An elated Naomi Osaka described playing a grand slam amid the health pandemic as a "super privilege" after outclassing Jennifer Brady to win the Australian Open for a second time.
The Japanese third seed completed a 6-4 6-3 triumph on Rod Laver Arena to become the first woman since Monica Seles in the early 1990s to emerge victorious from the first four grand slam finals of her career, having boasted a perfect 3-0 record following success at the US Open (2018 and 2020) and Australian Open (2019).
Osaka's latest two triumphs in New York and now Melbourne have come amid the coronavirus pandemic, although fans were in attendance for this victory.
The 23-year-old paid tribute to her beaten opponent, who she also defeated at Flushing Meadows, while revelling in another slam success.
"We played in the semis at the US Open a couple of months ago. I told everyone who would listen that you were going to be a problem, and I was right," Osaka said at the post-match presentation.
"My team is like my family so I'm sure you guys will have a lot of adventures together. I know your friends and your family are very proud of you and we're going to play a lot more matches, so get used to that!
"It feels really incredible for me. Just to have this energy [from fans], it really means a lot. Thank you so much for coming.
"Thank you for opening your hearts and your arms towards us. Playing a grand slam right now is a super privilege and I don't take this for granted."
Brady, seeded 22nd, was playing in the first slam final of her career against Osaka, and labelled the former world number one an "inspiration" to every player on the tour.
"Firstly I'd like to congratulate Naomi. She's such an inspiration to us all and what she's doing for the game is amazing. I hope young girls at home are watching are inspired by what she's doing," Brady said.
"I'd like to congratulate her team. You're obviously doing something special and she's getting better every day.
"I'd like to say thanks to my team. Without you guys I wouldn't be standing here tonight. Thank you for everything you've done for me and let's keep going for more.
"Mom, I know you're watching right now in front of the TV, probably crying, so... it was special to play in front of fans. Tonight, it wasn't meant to be, but hopefully there's many more."
Naomi Osaka made history after seeing off Jennifer Brady 6-4 6-3 in the Australian Open final for her fourth grand slam crown.
Osaka's big-match experience was telling against first-time finalist Brady in warm conditions, the former world number one reeling off six consecutive games after breaking at 4-4 in the first set to set the tone at Melbourne Park on Saturday.
Japanese star Osaka became the first woman since Monica Seles in the early 1990s to emerge victorious from the first four grand slam finals of her career, having boasted a perfect 3-0 record following success at the US Open (2018 and 2020) and Australian Open (2019).
Osaka - who fended off a pair of match points against Garbine Muguruza in the last 16 at Melbourne Park - also became the seventh woman to have won the Australian Open after saving match point, following in the footsteps of Seles (1991), Jennifer Capriati (2002), Serena Williams (2003 and 2005), Li Na (2014), Angelique Kerber (2016) and Caroline Wozniacki (2018).
Fans were treated to a topsy-turvy opening on Rod Laver Arena, in a rematch of the 2020 US Open semi-final, which Osaka won en route to her third slam title.
Osaka appeared to be on track for a commanding first set, cruising through the opening service game to love before breaking her opponent to love following a double-fault for a 3-1 lead.
Looking rushed in her maiden major final as Osaka enjoyed the big stage, Brady wrestled the momentum after reclaiming the break - the 22nd seed starting to outhit the former in a fascinating baseline battle.
Some out of character misses and errors crept into Osaka's game - 15 in total in the opening set, she managed just 21 in total in her straight-sets win over Serena Williams in the semi-finals.
Full of confidence, Brady had a chance to break Osaka, who fended it off to move ahead 5-4 before the debutant crumbled.
In control at 40-15, Brady's position wilted as she was was caught off-guard by an Osaka return that caught the line and it got worse after firing a volley into the net to gift the third seed the set.
For all of her hard work in an absorbing first set, Brady's hard work came undone early in the second - the fast-moving Osaka winning four consecutive games to close in on victory.
Brady managed to stop the rot by breaking back and clawing two consecutive games, however, it only delayed the inevitable as Osaka further cemented herself as the face of women's tennis.
Data slam: Osaka joins multiple winners
The 23-year-old won in 77 minutes to become the 12th woman in the Open Era to win multiple Australian Open titles. Osaka has now gone 21 matches without defeat - she is only the third woman since 2010 to enjoy an unbeaten streak of 20 or more matches, joining Serena (27 wins between 2014 WTA Finals and 2015 Madrid) and Azarenka (26 wins between 2012 Sydney and Miami).
