What the papers say

Manchester United are reportedly considering re-signing recently-released goalkeeper David de Gea. According to The Sun, United bosses are planning to offer the 32-year-old a short-term deal to return to Old Trafford as cover for when current keeper Andre Onana represents Cameroon in the Africa Cup of Nations in January. De Gea’s contract expired in the summer but he has yet to find a new club.

Birmingham Live reports Tammy Abraham could leave Roma to return to the Premier League at the end of the season. Citing TEAMTalk, they say the 26-year-old striker is the subject of interest from a number of Premier League clubs and would be open to a return to England. Abraham joined the Italian side from Chelsea in 2021.

And the Daily Mirror says Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen could be set for a return to the starting XI after impressing manager Erik ten Hag off the bench in the Red Devils’ 1-0 Champions League win over FC Copenhagen.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Joao Palhinha: German outlet Bild reports Bayern Munich are reconsidering their pursuit of the Fulham midfielder.

Jamal Musiala: Manchester City are exploring the possibility of signing the Bayern Munich winger, according to Spanish outlet Sport.

Luka Doncic played spoiler in number one draft pick Victor Wembanyama’s NBA debut as the Dallas Mavericks eclipsed the San Antonio Spurs 126-119.

After a solid start from the Spurs, the Mavericks were able to rally in the third quarter and hold on to their lead in the home stretch.

Doncic was central in Dallas’ third-quarter effort and finished with a 33-point triple-double.

Wembanyama had two threes in the opening quarter but was slowed by foul trouble until a fourth-quarter flourish lifted him to 15 points to go along with five rebounds.

New recruit Kristaps Porzingis played a pivotal role in seeing the Boston Celtics past the New York Knicks 108-104.

The former Knick combined with Jayson Tatum for 64 points, which included a tiebreaking three-pointer with 90 seconds left on the clock.

RJ Barrett scored 24 points for New York, while Immanuel Quickley added 24 off the bench.

Last season’s finalists the Miami Heat were pushed to their limit in a 103-102 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Miami looked to have victory all but sealed when they took a 19-point lead with nine minutes left.

Detroit were somehow able to claw their way back to within one, but ultimately fell short as Cade Cunningham missed a 30-foot jump shot at the buzzer.

It was also a close result in Brooklyn, where a late burst from Donovan Mitchell pushed the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Nets 114-113.

Mitchell scored 10 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, including a go-ahead three in the dying seconds.

A 25-point effort from PJ Washington helped the Charlotte Hornets down the Atlanta Hawks 116-110, and Zion Williamson scored 23 in the New Orleans Pelicans’ 111-104 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Elsewhere, the Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers opened their seasons with double-digit victories, while the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Portland Trail Blazers and the Toronto Raptors scraped past the Minnesota Timberwolves 97-94 in a low-scoring affair.

Harry Redknapp was appointed Tottenham manager following the sacking of Juande Ramos, on this day in 2008.

Ramos, who had lifted the League Cup just eight months previously, was dismissed following a dismal start to the season, with Spurs rock bottom of the Premier League table with just two points from eight games.

Chairman Daniel Levy paid £5million in compensation to Portsmouth to secure the release of Redknapp, who had won the FA Cup with Pompey the previous season.

Sporting director Damien Comolli was also sacked along with Ramos as Levy oversaw an overhaul of player recruitment.

Redknapp’s tenure began with a 2-0 victory over Bolton – the team’s first win in the league that season – on the day he was appointed.

When discussing his motivation for the move, Redknapp said: “I just thought maybe it was time to move on and Tottenham are a big, big club.

“I thought, ‘Let’s just give it a go before it is too late’.”

Victor Wembanyama scored 15 points in his much-anticipated NBA debut, but Luka Doncic took over down the stretch in the Dallas Mavericks’ 126-119 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.

Wembanyama scored his first NBA points with a 3-pointer at the 8:25 mark of the first quarter and added another 3 with under two minutes left in the opening quarter.

The 7-foot-4 phenom scored nine points in the final seven minutes after struggling with foul trouble in the fourth quarter.

He went 6 of 9 from the field with five rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block in 23 minutes.

