The Chelsea Supporters' Trust (CST) have criticised the club for failing to help or show solidarity with their supporters ahead of the Europa League final against Arsenal in Baku on Wednesday, and accused official travel partner Thomas Cook of charging an "extortionate" price for flight packages to Azerbaijan.

Only around 1,500 of the original 6,000 tickets allocated to Chelsea for the final have been sold to season-ticket holders or members, with another 500 or so purchased by local supporters' clubs and the rest returned to UEFA. Arsenal have only sold around 4,000 tickets to their fans.

- When is the Europa League final?
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In a statement released on Friday, CST cited "unprecedented challenges" facing fans hoping to attend the game including the cost and complexity of travel arrangements, criticising UEFA for choosing a "totally unsuitable location" in Baku and adding that Chelsea have said and done nothing to assist their supporters.

"We are extremely disappointed that Chelsea FC have been unable or unwilling to help Chelsea supporters overcome the travel, expense and logistics in order for them to support the team in a European final," the statement read. "The lack of a statement from Chelsea FC is also disappointing.

"Arsenal FC issued a statement expressing frustration and disappointment on behalf of their supporters; acknowledging the unsuitability of the venue, the challenges faced by supporters travelling to Baku and the need to ensure more care by UEFA in future venue selection.

"While this may not make any difference to UEFA's immediate decision-making, at the very least it sent out a message to their supporters that they were concerned about the difficulties they face and were on their side.

"A similar statement from Chelsea would have engendered some much-needed goodwill from the supporters."

Thomas Cook's travel packages for the game are priced at £979 and consist of flights to and from Baku as well as bus transport to and from the stadium. The cost of a match ticket is not included and the return flight departs shortly after the match, meaning no opportunity for overnight hotel stay.

"They're obscenely priced," CST chair David Chidgey told ESPN FC of Thomas Cook's packages. "I would go as far as to say they're exploitative.

"They pay Chelsea a lot of money so they can fleece the fans, and that's exactly what they're doing. It just shows that we're cannon fodder to be exploited and the club are complicit in that."

The Premier League transfer window is open. You can click here to review all the latest transfers and keep up to date with all the latest gossip below.

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TOP STORY: Mbappe and Neymar on their way from PSG?

Could both Kylian Mbappe and Neymar be on their way out of Paris Saint-Germain in the summer? It's possible, according to boss Thomas Tuchel.

The Sun reports that Tuchel, speaking at a news conference, did not dampen speculation that the star pair could be off, with Real Madrid a likely destination for at least one of them.

Recent reports have alleged that they have fallen out, something that could hasten their exit from the French giants.

"As a coach I do want them to continue, but this is football -- we are not naive," Tuchel said. "Many clubs want to transfer many players and the market is crazy, but if you ask me, I want them here next season. But if they are not, we will find solutions."

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11.03 BST: Manchester United will not let Romelu Lukaku leave on the cheap if Inter Milan firm up their interest with a formal bid, sources have told ESPN FC.

Antonio Conte is expected to replace Luciano Spalletti at the San Siro after the final round of Serie A games this weekend, and is set to ask his new employers to sign Lukaku.

10.37 BST: To Spain, where AS reports that Tottenham made an approach to Real Madrid about a potential move for Marco Asensio, but were told he will not be sold.

10.17 BST: Atletico Madrid's Juanfran has said Barcelona's attack will be unrivalled if Antoine Griezmann links up with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Griezmann confirmed his departure from Atletico earlier this month, and is widely tipped to move to the Camp Nou.

"If Griezmann goes to Barca, it would be difficult to find a better front three than Messi-Griezmann-Suarez," Juanfran told Cadena Ser. "It's the dream trident for any coach."

09.47 BST: Benfica have said they have not received any offers for Joao Felix, who has been compared to Cristiano Ronaldo, but expect clubs to make a move over the summer.

Attacking midfielder Felix, who has a €120 million release clause in his contract, is reported to be interesting clubs including Real Madrid, Manchester United and Juventus.

09.25 BST: Eden Hazard has told RMC he is focused on winning the Europa League and isn't thinking the Baku final could be his Chelsea swansong.

With just 12 months left on his contract at Stamford Bridge, Hazard is widely expected to end his seven-year stay by completing a switch to Real Madrid.

An announcement to that effect is expected after next Wednesday's final against Arsenal in the Azerbaijani capital, but Hazard said: "Honestly, I'm not thinking about it. I'm just thinking about winning the game. What happens will happen."

