Julen Lopetegui wasn't instantly won over by Jules Kounde following his 2019 arrival at Sevilla from Bordeaux, unlikely as that seems currently.
He had only made four LaLiga starts by the end of October in his first season, and although that was followed by a more prolonged run in the team, a rocky performance against Osasuna in December saw him back on the bench.
As it was, Osasuna weren't able to punish Kounde's struggles on that occasion – the closest they came was hitting the post after his misjudgement of a bouncing ball led to a clear opportunity.
He was withdrawn soon after and only made another two league starts – a defeat at Real Madrid and underwhelming 1-1 home draw with Deportivo Alaves – before the start of February.
Indeed, it arguably wasn't until LaLiga's resumption after the coronavirus lockdown that Kounde truly nailed down a place and found genuine consistency in his performances, but now he is probably the first name on the team sheet.
Sevilla's 'selling club' business model is no secret, and by that logic it is unlikely that Kounde will remain at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan long-term – after all, Manchester City were keen in pre-season.
In years gone by Barcelona would've been not only a likely destination for him such has been their affinity for Sevilla-developed talent, it would have also been a stylistically ideal place for him to play. But ahead of the two teams' Copa del Rey semi-final tie, the archetypal Barca defender appears to be well out of their reach financially.
The 'false right-back'
In 2006, two years before he came Barcelona coach, Pep Guardiola wrote a column for El Pais in which he discussed what has become known as the 'Lavolpiana build-up', a defensive setup attributed to Argentinian coach Ricardo La Volpe that essentially demands centre-backs carry the ball forward.
While La Volpe's Mexico side used a back three, the key ball-playing and forward-thinking elements of this system are still evident in the four-man defensive structure at Guardiola's City now – it is also identifiable in Lopetegui's Sevilla.
Kounde is a massive part of that, with the young Frenchman a fine player technically, both on the ball and when distributing.
The attack-minded nature of Sevilla right-back Jesus Navas leaves a lot of space for Kounde to operate in, and he often helps create overloads on the right flank – his positional map shows how he essentially works as a secondary right-back when in possession, while Fernando drops back into central defence to form a back three.
The recent 3-0 win over Getafe show this perfectly, with Kounde almost spending as much time in the attacking half as he did his own.
While the 'Lavolpiana build up' is a risky strategy, the right players can ensure it brings greater incisiveness particularly when playing through a press, and Sevilla have clearly adapted well – they are one of just two teams to not concede a goal as a result of a high turnover this term.
At no point this season has Sevilla's ability to play through the press been more prevalent than when remarkably stringing together 37 passes leading up to Luuk de Jong's second goal in the 3-0 Copa win over Valencia last month. Kounde more than played his role in that.
The defensive playmaker
This setup suits Kounde down to the ground. It's no wonder City were interested in him before going for Ruben Dias, and by extension he would clearly suit the ethos cultivated at Barcelona.
In 2019-20, Kounde showed glimpses of his undoubted ability but it was his partner Diego Carlos who arguably attracted more acclaim.
But this season, building on his positive development post-lockdown last term, Kounde has stepped things up a notch and seemingly relished that forward-thinking ball-playing role.
That is most notable with respect to how often he has carried the ball – his 331 carries (defined as a movement of five metres or more in possession of the ball) is bettered by only six players in LaLiga this term, three of whom are Frenkie de Jong, Lionel Messi and Luka Modric.
Of those 331 carries, 205 have been progressive, so moving Sevilla up the pitch. This gives him another very high ranking, with Pau Torres (321), De Jong (288), Messi (252) and Raul Albiol (246) the four individuals to boast more.
Kounde ranks in the top 10 for several other carry-related metrics – last season he did not. In fact, his 338 carries in 2019-20 is only seven more than he has in 2020-21, which in itself highlights his development.
But his forward runs in possession aren't Kounde's only way of getting on the front foot. His passing is also very positive.
Possessional stats can often be skewed for centre-backs given many of the passes they make are simple short balls to their defensive colleagues, but Kounde is often looking ahead.
His 387 successful forward passes is more than anyone else in LaLiga, while his 486 attempted forward balls is second only to Torres (502), who has played 360 minutes more than Kounde.
The Sevilla talent's 79.6 per cent completion rate from such passes is also better than Torres' 74.5 per cent.
