Last night, Gregg Popovich's San Antonio Spurs somehow managed to lose an overtime game to the Knicks, a team that regularly turns possessions into crimes against humanity. This wasn't one of those games where Pop sat all of his starters, either. This was a full-strength squad getting beasted by the likes of Alexey Shved and Langston Galloway. After the game, Pop was not too happy about the loss. The "didn't respect the game" criticism is a harsh one to throw at your own team, but it's hard to disagree with him here. It has to be hard to look at yourself in the mirror after dropping one to the Knicks.
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Frank Lampard has hailed low-maintenance Willian and revealed the forward is in talks with Chelsea over a new deal.
The 31-year-old scored twice in Chelsea s 2-0 win over Tottenham last weekend, taking his tally to four goals and three assists in the Premier League this term.
Willian is out of contract at the end of the season and suggested last month he had yet to be offered a new deal by the London club.
However, Lampard is eager for the Brazil international who turns 32 next August to commit his future to Chelsea.
He s in talks with the club. He speaks with the club on the money side of it, Lampard is quoted as saying by several British newspapers.
I m very happy for our team performance in the derby today, but at the same time I m very disapp…
Pep Guardiola wants Vincent Kompany to be mentally and physically fit before giving the Manchester City captain a sustained run of first-team action.
Kompany has been ravaged by a succession of muscle injuries over recent seasons, with calf problems decimating his 2015-16 campaign, in which he started only 20 of City s 58 games.
The last of those came in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid, the centre-back lasting only 10 minutes due to a groin and thigh injury that required surgery and ruled him out of Belgium s Euro 2016 campaign.
The 30-year-old made his first appearance under Guardiola in last month s EFL Cup tie at Swansea City, only for a fresh groin strain suffered in stoppage time to send him back to the treatment room.
Teenage striker Matthew Hoppe scored a stunning hat-trick to finally banish Schalke s winless run after 30 Bundesliga matches.
The German giants had not claimed a league victory since January 2020 heading into Saturday s home game against Hoffenheim.
Failure to win again would have seen Schalke equal Tasmania Berlin s record stretch of 31 Bundesliga matches without success from 1965-66.
However, an inspired outing from 19-year-old Hoppe set up a 4-0 triumph at the Veltins-Arena, ending that miserable streak and moving Schalke off the foot of the table.
The American had never previously netted a senior goal but repaid the faith shown in him by Christian Gross, Schalke s fourth coach of the season.
Hoppe s opener came in contentious circumstances th…
Carlo Ancelotti hailed Rodrygo as special after the forward s goal secured a 2-1 LaLiga win over Real Betis on Real Madrid s return to Santiago Bernabeu.
Vinícius Junior scored the opening goal in Madrid s first game at their revamped home for 106 days, but Sergio Canales equalised in the first half.
Rodrygo stepped up to make it four LaLiga wins out of four for the champions and consign Betis to a first defeat.
Madrid boss Ancelotti lavished praise on the Brazil forward following his decisive 65th-minute strike.
The Italian said: He is a special striker, he can play in all positions. He is fast, smart and effective one on one. The learning is over. He is a Real Madrid player for all purposes.
Ancelotti moved level with Vicente del …
Hamburg s Marcell Jansen says the club are targeting a win over Borussia Dortmund on Saturday as they look to get their season on track.
Hamburg have endured an inconsistent campaign to date and sit ninth in the Bundesliga table ahead of the weekend, while Dortmund are 12 points adrift of leaders Bayern Munich in second place.
Dortmund are favourites. We need to be wide awake from the first minute. Our goal must be to win there, Jansen told Bild.
We still lack consistency and lose our concentration too much. We re brave but not toxic enough. We hide too much. It is a mystery that I don t understand.
The full-back has fallen out of favour with Germany since winning his first cap in September 2010, but aims to play his way back into Joachim Loew s plans…
Napoli midfielder Walter Gargano has joined Parma on loan with the option of a permanent move to the Stadio Ennio Tardini.
The 29-year-old spent last season on loan at Inter, making 28 Serie A appearances, and has reportedly been monitored by the likes of Cagliari, Sunderland and Fulham in recent weeks.
Gargano, capped 47 times for Uruguay, joined Napoli in 2007 from Danubio and helped the club to win the 2011-12 Coppa Italia.
He played 199 games for Napoli and will now continue his Serie A career at Parma.
Gargano was initially linked with Parma at the start of last month after Inter opted not to offer him a prolonged stay at San Siro despite the player admitting an interest in remaining in Milan.
…
Bastian Schweinsteiger ended his international career on a winning note as Germany secured a 2-0 friendly victory over Finland in Monchengladbach.
A close-range finish from Olympic silver-medallist Max Meyer early in the second half and Paulus Arajuuri s late own-goal decided the game in the hosts favour, but it was the retiring Schweinsteiger who took centre stage.
In what was his 121st appearance for his country, the Manchester United midfielder completed 67 minutes and posed for a selfie with a pitch invader wearing a Schweinsteiger 7 shirt, before leaving the field to a standing ovation.
And the 32-year-old, who announced his intention to retire following Germany s elimination at Euro 2016, was reduced to tears as he addressed the crowd.
It means …
Championship side Burnley have signed one-time England midfielder Joey Barton on a one-year deal.
Barton moves to Burnley as a free agent, having left QPR at the end of last season upon his contract at Loftus Road expiring.
The 32-year-old was part of the Rangers side that won promotion from English football s second tier in the 2013-14 season.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche told the club s official website: I m delighted that we have Joey on board.
He was very respectful when speaking about our club at the end of last season and during the summer.
We had many conversations and He made it clear he was very interested in what we are about and that coming here was something he would consider.
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Barcelona head coach Xavi warned his side will face a dangerous opponent in Cadiz on Saturday, making it clear he is not yet considering the upcoming test against Bayern Munich.
The Catalan giants will travel to Bavaria for a huge Champions League clash in Group C, with both sides having won their respective opening fixtures against Viktoria Plzen and Inter.
Tuesday s fixture will also see Robert Lewandowski, who scored a hat-trick on his European debut for Barcelona, return to face the side he recently departed and that adds further intrigue to the game.
Xavi, however, is focusing on Saturday s LaLiga away clash against Cadiz and is expecting a difficult encounter, with Barcelona s opponents desperate to secure a first win of the season.
It s a diffic…
According to , Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa has identified Douglas Costa as a potential replacement for Raphinha. Liverpool are reported to be interested in signing the Brazilian international from Premier League rivals Leeds in the summer of 2021, and if the 24-year-old leaves, then Bielsa wants the West Yorkshire club to bring in Costa.
Costa is on loan at Bayern Munich from Juventus at the moment. The Brazil international winger had a loan spell at Juve from Bayern before the move was made permanent, and the 30-year-old returned to the Allianz Arena in the summer of 2020.
According to , Costa has made three starts and eight substitute appearances in the Bundesliga, scoring one goal and providing one assist in the process. The winter has also provided one as…