Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka called on the club and his team-mates to "protect" Ethan Nwaneri after the teenager made Premier League history.

Nwaneri became the youngest player to ever appear in the Premier League on Sunday as was introduced late on in Arsenal's 3-0 win over Brentford.

Aged 15 years and 181 days, Nwaneri broke the record set by Harvey Elliott when he came on for Fulham at 16 years and 30 days old.

Nwaneri was included in Mikel Arteta's squad partly due to injuries and was introduced near the end with the Gunners in complete control.

An England youth international, Nwaneri had trained with Arsenal's first team "a couple of times", according to Arteta, whose decision to bring him on was a "gut feeling".

Nwaneri has understandably dominated headlines since his historic cameo, but the need to protect him and keep him on his current path was not lost on Xhaka, who had known of the player's talent having taken charge of Arsenal Under-16s training sessions.

"To have a guy who is 15, who is 15 years younger than me… he looks old when I see him but the club can be proud of a player like him," Xhaka told reporters.

"He has a big future. If I am honest, I am doing my coaching licence and I have trained the Under-16s: you can see a big difference with him and the other guys. He is very, very special.

"Of course, you have to protect him as he is very young but if he keeps going like this with his hard work, he has a big, big future.

"I spoke with one Brentford guy and I told him this guy was 15 and he looked at me and said: 'F*** me, we are looking old!'

"So yes, of course, when you have 15 years difference you think: 'Okay the time is not gone but it is on the way'. But we are enjoying him, he is enjoying us as he has the quality.

"If I am honest, he is not with us a lot in training. I have maybe seen him twice or three times now. He is very shy, of course, but the time will come when he will be more with us, but you have to protect him and help him.

"Football is not everything for him and for us but yes, the club will help him and the experienced players have to help him."

Frank Reich acknowledged the Indianapolis Colts were "pathetic" in defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he still believes they are "not that far" from "where we need to be".

The Colts required a 17-point fourth-quarter comeback in Week 1 to tie with the Houston Texans, yet they made another woeful start on Sunday.

This time, there was no recovery, as Indianapolis lost 24-0 in an alarming start to the season.

"That s*** was embarrassing," said defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. "We got our a** whooped."

Buckner added the Colts must "grow from this", and head coach Reich still sees a positive path forward.

"As pathetic as that was today, where this is and where we need to be, the distance is not that far," he said. "We have the players and coaches to do it.

"I know that doesn't play in the outside world, and I'm fine with that. We'll take our medicine and I'll take my medicine, and we'll just keep doing what we do."

This is the first time the Colts have failed to win their first two meetings with fellow AFC South opponents since the 2017 season.

That was the last season before Reich was hired as head coach, with Indianapolis finishing with a 4-12 record.

Pele has joined Neymar in offering his support to Vinicius Junior, who was the subject of a comment with apparent racist undertones from a Spanish football agent.

Pedro Bravo, a chief agent in Spain, appeared on El Chiringuito this week, and said Real Madrid forward Vinicius had to stop dancing when he celebrated a goal.

Bravo said: "You have to respect your opponents. When you score a goal, if you want to dance Samba, you should go to [the] Sambadrome in Brazil. You have to respect your mates and stop playing the monkey."

This comment has led to outrage from Vinicius' international team-mate Bruno Guimaraes, with the Newcastle United midfielder calling for Bravo to be "jailed".

Guimaraes tweeted on Friday: "This MORON needs to get out of there already arrested! There is no excuse! If the guy says that on live TV, imagine what he doesn't say when he's not. Incomprehensible if this guy is not jailed."

Neymar subsequently tagged Vinicius in his Instagram story, along with a photo of the Madrid star celebration and a caption that read: "Dribble, dance and be you! Happy just the way you are. Go for it my boy, next goal we dance!"

Vinicius replied with a photo of him dancing alongside Neymar and Guimaraes while playing for Brazil.

Pele then joined Neymar in offering support, with the legendary striker writing on Instagram: "Football is joy. It's a dance. It's more than that. It's a real party.

"Although, unfortunately, racism still exists, we will not allow that to stop us from continuing to smile. And we will continue to fight racism every day in this way: fighting for our right to be happy and respected."

Barcelona great Dani Alves feels his Brazilian compatriot Pele – and not Lionel Messi – holds the strongest claim to the 'greatest of all time' title because he "changed football".

Alves played alongside Messi for eight years during his first spell at Camp Nou, forming a devastating relationship with the Argentinian on the right flank.