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Osaka – 16/24
Brady – 15/31
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Osaka – 6/2
Brady – 2/4
BREAK POINTS WON
Osaka – 4/5
Brady – 2/4
Tyronn Lue relished seeing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George return from injury as the Los Angeles Clippers impressively beat the Utah Jazz.
The Jazz had won nine straight games and 20 of their last 21 NBA contests coming into Friday's game.
However, their streak came to an end as the Clippers emerged triumphant 116-112 in a battle between two championship contenders.
Leonard led the way for the home Clippers with 29 points as they improved to 22-9.
Donovan Mitchell had a game-high 35 points, but the Western Conference leading Jazz fell to 24-6.
Leonard had missed the previous three games with a lower leg contusion, while George was back after seven games out with a swollen toe.
The win came two days after the Clippers had lost by 18 to the Jazz playing without Leonard, George and Nicolas Batum.
"They are the best team in the NBA right now, record-wise, we knew that they won 20 of 21 coming into it – we understood that," Lue said after the win.
"We got our guys back and we wanted to win this game and the guys went out and did a hell of a job.
"Our defense was pretty good until the heroics of Donovan Mitchell down the stretch.
"Pat Beverley and PG, we did a decent job on that first half and second half, he [Mitchell] got going, that's what great players do.
"Overall, defensively, I thought we were pretty good like I said until the last 40 seconds or whatever it was of the game."
George had 15 points, six rebounds and five assists in 27 minutes.
"I wasn't ready to play 30-plus," he said. "Got to get back to that basketball conditioning.
"I probably would have hurt the team if I'd been on the floor past the minutes I was."
The Jazz were outrebounded 45-38, leaving Mitchell and Rudy Gobert clear where the game was lost.
"We lost the game on the boards," said Mitchell. "It was second-chance points that really hurt us.
"If you look at the overall game, we played solid defense throughout, but they just came out there and got the extra boards and rebounds and we just got to do a better job of that.
"This is a bump in the road and a good one."
Gobert feels the loss will ultimately benefit the Jazz.
He said: "If we get those rebounds, we win this game. [The Clippers are] a very good team.
"They came out rested, they came out ready and it felt like a playoff game – the intensity, the tough shots that they were making all night.
"It was a good opportunity for us to just keep getting better."
Daniil Medvedev goes into Sunday's Australian Open final against Novak Djokovic in incredible form.
The Russian star extended his winning streak to 20 matches with a straight-sets victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals on Friday.
Medvedev became the 25th man in the Open Era to record a Tour-level winning streak of 20 matches. He is the sixth active player to manage the feat, joining Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro.
The 25-year-old's run has not only been utterly dominant, but also included some rather impressive wins.
Of his 20 victories, 12 have come against top-10 players, including Djokovic. Since November, Medvedev has beaten every other member of the top 10 except Federer, who has been out of action.
"It's great to know this. It's a pity that Roger is not playing. I would love to have played him. I'm not saying anything. I just would love to play against him. I mean, to play against Roger is always a privilege. Against Novak, Rafa, Roger," Medvedev said after his win over Tsitsipas.
"But it's great to hear this. I mean, happy about myself, because I remember one moment when I was already playing quite good I actually was struggling with the top-10 guys when I was maybe around top 20 or top 30.
"It's great to hear this and I'm really happy about it."
Along with Djokovic and Nadal, Medvedev's run has also included wins over Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev (three times), Andrey Rublev, Matteo Berrettini and Tsitsipas.
In his 20-match streak, Medvedev has won 44 sets and lost just seven, and two of those were in his five-set victory over Filip Krajinovic in the third round.
Medvedev has won three of his past four meetings with Djokovic, who edges their overall head-to-head 4-3.
His run will have Medvedev full of confidence as he bids to win a first grand slam title, needing to overcome the record eight-time champion in Melbourne to do so.
Sunday's Milan derby will be unlike any seen for much of the past decade: a battle between two genuine Scudetto contenders.
Inter head into the game, the 174th league meeting with their city rivals, at the top of Serie A. They are just a point above Milan, with 16 rounds remaining, after a run of 12 wins in 15 games.
The last time these sides met in the top flight while occupying the top two positions in the table was back in April 2011, when a 3-0 win for the Rossoneri helped propel them to their most recent title.
