Pep Guardiola expressed disappointment with Jurgen Klopp's attempt at pre-match mind games after the Liverpool manager falsely claimed Manchester City had "a two-week break for COVID reasons".
Champions Liverpool host Premier League leaders City on Sunday, where Guardiola's men have the chance to go 10 points clear of Klopp's side with a game in hand if they can claim a first win at Anfield since 2003.
Both men addressed the media on Friday, with Klopp speaking first and suggesting a coronavirus outbreak within the City squad between Christmas and new year actually helped their title bid.
Asked about Guardiola's recently repeated mantra that his team - currently on a 20-match unbeaten run across all competitions - are playing better because they have managed to "run less" in possession, Klopp focused his attention upon the spike in infections that saw City's scheduled December 28 trip to Everton postponed.
"The more you keep the ball, the less you have to run, probably. We didn't have a break," he said.
"I think City had a two-week break for COVID reasons. It's really tough. It's a tough year, season; for some teams, it looks like lesser but, for us, for the reasons you know, it's tough."
In reality, City had a seven-day break between their 2-0 win over Newcastle United on Boxing Day and a January 3 trip to Chelsea, where a squad heavily depleted by a raft of players being forced to self-isolate secured an impressive 3-1 win.
Having started his own briefing later than scheduled, Guardiola opted to respond initially with heavy sarcasm.
"He made a mistake, it was two months off or three months off. Four months we had off. That is why we are in top form right now," he said.
"Jurgen has to see the calendar again. We had COVID, we had one week and we played with 14 players at Stamford Bridge, Maybe I'm wrong, maybe it was three or four weeks.
"Tomorrow when I see Jurgen I'll say to him, 'How many weeks or days were we off?'"
Guardiola famously endured a tempestuous back and fourth with Jose Mourinho when the pair were in charge of Barcelona and Real Madrid a decade ago - an affair he was perhaps referencing when stating he held Klopp, whom he also competed against in the Bundesliga, to higher standards.
"I'm surprised," he said. "I thought Jurgen was not that type of manager like other ones [for whom] it is usual to do it. I didn't expect that comment. From him, I didn't expect it.
"He knows it’s not true, come on! Nobody in the Premier League has had two weeks off, everyone knows. In some situation you do it [mind games] for a purpose, but I did not expect he will do it."
Liverpool have lost their past two home games 1-0 to Burnley and Brighton and Hove Albion.
Nevertheless, Anfield remains something of a final frontier for Guardiola as City boss, having lost four and drawn one of his five visits to the red side of Stanley Park.
"They are always an incredibly tough team and remain a tough squad," he said.
"They know the process, the skills, the routines and methodology they do offensively. No change.
"They are aggressive and will be more aggressive than ever, I'm pretty sure. They'll rest really well after the game against Brighton and they'll recover in these two weeks off and they will be ready."
City remain without Kevin De Bruyne (hamstring), Nathan Ake (muscular) and Sergio Aguero, who has endured a prolonged absence after testing positive for coronavirus. He is expected to return in a few weeks.
South Africa face a battle to avoid another first-innings deficit after Anrich Nortje's fine work with the ball was undone by a rocky reply to Pakistan's 272 in the second Test.
Pakistan had made 145-3 on day one before rain intervened and Nortje was the cause of their frustration when play resumed on Friday, snaring 5-56 to put the hosts in the field before tea.
But the Proteas' solid early efforts with the bat - including a string of boundaries - were disrupted by Hasan Ali, who removed Dean Elgar (15) and Rassie van der Dussen from consecutive deliveries.
With those wickets right at the end of the second session, the day turned and Faf du Plessis followed to Faheem Ashraf for 17.
Nauman Ali - sublime in the first Test as Pakistan dominated - then teed up a simple but crucial catch for Shaheed Afridi to remove Aiden Markram (32), reducing South Africa to 81-4 before a mini-recovery to 106 without further loss preceded the close of play.
It ended a day of two halves as the Proteas, just like a day earlier, enjoyed a productive first session, with Babar Azam unable to add to his overnight score of 77, edging Nortje to second slip from just the second ball of the day.
