Neymar and his father maintained their innocence after appearing before a judge on Tuesday in an investigation into alleged irregularities regarding the player's transfer to Barcelona.

The Brazilian striker was in court for more than an hour and a half, and his father — who is also his agent — was questioned for nearly three hours. Neymar left without giving any details about his testimony, but his father said their position has not changed and they again denied wrongdoing.

Mohamed Salah ended a three-month goalscoring drought to help Roma win 2-0 at Sassuolo and move provisionally fourth in Serie A on Tuesday.

Roma was almost made to rue its profligacy in front of goal when Sassuolo was awarded a penalty with three minutes left — and with the scoreline still 1-0 — after a foul on Lorenzo Pellegrini by Radja Nainggolan, who was sent off for a second yellow card.

Jamie Vardy's stunning volley set Leicester on its way to a 2-0 victory over Liverpool on Tuesday, keeping the unlikely title challengers top of the Premier League on a night Manchester United rediscovered its scoring touch at Old Trafford.

Manchester City and Tottenham also won to stay in touch with Leicester, but Arsenal was held 0-0 by Southampton and dropped to fourth place.

Pep Guardiola's imminent arrival in the Premier League is a game-changer not just for Manchester City but for English football, bringing a coveted, visionary coach to a club already having a stated aim of being a "leader in the world of football."

City has thrown down the challenge to England's other powers, and their response will be fascinating.

Guangzhou Evergrande of the Chinese Super League said Wednesday it has signed Atletico Madrid striker Jackson Martinez for a new record sum in the Asian transfer market.

The 29-year-old Colombian has signed to a four-year contract for a fee of $45.8 million (42 million euros), the club said on its website. It said Martinez will join winter training in Dubai on February 9 after completing his physical exam.

Canadian downhiller Erik Guay called it "awesome." American racer Travis Ganong raved over "Olympic-caliber" conditions. Even Christof Innerhofer, the Italian who only likes the most difficult of challenges, was satisfied.

The completely new downhill course developed for the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics got mostly favorable reviews Wednesday from World Cup skiers testing it for the first time.

The United States will consider joint patrols with the Philippines in the South China Sea as part of efforts to ensure freedom of navigation in waters claimed by China, the U.S. ambassador said Wednesday.

Washington angered Beijing in recent months by sending U.S. warships and warplanes on patrols near artificial islands built by Beijing to bolster its claim to most of the Sea.

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil has said that the Syria Donors Conference which will be held in London on Thursday will be a test for world leaders on their intention to help Lebanon.

The conference “is a test for the international community and its intention in assisting Lebanon, its government, people and economy,” Bassil told al-Akhbar daily published on Wednesday.

Lionel Messi will skip the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in six months because his coach Gerardo Martino says he needs some rest.

Martino spoke Monday on Argentina radio station La Red and said Messi will play in the Centennial Copa America tournament in the United States, but not the Olympics in Brazil.

Gary Neville knew that coaching at a high level wasn't going to be easy. He certainly didn't expect to be struggling so badly so early.

Less than two months into his first head-coaching job, the former Manchester United great is already in danger of being fired.