Kounde is a prime example of how centre-backs can be just as satisfying to see in possession as your classic playmakers – in fact, that is essentially what he has developed into, a defensive playmaker of the ilk who wouldn't have looked out of place in the great Barcelona teams of the past 14 years.
While Sevilla and Lopetegui remain the perfect fit for Kounde, it is surely only a matter of time before his €80million release clause no longer appears a daunting figure for certain clubs – though Barca's perilous financial position means they won't be in the hunt.
He's come a long way from that shaky night in Pamplona.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic survived a stern test after prevailing 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 against Frances Tiafoe en route to the Australian Open third round.
Tiafoe threatened an upset in warm and sunny conditions at Melbourne Park, where world number one Djokovic was pushed to the limit on Wednesday.
But Djokovic dug deep to prevail in a hard-fought battle, keeping his bid alive for a record-extending ninth Australian Open crown and an 18th grand slam title.
Djokovic had only ever lost in the second round of the Australian Open on one previous occasion - in 2017, when he was upstaged by wildcard Denis Istomin in his earliest Melbourne Park exit since the opening round in 2006.
But Djokovic controlled proceedings initially, despite a blip in the first set against Tiafoe, who enjoyed his best run in Melbourne after reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals two years ago.
After racing out to a 4-1 lead, Djokovic was broken to love in the seventh game as Tiafoe reeled off back-to-back games, only to break back immediately - letting out a thunderous roar before closing out the first set in just over half-an-hour.
Not overawed, Tiafoe refused to go away, rallying from love-40 down and saving three break points in a marathon third game lasting almost eight minutes.
It set the tone for a tense second set as Tiafoe - who saw his winner count rise from five in the opening set to 17 - won a tie-breaker.
Djokovic owned a 15-4 record when splitting the opening two sets at the Australian Open, and 68-16 across majors, and he managed to claim an early break that he consolidated for a 3-0 lead to start the third set.
Tiafoe saved two set points when down 5-4 and he continued to frustrate Djokovic en route to another tie-break, but the latter prevailed, albeit unconvincingly.
The fourth set followed a similar theme until Tiafoe came unstuck at 4-3, Djokovic performing when it mattered most as he secured his passage on the back of a double-fault.
Data Slam: Djokovic dazzles from the service line
The Serbian star was always going to be hard to beat behind a strong serving display. Djokovic fired down 26 aces and won 84 per cent of his first serves, having served sat 62 per cent through the contest.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Djokovic – 56/37
Tiafoe – 49/43
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Djokovic – 26/5
Tiafoe – 23/8
BREAK POINTS WON
Djokovic – 5/14
Tiafoe – 2/3
Former Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka exited in the second round after a marathon loss to Marton Fucsovics.
Wawrinka, the 2014 champion, bowed out after a 7-5 6-1 4-6 2-6 7-6 (11-9) loss to Fucsovics on a warm Wednesday in Melbourne.
Fucsovics saved three match points on John Cain Arena in an encounter that lasted three hours, 59 minutes.
Wawrinka led 6-1 and 8-4 in the super tie-break, but Fucsovics won the final five points and seven of the last eight.
The Hungarian continues to enjoy the year's first grand slam, where he has reached the fourth round twice in the past three years.
Wawrinka, though, has struggled in Australia in recent years.
The Swiss star has now been eliminated in the second round in three of the past four years, while reaching the quarter-finals in 2020.
Wawrinka rallied from two sets to love down and 5-3 behind in the fifth, but wasted his chances in the super tie-break.
Serena Williams is embracing the absence of line judges at this year's Australian Open as the record-chasing American superstar dubbed herself a "futurist, like Iron Man" after reaching the third round.
The Australian Open is taking place without linespeople as a response to coronavirus restrictions at Melbourne Park, where "Hawk-Eye Live" technology is being used on every court.
It is the first grand slam to replace all line judges with technology as the tournament seeks to limit the number of people on court amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
After easing past Nina Stojanovic 6-3 6-0 on Wednesday, 23-time grand slam champion and seven-time Australian Open winner Williams welcomed the use of technology.
"I like it," Williams, who is looking to equal Margaret Court's record of 24 slams, told reporters when asked about the technology post-match. "I didn't like it in Cincinnati because they had that in Cincinnati and I was, it was different. It was weird.
