Digest

SOCCER

Messi gets Setien reign off to winning start

Quique Setien may want a different Barcelona but he needed the same old Lionel Messi on Sunday as the Argentine gave his new coach a winning start in a 1-0 victory over Granada.

Messi's 76th-minute strike decided a cagey contest at Camp Nou and prevented the much-anticipated launch of Setien's new era becoming something of a damp squib.

Victory also sent Barca back to the top of La Liga on goal difference, after Real Madrid had briefly claimed first place following its win over Sevilla on Saturday.

"I have seen many things from the team today that I want to see," said Setien. "But I already saw some of them against Atletico (last weekend) because Barca has been doing great things for many years."

Liverpool title charge gains more momentum

Mohamed Salah ripped off his Liverpool jersey at a freezing Anfield after completing a 2-0 victory over Manchester United in stoppage time on Sunday, rousing fans on the Kop to sing: "We're gonna win the league."

It's been a 30-year wait but there is no longer any trepidation from the Liverpool supporters as their team moved 16 points in front at the Premier League summit.

"Now you're gonna believe us," they chanted.

Even with Liverpool unbeaten through 22 rounds and with a game in hand, the players aren't as bullish as their fans in declaring the title a done deal.

"I think everyone wants us to say something about it but we won't," said Virgil van Dijk, who opened the scoring with a first-half header. "In the squad we cannot, and we won't. It is one game at a time."

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

Chiefs slight favorites for Super Bowl LIV

The Kansas City Chiefs opened as slight favorites over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night for their matchup in Super Bowl LIV in Miami on Feb 2.

Sportsbooks at PointsBet, Bet America and DraftKings each installed the Chiefs as a 1.5-point favorite minutes after the 49ers wrapped up a 37-20 home victory over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game.

Earlier on Sunday, the Chiefs ended their 50-year wait for a Super Bowl return in a 35-24 victory over the Tennessee Titans to win the AFC championship.

It's a heavyweight matchup featuring one of the NFL's best offenses versus one of its best defenses. The Chiefs scored 86 points in two playoff games after earning the No 2 seed in the AFC following a 12-4 regular season.

San Francisco was the top seed in the NFC after going 13-3 in the regular season, when the 49ers ranked second in the NFL in total defense (281.8 yards per game) and eighth in scoring defense (19.4 points per game).

TENNIS

Monfils blames hand injury on video game

Gael Monfils is nursing a swollen hand after he lashed out in frustration while playing a video game－but does not expect the bizarre injury to hamper his Australian Open.

The 10th seed from France, who faces Chinese Taipei's Lu Yen-hsun in his Melbourne opener on Tuesday, suffered the injury last month.

The 33-year-old played in the ATP Cup at the start of the year but told reporters on Sunday that his hand is still not quite right and he cannot volley as much as he would like.

"I was playing a video game in my bedroom and I hit my right hand against the headboard (of the bed)," Monfils said.

"The real treatment would be rest, but since I can't, I have taken anti-inflammatory drugs and put ice on it."

BOXING

South Africa's first black world champ dies

Peter 'Terror' Mathebula, the first black South African boxer to win a world title, has died aged 67 near Johannesburg, his family said on Sunday.

"Our beloved father passed away three weeks after being admitted to hospital," his daughter Thembi told AFP without disclosing the cause of death.

Mathebula created history in Los Angeles in 1980 when he won a 15-round split decision over South Korean Kim Tae-shik to be crowned the World Boxing Association flyweight champion.

Recalling the historic triumph years later, Mathebula said: "I thought I was dreaming and nearly collapsed after being overcome by joy."

His reign lasted only three months before losing to Argentine Santos Laciar in Soweto.

White wants McGregor rematch with Khabib

After three years without a victory, Conor McGregor needed only 40 seconds to reclaim his place at the center of the UFC world.

The Irish superstar stopped Donald Cerrone on Saturday in Las Vegas and now seems eager to make up for lost time after three years of inactivity and outside-the-cage misbehavior.

"The whole world lights up when I fight," McGregor said. "So I want to get back out there again."

The contenders are already lining up, but UFC boss Dana White wants McGregor to wait for a fight against lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who beat McGregor in October 2018. Russian Nurmagomedov is booked to face Tony Ferguson in April.