Liverpool defender Andy Robertson has insisted "no one knows" where teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold's future lies amid continued links to Real Madrid.

Alexander-Arnold is out of contract at the end of the season and a source has told ESPN that Madrid are confident of signing him on a free transfer this summer.

However, a Liverpool source told ESPN no deal has yet been finalised and Robertson has revealed the 26-year-old's full focus remains on working his way back from an ankle injury.

"Trent's head is not great because he's injured," Robertson said.

"He hates being injured, none of us like being injured but it hurts Trent a little bit more. That's all he is focused on.

"It is impossible for me to say we have not seen all the noise and everyone commenting on it. But for us our focus is for him to get back fit and healthy. Once he does that, what will happen, will happen. No one knows that yet. People can talk and speculate but for us we want Trent back very soon."

Liverpool restored their 12-point advantage at the top of the Premier League table with a 1-0 victory over Everton on Wednesday night. But Robertson believes Arne Slot's side still have plenty of work to do to secure the title.

"You guys talk about the 12 points but we talk about the next three points," he said.

"Every game becomes bigger for us. Every time we win three points, the gap becomes bigger for us.

"We have eight games left, every time we pick up three points, it brings us closer to where we want to be. But we are still a long way off that."

Ange Postecoglou has said he is "falling out of love with football" after admitting he made a mistake in celebrating Pape Matar Sarr's disallowed goal against Tottenham, but not because he risked a fan backlash.

Spurs lost 1-0 at Chelsea on Thursday but Sarr had a second-half strike ruled out for VAR. Postecoglou's decision to bring on Sarr for Lucas Bergvall was booed by some travelling Tottenham supporters who also briefly chanted "you don't know what you're doing" at the 59-year-old.

Postecoglou responded by cupping his ear in their direction when Sarr scored, only for the goal to be chalked off after a lengthy VAR check.

Spurs fell to their 16th league defeat of the season and Postecoglou appeared to hang back at full-time rather than engage with the away fans, hinting at a fractious relationship which places further pressure on his position.

However, at a news conference on Friday, Postecoglou chose to focus his attention on the impact VAR is having after there were 12 minutes of added time at the end of Thursday's game with Chelsea also having a goal ruled out as Moisés Caicedo's volley came after replays showed Levi Colwill was offside in the build-up.

"Maybe I was influenced by England and the old First Division," he said. "What I loved about it as opposed to other leagues was the frenetic pace of it. In English football, there was always something happening.

"I loved that and it has influenced me a lot in terms of the kind of football I like to watch. There are plenty of other leagues I could have watched. End-to-end stuff, not a lot of teams trying to hold onto wins. It was just everyone going for it. It was the speed and tempo that I loved.

"I've tried to design a gameplan that has tempo and energy because I feel if you want people in there for an hour and a half of entertainment and engagement, you want them off their seats. There was 12 minutes of extra time last night. VAR was not brough in last month. It has been here for a long time and it is still taking 12 minutes.

"Everyone says 'they came to the right to decision', well, yeah. That's what people want then. Let's continue. I don't like it. I am falling out of love with the game because I love celebrating goals. Last night I did and I'm paying a massive price for it. I'll make sure I don't do it again but I reckon that's kind of sad.

"I am the lone voice. I don't hear anyone else saying it. That's why I am sat here and saying maybe I am disconnected. I don't think anyone else cares. We're just so accepting. Maybe I come from a different generation where we used to rail against anyone who tried to change the fundamentals of our life.

"It is sad for me because I am a lone voice but I don't think it is sad for the game because I guess people want that. I've got to accept it. When I do finally retire, I will probably watch less football and try and find another hobby."

Asked again about his ear-cupping celebration, which stands as the lates in a series of incidents in which fans have voiced their anger, Postecoglou said: "I get that seems to be the main talking point out of last night.

"People tend to focus on the internals of Tottenham rather than the externals. I made a mistake last night in that I celebrated a goal.

"Since VAR came in here, there were four or five incidents where we were standing around in Scotland and I thought I am not really going to celebrate goals. There's no point because you've got to wait.