Fawad Alam (45), who had held up the other end of a vital partnership on Thursday, swiftly followed, too, run out with a superb direct hit from Temba Bavuma.
Faheem steadied the Pakistan innings slightly, although Nortje's decision to take the second new ball soon paid dividends as he halted Mohammad Rizwan (18) in his next over.
That dismissal ended a promising stand of 41 and Faheem eventually ran out of partners, still unbeaten on 78 as Nortje concluded the innings and his five-for with fierce deliveries to Nauman and Shaheen in the same over.
Only if South Africa can regain some composure with the bat will Nortje be able to celebrate his contribution to a much-needed win, which would be their first in 14 Tests on the subcontinent.
HASAN ALI HAVING HIS SAY
Hasan has endured a tough time with injury in the past few years, returning to the Test arena in this series for the first time since January 2019. If the fast bowler was merely playing a supporting role to the spinners in the opening match last week, this was a more telling contribution, potentially changing the course of the result.
SOUTH AFRICA TURN TO SKIPPER
Quinton de Kock would appear to be taking charge of his final Test match as South Africa captain but may now have to rediscover his best form to make sure it is not a losing swan song. The skipper has not made a Test fifty since January 2020 or a hundred since October 2019, yet the Proteas were reeling as he arrived at the crease on Friday, able to settle the innings a little by dashing to an unbeaten 24 at stumps.
Barcelona were handed a tough draw against Sevilla in the Copa del Rey semi-finals as Ronald Koeman chases his first trophy since being appointed head coach.
The two-leg tie will be a repeat of the teams' memorable meeting at the quarter-final stage two years ago, when Sevilla won 2-0 at home before being thrashed 6-1 at Camp Nou.
Koeman, who took charge last August, saw his side beaten 3-2 in the Supercopa de Espana final by Athletic Bilbao in January, when Lionel Messi was sent off in extra time.
That silverware slipped by but the Dutch coach will hope for a better outcome for Barcelona as the Copa del Rey enters its final stages.
They were almost knocked out in the quarter-finals this week by Granada, saved by late goals in normal time from Antoine Griezmann and Jordi Alba before winning 5-3 after extra time.
Facing Sevilla will surely be no easy task given Barca, second in LaLiga, are just a point ahead of Julen Lopetegui's team.
There could be another final between Barcelona and Athletic in store, with the Bilbao giants drawn to face Levante in the other semi-final.
The first legs of each tie will be played next midweek, with the return games to be played on the first midweek in March, with exact dates for each match to be determined.
Sevilla will have extra incentive to reach the final, given that match will be staged in their home city on April 17, at Estadio La Cartuja.
Because of the coronavirus impact on Spanish football, last season's Copa del Rey final has yet to be played, with that game between Athletic and Real Sociedad to be played at the same Seville stadium on April 3.
Barcelona hold the record for the most Copa del Rey titles, having won the competition 30 times, with Athletic next on the list with 23 victories.
Jose Mourinho has little interest in external scrutiny after three consecutive Tottenham defeats, insisting he places enough pressure on himself.
Spurs host struggling West Brom on Sunday but head into the weekend eighth in the Premier League, 14 points off top, after losing to Liverpool, Brighton and Hove Albion and Chelsea consecutively.
That miserable run has made Mourinho the first Tottenham boss since Andre Villas-Boas in November 2012 to suffer three defeats in a row in the league.
Indeed, the reverses against Liverpool and Chelsea represented the first time in 327 home league matches in Mourinho's managerial career he has lost back-to-back games.
Speaking ahead of the West Brom game, where Spurs will aim to bounce back at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Mourinho offered a spiky response when asked about increasing pressure, referring to the club's wait for a league title that stretches back to 1961 and a total trophy drought of more than 12 years.
"I put pressure on myself every day," he said. "I don't need others to put pressure on me, I put pressure on myself every day.
"Since 2012 without three defeats in a row, correct? How long since a title? Maybe I can give one."
Mourinho added his focus remains on the short term and again getting the better of Sam Allardyce, the West Brom boss against whom he has never lost in 12 Premier League meetings.
Even with West Brom 10 points shy of safety after losing to bottom side Sheffield United, Mourinho is aware of the threat they pose.
