Lamaro was also unhappy the last time Italy faced Wales - in Cardiff - at what he felt was a lack of respect shown to his team by the Welsh Rugby Union.

In a newspaper interview, he complained of "several small, unpleasant situations unworthy of a host country" around the warm-up and players' families.

Both unions rushed to smooth the waters after the column appeared, but the feeling of being slighted remains.

"It's always difficult to say if we have respect of other nations," Lamaro said on Friday.

"I think the way teams prepare for our games has changed but I'm pretty sure in the back of their minds, they think Italian rugby is still not at the same level as theirs.

"We can use that as motivation and have 80 minutes to get credibility and respect back. Saying that, I'm not sure it's ever been there.

"Yes, teams fear us on a one-off occasion but respect is different against countries with such big rugby traditions and cultures."

Luis Enrique was delighted to have been given a two-year extension with Paris Saint-Germain as he wants to make history with the French champions.

The Spaniard, who arrived at PSG in 2023, expressed his gratitude for the trust the club has placed in him and said he is motivated to leave a legacy in Paris.

"From day one the club has put everything at our disposal and the support only makes me want to continue working and improving, we want to make history here as a coaching staff," Luis Enrique told reporters following PSG's 4-1 win over Monaco on Friday.

"I don't know how long I'll be here, when you feel comfortable where you are and you feel the trust of those around you, why set limits for yourself.

"I am very happy for that support, I hope to repay it with hard work, I don't know if with results."

Luis Enrique denied that PSG's convincing victory, which keeps them unbeaten in Ligue 1 with a 13-point lead at the top of the standings, was the best of their season so far and said it was difficult despite the scoreline.

"I don't think we had our best game, I didn't like the last 10-15 minutes, we didn't take the ball away from Monaco and we had some difficulties," he said.

"The first half was very even, it was difficult to put pressure on them. In the second half we were able to do more damage and in the end we deserved the victory but it was very difficult as always against Monaco."

PSG will now turn their attention to the Champions League knockout playoffs, where they face Ligue 1 side Brest on Tuesday.

While a slow start to their European campaign meant the Parisians missed out on securing an automatic spot in the last 16, the coach said the struggles had strengthened the team in their quest for a coveted first Champions League title.

"We've been through it all, all those delicate moments where only our fans believed in us are wonderful right now because they have given us maturity in a young team," Luis Enrique said.

"We will never stop fighting. That is our goal this season: to fight until the last minute of every competition to try to make history."

Pep Guardiola has denied that Manchester City's January recruitment drive was motivated by concern within the club that they could be hit with a transfer embargo.

City spent 175 million ($217m) on Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Nico Gonzalez in the January window -- more than any other Premier League side. It was a departure from their usual cautious approach in the winter window which has seen them decide against making a significant mid-season signing since Aymeric Laporte's arrival from Athletic Bilbao in January 2018.

Guardiola has insisted the January spend was due to the injury problems which have impacted his team in the first half of season. But it has not stopped speculation that City opted to bring in a number of new players because of fears that a transfer embargo could be one of the punishments handed down if the club are found guilty of breaching the Premier League's financial rules.

"I do not agree but my words will not convince people that our attributes are just being in a wealthy position," Guardiola told a news conference on Friday.

"In the last five years, we are the last team in the top six for net spend.

"Even after what we have spent in this transfer window, we are away from Chelsea, [Manchester] United, Arsenal, Totttenham. Even from Liverpool. The only reason why is because we sell a lot in the last seasons but even with that I know this club, it is always 'just about the money'."

The hearing into City's 115 charges for allegedly breaching Premier League financial rules began in September and concluded in December.

If they're found guilty, punishments could range from a fine to a points deduction. Guardiola said he believes a verdict will be delivered in "one month."

"In one month I think there will be a verdict and a sentence and after that we will see my opinion of what happened so far," he said.

"Still, at the end, every club can do whatever they want. Because in the last 10 years we are third [for net-spend], but in the last five, even with what we won, we are behind the top six teams so I'm sorry for the comments and that is why I don't agree."

Meanwhile, Guardiola said he is not planning on having Rodri available again until next season. The midfielder has been out since September with a knee injury, but has been included in City's squad for the Champions League knock-out rounds.

"I would love to arrive in the latter stages of the Champions League and Rodri could help us but in my mind Rodri is for next season," said Guardiola.

"Maybe he comes back earlier, that would be good for us."

Real Madrid have approached Vinícius Júnior's agent to start talks about renewing his contract, a source has told ESPN.

The Brazil forward's contract runs until June 2027. Typically, the Spanish club only begins negotiations on renewals with star players when they have two years left to remaining on their deals, but the source said Madrid have made an exception for Vinícius.

