Mauricio Pochettino is the ideal man to take over at Chelsea in the eyes of Gary Neville.

The Blues are on the hunt for a new boss for the second time this season, having axed Graham Potter less than seven months after he succeeded Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea's defeat to Aston Villa proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back for Potter, the result sending the Blues into the bottom half of the Premier League standings and way off the pace in the hunt for European football next season.

Inconsistent form plagued Potter's reign in west London, with results not improving significantly after Todd Boehly splashed the cash in a mega spending spree in the January window.

Those mid-season recruits have somewhat complicated matters moving forward, with further spending likely to be restricted moving forward, meaning a new boss will likely have to deal with the hand he is dealt.

For that reason, Neville believes former Tottenham boss Pochettino is the ideal fit due to his experience in managing younger players.

"Based on what Boehly has said, Chelsea have done their spending for the next three years - apart from signing a centre forward," Neville told Sky Sports' Monday Night Football.

"If they appoint Zidane, Enrique or Diego Simeone, they're going to want to have another £300m as they won't like some of the players they've previously signed.

"They've got to appoint a manager who is going to inherit and like the squad that they've got, a lot of them are young, and I think that man is Mauricio Pochettino."

Amir Khan has been banned from sport for two years following a positive test for a prohibited substance after his fight with Kell Brook.

Olympic medallist Khan was defeated by Brook in the sixth round at Manchester Arena last February.

Khan subsequently retired in May, at the age of 35. He became one of the youngest champions in British boxing history when he won the WBA title aged 22, five years on from claiming silver at the Athens Olympics in 2004.

However, on April 6 of last year, UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) notified Khan that the tests carried out following his loss to Brook returned an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for ostarine, a substance that is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

In July, Khan was charged with two offences: the presence of a prohibited substance and the use of a prohibited substance. 

Though Khan accepted the charges, he claimed his ingestion of ostarine had been unintentional, with his case referred to an independent panel.

That panel heard Khan's case in January and in February deemed that while the fighter had not intentionally ingested the substance, he must serve a two-year ban, as well as disqualifying his result against Brook.

Khan's ban commenced on April 6, 2022 and will expire on April 5 next year.

"This case serves as a reminder that UKAD will diligently pursue anti-doping rule violations in order to protect clean sport," said UKAD chief executive Jane Rumble.

"Strict liability means athletes are ultimately responsible for what they ingest and for the presence of any prohibited substances in a sample.

"It is important that all athletes and their support personnel, whatever level they are competing at, take their anti-doping responsibilities seriously. Not doing so risks damaging not only an Athlete's career, but also undermining public confidence in clean sport."

Luke Shaw has signed a new deal with Manchester United that will keep him under contract until the end of the 2026-27 campaign.

The England international had been due to be out of contract at Old Trafford at the end of next season after the club triggered the extension in his previous deal in December.

Shaw is in his ninth season with United and has played an important role under Erik ten Hag this campaign, featuring in 36 of their 47 matches.

"Nine years ago, I signed for this amazing club, and I'm thrilled to be extending my stay," said the 27-year-old, who has made 249 appearances for United.

"I've grown immensely since coming to Manchester all those years ago, both as a person and as a player. I know what is needed to succeed at a club like this.

"We're at the beginning of our journey under the manager and his coaching staff. We've been successful already this season, but we want much more.

"There's a great opportunity to create something special here, and I'm going to give everything to be part of that."

Shaw has won the Europa League and two EFL Cups during his near-decade with United, whom he joined from Southampton in June 2014 for a fee in the region of £30million.

United are also in advanced talks with fellow long-serving player David de Gea over fresh terms, while discussions are ongoing with Marcus Rashford and Diogo Dalot.

United's director of football John Murtough said: "Luke is a massively important player to the squad and has grown into one of the best defenders in the world.

"He has been at the club for nearly a decade and understands the expectations for success, and the hard work, commitment and high standards required to achieve it.

"He has added leadership to his other outstanding abilities, and we all look forward to seeing him in a United shirt for years to come."

United lost 2-0 to Newcastle United on Sunday, in a potentially damaging defeat in the race for the top four.

They will look to bounce back against Brentford on Wednesday.

Jordan Spieth is looking to add a second green jacket to his collection, revealing the Masters inspired him to focus on golf.

A winner at Augusta in 2015, aged just 21, Spieth has been unable to secure a second victory at the event and is now braced for his 10th appearance there.

