Kevin De Bruyne insists he is “way ahead” of schedule on his return from a hamstring injury that cut short his appearance in Manchester City’s Champions League final win.

The 32-year-old scored 10 goals and provided 31 assists as City won the treble last season, adding the FA Cup and Champions League to a fifth Premier League crown in six years.

De Bruyne revealed that he was carrying a hamstring injury for the last two months of the campaign and was forced off just 36 minutes into the 1-0 win over Inter Milan in June.

His first action back was off the bench as a second-half substitute in Sunday’s Community Shield meeting with Arsenal – where he set up Cole Palmer for the opening goal but then missed the first penalty as the Gunners won a shoot-out 4-1.

“I’m way ahead of schedule,” he said after the Wembley clash.

“I was probably looking to be back around the game vs Seville (in the Super Cup on August 16). I just enjoyed my summer, worked on my injury.

“I came back and the scan was good so I trained mostly alone in Japan. That went well, I’m happy.

“You don’t know how the injury will be. Mostly in the past I’ve always been quite a quick healer. It’s the body.”

City begin the defence of their league title with a trip to Sky Bet Championship winners Burnley on Friday night.

De Bruyne, though, admits he does not know if he will be fit enough to start at Turf Moor.

“I don’t know how I am physically,” added the Belgium international.

“I’ve probably trained five or six times with the team. I’m not too worried about it. I played 45 minutes at a good level so I’m happy with that.

“I’m getting better and there’s still around 70-80 games this year so I should be fine!”

Pep Guardiola has yet to confirm who will take over as City’s new captain this season after Ilkay Gundogan departed for Barcelona.

Kyle Walker – linked with a move to Bayern Munich this summer – led City out at Wembley, while De Bruyne took the armband when he replaced Mateo Kovacic on 64 minutes.

Asked about the captaincy, De Bruyne replied: “Nothing yet. I don’t know.

“If I get it, I get it. It’s not going to change anything I do for the club. This is my ninth year, I know the club inside out and people know whatever they ask of me, I’ll do.

“I’m not too worried. I try to do the same as always. It’s an honour if I get it and if not, it doesn’t matter.”

Spycatcher will be targeted at the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock following his near-miss in Sunday’s Prix Maurice de Gheest.

Having impressed in a Group Three at the track four weeks earlier, the five-year-old returned to Deauville for Sunday’s Group One feature and looked set to provide trainer Karl Burke with a first top-level success in almost four years when quickening clear of the field.

In the end he was mowed down by King Gold, with just a short head separating the pair at the line.

Burke said: “It was a bit frustrating as it was literally a nod of the heads, wasn’t it? Sometimes they go for you and sometimes they go against you, it’s just a shame it went against us in a Group One.

“I think he was probably the best horse in the race. Take nothing away from the winner, who stays really well, whereas we have that turn of foot and got away from them by that two or three lengths and probably thought we had the race in the bag at the furlong pole.

“The winner just cut us down and then we battled back again, credit to Spycatcher, but it was heads up heads down and it went against us.”

The Spigot Lodge handler is now hoping similarly testing conditions prevail on Merseyside on September 9 to give his charge the best chance of going one better ahead of a likely tilt at the Qipco British Champions Sprint at Ascot in October.

“Fingers crossed he stays in one piece and Haydock will be the plan, presuming the ground is right, and also Champions Day at Ascot, which nine times out of 10 does come up in our favour,” he added.

“We’re in the lap of the gods really as if either of those races are run on fast ground he won’t be there, but hopefully we’ll find some nice sprint races for him here or in France or wherever.”

Two and a half lengths behind his stablemate in fourth at Deauville was Cold Case, who Burke feels is now in need of more of a stamina test.

“He ran well, Cliff (Lee, jockey) just felt he was a little bit behind the bridle for whatever reason and he didn’t show his usual dash,” said the trainer.

“A step up in trip is definitely in the offing for him. He’ll go up to seven furlongs and we’ll probably try him at a mile before the season’s out.

“He’s a high-class horse but is probably not at that level just yet. Something like the Park Stakes at Doncaster next month could be a good one for him.”

England boss Sarina Wiegman admitted “sweetest person” Lauren James “lost her emotions” as she received a red card that could see the 21-year-old miss the remainder of the World Cup.

