Rafael Leao says Milan's sights are firmly set on lifting the Coppa Italia following their thumping quarter-final win over Lazio.

The Rossoneri reached the semi-finals of the competition after putting the Biancocelesti to the sword 4-0 in San Siro.

Leao and Franck Kessie were on target either side of an Olivier Giroud double as Stefano Pioli’s side built on the momentum from their Derby della Madonnina victory over Inter on Saturday.

Milan subsequently set up a rematch with their neighbours in the last four of the Coppa Italia, in which they have now won 13 of their last 18 home games.

And Leao, who also assisted the first of Giroud’s brace, says he and his team-mates have high expectations after the Portugal international found the net for the second successive round.

"After the derby – a very important game for us – we arrived for tonight fired up, and I thought we had an extraordinary performance. It was the right result," he told Sport Mediaset.

"Now we're in the semi-final, the Coppa Italia is a competition Milan wants to win. 

"I am always ready to help my team with goals or assists, but the most important thing is that the team got into the semi-final."

Pioli also heaped praise on the performance of Milan, who are full of confidence having now won six of their last eight matches – including the extra-time success over Genoa in the previous round of the Coppa – in all competitions.

"We made the most of the derby victory to give ourselves even more energy, belief and conviction," the head coach added.

"The whole atmosphere is very positive, we were focused and in control for the full 90 minutes.

"These are always special games to prepare and very stimulating. The Coppa Italia is a competition both clubs want to win, so we will try to give our best against opponents we know are very strong."

Andy Murray set up a second-round clash with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Rotterdam Open, but fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz was stunned by Lorenzo Musetti. 

Former world number one Murray secured an impressive 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 victory over Alexander Bublik, who entered the tournament on the back of the biggest win of his career over Alexander Zverev in the Montpellier final last week. 

Murray stopped the Kazakh serving out the opening set with a crucial break and appeared in fine form as he closed out the win. 

"There were some tough moments in the first set for both of us. I just managed to come through at the end of it. Some great returns off some big second serves from him at the end and I did a good job," said Murray. 

"It’s not easy playing against someone like that, huge serves, a lot of drop shots and you’ve got to keep your focus and I did that well." 

Up next for Murray is Australian Open quarter-finalist and third seed Auger-Aliassime, who came from a set down to beat qualifier Egor Gerasimov 3-6 6-2 6-2. 

"[Auger-Aliassime] started the year pretty well and is one of the best young players just now," said Murray. "I'll need to be on my game if I want to beat him, but it's a great test for me and we'll see what happens out there." 

Musetti advanced to the quarter-finals after a 6-3 5-7 6-4 triumph over Hurkacz, dropping just one point on his first serve in the decisive set. 

Cameron Norrie defeated Karen Khachanov 6-4 7-6 (7-5) to reach the last eight, while Alex De Minaur was also a 7-6 (8-6) 1-6 6-4 victor against Mackenzie McDonald in the second round.

Premier League leaders Manchester City collected a routine victory over Brentford to further their advantage at the top.

That victory saw Pep Guardiola's side extend their lead at the summit to 12 points, with second-placed Liverpool due to host Leicester City on Thursday.

Tottenham fell to a late defeat against Southampton as Antonio Conte suffered his first home league loss as Spurs boss, while Aston Villa shared the spoils in a six-goal thriller with Leeds United.

And strugglers Norwich City picked up a valuable draw at home to Crystal Palace, with Dean Smith's side now a point behind 17th-placed Newcastle United as the relegation battle continues.

Here, Stats Perform unpacks the pick of the Opta data from the day's top-flight action.

Manchester City 2-0 Brentford: Citizens cruise to league double over Bees

Strikes either side of the interval from Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez helped City to a 2-0 win over Brentford as the Citizens completed the league double over the Bees for the first time since 1936-37.

Mahrez opened the scoring as he netted in his seventh consecutive game across all competitions for City – only Lionel Messi (twice) and Sergio Aguero have previously achieved that feat under Pep Guardiola.

