sport

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell must pick from a depleted squad after a spate of injuries which has robbed him of seasoned Test players like Andrew Porter, Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen and Robbie Henshaw.

But Farrell’s Ireland defied the odds when they secured an impressive opening win over France in Marseille in the 2024 Six Nations with a performance that emphatically eased fears of a post-World Cup hangover.

“The Farrell factor is the bit that balances it up,” said Andrew Trimble, who won 70 Ireland caps between 2005 and 2017.

“On paper, it feels like the scrum is more important than ever. [There are] one or two other injuries, a handful of lads you’d want to be in better form, and then no stability or consistency at 10.

“There’s so many guys all playing OK at best. If there were so many young lads banging on the door, then you’d go ‘OK, a spark of youth and enthusiasm to ignite this team’ but there’s only a couple of those guys.

“All of that on paper says we can’t go to Paris and be excited, but Farrell always finds a way to get something out of these guys. He’s done it less recently but he has enough credit in the bank.”

Murray, who played in the 38-17 win in Marseille two years ago, echoed Trimble’s comments and insisted Farrell will use his motivational skills to ensure Ireland improve on the standards that saw them fall to New Zealand and South Africa in November.

“Talking about the Marseille game in ’24, we were questioned about form and not clicking.

“The last game we had played was the quarter-final against New Zealand and we had the most detailed review of a game I had in my career.

“We looked at that game and Andy pointed out in black and white so many situations where we could have been better, that last 20 minutes against New Zealand when we struggled and tried to find a try.

“Andy showed clips of us if we were a little bit braver or believed in ourselves and stuck to the plan that Andy will be trying to instil in them. That’s where my confidence comes in this group.

EUGENE, Ore. — Tyler Bilodeau had 18 points, Eric Daily Jr. had his second double-double this season, and UCLA beat shorthanded Oregon 73-57 on Wednesday night to extend the Ducks’ losing streak to seven games.

Dailey finished with 14 points and a career-high tying 11 rebounds. Donovan Dent scored 11 of his 15 in the second half for UCLA (15-6, 7-3 Big Ten) and Trent Perry, who was scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting before halftime, added 12 points.

The Bruins have won three in a row and five of their last six.

Kwame Evans Jr. led Oregon (8-13, 1-9) with 24 points, which included four three-pointers, and nine rebounds. Nate Bittle, Jackson Shelstad and Takai Simpkins — who are first (16.3 per game), second (15.6) and fourth (12.4), respectively, on the team in scoring this season — did not play for the Ducks due to injuries.

Evans made a layup to open the scoring 10 seconds into the game but UCLA scored the next eight points to take the lead for good. Bilodeau scored seven points in a 13-2 run that made it 26-13 with 7:08 left in the first half.

The Ducks, who started one-of-11 shooting, shot just 25% (eight of 32) from the field, four of 17 (24%) from three-point range, in the first half.

UCLA has won four straight in the series and is 98-42 against the Ducks.

Dailey threw down an alley-oop dunk that gave UCLA its biggest lead at 44-24 with 16:46 left in the game. Evans scored the Ducks’ first seven points in a 12-2 run that trimmed the deficit to 10 about 3 1/2 minutes later, but Oregon got no closer.

UCLA made 20 of 23 from the free-throw line, where the Ducks went six of nine.

Aaron Jones was one of the key US performers at the 2024 T20 World Cup but will now miss the 2026 edition.

United States batter Aaron Jones ‍has ‍been provisionally suspended after being charged with five breaches of the International Cricket Council (ICC) ⁠anticorruption code, the governing body says.

The 31-year-old has ‍14 days to respond to the charges, which relate mostly to his ‍participation in ⁠the 2023-2024 Bim10 tournament in Barbados, while two of the charges relate to international cricket, the ICC said.

USA Cricket did not immediately ​respond to a request ‌for comment outside normal business hours.

The ICC accused Jones of fixing, trying to fix or influencing Bim10 matches; refusing or failing to cooperate with an investigation; obstructing the inquiry; and failing to disclose attempts to violate the Cricket West Indies anticorruption code.

“These charges are part of a wider investigation which is likely to result in further charges being issued against other participants in due course,” the ICC said in a statement on Wednesday.

Jones was part of an 18-member US squad training ‌in Sri Lanka in preparation for ‌the T20 World Cup, ⁠scheduled from February 7 to March 8 in India and Sri Lanka.

The US ‌has yet to announce its squad for the tournament, and Jones is now ‍ineligible for selection.

Jones was a star of the 2024 edition, which was cohosted by the US, which were also debuting at a major cricket tournament.

He was an integral part of the team that beat Pakistan in what is regarded as the greatest cricketing upset of all time, scoring 11 runs in the super-over victory.

Jones also hit an unbeaten 94 in the seven-wicket win against Canada, which included hitting the winning runs to produce one of the iconic images of the tournament.

Born in New York, Jones rose to prominence with Barbados – and hit a half-century in his first-class debut in 2017 – but switched to the nation of his birth, making his international debut in 2018.

CLEVELAND  — He hears it in nearly every arena the Lakers enter.

“We want Bronny. We want Bronny.”

But on Monday night in Cleveland’s Rocket Arena, where the familiar chant reached arena-filling decibels, it felt different. It felt like home.

Bronny James provided some of the few Lakers highlights in the team’s worst loss of the year — a 129-99 drubbing by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday — to turn an emotional homecoming for his father into a happy return for the 21-year-old. James scored eight points with two rebounds, an assist and a steal. He knocked down two three pointers and slammed a one-handed transition dunk to elicit a roar from the crowd that welcomed back a son they watched grow up.

Laker Bronny James #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers shakes hands with the Cavliers’ Larry Nance Jr. Wednesday.

(Jason Miller / Getty Images)

“I was just excited to go out there and play,” James said. “I’m always ready to go out and play, whether that’s when the entire arena is saying ‘We want Bronny‘ or no one is. I was just really, really grateful that they put me in at that time and I was able to go out and get a few buckets.”

With the Lakers trailing by 20 by the third quarter, the chants for James started early. “We want Bronny” chants occur at nearly every Lakers game, almost turning the young guard’s playing time into a sideshow instead of much-needed opportunities for a developing player trying to find his footing in the NBA.

James hadn’t played in a game since Jan. 18 and hadn’t scored since Jan. 12. But he got on the scoreboard in thrilling fashion Wednesday night, tipping away a crosscourt pass and taking the ball in transition for a dunk that left even his dad nodding approval from the bench.

“He handles all of it so well,” said guard Gabe Vincent, who called Bronny “a light” in the Lakers’ otherwise forgettable blowout. “It’s incredible. His maturity through it all is incredible. … It’s great to see him have a moment like that.”

The former USC guard who also scored his first NBA points in Cleveland as a rookie last year has bounced between the Lakers and the team’s G League affiliate this year as he hopes to make strides as a shooter and on-ball defender while “building up his tolerance for being in elite shape,” coach JJ Redick said. James has had some promising moments, especially when the Lakers were short-handed earlier this season, showing quicker decision making and increased confidence shooting the ball.

Monday was just the second time in his career that he made two threes in a game.

“He’s as level headed and just as normal of a 21-year-old as I’ve ever been around,” Redick said.