Both players were pillars of a Barcelona team that enjoyed a prolonged period of dominance both in Spain and Europe, with Alves winning 23 trophies during his initial eight-season stint in Catalonia.

And yet, despite seeing Messi's brilliance up close and personal, Alves – who now plays in Mexico for UNAM Pumas – still believes Pele's significance is at an altogether different level.

Speaking to Mexico, Real Madrid and Pumas legend Hugo Sanchez on ESPN, Alves was asked to pick between Messi and Pele – he said: "I choose Pele for one reason: he changed football. Messi changed a generation.

"All those people who are more than football, I'm going to choose them. And besides, I'm Brazilian.

"For me, Pele should not be part of this ['GOAT'] debate. If you ask me, who is the best player in history? I would say Messi. Pele doesn't come into it."

Cristiano Ronaldo was not brought into the 'GOAT' discussion, though Alves did appraise his former Clasico rival when asked about his toughest opponent.

"Cristiano Ronaldo," Alves added. "This b****** doesn't let you breathe for a second. I didn't do too badly, but it's difficult. He's a scoring machine."

Now 39, Alves is continuing his illustrious and immensely successful career in Liga MX having signed a one-year deal with Pumas in July.

He made the switch to Mexico City after spending eight months back at Barcelona, returning to help out his former team-mate Xavi.

It remains to be seen if he will be at Pumas beyond the current season, though he suggests thoughts of retirement have not firmly taken root, even joking he could play for another 10 years if Messi breaks his world record of 47 trophies won.

"First, before requesting anything [another season with Pumas], I like to deliver," he said.

"I have a year to prove myself with [Pumas]. I wouldn't have a problem [staying another year]. I need to show them that I can, that together we can build a very cool team in Mexico, that plays in a different way, that [lets] young people take a step forward.

"I don't like to think about the future because it's always unknown. I let life take me. If Messi passes me [in trophies] then I'm going to play until I'm 50!"

Shane Lowry never considered joining the LIV Golf International Series due to his belief the breakaway league is "bad for the game", suggesting the "ridiculous" prize money throughout golf will alienate fans.

Lowry edged past Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy to win the BMW PGA Championship last week, before labelling his victory "one for the good guys" amid the presence of LIV players at Wentworth.

While the 2019 Open winner criticised the Saudi Arabia-backed circuit in the build-up to that tournament, he attracted criticism earlier this year when he defended his decision to play the Saudi International by declaring; "I'm not a politician, I'm a golfer."

Lowry admitted he was wrong to make that remark, though his main objection to the existence of LIV Golf remains its decisive impact on the sport.

"When I said the 'I'm not a politician' remark, my first thought was 'why did I say that?' It was the wrong thing to say," he told the No Laying Up podcast.

"The thing is, I played the Saudi International for the last three years. So, for me, I would have been very hypocritical if I sat here and said, 'it's about where the money is coming from'.

"Will I go back and play the Saudi International next year? No. But I just think the LIV tour is bad for the game because it is very divisive.

"I am one of the players that thinks LIV should not exist. I don't like the idea of it.

"It is a tough subject for me to talk about because I have never been outspoken. The reason I hadn't is because no one had asked me about it. Rory is outspoken because every day he is in front of the media."

Lowry also believes the huge financial incentives available on every tour could turn fans away from golf, adding: "We are very lucky the corporate world loves golf and that's why we have such great sponsors and that's why we play for a lot of money.

"But I do feel like this is causing a division in the game and it's going to p*** people off.

"People are going to stop watching it. I think the amounts of money that are being thrown around are absolutely disgusting at the minute. I feel all people talk about is money now. 

"We play for points now in the FedEx Cup, but I watched the Tour Championship and all the commentators talked about was how much money they're going to win, and I thought, 'will you just talk about the trophy or the title or how many times Tiger [Woods] has won it?'

"The general Joe Soap, the guy who works his nuts off to make 50 grand a year and has to struggle to pay his membership at his golf club and loves the game so much, this probably p***** him off more than anyone."

LeBron James and Chris Paul believe Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver deserves a stronger punishment after an investigation found he engaged in racist and sexist conduct at the workplace.

The NBA announced on Tuesday that Sarver, who also owns the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, has been suspended for one year and fined $10million following a 10-month independent investigation.

A scathing 43-page report found Sarver was known to make a number of inappropriate comments to women in the workplace – including discussing oral sex at a business meeting as recently as 2021 – as well as repeating the n-word on five occasions in situations where he claimed he was "recounting the statements of others".