De Bruyne doubled the hosts' lead in the second half, the midfielder recording his 85th goal involvement (35G 50A) in his 96th top-flight appearance at the Etihad Stadium, where he has found the net five times in his last four games.

Brentford rarely troubled Ederson's goal and were caught offside 10 times in the match, the most by a Premier League team since January 2018 as City recorded their 100th clean sheet under Guardiola in the competition.

The Bees have now lost five consecutive league matches for the first time since December 2007, under Terry Butcher in League Two, and for the first time in the top flight since April 1947 (seven in a row).

Tottenham 2-3 Southampton: No home comforts for Conte

Southampton twice rallied from behind to earn a late 3-2 victory at Tottenham to end Conte's unbeaten start at home in the league as Spurs boss.

Jan Bednarek poked into his own net to give Spurs the lead, the centre-back now on a Premier League-high three own goals since the start of 2019-20. Similarly, Tottenham have benefited from the most own goals in the competition this season (three).

But Armando Broja soon levelled up. That was the Albania striker's sixth top-flight goal this term – only Kevin Davies (nine in 1997-98) managed more in the Premier League for Southampton while aged 20 or under.

Son Heung-min restored his side's advantage with his 12th strike against Southampton across all competitions, five more than he has registered against any other team for Spurs.

Saints fought back again, Mohamed Elyounoussi equalising before Che Adams sealed victory. Both finishes were set up by James Ward-Prowse, who assisted two goals in a single Premier League match for only the second time in 290 appearances.

Having equalised in the 79th minute, Southampton's victory was the latest they had been behind in a Premier League match that they would go on to win since March 2016 against Liverpool (equalised in 83rd minute).

Aston Villa 3-3 Leeds United: Whites continue away scoring run in Villa Park classic

Aston Villa, who had Ezri Konsa dismissed late on, shared the points with Leeds in a 3-3 thriller as Dan James, Jacob Ramsey and Philippe Coutinho dominated proceedings.

James scored his third and fourth Premier League goals this term, his best-ever tally in a season, though Marcelo Bielsa found his side 3-2 down at half-time.

Coutinho initially cancelled out James' opener as he became the sixth Villa player to score in each of his first two Premier League appearances at Villa Park, and the first since Carlton Cole in August 2004.

The Brazil international then teed up a Ramsey double as the midfielder became the youngest player to score more than one goal in a Premier League game for Villa (20y 257d) since Luka Moore got a hat-trick in February 2006 (19y 356d).

Diego Llorente restored parity in the second half as Leeds recorded three goals in consecutive Premier League away games for just the second time, and for the first time since March 1995, to earn a valuable point.

Norwich City 1-1 Crystal Palace: Zaha's penalty falter costs poor travelling Eagles

Norwich City raced out the blocks at Carrow Road but ultimately had to settle for a point after a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.

Teemu Pukki – who has scored 43 per cent of Norwich's top-flight this season (6/14), the highest such share of any player in the competition – netted the fastest goal in the Premier League this season as he finished after just 38 seconds. 

Wilfried Zaha pegged Smith's team back with his 80th goal involvement in England's top division (53G 27A), 79 of which have been for the Eagles.

Michael Olise teed up the Ivory Coast international's second-half equaliser, his seventh goal involvement (3G 4A) across all competitions in 2022 – the most by any Premier League player.

Palace should have secured all three points but Zaha failed from the penalty spot for the first time, on his fifth attempt, meaning the Eagles have won just one of their last 13 away games in the league.

Pep Guardiola applauded the patience demonstrated by Manchester City during their 2-0 victory over Brentford on Wednesday.

The runaway Premier League leaders moved 12 points clear at the summit thanks to goals from Riyad Mahrez and Kevin De Bruyne at the Etihad Stadium.

However, Guardiola’s side were made to work hard for their 10th successive home win in all competitions.

Indeed, they found it difficult to break down a stubborn Brentford despite enjoying over three-quarters of the possession and registering 15 shots.

Nevertheless, Guardiola was pleased by the resilience of his players, who took their points tally for the campaign to 60 with 14 matches remaining.