The Baggies have held Manchester City and Liverpool away from home this term and beat Mourinho's Manchester United at Old Trafford during their previous relegation campaign in 2017-18.
"The most important thing now is West Brom," Mourinho said. "I don't even want to think about [subsequent fixtures against] Everton or City.
"After City, we go to Austria in the Europa League, which is a big competition for us that we have good expectations in.
"But I don't even want to think about that, I want to think about West Brom. That's a big game. Sometimes big games are just against the top six or the London derbies or whatever it is, other times big games are games like this.
"It's a big game for West Brom because they need a victory, they need points to survive, to get out of where they are.
"It's a big game for us because we need to leave the position where we are, which is not a dramatic position like theirs but is a very bad position for us, so we need to leave it.
"We need to break the dynamic of three defeats like you saw, so it's a very important match for us.
"But the reality is until the end of the month we have great motivations in front of us. The Europa League is something that since the beginning we put a lot on.
"I cannot forget that we had to play many games to qualify for the group stage, games with two days in between, travelling around Europe to play.
"The team wants and the team is waiting for that, maybe the squad needs that, but let's focus on West Brom because it is the next match and, after three defeats, we have to win against West Brom; we cannot even think a different thing."
An own goal from substitute George Timotheou gave Perth Glory a 2-1 comeback win over Adelaide United in the A-League.
United captain Stefan Mauk put the hosts ahead in the 20th minute, timing his run into the box perfectly to convert Ben Halloran's cutback.
The advantage remained until the 73rd minute, when Bruno Fornaroli converted from Neil Kilkenny's pass to crown a patient team move.
Ten minutes later, Perth grabbed the goal that moves them up to third in the standings - leapfrogging teams including Adelaide, who drop to sixth.
United failed to deal with a short corner and the ball broke to Daniel Stynes, whose drive took a decisive deflection off the unfortunate Timotheou.
Joe Root once again led from the front for England, marking his 100th Test match with another glorious hundred against India in Chennai.
Visiting captain Root came to the crease before lunch on day one of the first Test after the tourists lost Rory Burns and Dan Lawrence, the latter for nought, with the score on 63.
Alongside opener Dom Sibley, who was trapped lbw for a typically robust 87 by Jasprit Bumrah from the final ball of the day, Root came through a stern examination before making hay as the India attack tired.
It was another sparkling display from the 30-year-old right-hander, whose 128 not out followed scores of 228 and 186 during last month's 2-0 win in Sri Lanka and left England 263-3 at stumps.
Rory Burns was back at the top of the England order having sat out the previous tour due to the birth of his first child and the Surrey left-hander looked in fine touch after Root won the toss, delightfully clipping Ravichandran Ashwin through midwicket after he and Sibley brought up the fifty partnership.
But Ashwin (1-68) had his revenge in an awful moment for Burns, who misjudged a reverse sweep to loop a simple catch to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and depart for 33.
Lawrence was promoted up the order after Zak Crawley was ruled out with a sprained wrist, and India skipper Virat Kohli decided to see how he might fare against quality pace bowling. He soon had an answer as Bumrah (2-40) found reverse swing to pin the Essex man in front.
Root survived a strong lbw appeal from Ishant Sharma and he and Sibley were forced to dig in against some high standard bowling either side of lunch.
Again displaying impeccable balance and judgement, Root initially put away the sweep shot that served him so well in Sri Lanka and was watchful against Ashwin and slow left-armer Shahbaz Nadeem on a surface displaying more bounce than expected.
He started to move through the repertoire when all-rounder Washington Sundar entered the attack. The partnership was 77 when England reached tea at 140-2, with Sibley through to a half-century.
They motored on in the evening session, with Root reaching three figures with a trademark tuck behind square into the leg side before shedding his earlier inhibitions and bludgeoning Ashwin for a slog-swept six. He must continue on Saturday without Sibley, whose 286-ball vigil came to a cruel end.
Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana has been suspended for 12 months by UEFA due to a doping violation, the Eredivisie club have confirmed.
Ajax and Onana will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to overturn the ban, imposed after an out-of-competition test in October 2020 found the substance Furosemide in the player's urine.