In his case, Madrid decided to bring forward the talks because of ongoing interest from the Saudi Pro League in a transfer for the 2024 FIFA the Best winner.

Madrid have approached the player's team and indicated that they want to start discussions, starting with salary developments, according to the source.

However, the source also said that talks are at an early stage and that Vinícius' representatives have yet to receive a formal offer.

The source added that Vinícius is happy with his existing contract at Madrid and is in no rush to speed up negotiations.

Last month, Vinícius said he hopes to stay at Madrid for many years.

"It's very important for me to reach 100 goals and be a part of this club's history," Vinícius told Real Madrid TV. "At 24 years old, and after seven seasons, to be making history is something very important for me and my entire family. Let's hope I can carry on here for many more years."

ESPN previously reported that Vinícius was approached again by representatives from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns four Saudi Pro League sides, with an official offer from the Middle East therefore expected soon.

A new meeting between Madrid executives and Vinícius' agent is scheduled to take place in a fortnight when the team takes on Manchester City in the Champions League playoff stage, the source told ESPN.

Vinícius has scored 17 goals in all competitions for Madrid this season, helping them top LaLiga and reach the Champions League knockout phase playoffs.

Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said last week amid the Saudi Arabia links that Vini Jr. is "choosing glory" over a lucrative move to the SPL.

"They're individual decisions," Ancelotti said. "But to me, the player [Vinicius] looks happy and excited about staying here and winning trophies with Real Madrid. I think he's thinking about choosing glory."

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim said his side's last-gasp winner against Leicester City in the FA Cup fourth-round showed the team believed until the final whistle, but it had "nothing to do with Fergie time."

In one sense, Friday night's result brought a familiar feeling from the days of Sir Alex Ferguson, when late winners became as synonymous as the titles his sides won.

However, it was the sluggish first-half performance that drew Amorim's ire after the match.

"We had to believe until the end but this game has nothing to do with the time of Fergie. I think the performance, we have to do so much better with the ball, without the ball," Amorim told ITV after the match.

"We didn't have any energy in the beginning, especially in the first-half. Then in the second half we played a little bit better, with a little more speed, winning second balls. Then we managed to turn things around so it was a good result not a good performance.

"The coach is the first responsible, when one team doesn't perform, doesn't improve, it is the coach but we are here to do things and to see the game, to study the game and try to improve for the next game."

United failed to manage a shot on target in the first half at Old Trafford -- the third time this season they have done so, according to ESPN Global Research.

United went behind before half-time when Wilfred Ndidi's shot was blocked by goalkeeper André Onana, only for Bobby De Cordova-Reid to head in the rebound from close range.

A strike from Joshua Zirkzee levelled the scores in the second half, and the game appeared to be heading into extra time before Maguire headed in the winner in the 93rd minute from Bruno Fernandes' free kick, seconds before the final whistle.

"I think it's the small things, if you see the games sometimes it's to control the ball, to have the ball, don't give the ball away in the first pressure. It's the small things, it's the big things, it's everything," Amorim added.

"It's this moment, it's hard away but especially at home but we have to cope with that and we will try to do it next game."

Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy let his own displeasures known after the game, pointing to Maguire being in an offside position when the free-kick was delivered.

"This (loss) wasn't necessary," an unhappy Van Nistelrooy told ITV. "This was half a meter [offside]. Then extra time, stay in the game, you never know what happens.

"We deserved to go into extra time and maybe penalties. Decisions like these in our level are hard to swallow."

VAR will be used in the FA Cup for this first time this season in the fifth round.

MANCHESTER, England -- Ruben Amorim will hope that one day, the FA Cup will slip down his list of priorities.

Right now, though, with Manchester United languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table, it's offering some welcome respite for the under-pressure manager.

Nothing is coming easy for Amorim at the moment and United, who handed a debut to January signing Patrick Dorgu, had to fight back from a goal down to beat Leicester City 2-1 at Old Trafford on Friday. It required a stoppage time header from Harry Maguire -- which appeared to be offside -- to book United's place in the FA Cup's fifth round.

But the most important thing for Amorim is that they've advanced, and hardware is still on the line.

It has been tempting for some supporters to believe that the club has written off the rest of this season, particularly after a quiet January transfer window with little effort made to add a new attacker. At least the FA Cup offers something to keep fans interested.

Until Amorim can turn this team around to the point where title challenges become the norm -- and that seems a long way off right now -- he needs to cling to every small success he can.

"It was a good result, not a good performance," Amorim said. "I think the performance, we have to do so much better with the ball, without the ball. Today is a feeling of the win, and the fans go home with that feeling of win.

