Paris Saint-Germain struggled their way to a point at Lyon, with substitute Thilo Kehrer cancelling out Lucas Paqueta's early goal to earn a 1-1 draw.

PSG were missing a number of stars, with Lionel Messi joining the injured Neymar on the sidelines after a recent positive COVID-19 test, and the league leaders produced a limp performance on a largely frustrating night in Lyon.

Lucas Paqueta fired the hosts into an early lead, while Kylian Mbappe went closest for the visitors in a disappointing first period.

Lyon were content to hit their opponents on the counter after the break, but they were hit by the blow of Kehrer's soft second-half strike.

The home side needed just seven minutes to take the lead, with the returning Paqueta firing a low strike across Keylor Navas and into the far corner, after he was expertly released by Brazilian compatriot Bruno Guimaraes.

Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes saved solidly from Leandro Paredes' drive on 20 minutes, before visiting skipper Marquinhos lobbed onto the roof of the net as PSG looked for a leveller.

Mbappe hit the side-netting, then clipped the outside of the post with a deft strike as the break approached, but Lyon ended an impressive first half with more shots on target than their lacklustre visitors.

Mauro Icardi missed a decent volleyed chance shortly after half-time, before Navas made a huge one-on-one save from Moussa Dembele, as Lyon looked to hit their opponents on the break.

But PSG finally found a leveller with 14 minutes remaining, when Kehrer's attempt found the far left corner, a tame sidefooted shot beating Lopes.

Mbappe again clipped the woodwork, this time with a late free-kick, as PSG pushed in vain for a winner.

Alessandro Bastoni scored one goal and set another up for Milan Skriniar as Inter returned to the top of Serie A with a 2-1 win over Lazio.

Bastoni found the back of the net for the first time since June 2020 to put the Nerazzurri in front at San Siro on Sunday, but Ciro Immobile equalised in the first half with his 18th goal of the season.

Inter were not to be denied an eighth consecutive Serie A win, with Bastoni setting up fellow defender Skriniar for the winner midway through the second half.

Victory for Simone Inzaghi's side against his former club in their first game after the winter break moved them a point above Milan at the summit.

Lautaro Martinez looked to have given Inter a deserved 16th-minute lead when he raced onto a defence-splitting pass from Alexis Sanchez and fired beyond Thomas Strakosha, but the VAR ruled he was marginally offside.

Strakosha produced a great reflex save to keep out Martinez's rasping volley, but the champions were in front on the half-hour mark when Bastoni bent a brilliant left-foot strike into the bottom-left corner of the net from 25 yards out.

Lazio had not posed much of a threat until the lethal Immobile capitalised on a mix-up between Stefan de Vrij and Skriniar to nip in and level 10 minutes before half-time with a poacher's finish.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic spurned a good chance to put Lazio in front when he timed his run into the box to perfection, but failed to make a clean contact on Felipe Anderson's pinpoint cross.

Luiz Felipe's crucial block prevented Ivan Perisic from finding the back of the net after Strakosha denied Denzel Dumfries, but the Nerazzurri were back in front midway through the second half.

Bastoni turned provider for Skriniar, whipping in a cross that the centre-back met with a towering header that went in off the crossbar.

There was drama when referee Luca Pairetto showed Stefan Radu a red card before realising that the defender was only guilty of one bookable offence, correcting his mistake by also cautioning Mattia Zaccagni.

Angel Correa scored a remarkable goal from almost the halfway line in Atletico Madrid's LaLiga clash at Villarreal on Sunday. 

The Argentina international intercepted Daniel Parejo's sloppy pass just inside his own half before sensationally firing over Geronimo Rulli from just over the halfway line.

Opta deemed the effort to have an expected goal (xG) indicator of just 0.0166 – the lowest in LaLiga this season. 

Correa has now scored 12 goals in his last 28 top-flight appearances, which is one more than he had in his previous 98 league games for Diego Simeone's men. 

Mikel Arteta slammed Arsenal's performance in their 1-0 FA Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest, convinced they were "nowhere near the standard required".

The loss meant Arsenal were eliminated at the third-round stage of the competition for only the second time in 26 seasons.