The club said the test result was due to Onana, 24, mistakenly taking Lasimac – a drug prescribed to his wife – when he felt unwell.
UEFA therefore accepted Onana "had no intention of cheating", an Ajax statement read.
It added: "However, UEFA believes, on the basis of the applicable anti-doping rules, that an athlete has a duty at all times to ensure that no banned substances enter the body."
The suspension is effective from Friday and applies to "all football activities, both national and international".
Ajax managing director Edwin van der Sar said: "We explicitly renounce performance-enhancing drugs, we obviously stand for a clean sport.
"This is a terrible setback, for Andre himself but certainly also for us as a club. Andre is a top goalkeeper, who has proven his worth for Ajax for years and is very popular with the fans.
"We had hoped for a conditional suspension or for a suspension much shorter than these 12 months, because it was arguably not intended to strengthen his body and thus improve his performance."
Cameroon international Onana has been a key man for Ajax since his debut in 2016-17, playing his part in runs to the Europa League final and Champions League semi-finals.
His absence is the latest blow to Ajax, who earlier confirmed they would be unable to correct the administrative error that saw Sebastian Haller left out of their Europa League squad.
Haller, signed from West Ham for a club-record €22.5million last month, was not included in Ajax's initial list for European competition for the second half of the season.
Coach Erik ten Haag described the mistake as "an administrative error with major consequences" and "an incredible setback" for the player, although he confirmed Ajax would be addressing the matter with UEFA.
However, a further club statement has now confirmed UEFA sent "a final message" to say Haller could not be added to the group.
Haller has scored two goals in his first seven games for Ajax in all competitions.
England captain Joe Root has become the ninth player in history to score a century in his 100th Test match.
The 30-year-old made his milestone appearance on day one of the first Test against India in Chennai on Friday.
During a terrific third-wicket stand with Dom Sibley, Root marked a memorable day with the 20th Test ton of his international career off just 164 balls.
Only eight players have previously celebrated a century of Test caps by scoring 100 runs, the last being Hashim Amla, who scored 134 for South Africa against Sri Lanka in January 2017.
The highest such score for a centurion is 149, set by Gordon Greenidge for the West Indies against England back in April 1990.
Root is just the third Englishman on the list, following Colin Cowdrey in 1968 and Alec Stewart in 2000.
England lost Rory Burns for 33 and Dan Lawrence for a duck before Root and Sibley began to nullify the India attack.
England were 227-2 as Root celebrated a third century in as many Tests, with Sibley on 83 from 250 deliveries.
Serena Williams has withdrawn from her semi-final at the Yarra Valley Classic due to an injury to her right shoulder.
As a result, home favourite Ash Barty will progress to the final of the Australian Open warm-up event at Melbourne Park.
Williams, who is chasing an eighth Australian Open crown and an historic 24th grand slam singles success, had been in impressive form this week, demolishing Tsvetana Pironkova in straight sets.
Friday's quarter-final against American Danielle Collins proved a harder slog, as she was forced into a match tiebreak to win 6-2 4-6 10-6.
An anticipated showdown against Barty will now not come to pass, with the world number one to pursue a ninth career title against either Garbine Muguruza or Marketa Vondrousova.
"I think the rust is always there for everyone the first few matches of the season. But without a doubt, I felt better and better each match," Barty told reporters after being taken the distance by Shelby Rodgers.
"Each match has been very different, different challenges, different things I've had to overcome, which is the best thing, to be able to work through those and give myself another chance to play a little bit better the next day, focus on some new challenges for the next day."
Williams is due to face Germany's Laura Siegemund in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James branded the decision to hold an NBA All-Star game this season as "pretty much a slap in the face".
The league and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) have agreed to stage the event in Atlanta on March 7, according to The Athletic.
The traditional February exhibition, initially set to be held in Indianapolis, was cancelled before the season started due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
James had expected the game not to go ahead and was anticipating a much-needed break after the Lakers go to the Sacramento Kings on March 4.
Speaking after leading the Lakers to a 114-93 win over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, James proclaimed he has "Zero energy and zero excitement about an All-Star game this year", adding: "I don't even know why we're having an All-Star game."
