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Rayo Vallecano are finally in a position to dream of La Liga survival. Photograph: Javier Etxezarreta/EPA In the middle of Rayo Vallecano's dark days, when they'd been beaten 15 times in 20 games and the goals were flying in; when they'd let in five from Atlético Madrid, five from Málaga, five from Villarreal, four from Espanyol, four from Sevilla, four from Barcelona, three from Madrid, three from Osasuna, and three from Valladolid; when they plummeted to 19th and stayed there for 11 long weeks; when the only reason they didn't fall further was that Betis were even worse; when even a glimmer of hope, a 4-1 win over Málaga, immediately gave way to a six-goal hammering; and when relegation wasn't an "if" but a "when"; there was a phrase that got repeated over and over: Paco Jémez will die with his ideas. Paco Jémez, though, had other ideas. Not because Rayo's coach was going to back down on his principles - "any club that signs me knows what it's getting," he insisted - but because he didn't have any intention of dying at all. Even when Rayo were a disaster, Jémez had his defenders. Off the pitch, that is. Last season, only two teams in Europe had the ball more than Rayo did: Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Early this season, when Rayo played Barcelona, they had more possession than them, the first team to manage it in 316 games. They threw men into attack, they were fun to watch, and parading the touchline in a dizzying array of multicoloured elbow patches and waistcoats, pink shirts and purple ties, Jémez urged them forward, always. In a country that values the aesthetic, or in which some do, he was eulogised for the way his teams played de tú a tú: as equals. Rayo didn't simply defend - sometimes they didn't defend at all - but instead they went for it. And, mostly, they lost. Rayo took the ball off Barcelona and Jémez declared himself "very proud". But they were beaten 4-0. They went to the Camp Nou where they were praised by Barcelona's

Red Bull Salzburg take the slight upper hand into their Europa League last-16 second-leg clash at home with Basel. The Austrian outfit settled for a 0-0 stalemate in their away leg in Switzerland and hold a perfect record at home in the Europa League this season. The draw at Basel halted Salzburg's 16-match winning streak in all competitions, although Roger Schmidt's men bounced back with a 5-0 win over Wolfsberger AC in the Austrian Bundesliga. Similarly, Basel enjoyed a 5-0 league win over Aarau to find their feet after the home stalemate. Salzburg's form at home extends beyond their five wins in the tournament this season, as they have been beaten just once at their Red Bull Arena fortress since August 2012. They have won 14 in succession at home, including European wins over Zalgiris (5-0), Elfsborg (4-0), Standard Liege (2-1), Esbjerg (3-0) and Ajax (3-1). Conversely, Basel have not won an away fixture in the Europa League in their past 10 outings in the second-tier continental competition, but they travel to Austria in the knowledge a score draw would see them progress to the quarter-finals. Murat Yakin's Basel have had success away from home in the Champions League, chalking up wins at Ludogorets and Chelsea earlier this season, before they bowed out in the group stage to join the Europa League knockout rounds. They began their journey in the last-32, dispatching of Maccabi Tel Aviv 3-0 on aggregate, as they look to at least emulate their semi-final appearance from the previous campaign. It will be a tough task against home-town favourites Salzburg, though, who have been the highest scoring side in the competition this term with 21 goals. Firing in a third of those has been tournament top-scorer Jonatan Soriano, who has recently had to refute suggestions he was Salzburg's equivalent of Lionel Messi. Salzburg's Kevin Kampl and Alan are tied for the most assists, with four apiece.

England fans would be highly disappointed after the last night game where Italy lost to CostaRica 1-0. Costa Rica is into the last 16 crashing England hopes of making in the final 16.

Lionel Messi beat Cristiano Ronaldo to take home the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award on Thursday. Handed out during the UEFA Champions League group stage draw, the Argentine superstar beat Ronaldo and Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez to take home the silverware. To decide the winner, 54 votes from European journalists were tallied up. Messi received 49 votes, while Suarez had 3 and Ronaldo 2. Messi had 58 goals and 28 assists last year for his club, while Ronaldo had 61 goals and 22 assists. It comes as no surprise that Messi won, as the attacking superstar led his club to the treble last season.

