Snowboarding star Shaun White has spoken of his "beautiful journey" after confirming his retirement following the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

White was emotional last Friday as he competed in his final event at the Winter Games, the men's halfpipe, where he agonisingly finished in fourth place.

The American is the first and so far only snowboarder to win three gold medals, and had already announced before the Games in China that it would be his last, bringing a much-decorated 22-year career to an end.

He took to Twitter on Friday to write a farewell message.

"I slid down the halfpipe at the Olympics for the final time," he posted. "Typing this now makes me just as emotional as I felt last Friday. It brings me tears of joy.

"It has been a rollercoaster of emotions and I am overwhelmed with appreciation. Closing this chapter of my life has made me reflect on that past 22 years as a professional snowboarder with gratitude."

White went on to thank numerous people who have helped him through his career, insisting that "Still competing at the Olympics at the age of 35. It takes a village, and I am so incredibly lucky to have had such wonderful and talented humans in my corner over the years."

He also thanked his family as well as skateboarding icon Tony Hawk, who he credited as a "positive influence", and also thanked snowboarding's organisers, his fellow competitors and his fans.

White went on the say: "Snowboarding was my first love. Like any new relationship, it was intoxicating. Snowboarding gave me a rush, made me feel invincible, filled my life with adventure. It gave me purpose and I got to be creative.

"I will of course miss snowboarding professionally, but this won't be the last time you see [me] cruising down the mountain.

"I am beyond humbled and grateful for this beautiful journey. It has been an honor and a privilege. This has been the ride of my life!"

As well as his Olympic success, at the X Games, White won 23 medals overall, of which 15 were gold. Thirteen of those gold medals came in snowboarding and two in skateboarding.

Eight of his X Games golds came in the halfpipe event, with the other five achieved in slopestyle.

He was the first snowboarder to score a perfect 100 in the halfpipe in the Winter X Games, achieving that 10 years ago in Aspen, Colorado.

White triumphed first at the Winter Olympics as a 19-year-old in Turin in 2006, defending his title in 2010 in Vancouver, and recovering from missing out on the Sochi podium four years later by landing gold again at Pyeongchang 2018.

His score of 97.75 in his second run at Pyeongchang stands as an Olympic record.

Rohit Sharma praised India for a "phenomenal finish" as they halted the West Indies' chase on Friday to clinch the Twenty20 series and reach 100 wins in the format.

India won for an eighth consecutive T20I match, a new record for the nation, as they defeated the tourists by seven runs in Kolkata.

After Rohit and Ishan Kishan managed just 21 runs between them, Virat Kohli and player of the match Rishabh Pant settled any anxiety at the crease by scoring 52 each, with eight boundaries apiece.

Pant's half-century came off just 28 deliveries, while Kohli's score took him to within just three runs of equalling Martin Guptill's T20I record of 3,299 runs.

The West Indies mounted a strong chase, with Nicholas Pooran hitting 62 before being caught off Bhuvneshwar Kumar's delivery – a crucial wicket with just 15 balls remaining.

Rovman Powell's 68 dragged them close to a win, but Harshal Patel and Bhuvneshwar's expert final overs saw India over the line.

"You are always a bit scared when you are playing against these guys. In the end, it was a phenomenal finish," said Rohit.

"Right from the start, we knew it wouldn't be easy. But I am proud we executed our plans under pressure."

Brilliant Bhuvi

The experience of Bhuvneshwar proved key as the West Indies cranked up the pressure. The 32-year-old finished on 1-29 from four overs, giving up just two boundaries and signing off with just four singles and the wicket of Pooran from his final over.

"It was very critical at that point when Bhuvneshwar bowled," said Rohit. "That's where experience comes into play. Bhuvi has been doing it for many years and we believe in him a lot."

No century celebrations for Pollard

Kieron Pollard became the first West Indies player to reach 100 T20I appearances and the ninth overall in international cricket, although he could not mark the occasion by hitting the single six needed to reach a century in the format.

Pollard, who gave up 14 runs in his solitary over and scored three off the bat from as many deliveries, said of the finish: "We cannot call the batters out. We can look at it in different ways how we could have got those eight runs. We are a work in progress."

Italy international Andrea Belotti scored in his first start since November to deny Juventus all three points as Torino held them to a 1-1 draw at Allianz Stadium on Friday.

