Chelsea have continued to struggle in recent weeks despite their busy transfer activity during the January window.
The Blues have failed to score in their past three games, all defeats, and won only once in their past 11 games in all competitions.
Chelsea have only scored four goals in those 11 games this calendar year, with the situation putting pressure on new manager Graham Potter.
TOP STORY – CHELSEA TO TURN TO TAMMY
Chelsea could turn to former striker Tammy Abraham from Roma in the off-season, according to Football Insider.
There is a £70.5million (€80m) clause in Abraham's Roma contract that would allow the Blues to bring him back to Stamford Bridge which they intend to trigger, according to the report.
Chelsea have struggled for goals lately and view Abraham as a cheaper alternative to Napoli's Victor Osimhen.
ROUND-UP
– L'Equipe reports Kylian Mbappe will still leave Paris Saint-Germain in the near future even if he extends his contract. Mbappe's deal expires next year, but there is talk that PSG are looking to seal an extension for financial purposes.
– Arsenal have submitted a £35m (€40m) bid to sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio, claims Calciomercato. Fichajes says the Gunners are also interested in West Ham's Lucas Paqueta as another midfield option.
– Real Madrid will rival Barcelona and Chelsea in the pursuit to sign Inter midfielder Marcelo Brozovic, reports Corriere dello Sport.
– Barcelona are interested in signing Julian Alvarez from Manchester City on loan, claims Mundo Deportivo, while the English champions have offered him a one-year contract extension until 2028 on improved terms, according to Fabrizio Romano.
– Liverpool's plans to overhaul their midfield next season mean they have Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham, Fiorentina's Sofyan Amrabat and Brighton and Hove Albion's Moises Caicedo in their sights, per Fichajes.
– Football Insider reports Liverpool are also monitoring N'Golo Kante's situation at Chelsea with talks ongoing over a contract extension.
Second seed Marie Bouzkova suffered a shock first-round exit at the Monterrey Open losing in straight sets to world number 100 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova on Monday.
The Slovakian triumphed 6-4 6-2 in one hour and 46 minutes over the Czech who was a runner-up at this event in 2020.
Schmiedlova will take on American qualifier Caroline Dolehide in the second round after she knocked off Jule Niemeier 6-1 6-0.
Dolehide's dominance was impressive given she is ranked 206th in the world compared to 2022 Wimbledon quarter-finalist Niemeier at 69th.
Fifth seed Zhu Lin got past Hungary's Anna Bondar 6-4 7-6 (7-4), setting up a second-round clash with Canada's Rebecca Marino after she beat local wildcard Fernanda Contreras Gomez 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4).
Belgium's Ysaline Bonaventure triumphed in two hours and 20 minutes over Greek qualifier Despina Papamichail 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-1.
British qualifier Heather Watson toppled Danka Kovinic 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 in the first round of the ATX Open in Austin.
Seventh seed Alycia Parks was eliminated 6-4 4-6 6-4 by Swedish wild card Mirjam Bjorklund.
The Charlotte Hornets have confirmed point guard LaMelo Ball fractured his right ankle during Monday's 117-106 win over the Detroit Pistons.
Ball went down awkwardly with the ball in the third quarter, before being subbed out of the game.
The Hornets revealed the severity of the injury for the 2020 NBA Draft third overall selection after the game.
"Ball suffered a fracture in his right ankle in tonight’s home game vs. Detroit," the Hornets update said.
"Ball left the game in the third quarter and an x-ray taken at the arena revealed the fracture. Ball will be listed as out for the Hornets’ next game vs. Phoenix on March 1 and updates regarding his status will be provided as appropriate."
The 2022 NBA All-Star has struggled with his left ankle throughout the season, forcing him to miss multiple stretches of games.
The Hornets are 14th in the Eastern Conference with a 20-43 record and are not in playoff contention with 19 games remaining, although Hornets head coach Steve Clifford did not say how long Ball is expected to be out.
"It's just a basketball ankle and there is nothing that you can do about that," Clifford said.
Jayson Tatum was ejected for the first time in his NBA career as the New York Knicks extended their win streak to six games with a 109-94 victory over the Boston Celtics on Monday.
Tatum was tossed after remonstrating with the referees with 3:46 remaining in the fourth quarter with the Celtics destined for a defeat, which sees them drop below the Milwaukee Bucks atop the NBA standings.