Having secured a triumph at that young age, a second Masters win seemed to be inevitable for Spieth, especially after he won the US Open in the same year, but he has so far fallen short.

In 2016, Spieth finished second and, since then, has had two third-place finishes, the most recent in 2021, all of which put Spieth within touching distance of the title he is desperate to get his hands on again.

It is not just the green jacket that drives Spieth, however, as he shared the personal significance the event has.

"I really fell in love with the game because of this tournament, back to Tiger [Woods'] chip-in to Phil [Mickelson's] first win," he said.

"These were kind of heroic moments when I was at an age where I was playing some other sports and loving golf, and it inspired me to really take up the game and see what kind of moments you can create, because the ball is always in your hands.

"Few things are as electric as those moments they had in sports. I wanted to create my own. From the moment I got here I was always very excited, and I wanted to learn it and fall in love with it. Just a lot of positivity.

"I didn't know what to expect and got off to a nice start my first year and tried to carry it on every year. Yeah, 10th appearance now feels crazy, and I hopefully can match some of those greats that played in how many over the years, I don't know what the record is.

"You guys probably know. It would be pretty special, but at the same time when you get opportunities at a young age and you feel good about your chances, I want to win it again.

"That's the goal. And was able to get a round in yesterday with my brother, which was really fun, and get to work today."

Cameron Smith believes it is crucial for the LIV Golf Invitational Series to have players capable of competing for the title at Augusta.

The Masters starts on Thursday, with the world's best players flocking to Georgia for the first major of the year.

That includes those still registered with the PGA Tour, and the LIV Golf rebels who joined the Saudi Arabia-backed breakaway tournament.

Smith, who won The Open in 2022, was among them. The Australian heads into the Masters in sixth in the world rankings, making him the highest-ranked LIV Golf player.

But having any LIV Golf representative battling it out for the green jacket will mark a success for the tour, according to Smith.

"I think it's just important for LIV guys to be up there because I think we need to be up there," he told reporters while acknowledging the competition in the LIV events is not always as strong as those on the PGA Tour.

"I think there's a lot of chatter about 'these guys don't play real golf; these guys don't play real golf courses'.

"For sure, I'll be the first one to say, the fields aren't as strong. I'm the first one to say that.

"But we've still got a lot of guys up there that can play some really serious golf, and we compete against each other hard week-in and week-out and we're trying to do the same things that we did six months ago.

"It's nice. It's a good feeling to have that competition. I think we just need a good, strong finish."

UConn coach Dan Hurley was thrilled to have come through on his promise of doing "something big" after his team's NCAA title triumph.

The Huskies beat San Diego State 76-59 in Houston on Monday, capping their brilliant tournament with a sixth straight double-digit win, maintaining their perfect 5-0 record in National Championship games.

Of UConn's five titles, four have been won in Texas, while the last one came in 2014.

Hurley took over UConn in 2018, and said this was the vision he had sold to the university and its players.

"Obviously a dream come true for all of us," he told reporters.

"It's part of the programme, we sold the vision – I sold the vision to the university that I could put together a special group of people, a coaching staff, and unbelievable players like this, so it feels great to come through.

"This was our vision, this was our dream, this is what we said when we recruited these guys – to get together and do something big. It's just great to come through on promises made to these players and the university. It was an honour to play against San Diego State, too.

"It was probably the most physical, toughest team we’ve played this year – certainly one of the best. I've just got so much admiration for how they play and their coach, he's one of the best coaches in the country."

Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher was gracious in defeat.

He said: "First of all I congratulate coach Danny Hurley and UConn Huskies. Very deserving. They've played at an elite level the entire tournament.

"We battled, we battled back to five in the second half but gave them too much separation. We weren't at our best. We had to be at our best to win the game. A lot of that has to do with UConn."

Dutcher, though, had few complaints with how his team performed through the championship.

"I'm proud of our guys. These guys have given me everything they've had," he added.

"These guys are what it’s all about – college athletics. Good people, good students and they're really good players.

"We can feel good about the things we did. We're disappointed in the loss, but there's a brotherhood in the locker room that will never be divided by a margin of victory or not winning at all. That brotherhood is going to last a lifetime, I told them that."

Shohei Ohtani homered for the second straight game with a go-ahead fifth-inning two-run blast in the Los Angeles Angels 7-3 in over the Seattle Mariners on Monday.

The Japanese two-way star creamed George Kirby's 1-1 pitch over right-center field for a 431-foot blast with a runner, Mike Trout, on first base to put the Angels up 4-2.