"Last night, I just felt we needed something, cracking goal from Pape [Matar Sarr], I heard the supporters weren't happy with my decision, which is fine and my response was to celebrate, get them to make some noise and get behind the team. I felt it was a real momentum shifter, that moment.

"My mistake was celebrating a goal, VAR defeated me again. I won't be doing that again."

Sources have told ESPN that Postecoglou is at risk of losing his job if Spurs exit the Europa League against Eintracht Frankfurt -- their two-legged quarterfinal clash begins next Thursday -- and he added: "I've been fighting my whole career. I'll continue to fight until I'm told to stop by someone. I still believe we've got a massive opportunity for ourselves this year and I'm not going to let that slip away whether that's from external or internal pressure. I'm focused on that.

"I feel like people want me to say something that will somehow change the mood of the fans. I've just never done that. I've never felt that's my role. My role is to produce teams and get the fanbase behind what we're doing.

"It is not unusual they are frustrated and angry and the moment but at the same time if anyone looked at that game and thought they weren't trying, that they had resigned themselves to their fate, I'm sorry, they are not watching the right game.

"The players are fighting tooth and nail to try and address our issues within a real difficult season and try to take this massive opportunity that's ahead of us."

Kevin De Bruyne has announced that he will be leaving Manchester City at the end of the season.

The Belgium international's contract at the Etihad Stadium expires in the summer, and he said on Friday that will leave the club as a free agent.

In his 10 years at the club, he won 16 trophies including six Premier League titles, five League Cups, two FA Cups, two Community Shields and a Champions League.

"Seeing this, you probably realise where this is heading," he said in a post on social media on Friday.

"So I'll get straight to it and let you all know that these will be my final months as a Manchester City player.

"Nothing about this is easy to write, but as football players, we all know this day eventually comes. That day is here -- and you deserve to hear it from me first.

"Football led me to all of you -- and to this city. Chasing my dream, not knowing this period would change my life. This city. This club. These people... gave me everything. I had no choice but to give everything back! And guess what -- we won everything."

"Whether we like it or not, it's time to say goodbye. Suri, Rome, Mason, Michèle, and I are beyond grateful for what this place has meant to our family. 'Manchester' will forever be on our kids' passports -- and more importantly, in each of our hearts.

"This will always be our home."

De Bruyne joined City as a 24-year-old from Wolfsburg in 2015 and, over the following decade, established himself as one of the Premier League's greatest ever midfielders.

In 413 appearances for the club, he has scored a remarkable 106 goals and assisted a further 174 assists. He is tied with former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry for the most assists (20) in a single Premier League season.

The 33-year-old has been central to City's recent era of success, twice winning the Premier League Player of the Year award.

De Bruyne, who has been linked with moves to the MLS and Saudi Pro League, could end his time at City with yet more silverware, with the club playing Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semifinals later this month.

The PGA Tour wants one premier circuit operating in men's professional golf.

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund wants two -- and that's why the sides' talks to reunify the sport seem to be back at square one.

Sources confirmed to ESPN that the PGA Tour has rejected the PIF's most recent offer to invest $1.5 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises, the tour's for-profit entity, which came with the caveat that the rival LIV Golf League would remain intact.

The PIF, which has funded LIV Golf since its inception in 2022, also wants its governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, to serve as co-chairman of PGA Tour Enterprises' board. Former Valero Energy CEO Joe Gorder is chairman of the PGA Tour Enterprises board, and Tiger Woods serves as vice chairman.

The Guardian of London reported that the PGA Tour replied to the PIF in a letter on Monday.

Sources previously told ESPN that the LIV Golf League continuing in its present form was a nonstarter for the PGA Tour, which prefers to have the top golfers in the world competing on one circuit.

Sources said the PIF has dug in its heels in negotiations and wants team golf to be part of the sport's future ecosystem if the sides reach a deal. The PGA Tour has tried to offer solutions to the PIF that would include some sort of iteration of LIV Golf in future schedules, such as having team competitions at international venues in the fall.