Much of the focus will be on star strikers Romelu Lukaku and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. They scored all three goals in Milan's win in the reverse fixture and clashed on the pitch in the Nerazzurri's more recent Coppa Italia triumph.
However, according to esteemed former Milan coach Arrigo Sacchi, the real star of the show might be found in Inter's midfield.
"Those looking for the prototype of the modern footballer should look at Nicolo Barella and they will be satisfied," Sacchi said in his column for La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"The Inter player plays for the team and with the team, he attacks and defends, attacks with courage and fights to win the ball back.
"I've been following Barella since he was a kid. He came into Italy's youth teams when I was the Azzurri's technical director. He was not a phenomenon, he was physically frail, he did not have an incredible technique, yet he managed to reach very high levels.
"This shows that at the base of any successful career there is always hard work, training, the spirit of sacrifice and the desire to improve day after day."
For Sacchi, Barella represents the paragon of the modern player. But what makes him so effective?
BOX-TO-BOX BRILLIANCE
Barella is enjoying the best season of his career in terms of goal involvements, with three scored and eight assisted in 32 games in all competitions. Only five Serie A midfielders have been directly involved in more goals.
The 24-year-old has created 42 chances from open play across all competitions this term, only Milan playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu (44) has more among players in Italy's top flight, while Barella has also completed 469 passes ending in the final third, the highest number of any midfield player among Italy's top-tier sides.
Of course, as part of a three-man central midfield under Antonio Conte, creating opportunities is not enough (just ask Christian Eriksen). And, as Sacchi pointed out, Barella's impact is equally impressive when it comes to keeping the opposition away from your own goal.
He is third among Serie A midfielders for tackles won in 2020-21 (35, behind Adrien Rabiot and Marten de Roon), and third for duels won (175, behind Juraj Kucka and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic). That's a continuation of combative play honed at Cagliari, where, in his final two seasons, he was top of the league's midfield rankings with 480 duels won.
"COURAGE"
Sacchi spoke glowingly of Barella's bravery, of how an unassuming youngster developed into Serie A's most influential midfielder so early in his career.
He's right – there's a boldness to Barella's play that sets him apart.
In Serie A this season, he has completed 87 progressive carries in which the ball was moved between five and 10 metres up the pitch, which is the most of any attacking midfielder in the league. Twelve of his carries have ended in a chance being created, the fourth-best tally among players in his position.
These kinds of plays help Inter keep possession and limit the risk of losing the ball in dangerous areas. Indeed, Conte's side have faced only 18 shot-ending high turnovers of possession in Serie A this term, the lowest figure in the league, while only Napoli (230) and Juventus (212) have faced fewer pressed sequences than the Nerazzurri (232).
Once in more promising positions, Barella is still the man pulling the strings. His tally of shot build-up involvements – a measure of a player's involvement in sequences ending in a team-mate's shot on goal or chance created – stands at 60, the most of any attacking midfielder in the league.
Looking at sequences where players are involved in the build-up and also create the chance at the end, Barella is third in the division for his position with eight, just two behind Lorenzo Insigne and Ruslan Malinovskiy.
CONTE'S LIEUTENANT
Barella's eagerness to be at the heart of matters on the pitch extends to when Inter don't have the ball – at both ends of the pitch.
As well as being third among midfielders this term for tackles and duels won, Barella is fifth for regaining possession, having done so 168 times. When it comes to winning back the ball in the final third, he is top of the pile with 26 (both across all comps).
This, too, helps to set the tone for Inter's approach. In Serie A in 2020-21, they have made 190 high turnovers, a tally bettered only by Gian Piero Gasperini's Atalanta pressing machine (251). Plus, only Atalanta (129) and Juve (128) have had fewer high turnovers against them than Inter (130). It's an impressive combination, and Barella is integral to it.
As Sacchi said: "A detail that is far from negligible is the desire to put the group at the top of one's thoughts and, in this way self-centeredness, a disease of modern football, is fought and defeated.
"Barella is proving to be a driving force."
Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone described the efficiency of Jamal Murray's 50-point haul as "remarkable".
Murray went 21-of-25 from the field and eight-of-10 from three-point range to post 50 points in the Nuggets' 120-103 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.
Malone lauded the guard's performance after the Nuggets improved their record to 16-13.
"I've been around a lot of great players, I've been in the league for a long time, I've seen many 50-point games," he said.
