Eoin Morgan declared England can be "regarded as one of the great sides" after T20 World Cup glory at the MCG on Sunday.

Former limited-overs England captain Morgan skippered his side to Cricket World Cup 50-over success in 2019, before falling short in the semi-finals of the T20 edition of the world competition in 2021.

The 36-year-old stepped down from his role in June, allowing Jos Buttler to take charge of the white-ball sides, and England triumphed in their captain's first tournament at the helm.

A five-wicket victory with six balls remaining over Pakistan in the final means England are now dual white-ball world champions, with Morgan suggesting Buttler's side have cemented their place in history.

"This team deserves it," Morgan said on Sky Sports. "They've been through the mill in the group stages and they've produced close to their very best against India in the semi-final.

"Jos Buttler said, 'We don't want to be known as a team just for our style of play'. We were known like that in 50 overs then won the 50-over World Cup in 2019.

"In T20 they've now won something tangible to be regarded as one of the great sides. They were excellent."

Ben Stokes, as has been the case across multiple formats in recent years, proved to be the hero with an unbeaten 52, seeing England over the line after they were reeling at 45-3 chasing 138.

From Headingley in the Ashes in 2019, to his Lord's heroics in the Cricket World Cup final earlier that year, Morgan heralded Stokes as the man for the big occasion.

"Ben is just such a special player," Morgan added. "In big games he continues to stand up for his country when his country needs him. That is such an incredible skill to have.

"When something has the potential to go awry, Ben is the guy that thinks coolly and calmly under pressure and makes brilliant decisions. He's done it so many times now.

"At certain stages of my captaincy I did take it [Stokes' role] for granted because he continued to be able to produce under pressure all the time.

"He always wants to be in the game and is that player who continually nags you to get in the high-pressure moments. It's a complete luxury to have a guy like Ben Stokes at your disposal."

While Stokes became just the third player to score 50-plus runs in both an ODI World Cup and T20 World Cup final (also Gautam Gambhir and Kumar Sangakkara), Sam Curran played an important role.

Left-arm seamer Curran picked up 1-12 from his four overs, marking his 13th scalp of the tournament – the second-most by a pacer in any single edition of the tournament (Dirk Nannes - 14 wickets in 2010).

"It [Curran's World Cup performance] is extraordinary," Morgan continued. "He really has been a find in all parts of the game. Jos Buttler has brought him on in the powerplay, used him through the middle and the biggest plus has been his death bowling.

"He has really stood up and bowled with a huge amount of skill and clarity. To produce in a World Cup final is extraordinary from someone that young. When his team needed him, Sam Curran did it today."

A last-gasp Nikola Milenkovic own goal handed Milan a 2-1 victory over Fiorentina at San Siro on Sunday to cut Napoli's lead at the top of Serie A.

Rafael Leao opened the scoring after just two minutes, but Fiorentina responded fiercely, finding an equaliser before the half-hour mark through Antonin Barak's deflected effort.

It appeared Milan would have to settle for a share of the points, which would have seen them sit 10 behind Napoli, but a remarkable end saved the hosts.

Milenkovic diverted the ball into his own net to deny Fiorentina in cruel fashion, with their appeals for VAR to intervene being waved away.

The hosts came out of the blocks flying, Olivier Giroud flicking a pass for Leao to charge into the box and slot home into the bottom-right corner with just two minutes on the clock.

Fiorentina had a swift chance to equalise, Riccardo Saponara smashing an effort against the frame of the goal, before pulling level minutes before the half-hour mark as Barak's drive took a wicked deflection off Malick Thiaw to beat Ciprian Tatarusanu.

Milan were back on the front foot at the start of the second period, Giroud forcing a close-range save from Pietro Terracciano and Leao thumping an attempt wide of the post.

At the other end, a superb last-ditch tackle from Fikayo Tomori on Jonathan Ikone kept Fiorentina at bay, with a VAR check confirming no infringement from the England international.

Tomori was again on hand to prevent Ikone, clearing off the line, which proved to be decisive when Milenkovic sent the ball into his own net after Terracciano failed to punch the ball away.