The Lionesses advanced to the quarter-finals after surviving James’ dismissal late in the second half to beat Nigeria on penalties, with Euro 2022 hero Chloe Kelly scoring the winning spot-kick in a 4-2 shoot-out success.

James’ brace and two assists earned her player-of-the-match honours against China, but this time she was sent off after it was ruled she had deliberately stepped on the back of Nigeria defender Michelle Alozie with three minutes of normal time remaining of a game that ended goalless after 120 minutes.

Wiegman, who had not watched the incident back, said: “She’s an inexperienced player on this stage and has done really well, and I think in a split second she just lost her emotions.

“And of course she doesn’t want to hurt anyone. She’s the sweetest person I know, and things happen like that and you can’t change it anymore, so it’s a huge lesson for her to learn, but of course it’s not something that she really did on purpose.”

Wiegman said she personally delivered a similar speech to James, adding: “Of course she apologised and she felt really, really bad.”

James became the fourth England player to be sent off in a World Cup knockout match after David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and current England captain Millie Bright, who was shown a second yellow against the United States in the 2019 semi-finals.

Chelsea forward James, who made her World Cup debut against Haiti, faces at minimum a one-match ban, but that could be extended by FIFA’s disciplinary committee to three which would see her miss the rest of the tournament even if the Lionesses reach the final.

England’s spirits were high to begin Monday night’s contest in Brisbane, where midfielder Keira Walsh made a remarkable return from what many thought was a tournament-ending knee injury 10 days ago against Denmark.

Walsh played 120 minutes against Nigeria before being substituted but Wiegman said: “She was cramping a little bit, so we had to take her off, but she’s OK.”

Wiegman benefitted from a healthy side en route to England’s Euro 2022 triumph, but after dealing with multiple injury problems in the run-up to the tournament and coping without key presence Walsh and now breakout talent James, she admitted: “I have never experienced so many problems, but of course it’s my job to think of things that can happen in a game or in a tournament or ahead of the tournament.

“So you try to turn every stone, and then try to already think of a solution if things happen, and today we got totally tested on those turned stones.”

Nigeria had impressed throughout the group stage and were no different against England, twice hitting the crossbar and frustrating the Lionesses by employing a higher press for this knockout encounter.

But England held on in James’ absence to ensure their destiny would be decided by spot-kicks, with Bethany England, Rachel Daly, Alex Greenwood and Kelly all scoring after Georgia Stanway fired the first wide.

“I’m really proud of the team,” added Wiegman. “We’ve had many setbacks. I think this (James red card) was a big one too.

“We had to reorganise and do something else on the pitch and we didn’t need any minute to do so.

“And of course players got really, really tired, but we really stuck together and showed a lot of resilience.”

Nigeria head coach Randy Waldrum, whose contract with his federation is soon set to expire, said: “They just played their heart out. I couldn’t be more proud of them. I take away that we can be and probably should be one of the top teams in the world.

“I certainly hope that FIFA ranking goes from 40 to a better number than that, but more importantly I think we’ve shown that we’re capable of playing with anybody.

“I think we gave some teams that are still alive in this tournament at least a blueprint of how to approach (England).”

England boss Sarina Wiegman admitted “sweetest person” Lauren James “lost her emotions” as she received a red card that could see the 21-year-old miss the remainder of the World Cup.

The Lionesses advanced to the quarter-finals after surviving James’ dismissal late in the second half to beat Nigeria on penalties, with Euro 2022 hero Chloe Kelly scoring the winning spot-kick in a 4-2 shoot-out success.

James’ brace and two assists earned her player-of-the-match honours against China, but this time she was sent off after it was ruled she had deliberately stepped on the back of Nigeria defender Michelle Alozie with three minutes of normal time remaining of a game that ended goalless after 120 minutes.

Wiegman, who had not watched the incident back, said: “She’s an inexperienced player on this stage and has done really well, and I think in a split second she just lost her emotions.

“And of course she doesn’t want to hurt anyone. She’s the sweetest person I know, and things happen like that and you can’t change it anymore, so it’s a huge lesson for her to learn, but of course it’s not something that she really did on purpose.”

