Marc Overmars is staying at Ajax after extending his contract with the Eredivisie champions until June 2026.

Ajax's director of football has been linked with Newcastle United, Barcelona and Arsenal.

But the former Netherlands winger has ended speculation over his future by putting pen to paper on a new deal with the Amsterdam club, who tweeted "stop calling Marc" when they announced his new deal.

Overmars, who played for the club between 1992 and 1997 before leaving for Arsenal, said: "I still feel very excited by my work and get a lot of satisfaction out of it.

"The cooperation with my fellow board members is very good, as well as with the people at the Toekomst [the Ajax sports complex] with whom I work together in the fields of scouting, youth, transfers, and the like.

"I have a feeling that my work at Ajax is not done yet, so I would like to continue here."

Ajax president-commissioner Leen Meijaard: "The Supervisory board is very pleased with Marc Overmars as director of football affairs.

"Of course, the performance of the first team under his leadership is most notable. The team, led by Erik ten Hag [head coach], who was appointed by Marc, is exciting and successful, both nationally and internationally.

"Furthermore, we also see the good development in other technical football matters. With Marc in the management team, we think that the upward trend that our ambitious club has been on for a few years can be continued."

Ajax are a point clear of Feyenoord at the top of the Eredivisie and cruised into the last 16 of the Champions League, winning all six Group C matches.

Nathaniel Atkinson's late strike gave Melbourne City a 1-0 victory over Perth Glory at AAMI Park on Wednesday.

Defending champions City, smarting from a first defeat of the A-League season at the hands of Western United, dominated the game but Glory goalkeeper Cameron Cook denied them time and again.

Atkinson finally broke the deadlock in the 88th minute, nodding home from close range after Connor Metcalfe timed his run to perfection and headed into the substitute's path.

Melbourne had 23 attempts and thought they had opened the scoring in the first half, but Andrew Nabbout's deflected strike was ruled out for offside.

While Melbourne will point to their domination of the game, Atkinson's winner was a cruel blow for Cook, who made six saves.

Victory for Patrick Kisnorbo's side moved them up to second place, with Perth sitting into sixth spot after four matches.

Anthony Davis says Russell Westbrook's aggression has been key to his return to form for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Westbrook, a Los Angeles native, signed for his hometown team ahead of the 2021-22 season, having spent last campaign with the Washington Wizards.

The nine-time All-Star struggled at the start of his Lakers career, but is averaging 23.5 points, 8.9 assists and 6.9 rebounds across the past eight games.

He turned in a star performance on Tuesday as the Lakers claimed a convincing 117-102 victory over rivals the Boston Celtics.

Westbrook accumulated 24 points and provided 11 assists, and only Davis (24.1) and LeBron James (25.9) are averaging more points per game this season for the Lakers than the 33-year-old (20.4).

"I think at the beginning of the year, Russ was a little bit passive," Davis said, as reported by ESPN.

"He was trying to get guys involved, pass the ball. We told him, 'The more you're aggressive, the more it will open up for everyone else.'

"The last seven to 10 games, he's been very, very aggressive, and when he does that, it opens up the floor for everyone else as far as shooting.

"He's just been in attack mode. That's why we brought him here, to be Russell Westbrook and not anybody else but that."

Westbrook is well aware of the storied rivalry with the Celtics, given his Los Angeles upbringing.

"As a player like myself, you want to make sure you approach all games the same while also understanding the significance of this particular game," Westbrook said.

"That makes it a good win for us."

The Lakers are sixth in the Western Conference with a 13-12 record, while the Celtics (also 13-12) sit 10th in the East.

"We're disappointed as far as we were outhustled, out-toughed a little bit," Boston coach Ime Udoka said.

"It hasn't happened in a long time. They would put their head down, get to the basket and get whatever they wanted. We're better than that defensively, but a lack of effort and a lack of toughness showed tonight."

The Portland Trail Blazers have revealed CJ McCollum suffered a collapsed right clunk in a defeat to the Boston Celtics last weekend.

McCollum was injured in the final quarter of an emphatic 145-117 loss at the hands of the Celtics on Saturday.

The guard missed a 102-90 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday and a scan revealed the extent of the damage done.

Portland stated that McCollum, who is averaging 20.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists this season, will be out indefinitely.

The 30-year-old joins All-Star Damian Lillard (abdominal injury), Anfernee Simons and Nassir Little (both ankle) on the sidelines.  