"To do it as efficiently as he did is really remarkable."
Nikola Jokic finished with a triple-double of 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for the Nuggets.
Murray said the Nuggets' numerous threats made his life easier against the Cavaliers.
"I can shoot a little bit. Once I see a few go down, I just took off from there and kind of mixed it up," he told Altitude TV.
"I was able to get to the rim on them when they tried to change the coverage and we've got a lot of weapons. You can't just flat-out double me when I'm hot, you've got a 'Joker' [Jokic], who's MVP of the season, he'll pick you apart if you're playing four on three especially.
"I feel like it was just a tough task to be able to deal with both of us and the rest of the team as well."
The Los Angeles Clippers ended the Utah Jazz's winning run in the NBA on Friday, while Joel Embiid and Jamal Murray posted 50-point games.
The Clippers snapped the Jazz's nine-game winning streak with a 116-112 victory in a clash between two NBA championship contenders.
Kawhi Leonard led the way for the Clippers with 29 points as they improved to 22-9.
Donovan Mitchell had a game-high 35 points, but the Jazz's winning run came to an end, with the Western Conference leaders now 24-6 this season.
Embiid's career-high 50 points, 17 rebounds and five assists helped the Philadelphia 76ers past the Chicago Bulls 112-105.
He is the first 76ers player to score 50-plus points since Allen Iverson in 2005.
Murray, meanwhile, was spectacular in the Denver Nuggets' 120-103 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The guard was an incredible 21-of-25 from the field, and eight-of-10 from three-point range, for his 50-point haul.
Murray and Embiid were the first NBA pair with 50-plus points on 65 per cent-plus shooting on the same day since Tom Chambers and Patrick Ewing on March 24, 1990, as per Stats Perform.
Nikola Jokic had a triple-double of 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in the Nuggets' win.
Giannis leads Bucks, Curry's Warriors fall short
Giannis Antetokounmpo's double-double of 29 points and 19 rebounds saw the Milwaukee Bucks past the Oklahoma City Thunder 98-85.
Stephen Curry had 29 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, but the Golden State Warriors were beaten by the Orlando Magic 124-120.
Magic star Nikola Vucevic finished with a triple-double of 30 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists.
Despite a double-double from Trae Young (31 points and 11 assists), the Atlanta Hawks went down to the Boston Celtics 121-109.
Wayward VanVleet
Fred VanVleet went four-of-20 from the field for just 12 points in 37 minutes, but the Toronto Raptors still got past the Minnesota Timberwolves 86-81.
Edwards' incredible dunk
Anthony Edwards was three-of-14 from the field for just seven points in 34 minutes in the Timberwolves' loss, yet the 2020 top draft pick produced a monstrous dunk.
Friday's results
Orlando Magic 124-120 Golden State Warriors
Denver Nuggets 120-103 Cleveland Cavaliers
Boston Celtics 121-109 Atlanta Hawks
Philadelphia 76ers 112-105 Chicago Bulls
Phoenix Suns 132-114 New Orleans Pelicans
Memphis Grizzlies 109-95 Detroit Pistons
Milwaukee Bucks 98-85 Oklahoma City Thunder
Toronto Raptors 86-81 Minnesota Timberwolves
Los Angeles Clippers 116-112 Utah Jazz
Heat at Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers (22-8) look to bounce back from their loss to the Brooklyn Nets when they host the Miami Heat (12-17) on Saturday in what is a rematch of last year's NBA Finals.
Novak Djokovic will take the advantage of having an extra day's rest into the Australian Open final against the red-hot Daniil Medvedev.
Djokovic is set to compete in his 28th grand slam final and ninth in Melbourne as the Serbian star eyes an 18th major title on Sunday.
The 33-year-old looked in good form in a semi-final thrashing of Aslan Karatsev on Thursday – 24 hours before Medvedev impressively dispatched of Stefanos Tsitsipas.
For the second year in a row, Djokovic will have an extra day's rest over his opponent ahead of the decider.
Since 2000, players who have had the extra day's rest have won 12 and lost nine of the 21 finals. Djokovic has had the slight advantage four times – and four times he has not – and won all eight finals.
Given he has battled a suspected abdominal injury at this year's tournament, the additional day could be an important factor for Djokovic.
He faces Medvedev, who is on a 20-match winning streak that has included 12 victories over top-10 players.
The latest of those was a 6-4 6-2 7-5 mauling of Tsitsipas in their semi-final on Friday.