08.50 BST: Ajax winger David Neres is not a summer target for Atletico Madrid, a source close to the player has told ESPN FC, but could be Premier League bound this summer.

Neres, 22, had a breakout season with 12 goals and 15 assists as Ajax eliminated Real Madrid and Juventus as they reached the Champions League semifinals, as well as completing the domestic double in the Netherlands.

Reports in Spain had claimed that Atletico coach Diego Simeone had asked Rojiblanco bosses to sign Neres, but ESPN FC has been told the La Liga club has not made an approach.

A number of other clubs in Europe, including some in the Premier League, have shown a strong interest, the source said.

08.15 BST: David Luiz has revealed that Maurizio Sarri told him to leave Chelsea during last summer's preseason, only for him to quickly change the Italian's mind.

Chelsea gave Luiz a two-year contract extension earlier this month, breaking their policy of only offering one-year deals to players over 30.

That decision reflected Luiz's presence in the Stamford Bridge dressing room and his importance to Sarri this season -- but in an interview with the Daily Mail, the Brazilian admitted things might have turned out very differently.

"We had a conversation in the first week he arrived," Luiz said. "He didn't want me to stay and that was normal. I'd been injured for a long period. I was in the last year of my contract.

"Then, after three days he saw me training and said, 'No, you are going to stay.'"

PAPER TALK (by Richard Edwards): Solskjaer ready for a clear-out

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is wasting no time in revamping his squad.

The Mirror reports that Matteo Darmian, Marcos Rojo, Juan Mata and Romelu Lukaku will be off in the summer, following Ander Herrera and Antonio Valencia out of the exit door.

Lukaku is rumoured to be on Inter Milan's wanted list, while Mata is a free agent in the summer and could head back to Spain.

Rojo and Darmian, meanwhile, made only 13 appearances between them last season.

United keep tabs on PSG rebel

Manchester United aren't ruling out a move for PSG transfer rebel Adrien Rabiot, who hasn't played for the French champions since December, according to the Manchester Evening News.

Rabiot has been linked with Real Madrid, although United have reportedly been tracking him since Louis van Gaal's spell in charge.

The lure of Champions League football could put United at a disadvantage but, with Solskjaer intent on rebuilding, the France international fits the bill.

Tap-ins

- Fulham are set to hold out for £30m for star man Aleksander Mitrovic, but are already planning for life without him. The Standard says Fulham will look to bring Dwight Gayle and Britt Assombalonga to Craven Cottage if, as expected, Mitrovic leaves.

- Reports in Germany say Bayern Munich are set to launch a bid to bring Leroy Sane back to the Bundesliga. Suddeutsche Zeitung reports that president Oli Hoeness said the club were doing all they could bring Sane to the Allianz Arena.

Michael Slater, the former Australia opening batsman and now commentator, will be heard on Channel Nine's World Cup broadcast after the ICC confirmed he remains a part of the world broadcast feed for the event, due to begin on May 30.

Following a highly publicised incident on Sunday when Slater was escorted from a Qantas domestic flight from Sydney to his hometown of Wagga Wagga, after becoming embroiled in a heated argument with two female fellow travellers, ESPNcricinfo understands he was spoken to by host broadcasters and reminded of the behavioural standards all commentators must uphold.

However, Slater is set to return to Australian television screens with Nine, his former network, as well as Fox Sports, the pay television broadcaster that will air all the tournament's matches. Nine has the free-to-air rights to screen Australia's nine round-robin matches, plus the semi-finals and tournament final at Lord's on July 14.

Last year Slater moved from Nine to Seven, following the latter's winning of broadcast rights for matches in Australia in a combined deal with Fox Sports worth A$1.18 billion to Cricket Australia. A central figure in Seven's broadcast, particularly for the Big Bash League, Slater did not continue his role throughout the summer, missing from the back-end of the season and the BBL finals series in early February.

It is believed this decision was made mutually between Slater and Seven for personal reasons, though he is still under contract with the network for another season and may yet return.

Since then, Slater has commentated on the Indian Premier League, and will soon be heard again on Nine and Fox Sports for the World Cup. In a statement to Macquaries Radio, a contrite Slater confirmed the incident on the plane: "I did have an argument with two friends whilst boarding a flight to Wagga and I apologise for the inconvenience this caused other passengers on the flight."