Doncic was cleared to play an hour before tipoff after being listed as questionable with a left calf sprain and 33 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for his 57th career triple-double.

Doncic converted a three-point play with 2:19 remaining to put Dallas ahead 118-117 and Kyrie Irving answered Devin Vassell’s two free throws with a 3-pointer with 1:51 to play.

Doncic then stole the ball from Jeremy Sochan and fed Irving for a layup before sinking a 3 of his own with 30 seconds left to give the Mavs a 126-119 lead.

Irving had 22 points and Grant Williams and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 17 apiece.

Vassell led San Antonio with 23 points and Keldon Johnson had 17 with nine rebounds and seven assists.

Porzingis propels Celtics in debut

Kristaps Porzingis scored 30 points in his Celtics debut and Jayson Tatum added 34 points and 11 rebounds as Boston defeated the New York Knicks 108-104 in the season opener for both teams.

Porzingis, who finished with eight rebounds and four blocks, scored nine straight points down the stretch, including a 3-pointer with 1:29 remaining that snapped a 101-all tie.

He sank two free throws with 29 seconds left and Payton Pritchard also made a pair with 11 seconds to go.

RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley each scored 24 points for the Knicks, who took their first lead of the game with a 13-2 run to open the fourth quarter.

Gilgeous-Alexander leads Thunder past Bulls

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 31 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Chicago Bulls 124-104 in Chet Holmgren’s long-awaited NBA debut.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored seven points during a 12-0 run late in the third quarter to break open a one-point game.

He finished 12 of 18 from the field with 10 assists and five rebounds.

Holmgren tallied 11 points, four rebounds and three assists in his pro debut. He missed all last season with a foot injury after he was selected second overall in the 2022 draft.

DeMar DeRozan led Chicago with 20 points.

Wimbledon’s bold expansion plans will be considered by Merton Council at a committee meeting on Thursday.

The All England Club’s grounds will almost triple in size if the ambitious scheme is given the green light.

Wimbledon bought the lease of the neighbouring Wimbledon Park Golf Club for a reported £65million in 2018.

It plans to use the land to build 38 new courts, including a third show court with a capacity of 8,000 seats.

Wimbledon will then be able to hold the qualifying tournaments at the grounds, rather than their current home a couple of miles away in Roehampton.

In outlining its plans, the All England Club said: “The AELTC seeks continually to ensure that the Championships, proudly a local and national asset, remains a world-leading sporting event.

“Bringing the qualifying event on site in order to improve it to be worthy of our world-class player field, enhancing practice and junior event facilities and providing a third ‘show court’ are all measures aimed at ensuring Wimbledon remains the world’s premier tennis tournament, with all the associated substantial social and economic benefits that the event brings, locally and nationally.”

The plans were originally submitted in 2021 and Wimbledon chiefs anticipate that the new courts, if they get the go-ahead, will be ready for use in 2030.

However, the scheme has not gone down well with some local residents, and a petition to ‘Save Wimbledon Park’ currently has more than 13,000 signatures.

Wayne Rooney admits he will adapt his “no-fear football” philosophy at Birmingham after a 2-0 defeat to Hull because his players cannot do it.

Liam Delap’s 12th-minute goal and a superb solo effort from Jaden Philogene made it a miserable St Andrew’s debut for Rooney, who has lost his first two games in charge, up against his former Derby assistant Liam Rosenior.

“You need to be brave in taking the ball, but it’s clear from the first two games that the players aren’t comfortable doing that,” said Birmingham manager Rooney.

“So there will be slight adjustments of course because we need to pick up points as well.

“I can get players up the pitch, boot the ball up the pitch and look to pick up second balls, but we need to get the balance right.

“This is on me – maybe I’ve asked them to do too much and I take that responsibility. We’re asking them to play out from the back and be more front-footed.

“I said to the lads after the game ‘if you don’t feel you can do it, tell me, and we can adjust and adapt’.

“There’s so many different elements to no-fear football. They’ve had snots and guts for the last 10 years and it’s been very difficult.

“But it’s not going to change within two weeks when the players haven’t been used to a completely different way.

“As I’m getting to know players’ strengths and weaknesses, we will find that balance to ensure we get it right.”