"It's hard to point to something to give them [the fans] confidence, just the spirit in the second half, more energy, more second balls. The rest, there is a lot to improve. We already knew that we need to do better."

Amorim has repeatedly warned supporters that things could get very messy between now and the summer, when he'll have a chance to bring in his own players and time to work on the training ground. Home defeats to Bournemouth, Newcastle, Brighton and Crystal Palace have proved him correct.

United aren't good enough at the moment for the week-in, week-out battle of the Premier League. The good news for Amorim is that you don't need to be consistent in the FA Cup.

You just need to be good a little bit, and in fits and starts. Throw in a little bit of luck and you can get quite close to Wembley. Maybe even win the whole thing. And United were fortunate to get through the FA Cup last round when Arsenal failed to take advantage of Diogo Dalot's red card and lost on penalties at the Emirates.

Even with all their problems, Amorim's team were expected to beat Leicester, a side rooted in the bottom three in the Premier League -- but United still struggled.

The first half was so poor that they couldn't muster a single shot on target as Ruud van Nistelrooy's team went in at half-time deservedly 1-0 up. United's first-half expected goals tally of just 0.05 was tied for the lowest in Amorim's 20 games in charge.

The game only changed in the second half with the introduction of substitutes Alejandro Garnacho and Joshua Zirkzee. Even then it was a slog. Zirkzee scored to make it 1-1. But just as extra time beckoned, United were awarded a contentious free kick by referee Michael Salisbury after the ball flicked up off Garnacho and hit James Justin's elbow.

It was United's first bit of luck. Salisbury put the whistle to his lips, pulled it away again and then finally blew. Van Nistelrooy raged on the touchline and before the Dutchman had calmed down, Bruno Fernandes floated his cross into the box and Maguire headed in the winner.

Replays showed Maguire was at least a yard offside, but with no VAR until the next round, the goal stood. United's second -- and decisive -- piece of luck.

"VAR you have in a couple centimetres, a couple of inches; this was half a metre, clear in line," Van Nistelrooy fumed afterwards. "That was a hard one to take because the team deserves to draw in the end.

"Then extra time, stay in the game, you never know what happens. We deserved to go into extra time, go for the battle in extra time and maybe penalties. Decisions like these in our level are hard to swallow."

Even Amorim admitted the call was wrong, but such are the rules of the FA Cup.

"With VAR it was not a goal, and I think it's important to have because it's fair," Amorim said. "It's really hard to lose one game in the last minute with an offside play, but sometimes we deserve a little bit of luck."

At the moment, United need it.

The victory over Leicester was United's third in four games, but afterwards Amorim looked like a man whose worries have deepened rather than eased. It was the type of performance that will do that to a head coach. He has seen lots of them since taking over for Erik ten Hag in November.

The danger is that United could serve up the same in their next two games -- tricky away fixtures against Everton and Tottenham. They are two of only seven teams below them in the table, and if results don't go United's way, they could conceivably be 16th in two weeks. That would make things far messier than even Amorim anticipated.

At least he has another FA Cup tie to look forward to. It was a close call, but the competition continues to offer a glimmer of hope in an otherwise wretched campaign.

STORRS, Conn. -- RJ Luis Jr. scored six of his 21 points in the final 2:16 to help No. 12 St. John's extend its winning streak to 10 games with a 68-62 comeback victory over No. 19 UConn on Friday night.

St. John's 10-game conference win streak is its longest since a 14-game streak during the 1984-85 season, according to ESPN research. That season was also the last time the Red Storm reached the Final Four.

UConn led by as many as 14 points, and with the loss, tied its second-largest blown lead since Dan Hurley took over as head coach in 2018-19, according to ESPN research.

It also marked the fifth time this year St. John's has come back from a double-digit deficit to win, tied for the most in the nation with five other teams.

St. John's coach Rick Pitino said the team wasn't using the game to prove itself.

"We're the 11th-ranked team in the country. I don't think we have to show anybody," Pitino said. "We're highly ranked. We're No. 1 in the Big East. We play great basketball. We're out to win a game, not out to show people how good we are. We're the 11th- or 12th-ranked team in the country. I don't think there's any doubters."

Kadary Richmond scored all 13 of his points in the second half and Simeon Wilcher added 12 for St. John's (21-3, 12-1 Big East).

Liam McNeeley had 18 points for UConn (16-7, 8-4). Solo Ball had 13 points, while Tarris Reed Jr. had 12 points and 15 rebounds.

McNeeley, who missed the previous eight games with an ankle injury, had four points in a 6-0 run by UConn to put the Huskies up by six with 11:16 left in the second half. The Huskies couldn't build on it as St. John's regained the lead on back-to-back jumpers by Luis and Richmond.

