“There are a lot of games to play” – Pep Guardiola … — and more

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola maintains there is a lot to fight for in the title race despite his side losing further ground to Arsenal on Wednesday night.

City’s winning run came to an end at six games across all competitions as two moments of brilliance from Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson rescued a 2-2 draw for Nottingham Forest at the Etihad Stadium.

Arsenal, on the other hand, picked up their third Premier League win in a row courtesy of an early Bukayo Saka strike against Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium.

The Gunners stand seven points clear of City and despite playing an extra game, Mikel Arteta and co are firmly in the driving seat in the title race and will be confident of winning a first Premier League title in 22 years for Arsenal.

Where do City’s title chances stand after drawing to Forest?

Manchester City made a poor start to 2026 that saw doubts circle over their silverware prospects in January but after turning a corner in February, there was renewed hope of another potential title hijack from the Etihad Stadium.

However, City’s chances of usurping Arsenal look bleak and Guardiola knows his side can only control their own results and hope for a slip-up from the north Londoners after their latest set of dropped points against Nottingham Forest.

“Disappointed for the result. We did everything, again,” Guardiola said in a post-match interview with TNT Sports. “We didn’t concede much and we had chances, at the end especially, but during the game as well. But yeah, (we will) keep going.”

On whether he is expecting further twists and turns in the title race, Guardiola added: “There are a lot of games to play so we have to continue.”

What did Guardiola make of Manchester City’s penalty claims against Forest?

Manchester City had two major shouts for a penalty waved away by referee Darren England against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, prompting strong criticism from club captain Bernardo Silva for officiating decisions repeatedly going against the Blues this term.

However, Guardiola took a more pragmatic approach to his verdict on the denied penalties. “Nothing to say,” the Catalan said to TNT Sports on the penalty shouts that went against Manchester City against Forest.

Adding on the subject in his post-match press conference, the 55-year-old said: “Always I believe we have to do much better, much better to not make interventions from officials.

“Otherwise, we don’t have anything. It’s our responsibility to do better. If you have to rely on them with what happened this season, it’s impossible. Nothing more to say.”

How do Manchester City pick themselves up to go again?

Guardiola was not overly critical of his side’s performance against Forest – in fact, the Manchester City manager liked certain aspects of what his players put on show against Vitor Pereira’s men.

“In general, it was a good performance,” Guardiola said in his press conference. “Many, many good things. And of course, we have things we can improve in some departments. But in general, really good.”

On whether it would be difficult for Manchester City to pick themselves up again after their latest setback, Guardiola said in a defiant tone: “Are you sure? Okay…”

Guardiola and his players don’t have the luxury of time to dwell upon Wednesday’s disappointment as they quickly switch their focus to Saturday night’s FA Cup fifth round tie against Newcastle United at St. James’ Park.

The EuroLeague Women play-ins concluded this week with a pair of deciding games, officially setting the stage for next month’s Final Six.

With Galatasaray Çağdaş Faktoring and Umana Reyer Venezia winning their respective best-of-three play-in series, the bracket for the Final Six is complete, though we’ll have to wait until April 15 for the action to resume.

On Tuesday, we saw a dominant performance from Galatasaray, who crushed Basket Landes on the boards and in the paint in a convincing win. Meanwhile, Venezia defeated fellow Italian club Beretta Famila Schio, earning their first-ever Final Six appearance and eliminating Schio from the competition.

Now that the field for the Final Six is set, let’s recap what happened in the final play-in games and how Galatasaray and Venezia advanced.

Galatasaray Çağdaş Faktoring pounds Basket Landes on the boards to advance to the semifinals 

Landes has made a name for themselves this season by exceeding expectations and making some improbable comebacks, and there was no better example of that than in the first game of their play-in series against Galatasaray. Galatasaray led by 19 points in the fourth quarter, yet Landes stormed back, forcing overtime before eventually falling in the final period. They then handled Galatasaray somewhat easily in the second game, forcing this week’s decider in Istanbul.

Simply put, Galatasaray was not about to suffer another letdown. The Turkish club got out to an early lead and extended it to as many as 25 points in the second half, and this time, Landes had no hope of coming back. Galatasaray took full advantage of its size in the frontcourt, pulling down a whopping 59 rebounds (21 offensive) and outscoring Landes in the paint 36-18. As usual, the play of Awak Kuier (17 points) and Dorka Juhász (nine rebounds and three blocks) stood out, though it was veteran guard Teja Oblak who stood out the most, recording an efficient 16 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Galatasaray’s 67-51 victory will send them to the Final Six semifinals, where they’ll face the winner of Landes and Casademont Zaragoza. While it’s entirely possible Landes comes out on top in that game and we get a rematch of this series, they’ll have to be more consistent offensively; shooting 28.1 percent from the field as they did in this game will obviously not get it done, especially against the tournament hosts.

Umana Reyer Venezia clinches Final Six berth with win over Beretta Famila Schio

Tuesday’s other game between Venezia and Schio was played under a bit more pressure. Being the deciding game of a quarterfinal play-in series, it was quite literally win-or-go-home. Whereas Landes can take solace in the fact that they’ll still be participating in the Final Six, the loser of this game would be eliminated from the competition entirely.

