Jorginho's 24th-minute penalty, awarded for a clumsy foul on Timo Werner by Eric Dier, did not do justice to Chelsea's domination of a Tottenham side who have now lost three league games in a row for the first time since 2012. German Tuchel, who replaced Frank Lampard last week, has now seen his side take seven points from his three Premier League games in charge with no goals conceded.
* Nearly 500 Australian Open players and staff who stayed at a quarantine hotel where a worker contracted COVID-19 have tested negative for the coronavirus, with 12 awaiting results, tournament director Craig Tiley said on Friday.
* RB Leipzig will not be able to host Liverpool in the Champions League this month after authorities refused to issue a travel permit for the English club, German media reported on Thursday. German federal police rejected an application by the home club for a special permit that would have allowed Liverpool to travel to Leipzig for the last 16 first-leg tie on Feb. 16 despite COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
* Egyptian giants Al Ahly booked a place in the FIFA Club World Cup semi-finals on Thursday after winger Hussein El-Shahat's long-range finish earned them a hard-fought 1-0 victory over local Qatari champions Al Duhail. Al Ahly, who won the African Champions League last year, will next face European champions Bayern Munich on Monday for a place in the final, which will be held on Feb. 11.
* Arsenal have lost their appeal against David Luiz's red card during Tuesday's Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers, but a ban for Southampton's Jan Bednarek has been overturned by the Football Association. Luiz was sent off for the third time in his Arsenal career after the centre back was adjudged to have committed a last-man foul on Willian Jose in the box in a 2-1 defeat at Wolves.
* Barcelona confirmed on Thursday that Sergi Roberto is set for another spell on the sidelines after picking up a thigh injury in their midweek Copa del Rey victory over Granada. The versatile midfielder has endured an injury-blighted season, missing 18 games with a hamstring injury he picked up in November's defeat to Atletico Madrid, while also returning a positive COVID-19 test in December.
* Italy's top flight Serie A soccer clubs postponed a final decision regarding the sale of a 10% stake in a media company handling the broadcast rights of the soccer league to a private equity consortium, sources close to the matter said on Thursday.
* Englishman David Horsey fired a nine-under-par 61 for a one-shot lead over Scot Stephen Gallacher after the opening round of the European Tour's Saudi International on Thursday. Horsey started slowly at the Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City, before hitting form on the back nine with seven birdies - including five in a row just after the turn - to take his tally for the day to nine.
* Ajax Amsterdam will try everything possible to have record signing Sebastien Haller available for the Europa League knockout rounds after failing to register the Ivory Coast international, coach Erik ten Hag said on Thursday. But he conceded an administrative error will likely cost the club a vital player in their bid to win the trophy, blaming a computer glitch for leaving the 26-year-old French-born striker off the additions to the squad for the rest of the competition.
* World number two Rafa Nadal on Thursday said doubts remain over his fitness ahead of next week's Australian Open. Nadal pulled out of Spain's ATP Cup tie against Australia on Tuesday with a lower back problem and, despite some improvement, said he was still far away from the level required to play at the year's first Grand Slam.
* Atletico Madrid's on-loan French forward Moussa Dembele has tested positive for COVID-19, making him the Spanish side's fourth player affected by the novel coronavirus in the last week, the La Liga leaders said on Thursday. Dembele, who completed a loan switch to Atletico from French Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyonnais last month, joins fellow forward Joao Felix, defender Mario Hermoso and winger Yannick Carrasco who have all tested positive for the virus.
* This year's Giro d'Italia will start from the Piedmont region with an individual time trial in Turin, 160 years after it served as the first capital of the united Italy, organisers said on Thursday. The second and third stages, from Stupinigi to Novara and Biella to Canale, respectively, will also be hosted by the region, which is hosting the 'Grande Partenza' for the first time since the race departed from Turin in 2011.