Ben Gordon, who played for the Huskies from 2001 to 2004 and was a member of a national championship team in his junior season, was inducted into the Huskies of Honor at halftime.

Takeaways

St. John's: The Red Storm won despite missing 11 shots in a row during one stretch in the second half.

UConn: Ball and Jaylin Stewart got off to impressive shooting starts, but failed to score in the second half after combining for 22 points in the first half.

Key moment

With UConn leading by four, Richmond had a pair of baskets during a 6-0 run to take the lead. The Red Storm would score 12 points in a row.

Key stat

There were 20 points scored off turnovers, and 18 were scored by St. John's.

Up next

St. John's: Plays at Villanova on Wednesday.

UConn: At Creighton on Tuesday.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Eli Manning isn't dwelling on his omission from the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

The former New York Giants quarterback, speaking a day after the four-person class was announced, said he's happy for those who made it and isn't letting what happened sour his outlook on his career or the Hall of Fame overall.

"I'm excited for those guys that got in," Manning told NFL Network's "Good Morning Football." "All of them are so deserving. Happy for them. I texted a few of them, the guys that I knew, and just congratulated them.

"I had a feeling it wasn't going to be my night, and I understand that. And I'm totally at peace. It's not going to change my outlook of my career and how I feel about it."

The 2025 class includes tight end Antonio Gates, cornerback Eric Allen, defensive end Jared Allen and wide receiver Sterling Sharpe. It's the smallest class since 2005.

The group will be inducted Aug. 2 in Canton, Ohio.

Manning was in his first year of eligibility and had a complicated case for the Hall of Fame, leading to widespread debate on his candidacy. He led the Giants to two Super Bowl wins over the New England Patriots and two Super Bowl MVPs. He was top 10 all time in passing yards (57,023) and touchdowns (366) when he retired following the 2019 NFL season. And he never missed a game in his 16-year career because of injury.

But the biggest obstacle, according to some Hall of Fame voters in the room, was that Manning was never really in the discussion as the best player at his position for a chunk of his career.

Manning, of course, still can be selected as part of future classes. But a maximum of five modern-era players can be chosen each year, and first-time nominees for the 2026 class include Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Jason Witten, Frank Gore and Philip Rivers, so the competition will remain stiff.

Information from ESPN's Jordan Raanan was used in this report.

Jake Paul fired back at Canelo Alvarez on Friday night, claiming that the four-division champion "ducked" a fight with him to sign a lucrative deal with Riyadh Season.

In a video posted to social media, Paul showed what he said was a contract signed by himself and Alvarez for a fight that the two sides were set to formally announce next week. Sources told ESPN's Mike Coppinger on Thursday that Alvarez and Paul were finalizing a deal to fight May 3 in Las Vegas.

But in a stunning development, Alvarez changed course hours later Thursday and instead completed a four-fight deal with Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season, effectively killing the fight with Paul that was expected to land on Netflix.

"The truth is, you could be bought," Paul, addressing Alvarez, said in his video. "You're a money-hungry squirrel chasing your next nut. The truth is, these sports-washing, shady characters are paying you hundreds of millions of dollars to stop our fight from happening because they couldn't fathom the fact that they can't create a bigger fight than me and you."

Sources told ESPN that Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, told Alvarez that the deal with Riyadh Season -- which included a Sept. 13 megafight with former undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford in Las Vegas -- would be off the table if he proceeded with the planned fight with Paul.

After Alvarez's deal with Riyadh Season was announced, Alalshikh told ESPN, "Canelo only fights real fighters," a not-so-subtle shot at Paul and the deal with Alvarez that fell through.

"Claiming he's not fighting YouTubers. Bulls---," Paul said in his video. "Claiming he's fighting real fighters, but he's fighting Crawford, a 135-pound fighter, and running from a real fighter like David Benavidez."

Crawford, ESPN's No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter, began his career as a lightweight but recently made his 154-pound debut with a victory over Israil Madrimov in August.

Paul took one final shot in his video, challenging the notion that Alvarez is boxing's top star.

"You call me a YouTuber, but you've never had a boxing match as big as mine," Paul said. "I promise you one thing, Canelo. Any fight that you do this year, mine will be bigger."

Paul, 28, gained fame as a social media star who turned into a boxer and has an 11-1 record. He is one of boxing's top attractions despite his novice skill level. His November fight with the 58-year-old Mike Tyson, which Paul won via an eight-round decision, peaked at a staggering 64 million concurrent streams on Netflix.

Alvarez, 34, is the unified champion at 168 pounds and is a former 175-pound champion. He has surpassed 1 million pay-per-view buys several times, including twice during his legendary trilogy with Gennadiy Golovkin.