After ending last season on a heart-breaking Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs, Chicago Bulls fans have an upcoming season to be excited about. The roster has changed quite a bit and with it the dynamics of the team. Gone are controversial 2-guard, Ben Gordon, along with sparingly used Tim Thomas and a few scrubs. Welcomed are rookies James Johnson, Taj Gibson, Derrick Byars and in a return performance, Jannero Pargo. Luol Deng has returned from a stress fracture that had him cheerleading from the bench during the Bulls' surprisingly resurgence to playoff form, and John Salmons is sliding down a number to take over for Ben Gordon. Without Ben Gordon and his 20+ points per game on the roster, the Bulls will surely take a huge step back from last season, right?

The RR vs MI game is a bottom half battle of the blues as Mumbai Indians travel to the Sawai Man Singh Stadium to take on Rajasthan Royals. Mumbai sit in 7th place with just 1 win from 4 games. However, it will be the Royals who will be more worried after losing their last two matches by big margins - 64 runs and 7 wickets. Mumbai, on the other hand, have the momentum having beaten RCB in their last encounter after losing 3 close games at the start of the tournament.

Kings XI Punjab are one of the eight teams that were a part of the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League and are also one of the two teams that have not won the desired title. Their record over the years in the IPL hasn't been the greatest. The team from Punjab played the finals of the IPL only once, back in 2014. Kolkata Knight Riders got the better of them on that occasion and since then, they've finished last, twice(2015 & 2016) and 5th last year. Can the team from Punjab win the title this year? Let's glance at the Kings XI players from the 2018 IPL auctions and also at 5 key players for KXIP who can make a difference this year.

Manchester United have endured a troubled start to the season in the Premier League. However, they are unbeaten in their last three games and would look to carry the same momentum against Chelsea during the EFL Cup, at Stamford Bridge, on Wednesday. Meanwhile, here we present the match preview.

Manchester United have endured a troubled start to the season in the Premier League. However, they are unbeaten in their last three games and would look to carry the same momentum against Chelsea during the EFL Cup, at Stamford Bridge, on Wednesday. Meanwhile, here we present the match preview.

Is mental toughness a resilient state of mind, or is a number of states - and about being in the right state at the right time? Mental Toughness is a concept that has been given a lot of attention in sport psychology in the last few years. It tends to be associated with some kind of ability to cope with pressure, or resiliency. It is something that athletes, coaches and commentators seem to recognise, but seems to be quite difficult to pin down.

All crazy fans of cricket are set to feel the heat of this sizzling encounter between the two giants of the game in the 12th Asia Cup. The bullet of this sensational match will be shot on Tuesday where last time defending champion 'Pakistan' will take Sri Lanka hand-to-hand at Fatullah, Bangladesh.

BBC Oxford News relayed a story last night of a non-medically qualified nutritionist who advised a female client to drink too much water. The nutritionist has been sued and an out of court settlement has been reached worth £880, 000. The client suffered organ failure and as a result suffered brain damage.

Obesity's health effects are deep and vast-and they have a real and lasting impact on communities, on nations, and most importantly, on individuals, today and across future generations

The Undertaker's twilight has been an interesting one, mainly because of Brock Lesnar. It was Lesnar's victory at WrestleMania XXX that changed Undertaker's streak from a sure thing that fans took for granted to a dark cloud that follows him into the ring. In the previously unfathomable post-Streak era, every time Undertaker competes, there's a legitimate question as to whether we're seeing him for the last time.

The long promised SUPERCAR from Lexus, will soon exist as an awe-worthy piece of Japanese supercar art. The production of the last Lexus supercar is version of the 2012 Lexus LFA.

Joe Calzaghe achieved one of his dreams by comprehensively beating Roy Jones Jr last night at Madison Square Gardens, his 46th straight win as a professional boxer. In the past he suggested that he woudl retire if he did. So should he?