A horror-show performance from Alisson condemned holders Liverpool to an FA Cup third-round replay after they were held 2-2 by Wolves on Saturday.

The Reds goalkeeper was at direct fault for the visitors' opener and leaked a soft second, as Goncalo Guedes and Hwang Hee-chan netted at Anfield.

Goals from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah dug Jurgen Klopp's men out of danger between those Wolves strikes, while Cody Gakpo also impressed on his club debut.

Yet the lapses at the back proved costly for the holders, and Julen Lopetegui's visitors will feel they had their chances to claim an underdog win outright against the holders.

They certainly seized their opportunity in the 26th minute when Alisson fired a routine clearance straight to the unmarked Guedes, with the Portugal international lashing a low finish straight back past the Brazilian.

But Liverpool wrestled themselves back on the stroke of half-time after Nunez tucked home a sublime cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold with a deft volley.

Seven minutes after the interval, Gakpo helped put the hosts ahead after Salah finished his chipped ball, with the forward played onside by a botched Tote Gomes clearing header.

That looked like it could have been enough for the hosts, but Alisson was at fault again after Hwang was able to smother a tame shot past him at the left post in the 66th minute.

Hwang's goal sparked a frantic final stretch, with Wolves seeing a third goal chalked off by the linesman's flag in the closing stages, as neither could ultimately find the winner that would have avoided the need for a reunion at Molineux down the line.

Inter missed the chance for a fourth straight Serie A victory as Luca Caldirola's late equaliser snatched a 2-2 draw for Monza on Saturday.

Simone Inzaghi's men ended leaders Napoli's unbeaten start to the season on Wednesday, and they got off to a great start at U-Power Stadium as Matteo Darmian fired in from Alessandro Bastoni's cross.

Ater Patrick Ciurria superbly levelled, Lautaro Martinez looked to have earned Inter victory when he took advantage of Pablo Mari's error to smash his side 2-1 ahead.

However, substitute Caldirola nodded home in the 93rd minute to spark jubilant celebrations from the hosts and deny Inter all three points.

Federico Chiesa dedicated Juventus' late victory over Udinese to Gianluca Vialli following the legendary former Bianconeri striker's death at the age of 58.

Vialli, who also played for Cremonese, Sampdoria and Chelsea, passed away in London on Friday.

He was originally diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2017 and, after announcing he had been given the all-clear in April 2020, he was re-diagnosed the following year. 

Vialli played over 100 times for Juventus, with whom he won the Champions League, Serie A, Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana and the UEFA Cup across a four-season spell.

Juve paid tribute to Vialli with a minute's applause ahead of Saturday's 1-0 league win over Udinese and played footage of his greatest moments on the big screen at full-time.

Chiesa worked closely with Vialli during the latter's time working as Italy's assistant manager alongside Roberto Mancini, with the Azzurri's Euro 2020 triumph being the highlight.

After setting up Danilo's late winner against Udinese, second-half substitute Chiesa told DAZN: "Our first thoughts go to Gianluca Vialli. 

"He was a wonderful person and I was so lucky to cross paths with him in my life, as he was a real champion, but above all a marvellous human being. 

"At the Euros he really was like an extra player, he was on the pitch with us. We could talk for hours about what a great man he was. The victory is for him."

Thanks to their second late victory in a row to kick off 2023, Juventus have now won eight on the spin without conceding in Serie A for the first time since March 2018.

The Bianconeri have recovered from a slow start to the season to climb up to second and within four points of next opponents Napoli, who face Sampdoria on Sunday.

Despite closing the gap on the leaders, Allegri insists finishing in the top four remains the immediate target for his side.

"Napoli are still clearly the favourites to win the Scudetto," he said. "They have a big advantage, whereas we want to consolidate the top four. 

"We're almost halfway through the season and are doing well. As I said, raising the bar means the performances rather than the results or targets. 

"We have to take it one step at a time, focus on working and achieving the minimum objective, which is a top-four finish."

Juventus have now scored six goals after the 85th minute in Serie A this season, which is the most of any team. 