Arteta was back on the bench after a bout of coronavirus forced him to miss arguably their best performance of the season in the 2-1 defeat to Manchester City last weekend.

But he was not happy with what he saw at the City Ground, with substitute Lewis Grabban getting the winner for Forest, who were also the last team to beat Arsenal at this stage of the FA Cup.

Speaking after the game, Arteta told ITV Sport: "We are out of the competition and we have to apologise.

"When you have nine players out, that's a big explanation, but still I don't want to use excuses.

"The team we put out, I expected them to play better and to compete better than we did.

"When you don't do that in a cup against any opponent, you're out.

"What we've done today is nowhere near the standard required."

The 34th-minute withdrawal of left-back Nuno Tavares after a very sloppy start was the first indicator of potential frustration on Arteta's part.

Yet he opted against criticising the youngster, putting it down to a desire to simply change the level of the team.

Asked if it summed up his frustration, Arteta added: "No, it was a decision you have to make in certain moments to try improve the performance of the team, and that's what I did."

Arsenal will look to get this defeat out of their system as soon as possible, with an EFL Cup semi-final first leg against Liverpool and a north London derby trip to Tottenham on the horizon.

Jose Mourinho's Roma threw away a two-goal lead and squandered a late penalty as they lost 4-3 to 10-man Juventus in a whirlwind Stadio Olimpico clash.

The game was set up nicely after an early goal for each team from Tammy Abraham and Paulo Dybala, before a chaotic second period saw two strikes from distance by Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Lorenzo Pellegrini put the hosts apparently in charge.

However, a remarkable seven-minute turnaround saw goals from Manuel Locatelli, Dejan Kulusevski and Mattia De Sciglio put Juventus in front, before a Wojciech Szczesny penalty save from Pellegrini completed a miserable final 20 minutes for the Giallorossi.

Juve suffered a blow when Federico Chiesa was forced to come off with a knee injury in the first half following a tackle from Chris Smalling, and then saw Matthijs de Ligt sent off for a second yellow card in a handball incident that led to Roma's spot-kick, but they held on for a famous win in the Italian capital.

Arsenal were eliminated at the third-round stage of the FA Cup for only the second time in 26 seasons after Lewis Grabban secured Nottingham Forest a late 1-0 win on Sunday.

Mikel Arteta returned to the bench after a bout of coronavirus forced him to miss arguably their best performance of the season in the 2-1 defeat to Manchester City last weekend.

But he will not have been happy with what he saw at the City Ground, with the Gunners' lethargy and lack of inspiration in the early stages a sign of things to come.

The Premier League side were twice fortunate not to fall behind in the second half, but their luck finally ran out seven minutes from time, substitute Grabban getting the winner.

The Africa Cup of Nations is in full swing following its big kick-off on Sunday, and Monday sees the action taken up a notch.

There will be twice as many games as Group B and Group C get under way, providing first opportunities to see two of the pre-tournament favourites: Morocco and Senegal.

But the shroud of COVID-19 lingers over practically every AFCON match at the moment, and it will be especially difficult to ignore its impact on games on Monday, with the likes of Senegal, Guinea, Malawi and Gabon all missing key players.

Senegal v Zimbabwe (13:00 GMT)

Senegal's second so-called 'golden generation' is running out of time.

They arrived in Cameroon with a stacked squad, but many of their key players are approaching 30 or are already there.

To make matters worse, coach Aliou Cisse is without a host of big players against Zimbabwe, a game he will be keen to just get out of the way.

"I was looking at the composition of our team," Cisse said. "Compared to our last match against Congo, I can already tell you we have six indisputable starting players who are not on the squad list: Edouard Mendy, Krepin Diatta, Ismaila Sarr, Nampalys Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly and Saliou Ciss.

"Having six absent starting players, it's true that it's worrying."

One to watch: Sadio Mane (Senegal)

Senegal have one of the best squads – if not the very best – in the tournament, but they are going to rely on Mane to a certain degree, particularly given their COVID-19 absences. Thankfully he is exceptional both when it comes to sniffing out chances and creating them, with his 0.67 non-penalty expected goal involvements every 90 minutes being the fourth-best in the Premier League (min. 900 minutes played) this term.