Fans made their feelings known to Rooney at the end of the game while the team was booed off at half-time and full-time.

“That’s part of football. You need to win games to change that,” said Rooney.

Rosenior said Birmingham fans need to be patient with Rooney as he will turn things around.

“I’d be excited if I was a Birmingham fan because I worked with him for a long time. I know his qualities as a manager and a coach,” he said.

“I ask for Birmingham fans to give him time because I know Wayne and he will get it completely right.

“He’s got so many qualities – when you had the intelligence Wayne had as a player and see how he sees the game, he’s top in the way he understands players, he makes players feel really confident in the way they play, but once he gets that time, I’m sure he will be successful.”

Rosenior said his gameplan worked a treat.

“A legend has just walked into the club so we knew we had to take the sting out of the game,” he added.

“The first goal came from really good pressing that we worked on with Liam Delap, Scott Twine and Adama Traore. After that we had complete control.”

Eddie Howe felt Newcastle were dealt a “lesson” on the fine margins of the Champions League as Borussia Dortmund handed the Magpies a first defeat of their campaign.

After a goalless draw at AC Milan and a 4-1 win over Paris St Germain last time out, Newcastle were brought back down to earth as Felix Nmecha’s controlled finish gave Dortmund a 1-0 victory.

On a rain-sodden night at St James’ Park, Callum Wilson was denied by a superb save from Gregor Kobel then the crossbar while Anthony Gordon’s deflected strike also came off the goal frame late on.

Newcastle, though, lacked some impetus as a nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions came to an end, leaving them third in Group F, level on four points with Dortmund and two behind table-topping PSG.

“It was always going to be tight,” the Newcastle boss said. “There are top-quality teams in the group. Tonight is a blow, especially (losing) at home. A lesson in how fine the margins are going to be.

“The ball just wouldn’t go in for us. It was one of those nights. Callum had the first chance of the second half, that was a good one and then we hit the bar twice but just couldn’t force it in.

“Credit to the players, we never gave up, we kept doing the right things. We looked like a goal threat. But we have to be at our best to win and if you dip below that, it is tough to get results at this level.

“Any mistake you make is liable to get punished. We made one and seconds later we conceded so there is stuff we could have done better and when we analyse in the cold light of day, we will take a lot.”

A return trip to Dortmund in a fortnight’s time could prove instructive as to whether Newcastle will progress to the last 16 on their first appearance in Europe’s elite club competition in 20 years.

Their loss on Wednesday night was compounded by Alexander Isak limping off a quarter of an hour in with what appears to be a recurrence of a groin strain while second-half substitute Jacob Murphy was withdrawn five minutes after his introduction with a suspected dislocated shoulder.

“You look at some of the injuries, they are quite difficult to get your head around but we have to adjust,” Howe said.

“We can’t analyse too much, we have to regroup the players. We’re still in a very good position in the Premier League and Champions League.

“(The return game against Dortmund) is going to be hugely important. The next two away games, the league table looks very, very tight so they are great games for us, we have to approach them like that.

“Our lads are very honest and very focused on trying to win and achieve, there are some tired bodies and we have to recover for (the Premier League game at) Wolves (on Saturday).”

Dortmund head coach Edin Terzic hailed the display of Nmecha, who settled the contest after exploiting some space on the edge of the area and coolly slotting Nico Schlotterbeck’s cross beyond Nick Pope.

Nmecha, a former Manchester City youngster, was signed by Dortmund from Wolfsburg in the summer to fill the vacancy left by England midfielder Jude Bellingham, who left the Bundesliga club for Real Madrid.

“Felix is a brilliant player and we know about his potential and his talent and we knew he could improve our game – he had a fantastic game,” Terzic said.

“He finally managed to score, he had many opportunities in the first games of the season. This was a different role, he played more attacking. He had a rocky start in Dortmund and now he is in good form.”

As for Howe’s comments about Newcastle being given a lesson by Dortmund, Terzic responded: “That is nice to hear but it is just half-time, we face each other in a couple of weeks.

“We deserved in the first half and protected in the second half. We needed to be passionate, have some luck and a good goalie and we had all of that.”