Danilo's tap-in against Udinese came after Leandro Paredes played in fellow substitute Chiesa, who in turn laid the ball on a plate for his stand-in skipper.

"We were a bit too hasty at times with our crosses and passes," Allegri said. "We knew there could be difficulties, but that the game would improve as time wore on.

"We brought home the win late on because of good fitness levels and also mental strength. 

"Technical skill is crucial, but if you don't have that desire to give that little bit extra and get there a few centimetres before your opponent, you don't win these games.”

Juve now have 12 clean sheets after their opening 17 Serie A games, a tally only Cagliari in the 1966-67 season (13) can better at this stage of a campaign.

"As the coach says, we have to keep raising the bar," Chiesa added. "Eight wins in a row isn't enough; we have to keep doing better."

Newcastle United suffered their first defeat since August as they were eliminated from the FA Cup by Sheffield Wednesday in a 2-1 defeat at Hillsborough on Saturday.

Eddie Howe's men have been impressive in the Premier League this season, rising up to third in the table.

But they could not get past League One side Wednesday, who took the lead thanks to Josh Windass' deft finish early in the second half.

Windass got an emphatic second just past the hour, and although Newcastle pulled one back through Bruno Guimaraes' close-range goal soon after, they could not turn things around.

It is the third season in a row that Newcastle have failed to get past the third round of the FA Cup, with Wednesday becoming only the second team to beat the Magpies this season and first since Liverpool on August 31.

Wednesday will play in the fourth round for the fifth time in six years.

Juventus again left it late as they defeated Udinese 1-0 on Saturday through Danilo's tap-in to extend their winning run in Serie A without conceding to eight matches.

The hosts paid tribute to Gianluca Vialli ahead of their first match since the death of their former striker on Friday from pancreatic cancer at the age of 58.

It had looked like being a frustrating day for Massimiliano Allegri's in-form side as draw specialists Udinese held firm for 86 minutes at the Allianz Stadium until Danilo struck.

Juve, who also scored a late winner against Cremonese on their return to action on Wednesday, are now within four points of leaders Napoli having played a game more.

Suryakumar Yadav played a virtuoso innings for India as his rapid century set up a series-clinching 91-run victory against Sri Lanka in Rajkot.

In the third T20I, a one-sided tussle at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Yadav blazed his way to 112 not out from 51 balls as India piled up 228-5, setting the tourists a daunting target. He got to three figures from just 45 deliveries.

India then limited Sri Lanka to 137 all out, sealing a 2-1 series success after the teams split the first two matches, both far tighter affairs than this spectacle.

Yadav's third T20I century contained nine sixes and seven fours, as he went after Sri Lanka's attack and flayed them unrelentingly. Coming in at 52-2 after 5.5 overs, Yadav followed his 117 against England last July and his 111 against New Zealand in November with another devastatingly brutal innings.

Shubman Gill (46), Rahul Tripathi (35) and Axar Patel (21no) performed well, but it was the Yadav show and they were merely a supporting cast.

Sri Lanka needed a fast start, and they got that, but openers Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka both fell with the team score at 44, and Avishka Fernando followed soon after.

Wickets kept tumbling and it became clear Sri Lanka would not find a Yadav-like effort from within their ranks, with Arshdeep Singh finishing the rout by bowling Dilshan Madushanka to complete match-best figures of 3-20.

Sri Lanka find no answer to India assault

This was India's fourth-biggest win, by runs, in T20Is. Their heaviest win remains the 143-run victory over Ireland in Dublin in 2018, followed by a 101-run win over Afghanistan in Dubai in 2022 and a 93-run success against South Africa in 2017.

Yadav closes in on Rohit

India captain Rohit Sharma, who has missed this series with a finger injury, is the only man to have hit more T20I centuries than Yadav, who showed why he is number one on the ICC T20I batting rankings.

Rohit has four tons in the short format, with Yadav now one of four men with three by his name, along with Australia's Glenn Maxwell, New Zealand's Colin Munro, and Sabawoon Davizi, who has achieved the feat with the Czech Republic.