Alejandro Garnacho came off the bench to score a stoppage-time winner as Manchester United signed off for the World Cup break with a dramatic 2-1 win at Fulham on Sunday.

Erik ten Hag's team hit the front through Christian Eriksen's first United goal early on, but they looked set to be denied by their former winger Dan James when he levelled within two minutes of entering the fray.

Fulham appeared the more likely winners from there as United relied on a string of saves from David de Gea, but Garnacho slotted home three minutes into stoppage time to stun Craven Cottage.

The 18-year-old's composed finish lifted United to within three points of the Premier League's top four, ensuring the Red Devils entered the six-week hiatus in positive mood.

Jose Mourinho says he was "humble enough to apologise" to referee Antonio Rapuano after accepting he deserved his latest red card in Roma's late 1-1 draw with Torino.

Roma head coach Mourinho was sent to the stands in the 88th minute with his side a goal down for repeatedly protesting decisions made by the official in Sunday's fiery contest.

Mourinho watched on from the Stadio Olimpico stands as Nemanja Matic rescued a point with a 94th-minute goal – Roma's latest at home in the league in 12 years.

The 59-year-old is no stranger to being given his marching orders and did not react kindly to being banished from the sidelines, but he later held his hands up for his actions.

"It was the right decision – my words to the referee deserved a red card," he told DAZN. "I spoke to him after and apologised, but I don’t want to talk about his performance. 

"I was humble enough to apologise, but I will leave his performance and the hypothetical influence on the match to you. 

"I don't want to talk about what we said, that was private. My words deserved a red card, but I will not judge the referee's performance."

Matic's dramatic late leveller came immediately after substitute Paulo Dybala had hit the frame of the goal, while former Torino striker Andrea Belotti missed an injury-time penalty just moments earlier in an exciting end to the contest.

Mourinho's side enter the World Cup break seventh in Serie A after winning just one of their past five matches.

The 10 points the Giallorossi have collected from their opening seven home league games this term is their lowest return since the 2005-06 season, when accruing eight.

Roma's disappointing form has coincided with Dybala's month-long absence from the side, with the Argentina international making a difference on his return against Torino.

"There are two games tonight – one until the 70th minute and one after," Mourinho said. "Until the 70th, Roma fans wanted to just go home.

"But in the final 20 minutes we created more, perhaps more than we have done in the last four or five games. Why? Easy, because Dybala came on.

"When you have a player like Paulo and he doesn't play, it's different. How many extra points would we have now if Dybala hadn't been injured? 

"The break is coming up, it will be the right moment for certain players to look at themselves and try a little self-criticism.

"Despite all these problems, we are a united group. A team that misses a penalty at the 92nd minute is usually dead, but not us, we kept going."

Roma host Bologna on their return to action on January 4, before travelling to reigning champions Milan four days later.

Casper Ruud opened his ATP Finals campaign with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 triumph over Felix Auger-Aliassime in Turin.

The victory put Ruud top of the Green Group, with the pool's two other players, Rafael Nadal and Taylor Fritz, set to face off later on Sunday.

A tight first set saw each game go to serve as it went all the way to a tie-break, with Ruud – this year's beaten US Open finalist – finding a crucial break at 3-2 up, giving him the momentum to nose ahead.

They continued to be closely matched in the second set too, though Ruud again managed to break Auger-Aliassime at a critical juncture in the match.

With the set tied at three apiece, ATP Finals debutant Auger-Aliassime double-faulted at 40-15 down on his own serve to put Ruud within two games of victory.

The world number four took full advantage, who is making his second appearance in the season-ending tournament, kicking on to secure a straight-sets success without offering a single break point to begin his tournament in impressive fashion.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Ruud - 5/1

Auger-Aliassime - 14/3

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Ruud - 19/5

Auger-Aliassime - 30/9

BREAK POINTS WON

Ruud - 1/1

Auger-Aliassime - 0/0

Kalidou Koulibaly implored Chelsea players "to look each other in the eye" with the Blues players the only "culprits" for the increasing pressure on Graham Potter.