When the Lakers got to the arena Monday, James was welcomed home by a childhood photo of him on a screen outside the visiting locker room. It showed him on stage in 2016 during the Cavaliers’ championship celebration wearing a championship hat and white T-shirt, holding up one finger.

LeBron James glanced at the championship banner from that team before the game Monday, fueling the intense emotions of what could be his last game in his hometown against the team that launched his NBA dreams in 2003.

The Cavaliers, wearing navy blue throwback uniforms, showed a tribute video for LeBron James during the first quarter, highlighting James’ takeover of Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals in which he scored 25 consecutive points. Bronny was 3 years old at the time. Almost two decades later, he remembered all the afternoons he spent at the Cavaliers arena after school.

“It’s literally my entire life,” Bronny said of the city of Cleveland. “So just really appreciative of all the people that show some love. I just remember being a kid and being here pretty much every day after school. It’s a bunch of nostalgia coming back and being here.”

The James family was prepared for the occasion. LeBron scanned the arena before the game to find his mother in a suite. She once watched him begin his career in this very arena, now she was watching both her son and her grandson play in the same game. After saying it out loud, the elder James struggled to process 5 idea.

“I don’t even know how to even, like, wrap that all in one in my brain,” LeBron James said. “It’s so weird and so cool and so surreal. My mom gets to watch her son and her grandson play in the NBA at the same time.”

Gloria James waited in the hallway outside the Lakers locker room to take photos with her son and then her grandson. Bronny was the last Laker out of the arena, stopping to take dozens of photos with family members dressed in purple and gold Lakers jerseys. His grandmother told him to “act right.” He promised to oblige.

If defense wins championships, the Moorpark High boys’ soccer team is looking good for the playoffs. The Musketeers are 11-3-2 overall and 6-1 in the Coastal Canyon League. They’ve given up four goals in seven league games.

Coach Manny Galvez relies on junior Austin Nickels and sophomore Isaac Zapata to provide the offense, with Nickels having 11 goals and Zapata 10.

Moorpark hosts Oak Park on Friday to decide the league title in one of the top soccer games of the weekend.

“They’re just young, hard-working guys,” Galvez said.

Moorpark suffered a 1-0 loss to Camarillo on Tuesday.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Lakers teammates and coaches clapped. LeBron James stared stoically at the video board. Instead of acknowledging the Cleveland crowd showering the Lakers star with applause after a video tribute on Monday, James lifted his jersey over his face.

He wiped his eyes.

Recognizing that the end of his illustrious basketball career is closing in soon, returning to where it all started stirred up emotions in James that surprised even him. He scanned the arena before the game to look for his mother in a suite. He glanced up at the championship banner he helped win in 2016. Then he had one of his worst games as an opponent against the Cavaliers, finishing with just 11 points, five assists and six turnovers in the Lakers’ 129-99 blowout loss.

It was the team’s worst loss of the year.

The Cavaliers (29-26) played a video tribute for James in the first quarter, focusing on the highlights of him scoring 25 consecutive points in Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals. James said he remembered it “like it was yesterday.” The video finished with the message “Welcome Home.” James clutched the Larry O’Brien Trophy in the final image.

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Lakers box score

NBA standings

Cleveland court is a known hazard

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Luka Doncic grabbed at his left leg. He immediately thought of Dru Smith. The Miami Heat guard’s knee injury suffered in 2023 when he slipped off the side of the Cleveland Cavaliers court haunted Doncic while he winced in pain near the Lakers bench.

The Lakers superstar avoided serious injury after falling off the side of the Cavaliers’ raised court on Monday, but the threat of a player being hurt by Cleveland’s unique 10-inch drop off between the court and the arena floor came into focus again during the Lakers’ 129-99 loss to the Cavaliers.

“It is absolutely a safety hazard,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said after Doncic was able to return later in the first quarter. “And I don’t know why it’s still like that. I don’t. You know, you can lodge formal complaints. A lot of times you don’t see any change when you lodge a formal complaint.”

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UCLA women win 14th in a row

Lauren Betts overcame early foul trouble to score 23 points and pull down nine rebounds, leading No. 2 UCLA to an 80-67 win Wednesday night over Illinois.

Betts, the Bruins’ 6-foot-7 AP All-American center, picked up her second and third fouls — the latter on a technical foul — with 1:29 left in the first quarter.

She sat out the rest of the first quarter and the second quarter, returned to the court after halftime, and ended up playing nearly 24 minutes. She had just six points at halftime.

Angela Dugalic scored 12 points for UCLA (20-1, 10-0 Big Ten), which won its 14th straight. Gabriela Jaquez had 11, and Kiki Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Sienna Betts — Lauren’s sister — each added 10.

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UCLA box score

Big Ten standings

UCLA men rout Ducks

Tyler Bilodeau had 18 points, Eric Daily Jr. had his second double-double this season, and UCLA beat shorthanded Oregon 73-57 on Wednesday night to extend the Ducks’ losing streak to seven games.

Dailey finished with 14 points and a career-high tying 11 rebounds. Donovan Dent scored 11 of his 15 in the second half for UCLA (15-6, 7-3 Big Ten) and Trent Perry, who was scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting before halftime, added 12 points.

The Bruins have won three in a row and five of their last six.

Kwame Evans Jr. led Oregon (8-13, 1-9) with 24 points, which included four three-pointers, and nine rebounds. Nate Bittle, Jackson Shelstad and Takai Simpkins — who are first (16.3 per game), second (15.6) and fourth (12.4), respectively, on the team in scoring this season — did not play for the Ducks due to injuries.

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UCLA box score

Big Ten standings

USC men lose close one to Iowa

Bennett Stirtz scored 20 points, including two free throws with 4.6 seconds remaining, as Iowa survived USC‘s comeback bid to win 73-72 on Wednesday night.

The Hawkeyes (15-5, 5-4 Big Ten) led by as many as 17 points in the second half, but a rally by USC put the Trojans ahead by one point with eight seconds to go. Stirtz was fouled by USC’s Jerry Easter II, and made both free throws to put Iowa back ahead.

A 20-4 run early in the second half gave the Hawkeyes a double-digit lead, but Kam Woods single-handedly got the Trojans (15-6, 4-6) back into the game with a solo 12-0 run. Woods scored 19 straight points for USC before Jacob Cofie made the go-ahead layup. Woods finished with 33 points on 12-of-17 shooting after playing all 40 minutes. His previous season high was eight points.

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USC box score

Big Ten standings

Bob Chesney is impressing high school coaches

From Eric Sondheimer: As far as first impressions go, new UCLA football coach Bob Chesney has been hitting the ball out of the park, according to high school coaches who have been receiving visits since Chesney started focusing on introducing himself to local coaches when the college transfer portal closed on Jan. 16.

“He’s a high-energy guy who has a clear vision,” St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro said. “He’s going to bring some excitement back. I was highly impressed. If he’s going to execute what his plan is, he’s going to have immediate success.”

There are so many Chesney sightings at high schools around Southern California, you have to wonder if he’s also scouting for a new house, but that’s probably left to his wife. On his visit to St. John Bosco, his driver was former St. John Bosco assistant Marshawn Friloux, a holdover in the Bruins’ recruiting department from the previous staff.

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Will Gary Patterson ride to the rescue?