Gerard Moreno's penalty condemned Real Madrid to their second LaLiga defeat of the season as Villarreal beat the champions 2-1 on Saturday to do coach Quique Setien's former employers Barcelona a favour.

Madrid had hoped to return to the summit ahead of Barca's tough trip to Atletico Madrid on Sunday, but Villarreal were good value for victory during a thriller at Estadio de la Ceramica.

Villarreal created a host of promising openings during an entertaining first half but had to wait until just after the break to make the breakthrough thanks to Yeremy Pino.

Karim Benzema levelled with a spot-kick conceded by Juan Foyth on the hour mark, but the Argentinian then won one at the other end, with Moreno's confident finish ultimately sealing the win.

Villarreal had been the better side right from the start, going close after 28 seconds as Alex Baena sliced over. Francis Coquelin then saw an impudent backheeled finish clip the post following Alberto Moreno's low cross four minutes later.

Villarreal were indebted to Jose Reina just before the break, however, rushing out to deny Vinicius Junior.

The Yellow Submarine capitalised 65 seconds after the restart as Gerard Moreno released Yeremy into the box, his finish finding the net via deflections off Courtois and David Alaba.

Benzema spurned a glorious chance to level when Foyth blocked his goal-bound effort on the line, but the Frenchman made the most of his penalty reprieve after the defender's handball in the build-up was punished following a VAR review.

Villarreal went straight up the other end and won a penalty of their own moments later, though, Foyth seeing his pass handled by Alaba, and Moreno made no mistake.

Madrid's desperation led to Courtois going forward for a late corner and Arnaut Danjuma almost made it 3-1 on the break, though his inability to score into the empty goal did not matter.

Harry Kane moved just one goal away from becoming Tottenham's joint all-time leading goalscorer to secure a 1-0 FA Cup third-round win over Portsmouth.

Kane is only a solitary goal behind the great Jimmy Greaves' staggering haul of 266 for Spurs after opening the scoring with a sublime second-half finish.

The England captain's 17th goal of the season at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday was enough for the Premier League club to seal their place in the fourth round.

Antonio Conte's men had failed to register a shot on target in a poor first-half display, but were much improved following the interval against a side without a win in nine League One games – resulting in boss Danny Cowley's sacking this week.

Pompey showed no signs over being overawed in a positive start, Reeco Hackett-Fairchild forcing a save from Fraser Forster with an early left-foot volley.

Spurs were short of ideas as they were unable to break down their well-drilled opponents, Kane having a close-range effort blocked by Denver Hume before Son Heung-min fired wide late in a drab first half.

Tottenham showed more urgency early in the second half and Emerson Royal rose to head Son's cross against the post before Kane got the breakthrough with a classy finish.

The prolific striker exchanged passes with Ryan Sessegnon before unleashing a sumptuous strike into the bottom-right corner from the edge of the penalty area five minutes after the break.

Oliver Skipp should have doubled the advantage when he blazed wildly over the crossbar from inside the box, but Kane's goal was enough for Spurs to advance.

Josko Gvardiol named Liverpool as his "dream" destination as the RB Leipzig defender continues to attract interest from a host of Europe's biggest clubs.

Gvardiol has been linked with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid after enjoying an outstanding World Cup campaign with Croatia, starting all seven of his country's games as they clinched the bronze medal.

The 20-year-old led all defenders for interceptions (11) and clearances (37) at the tournament, also scoring with a brilliant diving header in his team's third-place play-off against Morocco.

Gvardiol partnered former Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren at the heart of Croatia's defence in Qatar, and he is enthusiastic about the prospect of following in his footsteps by moving to Anfield. 

"My dream club? That would definitely be Liverpool," he told RTLDanas. 

"Since I was little, I watched a lot of their matches with my dad. We covered every season in detail. It is a club that has remained in my heart."

However, Gvardiol is in no rush to leave Leipzig – who sit third in the Bundesliga during the competition's mid-season break – before the end of the campaign. 

"I'm not in a hurry," he said. "I'm at Leipzig and we still have six months to finish the season and to win something. Then we will look further to the future."

Chelsea were strongly linked with a move for Gvardiol in the last transfer window before signing fellow defenders Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana, and the Leipzig man revealed he was close to moving to Stamford Bridge. 