 

Guinea v Malawi (16:00 GMT)

Both Guinea and Malawi have been among the sides struck by coronavirus ahead of this tournament, but the former should still fancy their chances on Monday against a team considered Group B's rank outsiders.

Anything but three points will be a major disappointment for Guinea on matchday one, and key player Naby Keita is not among those to be afflicted with COVID-19.

As such, coach Kaba Diawara is feeling confident.

"We have the ambition to go as far as possible in this competition, which is why I accepted this mission," Diawara told Africa Top Sports ahead of the tournament.

"It's clear that it is the results that will speak. We try to put things in place, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."

One to watch: Mohamed Bayo (Guinea)

While Naby Keita may be the team's most-recognisable star, expectations on Bayo are significant given he heads into the tournament with nine Ligue 1 goals to his name with Clermont this season, 45 per cent of their total output, and only one was a penalty. Only Jonathan David (12) and Wissam Ben Yedder and Ludovic Ajorque (both 10) have scored more in the French top flight so far.

 

Morocco v Ghana (16:00 GMT)

After Senegal (60.9 per cent), Morocco are the likeliest to finish top of a group at the AFCON (52.6 per cent), according to Stats Perform analysis. This speaks to the quality in the side assembled by Vahid Halilhodzic.

Even without Chelsea star Hakim Ziyech, who has been exiled, Morocco boast some fine players and will be expected to go deep into the competition – not that coach Halilhodzic is taking anything for granted.

"We have to prepare well to face the three teams in the group: Ghana, Gabon, and the Comoros," the Bosnian told reporters.

"Although Morocco are favourites to reach the second round, we have to prepare well and play with a lot of ambition and determination to go as far as possible."

One to watch: Yassine Bounou (Morocco)

This is likely to be Morocco's biggest challenge in the group stage, so they will want to be solid at the back. Bounou should help them in that respect – the Sevilla goalkeeper's 25 clean sheets in all competitions in 2021 was a total bettered only by Ederson (26) and Edouard Mendy (27) across the top five leagues in Europe.

 

Comoros v Gabon (19:00 GMT)

Comoros' Group C opener will be a momentous game as they play in a major international tournament for the first time.

Making a splash will be tough, but coach Amir Abdou is adamant they are more than worthy of their place in Cameroon.

 

He told Africa Foot United: "We haven't qualified by chance. We therefore don't think that we will let the opportunity to go as far as possible slip away.

"We will fight with our weapons with our various opponents, as tough as they are."

 

One to watch: Denis Bouanga (Gabon)

Gabon are likely to be without two of their most experienced players in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mario Lemina due to coronavirus, meaning others will need to step up. Bouanga will probably be among those expected to take on greater responsibility. The gifted Saint-Etienne left-winger is a good dribbler and takes a lot of shots, his 3.4 attempts per 90 minutes being the fifth-most in Ligue 1 this season (min. 900 minutes played).

Stefano Pioli hailed the united front that Milan displayed in the 3-0 win over Venezia as he marked 400 games as a Serie A head coach.

The former Lazio, Inter and Fiorentina boss saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic give Milan a second-minute lead, before Theo Hernandez's second-half double wrapped up the points.

Pioli became just the eighth head coach in Serie A, in the three-points-for-a-win era, to reach take charge of 400 matches, and said he was only made aware of the landmark by Milan's communications boss.

Victory at Venezia nudged Milan ahead of Inter at the top of the table, ahead of the Nerazzurri's clash with Lazio later on Sunday, as Pioli's men continue to show last season's title challenge was no flash in the pan.

"I believe that this should be the year of confirmation," said Pioli. "But there is still an important step between being competitive and winning.

"Against Venezia it was a very delicate match, easy only on the face of it, and we were good at making it simpler than it could have been."

Quoted by Sky Italia, Pioli said: "We played with the right approach and the right determination, we played as a team.

"We have more awareness of the past, born from all the experiences we have been having. Many young players are becoming mature, we are still a young team but we are more ready mentally."

