What the papers say

Tottenham will make a move for Chelsea star Conor Gallagher if Chelsea cannot come to a new deal with the 24-year-old at the end of the season, the Telegraph reports. The paper says there has been no progress in talks with Gallagher and the Blues, despite manager Mauricio Pochettino labelling him “priceless” after Chelsea’s win over Crystal Palace.

Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite continues to draw interest from rival clubs, with the Daily Mail reporting that Manchester United and Tottenham will push hardest for the young defender. Real Madrid, Arsenal and Chelsea have also shown interest in the 21-year-old.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace hope that their efforts to persuade Ipswich Town coach Kieran McKenna to replace Roy Hodgson as manager will succeed at the end of the season.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Ivan Toney: Brentford’s talks with the highly sought-after striker have not progressed since the club offered the 27-year-old an extension, TeamTalk reports, with Arsenal and Newcastle closely monitoring the situation.

Albert Gudmundsson: West Ham will now have to compete with Newcastle for the 26-year-old striker from Iceland, who has scored nine goals in 22 games for Genoa in the Serie A this season, according to Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Jayson Tatum scored 31 of his 41 points in the first half and the Boston Celtics defeated the Brooklyn Nets, 118-110, for their fifth straight win in the opener of a home-and-home series on Tuesday.

Jaylen Brown scored 19 points, Al Horford had 16 on 6-for-6 shooting in place of the injured Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday added 14 points and 12 assists.

The Celtics have won nine of 10 against the Nets and the past six meetings in Brooklyn.

Mikal Bridges had 27 points and Cam Thomas added 26 for the Nets, who have lost four of five.

Brooklyn closed within 99-93 with Tatum resting on the bench with 7:55 remaining, but he returned and combined with Brown on a 7-0 run that pushed it to 109-95 with 5:38 left.

These teams meet again in Boston on Wednesday.

Suns overcome Sabonis, Fox

Kevin Durant scored 28 points with 12 rebounds and Devin Booker added 25 points as the Phoenix Suns overcame the loss of Bradley Beal in a 130-125 win over the Sacramento Kings.

Beal injured his left hamstring in the first quarter and didn’t return. The three-time All-Star has often been injured and has played in just 30 of the team’s 54 games.

Eric Gordon scored 23 points and Grayson Allen contributed 19 as the Suns won their fourth in five games.

Sabonis had his third straight triple-double with 35 points, 18 rebounds and 12 assists, and De’Aaron Fox scored 40 for Sacramento, which has lost four of five.

Edwards leads Timberwolves past Trail Blazers

Anthony Edwards poured in 41 points and Rudy Gobert added 16 with 15 rebounds to pace the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 121-109 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Edwards, who was questionable entering the game due to right knee soreness, was 16 of 27 from the field and 4 of 8 from 3-point range. He hit the 40-point mark for the second time this season.

Edwards and Gobert helped offset an off night from Karl-Anthony Towns, who had foul trouble early and was limited to 13 points in 19 minutes.

Deandre Ayton had 22 points and 16 rebounds for the Blazers, who dropped their fifth straight.

Mike Ruddock resigned as Wales head coach on this day in 2006.

The then 46-year-old stepped down just 11 months after he led his country to their first Six Nations Grand Slam triumph in 27 years, leaving the side in turmoil.

Ruddock left the top job after deciding he did not want to sacrifice his family life to lead Wales into the 2007 World Cup.

After he resigned, he said: “After consultation with my family, I have made the decision to stand down as national coach.

“I have decided to withdraw from contract talks to take Wales to the 2007 World Cup in France. This has been a tough decision to make but I have decided to put my family first.

“What I have found during my two years as coach is that the position is ‘more than a job’. That has meant I have spent long periods away from my family, in camp and overseas.

“As a consequence, I felt the intense build-up to next year’s World Cup would mean more time away from my family. That is something, on refection, I would like to avoid.”

Ruddock won 13 of his 20 games in charge, guiding them to Grand Slam success in 2005 with a 32-20 victory over Ireland alongside a famous 24-22 win over Australia – for the first time in 18 years – at the Millennium Stadium.