Nine, which lost its rights as the host broadcaster for Australian cricket for the first time since Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket breakaway more than 40 years ago, will ironically broadcast the returns of the previously banned Steven Smith and David Warner in the wake of the Newlands scandal, after Seven and Fox Sports suffered by their absence over the 2018-19 summer.

The network's World Cup coverage will be hosted by Rebecca Maddern, alongside former national team captains Mark Taylor, Ian Healy and Lisa Sthalekar.

Seven recently unveiled the former New Zealand captain and Brisbane Heat batsman Brendon McCullum as a new addition to its commentary team for next summer. McCullum will also be heard on the World Cup broadcast.

Catch all the action, analysis, numbers, tweets, banter and more from the Afghanistan v Pakistan warm-up match. If you don't see the blog immediately below, please refresh the page

Asghar Afghan's removal as Afghanistan's ODI captain less than two months before the World Cup had garnered criticism from some of the team's senior players, but his replacement Gulbadin Naib quelled any murmurs of disharmony within the team, saying he still considered Asghar as his captain.

"Asghar Afghan is still my captain," Naib told ICC. "We played our last few games against Ireland and Scotland, and he helped me a lot. He guided me. He's not just another player for me, he's still my captain right now.

"I want support from him. Not just him, but [Mohammad] Nabi, Rashid [Khan] and all the guys who have a lot of experience. All of us have one goal: we want to play for Afghanistan and play as a team, whoever the captain is."

Afghanistan have warm-up games scheduled against Pakistan and England before they open their campaign on June 1 against Australia.

Rohit Sharma's batting at the top of the order in ODIs is a study in contrast to the methods in vogue at the moment, with batsmen preferring to attack hard early. Rohit is not averse to taking his time at the start and settling in, before exploding with greater force as the innings progresses.

India's limited-overs vice-captain is the only man with multiple double-centuries in ODI cricket, having hit three including a world-record 264, and he explained that he had found a process that worked well for him.

"What works for me is what works for me. I'm going to stick to my plans. In those double hundreds that I have scored, you've got to see how many balls I had consumed by the time I reached my first 10 runs, the first 50 runs, the first 75-80 runs. It'll rarely be five balls 10 runs, or 25 balls 50 runs," Rohit told Times of India. "You know what I'm saying - but I've still got there. I've worked with certain trends and those trends have worked for me, in return. There will be days when I will get off to a flyer.

"Obviously when you're chasing scores of 350 and 370, you'll have to change gears as required. There's not much time that one can take before he can get going. I get that. But you asked me about how I like to go about - to that, I'll say, follow what suits you, go by the conditions, the opponents, the kind of attack that's coming at you. So, let's say much of that is an instinctive factor."

The numbers bear out Rohit's success with his method.

*All numbers from April 1, 2015 till May 24, 2019

Rohit's acceleration during the course of an innings is evident. Among openers in the first ten overs, he is the second slowest, ahead of only Tamim Iqbal. From overs 10.1 to 35, and expanding the list to include batsmen in the top four, he is eighth among 61 batsmen. And in the last 15 overs, only AB de Villiers scores quicker than Rohit among 91 batsmen.

Rohit's six-hitting ability also plays a part in his acceleration. Since the 2015 World Cup, he has hit 130 sixes for India, considerably more than the second-placed Virat Kohli's 55.

"Listening to people, day in, day out, it's something that I have learnt to live with," Rohit said. "You step out of the house and the first guy you say hello to, hellos back: 'Cover drive thoda aisa khel na. Straight drive sudhaar apna (Play the cover drive like this. Improve your straight drive).' Kya karoon? (What do I do?). Listen and move on. One guy, I don't even know him, gave me a 15-minute lecture on the pull shot. Don't hit the ball in the air (laughs).

"What those people don't understand is they know and recognise me as a cricketer because of those very shots. I wouldn't have been scoring the kind of runs I did if I didn't take those risks. For instance, just this week, someone shared an interesting stat with me. Post the 2015 World Cup, I've hit 130 sixes. The next best from India is 55. The margin of 75, you see, is the margin of risk I've taken. Simple."

Sri Lanka chose to bowl v South Africa

Sri Lanka opted to bowl in the World Cup warm-up against South Africa in Cardiff. Captain Dimuth Karunaratne felt that there would be some assistance for his seamers early on, while Faf du Plessis was happy to have a bat. Although both teams are allowed to field all 15 members of the squad, Sri Lanka were a player short, with Lasith Malinga yet to join the squad. South Africa, too, were resting Quinton de Kock and Dale Steyn.