Kirby only surrendered one long ball during the final three months of last season, making Ohtani's shot more spectacular, having earlier grounded out with his first two at-bats.

Ohtani had hammered a solo shot in the fifth inning of the 6-0 win over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday, with the Angels improving to 3-1 with their third straight triumph.

Taylor Ward's eighth-inning two-run shot all but settled Monday's contest after Eugenio Suarez's RBI single in the fifth cut the margin to one run.

Suarez also managed an RBI double in the first inning to put Seattle 1-0 up. The Mariners managed five hits for the game, with Angels starting pitcher Reid Detmers tossing down seven strikeouts.

Ohtani and Ward got the accolades for their blasts, but Brandon Drury went three-of-five with one RBI, driving in Hunter Renfroe with a ninth-inning double.

Tigers win as Alvarez makes Astros history

Matt Vierling scored a tie-breaking two-run homer in the 11th inning as the Detroit Tigers edged the Houston Astros 7-6 for their first win of the new season.

The Tigers had spurned a 4-0 fifth-inning lead, with the Astros launching a four-run fifth-inning rally which was ended by Vierling's backhand catch, before the late drama as the game went to extras.

Yordan Alvarez had led the world champions' fifth-inning rally with a monster three-run blast, which was his 100th career home run.

Alvarez reached 100 homers in only 372 games which is a franchise record, beating Lance Berkman's 452.

Rays and Twins stay perfect

The Tampa Bay Rays maintained their perfect record with a 6-2 win over the Washington Nationals led by outfielder Luke Raley.

Raley blasted two home runs for the game, with a first-inning two-run shot followed by another blast at the top of the eighth over left field.

Drew Rasmussen was outstanding on the mound, with six scoreless innings with two hits and seven strikeouts as well as a brilliant piece of backhand fielding in the fifth.

The Rays are 4-0, with the Minnesota Twins (4-0) the only other remaining team with an unbeaten record after their 11-1 victory over the Miami Marlins.

Former world number three Elina Svitolina's first game back on the WTA Tour in more than 12 months ended in a near three-hour defeat to Yulia Putintseva in the Charleston Open first round on Monday.

Svitolina, 28, had been off the tour for a combination of injury and pregnancy, but was back in action for the first time since giving birth to her and male tennis player Gael Monfils' daughter Skai in October.

The Ukrainian, who reached both the Wimbledon and US Open semi-finals in 2019, won the first set after rallying back from 3-1 down in a tie-break

But the Kazakh world number 47 responded and prevailed 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 6-4 in two hours and 48 minutes, with Putintseva sapping her opponent's energy with frequent drop shots.

Former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin was on track for victory in a topsy-turvy clash with Aliaksandra Sasnovich before rain intervened, forcing it to be re-scheduled for Tuesday with the American leading 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 3-0.

World number 50 Sloane Stephens fought back after an early scare to beat qualifier Louisa Chirico 3-6 6-1 6-2, while Alize Cornet breezed past Fiona Crawley 6-0 6-2.

Jil Teichman was one of three seeds to lose in the first round, going down 6-2 3-6 6-2 to 17-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova.

Ukrainian 11th seed Anhelina Kalinina lost 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 to Anna Kalinskaya, while 10th seed Zhang Shuai was beaten 6-4 1-6 6-3 by Julia Grabher.

Eugenie Bouchard returned for the first time since the 2023 Australian Open due to injury with a win over Ylena In-Albon 6-3 6-2 at the Copa Colsanitas in Bogota.

Third seed Nuria Parrizas Diaz was knocked out by Briton Francesca Jones, who is ranked 817th in the world, 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 in a major shock.

UConn secured their fifth NCAA Division title on the back of double-doubles from Adama Sanogo and Tristen Newton in a 76-59 victory over San Diego State in Texas on Monday.

The Huskies capped their brilliant NCAA tournament with a sixth straight double-digit win, maintaining their perfect 5-0 record in National Championship games. It was also the fourth time UConn has claimed the national crown in Texas.

It ends San Diego State's wonderful campaign having made the National Championship game for the first time in their history.

Newton top scored with 19 points along with 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Sanogo added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Hawkins contributed 16 points. Malian big man Sanogo won the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award.

The Huskies shot 23-of-53 from the field, along with 24-of-27 from the free-throw line, opening up a 36-24 half-time lead and never looking back.