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling received a lifetime ban from the league in 2014 over alleged racist comments he made over the phone to an ex-girlfriend, whereas Sarver will be allowed to resume duties in 12 months' time.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver defended that decision on Wednesday, claiming the Sarver and Sterling cases cannot be compared, which led to criticism from high-profile stars James and Paul on social media.

In a series of Twitter posts, Los Angeles Lakers star James said: "Read through the Sarver stories a few times now. I gotta be honest…Our league definitely got this wrong. I don’t need to explain why.

"Y'all read the stories and decide for yourself. I said it before and I'm gonna say it again, there is no place in this league for that kind of behaviour. I love this league and I deeply respect our leadership. But this isn’t right.

"There is no place for misogyny, sexism, and racism in any work place. Don't matter if you own the team or play for the team. We hold our league up as an example of our values and this ain't it."

Twelve-time All-Star Paul, who has played for the Suns since 2020, also questioned the severity of the punishment.

"Like many others, I reviewed the report. I was and am horrified and disappointed by what I read," he wrote on Twitter. "This conduct especially towards women is unacceptable and must never be repeated.

"I am of the view that the sanctions fell short in truly addressing what we can all agree was atrocious behaviour. My heart goes out to all of the people that were affected."

The NBA will donate Sarver's $10m fine to organisations that are committed to addressing race and gender-based issues in and outside the workplace.

In a statement released after the report was published, Sarver said: "While I disagree with some of the particulars of the NBA's report, I would like to apologise for my words and actions that offended our employees.

"I take full responsibility for what I have done. I am sorry for causing this pain, and these errors in judgement are not consistent with my personal philosophy or my values."

Massimiliano Allegri told his Juventus players to internalise their frustration and focus on training harder after defeat to Benfica put their Champions League hopes in peril.

A 2-1 loss in Turin followed last week's defeat by the same scoreline at Paris Saint-Germain, leaving the Bianconeri six points behind both of their early conquerors after two rounds of Group H games.

Allegri, in the second season of his second spell as Juventus head coach, appeared to point to the mental fragility of his team after the final whistle, saying they "collapsed" after going 2-1 behind in the 55th minute.

He has said he does not fear for his job, nor is he willing to engage in drawn-out public discourse about how the Turin giants might get back on track.

It is simple, according to Allegri, who believes working beats talking in a time of crisis.

"I knew when I came back that it would take time to rebuild," he said. "But unfortunately I did not think that at this moment we would lose two games in a row [in the Champions League]."

Juventus won nine consecutive Serie A titles before failing to make it 10 in a row during Andrea Pirlo's single season in charge.

They laboured to fourth place under Allegri last term, and the coach says finding an instant winning formula was always going to be difficult.

"But this is something the club knows, we all know it, but the important thing is to try to do well, to stay in the Champions League," Allegri said. "And these two games p***** us off.

"This does not mean that everything is compromised in the Champions League, but at the moment talking is useless. Plus the less we talk, the better it is, because we waste less energy."

With his team sitting eighth in Serie A after two wins and four draws so far this season, Allegri's words sounded worrying after Wednesday's defeat.

Juve had no response to the dominance of Benfica, who had previously lost 10 of their last 12 visits against Italian clubs.

"In these moments I think there are few explanations to give," Allegri said, "because in any case after we went 2-1 down, the game was over because it was in their hands. On a psychological level we had collapsed and therefore, in this moment, we can only remain silent, work and take little step after little step to get back up."

He pinpointed Sunday's Serie A game against Monza as a chance to bounce back, but whatever the result of that game it will do nothing to repair the early damage to Juve's European hopes.

"At this moment, going to look for and talk about the problems that exist does not make sense," Allegri said.

"The Champions League in this moment is complicated. This doesn't mean that it is already over, but at the moment the closest thing is Monza. So we have four days to better prepare for the match in Monza at a mental level."

He added: "I don't want to blame the lads for anything. It is normal that there must be a sense of responsibility on the part of everyone and everyone needs to do something more – not overdo, but do."

Tyreek Hill offered extremely colourful praise of Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel following their 20-7 Week 1 win over the New England Patriots.

The Dolphins delivered a performance to justify their offseason hype with a comfortable defeat of their AFC East rivals.

Miami held a 17-0 lead at half-time, with McDaniel making a decision that will likely increase his players' confidence in him late in the second quarter.

Leading 10-0 with the ball on the Patriots' 42-yard line on fourth down with seven yards to go, McDaniel - making his debut as a head coach - elected to go for it rather than punt the ball.