Ruddock’s resignation came days after he saw Wales claim a 28-18 win over Scotland in Cardiff.

Gareth Jenkins succeeded Ruddock and signed a two-year deal to take over.

Connor McDavid notched his first career six-assist game and the Edmonton Oilers won their eighth straight at home, 8-4 over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.

McDavid matched a career high with six points, done previously against Colorado on Nov. 14, 2019, when he had three goals and three assists.

His third assist of the game was the 600th of his career and came in his 616th game. He is the fourth-fastest to 600 assists, trailing Wayne Gretzky (416), Mario Lemieux (514) and Bobby Orr (608).

McDavid has 12 goals and 34 assists during a 19-game home point streak.

The Oilers are one victory shy of matching their franchise record of nine consecutive home wins, done in 2017 and 2022.

Alex DeBrincat, Joe Veleno, Patrick Kane and David Perron had goals for the Red Wings, who dropped to 10-3-2 since Jan. 1.

Ovechkin extends goal streak in loss

Alex Ovechkin scored in his sixth straight game, but Artturi Lehkonen had two goals and two assists as the Colorado Avalanche snapped a four-game skid with a 6-3 victory over the Washington Capitals.

Ovechkin’s goal was his 14th of the season and 836th of his career, leaving him 59 shy of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record.

Ross Colton and Miles Wood each had a goal and an assist for Colorado, which won for the first time – in the fifth game of a six-game Eastern Conference road trip.

Nathan MacKinnon had a pair of assists for the Avalanche to end a season-high three-game pointless streak.

Marchand has two assists in 1,000th game

Brad Marchand set up two goals and nearly scored in overtime, but Brayden Point scored the lone shootout goal to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins.

Marchand became the eighth player in franchise history to reach the milestone, and the Bruins said they will honour him with a ceremony before Monday’s game against Dallas.

Andrei Vasilevskiy denied Marchand in overtime and finished with 36 saves as the Lightning concluded their road trip 2-2-0.

Charlie McAvoy and James van Riemsdyk scored for the East-leading Bruins, who dropped to 1-3-1 in their last five home games.

Connor McDavid notched his first career six-assist game and the Edmonton Oilers won their eighth straight at home, 8-4 over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.

McDavid matched a career high with six points, done previously against Colorado on Nov. 14, 2019, when he had three goals and three assists.

His third assist of the game was the 600th of his career and came in his 616th game. He is the fourth-fastest to 600 assists, trailing Wayne Gretzky (416), Mario Lemieux (514) and Bobby Orr (608).

McDavid has 12 goals and 34 assists during a 19-game home point streak.

The Oilers are one victory shy of matching their franchise record of nine consecutive home wins, done in 2017 and 2022.

Alex DeBrincat, Joe Veleno, Patrick Kane and David Perron had goals for the Red Wings, who dropped to 10-3-2 since Jan. 1.

Ovechkin extends goal streak in loss

Alex Ovechkin scored in his sixth straight game, but Artturi Lehkonen had two goals and two assists as the Colorado Avalanche snapped a four-game skid with a 6-3 victory over the Washington Capitals.

Ovechkin’s goal was his 14th of the season and 836th of his career, leaving him 59 shy of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record.

Ross Colton and Miles Wood each had a goal and an assist for Colorado, which won for the first time – in the fifth game of a six-game Eastern Conference road trip.

Nathan MacKinnon had a pair of assists for the Avalanche to end a season-high three-game pointless streak.

Marchand has two assists in 1,000th game

Brad Marchand set up two goals and nearly scored in overtime, but Brayden Point scored the lone shootout goal to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins.

Marchand became the eighth player in franchise history to reach the milestone, and the Bruins said they will honour him with a ceremony before Monday’s game against Dallas.

Andrei Vasilevskiy denied Marchand in overtime and finished with 36 saves as the Lightning concluded their road trip 2-2-0.

Charlie McAvoy and James van Riemsdyk scored for the East-leading Bruins, who dropped to 1-3-1 in their last five home games.

