Roberto Mancini bemoaned Manchester City's Christmas fixture schedule after watching his team surrender their lead at the top of the Premier League.

City were held to a 0-0 draw at West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day and are now top by virtue of goal difference alone after rivals Manchester United thrashed Wigan 5-0.

Andre Villas-Boas conceded Chelsea's Premier League title hopes suffered a severe blow after his side dropped home points in the 1-1 draw with Fulham.

Villas-Boas's team have now drawn their last three games and while last week's stalemate at Tottenham was regarded as a creditable result, failing to beat Wigan and Fulham must be regarded as major disappointments for a team with ambitions to top the table.

NBA champions Dallas looked nothing like the team that lifted the trophy last June as they stumbled to a second defeat in as many nights, this time to the Denver Nuggets.

Denver on Monday hammered the hapless Mavericks 115-93, a day after the Miami Heat routed them in their Christmas Day season-opener in a rematch of last season's championship series.

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho hopes his next job will be back in the English Premier League "in a couple of years."

The Portuguese left Chelsea in 2007 after winning two league titles and was hired by Madrid in 2010 after a trophy-laden two seasons at Inter Milan.

Rafael Nadal says his game this year has been too predictable and he has sometimes lacked drive on court -- weaknesses he plans to overcome for Wimbledon and the 2012 Olympics.

"With the years, you lose a bit of intensity. Intensity in your self-belief, concentration, being positive, believing things will go well -- those are in the mind. With the years you lose that a bit," he told the Spanish daily El Pais in an interview published Monday.

Turin Olympic champion Yevgeny Plushenko enjoyed a lively start at the Russian figure skating championships, which started at Saransk on Sunday, clinching the lead after the short program.

The 29-year-old three-time world champion, who finished second behind Evan Lysacek at the Vancouver Olympics, earned 88.24 points for his short program presentation, just three points less than his personal best mark.

The Boston Celtics signed swingman Mickael Pietrus after the former first-round pick from France cleared waivers on Saturday night.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed but Pietrus is expected to fill a void left by the departure of Jeff Green, who is out for the season with a heart problem.

Cesc Fabregas said Sunday he hopes to finish his career with Barcelona, but if he were to leave the Spanish giants he'd only go back to Arsenal and nowhere else.

"Apart from Arsenal and Barcelona, I don't see myself playing anywhere else," the 24-year-old told Sky Sports News.

Frank Lampard was described as "exceptional" by Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas on Sunday despite the Portuguese coach leaving the veteran England midfielder out of the last three big games.

The 33-year-old will return to the side on Monday after Ramires picked up his fifth domestic booking of the season at White Hart Lane in the 1-1 draw against Spurs in midweek.

The Miami Heat took a small measure of revenge for losing last season's NBA finals series to Dallas by beating the Mavericks 105-94 on Christmas Day as the new campaign got off to its belated start.

After months of labor and legal disputes, the 2011-12 season finally began and Miami laid down a marker of its championship credentials.