Wiegman said she personally delivered a similar speech to James, adding: “Of course she apologised and she felt really, really bad.”

James became the fourth England player to be sent off in a World Cup knockout match after David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and current England captain Millie Bright, who was shown a second yellow against the United States in the 2019 semi-finals.

Chelsea forward James, who made her World Cup debut against Haiti, faces at minimum a one-match ban, but that could be extended by FIFA’s disciplinary committee to three which would see her miss the rest of the tournament even if the Lionesses reach the final.

England’s spirits were high to begin Monday night’s contest in Brisbane, where midfielder Keira Walsh made a remarkable return from what many thought was a tournament-ending knee injury 10 days ago against Denmark.

Walsh played 120 minutes against Nigeria before being substituted but Wiegman said: “She was cramping a little bit, so we had to take her off, but she’s OK.”

Wiegman benefitted from a healthy side en route to England’s Euro 2022 triumph, but after dealing with multiple injury problems in the run-up to the tournament and coping without key presence Walsh and now breakout talent James, she admitted: “I have never experienced so many problems, but of course it’s my job to think of things that can happen in a game or in a tournament or ahead of the tournament.

“So you try to turn every stone, and then try to already think of a solution if things happen, and today we got totally tested on those turned stones.”

Nigeria had impressed throughout the group stage and were no different against England, twice hitting the crossbar and frustrating the Lionesses by employing a higher press for this knockout encounter.

But England held on in James’ absence to ensure their destiny would be decided by spot-kicks, with Bethany England, Rachel Daly, Alex Greenwood and Kelly all scoring after Georgia Stanway fired the first wide.

“I’m really proud of the team,” added Wiegman. “We’ve had many setbacks. I think this (James red card) was a big one too.

“We had to reorganise and do something else on the pitch and we didn’t need any minute to do so.

“And of course players got really, really tired, but we really stuck together and showed a lot of resilience.”

Nigeria head coach Randy Waldrum, whose contract with his federation is soon set to expire, said: “They just played their heart out. I couldn’t be more proud of them. I take away that we can be and probably should be one of the top teams in the world.

“I certainly hope that FIFA ranking goes from 40 to a better number than that, but more importantly I think we’ve shown that we’re capable of playing with anybody.

“I think we gave some teams that are still alive in this tournament at least a blueprint of how to approach (England).”

Owen Farrell says England will “use it to our advantage” whether they go into the World Cup viewed as favourites or a team under the radar.

Current results suggest the latter, with England having finished fourth in last season’s Guinness Six Nations and standing sixth on the official World Rugby rankings list.

Farrell will head to his third World Cup – and second as captain – and lead a squad that includes 16 players with no previous experience of the sport’s biggest tournament.

“If we go in as favourites or go in under the radar, we will use it to our advantage either way. We are working away quietly,” Farrell said.

“Tournament rugby is a lot about pressure. It’s bigger than anything you usually play in, and there is a lot of outside noise.

“We might not have as much of that, but the big thing is controlling what is happening in camp and not worry about the external factors which don’t really matter. We will look forward to getting the best out of ourselves either way.

“You go into World Cups and people talk about favourites and say, ‘it’s theirs to lose’ – but it doesn’t work like that. Just look at the football World Cup when Argentina lost to Saudi Arabia.

“The whole thing for the team is to get the most out of ourselves, and we are looking forward to it. The opportunity for us is brilliant, and now that the squad is selected we can really rip in.”

While there was jubilation for England head coach Steve Borthwick’s final 33-strong World Cup group, surprise omissions included the likes of 57 times-capped Exeter centre Henry Slade and Harlequins number eight Alex Dombrandt.

Farrell added: “I have not spoken to him (Slade) yet. I shared a room with Henry for the past four weeks, so I will definitely be getting in touch with him.

“People will need to be used over the course of this next 12 weeks. It is not going to stay the same.

“People need to stay ready, people need to make sure they are ready if anything happens. Those boys who have just missed out have a big part of this preparation.

“When it comes to any squad, there is a lot of competition, especially England. There were always going to be good players that missed out.”

Saracens flanker Ben Earl was among those who made the cut, with a first World Cup now awaiting him after being in and out of England squads since making his Test debut almost three years ago.

