrawal due to injury overshadowed the match.

After receiving a wild card for the Cincinnati Masters, the 2016 champion in Atlanta was expected to make a deep run to kick off his hard-court season.

Coming out to apologise to the crowd before Gojowczyk and Mannarino took to the court, Kyrgios expressed his sadness at the withdrawal, in the hope he could still play in the doubles draw with fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis.

"I'm extremely shattered that I'm not able to compete tonight," he said pre-match. "I've won this tournament once, and you know, I'm playing some of the best tennis of my career.

"All I wanted to do was come out here and give you guys a show, to see what I was capable of. I'm unable to give out my best performance today, and I'm just extremely sorry.

"I'm going to keep my hopes up and maybe be able to continue doubles with Thanasi this week. I hope you'll all not be too hard on me."

Kokkinakis just has the doubles to attend to now after Andres Martin's 6-3 6-2 win, while Ilya Ivashka progressed with a 6-0 3-6 6-3 win over Quentin Halys.

James Duckworth was the lone Australian to advance on Tuesday, beating Dominik Koepfer 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-3. 

Jenson Brooksby made an encouraging Atlanta Open debut earlier in the day, eliminating Benoit Paire 6-3 6-1 to reach the second round.

Countryman and fifth seed Tommy Paul breezed past wild card Jack Sock 6-1 6-1, while Ben Shelton and Mackenzie McDonald also advanced.

All-Star Giancarlo Stanton has been placed on the New York Yankees' 10-day injured list due to left Achilles tendonitis.

Yankees outfielder Stanton has been in strong form in the majors this season, batting .228 with 24 home runs and 61 RBIs. He also won last week's All-Star Game MVP.

Stanton had been out of the Yankees' starting line-up in their past two games and the franchise announced the roster move ahead of Tuesday's game against the New York Mets.

The 32-year-old had undergone an MRI on Monday after experiencing a sore Achilles, with Yankees manager Aaron Boone hoping it was a "minor thing".

Boone revealed that Stanton will take a complete break from baseball for 10 days and indicated that Stanton's timeframe to return to play was roughly two to three weeks.

"Could be shorter. We'll see," he said. "We'll just kind of make those evaluations, or the trainers [will], and see how he does this week."

Santiago Solari expressed pride in Vinicius Junior's ability to "break down the door" and win Real Madrid fans over, ahead of their pre-season friendly with his Club America side.

After coming up through the club's reserve ranks, Solari was faced with the unenviable task of being Real Madrid's caretaker first team coach in a post-World Cup year when Julen Lopetegui was sacked in October 2018.

The 45-year-old lasted less than five months, but Zinedine Zidane and Carlo Ancelotti arguably went on to reap the benefits of his integration of players such as Vinicius and Federico Valverde, while shifting Isco and Marcelo to the periphery. Vinicius was a particularly inconsistent case initially, before enjoying a breakout season last term, culminating with his goal in May's Champions League final.

The now-Club America boss sought to shift praise onto the players themselves, however, as well the structure and developmental environment Real Madrid provides to emerging talent.

"There is a point of pride for the player in which you think that if you had a 0.5 or one per cent of merit," Solari told Marca. "But the great merit, as with Valverde, [Sergio] Reguilon, Llorente, they belong to the club, its recruitment departments, the facilities it gives to players.

"The other great merit is from the footballers. If there is a bit of me in what Vinicius has achieved, in how he breaks down the door and wins people's hearts, he is wonderful, very beautiful.

"The objective of the coach should not be to seek to be right, but to work and do the best possible for an institution at the specific moment in which it is his turn. Real Madrid always makes their way. We have 14 Champions Leagues, and we are always on our way to the next one."

Ahead of their match, Solari also reserved praise for Ancelotti, describing him as a man of "great" wisdom.

"With Ancelotti I would only listen," he said. "I don't know him very well, I've greeted him once, probably when I was with the youth ranks and he was with the first team.

"I have a lot of personal sympathy for him and he is a man of great wisdom. I would love to listen to him."

Five-time All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones will catch passes from Tom Brady in 2022 after signing a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Tuesday.

The move gives Brady, who led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns last season, another potentially dangerous target and may offset the loss of tight end Rob Gronkowski, who retired earlier this offseason.