A first-half header from Matthijs de Ligt was cancelled out by Belotti's equaliser in the second half, leaving the Old Lady eight points behind Serie A leaders Milan having played a game more.

Belotti is out of contract at the end of the season and is expected to leave Torino, but the fans will wish him well if this proves his final contribution to the Turin derby.

Meanwhile, Massimiliano Allegri will not have been impressed with the showing from his side ahead of their Champions League round-of-16 first leg at Villarreal on Tuesday.

Juve suffered a blow before the game kicked off with Daniele Rugani injured in the warm-up and replaced at centre-back by Alex Sandro, with Luca Pellegrini starting at left-back.

Torino made a strong start and would have been ahead were it not for Wojciech Szczesny's slight touch on a Josip Brekalo cross, taking it away from a waiting Belotti.

However, it was Juve who took the lead on 13 minutes when a looping Juan Cuadrado corner was headed in at the far post by De Ligt, who arrived with a towering leap.

The visitors began the second half well, too, and were level when Brekalo – who was a thorn in Juve's right side all game – got to the byline and found Belotti, whose close-range shot squirmed under Szczesny's hand.

It was Torino who pushed for another goal until the final 10 minutes when the hosts finally came back to life, but they were unable to find a winner.

As Liverpool continue their quest to put pressure on Manchester City (well, try to), Norwich City travel to Anfield hoping to boost survival chances.

But history isn't on the side of Dean Smith's men, who must be fearing the worst against a side they never seem to cope well with.

Expectations for Norwich are surely lower against Liverpool than versus any other team.

Here's why…

Red-faced Canaries

Norwich City really, really don't like playing Liverpool. Liverpool really, really enjoy playing Norwich City.

The Reds have handed out some absolute batterings to Norwich down the years, with the Luis Suarez era particularly profitable for the Reds.

Granted, a historically good team racking up goals against sides who traditionally finish near the bottom isn't anything new, but Liverpool's domination of Norwich does take things a bit further.

They average 2.8 goals per game against the Canaries in the Premier League – that's 53 in 19 matches. Among all the teams the Reds have played at least five times, that is their highest rate.

Liverpool have already beaten Norwich twice this season, winning 3-0 in the Premier League and 3-0 in the EFL Cup.

If they beat them by three or more goals again, it'll be only the ninth occasion of an English top-flight side completing such a hat-trick in a single season, and the first since Arsenal against Aston Villa in 2014-15.

Fortress Anfield

Anfield is a tough place to go at the best of times – from Norwich's perspective, this certainly isn't "the best of times".

As Liverpool continue to badger away near the top of the table, hoping to capitalise on any Manchester City slip-up, they have put together a strong run at home.

They are unbeaten in their previous 15 home league games and have won the most recent six by an aggregate score of 17-1.

Norwich do at least make the long trip to Liverpool – presumably made even longer by Storm Eunice – having won their last away game.

Having said that, away to Liverpool is a slightly different proposition than going to Watford, with all due respect.

Similarly, Norwich haven't won back-to-back away games in the top flight since January 2012 and managed to win just one of their last 25 league meetings with a top-three side – that was on the final day of 2012-13.

Polar opposites

Apart from the fact they've conceded the most (50) and scored the fewest (14) in the Premier League, Norwich aren't doing too badly…

Okay, that sounds disingenuous but they have managed to climb to 18th in the table and a win here – however unlikely that may be – could see them end the weekend one point from safety.

The problem, though, is the contrasting quantities of their goals record with Liverpool, who have scored the joint-most (61) and conceded the third-fewest (19).

On top of that, Liverpool have scored more than twice as many goals in both the first (31) and second half (30) of games as Norwich have in total this term.

It certainly won't look like there's much hope if Norwich need goals in the second half. Six of their strikes this term have been after the break, though half of those came one game (away to Watford).

Salah eyes assists double-double achievement

It won't be remotely surprising to learn Salah has a good record against Norwich. He's been involved in five goals (two scored, three assisted) in three Premier League matches against them.

With that in mind, he'll surely be confident of adding to that haul and reaching a landmark.

With 16 goals and nine assists already this term, Salah is agonisingly close to reaching double figures in both for the third time in a Premier League season, having also managed this in 2017-18 and 2019-20.

Only three players in Premier League history have managed it three times or more, with Eric Cantona leading the way (four) and Didier Drogba the sole individual on three.

It's surely only a matter of time, and his track record against Norwich would have few betting against it occurring on Saturday.