The Bucks (43-17) are ahead of the Celtics (44-18) on percentage, marking the first time Boston have not been top of the league since December 22.
The Celtics were not helped by two-of-19 three-point shooting in the first half, the worst of any half this season.
Tatum played his part in that, finishing the game with 14 points on six-of-18 shooting from the field, with seven rebounds and nine assists. Marcus Smart added 19 points while Jaylen Brown was out for personal reasons.
The Knicks were led by Julius Randle and Immanuel Quickley who both scored 23 points, while Jalen Brunson added 17.
New York are 8-1 since February 5, marking the second-best record in the NBA during that period, while they have a point differential per game of 10.2 during that stretch, also second best in the league.
Butler acrobatics in Heat triumph
Jimmy Butler led the way as five Miami Heat players hit double figures in their 101-99 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Butler produced a go-ahead acrobatic reverse layup scoop with 1:28 remaining, finishing the game with 23 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
James Harden's game-winning three-point attempt bounced off the rim, meaning he scored 20 points with 12 assists. Joel Embiid top scored with 27 points and 12 rebounds, while Tyrese Maxey had 23 points off the bench.
The Heat have now won 13 games this season in one-score games, which is comfortably the most in the NBA.
Clutch Banchero leads Magic past Pels
Last year's NBA Draft top overall selection Paolo Banchero came up clutch in the dying minutes to lead the Orlando Magic past the New Orleans Pelicans 101-93.
Banchero finished with 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field with eight rebounds and four assists. The talent landed three clutch mid-range jumpers in the final few minutes.
Brandon Ingram top scored for the Pels, who continue to struggle without their former top NBA Draft pick Zion Williamson, with 25 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Neil Wagner claimed four wickets including the final scalp of James Anderson as New Zealand edged England by one run in a thrilling second Test in Wellington to earn a 1-1 series draw on Tuesday.
With the game on a knife's edge, Anderson tickled a leg-side Wagner delivery through to wicketkeeper Tom Blundell to clinch the victory, with England bowled out for 256 chasing 258 for victory.
Ben Foakes seemed destined to guide England to the win after taking the lead role after slumping to 215-8 but was caught by final-day hero Wagner at fine leg off Tim Southee for 35, leaving tail-enders Anderson and Jack Leach to finish the job.
They could not, with Wagner taking the final scalp to cap his 4-62 performance after Anderson had belted a boundary through midwicket to close within two runs of victory.
New Zealand became the fourth team in Test history to win a Test after being forced to follow on, with Player of the Match Kane Williamson's second-innings century helping them back into the contest. The Black Caps win preserves their unbeaten home Test series record dating back to 2017.
England had resumed on the final day at 48-1, but were five down by drinks in the first session as the Black Caps took control. Joe Root inexplicably ran out first-inning centurion Harry Brook for a diamond duck amid the madness.
Root and Ben Stokes responded with a 121-run sixth-wicket partnership where the former skipper led the way with an aggressive 95 that included eight fours and three sixes. But Stokes and Root both fell within two overs, both to Wagner.
Stuart Broad's brief cameo ended on 11 caught by Wagner at third man off Matt Henry to put New Zealand in the box seat, with England needing 43 more runs with two wickets in hand before Foakes expertly farmed the strike, only to fall short.
Black Caps claim rare follow-on win
New Zealand were looking to become only the fourth side in Test history to win a game after being forced to follow on and achieved the feat by the narrowest margin possible. The last side to manage that was India against Australia in Kolkata in March 2001.
Wagner's final-day heroics
Left-arm fast bowler Wagner was at his tireless best on the fifth day, including taking two key catches in the field for the wickets of Broad and Foakes.
Wagner broke the crucial stand of Stokes and Root too, with the all-rounder's one-handed swat from a short delivery looping up to Tom Latham at square leg. Root fell to Wagner with a premeditated shot straight up to Michael Bracewell at midwicket in his next over.
New Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder is hopeful of going on a run this season while also building a culture within the franchise.
The Hawks confirmed the appointment of Snyder on Sunday, replacing Nate McMillan, who was fired last week.
Snyder has been out of a job since leaving the Jazz at the end of last season, having led them to six straight playoff appearances.