The move paid dividends, with Tua Tagovailoa hitting Jaylen Waddle on a slant route for a 42-yard touchdown to put the Dolphins in complete command.

And Hill, who arrived in a blockbuster trade with the Kansas City Chiefs in the offseason, found an interesting way to hail the bravery of his coach.

"He's going to need a wheelbarrow for his nuts to carry around," Hill said of McDaniel. "Because he's got a lot of cojones."

Waddle was more conventional in handing out plaudits for McDaniel, saying: "He's just got confidence in us. We're confident in him, every decision that he makes.”

Tagovailoa, who threw for 270 yards and a touchdown in an encouraging start to what many belive is a make-or-break year for the quarterback, added: "I love it. He has the utmost confidence in the entire offense. That's why."

Hill had eight catches for 94 yards in his Dolphins debut.

Frances Tiafoe insisted he will return and win the US Open "one day" after coming up short in an enthralling five-set semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz.

The home favourite won the first and fourth sets on tie breaks, only to lose the decider as his 19-year-old opponent sealed a 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 victory on Friday.

Tiafoe was emotional after his loss as an appreciative crowd at Flushing Meadows acknowledged his efforts.

"I gave everything I had," he said during his on-court interview. "Too good from Carlos tonight.

"I gave everything I had for the last two weeks. I came here wanting to win the US Open and I feel I let you guys down."

The 24-year-old had an impressive run in the tournament, beating higher seeds Diego Schwartzman, Rafael Nadal and Andrey Rublev to reach the final four.

"This one hurts. This one really, really hurts," he added. "Too good from Carlos, you're gonna win a lot of grand slams, you're a hell of a player, hell of a person.

"I'm happy I got to share the court and such a big stage with you. 

"I'm going to come back and I will win this thing one day. I'm sorry guys."

Alcaraz will face Casper Ruud in Sunday's final after the Norwegian beat Karen Khachanov in four sets in Friday's other semi-final.

Primoz Roglic's withdrawal from the Vuelta a Espana is a huge disappointment for Enric Mas, as he aims to chase down Remco Evenepoel in the final stages of the race.

Three-time reigning champion Roglic crashed just before the line on Tuesday, having looked set to take the lead off Evenepoel, who has now held the red jersey for 12 stages of this year's event.

Roglic's chances of an unprecedented fourth straight Vuelta title are now over after the Slovenian elected to withdraw from the race, leaving Mas as Evenepoel's closest rival.

Yet the Spaniard was unable to close the gap on Wednesday as Evenepoel and his Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl team managed the red jersey group, with both riders collecting the same time after a 162-kilometre route from Aracena to Monasterio de Tentudia.

Rigoberto Uran claimed a breakaway win, sealing his first individual success at La Vuelta, meaning the 35-year-old has now won a stage at each of the Grand Tours.

Jesus Herrada led until just before the finish, with Uran timing his final attack to perfection to hold off Quentin Pacher and become the fourth different Colombian rider to win a stage at La Vuelta since the start of the 2019 edition.

Mas had to settle for 15th, one place behind Evenepoel, and knows his Movistar team will have to come up with something special to topple the Belgian in the race's final days.

"We go day by day, I think every day is super important. Yesterday you all saw the crash of Primoz. We need to be very focused," Mas said. "It's not nice when somebody crashes. He's a super rider, a super good person. I think it's s*** that Roglic is not here anymore.

"I don't know what we're going to do tomorrow, but if we have good legs and a good feeling, and the atmosphere in the team is super good, we have to do something, no?"

Evenepoel betters Merckx 

He may hold a lead of over two minutes, but Evenepoel is not taking anything for granted, and delivered an expertly controlled ride to keep his rivals at bay.

"Pretty tough, it was not easy at all. Especially the run-in was really nervous and also a big road going quite steep. It looked easier on television than it was in real life," he said.

Evenepoel is the first rider to lead La Vuelta for 12 consecutive stages since 2019, when Roglic led for the final 12. The 22-year-old has now overtaken the great Eddy Merckx as fourth on the list of Belgians with the most days leading the race, after Gustaaf Deloor (32), Freddy Maertens (22) and Rick van Looy (13).