A seven-time Pro Bowl selection, Jones will join a deep wide receiver room that already has Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Russell Gage.

Signing Jones is the latest in a string of win-now moves by the Buccaneers as they try to extend their window of championship contention with Brady, who turns 45 years old next month.

Jones, 33, has been limited by injuries over the last two seasons, having ended a 10-year stint with the Atlanta Falcons to join the Tennessee Titans last season.

In 10 games with the Titans, Jones caught a career-low 31 passes for 434 yards and was cut earlier this offseason.

Jones had been connected to the Indianapolis Colts, a move that would have reunited him with longtime quarterback Matt Ryan, but Colts general manager Chris Ballard dispelled those rumours earlier on Tuesday, the Indianapolis Star reported.

Jones is the NFL's active leader with 13,330 career receiving yards, making 879 catches and scoring 61 touchdowns in 145 games.

Among players who have played at least 100 games, Jones' 91.9 receiving yards per game are the most in NFL history.

West Ham have completed the signing of Gianluca Scamacca, with the Italy striker arriving from Sassuolo.

The Hammers have reportedly agreed to pay an initial £30.5million (€36m) plus £5m in add-ons for the 23-year-old, who scored 16 goals in 36 Serie A appearances last season and has signed a five-year contract at West Ham, with an option for a further year.

Only five players - Ciro Immobile (27), Dusan Vlahovic (24), Lautaro Martinez (21), Giovanni Simeone and Tammy Abraham (both 17) - bettered that return, with Scamacca averaging a goal every 134.63 minutes.

He also converted 70.59 per cent of his big chances last term, a figure only bettered by Gianluca Caprari (83.33) and Vlahovic (73.91) among players to hit double figures, and Scamacca will hope to aid West Ham's chances of breaking into the Premier League's top six.

"I am really excited to join West Ham. I've waited a long time for this moment – it's been a dream to play in the Premier League," Scamacca said in a club statement. 

"I feel like West Ham is the perfect team for me. They showed they really wanted me and when I spoke to the manager there was an instant understanding.  

"I can't wait to play and show the supporters what I can do in the West Ham shirt – I hope we will love each other." 

David Moyes' side ended another promising campaign in seventh last time out, also reaching the Europa League semi-finals one year on from a sixth-placed finish.

Scamacca, who has won seven caps for Italy since making his international bow last year, emerged as a hot property last campaign and was linked with a transfer to Paris Saint-Germain before West Ham made their move.

He will join a West Ham attack that scored 60 league goals last term, as Jarrod Bowen (12) and Michail Antonio 10) both reached double figures.

"We've been looking to add more strength to our attacking options for a while, so we're delighted to have got Gianluca in," said Moyes. 

"He comes really well recommended – and we're looking forward to working with him. He's a young centre-forward with a really bright future ahead of him." 

West Ham begin their 2022-23 Premier League season at home to champions Manchester City on August 7.

Dominic Thiem started his bid for a second Austrian Open title with a comfortable triumph over Alexander Shevchenko.

Thiem, a 2019 winner at the tournament in his home country, prevailed 6-4 6-2 in Kitzbuhel.

He will next face compatriot Sebastian Ofner as he seeks a first title since his grand slam breakthrough at the US Open in 2020.

Ofner came from a set down to beat former world number seven Richard Gasquet 1-6 7-5 7-5.

Meanwhile, seventh seed Pedro Martinez saved six out of six break points en route to a 7-6 6-3 victory over Chilean Nicolas Jarry.

At the Croatia Open in Umag, Bernabe Zapata Miralles set up a round of 16 meeting with third seed Holger Rune by beating Croatian Dino Prizmic, who retired when facing a 6-4 3-0 deficit.

Alex Molcan is safely through to the next round after defeating Duje Ajdukovic, while French 23-year-old Corentin Moutet cruised to a straight-sets victory over sixth seed Daniel Altmaier.

Top seed Anett Kontaveit took just 48 minutes to secure her place in the second round of the Prague Open, but Sorana Cirstea suffered a surprise loss. 

Defeated in the final of the Hamburg European Open last weekend, Kontaveit got straight back to winning ways in rapid time with a 6-0 6-1 win over Ekaterine Gorgodze. 

The world number two got 81.8 per cent of her first serves in, with the overwhelmed Gorgodze only able to win nine returning points across the entire match. 