Head coach Potter became the first Blues manager since Jose Mourinho in 2015 to lose three consecutive Premier League matches following a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United.

The tepid nature of the Chelsea showing offered more reason for concern after the Blues managed just seven touches in the opposition box, their lowest since January against Manchester City.

With Potter's side eight points adrift of the Premier League's top four, albeit with a game in hand over fourth-placed Tottenham, Koulibaly urged his team-mates to take responsibility for their recent form.

"It hurts, we came here to take three points,'' the Senegal international told Canal Plus.

''We knew that they were in a good moment, that they are putting on the intensity and that especially at home they have their audience behind them. 

"Today, Chelsea are not in their place and the only culprits are us. So we must look each other in the eye and continue to work to put Chelsea in their place.''

The World Cup break could come at a good time for Chelsea as the Premier League pauses, with the Blues not in action again until a home clash with Bournemouth on December 27.

Koulibaly will head to the Middle East with Senegal, who are in Group A alongside hosts Qatar, Ecuador and the Netherlands, though he hopes Chelsea can atone for their mistakes after the break.

He added: ''The break comes at a good time for us, we need to recharge the batteries, think about something else and come back after the World Cup with a different mentality."

Christophe Galtier admitted he was concerned about fielding Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in Paris Saint-Germain's final match before the World Cup.

Messi returned from a minor Achilles injury to join Neymar and Mbappe in PSG's star-studded attack for their routine 5-0 win over Auxerre at the Parc des Princes on Sunday.

Mbappe opened the scoring early on before Carlos Soler scored one and set up Achraf Hakimi for another as PSG eased towards a seventh straight win in all competitions.

Galtier was able to replace Messi and Neymar in the 75th minute, with substitutes Renato Sanches and Hugo Ekitike helping themselves to a goal apiece.

While the superstar forward trio were eager to play a part in the contest, Galtier was glad all three came through unscathed before heading off to Qatar.

"The afternoon is perfect. I can't even say almost perfect, it's perfect," Galtier told Amazon Prime. 

"We only conceded one chance and had a serious match that everyone wanted to play. Nobody was particularly concerned about the World Cup. 

"It was probably me who was the most [concerned]. That's why I wanted to relieve Ney and Leo. Kylian stayed on the pitch, but he is 23 years old. 

"Ney had also stopped in the middle of the week during a session, while Leo was coming back from an overload in the calf. I'm happy with the entries of Renato and Hugo."

PSG have gone 22 matches without defeat under Galtier, winning 18 of those, and enter the World Cup break five points clear of surprise package Lens.

The Parisians have reached the 40-point mark after 15 games for the fifth time in their history, with no other team in Ligue 1 history doing so on a single occasion.

Galtier will now enjoy a short hiatus, which includes taking in a few World Cup groups in Qatar, the home of PSG's mega-rich backers.

"I'm going to take advantage of being with my family and my granddaughter," he said. 

"And then I'm going to Doha for four days to see three matches, including the match for the France team, alongside my president and my leaders."

Sunday's contest marked the first time since Messi arrived ahead of last season that PSG have scored four goals in a row without one of their superstar attackers being involved.

It was also a welcome first clean sheet in five matches for Galtier's side, with defender Presnel Kimpembe being used as a substitute ahead of linking up with the France squad.

"The World Cup is something we've been thinking about for a while, albeit in the back of our minds," said Kimpembe, who has had hamstring issues this season. 

"Now the first part of the season is over, we can focus solely on the France team. I was never worried about picking up an injury beforehand.

"Playing minutes today felt good. I am feeling positive, but the fact I was brought onto the field shows everything is fine."

Robert Lewandowski expected Barcelona "would not win everything" in his first season as he called for patience with the rebuild at Camp Nou.

Xavi's side head into the World Cup break two points clear of Real Madrid at the LaLiga summit but crashed out of the Champions League in the group stages for the second season in a row.

Having brought in the likes of Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde alongside a host of high-profile free transfers, their European failures have placed some scrutiny on Blaugrana coach Xavi.