Atlanta are eighth in the Eastern Conference with a 31-30 record but the appointment of ex-Utah Jazz head coach Snyder offers instant hope, although he said the decision to take over now rather than at the end of the season was not simple given the expectation of immediate results.
"As I thought about it, I think the opportunity to come in now, although maybe challenging, is also an opportunity to hopefully go on a run," Snyder told reporters.
"Also, and I think these things are not mutually exclusive, to begin to build a foundation, a culture. It's always a challenge, but those challenges are often most rewarding and the best opportunity."
The Hawks boast a strong roster featuring All-Stars Trae Young and Dejounte Murray and Snyder was bullish about getting the best out of them.
"I think players want to get better, and they want to be coached," Snyder said. "I think the relationships are what allows you to coach them effectively.
"In those things again, it's part of the reason I wanted to start now, and I think that our group here needs to just decide to trust each other. it's incumbent upon all of us – myself, first and foremost – to not violate that trust."
Hawks general manager Landry Fields said Snyder was their first choice and that he ticked all the boxes.
"Everything we were looking for, it was check, check, check," he said.
Dak Prescott’s seventh season with the Dallas Cowboys was an up-and-down affair.
Prescott helped lead Dallas to a 12-5 regular-season record and a Wild Card Round win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers - just the Cowboys’ fifth playoff victory since 1996.
But Prescott also threw 15 interceptions last season - tied for the most in the NFL - in just 12 games, and backup Cooper Rush was 4-1 while Prescott was out with a broken thumb.
Despite Prescott’s inconsistent year, executive vice president Stephen Jones believes the Cowboys have the right quarterback to win the franchise’s first Super Bowl since the 1995 season.
“I've got all the faith in the world we can win this thing with Dak,” Jones told reporters Monday at the scouting combine in Indianapolis.
"Because we know him. We know what he's about. His leadership skills are undeniable. Impeccable work ethic. Other than he hadn't won some key playoff games, he's everything you want in a quarterback.
"From the day he walked in the door, he's won a lot of games. We just got to get over the hump."
Prescott is signed through 2024, and his contract carries a cap hit of over $49 million in the 2023 season.
Assuming Dallas is as confident in him as Jones’ comments indicate, the Cowboys could sign Prescott to a contract extension to create extra salary cap space over the next few seasons.
“We've got to have a plan to ultimately extend Dak,” Jones said.
The Cowboys’ offense is poised to undergo a transformation after the departure of Kellen Moore, who served as the team’s offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2022.
Brian Schottenheimer takes over as OC in 2023, but veteran head coach Mike McCarthy will assume offensive play-calling duties.
“Obviously he's the head coach of this football team, and he made a compelling argument that making him the playcaller was going to help us,” Jones said. “I mean that's part of the coaching, be one click better. He feels good about it. He's had a lot of success as a playcaller.
“And he's observed for three years. I think he's been a super leader in that aspect in terms of having the respect for Kellen and the offensive group working with Dak, that that was the better way of doing it.”
Despite the continuity of McCarthy and Prescott remaining in place, Jones thinks that the Cowboys’ offense could evolve in 2023.
“I think [McCarthy] believes now, although they believe in a lot of things the same, there's that 15-20% that they don't. And I think that Mike just thinks that they'll do more with the way he wants to do it [and] that we'll be a better offensive football team.
“I just think it's some of it's the fundamentals, how you block it, how you coordinate and marry the run game to the pass game, what your pass game is philosophically, what your run game is philosophically.”
LeBron James is missing the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Memphis Grizzlies after appearing to sustain an injury in his last outing.
James was clearly limping by the end of Sunday's win over the Dallas Mavericks.
The 38-year-old went down in some pain late in the third quarter of that game, although replays showed there was no contact with a Mavericks player.
Now, the Lakers have confirmed James will not play any part against the Grizzlies on Tuesday, listing his right foot soreness on their injury report.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski has reported James is feared to be out for several weeks although he is still undergoing further testing.
James said after Sunday's game his foot had "been better".
The team have increasingly limited options, with D'Angelo Russell already doubtful due to the right ankle sprain that kept him out of the Mavericks game.
Anthony Davis was probable to play despite what the Lakers described as a right foot stress injury.
The 29-32 Lakers are a game back from the play-in places in the Western Conference.