Portland also lost guard Ben McLemore to a hip injury during the defeat to the Clippers, while center Cody Zeller is struggling with a bruised right quad.

Pat Cummins reflected on a "pretty crazy" first day as Australia's Test captain after his side dismantled England at the Gabba to start the Ashes in style.

Mitchell Starc bowled Rory Burns with the very first ball in Brisbane on Wednesday and the hosts went on to skittle England out for just 147 before rain and bad light stopped play.

Cummins, who replaced Tim Paine as captain following the wicketkeeper's resignation last month in the wake of a lewd texting scandal, led the way for Australia, taking 5-38.

The 28-year-old became the second pace bowler to take five wickets in a men's Test innings as captain of Australia, after George Giffen (three occasions in December 1894, February 1895 and January 1895), and has taken 133 wickets in the longest format since the start of 2018, more than any other player.

England skipper Joe Root won the toss and chose to bat on a green pitch in Queensland, and though Cummins acknowledged he would likely have made the same decision, he had no regrets over losing the coin flip as he looked back on a wonderful day for Australia.

"Pretty crazy... it's all gone to plan so far," Cummins told BT Sport.

"Really proud of all the guys. I was probably going to have a bat. I genuinely wasn't upset and we made the most of it.

"[The pitch] is a little bit soft. You're always in the game on the morning of day one. It got a little bit quicker after lunch but the ball got a little bit softer. It's a pretty standard Gabba wicket."

Asked to comment on his five-for, Cummins added: "The body felt decent. I've bowled better before and haven't got as many rewards. I kept it tight and got the ball up there."

Starc's 2-35 and Josh Hazlewood's 2-42 were added to by a first Test wicket for Cameron Green (1-6) as England were cast aside with ease - only four of the tourists' side making it into double figures.

The selection of opening bowler Starc had come under some scrutiny, but he responded in perfect fashion when his first delivery crashed into Burns' leg stump.

It is only the second time in Ashes history that a batsman has been dismissed with the first ball of the first Test.

"Really happy for him, he really held the attack together," Cummins said of Starc.

Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Australian Open as she is not yet ready to make a comeback from injury.

Williams has not played since suffering a torn hamstring at Wimbledon in June.

The 40-year-old stated last month that she was "better" and planned to play in the first grand slam of 2022 at Melbourne Park.

Williams will not go in search of a record-equalling 24th major title next month, though, revealing she is not fit enough to take her place in the draw.

She said in a statement: "Following the advice of my medical team, I have decided to withdraw from this year's Australian Open. While this is never an easy decision to make, I am not where I need to be physically to compete. 

"Melbourne  is one of my favourite cities to visit and I look forward to playing at the AO every year. I will miss seeing the fans but am excited to return and compete at my highest level."

The legendary American's last grand slam triumph came at the Australian Open in 2017.

While Williams will not compete, world number one Ash Barty will participate, as will US Open champion Emma Raducanu and four-time grand slam winner Naomi Osaka.

Novak Djokovic has been included in the official entry list for the 2022 Australian Open, with Tennis Australia adamant that no loopholes are being explored.

The world number one, who has won nine of his 20 grand slam titles in Melbourne, has not yet disclosed his COVID-19 vaccination status, meaning there is doubt over whether he will be able to participate.

Every person competing or attending the grand slam next month will need to have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus.

However, despite the uncertainty, the 34-year-old was named in the official list of players for the tournament draw.

Djokovic had already been named in Serbia's team for the ATP Cup, which is to be held in Sydney, leading to speculation that he could enter Australia by travelling directly to New South Wales, which has different COVID-19 restrictions to the state of Victoria, and may then seek a medical exemption to get around the rules applying to unvaccinated travellers.

James Merlino, Victoria's deputy premier, responded to these reports, which also suggested Djokovic had the backing of Tennis Australia.

"My view on this is really clear and really simple," Merlino said on Wednesday. "Everyone's looking forward to the Australian Open and everyone who will attend – spectators, players, officials, staff – everyone is expected to be fully vaccinated.

"They're the rules. Medical exemptions are just that – it's not a loophole for privileged tennis players. It is a medical exemption in exceptional circumstances if you have an acute medical condition."

Tennis Australia responded to Merlino's comments with a statement of their own.

"Any suggestion that Tennis Australia is seeking 'loopholes' within this process is simply untrue. Adjudicating on medical exemptions is the domain of independent medical experts. We are not in a position to influence this process and nor would we," the statement read.