But Lewandowski suggested it was always going to take time for Barca to regain their Spanish and European dominance, owing to the transformative period the Blaugrana are going through.

"I knew that in my first season at Barcelona, we were not going to win everything," he told Marca. "This team is still being rebuilt, and it needs time, this is part of the process.

"We should be playing the next round of the Champions League, but we have learnt a lot, especially because we have a lot of young players.

"We made a few mistakes and at this level, you must always be ready. It doesn't matter how you do it, you need to learn how to win."

Despite falling out of the Champions League, Lewandowski says the marked improvements with Xavi's side are already noticeable.

"I think that even in a few months, you can see the progress we've made at Barcelona," he continued. "At the beginning of next year, we can show our better performances, and we can grow up as a team.

"Even next season will be much better, and we'll have more stability. In football, you can win a lot in a short amount of time. We've had a lot of injuries and as a result we lost a lot of stability. 

"In that sense, we haven't had much luck. In just a few weeks we lost a lot of players. Then, when you consider we also had to play a new system with a new set of players, it made things even more difficult.

"But now we've learnt from this and now we can move forward."

The 33-year-old scored 50 goals across all competitions last season, the most across Europe's top five leagues, as Bayern Munich lifted their 10th Bundesliga title in a row.

Lewandowski also broke Gerd Muller's long-standing Bundesliga record by scoring 41 goals in a single season in the 2020-21 campaign, while his 43 league goals in 2021 serve as the record for a calendar year in Germany's top tier.

Having accumulated 344 goals and 57 assists across 375 appearances in all competitions for Bayern, Lewandowski says he left Julian Nagelsmann's side as he needed a new challenge.

"It was a very tough decision but I knew it was the right moment for me to leave. At Bayern, I had everything under control and I was in my comfort zone," he added. 

"But, in my head, I knew it was my team to leave, I wanted to play a long career and continue to be happy.

"When I started to talk to Barca, I knew for my personal and footballing life, the best decision was to move to Barcelona to play in LaLiga. It was always my dream to play in La Liga.

"Also, I didn't want to play my entire life just in one league and that was another reason, even after I won everything at Bayern.

"I will always be proud and grateful for that, but my head was clear, and I wanted to move on to Barcelona. I have a new happiness now."

Paris Saint-Germain restored their five-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 ahead of the World Cup break with a routine 5-0 win over Auxerre at the Parc des Princes on Sunday.

Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring early on following some good build-up play from Lionel Messi, who returned from injury to join the France forward and Neymar in attack. 

A seventh win in a row for PSG in all competitions never looked in doubt when Carlos Soler added a second goal and then assisted Achraf Hakimi for the home side's third.

Christophe Galtier made full use of his squad depth and substitutes Renato Sanches and Hugo Ekitike added gloss to the scoreline with a couple of late goals.

The serene nature of the contest ensured Galtier could replace a number of PSG's Qatar-bound stars, with no players sustaining an injury problem of any sort.

Messi sent a delightful lofted ball over the Auxerre defence for Nuno Mendes to deliver a first-time pass towards Mbappe, who in turn helped it over the line with 11 minutes gone.

The goal stood following a VAR check for a possible handball against Neymar, but Auxerre nearly levelled as M'Baye Niang forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into a fine save.

PSG toiled before Mendes took the ball past a couple of players and picked out Soler to glance a header away from Benoit Costil and in off the far post early in the second half.

Soler turned provider six minutes later when playing in Hakimi to coolly slot past Costil from a one-on-one position.

Messi hit the post but could not get his name on the scoresheet, though Sanches fired in off the post before fellow substitute Ekitike profited from some poor defending to coolly add a fifth.

Two Edin Dzeko goals helped Inter move clear of Atalanta and into Serie A's top form with a 3-2 win at Bergamo going into the World Cup break.

Inter trailed to Ademola Lookman's penalty on Sunday, but Dzeko scored either side of half-time to swing the game back in the visitors' favour.

Dzeko's second effort benefited from a deflection off Joakim Maehle, and Atalanta helped the Nerazzurri out again when Jose Luis Palomino put through his own net for the third.