Borthwick relayed selection news – or otherwise – to his players in Cardiff on Sunday following the 20-9 World Cup warm-up defeat against Wales.

“It was early, about nine o’clock,” Earl said. “I had just got up. I had a bit of a sleepless night.

“The back row is so competitive – the boys who have missed out, what great players and what great blokes.

“You do have to pinch yourself that you are going to a World Cup. It did seem at times over the last 18 months a long way off.

“Over the last two years, I’ve had a bit of an up and down journey in terms of being in and out of the squad.

“But I have enjoyed some successes at the club and I am probably more of a rounded individual now than I was a couple of years ago.”

Steve Borthwick has defended his decision to pick only one specialist number eight in England’s World Cup squad by stating Billy Vunipola is in the shape of his life.

Henry Slade’s absence from the 33 players who will depart for France next month provided the biggest selection shock, but close behind was the omission of Alex Dombrandt.

England’s first-choice number eight throughout the Six Nations failed to make the required impression in Saturday’s final trial match against Wales, which ended in a tame 20-9 defeat.

Vunipola is the only option with expertise in the position but the 30-year-old Saracen has been sidelined since mid-April after undergoing two knee surgeries and has yet to play under Borthwick.

Borthwick has witnessed enough, however, to believe he can make an impression on his third World Cup.

“Billy has been fantastic in this training camp. I’ve seen just how hard he’s worked to come back from his injury,” England’s head coach said.

“He looks in great shape and is the fittest I’ve ever seen him. His experience will add to this squad.

“I’ve had the opportunity to work with him for a long period of time now and the opportunity to understand what the team needs.”

Taking a second specialist number eight to the tournament is seen by Borthwick as a luxury England cannot afford.

Instead, he has stocked his back-row contingent with players who can cover multiple positions with Lewis Ludlam, Ben Earl and Tom Curry alternatives if Vunipola becomes unavailable.

“Alex has done really well and has trained well. He’s a very, very good player,” Borthwick said.

“There’s a lot of competition in the back row and there’s also flexibility around those positions.

“Lewis Ludlam has the ability to play six, seven and eight. Ben Earl has the ability to play seven and eight. Curry seven, eight and six.

“There’s a lot of flexibility there and for me it’s about making the decision on the right combination and ultimately that’s what it’s come down to.”

Slade has lost out to Joe Marchant, who alongside Ludlam was one of only two players to emerge from the wreckage at the Principality Stadium on Saturday with his reputation enhanced.

Borthwick indicated that the decision to take three front line fly-halves in Owen Farrell, George Ford and Marcus Smith to ensure there is adequate cover in the event of injury or suspension ultimately cost the Exeter centre.

“Henry has been excellent throughout the training camps,” said Borthwick, who repeatedly declined to say if he believed England can win the World Cup.

“I decided we’d have three players in key positions – front row, scrum-half, fly-half – for the obvious reasons. That means in the other areas of the team you need to have positional flexibility.

“Henry was clearly disappointed but the message to all the players who haven’t been selected is to be ready to come into the squad.

“We know there will be changes. Past World Cups show there are always bumps and bruises and there will be changes.”

Other big names to miss out are wings Jonny May and Joe Cokanasiga, both of whom played in the World Cup four years ago.

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Rookie Leicester duo Ollie Chessum and George Martin are present, while inexperienced hookers Theo Dan and Jack Walker supply cover for veteran Jamie George.

Henry Arundell offers X-factor in the threequarters with his selection coming at the expense of Cokanasiga.

Courtney Lawes, Dan Cole and Ben Youngs will be appearing at their fourth World Cups in a squad that contains more than 1,400 caps and is comprised of 19 forwards and 14 backs.

Farrell was confirmed as captain last month with Lawes and Ellis Genge acting as his vice skippers.

England boss Sarina Wiegman admitted “sweetest person” Lauren James “lost her emotions” as she received a red card that could see the 21-year-old miss the remainder of the World Cup.

The Lionesses advanced to the quarter-finals after surviving James’ dismissal late in the second half to beat Nigeria on penalties, with Euro 2022 hero Chloe Kelly scoring the winning spot-kick in a 4-2 shoot-out success.