John Mousinho saluted goalscoring heroes Myles Peart-Harris and Abu Kamara as League One leaders Portsmouth came from behind to beat Cambridge 3-1.

Kusini Yengi won and converted a penalty to cancel out Danny Andrew’s opener, before Peart-Harris – signed on loan from Brentford in January – and Kamara scored in the second half to earn the points before Yengi gave way to top scorer Colby Bishop.

Mousinho said: “Obviously happy with the win. We seemed to lose our shape for the first half-hour, and to be fair I thought Cambridge deserved the lead because of how poor we had been.

“It seemed to kick us into life and up until half-time we were much better, and it was important that we pulled that goal back before then.

“We were excellent in the second half, and it was satisfying to see the two goals. It was great to see Myles get his first, and Abu just keeps growing in confidence.

“Kusini was excellent having come in after being away with Australia, and it shows what we can do even with your top scorer on the bench.”

The one sour note for Mousinho was an injury to midfielder Tom Lowery, who was forced off before half-time.

“Tom Lowery has felt his hamstring, and it doesn’t look good,” said Mousinho. “It was decided he was ready to start a game, and I take responsibility for making that decision. We’re all gutted for him.”

The opening half-hour saw Pompey dominate but Cambridge’s confidence grew, and they were rewarded with the opener after 38 minutes. A corner was headed goalwards by Andrew and Will Norris could not keep the ball out.

That seemed to spring Pompey into life, and within six minutes the hosts had equalised. Yengi was brought down in the box and dusted himself down to send the goalkeeper the wrong way.

Cambridge started out the better side in the second half, with Pompey struggling to get any fluency.

But after 59 minutes they found their spark and went ahead as good build-up play saw Peart-Harris slide in to score from a Paddy Lane cross.

Cambridge pushed hard for an equaliser but Pompey got a third after 71 minutes when Kamara smashed home via the crossbar.

Cambridge boss Neil Harris said: “I was very pleased with our performance. I thought we were excellent until their second went in. We had a plan, and we were very good on the transition.

“We got ourselves in front with a well-worked corner, and we needed to keep that lead until half-time against the top team in the league in front of a near sell-out crowd but unfortunately, we conceded the penalty.

“We started the second half well and had a couple of chances, but then you get punished. I asked for a reaction to the home defeat on Saturday, and I got that. But if you don’t put your chances away, then you get punished, so we must be more clinical.

“We go to Carlisle on Saturday and it will be the same squad travelling. We must make sure that it’s not three losses on the bounce.”

Forty years of salchows and sequins have failed to diminish the memory of the most seminal moment in figure skating history.

Olympic medals have been won and lost, oceans of tears have been shed in the ‘kiss-and-cries’, quads have been celebrated, kneecaps have been clubbed, strawberry desserts have been allegedly ingested.

But Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean’s performance to Ravel’s ‘Bolero’ at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics remains the byword for skating beauty, the perfect moment that, for all the sport’s enduring majesty and penchant for controversy, remains unsurpassed.

The pair are in their late sixties now but they remain synonymous by their surnames, and their influence on the sport and its subsequent generations, increasingly due to their association with ITV’s ‘Dancing on Ice’ is as indelible as ever.

‘Bolero’ is still routinely used for Olympic programmes, mostly recently in Beijing in 2022 by 15-year-old Kamila Valieva, who wiped the mousse from her mouth and became the first female skater to land a quad jump to its creaking restrain.

But Ravel’s 1928 orchestral composition will always belong to Torvill and Dean, its opening bars instantly sweeping those of us of a certain age back to the night when we were one among 24 million others sat in front of our television sets to witness sporting history.

Dozens of British ice dancers have been both inspired and burdened by Torvill and Dean’s unrepeatable achievement. For the Kerr siblings, John and Sinead, two European bronze medals was enough to spark comparisons with their illustrious predecessors.

Speaking prior to their second Olympics in Vancouver in 2010, where they would finish a creditable but scarcely comparable eighth, John Kerr felt the need to remind an interviewer: “We are not the new Torvill and Dean and we never have been. We are ourselves.”