From Ryan Kartje: When Gary Patterson resigned as coach of Texas Christian in October 2021, midway through his 21st season with the Horned Frogs, the now-65-year old coach decided to take a step back and reevaluate where he and the college game were headed.

“I’d had a job since I was 9 years old,” Patterson said. “Just kind of wanted to take a break.”

For decades, football had been at the forefront of his and his family’s life, so much so that his wife joked she was merely his “mistress.” He wanted to spend time with her, with his grandkids. Plus, after a few seasons, he knew he’d be eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame, which was important to him.

Patterson ended up filling that time with football, anyway, biding his time for the right opportunity to come along.

It came earlier this month, four years after his departure from Fort Worth, in the form of a text message from USC coach Lincoln Riley, whom he knew from their days coaching across from each other in the Big 12. The Trojans’ defensive coordinator, D’Anton Lynn, had left in late December for the same job at Penn State. Riley needed a replacement.

“He wasn’t going to jump back into this for anything,” Riley said Wednesday. “It had to be the right opportunity, the right kind of place, the right kind of setting. I know he knows and believe he’s found that.”

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Sydney Barros steps up for UCLA gymnastics

From Anthony Solorzano: UCLA gymnast Sydney Barros was not prepared to be a part of the rotation during their meet against Michigan State on Sunday. Leading up to the meet, she was ready to watch from the sidelines as she was recovering from a minor ankle injury.

During the previous competition against Nebraska on Jan. 17, when the Bruins came out with a win, Barros’ only action came with performances on the uneven bars and floor exercise.

Due to illnesses to some of her teammates, it was her turn to compete.

“When I realized I might have to step up this weekend, I had to mentally put myself in that position really quickly,” Barros said. “… I made sure I was in the best mental space possible and just trusted my training that I did have.”

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Bill Belichick is not a first-ballot Hall of Famer

From Chuck Schilken: Bill Belichick is one of the most successful coaches in NFL history.

He won’t be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

ESPN broke the news Tuesday that Belichick won’t be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Multiple media outlets have since confirmed the report. The Hall of Fame has declined to comment on its class of 2026 before it is announced Feb. 5 at NFL Honors in San Francisco.

Belichick won six Super Bowls and nine AFC championships as head coach of the New England Patriots from 2000-2023. He’s a three-time coach of the year. He has more postseason wins (31) than any other NFL head coach and his 333 wins in the regular season and playoffs — counting his five seasons as the Cleveland Browns’ head coach from 1991-1995 — are the second most to Don Shula’s 347. He also won two Super Bowls as the New York Giants defensive coordinator.

“I don’t understand it. I mean, I was with him every day,” former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who played 20 seasons under Belichick, told Seattle Sports 710-AM on Wednesday. “If he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, there’s really no coach that should ever be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, which is completely ridiculous because people deserve it.”

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Super Bowl Sunday

Sunday, Feb. 8
at Santa Clara
Seattle vs. New England
3:30 p.m. PT, NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, KLAC AM 570
Halftime show: Bad Bunny
National anthem: Charlie Puth
Odds: Seahawks favored by 4.5 points
Over/Under: 45.5 points

This day in sports history

1950 — In an Associated Press poll of sports writers and broadcasters, Jack Dempsey is voted the greatest fighter of the last 50 years. Dempsey received 251 votes to 104 for Joe Louis.

1958 — The St. Louis Cardinals give Stan Musial a contract for $100,000, making him the highest paid player in the National League.

1963 — Eleven players and six officials are elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Jim Thorpe, Red Grange, Bronco Nagurski, Sammy Baugh, Dutch Clark, Johnny McNally, Ernie Nevers, Mel Hein, Pete Henry, Cal Hubbard and Don Hutson are the players. The six officials are Bert Bell, Joe Carr, George Halas, Curly Lambeau, Tim Mara and George Preston.

1971 — Hal Greer of Philadelphia becomes the sixth player in NBA history to score 20,000 points as the 76ers lose to Milwaukee 142-118.

1985 — Bryan Trottier of the New York Islanders scores his 1,000th point with a goal in a 4-4 tie with the Minnesota North Stars.

1994 — Julio Cesar Chavez suffers his first loss in 91 fights when Frankie Randall knocks him down in the 11th round and wins the WBC super lightweight championship on a split decision.

1997 — Brian Himmler rolls two perfect games to take the lead after the first two rounds of qualifying at the PBA’s Columbia 300 Open.

2000 — Utah’s Karl Malone becomes the third player in NBA history to score 30,000 points when he makes a layup with 8:53 left in the third quarter of a 96-94 loss to Minnesota.

2005 — Serena Williams fends off six break points in the fifth game of the second set, then wills herself to overcome an aching back in a 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory over Lindsay Davenport in the Australian Open final.

2005 — Irina Slutskaya joins the elite company of Katarina Witt and Sonja Henie by winning a sixth title at the European Figure Skating Championships.

2006 — Roger Federer wins his seventh Grand Slam title, overcoming an early challenge from unseeded Marcos Baghdatis to win the Australian Open 5-7, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2.

2010 — Bernard Lagat wins his eighth Wanamaker Mile at 103rd Millrose Games in New York. Lagat, who finishes in 3:56.34, had shared the record with Irish great Eamonn Coghlan.

2012 — Lydia Ko becomes the youngest person ever to win a pro golf tour event by winning the Bing Lee/Samsung Women’s NSW Open on the ALPG Tour. She is 14 and 8 months, one year younger than the previous youngest person ever to win a professional golf tour event, Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa.

2012 — Novak Djokovic outlasts Rafael Nadal to defend his Australian Open title in the longest ever Grand Slam final and becomes the fifth man to win three straight majors in the Open Era. Djokovic completes a 5-hour, 53-minute 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 victory over Nadal at 1:37 a.m.

2014 — Ben Scrivens sets an NHL record for saves in a regular-season shutout with 59 in a spectacular performance that help the Edmonton Oilers beat the San Jose Sharks 3-0.

2017 — Roger Federer wins his 18th major title by beating Rafael Nadal 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to capture the Australian Open.

2018 — Australian Open Men’s Tennis: Roger Federer beats Marin Čilic 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to win his record 20th Grand Slam title.

2018 — Cleveland Indians announce they will remove “Chief Wahoo” caricature logo from uniforms in 2019.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Bangladesh cricket lost their place at T20 World Cup after refusal to play in India, but shooting team heads to New Delhi.

Bangladesh ‌has approved its shooting team’s tour to New Delhi for ‍next month’s Asian ‍Shooting Championships, days after the cricket team’s refusal to play in India due to safety concerns cost them a place at the Twenty20 World Cup.

Bangladesh have been replaced by Scotland in ⁠the T20 World Cup, which runs from February 7 to March 8, ​after they insisted they would not tour India, highlighting security ‍concerns following soured political relations between the neighbours.

The International Cricket Council (ICC), citing independent security assessment reports, dismissed Bangladesh’s demands to play their World Cup matches in Sri Lanka, the tournament ‍cohosts, ⁠instead, arguing the late change in schedule was “not feasible”.

However, media reports in Bangladesh said a three-member contingent comprising shooter Robiul Islam, his coach Sharmin Akhter and jury member Saima Feroze had received approval from the Ministry of Youth and Sports to compete in New Delhi.