"[Brentford] are so difficult to attack; aggressive, high pressing. We build up; they drop and defend so deep," he told reporters after the match.

"[We had to] be patient, make no mistakes and in the end we got the result.

"[I am] very satisfied with the performance. We conceded two shots [on target], a few corners and were patient. [It is] difficult when they defend deep with 10 players in their 18-yard box.

"It is impressive at this stage to have 60 points - we have done incredibly well so far."

Raheem Sterling also praised City's persistence as they completed the league double over the Bees for the first time since the 1936-37 season, when they collected their maiden top-flight crown.

"They defended well, they're a tight unit. We had to keep going, probing the ball and finding the gaps, and we did," the England forward added.

"They made it really difficult; the game at their place was really difficult too. They were hard to break down. We stuck to it and got two goals."

Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte bemoaned his side's lack of experience in managing games after they squandered a late lead to lose 3-2 against Southampton.

Conte had won 20 of his last 21 home league matches across spells with Inter and his current club – including a five-game unbeaten start in such fixtures with Tottenham – but Ralph Hasenhuttl's side rallied impressively on Wednesday.

Jan Bednarek turned into his own net to hand Spurs the lead before Armando Broja equalised with his sixth league goal this campaign – only Kevin Davies (nine goals in 1997-98) has scored more times in a single Premier League season for the Saints while aged under 20.

Son Heung-min seemingly set the hosts on course for victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with his 12th goal in all competitions against Southampton, five more than he has managed against any other side.

But James Ward-Prowse provided two assists as Mohamed Elyounoussi and Che Adams delivered late strikes to secure a remarkable comeback victory, one which Conte believes his players must learn from.

"We made many mistakes in the first half; important mistakes," Conte told reporters after the game. 

"In the second half, we did well, scored, and then we have to be better to defend. I have seen the two goals, and we conceded two goals with the defensive line there.

"I know very well we are going to struggle to get three points. I said this before, I continue to repeat. Now, we are improving in many aspects, but we are still too emotional. 

"We have to improve because if we want to grow as a team and try to be competitive, the first thing you have to improve is to be stable, not be up and down.

"This is a situation we have to improve. Also, I repeat, it is important to have a team with experience and manage the game. 

"It was a pity because my players gave 120 per cent. The effort was maximum, I cannot say I didn't see the right commitment. I have seen the maximum commitment.

"For this reason, we have to try to avoid this defeat. We could have avoided this defeat, especially when you go 2-1 when there are 15 minutes to play. It happened, we have to take experience about this game and try to improve."

Tottenham failed to capitalise on the opportunity to close the gap on fourth-placed West Ham to just a point, though they still have three games in hand over their London rivals.

Conte's side will look to make amends when they next host an in-form Wolves on Sunday.

Roger Goodell vowed nothing will be off the table in a review of the NFL's hiring processes after Brian Flores launched a class action lawsuit against the league. 

The NFL commissioner was unsurprisingly peppered with questions about the Flores saga in his pre-Super Bowl news conference on Wednesday at SoFi Stadium. 

Flores alleges the NFL is rife with racism and has a "disingenuous commitment to social equity". The Miami Dolphins, who fired Flores after a second successive winning season in 2021, New York Giants and Denver Broncos were all named in his suit. 

He claimed an interview he had with the Giants was a sham, indicating he inadvertently learned of their intention to hire Brian Daboll through a text exchange with New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick prior to his interview. 

It is also alleged in the lawsuit that Flores "was interviewed only because of the Rooney Rule" by the Broncos in 2019 and was never intended to be "a legitimate candidate". 

The NFL has just five minority head coaches, with Flores' replacement in Miami, Mike McDaniel, and Lovie Smith joining Mike Tomlin, Ron Rivera and Robert Saleh on that list. 

Speaking for over 40 minutes in Los Angeles, Goodell insisted the NFL will not rule out any potential avenue to address the league's shortcomings in giving opportunities to minority coaches. 