It has been a proven a more fruitful relationship for the current British number ones, Lewis Gibson and Lilah Fear, whose two European silver medals and current world ranking of two make them the most successful British ice dance pairing since the halcyon days of the 1980s.

Gibson was born in 1994, a full decade after that avalanche of uninterrupted sixes, so it is not the memory of that string of perfect sixes that inspired him to take up the sport, but rather Torvill and Dean’s professional after-life on ITV.

“I wouldn’t be here if they didn’t create (that),” Gibson told Olympics.com in 2022. “I remember watching that first episode and my mum shared with me where she was when she watched them (in 1984), so it came full circle.”

“They created the legacy of ice dance in Britain, they pushed the limits of the sport and did all these new things, and the pride we have for ice dance in Britain comes from them,” said Fear.

To mark the 30th anniversary of their famous moment in 2014, Torvill and Dean returned to the scene of their greatest moment for the first time, performing their routine in front of 5,000 spectators in an arena that had been ruined then rebuilt after the Bosnian war.

“I have thought back so often to that night and the thing I still remember more than anything is kneeling down to start the routine, and the way the crowd went silent,” said Torvill, as she prepared to reprise their routine inside the Zetra Ice Hall.

Forty years on, theirs is a legacy that shows no signs of defrosting.

British ice skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have marked the 40th anniversary of their Olympic gold success by announcing they will be retiring from skating together in 2025.

The duo from Nottingham wrote their names in British sporting history at the 1984 Winter Games following their routine to Ravel’s Bolero at the Zetra Olympic Hall in Sarajevo.

Forty years on from their Valentine’s Day performance, they have returned to Sarajevo to celebrate the day with the city, where they confirmed they will embark on one last UK tour next year.

Reflecting on how their golden moment inspired more appreciation of ice skating, Dean told the PA news agency: “That was really a launching pad of then going off to do other things.

“Touring around the world, skating in front of hundreds of thousands of people and then Dancing On Ice starting up because of winning the Olympics.”

Olympic glory followed a sustained period of success at the World, European and British Championships during the early part of the 1980s.

As they took to ice at the 1984 Winter Games, they did not skate for the first 20 seconds of their routine – in order to comply with Olympic rules – before they burst into life.

With intense passion and intensity on display, the finale saw the athletes collapse on the ice and lay motionless in each other’s arms, sparking a standing ovation inside the arena and perfect scores of 6.0 were awarded from the 12 judges.

Recalling the day, Torvill, 66, revealed they had not had many opportunities to practise the routine in the arena before the final but were given a 6am slot on the day which no other competitors in their training group turned up for due to the performance being that evening.

Dean, 65, said after they performed the routine, they heard a “ripple of applause all around the gods of the building” from the cleaners, a memory from the day which has stuck with them.

He recalled: “When you think about the whole day, nobody was there, and then as the day goes on, people start to fill the building and the competition happens and it gets to a climax and the gold medals are awarded.

“Then the people start to disappear and then you’re just left with how it was in the morning, we’re almost closing the door on the day.”

He also revealed that the Princess Royal waited for them in the Olympic village with Champagne to celebrate despite them not arriving until late after being held up by the Olympic doping checks after the performance.

Torvill and Dean turned professional after their Bolero performance but competed in the 1994 Winter Olympics, where they won bronze before retiring from competition.

They later branched out into touring, coaching and choreographing before becoming the faces of ITV’s Dancing On Ice, which ran from 2006 until 2014, and later becoming head judges on the show when it was revived in 2018.

The duo will now retire from dancing together following their upcoming tour – Torvill & Dean: Our Last Dance – which will run from April 12 to May 11, 2025.

The shows, including dates in London, Belfast, Newcastle and Glasgow, will celebrate 50 years since they formed their skating partnership in 1975.

Reflecting on the decision to draw things to a close, Dean said: “I think there comes a time when you know.

“We’re not spring chickens any more. We’re still able to do it to a certain degree that we feel good about it, but that will go.

