Category: Football (Soccer)

• Brazilian scores twice in 5-1 victory at Camp Nou

• Torres scores hat-trick as PSG thump Slovan Bratislava

Raphinha let his goals do the talking after being omitted from the Ballon d’Or shortlist, striking twice as Barcelona eased to a 5-1 win over Feyenoord in the Champions League.

The Brazilian was a surprise omission from this week’s 30-strong list of candidates for the prestigious award but brushed any disappointment aside to continue his early season hot streak at a rain-soaked Camp Nou. The forward finished brilliantly in the third minute and added a second just before the hour mark to down the Eredivisie side and take his tally to eight goals in six outings at the start of the campaign.

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Martin Ødegaard’s goal proved enough for Arsenal to start their campaign with three points

2 min: Arsenal are wearing red shorts. Full marks for considering those with colour blindness, and acting with compassion. It doesn’t look good, mind. It’s just not Arsenal.

After a moment to remember the victims of the devastating floods in Nepal, Arsenal get the ball rolling. A blistering atmosphere at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona; did anyone expect anything else?

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Liverpool came from behind to beat Atlético, while PSG walloped Slovan Bratislava and Chelsea won a wild League Cup tie with Leeds

In Barcelona, by the way, Shaqueel van Persie has come on for Feyenoord, making his European debut. Any idea who his old fella is?

On which point, have you seen Liam van Nistelrooy’s running gait?

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• United play Sabah, then Manchester City on Sunday

• ‘To win the Champions League was the ultimate’

Michael Carrick is excited to lead Manchester United on their return to the “magical” Champions League but admitted playing on Thursday night was “not ideal” with the derby on Sunday.

United welcome Sabah to Old Trafford after a two-year Champions League absence. The Azerbaijani club are making their debut among Europe’s elite, having been in existence for less than a decade.

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• Forward says incident was ‘a little interesting’

• Heading practice with Alf Inge helped with opener

Erling Haaland has claimed Pablo Rosario “grabbed my bottom” during Manchester City’s 2-0 win at Porto on Tuesday. The incident occurred in the 92nd minute, with Haaland having scored City’s goals. The forward and midfielder grappled, went to ground and were booked after being separated.

“I was really keen on a hat-trick and it seemed like he was very eager to stop me from getting it,” Haaland told Norway’s TV 2. “It was a little interesting, that – you’ll be seeing a picture where he’s grabbing my bottom. It’ll be interesting to see that picture.”

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Villa’s new centre forward Nicolas Jackson scored the decisive goal as they held firm to win a thriller in Bruges

Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice have been nominated for this year’s men’s Ballon d’Or while Alessia Russo and Alex Greenwood have been nominated for the women’s award.

The 30 men’s and 30 women’s nominees were revealed by France Football magazine on Tuesday, with the winners to be announced at a ceremony in London on 26 October. Ousmane Dembélé, who won the men’s award last year, has been nominated again, as has his France teammate Kylian Mbappé, who made history when he overtook Lionel Messi for all-time World Cup goals (22) at this summer’s tournament.

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Real Madrid edge Inter 2-1, while there are 3-2 wins for Borussia Dortmund over Villarreal and Real Betis at Lille

Inter, meanwhile, look solid. They’ve won three from three in Serie A, and will, I think, look to clutter the centre of the pitch. That’s another reason I’d like to have seen Diomande on from the start, but Mourinho has – unusually for him – done without a defensively-minded midfielder. I’m looking forward to seeing how Curtis Jones does, as I think he’s a good player who’ll thrive with regular selection and greater responsibility. And there’s no disputing the danger Inter offer up front; I don’t fancy either Madrid centre-back against Thuram and Martinez.

Our main focus here, though, will be on Madrid v Inter. Mourinho’s men lost at Betis last weekend, and are without the suspended Eduardo Camvinga, Bernardo Silva and Arda Guler. As such Trent Alexander-Arnold comes in on the right of the central three – a move I doubt Aurelien Tchouameni likes all that much. I can’t say I think Alexander-Arnold is much use in that position – as Gary Neville once noted, most right-backs are failed midfielders – but he’s capable of creating something from nothing. I guess I’d quite like to see Yan Diomande on the right, but i’m not surprised Mourinho wants the extra body in midfield that Brahim Diaz can become.

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