"Last year we were talking about the same subject which is part of the frustration. Racism is something we will not tolerate," said Goodell. 

"If there are policies that we need to modify, we're going to do that. If we've seen evidence of discrimination, we will deal with that in a very serious way that will reflect the fact that we won't tolerate that. 

"We don't take anything off the table until we have people look at it and help us independently [understand] if there is something flawed with our process. 

"We believe in diversity, we believe in it as a value, we believe it's made us stronger. 

"People who have come into the league who are diverse have been very successful and have made us better and we just have to do a better job. 

"We have to look, is there a better thing we can do to make sure we're attracting that best talent and making our league inclusive?  

"If I had the answer right now, I would give it to you. I think what we have to do right now is to step back and say 'we're not doing a good enough job here, we need to find better solutions and better outcomes'." 

Asked if he bears personal responsibility for the league's continued problems in bringing more diversity to the coaching ranks, Goodell replied: "I do. As a league I don't think there's a subject we've discussed more frequently. I do bear that responsibility as do all our clubs." 

Thursday could and should be another big day for the United States at Beijing 2022. 

Team USA have earned only a single gold among their seven medals, but that came on Wednesday through Lindsey Jacobellis and there are now opportunities to add to that total across seven medal events. 

Indeed, in each of the figure skating, snowboard and cross-country skiing, American athletes are set to be at the forefront of Olympic title tussles. 

Still in its early stages, the ice hockey will also focus on the United States, whose men's team – without their NHL stars – face hosts China. 

Ahead of Thursday's action, Stats Perform previews each of the medal events. 

Alpine skiing

With defending Olympic champion Marcel Hirscher having retired, there is no clear favourite in the men's combined. 

There are plenty of potential challengers, however, including France's Alexis Pinturault, who was second to Hirscher in Pyeongchang. The Austrians are certainly worth watching, with Marco Schwarz the reigning world champion and finishing second to compatriot Vincent Kriechmayr in the final downhill training run. 

Cross-country skiing

Jessie Diggins is another American who will hope to have a shot at a medal, having already secured a sprint bronze to go with her team sprint gold four years ago. Ragnhild Haga, the 2018 winner in the women's 10km classic, is not competing this time around, while perennial contender Marit Bjorgen has retired, giving Diggins a great opportunity to challenge. 

Freestyle skiing

In an event making its Olympics debut, the Russian Olympic Committee must be considered among the favourites for the mixed team aerials. In their ranks are Liubov Nikitina and Maxim Burov, who have each previously won world titles. China have had joy in the aerials previously, too, though. 

Figure skating

The free program of the men's singles figure skating should provide plenty of intrigue after the short program blew the race for gold wide open, with defending champion Yuzuru Hanyu a disappointing eighth. 

Nathan Chen is the man best placed to prevail after his 113.97 broke Hanyu's world record. Victory for the American would be true to form too, given he has beaten Hanyu at every head-to-head meeting they have had since the 2018 Games. Hanyu's Japan team-mates Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Uno are Chen's nearest challengers, the only other too men to top 100 in the short program. 

Luge

Of all Thursday's events, the result of the luge team relay surely feels the most inevitable. Germany are favourites for the fourth and final luge gold of the Games, having won each of the prior three. 

Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt have already achieved a doubles three-peat and could now repeat that remarkable feat in the team event. 

Snowboard

Jacobellis delivered for Team USA in the women's snowboard cross and the men's event is next to be contested, with friends Alessandro Haemmerle of Austria and Lucas Eguibar of Spain set to be in contention. 

For Americans, though, the focus turns to the halfpipe. Chloe Kim was the youngest female Olympic champion in the discipline four years ago and will now be looking to defend her title and secure more snowboard success for her country.  

Speed skating

The women's 5,000m is an event Martina Sablikova has long dominated, including Olympic golds in 2010 and 2014. But she was pipped by Esmee Visser in 2018, only taking silver, and faces fierce competition again from Irene Schouten of the Netherlands and Isabelle Weidemann of Canada. 