LeBron James is missing the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Memphis Grizzlies after appearing to sustain an injury in his last outing.
James was clearly limping by the end of Sunday's win over the Dallas Mavericks.
The 38-year-old went down in some pain late in the third quarter of that game, although replays showed there was no contact with a Mavericks player.
Now, the Lakers have confirmed James will not play any part against the Grizzlies on Tuesday, listing his right foot soreness on their injury report.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski has reported James is feared to be out for several weeks, although he is still undergoing further testing.
James said after Sunday's game his foot had "been better".
The team have increasingly limited options, with D'Angelo Russell already doubtful due to the right ankle sprain that kept him out of the Mavericks game.
Anthony Davis was probable to play despite what the Lakers described as a right foot stress injury.
The 29-32 Lakers are a game back from the play-in places in the Western Conference.
All-Star Draymond Green's MRI on his bruised right knee has come back clean with the Golden State Warriors listing him as probable for Tuesday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr offered the positive update, having revealed on Monday that Green had suffered a "setback" after the injury "flared up" again.
Green has missed the Warriors' past two games, wins over the Houston Rockets and the Minnesota Timberwolves, due to the knee issue.
"[Green] practised today, so seems to be on the right track, but we'll see tomorrow," Kerr told reporters, having said Green was questionable before the side later updated him as probable for Tuesday.
The four-time NBA champion suffered the injury in Thursday's 124-111 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers when he clashed knees with Jarred Vanderbilt.
The reigning NBA champions are already without two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry due to a leg injury and Andrew Wiggins for personal reasons.
Golden State are seventh in the Western Conference with a 31-30 record.
If Manchester United are not already back, they will be "sooner or later", according to rival manager Pep Guardiola.
United beat Newcastle United 2-0 in Sunday's EFL Cup final to win their first major honour in six years.
Victory at Wembley brought tangible reward for an impressive first season under Erik ten Hag, who has United third in the Premier League and still in the Europa League and FA Cup.
There have been false dawns for United previously in the post-Alex Ferguson era, but Guardiola, the Manchester City boss, was asked if they were now "back".
"First and foremost, congratulations to United for the Carabao Cup, for the final – Newcastle as well, that the game was entertaining," Guardiola said.
"Yes, sooner or later, it should happen, shouldn't it? Couldn't it? It should happen. Welcome."
United, in the midst of a takeover saga, would be a more serious threat if they "spend a little bit more money" according to the City manager.
Assessing Ten Hag's side, Guardiola added: "It's normal, they are in the position they normally should be.
"But the reality, with those teams, especially Liverpool and Manchester United, in the last years what we have done is incredible, the numbers. Always when I landed here, I thought United always would be there for the history, for everything.
"So, Erik is doing incredible job. The players, you see how committed they are, how all together they try to do it.
"When you have many years, five, six years without winning one title, when you have that challenge... I remember when we won the first Carabao Cup, when we travelled to win the Carabao Cup, and everyone was so excited to do it.
"[For the] staff it was new, for the players it was new. The fourth time we travelled there to win the fourth Carabao Cup in a row, it was okay, it was another one and another day in the office. It's normal, that is normal.
"United has to be there. [City are] always having big opponents that we were better than in previous seasons and now it's close. And I thought that would happen in the Premier League."
Carson Wentz has been released by the Washington Commanders a year after the team traded for the quarterback.
The Commanders moved for Wentz ahead of the 2022 season, sending two third-round picks to the Indianapolis Colts and swapping their second-round pick last year.
But it was another injury-wrecked year for Wentz, whose departure from the team was confirmed in a statement on Monday.
The statement read: "The Commanders believed that Wentz could use his veteran experience to push Washington to the playoffs, but after missing over half the season with his injury, those hopes ultimately did not pan out."
Wentz has never rediscovered the form that earned him an All-Pro selection in the 2017 season before he missed the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl win through injury.
There were promising signs at the start of his year in Washington as he threw for 650 yards and seven touchdowns across the first two games.
But Wentz's performances had fallen away even before he broke his right ring finger in Week 6, ruling him out until the fourth quarter of the Week 16 game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Wentz becomes a free agent ahead of the 2023 campaign, with his release saving the Commanders around $26million in salary cap space.