Sri Lanka were coming off a convincing win over Scotland by 35 runs (D/L method) at Edinburgh. Karunaratne, who was playing his first ODI in over four years, quelled some of the doubts about his left-field selection as captain for the World Cup with an 88-ball 77, and Nuwan Pradeep, who had missed the tours of Australia and South Africa due to injury also returned to the side with a four-for.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Klay Thompson found out he hadn't been selected to an All-NBA team while he was being interviewed by reporters Thursday, and the shock on the face of the Golden State Warriors' normally unflappable swingman told the story.

In addition to the sting of the snub, Thompson will not be eligible this summer to sign a five-year supermax contract worth $221 million. He'll instead be eligible for a five-year max deal worth $191 million with the Warriors once he becomes a free agent on July 1.

"I didn't? It already came out?" Thompson said after Thursday's practice, before being told that he just missed being selected for the third team. "I mean that's cool and all but like when you go to five straight Finals, I respect those guys but when you go to five straight it takes more than just a couple All-NBA guys. It's like an all-time team, but whatever, I'd rather win a championship than be third-team All-NBA, so it's all good."

Both Thompson and the Warriors have said throughout the season that they were hopeful about getting a new deal done after the season ends. Warriors owner Joe Lacob recently told ESPN that he hoped Thompson and Warriors guard Stephen Curry would be with the organization "forever."

The All-NBA teams are selected by a panel of media members, who select two guards, two forwards and one center for each of the first, second and third teams.

"It is what it is," Thompson said, when asked if he disliked the fact that All-NBA voting weighs so heavily on potential extra money in contracts. "I can't control it. Do I think there's that many guards better than me in the league? No. But that's the reason we're still playing so I don't even want to get into it honestly."

The easygoing Thompson relayed a confident answer when asked how he's able to let the contract implications roll off his back so easily.

"Rings," he said.

Thompson's teammate Draymond Green offered more pointed commentary regarding how the votes played out. When asked about Thompson making the NBA's All-Defensive second team, Green was quick with a response.

"He should have been first [team]," Green said.

Green, who also made the All-Defensive second team, was asked for his own reaction about making that team.

"It's a pretty cool second team to be on," Green said. "There's some damn good defenders on that second team."

Is the second team better than the first team?

"I ain't going to say that," Green said. "But that lineup looked good on that second team, so it's all good."

Green Bay Packers lineman David Bakhtiari was back to his beer-chugging ways courtside at the Milwaukee Bucks' NBA playoff game on Thursday night -- and this time he got a pair of local MVPs to join in.

Neither Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers nor Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich could down a beer quite as quickly as Bakhtiari, though they tried their best.

While being shown on the video screens at the Fiserv Forum, Bakhtiari put back two beers in a matter of seconds, then pointed toward Rodgers.

The two-time NFL MVP couldn't get through his entire beer in one go, and Bakhtiari, who has slammed beers during other games in the Bucks' playoff run this season, proceeded to show him how it's done with a third cold one.

? @DavidBakhtiari and @AaronRodgers12 go head-to-head in a beer chugging competition!! #GoPackGo | #FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/etedPaiJ9G

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) May 24, 2019

Rodgers did offer somewhat of an explanation, implying in a tweet he'd prefer a different libation.

Make it scotch next time @DavidBakhtiari #bucks

— Aaron Rodgers (@AaronRodgers12) May 24, 2019

Later in the game, a fan wearing a Bakhtiari jersey was shown downing a beer on the big screen, prompting the lineman to empty a can into his own mouth.

HE'S NOT DONE!! ?

This time @DavidBakhtiari has a chugging competition with a fan!! ? pic.twitter.com/GfxFMnfpHX

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) May 24, 2019

And soon after, Yelich -- the reigning National League MVP who was seated next to Bakhtiari -- got in on the fun by finishing his own beer, much to the delight of the crowd.

Yelich was a bit faster than Rodgers, but the QB wasn't impressed and indicated that Yelich's cup had been slightly less than full.

In Wisconsin MVP's crush beers. @ChristianYelich | #FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/qTnMl4K3eN

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) May 24, 2019

Their antics couldn't inspire the Bucks to a win, however, as the Toronto Raptors prevailed 105-99 to take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

MILWAUKEE -- In a quiet moment after the Toronto Raptors pulled off a 105-99 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals to take a 3-2 lead in this best-of-seven series and move within one win of the franchise's first trip to the NBA Finals, Raptors coach Nick Nurse was asked what allowed his team to turn this series around from an initial 2-0 deficit.