Diego Simeone insisted he "fully believes" Atletico Madrid can secure Champions League qualification as he seeks solutions following disappointment against Levante.

The reigning LaLiga champions are 15 points off local rivals and leaders Real Madrid after 24 games, sitting fifth in the league and level on points with fourth-placed Barcelona, who have played a game fewer.

Simeone's side suffered another setback in their last outing, falling to a 1-0 defeat against bottom side Levante, as their top-four push for Champions League football next season was dented again.

However, Atletico have won their past seven top-flight meetings with their next opponents Osasuna and Simeone believes his side can escape their underwhelming run of form on Saturday.

"It's normal after the painful defeat, but with a desire to have a new opportunity and to focus on the game against Osasuna, who play really well and are going through a good moment," Simeone told reporters at Friday's pre-match news conference when asked about the squad's morale.

"I have the motivation to live on every day. I'm at a great club, where I want to be, and I look at the future trying to solve the present.

"There isn't one circumstance [behind our problems], but several, and I believe blindly in the players that I have. I'm sure they'll pull this off.

"We're now facing a 14-game league in which there will be seven teams who will have the chance to get into the Champions League, and being all together, looking for ways out of difficult moments like we had in the pandemic, when we had one point more than we do today, [and] we were sixth and finished third.

"We'll have to make a great effort for this, but we're focusing on the present."

Atletico have won on each of their past three LaLiga visits to El Sadar and are looking for four consecutive top-flight wins at Osasuna in the competition for the first time.

However, Simeone's team have failed to win in any of their most recent five away league games, conceding at least twice in each of those matches (12 in total). 

But Simeone insisted he has the backing of Atletico chiefs Miguel Angel Gil Marin and Andrea Berta after meeting with the pair to discuss the club's problems.

"We get together no more than one or two days a month, and we talk about the good or bad situations," Simeone added on his discussions with Atleti’s executives. 

"It's a bad moment, but we have to take things forward, being together."

Eileen Gu told herself she was the best before going out and proving it as China's home Winter Olympics superstar landed a second gold medal of the Games in Beijing.

The United States-based teenager triumphed in the women's freeski halfpipe, posting a best score of 95.25 to win comfortably from the Canadian pair of Cassie Sharpe and Rachael Karker.

It made Gu, at the age of 18 years and 168 days, the youngest athlete to win three individual medals at any single edition of the Winter Olympics.

Dubbed the 'Snow Princess', Gu said the Olympic experience had been a life-changer.

"It has been two straight weeks of the most intense highs and lows I've ever experienced," she said. "It has changed my life forever."

After gold in the freeski big air and silver in slopestyle, this was her sign-off event at Beijing 2022, with Gu delivering a mesmerising display of agility and skill after giving herself a pep talk.

"Instead of looking to other athletes and being like, 'Oh, what are they doing? How can I be like them?', I try to build myself up more," Gu said. "So, it's the opposite of what I do in training, but at the top I said, 'My name is Eileen Gu, and I'm the best halfpipe freeskier in the world'."

Gu burst into tears as her achievement sank in. She also cast a little doubt over her future in the sport. Asked if she might consider competing for the USA in future, Gu said: "I have no idea what I'm even doing next year. I'm going to go to college, but in terms of skiing competitively, am I going to continue competing? Who knows?

"I love skiing and I would love to continue competing, but in terms of resources and time and, you know, what else I'm juggling. It just depends, right? I'm going to do whatever feels right and hopefully be able to create some kind of positive change out of any decision that I make."

Medals record for Norway

Johannes Thingnes Boe's fourth biathlon triumph in Beijing established a Winter Olympics landmark as it gave Norway a 15th gold medal, a record haul for a single edition of the Games.

Norway were already the most successful nation in Winter Olympics history, and they have been hammering home that status over the past fortnight.

Boe's latest run to glory came in the 15km mass start, which he won by 40.3 seconds from Sweden's Martin Ponsiluoma. Norway also took bronze through Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen.

The 28-year-old Boe, who also has a bronze from the 20km individual, enjoyed having a team-mate on the podium and said of Norway's record feat: "I feel really proud. We have both been a part of it, winning gold today and also in the men's relay where Vetle won a gold medal for us, so we are making history and as a nation we are really proud."

Norway also landed silver and bronze in the women's 12.5km mass start, which was won by France's Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, ahead of Tiril Eckhoff and Marte Olsbu Roeiseland.