"Last summer a transfer was close and [Leipzig] simply kept me. I hope to spend these six months with [Leipzig]," he added. 

"Chelsea did not give up, but it was agreed that we would go for the winter. Winter has come, so we need to see what and how to proceed, but it's okay, there's still plenty of time, so we'll see.

"Nobody presented anything to me. But I'm not in a hurry, we have time, let them arrange the plan and we'll see."

The Minnesota Vikings will finish the season with at least 12 wins, have arguably the finest receiver in the NFL and produced the largest comeback in NFL history last month.

At worst they will be the third seed in the NFC playoffs, and yet it is hard to think of a double-digit win team heading into the playoffs with so few outside the organisation believing they can contend to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

That will be of no concern to the Vikings, but their 2022 resume emphatically illustrates why they are not being taken seriously as potential Super Bowl champions.

Minnesota's season has been one defined by dramatic finishes in close games. Indeed, 11 of the wins the Vikings have claimed his season have been by a one-score margin, including their comeback from 36-0 down to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15.

Their sole double-digit win came in Week 1, when the Vikings eased to a 23-7 victory over the Green Bay Packers, a triumph cancelled out by their 41-17 defeat at Lambeau Field last week.

That loss left them with a point differential of minus 19. The current record for worst point differential in a season with at least 12 wins in NFL history is +21 by the 13-7 Frankford Yellow Jackets in 1925.

The 1925 championship was not decided by a playoff system -- only the most avid of NFL historians would know from memory that the Chicago Cardinals were awarded the title after the Pontsville Maroons were suspended from the league -- and there is a more recent comparison that reflects more kindly on the Vikings.

Minnesota's average margin of defeat this season stands at 22.3 points. That would be the largest average margin of defeat for an NFL team since the 1997 San Francisco 49ers (23.7).

San Francisco went 13-3 that season, which the 49ers finished as the NFC's top seed, and progressed to the NFC Championship Game, where they lost to the Green Bay Packers.

Whether the Vikings have what it takes to imitate them and go deep into the playoffs despite the heavy defeats that have served to increase concerns about their viability as contenders remains open for debate.

It is a debate that is unlikely to be settled by their Week 18 regular-season finale with the three-win Chicago Bears, but they do have points in their favour, the most notable of which is a cast of pass-catching weapons that ranks 11th in the NFL in win rate against pass coverage.

Justin Jefferson, who is ninth in the NFL in combined open percentage (49.3) against man and zone coverage (min. 100 matchups), is the headline act. Having a receiver who can get open as frequently as he does is an obvious asset for a playoff team, one which has thrived in large part because of his 27 receptions of 20 yards or more.

He is supported by a true number one tight end in T.J. Hockenson and another excellent route-runner in veteran Adam Thielen.

While the Vikings have a cast of weapons that is the envy of many in the NFL, they also have a defensive front that boasts the pass-rush talent to limit opposing aerial attacks.

Minnesota's defense is sixth in the NFL in pass rush win rate, yet the Vikings' success in that regard has not resulted in defensive solidity. To the contrary, their 33 sacks for negative yardage are tied for 20th in the league and their success rate against the pass of 45.5 per cent is the fourth worst in the NFL.

And, even with the substantial merits of Jefferson and Co, there is reason to worry whether the Vikings can keep up with top-end playoff competition if they cannot stop their opponents.

The Vikings' pass protection took a hit with the loss of right tackle Brian O'Neill to an Achilles injury and at center they are down to third-stringer Chris Reed. 

If those injuries prevent Minnesota from adequately protecting Kirk Cousins, then it is unlikely to bode well for the playoff fortunes of a quarterback who has struggled when the defense knows he is passing.

Cousins has averaged minus 0.02 yards over expected in expected passing situations, according to Stats Perform data, which is 16th among quarterbacks with at least 100 such attempts.

In other words, in clear passing situations, Cousins is failing to elevate those around them, and he is getting little support from a run game that many expected to perform at a much higher level than it has displayed this season.