A key for Medvedev in that success, in which he endured a third-set blip, was that it came in two hours, nine minutes.
Since 2000, men who won the second semi-final in less than three hours are 6-5 in deciders. That record drops to 3-7 when the last-four clash has exceeded three hours.
Of the three that have managed it after marathon wins, Djokovic achieved it twice – in 2012 and 2015, while Rafael Nadal was the other in 2009, when he beat Roger Federer in the final after winning an epic against Fernando Verdasco.
It leaves the extra day's rest likely to be less of a factor on Sunday as both men chase history.
Entering Australian Open final with an extra day's rest since 2000
2020: Novak Djokovic (won against Dominic Thiem)
2019: Rafael Nadal (lost against Novak Djokovic)
2018: Marin Cilic (lost against Roger Federer)
2017: Roger Federer (won against Rafael Nadal)
2016: Novak Djokovic (won against Andy Murray)
2015: Andy Murray (lost against Novak Djokovic)
2014: Stan Wawrinka (won against Rafael Nadal)
2013: Novak Djokovic (won against Andy Murray)
2012: Rafael Nadal (lost against Novak Djokovic)
2011: Novak Djokovic (won against Andy Murray)
2010: Andy Murray (lost against Roger Federer)
2009: Roger Federer (lost against Rafael Nadal)
2008: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (lost against Novak Djokovic)
2007: Roger Federer (won against Fernando Gonzalez)
2006: Marcos Baghdatis (lost against Roger Federer)
2005: Marat Safin (won against Lleyton Hewitt)
2004: Marat Safin (lost against Roger Federer)
2003: Andre Agassi (won against Rainer Schuttler)
2002: Thomas Johansson (won against Marat Safin)
2001: Andre Agassi (won against Arnaud Clement)
2000: Andre Agassi (won against Yevgeny Kafelnikov)
Wins: 12 Losses: 9
Joel Embiid credited his team-mates after his incredible performance in the Philadelphia 76ers' win over the Chicago Bulls.
Embiid posted a career-high 50 points, to go with 17 rebounds and five assists, in the 76ers' 112-105 victory in the NBA on Friday.
But the All-Star paid tribute to his team-mates after the 76ers improved to 20-10.
"We did it as a team. It wasn't a one-man effort, we all worked together," Embiid told ESPN.
"My team-mates found me, I found them, we shared the ball, we moved the ball and we actually played better defense than we've been playing the past couple of games which makes me happy. It starts on defense and I'm pretty happy about what we did on that end."
Embiid added: "That's my job, that's why they pay me, defensively just being the best defensive player of the year because you know my aspirations are to win that defensive player of the year.
"Offensively doing whatever I'm needed to, if I need to get them open that's what I'm going to do, if I need to score that's what I'm going to do, if I need to set screens that's what's I'm going to do, so we did it as a team."
After back-to-back wins, the 76ers are top of the Eastern Conference.
Sam Burns pulled five strokes clear at the halfway mark of the Genesis Invitational, while Dustin Johnson is among the chasing pack.
Burns, 24, carded a five-under 66 in the second round at Riviera Country Club in California to surge clear at 12 under on Friday.
Seeking a first PGA Tour win, Burns – who held a two-shot overnight lead – produced a bogey-free second round that included five birdies.
With his total of 130, Burns tied the 36-hole record at the tournament with three players – Davis Love III (1992), Mike Weir (2004) and Shigeki Maruyama (2004).
Johnson, the 2017 champion, is in a four-way tie for second at seven under after shooting a 67.
The two-time major winner recovered from a bogey at the second hole to post five birdies and sit alongside Tyler McCumber (68), Jason Kokrak (68) and Joaquin Niemann (68).
Jordan Spieth continued his good form with a second straight 68 seeing him at six under and in a tie for sixth.
Coming off back-to-back top-five finishes, Spieth is alongside Max Homa (70) and Wyndham Clark (69), while Alex Noren (70), Scott Harrington (66), Cameron Smith (68), Patrick Cantlay (70) and Matt Fitzpatrick (71) are a shot further back.
Brooks Koepka carded a 70 to be at four under, while Rory McIlroy and 2019 runner-up Justin Thomas both missed the cut.
McIlroy missed the weekend at an event for the first time since the 2019 Open Championship after finishing at seven over.