"We will not do so in a way that diminishes the strength of our platform or the very real momentum we have with our fans and our partners," PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said at last month's Players Championship. "So while we've removed some hurdles, others remain. But like our fans, we still share the same sense of urgency to get to a resolution."

The latest correspondence comes on the heels of the sides' four-hour meeting at the White House on Feb. 20, which included Al-Rumayyan, Monahan, Woods and PGA Tour player director Adam Scott. U.S. President Donald Trump had previously met with Monahan and Scott in Washington on Feb. 4.

Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Thursday that he hopes the competing tours can reach a deal. Trump was flying to Miami to meet with LIV Golf officials at Trump National Doral, which he owns.

"Ultimately, hopefully, the two tours are going to merge. That'll be good. I'm involved in that too," Trump told reporters on the flight to Miami, according to the Associated Press. "But hopefully we're going to get the two tours to merge. You have the PGA Tour and the LIV Tour. And I think having them merge would be a great thing."

Published reports indicated the PIF will have injected $5 billion into LIV Golf by the end of this year. The circuit that celebrates 54-hole tournaments, no cuts, shotgun starts and team golf has struggled to gain footing in the U.S. in terms of corporate sponsors and TV ratings.

Before this week's LIV Golf League tournament at Trump National Doral in Miami, LIV Golf League captain Brooks Koepka said that he had hoped the breakaway circuit would be further along in its fourth season.

Koepka was one of several PGA Tour stars lured to LIV Golf with guaranteed contracts worth more than $100 million. Past major champions Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith are among the others who left the PGA Tour and were suspended by Monahan.

Financial records filed by LIV Golf's United Kingdom-based company, which operates its tournaments outside the U.S., indicated it had nearly $400 million in operating losses in 2023. Financial records for events in the U.S. weren't available.

New LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil told reporters on Tuesday that his league didn't have to make a deal with the PGA Tour to survive.

"If the deal can help grow the game of golf, I'll jump in with two feet," O'Neil said. "Do we have to do a deal? No. It would be nice to do a deal, so long as we're all focused on the same things.

"So do we have to do a deal or need a deal, whatever word you use, leave that to somebody smarter than me. I will say I love what we're doing, I love our prospects. I love the growth in three months. I know what's coming in the next three months. And I love where we are."

O'Neil isn't involved in the PIF's negotiations with the PGA Tour.

"The reality of the way I see the world is I see the LIV Golf League with a lot of hope and a lot of future," O'Neil told ESPN. "I hope that we find a way to get more opportunities to have the best players in the world playing together. It might not be in a nice, neat bow, or it might be. We'll see."

The PGA Tour and the PIF sued each other in federal court, but the lawsuits were dropped when they signed a framework agreement on June 6, 2023, to form an alliance that would reunify the sport. That deal expired at the end of 2023, but the sides have continued to try to hammer out a deal the past two years.

In January 2024, the PGA Tour and Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of U.S. pro sports teams and others, reached a deal to have SSG invest as much as $1.5 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises.

LOS ANGELES -- Golden State Warriors star forward Jimmy Butler suffered what appeared to be a left forearm injury in the third quarter of Thursday night's 123-116 win over the Los Angeles Lakers and was uncertain about his status for Friday's game against the Denver Nuggets.

Butler said he might have to undergo further testing on his forearm and see how he feels on Friday to determine if he can play at Chase Center in the second game of a back-to-back. He was able to return and play the entire fourth quarter.

"Part of the game [is] getting nicked up a little bit," Butler said after also having three steals in 36 minutes. "I hope that I'm going to be all right though, so we'll see tomorrow."

Butler said he did not undergo an MRI or X-ray on his forearm after the game. Asked if he would need to do so, he said, "Maybe. Probably. I hope not."

Butler's return in the fourth quarter helped the Warriors close out their fourth consecutive win, as he scored seven of his 11 points in the final 12 minutes.

"Jimmy's tough as hell, and we needed him to come back in to close that game up," Golden State power forward Draymond Green said. "He came back and he was exactly who he's been and who we needed him to be."