James’ brace and two assists earned her player-of-the-match honours against China, but this time she was sent off after it was ruled she had deliberately stepped on the back of Nigeria defender Michelle Alozie with three minutes of normal time remaining of a game that ended goalless after 120 minutes.

Wiegman, who had not watched the incident back, said: “She’s an inexperienced player on this stage and has done really well, and I think in a split second she just lost her emotions.

“And of course she doesn’t want to hurt anyone. She’s the sweetest person I know, and things happen like that and you can’t change it anymore, so it’s a huge lesson for her to learn, but of course it’s not something that she really did on purpose.”

Wiegman said she personally delivered a similar speech to James, adding: “Of course she apologised and she felt really, really bad.”

James became the fourth England player to be sent off in a World Cup knockout match after David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and current England captain Millie Bright, who was shown a second yellow against the United States in the 2019 semi-finals.

Chelsea forward James, who made her World Cup debut against Haiti, faces at minimum a one-match ban, but that could be extended by FIFA’s disciplinary committee to three which would see her miss the rest of the tournament even if the Lionesses reach the final.

England’s spirits were high to begin Monday night’s contest in Brisbane, where midfielder Keira Walsh made a remarkable return from what many thought was a tournament-ending knee injury 10 days ago against Denmark.

Walsh played 120 minutes against Nigeria before being substituted but Wiegman said: “She was cramping a little bit, so we had to take her off, but she’s OK.”

Wiegman benefitted from a healthy side en route to England’s Euro 2022 triumph, but after dealing with multiple injury problems in the run-up to the tournament and coping without key presence Walsh and now breakout talent James, she admitted: “I have never experienced so many problems, but of course it’s my job to think of things that can happen in a game or in a tournament or ahead of the tournament.

“So you try to turn every stone, and then try to already think of a solution if things happen, and today we got totally tested on those turned stones.”

Nigeria had impressed throughout the group stage and were no different against England, twice hitting the crossbar and frustrating the Lionesses by employing a higher press for this knockout encounter.

But England held on in James’ absence to ensure their destiny would be decided by spot-kicks, with Bethany England, Rachel Daly, Alex Greenwood and Kelly all scoring after Georgia Stanway fired the first wide.

“I’m really proud of the team,” added Wiegman. “We’ve had many setbacks. I think this (James red card) was a big one too.

“We had to reorganise and do something else on the pitch and we didn’t need any minute to do so.

“And of course players got really, really tired, but we really stuck together and showed a lot of resilience.”

Nigeria head coach Randy Waldrum, whose contract with his federation is soon set to expire, said: “They just played their heart out. I couldn’t be more proud of them. I take away that we can be and probably should be one of the top teams in the world.

“I certainly hope that FIFA ranking goes from 40 to a better number than that, but more importantly I think we’ve shown that we’re capable of playing with anybody.

“I think we gave some teams that are still alive in this tournament at least a blueprint of how to approach (England).”

Quinault could bid to extend his remarkable winning sequence to seven at the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup on Saturday.

Having begun the season with a basement rating of just 59, the Stuart Williams-trained three-year-old has rattled off six successive victories, seeing his mark rise to a much loftier perch of 97.

Mill Stream, who was beaten a nose by Quinault in a valuable sprint handicap at Newmarket’s July meeting, gave the form a significant boost with a dominant Listed success in France on Sunday.

Williams though is looking at another handicap for his fast-improving speedster and views Saturday’s Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Sprint as a suitable target.

“I’ve been very happy with him since the July meeting, he’s been training well,” he said.

“I’ve just entered him for the Shergar Cup on Saturday in the six-furlong race for three-year-olds only. Hopefully that will be his next port of call.”

With jockeys in the Shergar Cup team competition allocated by a series of ballots, Williams will have no say in who rides Quinault in Berkshire.

But with world-class riders like Frankie Dettori, Olivier Peslier, Tom Marquand and Hollie Doyle among those set to be in action, the Newmarket-based trainer is not overly concerned.

He added: “They’ve got some top-class jockeys, so you’d be hopeful that whoever rides him will be able to ride him fine. He’s not a difficult ride on the racecourse.

“He’s obviously surprised us – you wouldn’t have said at the start of the season he’d have a rating pushing 100 at this stage of the year.