"Any application for a medical exemption must follow strict government guidelines based on ATAGI (Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation) clinical advice. This is the same process that applies to any person wanting to enter Australia."

While Djokovic's participation is unclear, Serena Williams is a big-name absentee. The 40-year-old, who is one shy of matching Margaret Court's record tally of 23 grand slams, had been expected to play in Melbourne.

Roger Federer had already confirmed his absence, but Rafael Nadal is set to compete for the first time since August.

World number two and US Open champion Daniil Medvedev takes his place in the draw, as does 2020 Australian Open finalist Dominic Thiem.

Australian world number one Ash Barty headlines the women's field, with Naomi Osaka, US Open winner Emma Raducanu and WTA Finals champion Garbine Muguruza also in the draw.

Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 US Open champion, has decided to skip the event to focus on her mental wellbeing.

The Eastern Conference-leading Brooklyn Nets overturned a double-digit deficit to top the slumping Dallas Mavericks 102-99 in the NBA.

Dallas led by 17 points in the third quarter on Tuesday before the Nets rallied behind superstar pair James Harden and Kevin Durant.

Harden put up 23 points and 12 assists, while Durant posted 24 points to help the Nets avoid back-to-back defeats, having squandered a double-digit advantage against the Chicago Bulls.

Brooklyn have now won six straight road games. Entering the contest, they owned an 8-2 (80.0) record away from home this season – the franchise's best road record through 10 games all-time, according to Stats Perform.

The result condemned Luka Doncic's Mavericks to a fifth successive home defeat, while Dallas have dropped eight of their past 10 games.

Mavericks star Doncic finished with 28 points, nine assists and six rebounds.

Lakers take down Celtics

The Los Angeles Lakers' big three all starred in a 117-102 victory over the Boston Celtics. LeBron James had a team-high 30 points, Russell Westbrook had 24 points and 11 assists, and Anthony Davis scored 17 points to go with 16 rebounds. James has tallied 155 points in his last five games. According to Stats Perform, the only other player in NBA history to score that many points over a five-game span aged 36 or older is Michael Jordan.

Another off night for Randle

While the New York Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs 121-109, All-Star Julius Randle endured another rough outing. Often the instigator for the Knicks, Randle made just five of his 12 shots from the field for 15 points in 35 minutes. Knicks team-mate Evan Fournier was three-of-eight shooting in a seven-point performance.

Luka Doncic admitted his conditioning and weight must improve amid criticism following the Dallas Mavericks' fifth consecutive home defeat in the NBA.

Doncic was a topic of discussion during Tuesday's 102-99 loss to the Eastern Conference-leading Brooklyn Nets, with Hall of Famer and analyst Reggie Miller critical of the two-time All-Star.

Miller said Doncic must "trim down" his physique, with reports claiming the 22-year-old reported to training camp overweight for the second consecutive year.

After posting 28 points, nine assists and six rebounds, Doncic addressed the criticism post-game.

"People are going to talk about it, yes or no," said Doncic, who made just three of his 11 three-pointers in Dallas. "I know I've got to do better."

Doncic, who led Slovenia to a fourth-placed finish at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, added: "I had a long summer.

"I had the Olympics, took three weeks off, and I relaxed a little bit. Maybe too much. I've just got to get back on track."

Doncic is averaging 25.5 points, 8.5 assists and 7.9 rebounds per game this season.

His field-goal percentage (44.4) is his lowest since his rookie season in 2018-19 (42.7), while Doncic's percentage from three-point range (32.5) was only lower in 2019-20 (21.6).

Doncic has also been dealing with an ankle injury as the Mavericks (11-12) sit seventh in the Western Conference.

"It's still painful, but I try to play and try to practice," Doncic said of the ankle. "But it's still painful."

Jurgen Klopp hailed his record-breaking Liverpool following their 2-1 win over Milan as the Reds made it six wins from six games in the Champions League.

Liverpool became the first English team to win all six Champions League group-stage games in a single season thanks to Tuesday's triumph at San Siro.

Despite only Alisson, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane retaining their places in the starting XI from last week's Premier League win at Wolves, Liverpool still preserved their perfect record in Group B.

Salah and Divock Origi struck to cancel out Fikayo Tomori's 28th-minute opener in Milan, where Liverpool were already assured of the knockout phase pre-match.