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) secretary-general, Pawan Singh, confirmed the shooting team’s participation in India.

“Bangladesh’s participation was confirmed a month ‌ago. Our applications for clearances for all nations have been in process for almost three months,” Singh told the Reuters news agency.

“We have to follow ISSF norms as a ‌sport and comply with the IOC (International Olympic Committee) charter, and as NRAI, we have always received support ‌from the government,” he said, referring to the International Shooting Sport Federation.

Singh added that the Bangladesh contingent ⁠did not request any extra security measures.

“The Bangladesh team has come to our tournaments many times, so they know our strict protocols well. Maybe that’s why they are confident and ‌have not made any special requests.”

The Asian Shooting Confederation, which is organising the event, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The continental ‍rifle and pistol shooting championship will be held in New Delhi from February 2 to 14.

“Football obsessive.”

Ask people who know Steve Holland well how they would describe the former Chelsea and England coach and the same phrase is repeated.

“Football is his life,” a source told BBC Sport.

“Whether it’s Champions League, thoughts on players or something else, he has a hell of a brain when it comes to football detail.”

It explains why, instead of sitting back and reflecting on the success of Manchester United’s 3-2 win at Arsenal, Holland spent the return journey to North West England going through footage of the victory with head coach Michael Carrick and the rest of his backroom team to come up with a plan for Sunday’s home game against Fulham.

On Monday, while the players were given a day off, Holland and company were at United’s Carrington training ground, honing the sessions they hope will lead to a third straight Premier League win.

Attention to detail is a Holland character trait, something he has relied on since joining Crewe in 1992, after concluding he would advance further as a coach than he did as a player if he dedicated himself to the profession at a young age.

Holland, 55, believes only former England boss Graham Taylor was younger than him when he gained what is now known as the Uefa A Licence coaching badge, when he was 21.

Of the rest of United’s new coaching set-up, boss Carrick had not even started secondary school when Holland began his coaching journey. Jonathan Woodgate is slightly older than Carrick. Jonny Evans and Travis Binnion are younger.

It is why Holland’s presence – and, through his England experience, ability to deal with intense pressure – is so vital to Carrick and his coaching team and why he is getting so much credit for the positive start to a tenure that has already delivered victories against Manchester City and Arsenal and taken United up to fourth in the Premier League.

“He won’t be bothered about the scrutiny and pressure at Manchester United,” says former Radio Stoke editor Graham McGarry, who got to know Holland well during his 16-year stint with Crewe.

“He will take it all in his stride and just do his job.

“His training sessions are fantastic. You can already see the Manchester United players are responding to them.”

Not that Holland is likely to be talking about it in public.

A second trait that keeps being noted is that he is a man of few words, someone who is difficult to read. “You never knew whether he was quietly content or silently raging,” said a source who has worked with him.

But that mask can help when it comes to delivering messaging. The less someone speaks, the argument goes, the more likely their audience is to listen when something is being said.

It is far too early to assess Holland’s work. It is just over two weeks since the coaching team were introduced to United’s players as a group for the first time, but several well-placed sources stress the coaching team work as a collective.

It should not be dismissed either that while Darren Fletcher didn’t win his two games in interim charge, he reset the formation following Ruben Amorim’s dismissal on 5 January. The Scot began to lift the mood. He also recalled Kobbie Mainoo. It meant key players Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo returned from the Africa Cup of Nations to a stable environment, which gave Carrick the best chance of success.

Changes to the training programme have been made, according to sources. The days are now shorter, but more intense. There is a different energy about sessions and more focus on individual work with specific players. The matchday routine for home games has been tweaked so players now arrive at Old Trafford slightly closer to kick-off.

Carrick was given the job ahead of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, in part, because of the work he does ‘on the grass’. But Holland ran the sessions with England, allowing Gareth Southgate to take an overview.

In consultation with Southgate, Holland concluded England’s formation had been ‘too stodgy’ in qualification for the 2018 World Cup, triggering the switch to a back three. “Harry Maguire’s ability on the was ball fundamental,” explained Holland in a half-hour dissection of his work for the Coaches Voice podcast in 2021.

Speaking to Sky Sports before the Manchester City game, Maguire recalled his own dealings with Holland.

“He was magnificent for England,” he said. “We all knew what we were doing.

“I can remember a lot of time working with Steve and he really does drill in tactically how to defend and how to keep the ball out of the back of the net.

“It’s basics but really disciplined basics. I feel he will have a big part to play in making our defensive record a lot better.”

Since leaving his role with England following Euro 2022, Holland has had a short, unsuccessful spell in Japan and undertook some work for the League Managers’ Association.

What he has not done is court media attention.

The Coaches Voice chats and others with the Football Association are rare examples of Holland being interviewed.

“The perfect number two,” as he has been described.

The insight that does exist is revealing.

“With any session the more the players are enjoying their work the more you will get out of them,” he explained in an interview published by the FA.

“It is important to try to find creative ways of delivering repetitive practice to stimulate the players’ interest.

“The key always with practice is the transfer into the game. It is important to try and maximise the possibility of a transfer by not steering too far from the reality of the game.”

He may be new to Manchester United but navigating the fall-out from a departing boss is something Holland has plenty of experience of.

It was then Blues manager Andre Villas-Boas who elevated him from the youth ranks to the senior team at Chelsea. “I was on holiday in Spain,” recalled Holland. “I took the call on day two and returned home on day three. My wife still reminds me of that regularly.”

Villas-Boas was sacked after nine months back in 2012. His successor, Roberto di Matteo, won the Champions League but was dumped after eight.

Behind the scenes, Holland was impressing. He survived the tenures of Rafael Benitez, Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink before quitting to concentrate solely on England after Chelsea won the Premier League in Antonio Conte’s first season in charge.

“At a big club, every day is a drama,” Holland told the Coaches Voice. “It is never quite as bad as it is made out to be but your ability to handle these moments are decisive.

“My experience of life at Chelsea has taught me it is about winning. That winning mentality doesn’t include feeling sorry for yourself or making excuses. It means you analyse and push to do better next time.”

They seem like wise words given the intensity of the noise that surrounds Manchester United, who will look to add more weight to claims their revival under Carrick and co is more than a flash in the pan when they host Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday.

From the outside looking in, it seems Holland is already having a significant positive impact at English football’s fallen giants.

The job might be tough, and the demands might be high, but it is fair to assume the Stockport-born ‘football obsessive’ is in his element.

Manchester City’s Kerstin Casparij has been chatting about her life on and off the field – and treating BBC Sport’s ex-England star Alex Scott to her Dutch homeland delicacy oliebollen.

Watch the full episode of Eat & Yap on BBC iPlayer.

Available to UK users only.

French forward Kylian Mbappe questions team’s desire after damaging defeat sends Real Madrid into playoffs.

Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe has said his team “deserve” to be in their current situation because they were not consistent enough for a top-eight spot as his side slipped into the Champions League playoff round.

The record 15-time European champions fell to a 4-2 defeat at Jose Mourinho’s Benfica on Wednesday, finishing ninth in the league phase table, meaning they must face their Portuguese conquerors or Bodo/Glimt in February instead of reaching the last 16 directly.