"I like it now because it takes away a lot of the human error, which clearly I definitely don't need. I should be the biggest fan of that.
"But I feel like sometimes I definitely still want to see that ball, but I'm like, okay, even if I see it, the computer's going to show me what the computer just said. So that's kind of how I think about it.
"I'm a futurist, like Iron Man, so I definitely love technology and it's something that I invest in and so, yeah, I really think is right up my alley."
Williams owns a 359-51 grand slam record in her illustrious career – the only other player to pass 300 victories in the Open Era is Martina Navratilova (306-49).
The 39-year-old Williams is bidding to win her 11th major crown since turning 30.
Only Court (three), Navratilova (three), Chris Evert (two), Billie Jean King (two), Ann Jones (one), Angelique Kerber (one), Li Na (one), Flavia Pennetta (one) and Virginia Wade (one) have won grand slam silverware in their 30s.
Jose Mourinho has explained the reasons behind leaving Eric Dier out of his Tottenham side for the 2-0 Premier League win against West Brom.
Dier had started 19 of Spurs' 21 league games before the Portuguese coach named the England international centre-back on the bench for the match against the Baggies.
The defensive partnership of Toby Alderweireld and Davinson Sanchez helped Spurs to their first clean sheet in seven matches as the North Londoners snapped a run of three straight defeats.
And Mourinho revealed Dier had suffered a loss of confidence after being one of a number of players to make individual mistakes during Tottenham's recent run of sketchy form.
Dier's positioning was questionable as Roberto Firmino scored Liverpool’s opener in the 3-1 win at Tottenham last month and, after being dropped for the next game against Brighton and Hove Albion, Dier came back to concede a penalty in the 1-0 loss to Chelsea.
"Players have moments," Mourinho said. "They can be very good, they can be strong personalities, they can be experienced, they can cope with a mistake but in the end, they are men. And they feel more than anyone else these little moments of confidence, of crisis.
"I have to admit that recently our team makes little important mistakes that are punished in terms of our results.
“And Eric was there, he was one of them. They feel it. And I believe confidence, that drops a little bit.
"But great personality, a team guy, as happy as we were when we won on Sunday. A guy that loves it here, a guy that is loved by the team-mates, a guy that I trust. And he will be back to normality and his normality is to play and be solid."
Mourinho must now decide whether to recall Dier for Wednesday's FA Cup fifth-round tie against Everton, ahead of a league game against Manchester City on Saturday.
The Spurs coach confirmed Sergio Reguilon and Giovani Lo Celso will miss the trip to at Goodison Park, while Serge Aurier is a doubt.
Petra Kvitova made a surprise second-round exit at the Australian Open on Wednesday.
The Czech ninth seed and two-time Wimbledon champion fell to Sorana Cirstea 6-4 1-6 6-1 on a warm day at Melbourne Park.
Runner-up in 2019 and a quarter-finalist last year, Kvitova bowed out after a costly 44 unforced errors in two hours, three minutes.
Cirstea, meanwhile, reached the third round of the Australian Open for just the fourth time.
It marked the Romanian's first win over a top-10 player since 2017, when she beat Karolina Pliskova in Beijing.
Cirstea will face another Czech, 19th seed Marketa Vondrousova, in the third round.
Kvitova is among 10 seeds to have departed in the women's draw, joining Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber, Bianca Andreescu, Petra Martic, Johanna Konta, Maria Sakkari, Wang Qiang, Zhang Shuai and Alison Riske.
Serena Williams booked her spot in the Australian Open third round with a straight-sets win over Nina Stojanovic on Wednesday.
Williams again looked in fine form on her way to a 6-3 6-0 victory over Stojanovic in warm conditions on Rod Laver Arena.
The American star is bidding to equal Margaret Court's record of 24 grand slam singles titles and is on track after her win in one hour, nine minutes.
As her serve gradually improved, Williams – who is dealing with a right shoulder injury – was in control for the most part to set up a third-round clash against Anastasia Potapova.
Stojanovic held her own early, but Williams broke for 3-1, a powerful forehand setting up break point before a backhand error from the Serbian.
Williams was struggling with her first serve – she had a first-serve percentage of just 52 in the first set – but dug herself out of a 15-40 hole to hold for 5-2 on her way to taking the opening set.