Stephen Curry, who has been playing with a pelvic contusion that cost him two games recently, took a fall on his tailbone Thursday night but shook off the injury and finished with 37 points.

Curry said he should be fine and that the bigger issue is wearing a protective pad on his back, which he expects he'll have to do for the remainder of the Warriors' season.

When asked if he knows if he will play in the second of a back-to-back Friday, Curry said, "I'm not sure." Head coach Steve Kerr said he thinks Green and Curry will play against Denver.

The Warriors (45-31) are in fifth place in the Western Conference standings with six games remaining in the season.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou bemoaned the time-consuming VAR process that saw Pape Sarr's goal chopped off in their 1-0 defeat at Chelsea on Thursday and said football was heading towards being refereed by artificial intelligence.

Referee Craig Pawson was advised by VAR to check Sarr's 69th-minute equaliser on the monitor and eventually chalked off the goal for a foul by the Spurs player in the build-up.

"It's going to be refereed by AI soon," Postecoglou told reporters after Thursday's Premier League match.

"We might as well dispense with the players when some genius comes up with a game with no participants at some point. As referees aren't refereeing.

"Whether I think its a foul or not, does not matter. VAR was called in for clear and obvious errors. How long did it take tonight? Six minutes. For a clear and obvious error.

"I don't see how it's benefiting our game. I don't think anyone would have complained tonight if we just went with referees' decisions."

Spurs, who are 14th, host Southampton on Sunday before welcoming Eintracht Frankfurt for the first leg of their Europa League quarterfinal on Thursday.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- NHL leading goal scorer Leon Draisaitl left the Edmonton Oilers' game against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night in the second period because of an undisclosed injury and didn't return.

Draisaitl appeared to be injured midway through the second period and skated gingerly to the bench before leaving for the dressing room. Coach Kris Knoblauch said after the game that he had no update on the severity of the injury.

Jeff Skinner scored the tiebreaking goal shortly after Draisaitl left the game, giving the Oilers a 3-2 victory that kept them within two points of the Los Angeles Kings in the race for second place in the Pacific Division and home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

"Obviously we've had some injuries to key guys," Skinner said. "It's a lot of opportunity for other guys to step up and I think guys have done a good job so far. We're going to have to continue that and keep working together to get the results we want."

Draisaitl had an assist earlier in the second period. He leads the NHL with 52 goals and is third in the league with 106 points.

Draisaitl sat out four games last month because of an undisclosed injury.

The Oilers are already without star center Connor McDavid, who has been sidelined since colliding with Winnipeg's Josh Morrissey on March 20. McDavid has resumed skating with the team in a noncontact jersey but there is no timetable for his return.

The playoffs begin in just over two weeks.

"You never want to miss those guys," Knoblauch said. "You never want your top players not to play because every time they're not in, it decreases your chances of winning because they are good players, obviously. But what happens is other guys have some opportunities to play, get some confidence, hopefully score some goals, because we're going to need them."

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Angel City FC sporting director Mark Parsons said forward Alyssa Thompson has set the standard in the opening weeks of the 2025 National Women's Soccer League season.

"In the first three games, Alyssa's been the best player in the league," Parsons told ESPN at the team's new training facility on Thursday.

Thompson scored in two of the team's first three games, putting her one goal behind the league leaders. Her 8th-minute tally on Sunday against Seattle Reign FC helped propel Angel City to a 2-1 victory. Thompson beat two defenders with her movements and fired a shot into the upper corner.

Thompson, 20, tallied five goals and seven assists in 2024. She missed out on the United States' Olympic roster but went on a scoring run in the back half of the 2024 NWSL season and earned a recall to the USWNT. The 20-year-old is

She scored her first senior international goal on her return to the USWNT, in a 3-1 win over Iceland in October.

"I know she's committed to looking for the next level in her play, and I think you see just how threatening and dangerous she is," USWNT head coach Emma Hayes said of Thompson after that match.