He said: "A short offseason for myself and my team-mates, and coming into the season, we were told we wouldn't have an All-Star game so we get a nice little break, five days from the fifth to the 10th, an opportunity for me to kind of recalibrate for the second half of the season.
"Then they throw an All-Star game on us like this. It's pretty much a slap in the face. We're still dealing with a pandemic, with everything that's been going on, and we're going to bring the whole league into one city that's open.
"You guys can see I'm not very happy about it but it's out of my hands. I'll be there physically [if I'm selected], but not mentally."
James was speaking after posting a second triple-double of the season – 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists – against the Nuggets as the Lakers moved to 17-6.
The 36-year-old is enjoying a 23-game streak of recording at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists to start the season. It is the longest such run in NBA history, surpassing his own record of 22 set back in 2011-12.
James scored the 12,682nd field goal of his storied career, overtaking the great Wilt Chamberlain for the third-most in NBA history, with only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (15,837) and Karl Malone (13,528) now above him.
"The association with a legend like Wilt Chamberlain, that does something for me," James said. "I'm someone who grew up reading about the game, studying the game. Wilt obviously was a big staple of that. It's very humbling."
With a double over Inter in the Coppa Italia semi-final first leg, Cristiano Ronaldo took his tally to 22 goals in 23 appearances for Juventus this season.
The Portugal star is the leading goalscorer across all competitions from within Italy's top flight, two above Romelu Lukaku and four clear of Ciro Immobile, the winner of last season's European Golden Shoe.
Not bad for a man who turns 36 on Friday.
Of course, Ronaldo is far from your average goalscorer and few would discount him from continuing to break records even as he approaches his 40th birthday.
He has already made history in his two and a half years in Serie A and will be gunning for more before he leaves Turin.
OLD HABITS DIE HARD
Since his €112million move from Real Madrid in 2018, Ronaldo has scored 67 goals in 80 Serie A games, more than any other player in that time (Immobile is next on 64).
His rate of 0.84 goals per game puts him joint-top among players in their 30s to play in Italy's top division since 1994-95, level with Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has 49 in 58 appearances.
In 2019-20, Ronaldo set a new record for goals scored by Serie A stars over 30 as he became the first such player to net at least 30 goals in a season (he finished on 31).
The previous best such figure was 29, achieved by Edin Dzeko for Roma in 2016-17 and Antonio Di Natale in 2009-10. And Ronaldo might just have another milestone set by the Udinese great in his sights.
A RECORD FOR THE AGED
There are 14 players in Serie A history to score more goals in their 30s than Ronaldo, and only one of them – Dzeko, who has 78 – is still playing.
Should he stay at Juve, Ronaldo will fancy his chances of becoming only the fifth player to score at least 100 times in the division in his 30s.
Still, the top four are some distance ahead. Roma great Francesco Totti is on 125, revered former Milan striker Gunnar Nordahl scored 137, and top of the tree is Di Natale with a remarkable 162.
It sounds a tall order for even Ronaldo to catch the former Italy striker, who called time on his career in 2016 at the age of 38. However, if he continues scoring at an average of 32 goals per season, he would reach Di Natale's tally in the latter part of the 2023-24 season, when he would have just turned 39.
And would you really bet against him?
England start their quest to retain the Six Nations title against Scotland on Saturday just over three months after they were crowned champions.
The Red Rose dethroned Wales at the end of October, pipping France on points difference in a dramatic finale to a tournament that ended almost nine months after it started due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eddie Jones' side are favourites to win the competition again, but Les Bleus are also well fancied to end an 11-year wait for Six Nations glory and face Italy in the first match.
England do battle with Scotland for the Calcutta Cup at Twickenham, with Wales and Ireland locking horns in Cardiff on Sunday.
Ahead of the opening round, we preview the upcoming matches with help from Opta.
ITALY v FRANCE
FORM
France have won 19 of their 21 previous Six Nations matches against Italy (L2), including their last seven in a row. Their two defeats in that time both came in Rome, in 2011 and 2013.
Italy have lost their last 27 Six Nations matches, the longest losing streak in the history of the competition. Their last victory came at Murrayfield against Scotland in 2015, while they have not won at home since 2013.