Roeiseland's bronze gave her a fifth medal in Beijing, a second third-place finish to add to three gold-winning performances, and she said: "I was maybe not at my best in this cold, but I really tried to fight, and it was so fun to race with Tiril today, we raced the whole race together and the position in the standing was really tough. Today I'm just so happy with the bronze, for me it was like gold actually."

Champion Braisaz-Bouchet said: "I was so shocked I won. I'm really happy to say I'm Olympic champion. It's quite amazing."

Regez leads Swiss cross double

Ryan Regez and Alex Fiva delivered a Swiss one-two in freestyle's men's ski cross, with champion Regez finding the equilibrium he had been seeking all week when it mattered most.

"I've been really nervous for the whole week," Regez said. "It's my first Games and the last big event was the World Championships last year, which Alex won, and I was just super nervous there as well and I was skiing in my head, so thinking whilst skiing and there I messed up.

"Today it was just a lot of pressure on me because I won the last two World Cup events. I'm in the lead of the overall World Cup so for sure everyone was just hoping I would come here and take the victory and eventually it worked out, but there was just so much going on, so much pressure. I phoned a lot with family, friends, and yesterday I had a long talk with my coaches.

"That just calms me down a lot and that was really important. Today actually I wasn't nervous at all, which was quite unusual. In the morning, yes I was, but then as soon as I went on the mountains everything was gone and I just could ski free."

Dutch skaters back up to speed

Thomas Krol delivered a fifth long-track speed skating gold medal for the Netherlands team, but a first for eight days after the wins began to dry up.

Krol's victory came in the 1,000 metres, as he edged out fast times from Canada's Laurent Dubreuil and Norway's Haavard Holmefjord Lorentzen.

"It's really hard to express all the emotions that are going through me, a dream just came true," said the 29-year-old, who has aspirations to become a pilot when his sporting career ends. "I'm so intensely happy that I made it. It means everything.

"I was expecting my time not to be fast enough because there were more great skaters coming. So, it was a nerve-wracking 10 minutes for me."

Dubreuil put disappointment at missing out on gold into context, saying: "My daughter especially helped me. She is just three years old, and she doesn't care about my results. Seeing her not even one per cent sad after my race when I called them, she was running around and having so much fun, running and jumping and yelling. It made me realise, it's just sport."

Pep Guardiola has no doubt Antonio Conte can lead Tottenham to sustained success, but only if the Italian gets the backing he needs.

Spurs boss Conte this week appeared to suggest his playing resources had been weakened by trading in the January transfer window.

Conte clarified his position on Friday when he stressed that was only a view he took in terms of squad numbers, saying the arrivals of Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur from Juventus had in fact improved the quality at his disposal.

While Conte insisted Spurs chairman Daniel Levy knows his true thoughts, the merest implication of any unhappiness from the head coach has come at a bad time, with the team on a three-game losing run in the Premier League.

They have gone down to Chelsea, Southampton and Wolves, dealing a blow to hopes that Conte might lead the team to a top-four finish and a place in next season's Champions League.

Now Guardiola's Manchester City await Spurs on Saturday at the Etihad Stadium, in the ultimate test for any English team.

City have lost just one of their last 11 home league games against Tottenham (W8 D2), going down 2-1 in February 2016. However, they did lose the reverse fixture on the opening weekend of the season.

Guardiola spoke of his admiration for Conte, saying on Friday: "If the club rely on him 100 per cent, they will have success.

"My first season here was tough in terms of results. Every manager needs time, he needs investment, he needs many, many things to be there for a long time or have success, especially in this country.

"All the managers need time. Unfortunately in football we don't have time. I had time, the club gave me this time, that's why I will always be grateful, but all the managers need time to make plans and try to convince the players to follow what you feel."

Guardiola said being a head coach in England was "more difficult than any other part of the world". But he believes Conte has demonstrated with Juventus, Chelsea and the Italy national side that he is a coach who consistently improves teams.

"I have incredible respect for the fact when I watch his teams I feel there's something new I can learn and I can improve," Guardiola said.

Tottenham have scored just 17 times in the Premier League from an expected goals (xG) total of 23.2 since Conte took charge at the start of November. Over the same period, City have scored 40 goals from an xG tally of 33.5.

Replying to comments from Conte in which he labelled Guardiola the world's best coach, the City boss added: "Thank you so much, but I am not. I appreciate it, but I'm not."