After three wins in their previous three matches under new coach Alvaro Arbeloa, Madrid were brought back down to earth by Benfica in Lisbon.

“The problem is we aren’t consistent in our play, we have to fix that, you can’t have one day [playing well] and another not, a champion team does not do that,” Mbappe told reporters.

“We deserve to be in this situation today. Benfica were better. Now we have to play two more playoff games. It hurts to have to play those. We wanted to have the time in February to work on our game.”

Mbappe said he could not put his finger on a clear reason why Madrid played so poorly against Benfica.

“I think it’s a bit of everything. I can’t tell you it’s just a matter of attitude, because if I only say that, you’ll think we came here without any desire,” said the French superstar, who scored twice in the defeat.

“If I tell you it’s a football issue, you’ll think the team is bad. No, I think it’s a broader issue, and in the Champions League, every detail matters if you want to beat your opponent.

“It shows you that if you don’t come in with everything you need to win a Champions League match, the opponent will come and, as they say, make fools of you.”

However, Mbappe called on Madrid’s fans to support the team at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday against Rayo Vallecano in La Liga, rather than booing as they did earlier in January.

“Come and support the team – we had a bad game – but we are not knocked out of the Champions League, and in La Liga we’re in a good dynamic now,” pleaded Mbappe.

“If the Bernabeu is with us, we will win on Sunday.”

Aryna Sabalenka kept her cool to storm past Elina Svitolina and reach a fourth Australian Open final in a row.

World number one Sabalenka overcame fluctuations in form and a hindrance call against her in the fourth game of the match to thrash Svitolina 6-2 6-3.

Ukraine’s 12th seed Svitolina had beaten two top-10 players to reach the semi-finals but was no match for Sabalenka’s powerful hitting.

Sabalenka has yet to drop a set this year and is now on an 11-match winning streak.

She will face either Elena Rybakina or Jessica Pegula on Saturday as she bids for a fifth Grand Slam singles title and a third here.

The 27-year-old will also be searching for some redemption after last year’s final, when she felt she was “not brave enough” in a three-set loss to Madison Keys.

“I cannot believe that,” Sabalenka said of reaching another Melbourne final.

“It is an incredible achievement but the job is not done yet.”

More to follow.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

BOYS
CITY SECTION
AMIT 39, MSAR 28
Angelou 76, Jefferson 65
Bernstein 89, Belmont 35
Birmingham 72, Taft 48
Central City Value 58, USC-MAE 46
CHAMPS 54, Lakeview Charter 21
Cleveland 79, Granada Hills 57
Community Charter 54, Valley Oaks CES 41
East Valley 64, Vaughn 48
El Camino Real 66, Chatsworth 58
Foshay 76, Stella Charter 23
Fulton 51, VAAS 39
Garfield 53, Huntington Park 45
Gertz-Ressler 68, Alliance Ouchi 27
Grant 77, Chavez 35
Hawkins 60, Harbor Teacher 42
Los Angeles 76, West Adams 49
LA Hamilton 61, LA University 55
LA Marshall 68, Bravo 45
LA Roosevelt 56, South Gate 30
LA Wilson 83, Franklin 45
Lincoln 43, Eagle Rock 39
Marquez 89, Torres 29
Maywood Academy 45, Maywood CES 41
MSCP 68, Middle College 30
Orthopaedic 46, Animo Bunche 25
Palisades 91, LACES 63
Panorama 64, Reseda 47
Port of Los Angeles 79, Dymally 27
RFK Community 58, Hollywood 56
San Fernando 82, Canoga Park 51
San Pedro 81, Gardena 60
Santee 65, Diego Rivera 45
Simon Tech 66, TEACH Tech Charter 34
Sotomayor 67, Elizabeth 48
South East 71, Legacy 58
Sun Valley Magnet 78, Lake Balboa College 59
Sun Valley Poly 59, North Hollywood 56
Sylmar 86, Van Nuys 55
Triumph Charter 72, Bert Corona 20
USC Hybrid 77, Esperanza College Prep 22
Valor Academy 51, Discovery 25
View Park 60, Locke 36
Washington Prep d. Fremont, forfeit

SOUTHERN SECTION
Aliso Niguel 65, Trabuco Hills 43
Arroyo 74, Pasadena Marshall 41
Ayala 71, Diamond Bar 63
Azusa 73, Baldwin Park 55
Bassett 66, Pomona 34
Bishop Amat 76, Gardena Serra 38
Blair 58, Temple City 51
Bonita 60, Walnut 55
Burbank Providence 66, Milken 55
California 75, El Rancho 36
Chaparral 73, Vista Murrieta 58
Charter Oak 56, Hacienda Heights Wilson 55
Citrus Hill 72, Canyon Springs 37
Covina 42, Rowland 39
CSDR 62, La Sierra Academy 46
Desert Christian Academy 41, California Military Institute 32
Desert Hot Springs 68, Banning 56
Eastvale Roosevelt 94, Norco 51
Edgewood 59, Workman 24
El Dorado 68, Troy 47
Gahr 43, Dominguez 36
Glendora 62, Claremont 47
Hemet 66, Arlington 32
Heritage 68, Lakeside 61
Hesperia 99, Apple Valley 60
Indian Springs 57, Pacific 49
Indio 70, Twentynine Palms 66
JSerra 89, Servite 47
La Canada 76, South Pasadena 45
La Mirada 81, Mayfair 65
La Serna 60, Santa Fe 24
Loara 57, Magnolia 45
Los Alamitos 71, Fountain Valley 52
Los Amigos 72, Anaheim 55
Mission Viejo 75, Dana Hills 56
Moreno Valley 66, Riverside North 44
Murrieta Mesa 71, Great Oak 63
Nogales 56, Garey 43
Norte Vista 86, Rubidoux 44
Norwalk 42, Lynwood 33
Orange Lutheran 72, St. John Bosco 68
Oxnard Pacifica 59, Buena 54
Paloma Valley 56, Vista del Lago 49
Pasadena Poly 47, Flintridge Prep 42
Patriot 56, la Sierra 29
Pilibos 89, Le Lycée 40
Public Safety Academy 74, River Springs Charter 28
Ramona 73, Jurupa Valley 40
Riverside King 69, Corona 61
Riverside Poly 54, Hillcrest 47
Rosemead 46, South El Monte 29
RSCSM 62, River Springs 52
San Bernardino 95, Miller 58
San Clemente 64, Capistrano Valley 37
San Marcos 61, Dos Pueblos 51
San Marino 77, Monrovia 40
Santa Barbara Providence 72, Oak Grove 16
Santa Margarita 74, Mater Dei 73
Sierra Vista 68, Duarte 61
St. Bonaventure 52, Thacher 47
St. Monica 89, St. Paul 53
Tesoro 74, San Juan Hills 39
Valley View 78, Perris 65
Villanova Prep 57, Laguna Blanca 42
Vista Meridian 58, Eastside Christian 34
Westminster La Quinta 48, Orange 46