The Vikings' run success rate of 34.6 per cent is comfortably below the average of 37.5, with an O-Line that ranks 23rd in run block win rate struggling to open holes for Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattinson.

There is no doubting Minnesota's talent, especially on the offensive side of the ball, yet the questions that have surrounded Cousins throughout his career persist and there are enough holes elsewhere on the roster to justify the doubts about their prospects as contenders. Football is not played on spreadsheets, but the numbers from an extremely curious campaign will be tough to dispute until the Vikings give the NFL world reason to.

The 2022 World Cup was unique for many reasons.

It was the first World Cup to be played in the Middle East, and the first one to take place in the middle of the season, as far as Europe's top clubs are concerned.

One thing that did not change, of course, was players being able to use the tournament as a platform to show what they can do on the biggest stage, and perhaps get big moves on the back of it.

While Josko Gvardiol, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister and Jude Bellingham are among the players to possibly fall into that category, Antoine Griezmann is different.

Griezmann is not the youngster making his name, but he did shine in Qatar as, in the space of seven games, he arguably redefined his own position.

That is not to say Griezmann had not been impressive this season prior to the World Cup. Before the tournament he had directly contributed to 10 goals for Atletico Madrid, scoring five and creating as many.

Griezmann's form has come during a season in which he had to settle for a substitute role up until September 18, due to Atleti attempting to navigate a financial clause in their loan agreement with Barcelona, which would have kicked in had the 31-year-old played a certain amount of minutes.

Had that clause been activated, Atleti would have had to pay €40million to re-sign Griezmann. As it was, they paid under half of that to bring him back to the club permanently in October.

It's Barca up next for Atleti in the highlight fixture of this weekend's LaLiga matches. Going into that match, Griezmann is a player reimagined.

The creator in chief

Griezmann has returned from the World Cup with a vigour and verve to his play perhaps not seen since his prime years at Atleti back in 2017 to 2019.

His goal contributions stand at 13 (five more than any of his team-mates) after three assists across two appearances since Atleti's campaign restarted – one game in LaLiga and one in the Copa del Rey.

Griezmann leads the club's scoring charts along with Alvaro Morata while his tally of seven assists is four clear of next-best Joao Felix, who seems destined to leave the club this month. None of his team-mates come close to matching Griezmann's 42 chances created, and 35 of those have come from open play.

But it's Griezmann's positioning that is the truly interesting aspect of his fine form.

Didier Deschamps has often utilised Griezmann as a second striker in international football. That was the position he played in at Euro 2016, and during France's successful run at the 2018 World Cup.

Yet in Qatar, Griezmann was deployed as the most advanced of a midfield trio, and there he showed his ability to not only find space in the final third, but run games altogether.

Only Kylian Mbappe (49) was involved in more shot-ending attacking sequences for France at the tournament than Griezmann (30).

However, of Griezmann's 361 open-play touches, just 14 came in the opposition box, with the vast majority clustered in the middle of the park.

Not that it prevented Griezmann from wielding his influence. He provided three assists, leading the competition alongside Harry Kane, Bruno Fernandes, Ivan Perisic and Lionel Messi. Unlike all of those players, however, Griezmann's expected assists (xA) of 3.6 was actually slightly underperformed. Essentially, he was creating higher quality chances for those assists than his counterparts.

That quality was evidenced with a sublime cross into Olivier Giroud for France's second goal in the 2-1 quarter-final victory over England, having earlier teed up Aurelien Tchouameni's strike to move ahead of Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry in terms of the most assists for Les Bleus. Griezmann's 28 assists rank as the most by any France player for his country in the last 50 years.

Griezmann's 22 chances created were the most at the tournament, albeit only nine of those came from open play. When it came to creativity, Griezmann was at the top of his game.

From poacher to playmaker

It was certainly a case of picking up where he left off for Griezmann when Atleti took on Elche in LaLiga on December 29. Diego Simeone's side won 2-0, and Griezmann was superb.

He set up both goals and created four chances. No player attempted more passes in the opposition half (37), or played in more crosses (five).

Despite Atleti having lined up in a 3-4-3, with Griezmann nominally positioned on the right flank, his average position was just ahead of the halfway line.