A break to begin the second set followed as Stojanovic powered a forehand down the line wide, and three consecutive backhand errors saw her cough up another break to fall 3-0 behind.
Williams took complete control from then on, finishing the second set without an unforced error and losing just nine points to quickly wrap up victory.
Data Slam: Williams' second-round dominance continues
Williams improved her record in the second round of majors to 73-2. It also stands at 19-1 at the Australian Open, where she last failed to reach the third round on her debut main-draw appearance in 1998.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Williams – 27/11
Stojanovic – 15/18
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Williams – 6/1
Stojanovic – 1/4
BREAK POINTS WON
Williams – 4/9
Stojanovic – 0/3
Antonio Conte was left fuming over a heated post-match exchange with Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli following Inter's Coppa Italia semi-final exit.
The Milan-based side were held to a tense 0-0 draw in the second leg at the Allianz Stadium as the Old Lady advanced to the final, 2-1 on aggregate, before ugly scenes allegedly erupted following the final whistle.
Media outlet RAI reported that Conte made an insulting gesture towards his former employer Agnelli at half-time, and the Juve chief retaliated by verbally abusing the Inter coach as the teams left the field.
Conte criticised his former club's behaviour in his post-match interview but stopped short of pointing any fingers.
"Juventus should tell the truth," Conte told RAI.
"I think the fourth official heard and saw what happened throughout the match.
"They should be more polite in my opinion. They need more sportsmanship and respect for those who work."
Conte coached in Turin between 2011 and 2014 and led the Bianconeri to three Serie A titles before taking up a role in charge of Italy after the 2014 World Cup.
The 51-year-old was questioned on the incident in his post-match news conference but he refused to elaborate.
"What happened at the end of the game? I have neither the desire nor the pleasure to comment on anything," Conte said.
"I think that in all things there must be education. Enough."
The competition's most successful club, Juventus, advance to the final to face Atalanta or Napoli, as Andrea Pirlo's side search for a 14th Coppa Italia triumph.
The Los Angeles Clippers will be without Paul George for their upcoming two-game road trip due to injury.
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue confirmed George's absence for games against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Chicago Bills as the NBA All-Star deals with a swollen right toe.
George has been sidelined for the Clippers' past two games.
"Staying back home and getting some treatment," Lue said of George on Tuesday. "And we'll re-evaluate when we get back."
The Clippers face the Timberwolves on Wednesday before visiting the Bulls on Friday.
George is averaging 24.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game for the Clippers this season.
The Clippers (17-8) are third in the Western Conference, behind leaders the Utah Jazz (19-5) and defending champions the Los Angeles Lakers (19-6), following back-to-back losses.
Karim Benzema insists "there is a long way to go" in the LaLiga title race after Real Madrid made up ground on leaders Atletico Madrid.
Benzema opened the scoring on the hour-mark and Ferland Mendy doubled the lead as Zinedine Zidane’s side claimed a 2-0 victory against Getafe on Tuesday.
Atleti were held to a 2-2 home draw by Celta Vigo on Monday as Los Blancos closed the gap to five points at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, although Diego Simeone’s team still have two games in hand.
But that does not matter to Benzema, who headed in Vinicius Junior's cross to net his 16th goal of the season in all competitions, and the France international striker believes Madrid have Atleti in their sights.
"It was a good goal, a good centre from Vini and the ball goes in. I think we are back," Benzema told Movistar.
"It is always very difficult against Getafe. We will continue like this. There is a long way to go until the end.
"Each game is a final and we have to try to win every one. We are confident.
"There is always a lot of noise around Madrid because this is the best club in the world."
Next up for Madrid is a meeting with Valencia on Sunday, while table-toppers Atletico travel to face Granada on Saturday.
Third-placed Barcelona, who are three points behind Madrid and eight points off the top, host Deportivo Alaves on Saturday following their Copa Del Rey semi-final first leg against Sevilla on Wednesday.
Andrea Pirlo was happy to go back to the future to seal a place in the Coppa Italia final for Juventus at Inter's expense.
Juventus played out a 0-0 draw in Tuesday's semi-final second leg, meaning Cristiano Ronaldo's double in the 2-1 win at San Siro last week proved decisive.