As it turned out, Venezia was the club that met the moment—again. After a strong performance last week to even the series at a game apiece, Venezia once again outplayed their Italian rivals. It was far from an offensive showcase, with both teams shooting under 34 percent from the field, but Venezia won on several margins, making eight 3-pointers to Schio’s four and taking significantly better care of the basketball (13 turnovers) than their opponents (20 turnovers).

No, it wasn’t the prettiest game ever played, but in a do-or-die matchup, only the final result matters. As tepid as the 62-51 final score may seem, Venezia was clearly the better team, leading Schio for over 31 minutes. And while Schio held a slight edge in rebounding (40-36), only Jessica Shepard reached double-figure scoring; the selfless, efficient offense that had made Schio a sleeper pick for a Final Six run went cold at the worst possible time, and it cost them a trip to the playoffs.

Venezia, meanwhile, will advance to the first round (quarterfinals) of the Final Six, where they’ll face Spar Girona. Girona lost their play-in series to Fenerbahçe Opet two games to none, though they’re still a dangerous team, as evidenced by their 8-4 record in group play.

Inter Milan playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu is reportedly in line for his first Serie A start since early January as the Nerazzurri take on AC Milan on Sunday.

According to Tuttosport via FCInterNews, the Turkish midfielder will regain his place in the middle of the park at the expense of Piotr Zielinski.

Hakan Calhanoglu suffered a nasty calf injury during Inter’s 2-2 home draw against defending champions Napoli at the beginning of the calendar year.

Therefore, he has not started any of Inter’s last eight league matches, though he made a cameo appearance in a dramatic Derby d’Italia win over Juventus.

Furthermore, he returned to the scoresheet last weekend, converting a penalty in a 2-0 victory over Genoa.

Hakan Calhanoglu to Start in AC Milan vs Inter Milan Clash

MILAN, ITALY – DECEMBER 06: Hakan Calhanoglu of FC Internazionale celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Como 1907 at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on December 06, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Manager Cristian Chivu brought the 32-year-old back to the starting XI in Tuesday’s scoreless Coppa Italia draw at Como.

Moreover, the 45-year-old is ready to hand the former AC Milan man his first league start in two months this weekend.

On the other hand, Zielinski, who has excelled in this role during Calhanoglu’s absence, will move further up the pitch.

Indeed, instead of operating as a deep-lying playmaker, the Polish ace will take Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s place on the left side of midfield.

• British No 1 being aided by Mark Petchey at Indian Wells

• ‘I am definitely going to tap into a few people’

Emma Raducanu says she is determined to wrest back control of her “natural” tennis style, with the British No 1 eager not to be bound by the diktats of a single coach or a style that does not feel right.

“I want to come back to my natural way of playing. That takes time to relearn because that’s something that has been coached out of me a little bit,” Raducanu told BBC Sport. “I have had a lot of people telling me what to do, how to play, and it hasn’t necessarily fit. I don’t necessarily want to have one coach in the role because anyone I bring in is straight away going to be scrutinised – even if it’s a trial.

The Washington Commanders are overhauling their roster, much like they did entering the 2024 season.

Don't believe for a second that Adam Peters and Dan Quinn believe their 2025 season was derailed only by injuries. Of course, there were injuries. Moreover, there were many injuries. But Peters and Quinn know the team didn't look like the 2024 team in their home opener against the Giants, and then they were completely outplayed by the Packers in Week 2 on a Thursday Night.

Peters and Quinn also know their defense stunk in 2024 and again in 2025. They made the move to rid themselves of both coordinators, hiring two first-time NFL coordinators in David Blough and Daronte Jones.

The many reserves on the Commanders this season will be new reserves. When injuries hit, the backups were a huge drop off. Quinn and Peters aren't wasting any time. They aren't bringing back Michael Deiter, Robbie Chosen, DeMarcus Walker, Gee Scott Jr, Kevon Seymour, River Cracraft, among others. Last week, Tyler Biadasz was a surprise release. The starting center for 2024 and 2025 dropped off some in 2025, and DQ and AP are determined to raise the bar this season.

The Washington #Commanders released OL Michael Deiter today - with their season over

Did Adam Peters try to do #49ers GM John Lynch a playoff solid? 👀 pic.twitter.com/aRPJmORBfP

— 49ers & NFL News 24/7 (@49ersSportsTalk) January 7, 2026

Who have the Commanders signed thus far before free agency begins next week? Punter Tress Way, G/T Andrew Wylie, C/G Nick Allegretti, DE Deatrich Wise and DT Shy Tuttle. That's it, Commanders fans. Don't be surprised if 25 players who played last year do not return to the Commanders in 2025 — or more. Hey, even kicker Jake Moody was not tendered a contract. Now, the Commanders could still choose to sign Moody later, if they desire to sign him. But for now, isn't it more evidence that DQ and AP are moving toward cleaning out much of their current house?

We don't even know if Marcus Mariota is coming back for a third season to back up Jayden Daniels. We do know that at season's end, Mariota spoke very highly of Dan Quinn. However, he also spoke very highly of Kliff Kingsbury, who is no longer with the Commanders.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Massive roster overhaul begins for 2026