It was a similar story against Real Oviedo on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey. While he was supposedly playing in a front two alongside Alvaro Morata, Griezmann's touches were centred around the halfway line, with only two coming in the opposition box.

Dovetailing with Morata in a forward line, or indeed playing as an inside forward in a 3-4-3, is in principle ideal for Griezmann to drop into a similar role as to the one he thrived in during the World Cup.

Barca best be wary

It would seem the two-man attack would provide the perfect platform for Griezmann to show what Barca never managed to unlock on a consistent basis during his two years at the club.

Not that his time at Barca was a complete failure. Griezmann scored 35 goals and assisted a further 16 across 102 appearances. But he looks like he has his mojo back now. In fact, no LaLiga player has assisted more goals in all competitions.

Morata should provide the pace and work rate to stretch Barca's backline, handing Griezmann the space to drop between the lines and pull the strings.

Griezmann is averaging 73.4 touches per 90 minutes for Atleti this term, but only 4.8 in the opposition's box. His role has been gradually developing over the course of the campaign and the World Cup proved just how effective he can be.

Barca twice gave away the lead against Intercity Sant Joan d'Alacant in their Copa del Rey tie, and as Inter and Bayern Munich displayed in the Champions League, the Blaugrana's defence can be got at, even if in LaLiga Xavi's side have conceded just six times.

If Griezmann, who at least might be easier to spot, what with his bright pink hair, can replicate the influence he had in Qatar, Barca will be hard-pressed to stop him.

The NFL's one-season rule change could have complicating factors for the Kansas City Chiefs further down the line, but their task for Week 18 is simple: beat the Las Vegas Raiders and earn a bye to the divisional round.

With the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals – both rivals for the first seed in the AFC – to finish the year having played only 16 games, neither will be able to catch the Chiefs should they defeat the Raiders.

That will not necessarily mean an AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium, with a neutral venue potentially coming into play, but it does assure them of a week off and a favourable route through the postseason.

Fans in Buffalo and Cincinnati could reasonably be frustrated, and their hopes of the Chiefs being halted rest with an unlikely Raiders victory.

The Chiefs are 9-1 in their past 10 games against the Raiders, and their most recent nine meetings – including a high-scoring defeat in 2020 – have seen Kansas City score at least 28 points.

Only the Los Angeles Rams against the Green Bay Packers, between 1949 and 1953, have ever scored 28 or more points in 10 straight encounters.

Even in Las Vegas, there is little reason to believe that sequence will end this week, given the Chiefs' dominant road form this year.

They have scored 264 points across eight games away from Arrowhead, meaning the Chiefs will have scored the third-most road points in a season in NFL history if they hit their average of 33.0 again.

MVP frontrunner Patrick Mahomes loves playing the Raiders, too, having thrown more touchdowns in this matchup (26) than in any other.

In 2022, he has passed 5,000 passing yards (5,048) and 250 rushing yards (329) in a season for the second time in his career; only two other quarterbacks in NFL history have ever enjoyed one such campaign (Jameis Winston in 2019 and Justin Herbert in 2021).

Yet the Raiders improbably have their own in-form QB, with former New England Patriots backup Jarrett Stidham last week impressing in his first career start.

Stidham threw for 365 yards and three TDs against the San Francisco 49ers, joining Mike White last season as the second QB in the Super Bowl era to mark his first start with 350 passing yards and three passing TDs.

Repeating that performance against the highly motivated Chiefs is a tough ask, though.

Marcus Rashford was involved in all three goals as Manchester United secured a place in the FA Cup fourth round with a 3-1 victory over Everton at Old Trafford on Friday.

Frank Lampard's side had experienced a run of five defeats in six in all competitions, and they were soon behind when Rashford excellently set up Antony to put United 1-0 up.

Although Everton levelled when Conor Coady took advantage of a David de Gea howler to stab in, more silky work from Rashford restored United's lead as Coady turned his cross past Jordan Pickford for an own goal.