Jurgen Klopp hopes Liverpool can have a little more luck with regards to injuries next season, believing a full-strength squad would see them sitting much closer to runaway leaders Manchester City.
Liverpool finished 18 points clear of second-place City in the 2019-20 Premier League season as they ended a 30-year wait to be crowned champions again.
However, while they have struggled in the defence of their title, Pep Guardiola's squad are once again the team to beat. They set a new record with Wednesday's 3-1 triumph at Everton, becoming the first top-flight team to start a calendar year with 10 straight league victories.
The Reds' focus has switched to finishing in the top four - they sit in fifth place ahead of Saturday's Merseyside derby, 16 points behind City - but Klopp feels such a huge gap would not have existed if he had key players available.
Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez have been long-term absentees, with fellow centre-back Joel Matip now out for the rest of the season. Diogo Jota, meanwhile, has not featured since December 9, while Naby Keita is only just nearing a return having yet to make an appearance in 2021.
Asked in his pre-match media conference about what it will take to be closer to City next season, Klopp replied: "We don't have to think about that now.
"We don't play them this year anymore - probably not, maybe the Champions League. For next year, then we have a little bit more time.
"It's never the case that we thought, 'How can we overtake City and become the finest team in English football?'. We never saw it like this – we wanted the best version of ourselves.
"We have that chance again, then if that's good enough, it's good enough. If another team is better, then that's how sport works. You cannot do more than be the best version of yourselves.
"That's what we really try again, as a team especially. We need a little bit more luck, then a few other things as well.
"But, in the beginning, slightly more luck with injuries would help. Then we can come closer to them.
"I think we can all agree if I would say, probably Pep would say it too, that a full season for both teams and we wouldn't be 16 points away. But we are. That's how it is, we accept that. This season, though, it is not about how close we can come to Manchester City."
Van Dijk has been out of action since the previous Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, back in October 2020.
The defender was hurt early in proceedings following a challenge from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, while team-mate Thiago Alcantara also suffered an injury in the game after a wild tackle from Richarlison that saw the Brazilian sent off.
Klopp, however, made clear the game takes on no extra importance because of what happened in that 2-2 draw last year, as Liverpool look to avoid suffering four consecutive Premier League defeats for the first time since December 2002.
"We play the way we play. It's very emotional but we are always emotional, to be honest," Klopp - who confirmed on Friday that Fabinho will not feature at Anfield - said. "That's our way to play.
"What the other teams do I don't know, because I have no influence on that. I can imagine that after the first game you try to create some stories around that, but we will be prepared for a football game, for a derby, like we always do.
"Nobody can say about his team that they are not ready for derbies, from an attitude point of view, from an understanding point of view over how important it is.
"This team always was [ready] and will be tomorrow. Obviously, there are stories around, all these kind of things, but I have nothing to say."
Thomas Tuchel's view of football was changed by Ralf Rangnick and in Ralph Hasenhuttl he is looking forward to going up against another coach who worked alongside him.
Chelsea head to Southampton on Saturday and Tuchel will pit his wits against Hasenhuttl, who coached RB Leipzig during Rangnick's time as director of football at the Red Bull Arena.
Tuchel was a defender at Ulm for Rangnick between 1997 and 1998 and, following the premature end to his playing career due to a knee injury, was hired as a youth coach at Stuttgart by him two years later.
Rangnick is credited with revolutionising German football by introducing an intense high-pressing, counter-attacking style that was widely adopted.
His influence on Tuchel is clear, with Chelsea allowing the fewest opposition passes per defensive action (PPDA) in the Premier League since his first game in charge against Wolves on January 27.
Across the entire season, Southampton rank fourth in the league with a PPDA of 10.7, behind only Liverpool (10.4), Chelsea (10.3) and Leeds United (8.9).
"I was a player with Ralf Rangnick. I played in the third and second division and learned from Ralf that it's not necessary to follow the striker to the toilet," Tuchel told the media.
"He made a third-division team stronger than we actually were with brand new tactics, the back four not man marking but defending in the space in a 4-4-2 or 4-5-1.
"That was a gamechanger for me to watch football games after my experience with Ralf. It was different because I had a totally different view of what's going on.
"Ralf had his influence at Leipzig when he worked with Ralph as more or less the father of everything that happened in Leipzig.
"There are many coaches influenced by this philosophy, but I truly believe everybody has to find his own style, everybody needs to be authentic. You need to be yourself. You cannot copy anybody.