Alex Neil hopes Stoke’s 1-0 victory over Leeds helps to breed confidence and belief in his players as they secured successive Championship wins.

Leeds substitute Patrick Bamford could have put the Whites in front 15 minutes from time after being brought down by Ben Pearson, but blasted the resulting penalty over.

It proved costly as moments later Stoke striker Wesley headed against the bar and it went in off Leeds skipper Pascal Struijk as the Potters emerged victorious.

The win followed three points picked up against Sunderland over the weekend and Stoke boss Neil felt his players were energised after Bamford’s missed penalty.

Neil said: “When you go and deliver against two of the better teams in the division and you get six points off the back of it, and you can see how much the lads have put in, I think it breeds confidence in everything we’re doing and that belief is massive.

“I thought there was good spells in the first half where we used the ball really well, I thought there was a 20 to 25 minute spell where we were really on top and probably had two or three good opportunities, but we didn’t really take any of them.

“I think we got a let-off with the penalty, that was the one moment that rode in our favour and then we go up the other end, and I thought the fans completely blew the roof off once the penalty was missed, you could see our players get a bit of energy from that, and we went on and won the game.”

Leeds boss Daniel Farke felt his side missed the game’s biggest chance and Stoke took full advantage of that situation to net the winner.

He said: “You have to be clinical in using your chances and today we missed the biggest chance with the penalty and then you could feel for one or two moments a bit disappointed and the whole stadium was buzzing because we missed the penalty.

“They used this in order to create one or two set-pieces and out of the second they were able to score.

“This is football – we didn’t give one chance out of the game away in the second half, but because we missed this penalty and didn’t put the game to bed, we were for this one moment not switched on and they were able to use this chance and once they were in the lead with just 10 minutes to go, they tried everything, put their bodies on the line to block every shot.

“It’s the Championship, it’s relentless, so congratulations to Stoke and a hard-fought win but I also get the feeling you should travel away with points.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers hailed his side’s “terrific performance” after a 2-2 Champions League draw with Atletico Madrid.

Celtic twice took the lead in the first half through Kyogo Furuhashi and Luis Palma, who netted shortly after Antoine Griezmann had netted the rebound from his own penalty.

Celtic played with pace, purpose and confidence in the first half and both goals came after excellent moves, but they could not keep up the tempo after the break and Alvaro Morata levelled eight minutes into the second half.

Rodgers said: “I thought it was a terrific performance, especially the first 45 minutes – the quality of our football, the speed in our pressing and in our game, everything we would want.

“We were unfortunate with the penalty. One, it was very harsh, and, two, they got the good fortune after the save hits the post and comes straight to the player.

“But our reaction was superb, everything I wanted in terms of playing together, pressing and the intensity and a really aggressive mentality and then having the courage to play.

“We expected them second half to have a spell in the game but they didn’t create so much. Their equaliser was fantastic, the early cross and great finish.

“But we kept fighting and showed we can compete with a top-level team.

“It will give us confidence to know we can create opportunities and play the football we want to play. The team pressed the game well and passed it for a lot of the game.”

Rodgers, who revealed Reo Hatate had suffered a hamstring injury, which forced him off for Paulo Bernardo inside seven minutes, admitted it was difficult to maintain the intensity for 90 minutes.

Celtic never looked like taking the lead for a third time, despite Atletico going down to 10 men in the 82nd minute.

He added: “There’s a wee bit of tiredness that comes in the last 20 minutes because we are not used to playing at that tempo and against that level of opponent, so naturally a wee bit of fatigue kicks in. We also had to make an early sub with Reo’s injury.

“It was a really big performance but we couldn’t quite get the result we were looking for.”

Celtic are bottom of the group with one point from three games ahead of trips to Madrid and Lazio, the latter of whom have four points.

Rodgers said: “We wanted to get three points but if you can’t get the win then don’t lose it, and I don’t think we looked like losing. I can see development for sure.

“We have shown we can perform and we go into the other three trying to get as many points as we can and see where it takes us.”

Atletico manager Diego Simeone admitted his side had struggled to deal with Celtic in the first half.

“As expected, they started really well, as they did in their first two games,” he said.