Up next for Kontaveit is Lucie Havlickova after the Czech defeated compatriot Barbora Palicova 6-2 7-6 (7-5). 

Fourth seed Cirstea was sent packing from the first round by 19-year-old qualifier Oksana Selekhmeteva, whose 7-5 6-4 success was her first in the main draw of a WTA Tour event. 

Dominika Salkova marked her WTA main-draw debut with a 6-1 6-4 win over Ylena In-Albon, while Barbora Krejcikova delighted the home crowd with her 6-3 6-1 triumph against Anna Blinkova. 

Due to persistent rain, only three matches were completed at the Warsaw Open on Tuesday. 

Clara Burel, Ana Bogdan and Jasmine Paolini all advanced to the second round with wins over Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova, Nuria Parrizas-Diaz and Danka Kovinic respectively. 

The neck injury that cut short Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Carson's 2021 season has ultimately ended his career. 

Carson decided to retire on Tuesday after five NFL seasons, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. 

The 27-year-old had failed his physical and the Seahawks are officially releasing him with a failed physical designation, which under the collective bargaining agreement allows Carson to receive several million dollars in injury protection benefits. 

Carson had been hopeful of being healthy enough to play this year after being sidelined since Week 4 of the 2021 season with the serious neck injury. 

When healthy, Carson was one of the top running backs in the league, ranking fifth in rushing yards in 2018 with 1,151 yards and fifth again a year later with a career-high 1,230 yards. 

A seventh-round pick by the Seahawks in 2017, Carson finishes his career with 3,502 rushing yards with 24 rushing touchdowns. 

Upon Carson's retirement, Rashaad Penny and rookie Kenneth Walker III will handle the running back duties for a Seattle team that expects to rely heavily on the ground game with Geno Smith and Drew Lock competing for the starting quarterback job after Russell Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos. 

Penny led the Seahawks with 749 rushing yards last season and his average of 6.29 yards per attempt was the highest in the NFL among all players with a minimum of 100 carries. 

Raphinha has thanked Marcelo Bielsa for setting him on the road to stardom with Barcelona and Brazil after their time working together at Leeds United.

Tricky winger Raphinha's form for Leeds in the 2021-22 campaign in particular earned him his first caps for Brazil and ultimately led to a big-money switch to Barcelona this month.

The 25-year-old contributed to 29 Premier League goals for Leeds – five more than any team-mate – with his goal involvements helping to keep them in the division last season.

Across his 19 months in England's top flight, only Tottenham's Son Heung-min (131) created more chances than Raphinha's tally of 129, highlighting his creativity.

Raphinha thrived in Bielsa's physically demanding system, and also impressed under the Argentine coach's successor Jesse Marsh in the back end of the previous campaign.

Having now cemented his place in the Brazil squad ahead of the World Cup, and hit the ground running with new club Barca, Raphinha remains indebted to Bielsa.

"He is a coach who helped me a lot from the first moment I arrived at Leeds," Raphinha told Mundo Deportivo. 

"He always demands more, always demands maximum performance. He helped me get to the national team and helped me get to Barca. 

"If it wasn't for his teachings, as a group or individually, I probably wouldn't be here."

Raphinha spent only one season at Sporting CP and Rennes before heading to Leeds in October 2020.

Now at a fourth club in as many years, the Porto Alegre native has already made himself a fan favourite with his winning goal in this week's friendly against Real Madrid.

"I hope it'll be the first of many Clasico goals," Raphinha said. "Being a Clasico, it gave me a unique sensation, one that's difficult to explain. It made me very happy."

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is undergoing surgery to have his appendix removed, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said Tuesday.

Burrow is expected to miss practice time during training camp but make a full recovery before the defending AFC champion Bengals begin their season on September 11 against the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers.

The news comes one day after team owner Mike Brown said Cincinnati's "whole focus" is to get an extension in place with Burrow, who is eligible to negotiate a new deal after this season – his third in the NFL.

"Right now our obvious, most important issue will be our quarterback," Brown said on Monday. "It's not quite ready or ripe yet, but it's right down the track and we see the train coming."

Burrow went 2-7-1 as the starter in 2020 after the Bengals selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. He tore his left ACL and MCL in Week 11 that season before returning last year and leading Cincinnati to their first playoff berth since 2015 and first Super Bowl appearance since 1988.