Barcelona will appeal the red card shown to Dani Alves during their 4-2 win over Atletico Madrid in LaLiga on Sunday. 

Alves was shown a straight red card in the 69th minute following a VAR review after he caught Yannick Carrasco in the calf with his studs. 

The Royal Spanish Football Federation's (RFEF) competition committee announced on Wednesday that the veteran right-back had been handed a two-game ban because he "would not have had the opportunity to have won the ball" with his tackle. 

That would rule him out of the Catalan derby against Espanyol on Sunday, as well as the trip to Valencia the following week. 

However, Barca confirmed they would contest the decision with the appeals committee in the hope of having the suspension reduced. 

Olivier Giroud scored twice as Milan cruised into the Coppa Italia semi-finals with a commanding 4-0 victory over Lazio.

The France international took his tally for the season into double figures, with all 10 of his strikes coming in San Siro.

Giroud netted twice in quick succession just before half-time after Rafael Leao had opened the scoring for the Rossoneri in the 24th minute, while Franck Kessie completed the rout 11 minutes from time.

The reward for Stefano Pioli's side is a mouth-watering clash with rivals Inter in the last four next month.

Milan had won just once in their nine previous Coppa Italia showdowns with Lazio, failing to score in the last five, but they ended that drought midway through the first half.

Leao raced onto Alessio Romagnoli's well-timed throughball before neatly slotting past former Rossoneri goalkeeper Pepe Reina from a tight angle.

The Portugal international then turned provider four minutes before the break, squaring for Giroud to round off a quickfire Milan counter.

Giroud, who netted a match-winning brace against Inter on Saturday, was also in the right place on the stroke of half-time, peeling away at the far post to turn home Theo Hernandez's low cross.

Lazio arrived at San Siro on a four-match unbeaten streak since a 2-1 defeat by Inter on their last visit to Milan.

But things got worse for them midway through the second half when talisman Ciro Immobile, who had been involved in five goals in as many appearances against Milan, limped off injured.

And the hosts put the icing on the cake in the 79th minute; a deep free-kick into the box was only cleared as far as Kessie, who drilled past Reina.

Tottenham failed to close the gap on the Premier League's top four to one point as they fell to a dramatic 3-2 loss against Southampton on Wednesday, a late VAR check robbing Spurs of a draw.

Antonio Conte's side initially led at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to a first-half Jan Bednarek own goal, but Armando Broja equalised just five minutes later.

Spurs thought they had found the winning goal with 20 minutes remaining through Son Heung-min, though Mohamed Elyounoussi headed past Hugo Lloris to draw level again.

Che Adams delivered the crucial blow in the latter stages, with Steven Bergwijn's stoppage-time header subsequently ruled out, leaving Spurs four points behind the fourth-placed West Ham and inflicting Conte's first home league loss as Spurs boss.

Earlier, Adams squandered a close-range chance in the opening stages, while Cristian Romero saw his header ruled out for offside from Son's free-kick.

A breakthrough for Spurs came soon after when Bednarek turned into his own net following Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's low delivery.

Southampton responded swiftly as Broja finished past Hugo Lloris after Romain Perraud had profited from Ben Davies' slip to cross.

Harry Kane somehow headed wide from point-blank range after the break following Sergio Reguilon's cross, but Spurs regained the lead when Son poked Lucas Moura's pass into the bottom-right corner.

Broja blasted over as he looked to level things up once more, though Elyounoussi managed to do so moments later as he headed in James Ward-Prowse's delivery.

Adams then atoned for his earlier miss as he nodded past Lloris from another excellent Ward-Prowse cross before Bergwijn saw his late header chalked off for offside as Spurs thought they had salvaged a late point.

Riyad Mahrez and Kevin De Bruyne made Brentford pay for individual errors as Manchester City secured a 2-0 win at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday. 

After an uneventful opening 30 minutes, City began to bare their teeth and the deadlock was broken when Mahrez curled home a spot-kick after Mads Roerslev clumsily sent Raheem Sterling to ground. 