Spurs have won three of their last four Premier League games against City, as many as they had managed in their previous 13 against them. However, these last three victories have all been in home games.

Should they pull off the league double this term, it will be the first time Spurs have achieved that against reigning English top-flight champions since they beat Liverpool 1-0 home and away in the 1986-87 season.

City have taken 43 points from the last 45 available, roaring away at the top of the table, but Guardiola says a wounded Spurs could make his task complicated.

"This is the problem, the fact they've lost three times in a row it will be more difficult tomorrow, for sure, 100 per cent," he said.

"It's difficult for top teams to lose four times in a row. They have a lot of weapons. We know how with Son [Heung-min] we've suffered, with Harry Kane, with [Lucas] Moura. They have a lot of quality."

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has highlighted the importance of the support that the club gave him at the start of the season, as he looks to exact revenge against a Brentford side that defeated the Gunners back on the opening day.

Goals from Sergi Canos and Christian Norgaard gave the Bees victory against Arteta's team in their first-ever Premier League game back in August, with the Arsenal boss coming under severe pressure when his side lost their opening three games of the campaign.

Since those three defeats, only Manchester City (18) and Liverpool (14) have racked up more Premier League wins than the 12 accumulated by Arteta's team, and the Spaniard was keen to praise the Emirates hierarchy for supporting him during that poor run.

"I always felt very well-supported and understood, I'm very much in line with everyone at the club", Arteta said ahead of the reverse fixture against Thomas Frank's outfit.

"When we had difficult results, the club always stood with me, and has been really supportive for me and the players, which I do not take for granted.

"Losing matches is part of the job, and you can learn a lot of things. You have to be stubborn, to keep faith in your beliefs.

"That pressure is part of football. That is football today, with the facilities we all have to express our opinions, you know you're going to be very exposed as a coach."

Arsenal are sixth in the Premier League, trailing fourth-placed Manchester United by four points and possessing three games in hand, as the north London club look to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2016.

While content with his side's strong run of form, Arteta was keen to play down notions that his team were now favourites to finish inside the top four.

"We have earned the right to be where we are now, and that's a credit to the club, to the players, to everybody.

"We have to go game-by-game, to maximise the position we are in, and that's what we are going to do.

"Tomorrow we will try to play well and win the match, that's the only target."

Arsenal are looking to preserve a 32-match unbeaten run at home to newly promoted clubs in the Premier League when they host Brentford, a sequence which stretches back to a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United in November 2010. 

Their visitors, meanwhile, would become the first newly promoted team to do the double over Arsenal since Blackburn Rovers did so in 1992-93 if they were to win in north London.

Julian Nagelsmann called for improvements from Bayern Munich and insisted his side must not become disenchanted after two disappointing performances.

The reigning Bundesliga champions are six points clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund at the summit, despite falling to a 4-2 loss at Bochum last Saturday.

Nagelsmann's side followed up that disappointing defeat with another unspectacular performance in Salzburg on Wednesday, where they required a late Kingsley Coman strike to secure a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash.

The former RB Leipzig head coach expressed his frustrations with the recent outings but expects his team to bounce back when they travel to Furth on Sunday.

"We want to remain critical and have a certain claim in terms of success," Nagelsmann told reporters at Friday's pre-match news conference.

"We have to back that up, but we mustn't tear ourselves apart either. The tide can turn quickly, there is a lot of evaluation.

"The mood is appropriate for the fact that we have not won twice. Tomorrow's winner learns from today's defeat.

"We had detailed discussions after the game against Bochum. We didn't score an early goal in the second half, it was similar in Salzburg. But the will was obvious there. I was totally satisfied, I'm convinced that as a Bayern player you have the right to be successful.

"And that should also arouse greed. We saw that we lost clearly against a team that isn't aspiring to the Champions League. That should be warning enough. No one walks around with the handbrake on purpose."

The Bochum loss was Bayern's first to a newly promoted side in 16 games, but the Bavarians may take confidence from the fact they have not lost two consecutive Bundesliga games against promoted teams since 1997. Furth joined Bochum in climbing out of the second tier last season.

However, Bayern have experienced their worst start to the second half of a top-flight season in 10 years, with only nine points accrued from their first five games of 2022, winning three games and losing twice.