Although Palomino later scored at the right end, it was too little, too late, as Inter opened up a three-point gap to Atalanta, level on points with second-placed Lazio ahead of the rest of the day's action.

Atalanta had started the brighter of the two sides, with Duvan Zapata seeing a pair of early chances blocked before he was caught by Stefan de Vrij's outstretched leg for a penalty that Lookman cleanly converted.

The goal stunned Inter out of their torpor, pushing them onto the front foot, and they were rewarded with Dzeko's finish after the ball was helped into his path by a Lautaro Martinez header.

Atalanta had hoped to reassert their hold on the match following the interval but instead contributed to their own downfall as a combination of Dzeko and Maehle sent Inter in front from Federico Dimarco's cross.

Palomino then glanced an Inter corner past goalkeeper Juan Musso, meaning his own riposte – a diving header with 13 minutes to play – was not enough to recover an Atalanta result.

England won the T20 World Cup after Ben Stokes' first ever T20I half-century helped them to a five-wicket victory over Pakistan in Sunday's final at the MCG.

Excellent bowling in particular from Adil Rashid and Sam Curran held Pakistan to just 137-8, and England overcame some nervy moments in the chase to win their second T20 World Cup.

After England won the toss and opted to bowl in Melbourne, Pakistan struggled to get going, mustering just four boundaries on their way to 68-2 after 10 overs.

Despite Shan Masood's best efforts (38 runs from 28 balls), England then tore through Pakistan's middle order, Curran finishing with excellent figures of 3-12.

Pakistan required early wickets, and Shaheen Afridi found just what they needed with the final ball of the first over, sending an absolute ripper crashing through Alex Hales' middle stump.

Jos Buttler and Phil Salt steadied the ship before Salt was dismissed in the fourth over when smashing Haris Rauf's delivery straight to the waiting Iftikhar Ahmed, before Rauf then claimed the key wicket of Buttler (26 off 17) as the England skipper nicked behind.

England were now in real peril of letting the game and tournament slip through their fingers, though an important third-wicket stand took them to 84-4 before Brook fell for 20 from 23 deliveries, Afridi taking the catch off Shadab Khan's bowling.

Afridi injured himself in his role in that dismissal, and though he tried to return, he could only bowl one ball of his third over before being forced off the field.

Stokes and Moeen Ali took full advantage, nailing boundaries as they closed in on the target, with Moeen hitting three fours in the 17th over to take England within 12 of victory.

He was removed in the 19th over by Mohammad Wasim, but Stokes and Liam Livingstone finished the job, with Stokes hitting the winning run to end on 52 off 49 deliveries and win the tournament for his nation.

Curran shines in brightest moment

In the biggest game of his young career, Curran's 3-12 and 15 dot balls were key in restricting Pakistan to a score of just 137.

Along with Rashid (2-22), England's bowling attack set their star batting order up to go and win the game, which they just about managed.

Stokes comes up trumps again

Stokes, one of England's main men over recent years, came up huge for his country yet again with a vital innings to help them to victory.

Coming in with England 32-2 after 3.3 overs, Stokes' first ever T20I half-century came at the perfect time to add another historic performance to his already impressive resume.

Jamal Musiala can become a Bayern Munich club legend in the vein of Lionel Messi at Barcelona after notching a century of Bundesliga games, says Lothar Matthaus.

The teenager became the youngest-ever player to notch 100 matches in the top flight for the Bavarian giants against Schalke on Saturday.

At just 19 years and 259 days, it marks the latest feat for the Germany international, who set up both goals in his side's 2-0 win at the Veltins Arena.

Having made history, Musiala was in line for plaudits from Matthaus, who believes the midfielder can enshrine his legacy if he chooses to remain with the club across the rest of his career.

"That's like Messi. That's Hollywood. He must never leave Bayern," he told Sky. "He always has to play. His value is a quarter of a billion."

With 20 goal involvements across all competitions, Musiala leads German players across all competitions for the season, underscoring his value for club and country.