Les Bleus achieved a cumulative points difference of +31 in the first 20 minutes of their 2020 Six Nations matches. No other side managed a positive double-digit points difference in that period of matches, but Italy had a -39 difference.
ONES TO WATCH
France wing Teddy Thomas scored a try in his last Test against Italy and is capable of lighting up the tournament. He can get off to a storming start in Rome.
Paolo Garbisi caught the eye at fly-half last year after being handed his debut against Ireland in October. Hopefully for his country, there is still much more to come from the 20-year-old.
ENGLAND v SCOTLAND
FORM
The last time England hosted Scotland in the Six Nations they drew 38-38 two years ago. Scotland clawed back the biggest ever half-time deficit (-24 pts, 7-31) by a side to avoid defeat in the tournament’s history, almost snatching victory before a late George Ford try denied them.
Scotland have never beaten England at Twickenham in the Six Nations (D1, L9), their last victory against them the Red Rose at the London venue came in 1983 in the Five Nations (22-12).
Gregor Townsend's side concluded the 2020 edition by winning their last three games in a row, their best run in the Championship since Italy joined in 2000.
ONES TO WATCH
England captain Owen Farrell has scored exactly 1,000 Test points, one of just six men to reach that milestone. He is just four points away from reaching a century against Scotland.
Finn Russell returns to the Scotland side and the creativity provided by the fly-half will be key for Townsend's men.
WALES v IRELAND
FORM
Wales have lost their last two home games in the Six Nations, the last time they suffered three consecutive defeats at home was in 2002-03. Wayne Pivac's side have lost their last four games in the competition, their worst streak since 2006-07 (L5).
No team scored more tries than Ireland in the Six Nations last year (17, along with France), four of those were launched from the back of a scrum. Wales (2) were the only other side to score multiple tries following a scrum.
Ireland scored seven tries in the final quarter of their fixtures in 2020, more than any other side. Wales, meanwhile, scored the joint-second most in that period (6, level with England).
ONES TO WATCH
Louis Rees-Zammit turned 20 this week and the Wales wing can celebrate in style with a livewire display at the Principality Stadium.
Ireland centre Garry Ringrose had terrible luck with injuries last year, but he is ready to fire on all cylinders in 2021.
Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic could face Dominic Thiem in a mouth-watering semi-final after being handed a tough path to success at Melbourne Park, where Serena Williams will continue her quest for a 24th grand slam singles title.
The Australian Open draw took place on Friday, with world number one Djokovic set to play Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in the opening round of the year's first major tournament.
Amid coronavirus concerns in Melbourne, where Swiss great Roger Federer is absent, Djokovic has set his sights on a ninth crown and 18th major success, but the top seed's title defence is far from straightforward.
Djokovic could face Gael Monfils (fourth round) and sixth seed Alexander Zverev (quarter-final) en route to a possible semi-final against US Open champion and third seed Thiem.
The Serb overcame Thiem in a five-set thriller in last year's Australian Open final, before the latter broke through for his maiden major trophy at Flushing Meadows.
Djokovic could then meet second seed and 20-time major champion Rafael Nadal in a blockbuster final – he blitzed the Spanish superstar in the 2019 Australian Open decider but lost in three one-sided sets in their previous meeting in the French Open final.
Nadal will go head-to-head with another Serb in the first round – Laslo Djere – while Stefanos Tsitsipas could await in the quarters, with 2019 US Open final opponent Daniil Medvedev also on the same side of the draw.
Meanwhile, Williams' bid for a record-equalling 24th slam will begin against German Laura Siegemund.
The 39-year-old Williams has been stuck on 23 majors since winning the Australian Open in 2017 – losing finals at Wimbledon (2018 and 2019) and the US Open (2018 and 2019).
World number one and local hope Ashleigh Barty will meet Montenegro's Danka Kovinic in round one and defending champion Sofia Kenin faces Australian wildcard Maddison Inglis.
The last 16 could see Williams clash with Aryna Sabalenka, Barty meet Petra Martic, Kenin tackle Johanna Konta and three-time major champion Naomi Osaka do battle with last year's runner-up Garbine Muguruza.
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