 "Honestly, I don't feel pride a lot in football because most of the time I expect good things to happen, to be honest, but tonight fills me with a lot of pride," Klopp told reporters post-match.

"It was an exceptional performance. I don't mean that because we won six games, the reason is especially this game because it was so good. With that many changes, it's easy for me to make the changes, but in the end, the boys have to then be confident enough to show how good they are.

"I saw so many good football things tonight, it was absolutely incredible. As a side effect, we won all the games, which is absolutely incredible and is just another chapter in the history of this wonderful group of players."

Salah scored his 20th goal of the season in all competitions for Liverpool, in his 21st appearance – he the first player to score 20-plus goals in five consecutive campaigns for the Reds since Ian Rush (six between 1981-82 and 1986-87).

Liverpool's Salah has been involved in 29 goals in all competitions this season (20 goals, nine assists), more than twice as many as any other Premier League player.

Origi, meanwhile, scored his first goal in 15 Champions League games, since netting the Reds' second in their 2-0 final victory over Tottenham in June 2019.

"In football, it's all about: again and again giving everything," Origi said. "The results come by doing the right things at the right time in the right moment. Being in the moment.

"Of course, for the outside world there's a lot of speculation but for us it's having training from tomorrow – recovery – then training again and again and again. At the end of the season, we'll see how we end – but obviously, we want to end in the highest way possible."

Ash Barty has won the WTA's Player of the Year award for a second time, while Emma Raducanu's sensational 2021 season was capped with the Newcomer of the Year prize on Tuesday.

Barty collected the tour's top individual year-end award in 2019, having won the French Open and finished that season as the world number one.

And after Sofia Kenin succeeded her in 2020, Barty is back on top this year.

This was the third straight season the Australian superstar claimed the year-end number one ranking, and it saw her land a second major title at Wimbledon. Barty's five WTA titles in 2021 were unsurpassed.

But she has had to share the limelight in recent months with Raducanu, and that was the case again as the 19-year-old Briton was unsurprisingly hailed as the tour's star newcomer.

Raducanu became the first qualifier to win a grand slam when she swept to glory at the US Open, having also impressed in a run to the last 16 at Wimbledon.

The teenager, who has risen from 343rd to 19th in the rankings in the past year, won 10 straight matches without dropping a set from the first qualifying round to the final at Flushing Meadows.

Elsewhere, Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova collected a pair of awards, scooping Most Improved Player and, alongside Olympic, WTA Finals and French Open-winning partner Katerina Siniakova, the Doubles Team of the Year.

Carla Suarez Navarro, who retired in 2020 and was then diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, returned to the tour cancer free in 2021 for a farewell season and carried off the Comeback Player of the Year award.

Robert Lewandowski has clarified his comments and expressed delight at Lionel Messi's praise after beating the Poland striker to the 2021 Ballon d'Or.

Messi claimed a record-extending seventh Ballon d'Or last week, with Lewandowski having to settle for second and the inaugural Striker of the Year award.

The Bayern Munich forward may feel somewhat hard done by, given he scored 53 times in 42 games for the Bundesliga champions between the start of 2021 and the winner being announced by France Football.

That was the most of any player in Europe's top-five leagues across all competitions, with 2021 Copa America winner Messi down in joint-fifth with 32 goals.

Gerd Muller's long-standing record for the most goals (40) scored in a single Bundesliga season was also broken by Lewandowski, who netted 41 in 29 league games last term to make him favourite for the award that was cancelled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

After accepting the award again, Messi made special mention of Lewandowski as he suggested the forward deserved a Ballon d'Or of his own for his 2020 performances.

Lewandowski appeared ungrateful for the praise, apparently saying to Polish channel Kanal Sportowy that he hoped Messi's words were "a sincere and courteous statement from a great player and not just empty words," though he has since looked to clarify exactly what he meant.

"My statement, which I made in an interview with a Polish TV broadcaster, is currently being misinterpreted," Lewandowski told Kicker. "I never wanted to say that Lionel Messi's words were not serious or sincere.

"On the contrary. I was very touched and delighted by Lionel Messi's speech at the event in Paris, in which he expressed that, in his opinion, I deserved the Ballon d'Or 2020. I just wanted to express that I would of course be very happy if Messi's words were heard.

"I respect and appreciate Lionel Messi beyond measure and once again congratulate him on winning the Ballon d'Or 2021."