“So I think this is the right time for us to be able to do that and go and skate and do some of the old routines, be very nostalgic, but then do some new fun, upbeat (dances) with friends of ours from the skating world and from Dancing On Ice.

“We’re looking at it as a celebration.”

Among those they have inspired is British ice skating number one Lewis Gibson, who has previously said he started skating after watching Dancing On Ice, and his ice skating partner Lilah Fear.

Torvill is sure they will get a medal at the next Winter Olympics in 2026, and hopes it will be a gold one, which will pump more money into the sport in the UK.

“You really need to build into the infrastructure at a very early age and that’s where the funding needs to be, is to support young skaters and staying with them, developing them all the way through”, Dean added.

:: ‘Torvill & Dean: Our Last Dance’ will travel across the UK from April 12 to May 11 2025, with tickets on sale from February 14 at TorvillandDean.com

Pep Guardiola was left to rue injuries to Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva after Manchester City returned to Champions League action with a 3-1 win at FC Copenhagen on Tuesday.

Grealish, handed his first start in six matches, lasted just 21 minutes of the holders’ largely straightforward last-16 first-leg success at Parken Stadium before being forced off with a groin injury.

Silva, who put City into a 2-1 lead just before the break with a fine flicked finish, took a knock to the ankle late in the game.

The double blow comes after Josko Gvardiol missed the game with an ankle injury and Mateo Kovacic was also unavailable.

City manager Guardiola said: “It’s something muscular with Jack, his groin.

“He felt it on the grass, started to complain. The players can feel it immediately if it’s muscular. It’s a pity, he’s gutted.

“He wanted to continue but we didn’t want to make the damage even worse. We’ll make tests tomorrow.

“Bernardo has a big knock in his ankle and Josko is out two to three weeks. Kova is ready to come back.”

The injuries took the gloss off what was a mainly comfortable night for City.

They took an early lead through Kevin De Bruyne and, dominant in all departments, should have led by more before Magnus Mattsson levelled after an Ederson error.

Silva restored the lead and Phil Foden gave the scoreline a more realistic look in stoppage time.

Guardiola said: “It was really, really good. I’m so proud we played at that tempo. It was perfect.

“We were patient in the right moments but it’s not done. I know how difficult it is.

“It’s not decisive but a good result. Hopefully we can finish at home in front of our own people and go to the next round.”

Danish champions Copenhagen had not played competitively for two months due to their league’s winter break and their rustiness was evident.

Coach Jacob Neestrup admitted it will now take something spectacular to progress but will not give up.

He said: “Of course it’s going to be difficult, but now we have three games in the Danish league where we need to get results. Then we take the away game, where we try to do our very, very best.

“The players did everything they could. I can’t blame them for anything. We played against a top, top team who know exactly what to do in every situation.

“I think City came with a very, very professional mindset. They took control of the game from the first second.”

A first goal of the season from Myles Peart-Harris helped Portsmouth maintain top spot with a 3-1 win over Cambridge.

The opening half-hour saw Pompey dominate, but Cambridge’s confidence grew and they were rewarded with the opener after 38 minutes.

A corner was headed goalwards by Danny Andrew, and Will Norris could not keep the ball out.

That seemed to spring Pompey into life, and within six minutes the hosts had equalised.

Kusini Yengi was brought down in the box, but he dusted himself down to send the goalkeeper the wrong way.

Cambridge started out the better side in the second half, with Pompey struggling to get any fluency.

But after 59 minutes, they found their spark and went ahead.

Good build-up play saw Peart-Harris slide in to score from a Paddy Lane cross.

Cambridge pushed hard for an equaliser, but Pompey got a third after 71 minutes when Abu Kamara smashed home via the crossbar.

Carlos Corberan hailed the impact of West Brom’s January recruitment drive as two new signings scored in his side’s 2-0 victory over Cardiff.

Winger Mikey Johnston, who arrived in the window on loan from Celtic, opened the scoring after just 30 seconds before Bristol City loanee Andreas Weimann emerged from the bench to secure the points in the 80th minute.