The last time they lost two or more matches in the first five matchdays of the second half of the season was in 2008-09 under Jurgen Klinsmann (three), and Nagelsmann's task could be made more difficult as he revealed doubts over the fitness of Coman and Serge Gnabry.

Nevertheless, Nagelsmann remained balanced in his views as he prepares Bayern for just their sixth meeting in professional football with Furth.

"Football is a head game," he added. "We didn't intentionally play a bad first half in Bochum. You can't shake off the cup game that easily either.

"There's often a black-and-white mindset. We have three points more than last year. We need a little more self-image and sovereignty. The head is an important part of the body.

"It's often the case that you have more to do psychologically than in terms of football. I train a world-class team here.

"You have to recognise the moment when a structure doesn't fit perfectly. In the last three games we haven't been completely in the flow. In the end it's about delivering and not about taking long-term steps."

Ralf Rangnick has denied rumours of a power struggle between Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo for the Manchester United captaincy.

Maguire has been widely criticised for his form this season and his underwhelming performances coupled with the apparent influence of Ronaldo was reported to have caused issues in the changing room.

A report in the Mirror on Thursday claimed interim boss Rangnick has tasked Ronaldo with mentoring the young players.

According to the story, Maguire has subsequently felt undermined by the former Real Madrid star.

But Maguire hit back on Twitter on Friday, insisting the claims "aren't true" and Rangnick has since lent his backing to the England international.

"Well, to start with, I must say this is absolutely nonsense," Rangnick told reporters ahead of Sunday's clash with Leeds United.

"I have never spoken with any player about a possible change of captaincy, Harry was fully aware of that, so was Cristiano and the other players. This has never been an issue for me.

"It's me who decides who's the captain and therefore there is no reason for me to speak about that with another person. Harry is our captain and he will stay our captain until the end of the season and there is nothing else to add on to that."

Maguire's response to the initial story on Twitter came after Marcus Rashford reacted similarly on Thursday.

Rashford was responding to a German journalist declaring that "English players" like himself and Maguire "are irritated that Ronaldo wants to lead the dressing room with his own clique".

The England forward suggested the reporter was "just making it up as we go along" and "looking for divides".

Rangnick is not especially annoyed by the situation, and even believes the atmosphere in the dressing room is much better than it was just a few weeks ago.

"Well I'm not frustrated at all because I know it's not true," he continued. "I told you about Harry being the captain, it's not an issue at all, it's never been an issue for us or myself as manager.

"All the other things, to be honest, I don't listen to that noise that much because my full focus is on preparing the team for the next training, for the next game.

"Obviously, I have heard about what was written. I can only tell you from my personal experience in the last 12 weeks, yes, there were players unhappy until the closure of the transfer window because, as I always said, the squad was too big, we had too many players who just realised they wouldn't get game time and this has improved, for sure.

"From what I can tell, the atmosphere in the locker room is better than it used to be a couple of weeks ago for all those reasons I just spoke about.

"As you quite rightly said, for us it's about performing well, showing togetherness on the pitch, getting the best out of our performance and winning games, that's our job. Those are the things we can influence, all the other things we can't."

Mason Mount has been ruled out of Chelsea's next two matches with a foot injury, but Thomas Tuchel is pushing for the midfielder to return in time for next week's EFL Cup final.

England international Mount limped off in the first half of Chelsea's Club World Cup final victory against Palmeiras last weekend after damaging ligaments in his ankle.

That was the 23-year-old's 34th appearance of the season in all competitions, level with Antonio Rudiger for the most of any Chelsea player.

Mount's 15 direct goal involvements this season are the most of any Blues player, the England international having scored seven and assisted eight.

Tuchel is therefore eager to get Mount back to fitness in time for the EFL Cup final with Liverpool at Wembley on February 27.

Asked for an update on when Mount could return, Tuchel said at a news conference on Friday: "We will push for the EFL Cup final. We will push. 

"He has injured ligaments. Returning against Lille in the Champions League [on Tuesday] seems very, very close, but we will try hard for the EFL Cup final."

Tuchel also confirmed ahead of Saturday's trip to London rivals Crystal Palace that Reece James – who has not played since December – is set to return to training next week.

Cesar Azpilicueta is therefore expected to fill in once again on the right-hand side of the defence against Palace, a week on from lifting the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi.

The Spain international has won every trophy available at club level with Chelsea, but he is set to become a free agent at the end of the campaign.

