Kylian Mbappe must learn to play as a central striker at Real Madrid because he will not be able to displace Vinicius Junior on the left, the club’s former forward Karim Benzema says.

France star Mbappe, who joined Real after his Paris St-Germain contract ended in July, has eight goals in 14 appearances for his new club but has scored just once in his past five games.

The 25-year-old’s favoured position is on the left wing but manager Carlo Ancelotti has kept Brazil international Vinicius in that position, forcing Mbappe to play centrally.

“The problem, in my opinion, is that [Mbappe] is not a central striker, even with the national team, every time he plays as a number nine he doesn’t feel right, because that’s not his position,” former France striker Benzema said on Spanish television show El Chiringuito., external

“On the left, he’s got a guy who’s at the same level as him, Vinicius, so there is a problem, you can’t play Vinicius as a number nine or on the right, because when he plays on the left he makes the difference in every game.

“Mbappe isn’t a real number nine. People ask a lot of him and he’s under a lot of pressure, this isn’t Paris St-Germain.”

Benzema is Real’s second-highest scorer of all time, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, and the Frenchman won the Ballon d’Or when at the club in 2022 before signing for Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad last year.

The 36-year-old, winner of five Champions Leagues and four La Liga titles during 14 seasons at the Bernabeu, warned Mbappe that “if you go two or three games without a goal, you’re going to have a lot of problems”.

In addition to scoring just once in the past five games, Mbappe failed to make an impact as Real’s 42-game unbeaten run in La Liga was ended by a painful 4-0 home defeat by rivals Barcelona.

Team-mate Vinicius came second to Manchester City midfielder Rodri in the voting for the men’s Ballon d’Or last month – awarded to the best footballer of the year.

On his advice to Real’s present number nine, Benzema said: “Don’t give up, because I don’t think he’s going to push Vinicius to move. He’s the best player in the world at the moment.

“Mbappe needs to get it into his head that today he’s a number nine, and forget about the left flank for a while.”

DARTS legend Phil Tylor revealed he would like to do match commentary after retirement.

Taylor, 64, is pencilled down as a commentator ahead of the World Seniors Darts Masters, which kick off on Friday and end on Saturday in Sunderland.

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And the Power is very much looking forward to his new gig at the esteemed tournament.

So much so that the experienced thrower would be open to commentating on a regular basis after stepping away from the oche.

However, the Stone-on-Trent native would like to avoid being away from home “week in week out” like he used to be as a player.

Taylor said: “Some of the older players are coming to retirement age now and I think you’ll see an influx of a few more household names which will help the Seniors.

“I’m looking forward to it [commentating], depending on what games they give me!

“If they want younger people [in the future] that’s fine. I’m not too worried about it.

“But I wouldn’t want to be away from home week in week out like I used to be.

“With my experience I can sometimes tell what pressure they’re under and what they’re thinking at that particular time.

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“Sometimes you can just tell they’re not going to hit the double.”

Taylor was originally supposed to play in the Seniors but had to pull out because of an injury.

And now the experienced thrower is focused on calling the action during this weekend’s competition.

Taylor added: “It’s great that darts is coming back to the North East. I love the North East. I’ve got some good friends up there and have family that live in Newcastle.

“The fans always turn out in their droves in the North East and they enjoy themselves and make it a good atmosphere.

“I just hope the players perform well enough for the people who are paying to watch!”

Goalkeepers: Bailey Peacock-Farrell (Birmingham City), Pierce Charles (Sheffield Wednesday), Luke Southwood (Bolton Wanderers).

Defenders: Jamal Lewis (Sao Paulo, on loan from Newcastle United), Daniel Ballard (Sunderland), Ciaron Brown (Oxford United), Conor Bradley (Liverpool), Trai Hume (Sunderland), Brodie Spencer (Huddersfield Town), Kofi Balmer (Motherwell), Ruairi McConville (Brighton and Hove Albion).