He will head to the World Cup with Hansi Flick's national team following this weekend, with Germany's campaign set to open against Japan on November 23.

The Brooklyn Nets secured their third win from their past four games led by Kevin Durant and Seth Curry as they pulled away late to secure a 110-95 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.

Durant top scored with 27 points along with six rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks, while Curry drained four three-pointers in his 22 points off the bench. Nic Claxton also had 13 points with 14 rebounds.

Curry scored 14 points with two assists in the fourth quarter as the Nets extended their four-point lead with a 35-24 final period.

The Nets, who confirmed the permanent appointment of Jacque Vaughn as head coach on Wednesday, were excellent defensively again, keeping their opposition below 100 points for the fifth straight game.

For the Clippers, who were still without Kawhi Leonard due to knee stiffness, Paul George scored 17 points with four rebounds and four assists, while Ivica Zubac added 16 points with 15 rebounds.

Nets guard Edmond Sumner (11 points, four assists and three steals) reached double-figure scoring for the third time in five games since stepping into the starting lineup in place of Kyrie Irving for a team-imposed suspension.

Irving's five-game minimum suspension has now ended but Vaughn confirmed he would not play in Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The victory starts the Nets' four-game road trip in style, improving Brooklyn to 6-7 on the season, while the Clippers are 7-6.

Doncic responds after form dip

Luka Doncic responded to his drop-off in form with 42 points as part of a triple-double as the Dallas Mavericks won 117-112 over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Doncic had started the season with an historic run of nine 30-point games, but that was halted in the past two games, both where he scored less than 30.

The Slovenian guard turned that around on 13-of-22 field shooting, also making 15-of-18 from the stripe, along with 13 rebounds, 10 assists and two steals.

Tatum and Embiid both score 40-plus

Jayson Tatum reached 40 points for the 13th time in his career, the third most in Boston Celtics history, as he scored 43 points in their 117-108 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Tatum finished with 43 points, including seven three-pointers, along with 10 rebounds and three assists. The Celtics small forward scored 28 of his points in a dominant first half.

Joel Embiid produced a season-best scoring return of 42 points as the Philadelphia 76ers triumphed 121-109 over the Atlanta Hawks after a brilliant first-half shooting display.

Last year's top overall NBA Draft pick Cade Cunningham will miss at least the next four games for the Detroit Pistons due to left shin soreness.

The Pistons made that announcement prior to Saturday's 117-108 loss to the Boston Celtics, with the 21-year-old point guard to be re-evaluated in a week.

Cunningham is averaging 19.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game this season for the Pistons who are 3-11.

The former Oklahoma State guard failed to score double digits for the first time this season in his last outing, Wednesday's 128-112 loss to the Boston Celtics.

The second-year guard only played a season-low 24 minutes in Wednesday's game and finished with four points on one-of-11 shooting.

Angel Correa and Joao Felix struck to give out-of-form Atletico Madrid a 2-0 victory at fifth-tier Almazan to reach the Copa del Rey second round.

Atletico have not won in five LaLiga matches but a dominant first-half display saw Correa put them 1-0 up at the break when he took advantage of a mistake from Almazan goalkeeper Alberto Gonzalez.

Felix added a smart second after the break, beating his man before clinically firing into the back of the net to make the game safe.

Atletico consequently cruise into the next round of a competition they have won 10 times, though not since the 2012-13 season.

Correa had already tested Gonzalez by the time Marcos Llorente hit the crossbar with a bouncing effort after Antoine Griezmann's free-kick fell at this feet.

Koke's deflected shot also rattled the woodwork after more fine Griezmann work and Gonzalez made a superb stop to deny Llorente's low drive.

But Felix's long-range shot was too hot for Gonzalez to handle with Correa tapping in the rebound 10 minutes before the break.

Felix added a sublime second in the 63rd-minute, shifting onto his left foot outside the box before rifling into the bottom-right corner.

Griezmann thought he had added a third when he deftly steered home Nahuel Molina's cross, though the offside flag went up to curtail his celebrations.

Koke missed a great opportunity to round out the scoring late on, but he could only side-foot wide.