Thompson has been part of every USWNT training camp since and is on the roster that will take on Brazil at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Saturday before facing the same opposition three days later in San Jose.

Angel City is unbeaten through three games for the first time in franchise history, largely thanks to a new, young core of players. Interim head coach Sam Laity started one of the youngest lineups in NWSL history -- six players were age 23 or younger -- in the team's opening-weekend draw with San Diego Wave FC.

Thompson, along with her sister, Gisele, is one of the anchors of that youth movement. Thompson was the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft as an 18- year-old who was finishing high school. She played for the USWNT at the World Cup later that year.

Eighteen-year-old Kennedy Fuller has been the team's playmaker in midfield, while 22-year-old forward Riley Tiernan has started all three games as Angel City's striker after joining the team in preseason as a non-roster invitee.

Tiernan scored the game-winning goal against Seattle on Sunday, her first professional tally.

With her goal on Sunday, Thompson's 11 regular-season goals already leave her tied for second in Angel City's young history.

"They've got a lot of learning to do, but Sam and the team have done a tremendous job on having clear identity," Parsons said about the young group of players. "I believe when you have that, individuals have the chance to perform. And I think we've had great individual performances so far. It's been fun."

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said he could have blown his side's chances of hanging on for a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday by making defensive changes for the dying moments, only to realise that a full 12 minutes had been added on.

"We created chances enough in the first half, and then, to be honest, it has been my mistake because I did the change before I saw the extra time," a relieved-looking Maresca told reporters.

"When I saw 12 minutes, I saw that probably was too early to make that kind of change. But fortunately, we won the game, and we are happy."

With the clock ticking down, and Chelsea ahead through Enzo Fernández's 50th-minute header, Maresca replaced attacker Cole Palmer and Fernandez with defender Tosin Adarabioyo and midfield anchor Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, packing his back line.

The change allowed Spurs to pour forward in their search for an equaliser during the long period of stoppage time, which came after two long VAR checks in the second half which ruled out goals for both sides.

Maresca was full of praise for the way his players soaked up the pressure to seal the win which gave Chelsea some fresh momentum in their hunt for a top four finish and a place in next season's Champions League.

"If you want to become a team, I think you need also to learn and to play in the way we played in the last 10 minutes: win a game in a dirty way," the Italian said.

Maresca said the return of Senegal striker Nicolas Jackson from injury had given his side more shape, thanks to his incessant pressing of the Spurs defence. "For sure, with Nico we are a different team," the manager added.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou said poor defending was to blame for Chelsea's goal and he was critical of how VAR ruled out what he thought was an equaliser when substitute Pape Sarr beat Robert Sánchez with a low drive, only for it to be ruled out for a foul by Sarr moments earlier.

The Australian downplayed suggestions from reporters that he had shown frustration at Spurs fans -- some of whom had booed his substitution decisions -- by cupping his ear to them when Sarr found the back of the net.

"It's incredible how things get interpreted. We'd just scored. I wanted to hear them cheer. We've been through a tough time and I thought it was a cracking goal. I wanted them to get really excited," he said.

"It doesn't bother me. It's not the first time that they've booed my substitutions. That's fine. They're allowed to do that," said Postecoglou, whose side are 14th in the table.

NEW YORK -- Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernandez took the blame for Minnesota star Anthony Edwards' injury scare in the Nets' 105-90 loss to the Timberwolves on Thursday night.

Edwards briefly left the game after he stepped backward onto Fernandez's foot while making a 3-pointer late in the second quarter. He was helped off the court but returned for the start of the second half.

"I was out of bounds trying to move out of the way," Fernandez said. "I definitely have to be faster than that. Players' health is the most important thing in the game, so next time I just have to move faster."

Edwards finished with 28 points and five rebounds as the Timberwolves won their fourth straight game.

The Timberwolves are part of a crowd trying to finish among the top six in the Western Conference and avoid the play-in tournament. They can't afford to lose Edwards.

The three-time All-Star has carried the Timberwolves this season after they traded Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks in the offseason. Edwards was averaging a career-best 27.3 points before Thursday's game.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.