“We really struggled to contain them early on and they scored with their first attack. We managed to respond but they quickly scored a fantastic goal.

“The first half didn’t go as we would have liked but I was really pleased with the second half, it was a real Champions League performance. We showed a lot of personality and responsibility.”

Simeone, who brought on Marcos Llorente and Rodrigo Riquelme at half-time, added: “In the first half we didn’t have the speed the game required, we weren’t up to scratch and they combined well in our half.

“But the subs had a big impact and we had better solutions in our passing game.”

Pep Guardiola claimed there is no pressure on Erling Haaland to score more goals after the Norwegian’s double sank Young Boys on Wednesday.

Haaland struck twice in the second half as the holders claimed a hard-fought 3-1 win over the Swiss side in their Champions League Group G encounter on the artificial surface at Bern’s Wankdorf Stadium.

The game had been in the balance after Meschack Elia had cancelled out Switzerland international Manuel Akanji’s opener with a superb strike.

Haaland’s goals were his first in six Champions League games while his effort against Brighton on Saturday ended a three-game scoreless run – relative barren spells for a player who plundered 52 in total last season.

Guardiola said: “There is the impression after last season that he has to score seven goals every single game. That is impossible.

“But he is scoring a lot of goals and if people want him to fail because he doesn’t score 50 goals it doesn’t matter. He is always there.

“The second goal was really good and he had other chances. The important thing is to create them.

“Maybe in the right moment of the season he will be there, better than now, but he has already scored a lot of goals and we are really pleased.

“I’ve told him many times I don’t judge him for scoring goals, although I know he wants to score goals. He has the desire to improve and I don’t have doubts about that.”

City’s victory, sealed with a Haaland penalty and a clever late finish, was their third in succession and took them a step closer to the knockout stages.

They could reach the last-16 for an 11th consecutive season with a follow-up win over the same opposition at the Etihad Stadium in a fortnight.

“The result was good and in general it was a really good performance,” said Guardiola, whose side had 26 attempts on goal. “We could have scored more goals but is the important thing is to create the chances.”

Guardiola added that Phil Foden did not play because of a “small problem” while Julian Alvarez, who had a goal disallowed after coming off the bench, was not able to play the full game.

Young Boys coach Raphael Wicky felt his side gave a good account of themselves.

He said: “That courage and passion, we can be proud of what the team delivered, but you need a perfect game against a team like this. We couldn’t do it.

“Perfect means taking your chances and not conceding from set-pieces. We’re disappointed with the result, but we can be proud of the team’s performance.”

Rotherham boss Matt Taylor said even a fire alarm after his side’s 2-0 win at the New York Stadium over Coventry could not dampen the mood.

The Millers registered just their second victory of the season as second-half goals from Lee Peltier and Ollie Rathbone secured a vital three points.

But there was drama at the end as a small fire in the East Stand of the New York Stadium led to an evacuation, with fans in the hospitality areas and members of the press forced to gather outside.

Taylor revealed his players were also initially asked to leave, but were eventually allowed to stay in the dressing room once the situation was contained.

The boss said: “It was a strange course of events at the end. You know Rotherham United, nothing ever is straightforward, being told that we had to leave the stadium on a high.

“We were on our way out and then told to get come back in. The truth of the matter is that not many players left the dressing room.

“There was a bit of confusion so if this happens again, we have to do better.

“I don’t think anyone is surprised with what happened. Things don’t surprise us here.

“Hopefully that doesn’t take anything away from the win.

“My main message after the game was that I have stood there hurt and they have listened to me being hurt enough times to make sure we enjoy these moments. That was a big three points.”

Coventry boss Mark Robins said he has not felt as disappointed over a defeat for some time.

The Sky Blues had several opportunities to both take the lead and then draw level, but could not find a way past Millers goalkeeper Viktor Johansson.

“It was disappointing, I can’t remember being as disappointed for a long time,” Robins said.

“I don’t think we have done enough any way. We were in control in the first half, but we were missing 10 per cent and were sloppy. But we created some decent opportunities, the keeper has made some good saves.

“This is what happens in Championship football. Unless you can muster more intent and more energy to go and make it happen you get hurt. What we did was the opposite.