Pirlo has tried to bring in an expansive passing style at Juve this season with mixed results, but the sight of black and white shirts soaking up pressure with ease in front of Gianluigi Buffon evoked memories of the years under former bosses Massimiliano Allegri and Antonio Conte - the latter now cutting a frustrated figure in the Inter dugout.
"It's very nice," Juve head coach Pirlo told Rai Sports of the comparison.
"If I have to win what he won, you can also call me 'Allegriano'.
"We were very good, they almost never shot on goal."
Pirlo hailed Samir Handanovic as the best player on the field and the Inter goalkeeper made a couple of stunning second-half saves to thwart Ronaldo.
A final awaits against Atalanta or Napoli, who Juve beat in the Supercoppa Italiana to claim the first piece of silverware of Pirlo's embryonic coaching career.
"It was in my plans to win the Supercoppa and get to the Coppa final, but there is work to be done," he added.
"As a coach it is completely different. We are satisfied so far but we have not done anything yet."
Juve have reached the Coppa Italia final in six of the last seven seasons, failing to do so only in 2018-19.
Pirlo's Juve are unbeaten in 11 of their 12 games since the start of 2021 in all competitions, having won 10 of those matches (D1).
Meanwhile, Juventus are unbeaten in nine of their last 10 matches against Inter in all competitions, winning six games (D3).
Real Madrid will "keep on fighting" in this season's LaLiga title race, says Zinedine Zidane, whose side are five points shy of leaders Atletico Madrid.
Atleti's draw with Celta Vigo on Monday gave Madrid the opportunity to make up some ground when they faced Getafe on Tuesday, and Los Blancos cruised to a comfortable 2-0 win.
Karim Benzema's fifth headed goal of the season in all competitions – more than any other LaLiga player other than Sevilla's Youssef En-Nesyri – put Madrid ahead with an hour played before Ferland Mendy turned home Marcelo's cross.
Getafe were hardly robust opposition, however, with Jose Bordalas' side mustering just one attempt in the entire match. Indeed, Thibaut Courtois did not have to make a save, claim a catch or punch a cross clear.
It is the lowest amount of shots Madrid have faced in a LaLiga match since 2004-05, while have scored just 17 goals in the league this term - their lowest tally in a single season after 22 games played.
Nevertheless, Madrid did what was required of them and moved back into second place, three points above Barcelona and five behind Atleti, though Diego Simeone's side have two games in hand.
Zidane insisted Madrid's focus is simply on taking it game by game as they hope to retain their title.
"It will not change anything, we will do our thing. Our duty is to fight, to continue with our work, without paying attention to others," said Zidane, after seeing his side win back-to-back games for the first time in 2021.
"It's a good win. They are two consecutive victories, we needed it. Also with many injuries. We needed it now.
"I don't think there are Madridistas who think we're going to lose the league. On the contrary, they think we can always change things and that is what we are going to try to do.
"With difficulties, it is clear, but we continue to do our thing. You have to keep fighting, little by little."
With Madrid cruising, Zidane introduced the lesser-spotted Isco in the 75th minute – the playmaker having not featured since January 23 due to a back injury.
Isco has made just three LaLiga starts this season and has created five chances – registering one assist – across 12 league appearances in total.
"Isco couldn't start," Zidane explained when asked why Isco, who was linked with a move away in January, was on the bench.
"He has only trained once with the team. Then he entered the game a little later. It was just that, because he only did one training session with us."
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes the pain of the late collapse against Everton inspired Manchester United to edge past West Ham in the FA Cup fifth round.
Scott McTominay's goal, seven minutes into extra-time, earned United a 1-0 win over the Hammers in a match the Red Devils dominated, leading the shot count 17-3.
Three days earlier, Solskjaer's side let a 2-0 lead slip and then conceded a stoppage-time equaliser in a 3-3 draw against Everton that dented their Premier League title bid.
Following some soul-searching after dropping the precious points at Old Trafford, Solskjaer believes United responded in the best way possible to advance to the FA Cup quarter-finals.
"We needed to have a good result and a good feeling today because we were low after the Everton game. It's hard to take but they were really focused and did the job," Solskjaer said.
"Of course you want to win every game. We want to challenge and we want to go to the final. That's what we're here at Manchester United for.
"Sometimes you're lucky with draws in the cup – we haven't been that lucky – but obviously we move another step closer to the final."
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