West Brom’s fifth win on the spin on home soil was significantly influenced by the new recruits, who have turned the heat up on Corberan’s pre-existing attacking options in competing for places – but that is something the Spaniard now relishes when selecting his team.

“It’s necessary to have these options,” Corberan said. “It’s something key, because if you don’t rotate the players, at the end you have more injuries.

“For us, as a club, it was necessary for us to add more attacking options, because we needed to increase the options we had. Right now, we’re using the players, because it’s necessary to have that impact from the bench.

“Our players now know that we have now good options. They believe in the team-mates they have. Our attacking players know that if they’re not at 100 per cent, we have others who will be. They understand it’s a strength we have and must use.

“It can never be a problem, to have two or three players competing in every position – now we have those alternatives.”

West Brom effectively began the match a goal ahead when Tom Fellows crossed for fellow winger Johnston, who stroked the ball home after just 30 seconds.

Cardiff tried to draw level prior to half-time, but Josh Wilson-Esbrand did not sufficiently worry Alex Palmer with his shot from distance.

Palmer would have been concerned, though, when Kion Etete met Aaron Ramsey’s header at the back post, and West Brom were thankful when the centre forward skewed his attempt over the bar from close range.

With it went the visitors’ most significant opening of the evening, and they were punished shortly afterwards when Jed Wallace collected a through-ball on the right and fired a cross in for Weimann to turn home.

For Cardiff manager Erol Bulut, there was only regret that his side did not take their one significant opportunity to equalise when the chance came their way.

“It’s difficult when you concede a goal in the first minute against West Brom, who are at home, with quality players,” he said.

“It’s not easy but we pushed really hard, especially in the second half, we had chances to score and make it 1-1, with Kion and with Ramsey.

“If you don’t score, it’s normal that at the end they get the second one, because we were pushing to get the second one.

“Opponents, when they get those chances they are scoring and we are not scoring. This is the difference. We have the chances, but we are not scoring.”

Liam Manning praised an exhilarating display by his Bristol City team after they demolished promotion-chasing Southampton 3-1.

The head coach was understandably elated after second-half goals from Sam Bell, Rob Dickie and substitute Harry Cornick had rewarded a scintillating display.

Bell converted a low Anis Mehmeti cross to break the deadlock after 52 minutes. Dickie headed the second from a Joe Williams corner 20 minutes later and Cornick fired home from a pass by fellow substitute Ross McCrorie eight minutes from time.

Southampton replied in added time when Adam Armstrong netted from the spot after a foul on Kyle Walker-Peters, but Russell Martin’s men could have no complaints.

Manning said: “It was the most complete performance since I took the job. Our levels have been good and consistent, but not always showing the ruthlessness we need.

“That was still the case in the first half tonight and Southampton got on top of us for 20 minutes or so.

“Apart from that, I couldn’t have asked for more. I’m really pleased for Sam Bell that he scored.

“I had a chat with him the day after he missed his shoot-out penalty at Nottingham Forest last week and his response to that disappointment in the FA Cup has been fantastic.

“It says a lot for the spirit in our camp that we have bounced back to win two tough Championship games.

“The players are buying into what I want and there is a real togetherness with them and the staff.

“Each individual knows his job and we are making progress.”

Southampton head coach Martin said: “I’m disappointed tonight, but immensely proud of the players for the run we have been on. To go 25 games unbeaten is phenomenal.

“Bristol City were really good and we lacked that energy and quality that has been winning us games during our good run.

“I’m annoyed at the goals we conceded and we need to work on that. They ran their socks off, worked so hard and caused us problems.

“But we had chances at 0-0 and 1-0 down, which could have changed things. We weren’t clean enough with the ball tonight, but still had periods of control.

“Our fans were brilliant and I’m disappointed for them. But the overall feeling is still one of immense pride at what we have achieved recently.

“The amazing run was always going to come to an end and now it is all about how we respond.”

Southampton now sit third in the table with a game in hand over second-placed Leeds two points above them.