The reigning champions never really got out of second gear but were gifted another goal when David Raya's misplaced pass was quickly followed by De Bruyne slotting home. 

City consequently increased their advantage over Liverpool to 12 points, though Jurgen Klopp's side are in action against Leicester City on Thursday. 

Brentford were tough to break down, but City gradually began to create more openings, with Sterling volleying over and Aymeric Laporte shading the outside of the post after the half-hour mark. 

The visitors' resistance was finally broken when Roerslev felled Sterling and Mahrez dispatched the resulting penalty into the top-left corner. 

Brentford tried to threaten on the break but never looked like troubling Ederson with Ivan Toney absent due to a calf injury. 

Their hopes of salvaging a draw were effectively extinguished when Raya gave the ball straight to Sterling on the edge of the box. 

Although the Brentford keeper managed to block Sterling's shot, the rebound fell to De Bruyne, who passed the follow-up into the bottom-right corner.

City came under minimal pressure and comfortably saw out the closing stages to get back to winning ways after dropping points at Southampton in their previous Premier League outing.

What does it mean? Further contrasting fortunes 

City completed a league double over Brentford for the first time since 1936-37, the season in which they won their maiden top-flight crown. 

Pep Guardiola's side are now unbeaten in 14 Premier League matches, while the Bees have lost five in a row. The last time they endured a winless streak of that length was in 2007, when they were in League Two. 

A Sterling display 

Although he may not have taken the chances that came his way, Sterling won the penalty and played a pivotal role in the second goal with his high pressing. He also supplied two key passes and drew five fouls – at least three more than anyone else on the pitch. 

No Raya light 

He may have made more saves (five) than he has done before in a single Premier League match, but Raya's woeful distribution ultimately ended Brentford's chances of snatching what would still have been an unlikely point. 

What's next? 

City take on Norwich City at Carrow Road on Saturday, when Brentford entertain Crystal Palace. 

Munich will host the first NFL regular-season game in Germany, with the country set to host four games over the next four seasons.

Speaking at his pre-Super Bowl news conference in Los Angeles, commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed that Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena will be the venue for the game and another during that four-year period. Eintracht Frankfurt's Deutsche Bank Park will also stage a pair of NFL regular-season clashes.

"We are very pleased to welcome Munich and Frankfurt to the NFL family and are excited to reward our fans in Germany for their passion by bringing them the spectacle of regular-season NFL football," a statement from Goodell released shortly after read.

"We look forward to staging our first game in Germany at FC Bayern Munich's fantastic stadium later this year and to exploring areas of broader collaboration with the Bundesliga."

Five International Series games will take place in 2022. Two will be played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium while the Jacksonville Jaguars will play a home game at Wembley.

Also on the schedule is a return to Mexico City's Azteca Stadium, which will host a game in 2022 having not done so since the 2019 season because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Dates and matchups for the games will be confirmed in an announcement later in the year.

Germany's dominance of the luge boosted them to the top of the medal table at Beijing 2022 on Wednesday.

From three luge events so far, Germany have taken three gold medals. They will hope to add a fourth and complete a clean sweep in Thursday's team relay.

This success is nothing new, however, as Wednesday's winners secured a stunning three-peat.

Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt took gold in the doubles at a third consecutive Games, with German team-mates Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken their nearest challengers.

"[It is] indescribable," said Wendl, having secured a fifth overall Olympic gold – a number that could swell to six in the relay. "This one was the toughest."

Arlt added: "It's a feeling like we won the first time. Every success is a new success. We know what hard work we had and it makes us very proud."

The success of Wendl and Arlt brought Germany their second gold of the day, making them the first nation to five at these Games.

Vinzenz Geiger had earlier taken the title in the Nordic combined normal hill event, beating Norway's Joergen Graabak.

It is Norway who are Germany's closest challengers in the medal table, too, with four golds among 10 total medals – the latest for Birk Ruud in the men's freeski big air.

Sweden also have four golds (seven total) but did not add to that tally on Wednesday, falling from first to third in the overall standings.

 

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