GIRLS
CITY SECTION
AMIT 27, MSAR 20
Angelou 51, Jefferson 22
Animo Bunche 33, Orthopaedic 24
Arleta 67, Monroe 7
Aspire Ollin 53, Downtown Magnets 9
Bernstein 52, Belmont 4
Birmingham 76, Taft 29
Carson 92, Rancho Dominguez 3
Contreras 28, Roybal 19
Discovery 35, Valor Academy 24
Eagle Rock d. Lincoln, forfeit
King/Drew 85, Crenshaw 20
LA Hamilton 88, LA University 16
Garfield 63, Huntington Park 30
Granada Hills 56, Cleveland 45
Marquez 33, Torres 28
MSCP 53, Middle College 15
Palisades 56, LACES 35
Panorama 54, Reseda 12
San Pedro 42, Gardena 24
USC-MAE 31, Central City Value 28
Washington Prep 79, Fremont 7
West Adams 55, Los Angeles 20
Westchester 83, Venice 44

SOUTHERN SECTION
Arlington 32, Citrus Hill 15
Arroyo 24, Pasadena Marshall 16
Baldwin Park 48, Azusa 39
Bassett 23, Pomona 8
Bolsa Grande 42, Estancia 31
Bonita 34, Walnut 30
Brentwood 59, Windward 57
Buena Park 73, Santa Ana Calvary Chapel 10
Cantwell-Sacred Heart 52, St. Mary’s Academy 25
Carpinteria 44, Del Sol 24
Chaparral 52, Vista Murrieta 50
Coachella Valley 54, Yucca Valley 44
Crossroads 45, Archer 12
Desert Christian Academy 47, California Military Institute 30
Desert Hot Springs 49, Banning 42
Desert Mirage 31, Cathedral City 24
Eastvale Roosevelt 58, Corona Santiago 38
Edgewood 49, Workman 22
El Rancho 60, California 47
Excelsior Charter 48, PAL Academy 4
Fillmore 53, Nordhoff 43
Flintridge Prep 58, Mayfield 14
Fullerton 56, Laguna Hills 32
Garden Grove 52, Katella 39
Glendora 55, Claremont 38
Godinez 75, Placentia Valencia 60
Hacienda Heights Wilson 59, Charter Oak 26
Harvard-Westlake 58, Louisville 29
Hemet 45, Canyon Springs 39
Hesperia 59, Apple Valley 21
Hillcrest 58, Riverside Poly 46
Indian Springs 59, Pacific 26
La Canada 54, South Pasadena 39
La Palma Kennedy 30, Santa Ana 7
La Puente 38, Ganesha 30
Liberty 44, Vista del Lago 18
Loara 28, Westminster La Quinta 19
Long Beach Jordan 66, Long Beach Cabrillo 0
Nogales 62, Garey 23
Norte Vista 31, Rubidoux 12
Northview 38, West Covina 36
Northwood 46, Irvine University 26
Norwalk 56, Bellflower 37
Oak Hills 71, Ridgecrest Burroughs 35
Orange 57, Magnolia 13
Orange County Pacifica Christian 69, San Gabriel Academy 18
Packinghouse Christian Academy 47, Bethel Christian 10
Paramount 84, La Mirada 15
Pasadena Poly 56, Oakwood 37
Patriot 42, La Sierra 34
Pilibos 55, Le Lycée 10
Quartz Hill 53, Rosamond 37
Ramona 64, Jurupa Valley 38
Riverside North 36, Lakeside 31
River Springs Charter Magnolia d. Hemet River Springs, forfeit
Rolling Hills Prep 91, Leuzinger 67
Rosemead 51, South El Monte 24
Saddleback 27, Century 22
Sage Hill 65, Rosary Academy 50
San Bernardino 56, Miller 19
San Marino 40, Monrovia 13
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 59, Chaminade 50
Sierra Vista 44, Duarte 42
St. Margaret’s 36, Portola 32
Warren 74, Mayfair 15
Western 52, Garden Grove Santiago 8
Woodbridge 44, Irvine 27

Serena Williams has refused to rule out returning to professional tennis after recently filing the necessary paperwork.

Williams, who won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, retired after the 2022 US Open.

In December, the International Tennis Integrity Agency confirmed to BBC Sport that the 44-year-old was back on the list of players registered for the drug testing pool.

At the time, the American said she was “not coming back” but during an interview on the Today Show on Wednesday, Williams did not rule out stepping back on to the court.

“I don’t know, I’m just going to see what happens,” Williams said.

Interviewer Savannah Guthrie pushed Williams further, saying “that’s a maybe to me”, and the seven-time Wimbledon champion said “It’s not a maybe”.

So much has happened over the past seven days, including Australian Open grudge matches, X Games extremes and a manic marsupial.

About 14% of quizzers got full marks in last week’s edition. Will you make the grade this week?

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CLEVELAND — Luka Doncic grabbed at his left leg. He immediately thought of Dru Smith. The Miami Heat guard’s knee injury suffered in 2023 when he slipped off the side of the Cleveland Cavaliers court haunted Doncic while he winced in pain near the Lakers bench.

The Lakers superstar avoided serious injury after falling off the side of the Cavaliers’ raised court on Monday, but the threat of a player being hurt by Cleveland’s unique 10-inch drop off between the court and the arena floor came into focus again during the Lakers’ 129-99 loss to the Cavaliers.

“It is absolutely a safety hazard,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said after Doncic was able to return later in the first quarter. “And I don’t know why it’s still like that. I don’t. You know, you can lodge formal complaints. A lot of times you don’t see any change when you lodge a formal complaint.”

Doncic was injured shooting a fadeaway three with 7:58 left in the first quarter. He was hopping on one foot after releasing the shot and hopped right off the platform, grabbing immediately for his left leg. When he hobbled to the locker room, Doncic could barely put any weight on his leg.

But he returned with 1:32 remaining in the first quarter and finished with 29 points, six assists and five rebounds. He didn’t have any additional braces or wraps on his left leg, but he said he didn’t feel quite 100%.

“I kind of got scared,” Doncic said. “It wasn’t a great feeling and looking back at the video I think I got a little bit lucky. It hurts obviously more now, but, just, I tried to go.”

Smith was injured much more severely in 2023 when he was closing out on defense, landed on a stat sheet and slipped over the edge. He suffered a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament sprain in the accident, and the Heat contacted the NBA to express concerns about the floor at the time.

“It’s tough to see another player get hurt on this court, with the fall, with the drop off,” Lakers guard Gabe Vincent said Monday, “so hopefully something can get fixed with that, but we’re fortunate that [Doncic] is OK.”

Cleveland’s Rocket Arena, which opened in 1994 and was last renovated in 2019, is also home to the Cleveland Monsters, an American Hockey League affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The basketball court is raised to accommodate the ice underneath the floor. But several teams in the NBA, including the Lakers, share their arena with hockey teams and none have a court that drops off like Cleveland’s.

“It’s the only court like this so, I guess it’s my fault,” Doncic said. “I [gotta] stop jumping like that.”

The Lakers have history with concerning courts this year. In November, Doncic said during a postgame news conference that the Lakers’ custom NBA Cup court used during a home game against the Clippers was dangerously slippery. The team flagged the problem to the league and the Lakers did not use the court again because it was not deemed safe for play in time for the other NBA Cup games.

But when asked if there was a way he could bring the latest problem up with the league, Doncic demurred.

“I don’t know,” Doncic said, “don’t involve me in that.”

Similarly, Redick said any changes would be “way above my pay grade.”