Midfielders: George Saville (Millwall), Jordan Thompson (Stoke City), Alistair McCann (Preston North End), Shea Charles (Sheffield Wednesday, on loan from Southampton), Isaac Price (Standard Liege), Paul Smyth (Queens Park Rangers), Ross McCausland (Rangers), Ethan Galbraith (Leyton Orient), Brad Lyons (Kilmarnock), Caolan Boyd-Munce (St Mirren).

Forwards: Josh Magennis (Exeter City), Dion Charles (Bolton Wanderers), Callum Marshall (Huddersfield Town, on loan from West Ham United), Jamie Reid (Stevenage), Lee Bonis (ADO Den Haag).

Kansas City Chiefs continue their unbeaten start to the season in a 30-24 win in overtime against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers which saw quarterback Patrick Mahomes shake off a late injury scare.

READ MORE: Mahomes shrugs off injury as Chiefs win again, external

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Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin feel there is no reason why they should be “enemies outside the track” as they fight for the 2024 MotoGP title.

For a second season in a row, Bagnaia and Martin have been in a class of their own in MotoGP, with their championship battle set to culminate in next week’s Barcelona finale.

Their rivalry has taken place against the backdrop of Pramac rider Martin being snubbed for a promotion to the factory Ducati team next year, with six-time champion Marc Marquez instead being chosen for the coveted seat alongside Bagnaia.

While the changes instigated by Ducati made Martin lose faith in the Borgo Panigale marque and forge a new career path with Aprilia from 2025, he hasn’t allowed that decision to have any impact on his relationship with Bagnaia.

The Italian, too, has returned the favour, with both repeatedly emphasising the respect they have for each other as rivals.

Speaking again about the matter after engaging in an epic early battle for victory in the Malaysian GP, Bagnaia reiterated his intention to maintain a cordial relationship with his championship rival.

“For me it is very easy [to maintain harmony with Martin] because I’m not the type of guy that wants to be rude outside of the track and then need to be rude inside of the track or to be aggressive – pushing out and being the one that doesn’t respect rivals,” he said.

“I have never been like this and I will never be like this. If in case Jorge will start to do it, I will change, but Jorge is more or less the same as me. 

“Surely, respect is the main thing and will always be like this from my point of view. So I don’t understand why we need to be enemies outside of the track, not speak to each other and be rude. I prefer [it] like this.”

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Dorna

Both Martin and Bagnaia raced for Aspar Mahindra in Moto3 back in 2015 and have been a part of the grand prix paddock ever since.

That helped establish a solid foundation to their relationship, with the intensity of a title fight not enough to put a dent in the respect they have for each other on and off the track.

“We [have] known each other since 2015. We were really close friends in the past,” Martin said. “Now we no longer have that relationship but we are good to each other. 

“As he said, it’s no sense to [be enemies]. We can fight, you saw on Sunday, it’s an amazing battle for history. 

“Maybe not the last laps, but it was amazing [overall] and then we can speak about it. I think we both enjoyed it. 

“And as he said, if it’s like this in the future, for me it will be perfect, and I hope it will be like this always.”

MARIO BALOTELLI took just five minutes to pick up a yellow card in his return to Serie A.

The striker joined Genoa as a free agent last week after going a few months without a club.

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Balotelli was brought on as an 86th minute substitute with his side 1-0 up thanks to a goal from Andrea Pinamonti.

With the game winding down to a close Balotelli managed to get himself booked.

He was cautioned for a foul in the 90th minute, which means he has picked up a yellow and a red in his last six minutes of football.

The Italian was sent off in his last appearance for Demirspor at the end of last season.

Balotelli, 34, penned a deal until the end of the season with Genoa – the 12th club of his career.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano claims he only wanted to join Genoa following extensive talks with manager Alberto Gilardino.

The former Italy international appeared thrilled as he met with a group of supporters.

Balotelli is back in Serie A after three years away, having had two spells at Adana Demirspor either side of a brief stint at Sion.

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But the former Manchester City star has vowed to “smash” the league, saying: “Just because I wasn’t in Serie A (in recent years), what I did doesn’t count? F*** off, you and Serie A.

“It’s a promise, I’ll smash Serie A when I sign (for a new club), I’ll smash this f***ing Serie A.”