STAGE RESULT

1. Rigoberto Uran (EF Education–EasyPost) 3:42:28
2. Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) same time
3. Jesus Herrada (Cofidis) +0:02
4. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) +0:15
5. Kelly Elissonde (Trek-Segafredo) +0:26

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 65:14:05
2. Enric Mas (Movistar) +2:01
3. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) +4:51

Points Classification

1. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) 349
2. Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) 149
3. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) 133

King of the Mountains

1. Jay Vine (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 59
2. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Greandiers) 30
3. Thymen Arensman (Team DSM) 22

Nick Kyrgios claims all tournaments other than grand slams are a "waste of time" following his US Open quarter-final exit to Karen Khachanov on Tuesday.

The in-form 2022 Wimbledon runner-up's run at Flushing Meadows, which included knocking out defending champion Daniil Medvedev, was ended by Khachanov 7-5 4-6 7-5 6-7 (3-7) 6-4.

Kyrgios had been in career-best form, winning more matches than any other player on the ATP Tour since his Wimbledon final defeat to Novak Djokovic, but will need to wait until January for another crack at a major, at his home Australian Open.

The 27-year-old has spoken about his renewed level of focus since reaching the Wimbledon final and said he was "devastated" by his US Open loss, smashing a racquet after the match.

"I honestly feel like s***," he said. "I feel like I've let so many people down.

"I feel like these four tournaments are the only ones that are ever going to matter. It's just like you got to start it all again. I have to wait until the Australian Open. It's just devastating. It's heart-breaking.

"I don't even really care about any other tournament. I feel like at the grand slams, now having success at a grand slam, it's just like no other tournament really matters.

"It's like you get better, you get worse, then at a grand slam none of it matters. You either win or lose. People don't really care if you got better on the day or you lost 6-4 in the fifth or played one of the best matches of the tournament. You lost.

"That's all people remember at a grand slam, whether you win or you lose. I think pretty much every other tournament during the year is a waste of time really. You should just run up and show up at a grand slam. That's what you're remembered by."

Kyrgios allayed concerns over a knee injury at the end of the first set that he said settled, stating that he started "flat" and felt Khachanov's serve was too good, particularly in key moments.

"All credit to Karen, he's a fighter. He's a warrior," he said.

"I thought he served really good today. Honestly probably the best server I played this tournament, to be honest, the way he was hitting his spots under pressure."

The triumph marks 29th seed Khachanov's first major semi-final having fallen in the quarter-finals at majors twice previously.

"It's like one more step forward," the Russian said. "I'm really, really happy I could do it.

"I had to face and to beat Nick, who is playing some of the best tennis again. It obviously was a tough match to approach. I made my first semi-final, so it's pretty simple in my head. I'm just really happy."

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles has declared star quarterback Tom Brady is "all in" following his recent absence ahead of Week 1 of the new NFL season.

Brady returned to practice last month after an 11-day absence from the Bucs' training camp for "personal matters", with the Buccaneers due to take on the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday to open their season.

There has been speculation about Brady's absence impacting his focus on football but Bowles brushed that off.

"He's been all in since we got him," Bowles said. "He's all in now.

"I don't follow the off-the-field stuff. I listen to XM The Groove and Soul Town. My off-the-field activities are honestly not even football-related."

The questions emerged after an unusual off-season for Brady, who retired in February before reversing that decision 40 days later in March.

Brady last week declined to go into any depth on the personal matters behind his recent absence but said: "I'm 45 years old, man. There's a lot of s*** going on. Just gotta try to figure out life the best you can. It's a continuous process."

The seven-time Super Bowl champion said last week that he was "ready to go" and on Monday was named on of their offensive captains.

Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes had "a car to win" the Dutch Grand Prix and apologised to his team for an outburst after he missed out on a podium finish.

The seven-time world champion looked to be in with a shout of claiming his first win of a difficult season, one which has seen him off the pace of Red Bull and Ferrari.

But after a late safety car that saw the team decide to keep him on existing old tyres, the Briton was swiftly deposed from the lead of the race by eventual winner and incumbent world champion Max Verstappen.

Team-mate George Russell and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc passed Hamilton in the closing stages to lock out the podium with fresh rubber, and the 37-year-old subsequently turned his fire on the team with his radio messages.

Hamilton said: "I can't believe you guys screwed me like that, I can't tell you how p****d I am right now."

Speaking afterwards, however, a more composed Hamilton offered apologies to his pit crew and team, and vowed to take the positives from an improved race performance, if not ultimately the final result, as he took fourth place.

"I think we had a car to win," he said. "Given the circumstance, we were challenged with lots of things, the safety car, the virtual safety car.

"The strategy and car have been so good today, the pit stops were the best. I was really hopeful we'd get a one-two together as a team, but the safety car really didn't help.