“Despite all those things I have spoken about, we still had enough chances to win the game.

“I think we got what we deserved in the end. We have lost because we have not made the most of the opportunities. We have given them hope and they took their opportunities.

“If you’re a little bit off it you get punished.”

Russell Martin hailed Southampton’s resilience after a last-gasp Ched Evans own goal secured them a valuable 2-2 draw at Preston.

Goals from Milutin Osmajic and Brad Potts in three second-half minutes set Preston on course for victory until Evans diverted a 96th-minute corner into his own net while under pressure from Saints goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu.

Kyle Walker-Peters had put Southampton ahead in the first half and Martin was pleased with their performance, despite the need for a late equaliser.

“It’s frustrating that we’ve had to pretty much rely on a late goal to get a point, but I’m really happy with the way we’ve performed over the 90 minutes,” he said.

“It’s a dramatic one I know, but the two 10-minute periods either side of half-time have cost us in the end.

“We needed to defend our box much better, but when they scored twice pretty quickly it seemed to energise Preston and their fans and that didn’t help our situation.

“I can’t be unhappy with the performance overall and I won’t criticise the players, because we’ve had to make changes again tonight and the lads who came in were great.

“The lads showed plenty of resilience throughout and I was proud with the way they kept going right until the end.

“There will be question marks about certain selections over the next few days, but considering those changes we’ve been having to make, we’re still on a decent run.”

Southampton are fifth in the table following the result, while Preston are one spot above and one point better off despite their winless run extending to six games.

They travel to face Hull on Saturday and manager Ryan Lowe admits he has to pick his players up from the blow of conceding so late.

“First and foremost I’m really proud of the boys,” he said.

“We had to change the shape at half-time and then in the second half we’ve stuck to the gameplan really well.

“It’s a sucker punch at the end, but I’ve no complaints about that one. We should have seen the game out by that stage.

“I’ve had to lift the lads up, they’re all disappointed because we were worthy of getting the three points.

“We’ve got to pick ourselves up for another big game at the weekend now.

“The Championship is a rocky road, there’s always lots of ups and downs, but I never get too frustrated any more because I know the players always give me 100 per cent effort and application.

“We’ve got a squad we can rotate and everyone knows they have to keep performing.”

Kieran McKenna called any comparison between his Ipswich team and Sir Alf Ramsey’s “premature” after their 1-0 win at Bristol City.

The young manager saw Nathan Broadhead’s low 16th-minute shot secure a 10th Championship win from 12 games, improving on the club’s previous best start to a season in the second tier under Ramsey in 1960-61.

Both sides hit a post in a thrilling encounter, skipper Sam Morsy for Ipswich at the end of the first half and substitute Harry Cornick for City when his shot rolled agonisingly along the goal-line before being cleared.

Ipswich survived a late onslaught and a delighted McKenna said: “We are enjoying the moment, but any comparison with great Ipswich teams and managers of the past is certainly premature.

“We want our fans to go on dreaming, but we are keeping feet firmly on the ground. This game showed how difficult it is to win Championship fixtures.

“For 65 minutes we played some really good football after they had made a good start and when we needed to show resilience at the end we did.

“Again the players have shown their thirst for winning matches. They were committed and we defended with organisation and spirit against a very good team.

“Perhaps we were a bit rusty at the start, but after that we began to play really well.

“We are aware that it is a unique start and that’s great. A gap is opening below Leicester City and ourselves, but we aren’t looking too closely at that because there is a very long way to go.”

City boss Nigel Pearson said: “We could feel unlucky because we played well.

“They are a good side and I couldn’t have asked more of my players. It was a really good game.

“You could see why they are on a good run, but we stretched them to the limit and they will be happy to have gone home with all three points.

“We maybe let them off the hook at times, not quite being able to find that elusive goal, but there were a lot of positives.

“Our substitutes had the desired impact, with Harry Cornick doing well in that respect.

“If we can perform like that with what at the moment is a narrow squad, then it augurs well.

“We have a number of injuries and hopefully we will get some players back over the next week or two.

“I can see why Ipswich are where they are in the table. They have good players, but also clearly a good atmosphere behind them.

“They play with a lot of togetherness.”