Milan were firmly in the Scudetto hunt midway through last season but were overtaken by a fast-finishing Inter.

It would help to have a fully fit Ibrahimovic on hand throughout the next four months. His contributions dried up over the closing stages of last season, with just one goal in his final eight Serie A games after a breakneck start, yet at the age of 40 he is playing a big role this term.

Since his return to Milan midway through the 2019-20 season, Ibrahimovic has scored 22 goals in 25 Serie A away games. The Swedish striker's opener at Venezia means he has scored in six consecutive league matches away from San Siro, the second time he has achieved that during this spell with the club.

It also gave him a share of a European top-five league 21st-century record, equalling Cristiano Ronaldo's feat of scoring against 80 different clubs across the continent's elite leagues (Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, LaLiga and Ligue 1).

Ibrahimovic and Milan will be limited to domestic duty for the rest of the season after finishing bottom of their Champions League group.

Pioli might find that helps Milan in the long run, even though he remains frustrated by his team's performance in that competition.

He said: "Now it could be an advantageous situation to have weeks free from European commitments, but we are not satisfied to no longer be in the Champions League."

Teenager Kaide Gordon scored his first goal for Liverpool and Fabinho grabbed a double as they came from behind to beat Shrewsbury Town 4-1 in the third round of the FA Cup.

A huge contingent of travelling Shrews fans were dreaming of a massive upset after Daniel Udoh put the League One side ahead at Anfield on Sunday.

But Liverpool clicked into gear in the first half, Gordon becoming the second-youngest goalscorer in the Premier League giants' history at the age of 17 and 96 days and Fabinho on target from the penalty spot.

Jurgen Klopp, back on the touchline after an absence following his COVID-19 test, went with a mix of youth and experience to see Reds into the fourth round, Roberto Firmino adding a third with a clever backheel and Fabinho putting the icing on the cake right at the end.

Liverpool dominated possession without posing a real threat before Shrewsbury sensationally took the lead after 27 minutes, when an unmarked Udoh converted Nathanael Ogbeta's inviting cross.

Shrewsbury's lead lasted only seven minutes, as the composed Gordon controlled Conor Bradley's pass and applied a left-footed finish from inside the penalty area.

Ryan Bowman found the back of the Liverpool net with a bullet header soon after, but the striker had strayed offside.

Ethan Ebanks-Landell then gifted Fabinho the chance to put Klopp's side in front just before half-time when he handled in the box and the Brazil midfielder sent Marko Marosi the wrong way from 12 yards.

A brilliant save from Marosi prevented full debutant Elijah Dixon-Bonner from extending Liverpool's lead.

However, substitute Firmino took a touch to control Ibrahima Konate's shot before scoring with a cheeky finish 12 minutes from time and Fabinho lashed home late on as the Reds eased into round four.

Tottenham survived a huge scare at home to third-tier strugglers Morecambe as they came from behind to win 3-1 and advance to round four of the FA Cup. 

Antonio Conte fielded an unfamiliar XI that showed eight changes from the midweek EFL Cup loss to Chelsea, and Spurs went behind to Anthony O'Connor's close-range finish.

Spurs boss Conte, who has reached the final in his only two previous seasons in the competition, turned to Harry Kane and Lucas Moura with a little over 20 minutes remaining. 

Tottenham levelled soon after through Harry Winks' fortuitous free-kick and Lucas completed the comeback in the 85th minute, before Kane netted to seal a nervy passage through.

Matt Doherty, one of three Spurs players to retain his place in the side along with Ben Davies and Japhet Tanganga, headed against the post from an acute angle in a lively start.

But Tottenham found themselves behind after 33 minutes when visiting captain O'Connor volleyed Alfie McCalmont's inswinging corner past Pierluigi Gollini from six yards.

Spurs were booed off at the break but Conte held off from introducing Kane for the hosts, who went close through a flicked Dele Alli shot that Trevor Carson superbly tipped over.

Ryan Sessegnon then dragged wide from a good position, after Alli's penalty appeals were waved away, prompting Conte to bring on Kane, Lucas and Oliver Skipp.

That sparked some life into the home side, with Carson misjudging Winks' free-kick from close to the left touchline as Spurs levelled.