The Bengals led the Los Angeles Rams 20-13 in the third quarter of the Super Bowl before eventually losing 23-20. Burrow passed for 263 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions against the Rams.

"We couldn't be happier with Joe Burrow," Brown said. "He's everything you would wish for, especially for a quarterback in Cincinnati. And our whole focus is going on keeping him here."

Christian Eriksen revealed Erik ten Hag's brand of football was a major factor behind his desire to join Manchester United, as he targets World Cup duty with Denmark.

Eriksen arrived at United on a three-year deal this month, having impressed during a short-term spell at Brentford as he made his comeback from suffering a cardiac arrest at the European Championship in June of last year.

Several sides expressed an interest in the midfielder – including his old club Tottenham – but Eriksen decided to link up with another former Ajax favourite in new United boss Ten Hag.

United have impressed in pre-season as Ten Hag bids to implement a more proactive style of play at Old Trafford, and the playmaker is relishing the prospect of turning out for the Dutchman's new-look team.

Asked how influential Ten Hag was in his decision to join United, Eriksen told the club's website: "Very. I want to come here to play football, I didn't come just for the logo itself.

"To speak with the manager, and hear his ideas and have conversations with him on football terms, was great for me to get the decision of coming to Manchester United.

"I think, with the idea of the manager coming in and the ideas he had, and also with my conversations with him, I could see myself playing football in Manchester.

"I think my style of play hopefully fits in his ideas, and it's hopefully something that will connect in a good and positive way. So of course, this style of football, I think it suits me.

"At the same time, it's a very, very big club – if not the biggest. It has a big history, and it's a nice feeling to be part of something that is that big in history.

"The only aim is to go as high as possible and see where it takes us, the aim is definitely to win something."

Eriksen scored one goal and added four assists in 11 Premier League appearances for Brentford, creating 30 chances after making his Bees debut in March, a tally bettered only by Martin Odegaard (38) and Kevin De Bruyne (42) throughout the division.

Meanwhile, since Eriksen made his Premier League bow for Tottenham in September 2013, only De Bruyne (85) has racked up more than his 66 assists in the competition – despite the Dane spending 18 months at Inter and a further half-season out of the game.

Having left Spurs for the Serie A giants in January 2020, Eriksen doubted whether he would return to the Premier League, but he remains grateful for Brentford's role in his comeback.

He said: "I think from my career path, before my incident in the Euros, I wasn't planning to go back to the UK at all. To sit here is definitely something I didn't expect.

"Back then, I wanted to try something new and left Spurs after more than seven years. I went to Italy and it started off tough but ended up being a very, very good place."

Asked about his time with Thomas Frank's Bees, Eriksen added: "I'm forever grateful for what they did. They showed they cared from day one, for wanting me back and being able to give me the stage to perform."

Eriksen also made an emotional return to international football in March, scoring with his first touch in Denmark's defeat to the Netherlands.

With Kasper Hjulmand's team preparing for a World Cup campaign in Qatar later this year, Eriksen says featuring at the tournament for a third time remains an ambition.

"From when I did my rehab last year, that was the aim. The dream was obviously to be back and in condition to go to the World Cup if I could," Eriksen said. "It's something I think we all dream about, playing in the World Cup. It's something that you keep with you forever."

The Chicago Bears have bolstered their offensive line, signing veteran tackle Riley Reiff to a one-year deal that will likely pay him $10million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. 

The deal, which was reported on Tuesday, could be worth up to $12.5million. 

Considered one of the best free agents still on the market, Reiff started 12 games for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2021 before an ankle injury ended his season. 

Since being drafted 23rd overall by the Detroit Lions in 2012, the 33-year-old Reiff has appeared in 147 games with 139 starts. This will be his third NFC North team after spending his first five seasons with the Lions and the next four with the Minnesota Vikings, with whom he signed as a free agent prior to the 2017 season. 

Reiff is expected to win the starting left tackle job for a Bears team that struggled mightily to protect Justin Fields in his 2021 rookie season. 

The Chicago offensive line allowed a league-worst 58 sacks last season with Fields being sacked on 11.8 per cent of his dropbacks – the worst rate in the NFL among quarterbacks with at least 250 pass attempts.