Merthyr are not short of star names who have dipped into their own wallets to help. Line of Duty star Vicky McClure and her filmmaker husband Jonny Owen, who is from Merthyr, are among the club’s 150-plus owners, along with former Wales international Joe Morrell.

But any major takeover – by a company or individuals who could potentially propel Merthyr up the divisions at speed, like Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac have done at Wrexham – would likely lead to a big change in its ownership structure.

“Unfortunately we’re a fan-owned club,” said Barlow, who has seen more ups and downs than most during his 65-year involvement with Merthyr, from player to kitman, physio to boardroom leader.

But fan-owned is what Wrexham were before Rob and Ryan breezed into the Stok Cae Ras and changed the world as Red Dragons’ fans knew it back in 2021.

“Yes, and those guys [Rob and Ryan] came in and put their hands in their pockets,” said Barlow.

“We haven’t come across anybody like that at the moment, but we have had some good sponsors and, as I say, we’re talking to people weekly.

“We’re starting now for next year. Irrespective of where we end up, we still want to be in a better position financially and stadium-wise than where we are now.

“One side of the ground is perfect, but we’ve got another area which I think the Romans built when they had a fort in the corner!”

Keep moving, keep looking for new forms of investment. A responsibility to do that comes from a need to keep supporting the man leading Merthyr’s charge for a second successive promotion, manager Paul Michael.

“We’re working as hard as we can because we want to support this guy, and we want the best team we can afford,” said Barlow.

“The better the results we can get with this guy in charge…it helps a long way.”

Appointed after leaving Yate Town in April 2022, Michael has transformed Merthyr from relegation candidates in Southern League Premier South to National League hopefuls.

“It’s been a real step into the unknown, but we’ve grown and grown and got better and better,” said Michael, who has managed to overcome the loss of 23-goal top scorer and Penydarren cult hero Ricardo Rees, who signed for National League promotion chasers Forest Green Rovers in December.

“Over the past few weeks we’ve probably been the most in-form team in the league, yet we’re competing against full-time teams. We’ve got no right to stay up there, really.

“If we were fortunate enough to get to the National League we would try to take it all in our stride. It would be an unbelievable achievement for a part-time team, though we’ve still got a long way to go.

“What’s happening here is fantastic for Welsh football, not just Merthyr Town.”

The result in Naples could prove to be of great importance for Rosenior whose appointment in place of Enzo Maresca was hardly greeted with open arms.

Rosenior’s lack of elite experience – having moved from sister club Strasbourg after stints with Derby County and Hull City in the Championship – saw him labelled by some as a ‘yes man’.

He also experienced the wrath of the fans who voiced anti-ownership chants questioning the ambition of the BlueCo.

Rosenior has been adamant from the start that his reply must be through results.

And he has put together an impressive set of results in his first weeks with five wins in six matches and the latest over a former Chelsea favourite should win him the confidence of more supporters.

“These players lost a manager that they really respected for reasons that are beyond my control or knowledge,” Rosenior told TNT Sports.

“So when you go through that as a young group, to accept a new manager the way they have done and for them to work as hard as they have done is a credit to them.

“It’s not about me or my ego or trying to prove anything. I’m trying to do the very best I can with my group, with my staff and hopefully we can have more and more really good nights like this.”

Rosenior’s introduction of Cole Palmer at half-time provided assisted both of Joao Pedro’s goals while Trevoh Chalobah added defensive solidity after coming on later in the half as the Blues restricted Napoli to a single shot on target after the break.

The Chelsea manager added: “I’m learning all the time about my team, about what we’re capable of.

“I really wanted to be front-footed today. I wanted to go out and win the game.”

His impetus was rewarded with a win that helps Chelsea avoid adding a two-legged play-off to their already busy schedule.

“It’s massive – that is huge for us to be able to be able to work with the players on the training round,” Rosenior said.

Bigger challenges await Rosenior and his young squad as they enter the business end of the competition but the London-born coach is optimistic.

“You have to enjoy this job,” he said.

“We’re the luckiest people in the world to do this job. You have to enjoy these moments, but we want more.

“You’re in the Champions League, so at the end of the day you have to play against the best and beat the best.”

When Gary Patterson resigned as coach of Texas Christian in October 2021, midway through his 21st season with the Horned Frogs, the now-65-year old coach decided to take a step back and reevaluate where he and the college game were headed.

“I’d had a job since I was 9 years old,” Patterson said. “Just kind of wanted to take a break.”

For decades, football had been at the forefront of his and his family’s life, so much so that his wife joked she was merely his “mistress.” He wanted to spend time with her, with his grandkids. Plus, after a few seasons, he knew he’d be eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame, which was important to him.

Patterson ended up filling that time with football, anyway. He watched the game from afar, helping out as a consultant on staffs at Texas and Baylor, even working with Amazon Prime’s football coverage, just to score a subscription to Catapult, all along biding his time for the right opportunity to come along.

It came earlier this month, four years after his departure from Fort Worth, in the form of a text message from USC coach Lincoln Riley, whom he knew from their days coaching across from each other in the Big 12. The Trojans’ defensive coordinator, D’Anton Lynn, had left in late December for the same job at Penn State. Riley needed a replacement.

“He wasn’t going to jump back into this for anything,” Riley said Wednesday. “It had to be the right opportunity, the right kind of place, the right kind of setting. I know he knows and believe he’s found that.”

No one is more invested in that than USC’s head coach. Whether Patterson turns out to be the right fit at the right time for the Trojans may ultimately determine the trajectory of Riley’s future with the program. Patterson will be Riley’s third defensive coordinator in five seasons at USC.

“I think it’s an unbelievable hire by Lincoln,” said David Bailiff, who worked with Patterson at New Mexico and TCU. “For him not to be intimidated with Gary’s background, that all he wants to do is get USC better — a lot of coaches probably wouldn’t hire Gary because he’s been a head coach for so long.”

For Patterson, who never beat Riley in seven meetings while at TCU, it was a particularly ideal partnership.

“Any time that I was ever part of a team that had a great offense and scored a lot of points, we won a lot of ball games,” Patterson said.

Patterson, however, hasn’t been a full-time assistant since the turn of the 21st century. He last served as defensive coordinator under Dennis Franchione, who brought Patterson with him from New Mexico to TCU in 1998. He was promoted to head coach in 2000, when Franchione left for Alabama. A week later, across the country, USC hired Pete Carroll.

That’s how deeply entrenched Patterson was for more than two decades at TCU, where his tenure, by any measure, was a staggering success. Over 22 seasons, Patterson led the Horned Frogs to 181 wins and six conference titles. Throughout, defense remained his calling card. Five different times during his tenure, TCU finished No. 1 in the nation in yards allowed, as Big 12 offenses struggled for years to adjust to his multifaceted 4-2-5 scheme.

But by 2021, while Patterson’s TCU defense had largely remained strong, the luster of his long tenure in Fort Worth had faded. The bottom fell out that fall, as the Horned Frogs started the season 3-5. Informed that he wouldn’t be back the following season, Patterson instead resigned with four games left.

Now he returns not as a head coach, but as a coordinator, a step down that Patterson seemed just fine with when asked Wednesday.

“I love it, to be honest with you,” Patterson said.