"This isn't the sexy answer, but from the first day of training camp we've been saying we're going to stay level," Nurse told ESPN. "A s---ty preseason game is just gonna get written off. A great win at Golden State, same thing. A terrible game in San Antonio, 'Let's bounce back.'

"And we've done it all year. We've kept it even-keeled. Kawhi [Leonard] has helped that. Kyle [Lowry] has been so much less emotional and a great leader. Marc [Gasol], even Serge [Ibaka], those older guys, when things have gone s---ty, it's not questioning guys, it's 'Let's figure it out.' I think it was the same today."

It's hard to argue with Nurse's assessment -- especially given that, five minutes into the first quarter, the Raptors found themselves down 18-4 at Fiserv Forum, with Giannis Antetokounmpo dunking everywhere, and the roof of the building feeling as if it might come off.

At that moment, it felt as if the game could quickly turn into another outcome like Game 2, when Milwaukee ran Toronto out of the building. Instead, the Raptors slowly began chipping away, and eventually got themselves back into it.

Once the Raptors did, that gave Leonard the chance to carry them home. And, for the latest time in these playoffs, Leonard did exactly that, scoring 15 of his game-high 35 points in the final quarter to push the Raptors over the top, and allow the road team to win a game for the first time in this series.

"The game he played tonight," Lowry said of Leonard, who also had seven rebounds and nine assists, "was a pretty good game.

"It's a pretty good game on the big stage, and on the road.

"Superstar. Superstar."

It was Leonard's back-to-back 3-pointers with 8:30 and 7:57 left in the fourth quarter that gave Toronto an 85-81 lead. Those were two of the 18 3's the Raptors made while attempting 43 of them -- typically the kind of number the Bucks like to shoot, and what wound up being two more shots than the Raptors attempted inside the arc all night.

And, even more than his shotmaking, it was Leonard's ability to guard Antetokounmpo -- not to mention his even-keeled demeanor -- that has shifted the series in Toronto's favor.

"We have one of the least emotional guys in Kawhi Leonard, but he's emotional when he needs to be," Lowry told ESPN. "We've all kind of just ... when our superstar is a guy who stays [level] ... he's our guy, he's our superstar.

"He never gets too up, he never gets too down, he misses games, he didn't play games. And when he didn't play, we went about our business. When he did play, we went about our business. And we just have to go out there and play."

Part of the reason why Leonard was able to carry the Raptors home was because Fred VanVleet, for a second straight game, stepped up. VanVleet, who had his second child the day before Game 4, put up 21 points off the bench, going 7-for-13 from the field -- including 7-for-9 from 3-point range.

He now has gone from shooting 7-for-44 overall and 3-for-25 from 3-point range over a 10-game span from the start of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers through Game 3 of this series to going 12-for-19 overall and 10-for-12 from 3-point range over the past two games.

"I guess," VanVleet said with a smile, when asked if having his child had changed things. "Zero sleep, have a lot of babies and go out there and let loose.

"[You] keep just trusting the work, and trusting your craft, and knowing that, at some point, they're going to drop."

That they started dropping now has been exactly what the Raptors needed -- though it also came as no surprise to Lowry, VanVleet's close friend.

"We always say 'next man up,' and it's been like that all year," Lowry told ESPN. "Guys have done an unbelievable job preaching next man up and tonight was Freddy's night.

"I never felt bad for him. I expect nothing but the best from him, and I expect him to keep doing that."

So much about this Toronto team is new. Nurse is a first-year head coach; Leonard, Danny Green and Gasol all arrived with the Raptors via trade within the past nine months. But the Raptors have a battle-tested group full of players who have been in these types of moments before.

It's that experience that has helped Toronto stay even-keeled through a season spent with Lowry and Leonard shuttling in and out of the lineup, with trades and injuries keeping Toronto from having its full roster more than a handful of times.

"It certainly helps, I think," Nurse told ESPN. "I think these guys have played in these games and it certainly helps, but what I'm noticing is in between games. I think the guys are really smart about preparing.

"Everybody is trying to tell them they are tired, and they're just not buying it. And they're just like, 'OK, we're winning. We have to go to work.'

"This is a hell of a team. We have to play our asses off to beat them."

The Raptors have done so three straight times -- something that hadn't happened to the Bucks all season. If Toronto can do it a fourth straight time back home Saturday night, it will be in the NBA Finals.