Lucas put Tottenham in front for the first time when the Brazilian caught Ryan McLaughlin in possession, raced clear and rounded Carson for a simple finish into an empty net.

Kane, who missed a great headed chance prior to Lucas' crucial goal, added a third for Spurs with a smart finish away from the despairing Morecambe goalkeeper's reach.

Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao played crucial roles as Milan comfortably beat 10-man Venezia 3-0 on Sunday to return to the summit of Serie A.

Stefano Pioli's men never looked in danger of dropping points at Stadio Pierluigi Penzo and were good value for a third straight Serie A victory.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic – teed up by Leao – got the ball rolling inside two minutes as he equalled Cristiano Ronaldo's record of scoring against 80 different teams in Europe's top five leagues this century.

Leao released Hernandez to make it 2-0 early in the second half, with the French defender wrapping the win up soon after with a penalty – which resulted in Michael Svoboda's dismissal – for his third goal of the season against Venezia.

Milan swiftly took charge as the lively Leao raced into the left side of the box and played the ball right across the face of goal for Ibrahimovic to tap in.

Further chances arrived for Milan, with Leao, Hernandez and Alessandro Florenzi forcing Sergio Romero into saves, though there was little the Venezia goalkeeper could do when it came to the visitors scoring their second.

Leao was involved again, feeding Hernandez's run in behind the defence and the left-back smashed past the helpless Romero.

Hernandez put the game beyond Venezia just before the hour, expertly picking out the top-right corner from 12 yards after Michael Svoboda handled – seemingly accidentally – on the line, earning himself a red card.

It sealed a routine win for Milan, with Pioli marking his 400th Serie A match as a coach in style. He is the eighth manager to reach the milestone in the competition.

 

What does it mean? Milan keep pressure on Inter

This was very much a case of Milan getting the job done with minimal fuss – they were very comfortable throughout and impressed despite being without numerous important players.

As such, they open up a two-point lead at the top of the table. Of course, Inter – who face Lazio later on Sunday – have two games in hand, but there is no denying Milan's position is a nice one to be in.

There is no guarantee Inter will win their two bonus games. Even if they do, a four-point deficit is by no means impossible to claw back.

Hernandez leads from the back

Several Milan players impressed but Hernandez was the standout. He got forward so often from left-back that his five shots ended up being more than anyone else – similarly, his expected goals (1.86), shots on target and big chances (both three) were highs for the match, while only Leao (seven) and Ibrahimovic (six) had more than Hernandez's four touches in the box.

Add to that his two key passes (bettered by just Leao), and it shows him in a very good light indeed.

A difficult day for Svoboda

It was a strange game for Svoboda. One moment he would show great composure, cleverly spinning away from Ibrahimovic, but then the next he would do something clumsy.

While the red card may have been slightly harsh, as the ball seemed to hit his thigh first, it was his error – passing the ball to Ibrahimovic on the edge of the box – that led to the situation anyway.

What's next?

Milan are in Coppa Italia action on Wednesday as they host Genoa, before then welcoming Spezia to San Siro in Serie A four days later. Venezia continue their fight against relegation in a week's time at home to Empoli after visiting Atalanta in the cup in midweek.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has matched a European top-five league 21st-century record, set by Cristiano Ronaldo last month, after scoring for Milan against Venezia.

The veteran forward tucked in from close range inside two minutes at Stadio Pierluigi Penzo on Sunday, bringing up his eighth Serie A goal of the season and his first of 2022.

It means Ibrahimovic has now found the net against 80 different clubs across Europe's big five leagues (Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, LaLiga and Ligue 1).

Since 2000, the only other player to have achieved that feat is Ronaldo, who reached the milestone with a goal in Manchester United's 3-1 win over Burnley at Old Trafford on December 30.

Ibrahimovic has now also scored in every calendar year since 1999, when he made his debut for Malmo in Sweden.

Jurgen Klopp will take charge of Liverpool's FA Cup third-round tie with Shrewsbury Town at Anfield after recovering from coronavirus.

The Reds boss missed the 2-2 Premier League draw with Chelsea last weekend after testing positive for COVID-19.