"I was on the edge of breaking point with emotions, so my apologies to the team. I just lost it for a second, but I think they know there's just so much passion.

"I want to look at it as a glass half full. Without the safety car, I think we'd have been challenging at the end for the win. If this can be the same in the future races, we can breathe down their necks and get a win.

"Last race, we were miles away and we couldn't even understand how we could be so far away. Yesterday, I was pole up until the last corner.

"There's a huge positive to take from that and our race pace seems to be better or as good as everyone else, so let's not give up."

Tyson Fury has issued a fresh challenge to Oleksandr Usyk, responding to the latest comments from the Ukrainian where he referred to the WBC heavyweight champion as a 'crazy guy'.

Usyk successfully defended his belts against Anthony Joshua in last month's rematch, clearing the way for boxing fans to secure the unification fight they have long been waiting for on the heavyweight stage.

Fury had claimed he would retire following his win against Dillian Whyte in April but has since made it clear he is open to returning to the ring for a unification bout against Usyk.

Former middleweight fighter Usyk spoke about the prospect of facing off against Fury earlier this week, stating: "I want the WBC title. It was captured by the gypsies, some kind of king.

"We don't know what Tyson has in his head. Everyone knows that this is a very crazy guy. I would really like this fight to happen next year."

That sparked a fiery response from Fury, who directed jibes at Usyk's former middleweight status and named three prospective dates for a potential bout.

"Usyk, middleweight, you say you want the WBC and it's held by gypsies, it is held by gypsies and it's held by the gypsy king, it's held tightly," he said in a social media video.

"All rounds lead to a seven-foot behemoth who will absolutely destroy you, middleweight, you will get smashed to bits.

"You said you wanted to fight me after you beat the bodybuilder [Joshua], called me out on television, and now you're being a little b****, saying you've got injuries.

"You ain't got no injuries, you had a sparring contest. Get out and fight in December, you let your mouth go, now let's see if you can back it up.

"Doesn't matter if it's December, April or August next year, the outcome will be the same, I will obliterate you. I am a seven foot, 20 stone behemoth and I will destroy you. Find your balls, come see me."

Remco Evenepoel said his bike bore the brunt of the crash that gave the Vuelta a Espana leader a scare, as Richard Carapaz scored an eye-catching stage 12 victory.

The 192.7-kilometre ride from Salobrena to Estepona took the riders through the province of Malaga, and with just over 45km remaining there was a jolt for general classification front-runner Evenepoel when the Belgian took a chance on a corner.

Looking to take an inside line, Evenepoel's calculation failed to pay off as his wheels slipped, leaving him grounded and shaken momentarily, with his right leg having scraped on the road.

He was soon back in the race and finished strongly, preserving his lead of two minutes and 41 seconds over three-time reigning champion Primoz Roglic in the GC standings.

Asked about any after-effects, Evenepoel said on Eurosport: "Just my leg, but it's fine I think. My bike is much worse than myself.

"It was a super slippery corner. The motorbikes were slipping as well, and slowing down, so that's why I actually wanted to cut the corner, but it was a bit too much.

"Sorry for my words, but s*** happens. Now I'm just going to heal the wounds and try to recover for tomorrow as it will be a sprint stage."

It was largely flat on Thursday, until the steep ascent of Penas Blancas in the closing kilometres proved an arduous test of the riders' legs.

Carapaz, part of a breakaway that splintered as the race and the climb progressed, made his move with 2km remaining and surged clear to finish nine seconds ahead of Wilco Kelderman, with Marc Soler in third. Jay Vine, expected to make a push for the win, could only finish seventh.

Carapaz makes his presence felt

Three years on from winning the Giro d'Italia, this was Carapaz's first stage win of his Vuelta career. He has been the man in the red jersey before, eventually ceding it to finish runner-up to Roglic in 2020, but has not shown that level of consistent performance this year.

His dart to victory up the mountain was mightily impressive, though, serving as a reminder of the 29-year-old's great talent.

STAGE RESULT

1. Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) 4:38:26
2. Wilco Kelderman (BORA-Hansgrohe), +0:09
3. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), +0:24
4. Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates), +0:26
5. Marco Brenner (Team DSM), +0:34

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 44:25:09
2. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) +2:41
3. Enric Mas (Movistar) +3:03

Points Classification

1. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) 184
2. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) 96
3. Samuele Battistella (Astana) 87

King of the Mountains

1. Jay Vine (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 40
2. Robert Stannard (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 21
3. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) 20

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