Lens has gone from surprise front runner to serious title contender in Ligue 1.

Despite having modest resources, coach Pierre Sage has done remarkably well to keep his side ahead of defending champion Paris Saint-Germain.

Álvaro Arbeloa tried to leave his mark on Real Madrid in his first game in charge.

He got burned.

Inter Milan has a 70% chance of winning Serie A according to history.

In 63 of the 93 previous Serie A seasons, the team which topped the table at the midway point went on to claim the scudetto.

Defending champion Barcelona avoided an upset a day after Real Madrid faltered in the Copa del Rey, edging second-division leader Racing Santander 2-0 Thursday to reach the quarterfinals.

Madrid, which lost last year's Copa final to Barcelona, was eliminated by second-tier team Albacete 3-2 on Wednesday in the debut of coach Álvaro Arbeloa.

Bayern Munich still has rivals for the Bundesliga title, in theory at least, and Leipzig is one of them.

After Bayern matched the record points total for the halfway stage of a Bundesliga, beating the record on goal difference, only a spectacular collapse over the next four months would put Bayern's 11-point lead under threat.

Youssef El-Nesyri scored the winning penalty and Yassine "Bono" Bounou saved two as Morocco advanced to the Africa Cup of Nations final with a 4-2 win on penalties over Nigeria on Wednesday.

Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali saved one but was bettered by Bono in the shootout after the teams drew 0-0 with extra time in front of 65,458 mostly Morocco supporters in Rabat's Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

Coco Gauff and Venus Williams could meet in the second round of the Australian Open, another potential chapter in a tennis tale that started with a 15-year-old on her Grand Slam debut beating a seven-time major winner at Wimbledon.

Gauff thanked Williams for being such an inspiration for her career after that win at the All England Club in 2019, saying "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her."

Sadio Mané again got the better of his former teammate Mohamed Salah by firing Senegal into the final of the Africa Cup of Nations with a 1-0 victory over Egypt on Wednesday.

Salah's wait for an Africa Cup title goes on — Egypt lost the 2021 final on penalties to Senegal, when then-Liverpool teammate Mané and his country claimed their first.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said Wednesday Xabi Alonso has a great future in football despite Real Madrid replacing him at the helm this week.

New Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa insisted Tuesday he would be himself at the helm of the Spanish giants rather than trying to imitate Jose Mourinho.