Alexia Putellas has been crowned the Best FIFA Women's Player, denying England's female representatives a clean sweep at Monday's ceremony.
Sarina Wiegman and Mary Earps had earlier been crowned the Best FIFA Women's Coach and the Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper respectively following England's Euro 2022 success on home soil last year.
But Beth Mead, the Euro 2022 Player of the Tournament and Golden Boot winner, missed out to Barcelona and Spain midfielder Putellas.
Putellas, who won the Primera Division with Barcelona in 2021-22 but missed the Euros with an ACL injury, is now a two-time winner of the award after also coming out on top last year.
"If you have a dream and fight for it as hard as you can, you can achieve that dream," Putellas said upon collecting the award. "The most important thing is to enjoy yourself along the way."
San Diego Wave and United States forward Alex Morgan was the other candidate in the running to land the award.
Putellas, Mead and Morgan all appeared in the FIFPro Women's World 11, although Earps missed out to Christiane Endler.
England also had Lucy Bronze, Leah Williamson and Keira Walsh in the team.
Lionel Messi has been named the Best FIFA Men's Player.
The Paris Saint-Germain superstar and Barcelona great won the award for the second time, beating club-mate Kylian Mbappe and last year's Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema to the prize.
With the award spanning the time between August 8, 2021 and December 18 last year – from the start of last season to the end of the World Cup – Messi's success in Qatar ultimately gave him the edge.
Using Opta data, Stats Perform looks at Messi's crowning year.
Starting slow in Paris
It has not all been rosy for Messi over the course of the last 18 months.
Barca's inability to renew his contract led to Messi swapping Camp Nou for the Parc des Princes and forming a mouth-watering front trio with Mbappe and Neymar.
Yet it took some time for him to click into gear in France.
Messi finished the 2021-22 Ligue 1 season with six goals, his lowest tally in a league campaign since his breakthrough at Barcelona in the 2005-06 season.
He underperformed his expected goals total of 10.1 by just over four, suggesting he was not finishing chances he would have been expected to, while he only netted once in his first 12 Ligue 1 matches. He was also slightly unfortunate, hitting the woodwork on 11 occasions.
Yet Messi did create – he tallied 14 assists in Ligue 1 alone, creating 63 chances. Having Mbappe and Neymar alongside him no doubt helped (his xA was 9.0), but he ultimately finished with 20 goal contributions in France's top tier.
Messi had more luck in the Champions League, scoring five goals in seven appearances, slightly outperforming his non-penalty xG (three goals from 2.4 npxG).
Back at his best
Any teething issues Messi experienced last season have been swiftly forgotten this term.
Indeed, in the run-up to the World Cup, Messi had already contributed to 25 goals (11 goals, 14 assists) in 18 appearances for PSG across all competitions.
None of Messi's goals came from the penalty spot, topping his npxG of 9.5.
Heading to Qatar, Messi had contributed to more PSG goals than either Mbappe or Neymar (24 each) in fewer matches.
Messi's shot conversion rate (14.9 per cent) was lower than Mbappe's 23.5 and Neymar's 27.1, but he had completed more dribbles (55) and created chances with a greater combined xA (8.6) than either.
It took time, but the signs were scary for Argentina's opponents heading into the World Cup, and it's that tournament that has inevitably given him the edge for these awards.
On top of the world... at last
The one criticism that could have been levelled at Messi previously was that the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner had not managed to transfer his form to the international stage.
After winning the Copa America in 2021, Messi ended that argument in emphatic fashion in Qatar, channelling his inner Diego Maradona as, like the great man in 1986, he dragged Argentina to glory at a World Cup.
The 35-year-old scored seven goals, including two in the final, and provided three assists to claim the Golden Ball award, although of course it is the main prize that will matter the most to him.
Messi became the first player to net in the group stage, the last 16, the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final – albeit Jairzinho scored in every game Brazil played in 1970 before the introduction of the round of 16.
Messi and Jairzinho are two of five players in World Cup history to have found the net in six separate games at one finals, with the other three (Just Fontaine, Salvatore Schillaci and Davor Suker) boosting their numbers in the third-place play-off.
He also matched Schillaci in scoring the first goal in five different matches.
Messi topped the charts for shots attempted (32), chances created from open play (17) and fouls won (22).
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