Tuchel remains a big fan of the long-serving defender, who has racked up more than 450 appearances for the club.

"He's always important; he has been super important since day one," Tuchel said. "We had a good connection from the first day.

"He gets better with every game he plays, he leads by example, which is always super nice to have.

"Now he has collected so many trophies and an incredible career at one club which is outstanding.

"He embodies everything that Chelsea stands for, being relentless, humble and a warrior at the same time. I'm happy to have him."

Carlo Ancelotti was unmoved by reports Paris Saint-Germain have offered to make Real Madrid-linked Kylian Mbappe the highest-paid footballer in the world.

Mbappe was in devastating form against Madrid on Wednesday, scoring PSG's late winner in the Champions League last-16 first leg at the Parc des Princes after generally impressing throughout.

The France star's decisiveness was fitting given overarching narrative of his future, which has put the two clubs into something of a tug-of-war over the past couple of years.

Madrid reportedly made several offers for Mbappe last year but were rebuffed by PSG, who were insistent that they would be able to persuade the striker to stay in Paris.

But then came January 1 and Mbappe still had not signed a new contract, meaning he became eligible to begin discussing moves to foreign clubs.

Many expect he will join Madrid at the end of the season, but in the wake of their 1-0 win over Los Blancos, PSG apparently made it known they would be willing to give Mbappe a basic wage "far in excess of £500,000 [€600,000], and closer to £1m [€1.2m] a week", according to the Independent.

Ancelotti is not convinced that matters, however.

"Everyone has to think what they want," Ancelotti told reporters on Friday ahead of the clash with Deportivo Alaves.

"I have to say, they pay me a lot and so I am privileged, but what I like is not the money I earn, but what I do."

Ancelotti acknowledged in the wake of the defeat in Paris that Madrid were poor, as they struggled to get control of the contest and subsequently found themselves under pressure for much of the game.

They failed to get a single shot on target for only the second time in a Champions League game since Opta records began (2003-04), and their 0.14 expected goals (xG) was their worst in the competition in just under nine years.

He was asked again about the performance and he recognised the best thing about the game was that they only lost 1-0.

"Sometimes it's the little details that decide the matches," he said. "I'm quite honest, we played very badly against PSG in what we normally do well. We had a bad night.

"This doesn't worry me so much because I know the quality and personality the team has for getting out of this.

"The criticism is justified because we did badly. The first critic is myself. The approach has not been good and I have to take responsibility.

"Criticism must be understood and learned from because sometimes it is very helpful. The idea that I don't talk to the players is nonsense.

"I spoke with the president and with the director and we have the same feeling. We are hurt but I think we are honest: we played badly and the image of Real Madrid was not good, which is what hurts the most. The best thing about the game was the result."

Tuesday's match was the sixth game in a row in which Vinicius Junior has failed to score after an extremely bright first half to the season, while Madrid as a team have netted just once in four.

Ancelotti is not concerned about there being a specific issue with Vinicius, however.

"Everything that happens to the team is happening to him, we've dropped off a bit," he added. "But the team is doing well physically.

"Against Villarreal we did well sometimes and against PSG we suffered until the end. Vini has had a very intense month and now he's going to be more effective.

"We have to score more, that's clear. But now Karim [Benzema] is back, he's the main striker, who scores a lot of goals and gets a lot of assists.

"When he's well, he's better. We've had problems but he's fine and he's going to help us fix it."

Australia recovered to claim a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in Melbourne on Friday as they opened up a 4-0 lead in their five-match T20I series.

The hosts elected to bowl first and, despite being without rested trio Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, restricted their opponents to 139-8 off their 20 overs.

Opener Pathum Nissanka top-scored with 46 off 40 balls, while Kusal Mendis added 27 off 21, but it was another underwhelming batting display from the tourists.

Jhye Richardson impressed with figures of 2-20 off his four overs, paving the way for Australia to make it nine T20Is without defeat against Sri Lanka, winning eight of those.

That is despite getting off to a slow start to their response as openers Ashton Agar and Ben McDermott made 19 off 25 balls, before the latter (nine) fell to Maheesh Theekshana.

Aaron Finch was snared by Danushka Gunathilaka for just two runs off the bowling of Lahiru Kumara and Agar (26) was next to go when he top-edged to Mendis.

But star man Glenn Maxwell and Josh Inglis all but ensured there would be no joy for Sri Lanka with their fourth-wicket stand of 71 off 47 balls. 