The entire landscape of college football has also been turned on its head since Patterson last coached, with the advent of revenue sharing and the rise of the transfer portal. But he didn’t seem all that concerned by those changes Wednesday. Mostly because he doesn’t expect it to affect what USC is asking him to do.

Trojans fans hope Gary Patterson’s hire leads to more of this, when three USC players brought down a Northwestern running back last season.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

“My job is defense,” Patterson said. “I don’t deal with NIL. I don’t deal with all those different things.”

His reputation as a mastermind on the defense certainly precedes him, and at USC, that’s where he’ll be needed most. Bailiff, who worked with Patterson at New Mexico and served as his first defensive coordinator at TCU, said that hisability to diagnose what a defense needs is “superior from any person I’ve ever seen.”

His signature 4-2-5 defense was designed, in part, to allow for such adaptability. With five defensive backs on the field most of the time, Patterson’s scheme is intended to adjust to any offense, allowing for his defense to limit substitutions and match up against most personnel groupings.

That scheme, after four years away from the game, is likely to be different by the time it’s installed at USC. Patterson said he plans to marry his original 4-2-5 at TCU with concepts he learned at Texas and Baylor. He also plans to integrate some of what USC’s defense was already doing, with most of the assistants from last season expected to remain on staff.

“Instead of just coming in and saying, well, ‘This is how we’re going to do it,’” Patterson said, “it’s been a little bit more work of trying to put it all together.”

It’ll be up to Patterson to put it all together on USC’s defense, which in four seasons under Riley, has never put things together for long.

“Hopefully,” he said, “[I can] be that last piece to help SC get over the bar, get into the playoffs, to bring out a championship.”

Firsts are not easy to come by for Jose Mourinho at this stage of his long, often highly dramatic, career.

But on Wednesday night in Lisbon, Anatoly Trubin provided such a moment.

Simply beating 15-time European champions Real Madrid was not going to be enough for Benfica.

In added time to added time, they led 3-2 but needed another goal or their Champions League campaign would be over.

A free-kick provided them with one last chance and goalkeeper Trubin was sent forward.

Moments later it was pandemonium at Estadio da Luz with Benfica players running in all directions and Trubin ending his own euphoric wild charge with a knee slide having scored the decisive goal with a bullet header.

“A fantastic goal, a historic goal, a goal that nearly brought the whole stadium down – and I think it was very deserved for us,” Mourinho said.

“For Benfica it’s an incredible prestige to beat Real Madrid.”

Given the way the league format works with 18 games taking place simultaneously on the final matchday, it is little wonder Trubin was not fully aware of what his side needed.

They were heading out on goal difference at the end of the eight-round league phase, until his sensational intervention. Marseille were the unlucky side, falling out of the play-off places as Benfica snatched their spot.

A couple of minutes before his goal, Trubin had dropped to his knees after claiming a cross, seemingly trying to waste a few seconds to close out the win, unaware Benfica were still going out as it stood.

“Before, I didn’t understand what we needed,” Trubin said. “I see everyone start to point at me and I go and after I see [I can go forward]. We need one more goal.

“I don’t know, I don’t know what to say. A crazy moment.

“I am not used to scoring, so for me it was something completely new. I am 24 years old and for me it’s the first time.”

Champions League pundits Stephen Warnock, Nedum Onuoha and Julien Lauren discuss Tottenham’s “clinical ability” to score goals away from home and Thomas Frank’s “great achievement” to handle the pressure.

MATCH REPORT: Eintracht Frankfurt 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur

Available to UK users only.

Barcelona leap into Champions League automatic qualifying positions with win in Copenhagen, but PSG face playoffs.

Barcelona stormed ‌back in the second half to claim a 4-1 victory over Copenhagen at the Camp ‍Nou, sealing ‍a top-eight finish and direct qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League.

Goals from Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Marcus Rashford on Wednesday ensured the Catalans finished fifth in the standings on 16 points, level with Manchester City, Chelsea and Sporting but ahead on goal difference.

Copenhagen shocked ⁠the hosts early when 17-year-old Viktor Dadason slotted the opener past Joan Garcia in the fourth minute, but ​the second half began with a Barcelona fightback.

Yamal set up Lewandowski to equalise in ‍the 48th minute, before scoring himself in the 60th with a deflected effort that left Copenhagen keeper Dominik Kotarski helpless. Raphinha made it 3-1 from the penalty spot after Lewandowski was fouled, and Rashford added a fourth with a free kick ‍in the 85th minute.

“We ⁠all came here tonight thinking about getting into the top eight. We’re very happy with the win,” 18-year-old Yamal told Movistar Plus.

“When you concede a goal in the Champions League, it’s very difficult to come back, but the team was very resilient and managed to turn it around. With the number of matches we play in a season, having two fewer matches leaves you feeling much better.”

Despite the comfortable final result, Barcelona endured a frustrating first half, during which Copenhagen took ​a shock lead.

Dadason stunned the home crowd after Mohamed Elyounoussi delivered a ‌defence-splitting pass, allowing Dadason to outrun Barca’s high defensive line before rifling a low shot past keeper Garcia.

Clearly unsettled, Barcelona were wasteful in attack during the opening 45 minutes. Raphinha and Lewandowski spurned opportunities to equalise, while Eric Garcia came closest to levelling ‌when his driven effort struck the crossbar in the 33rd minute.

The second half, however, saw a completely transformed Barcelona.

Barely three minutes after the restart, Yamal burst forward ‌on a counterattack, darting past Copenhagen defenders before unselfishly squaring the ⁠ball for Lewandowski to slot into an empty net.

The hosts seized control and upped the tempo, pinning Copenhagen deep inside their own half, and Barca took the lead on the hour mark through Yamal, whose deflected shot from inside the box looped over a ‌stranded Kotarski and nestled into the far corner.

Raphinha made it 3-1 from the penalty spot in the 69th minute after Lewandowski was brought down inside the area while attempting to shoot, and substitute Rashford wrapped up ‍the scoring.

Although Barcelona delivered a clinical attacking display, questions remain about their defensive organisation. They completed the league phase without a clean sheet and finished with the worst defence among the top 13 teams.

Dembele’s penalty miss costs PSG in 1-1 draw with Newcastle

Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele had a night to forget, missing an early penalty and a golden chance from close range as defending champion Paris Saint-Germain drew 1-1 with Newcastle in the Champions League.

The draw meant both sides finished out of the top eight places in the league table and failed to qualify automatically for the last 16. They will enter the playoffs instead.

PSG was awarded an early penalty when Bradley Barcola got behind the defence down the left wing with less than one minute played. The ball hit Barcola’s arm following a tackle from a defender coming across, and then flew onto the arm of Lewis Miley right behind him.

Miley seemed unsighted, and the handball appeared accidental, but referee Slavko Vincic awarded the spot kick following a short video review.

Dembele aimed for the bottom right corner, but goalkeeper Nick Pope made a brilliant save. Pope was beaten in the eighth minute when Vitinha curled a shot into the same corner after being set up by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on the edge of the penalty area.

Dembele, who scored 35 goals overall last season, scooped the ball well over the crossbar from 10 metres out in the 40th minute when meeting a cross from the left.

Joe Willock equalised for the visitors in first-half stoppage time, and substitute Harvey Barnes missed a chance to win it for the visitors with moments left.