The Aztecs got within five points at 60-55 with 5:19 left in the second half, but UConn immediately responded with a Hawkins three-pointer.

Keshad Johnson top scored for the Aztecs with 14 points, while Darrion Trammell and Final Four hero Lamont Butler both added 13 points. SDSU shot six-of-23 from three-point range.

Huskies head coach Dan Hurley said: "We knew we were best team in the tournament going in and we just needed to play to our level."

UConn's triumph means they draw level with Duke and Indiana for fourth-most all-time in NCAA history, having lifted the title in 1999, 2004, 2011, 2014 and now 2023.

UConn secured their fifth NCAA Division title on the back of double-doubles from Adama Sanogo and Tristen Newton in a 76-59 victory over San Diego State in Texas on Monday.

The Huskies capped their brilliant NCAA tournament with a sixth straight double-digit win, maintaining their perfect 5-0 record in National Championship games. It was also the fourth time UConn has claimed the national crown in Texas.

It ends San Diego State's wonderful campaign having made the National Championship game for the first time in their history.

Newton top scored with 19 points along with 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Sanogo added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Hawkins contributed 16 points. Malian big man Sanogo won the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award.

The Huskies shot 23-of-53 from the field, along with 24-of-27 from the free-throw line, opening up a 36-24 half-time lead and never looking back.

The Aztecs got within five points at 60-55 with 5:19 left in the second half, but UConn immediately responded with a Hawkins three-pointer.

Keshad Johnson top scored for the Aztecs with 14 points, while Darrion Trammell and Final Four hero Lamont Butler both added 13 points. SDSU shot six-of-23 from three-point range.

Huskies head coach Dan Hurley said: "We knew we were best team in the tournament going in and we just needed to play to our level."

UConn's triumph means they draw level with Duke and Indiana for fourth-most all-time in NCAA history, having lifted the title in 1999, 2004, 2011, 2014 and now 2023.

Sixth seed Jason Kubler made light work of 39-year-old Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the first round of the Houston Open while Americans Steve Johnson and Denis Kudla advanced on Monday.

Kubler and Verdasco endured a 71-minute first-set tussle, which the Australian edged 9-7 in a tie-break before dominating the second frame, dishing out a bagel in 29 minutes to win 7-6 (9-7) 6-0.

World number 71 Kubler progressed to the second round where he will take on Colombia's Daniel Elahi Galan who defeated China's Zhang Zhizhen 6-2 6-3.

Johnson set up a second-round clash with American compatriot and top seed Frances Tiafoe after getting the better of Facundo Bagnis 7-6 (7-5) 1-6 6-1 in one hour and 55 minutes.

USA's Kudla also progressed with a hard-fought 6-4 4-6 6-4 victory over Australia's Aleksandar Vukic in just under two hours.

Dutchman Gijs Brouwer won 6-4 6-4 over Aleksandar Kovacevic, setting up a meeting with big-serving fourth seed John Isner.

Cristian Stellini rued Tottenham's lack of control as they began life without Antonio Conte by drawing 1-1 away to struggling Everton on Monday.

Harry Kane's 68th-minute penalty looked to have been enough for Spurs to make a winning start under Stellini.

But Michael Keane's superb late strike from distance seized a crucial point for the Toffees at Goodison Park, frustrating their visitors.

Stellini was especially irritated by the result, particularly given Spurs' man advantage for most of the second half after Abdoulaye Doucoure's red card.

"My feeling now is that we have lost two points," he told Sky Sports. "We had an [extra] man against them, we needed to control the game.

"We tried to do [that] but not in the way I expect. With 11 players, we have to do much better. You control the game with the ball, not without."

Spurs were also reduced to 10 men in the final stages when Lucas Moura was dismissed for a late lunge on Keane before his equaliser.

Stellini, who was stood near Doucoure when he pushed Kane in the face to earn his red, believed both calls were fair from referee David Coote.

"I think Harry conceded a lot of tackles today before the red card," he said. "Lucas, his tackle was too dangerous. Both of the red cards are clear for me."

Despite missing out on a win, the draw moved Tottenham back into the top four, level on 50 points with Newcastle United and Manchester United.

Their rivals have two games in hand each, but Stellini believes Spurs can draw on their experience from last season's battle for Champions League qualification.

"It will be a tough race," he conceded. "But one year ago, we had 51 points. We were fifth, and today, we are fourth.

"We are in the same position [as] last season. We have to be ready to fight. Now we think about the next game."