However, assistant Peter Krawietz revealed on Saturday that Klopp was "feeling fine" and Liverpool have now confirmed the 54-year-old has been cleared to return to the dugout.

Klopp's right-hand man Pep Lijnders will be absent, however, as he continues his own stint in isolation after registering a positive test last week.

An "escalating number" of suspected COVID-19 cases forced Liverpool to shut their training centre last week.

Thursday's EFL Cup semi-final with Arsenal was subsequently postponed, but the clash with third-tier Shrewsbury will go ahead.

The Reds have progressed from nine of their last 10 FA Cup third-round ties, losing the other 2-1 against Wolves in 2018-19.

They have only lost two home games in the competition against sides outside the top-two tiers since joining the Football League in 1893 – Norwich City in 1908-09 and Bolton Wanderers in 1992-93.

 

Bruno Fernandes joked April Fools' Day has come early as the Manchester United midfielder moved to rubbish reports linking him with a move to Barcelona.

The Portugal international is approaching the two-year anniversary since arriving at United from Sporting CP and has been arguably the club's best performer over that period.

However, reports from Fernandes' homeland on Saturday claimed the 27-year-old is seeking a way out of Old Trafford and has been offered to Barcelona by his agent.

Fernandes was quick to call out those reports, though, with a message posted on his personal Instagram page.

"And I thought the new year only started a few days ago, yet we're already on April 1!" he said in a direct response to SPORT TV's report.

"Or is this once again just bad journalism?"

 

Fernandes still has three and a half years to run on the contract signed when arriving from Sporting in a deal worth up to £68million (€80m) in January 2020.

Since his debut on February 1 that year – a goalless home draw with Wolves – Fernandes has played 104 times for United in all competitions.

That is at least 10 times more than any other United player, with Harry Maguire (94) next on the list, the pair having both started 93 times over that period.

He has been directly involved in 79 goals in those two years – 45 goals and 34 assists – a tally bettered by only six others among players from clubs in Europe's top five leagues.

But Fernandes has not been quite as effective this term, coinciding with the return of Cristiano Ronaldo, with 19 players boasting more than his eight Premier League goals involvements.

Rafael Nadal saw off Maxime Cressy in straight sets in Sunday's Melbourne Summer Set final to land the 89th singles title of his career.

The world number six, playing in his first tournament in five months due to injury, has now won at least one ATP Tour trophy in every season since 2004 onwards.

American qualifier Cressy more than held his own in a first set that went the distance, though Nadal's quality told as he prevailed 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 at Rod Laver Arena, where Nadal will be hoping to go deep in the season's first grand slam later this month.

Both men held in an entertaining opening set and Cressy led 6-5 in the tie-break, but he squandered his set point and Nadal hit back to grab a foothold on the match.

The 35-year-old, who won the tournament without dropping a single set, recovered from a break down in the second to add yet another trophy to his vast collection.

Nadal, who had not played since August before coming into this tournament and had COVID-19 last month, had not previously captured a title in Australia since 2009 when landing his only Australian Open triumph to date by beating Roger Federer.

And the Spaniard looks in good shape heading into the Australian Open, which may not feature defending champion Novak Djokovic, who is awaiting the outcome of a hearing to determine whether he will be able to compete in Melbourne.

"I feel privileged and a very lucky guy to be here again," Nadal said in his on-court interview.

"I am coming back from some challenging moments in terms of injuries, so I can't be happier. It means a lot to be back and with a trophy in my hands.

"This court has always been very, very special for me. The Rod Laver Arena is very, very special for everyone and it is more special because of you guys. You guys are a great crowd and I can't thank you enough."

Elsewhere on Sunday, Gael Monfils also made a promising start to the 2022 season with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Karen Khachanov in the Adelaide International 1 final.

Khachanov battled past former US Open champion Marin Cilic in the semi-finals, but he fell short of clinching a first title in over three years.

Top seed Monfils held throughout the opening set and found a breakthrough in the 10th game, with the second set following an identical pattern.

The Frenchman did not drop a set all tournament on his way to winning a first trophy since February 2020 in Rotterdam.

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