"The way from Ralph is very impressive. He had a very good season at Ingolstadt, very successful at Leipzig and now a big impact with his aggressive style of playing at Southampton.
"This is the challenge that we have to face. I cannot give you a reason why there is a trend, this is too much of a question for me right now."
Tuchel is unbeaten in six games since taking over at Chelsea, winning five straight since a 0-0 draw with Wolves in his first match.
Olivier Giroud found the back of the net in their 2-0 success over Newcastle United last Monday and Tuchel intends to give the France striker time to stake his claim for a new deal, with his contract due to expire at the end of the season.
Tuchel said: "No decision is made because it's too soon to make these decisions. [It's] too soon in the season and I haven't had enough time to make these decisions because I just started three weeks ago and we need more time to get to know the group better. Everybody deserves more time to show their value.
"What I can say is that I am super happy that he's here. He's one of the top strikers in the box, he's physically strong, he has an incredible first touch and he's strong in headers.
"He did an amazing game against Newcastle. He's very strong, very positive in training, very impressive.
"Right now, he plays a key role in the squad with a lot of young offensive players. He is a key figure, maybe not because he plays every three days 96 minutes, but because of the way he behaves and with his experience on a daily basis, he has a huge impact in the most positive way.
"This is what I can say. When the decision arrives, we will make it."
Only 13 new positive cases of COVID-19 were detected by MLB in its initial round of COVID-19 testing ahead of full-squad spring training, the league announced on Friday.
The new cases represent 0.3 per cent of the 4,336 intake tests as players and staff reported to team facilities in preparation for spring training games.
Nine of the 13 positive tests were produced by players, while four came from staff members. The 13 positives were spread among 11 teams.
MLB also announced that once players have cleared intake testing they will continue to be tested regularly, and 2,298 additional monitoring tests have been processed without any new positives.
Pitchers and catchers for all teams had already reported to team facilities in Arizona or Florida. Most clubs plan to start full-squad workouts on Monday, with the first spring training games scheduled for Sunday, February 28.
The 2021 MLB regular season will begin April 1 under a number of coronavirus safety and testing guidelines.
Justin Kluivert was sorely missed by RB Leipzig against Liverpool and his injuries are increasingly frustrating head coach Julian Nagelsmann.
Winger Kluivert joined Leipzig from Roma on a season-long loan at the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
However, the 21-year-old - son of former Barcelona striker Patrick - has so far been limited to just three starts and 452 minutes of action in a Leipzig shirt across all competitions.
An ankle issue has provided Kluivert's latest setback, with his last appearance coming in January and his last start before Christmas.
Prior to being named in the line-up against Werder Bremen on December 12, Kluivert had scored in consecutive matches against Bayern Munich and Manchester United - his only goals so far this season.
Nagelsmann was impressed by the Netherlands international's performances in those games and believes his dribbling ability could be a real asset; he leads Leipzig with 5.4 dribbles attempted and 2.6 completed per 90 minutes this term.
But the coach was again without Kluivert as Leipzig lost their Champions League first leg 2-0 against Liverpool on Tuesday, with the German team attempting just 11 dribbles and failing to execute a single fast break.
"At the stage when we played Bayern and Manchester [United], it was the Justin we were hoping for," Nagelsmann said. "After that, he was gone again.
"He just trains very little, I don't see him much in training. That's the problem. He has to become more stable in terms of his body.
"Since he's been here, he's had far too few training sessions and therefore too little impact on the game.
"He basically has skills that would have done us good in the game against Liverpool. They would also do us good in the Bundesliga, like his deep runs and fast dribbling. He's also a goalscorer and has a good finish.
"But he simply has to become more stable. He's a little too injury-prone these days."
Leipzig would reportedly have to pay in excess of €10million to make Kluivert's move permanent.
Nagelsmann is not ruling out the possibility but would like to see more from the player over the coming months, referring again to the standard set in a 3-3 draw with Bayern.
Kluivert scored with his only shot at Allianz Arena, playing 78 minutes after being named in Nagelsmann's starting line-up.
"Obviously, we hope he has an even bigger impact on a successful season, that he stays healthy and that he can train more and get fit again for the games," Nagelsmann added.
"He's welcome to do as well as he did against Bayern Munich.
"In the course of the second half of the season, we will then decide what we do and what he wants to do. And how big his influence was and how it then continues beyond the summer or not, we will decide then."
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