In-form United needed a reprieve in the shape of a VAR review to deny Dominic Calvert-Lewin a second equaliser, but Rashford got a goal for himself with a stoppage-time penalty as the Red Devils deservedly advanced to maintain their interest in silverware on four fronts.

United were ahead after just four minutes, with Rashford driving past his man before finding a pinpoint cross for Antony to poke home, and it could have been 2-0 moments later when Anthony Martial sent a dipping effort just past the post.

But Everton nearly levelled when Demarai Gray's long-range drive crashed off the woodwork, and they did soon find an equaliser as De Gea somehow let the ball through his legs from Neal Maupay's cross before Coady tapped in.

Rashford played a big role again for United's second, however, brilliantly powering to the byline before his low delivery was turned into his own net by Coady.

The introduction of Everton striker Calvert-Lewin almost reaped dividends when he got on the end of Gray's cross to seemingly level, only for the VAR to spot the winger's offside in the build-up.

There was time then for Ben Godfrey to tangle with Alejandro Garnacho and give Rashford an opportunity from 12 yards, which he confidently took to cap a brilliant display and make sure of United's place in the draw.

Skylar Thompson will start for the Miami Dolphins in a must-win Week 18 game against the New York Jets that could be decided by his ability to produce explosive plays.

The Dolphins are on a five-game losing streak that has dropped them from 8-3 to 8-8 and on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.

Yet Miami will qualify for the postseason if the Dolphins beat the Jets – who were eliminated with last week's loss to the Seattle Seahawks – and the New England Patriots lose to the Buffalo Bills.

The task of achieving that feat has been complicated by the Dolphins' quarterback situation.

Tua Tagovailoa remains out of action having been placed in the concussion protocol following the Dolphins' Christmas Day loss to the Green Bay Packers, and his backup Teddy Bridgewater suffered a finger injury in the defeat to the Patriots last week.

Thompson was subsequently thrown into the fire and never came close to rallying the Dolphins to a key victory, having also looked ill-equipped to lead the attack in a 40-17 loss to the Jets in Week 5, in which Bridgewater was injured on the first offensive play for Miami while filling in for Tagovailoa after he was concussed against the Cincinnati Bengals.

But the Dolphins have no choice but to look to him to thrive throwing the ball for a passing attack that has racked up 60 passing plays of 20 yards or more, a tally that trails only the Philadelphia Eagles (61) and Kansas City Chiefs (71).

The problem is that the Dolphins are facing a defense that has excelled at taking away the big play.

Indeed, the only team to allow fewer 20-yard pass plays than the Jets (36) are the New Orleans Saints (33).

With the Jets coaching staff perhaps coaching for their jobs, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel will expect his opponents, led by his former San Francisco 49ers colleague Robert Saleh, to offer another stern test.

If Thompson and the Dolphins cannot find a way to come through it and miss out on the playoffs, there will be plenty of questions about what went wrong in a season that once looked so promising.

The Dallas Mavericks are waiving Kemba Walker, who has played only nine games for the team since signing in November 2022.

ESPN reported the Mavs would cut their ties with Walker on Friday ahead of his salary for the remainder of the season becoming guaranteed this weekend.

Walker moved to Dallas last year after he was waived by the Detroit Pistons, for whom he did not play a game.

The four-time All-Star was brought in to boost a then struggling Mavs team who are increasingly reliant on superstar Luka Doncic after Jalen Brunson left for the New York Knicks at the end of last season.

Dallas have since improved considerably, climbing to fourth in the Western Conference at 22-17, but their ascent has owed more to Doncic's form than Walker's contributions.

While Doncic is leading the NBA in scoring 34.0 points per game, including 41.7 in the team's seven-game winning run across Christmas and New Year, Walker has played only 144 minutes for the Mavs.

Over nine games, the point guard averaged 8.0 points and 2.1 assists in 16 minutes, starting just once.

That sole start was in an overtime defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers, in which Doncic and Spencer Dinwiddie were absent as Walker scored 32 points.

News of Walker's imminent departure from Dallas was greeted with a message from Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum, hinting at his interest in a return for a former team-mate.

Walker spent two years in Boston between 2019 and 2021, although he played only 99 times for the Celtics.