Inglis went for 40 off 20, leaving Australia needing 20 off 22, and Maxwell got them over the line with his unbeaten 48 to set up a potential whitewash in Sunday's fifth match.

MCGlee for Maxwell

Australia have now won five of their last seven T20Is at the MCG, including the last three in a row – their best run since winning four in a row between 2008 and 2011.

Agar's struggles as a makeshift opener will be of concern, but Maxwell's 48 off 39 balls – a strike rate of 123.1 – meant Sri Lanka's modest target was never of concern.

Pathum shows more promise

Nissanka headed into the game as the only player to score above 100 runs this series against Australia (125) and the 23-year-old was again Sri Lanka's shining light in the fourth T20I.

He helped steer his side to 73-1 at the halfway mark alongside Mendis, yet the tourists still managed to squander a promising opportunity.

Manchester United made a mistake by re-signing Cristiano Ronaldo, and would be making another error by keeping him at the club next season, so says Jamie Carragher.

Ronaldo ended a six-game goal drought in United's 2-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion earlier this week, his worst such run since January 2009, but talk has focused upon whether the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's return to Old Trafford last year has improved the Red Devils.

Harry Maguire and Marcus Rashford have both denied reports of a rift in the United dressing room, while there has been speculation that the 37-year-old will leave at the end of the campaign.

Liverpool great and Sky Sports pundit Carragher has now questioned the wisdom of signing Ronaldo, and predicted that keeping him at the club next season could cause more harm than good.

"Cristiano Ronaldo's invaluable contribution to Manchester United's Premier League win over Brighton was another reminder of his unparalleled appetite for goals", Carragher wrote in The Telegraph.

"But it does not change this reality: United made a mistake re-signing Ronaldo last summer. It will be a bigger one keeping him next season.

"Given the cost of signing such a superstar as Ronaldo (an estimated £500,000 a week), it is not a smart investment."

Ronaldo has struck nine Premier League goals from chances equating to 11.3 expected goals (xG) since returning to England, putting him one ahead of compatriot Bruno Fernandes at the top of the club's scoring charts.

His finishing has, therefore, been better than would be expected from the chances that have come his way. For example, his opener against Brighton on Tuesday had an xG of just 0.07, essentially giving Ronaldo just a seven per cent chance of scoring.

But with United drawing successive league games before their win over Brighton, Carragher is unsure whether the forward was ever the right fit for the current needs of the Red Devils, who are without a major trophy since 2017.

"How can I, or anyone, credibly criticise someone who has won five Champions League titles and scored over 800 goals?" Carragher continued.

"But if you sign Ronaldo right now, it is short-term recruitment expected to deliver instant success.

"United are way off the pace domestically, and it would be a major surprise if they win the Champions League. That is why Ralf Rangnick is openly speaking about the need for United to sign another striker before next season."

United are fourth in the Premier League table, but fellow top-four contenders Arsenal, Wolves, and Tottenham all have multiple games in hand, as Rangnick tries to salvage Champions League football from what is quickly becoming another underwhelming campaign.

Jason Kidd has run out of ways to describe Luka Doncic who, according to the Dallas Mavericks coach, "just gets better".

Doncic was at the top of his game on Thursday, as he scored 49 points in a 125-118 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

The 22-year-old became the first player in NBA history to score 40+ points, have 15 or more rebounds, provide at least five assists, make five or more threes and have a plus-minus of +20 or better, all in a single game.

Doncic averages 27.5 points, 9.2 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game from 44 appearances this season, leading the Mavs in each of those categories.

"Luka set the tone early and often," Kidd told reporters. "We can sit here and talk about him all day. The things that he does on the court for himself and his team-mates are incredible.

"We've used every noun and adjective to describe his game. He just gets better."

Doncic's points tally was just two shy of the career-high 51 he set against the Los Angeles Clippers on February 10. 

The Slovenian has now had 45 points or higher in three of his last four games, but Doncic was actually underwhelmed by parts of his display.

"I didn't really notice, but my career-high in points [before] was about 44 or 45 points. I definitely felt good for two quarters, but the last quarter was just very bad," he said.

"There were too many bad shots, but we still got a win, so I'm happy."

Team-mate Maxi Kleber, however, did not share Doncic's frustration.

"What he's doing right now is unbelievable," Kleber said. "He's just gifted as a team-mate. It's fun to watch."