“He hasn’t run on anything softer than good ground, but it’s usually fairly good on the straight course at Ascot unless it rains on the day and it’s supposed to be dry towards the end of the week so I can’t see it being a problem.”

Aston Villa captain John McGinn is in line for an Easter Road return after his side were paired with Hibernian or Luzern in the Europa Conference League play-offs.

The Scotland midfielder will be back in Leith on August 24 if Hibs can get past the Swiss side in the third qualifying round.

McGinn spent three years with Hibs and helped them win the Scottish Cup in 2016 for the first time in 114 years, before moving to Villa in 2018.

The Champions League draw earlier saw Rangers set up for a potential reunion of their own after they were paired against PSV Eindhoven or Sturm Graz if they progress.

The Ibrox side were seeded in the draw but must first get past Swiss side Servette, who travel to Glasgow on Wednesday in the first leg of the third qualifying round.

The Gers beat PSV 3-2 on aggregate at the same stage last year to reach the group stage, with Antonio Colak grabbing the winner when he netted the only goal of the second leg in the Netherlands.

Sturm Graz have included former Motherwell wing-back Max Johnston in their European squad, although he has only featured for the second team since his recent move.

Rangers would be at home in the first leg of the play-offs, which take place in the final two weeks of August. Defeat against Servette would see them go straight into the Europa League group stage.

Aberdeen could also face a rematch with recent opponents after being paired with either BK Hacken or Lithuanians Zalgiris Vilnius in the Europa League play-offs. The Dons beat the Swedes 5-1 at Pittodrie two years ago.

Barry Robson’s team are assured of group-stage football as they will drop into the Europa Conference League if they lose.

Also in the Conference League, Hearts will take on Croatians Hajduk Split or Greek side PAOK if they can get past Rosenborg.

Derry City will face Czech side Viktoria Plzen or Gzira United of Malta if they can see off Tobol Kostanay of Kazakhstan.

Play-off ties take place over the last two weeks in August.

A trip to Paris on Arc weekend and an appearance at the Breeders’ Cup are among the exciting options under consideration for Brave Emperor following his latest success in France on Sunday.

It has been quite the rise through the ranks for the Archie Watson-trained three-year-old, who began his campaign with a runner-up finish at Southwell in late January.

He had since won a Listed race at Cagnes-Sur-Mer, a conditions prize at Kempton, a Group Three in Germany and finished third in a Group Three in Sweden prior to his latest trip across the Channel.

Brave Emperor looked to face the toughest test of his career in the Group Three Prix Daphnis, but rose to the challenge under a power-packed ride from Luke Morris, leaving members of the Middleham Park Racing syndicate that own him eyeing loftier targets.

“It was a great piece of placement again from Archie. He’s placed him to perfection all season and I think Luke rode him to perfection as well,” said Middleham Park racing manager Tom Palin.

“You still need the horse to be able to do it, of course. It’s one thing finding these opportunities, but you’re still relying on a willing partner underneath you and this horse is definitely brave by name, brave by nature.

“He had to carry a 3lb penalty on Sunday, but he loves his racing and thrives on it. We’ve not really spared him, but he travels well and he’s just an absolute dude of a horse and a bit of a legend.

“There’s a small cohort of owners who follow him around. They’ve been to Sweden, they’ve been to Germany and they’ve been to France twice. He’s well supported wherever he goes and has a bit of a cult following here at Middleham Park.”

While plans for Brave Emperor’s next run remain fluid, Palin views the Prix Daniel Wildenstein – a Group Two run at ParisLongchamp in early October – as a likely objective for the autumn.

He added: “We’re probably going to have to start looking at bigger, sexier and dare I say scarier things with him going forward, but he’s fully entitled to now.

“The Wildenstein would be lovely and a very sensible target and we could look at the Prix du Moulin before then. I know that’s a Group One, but you are into Group Two/Group One territory now.

“We love to get our owners over for the Arc meeting if we can, it’s a meeting that’s served us well in the past, and maybe we’ll take in the Moulin on the way. It’s that or a Group Two in Germany, I think.

“I quite like the idea of the Wildenstein and then who knows, it could be onto the Breeders’ Cup. Archie and I have briefly mentioned that, but let’s see.

“Of course he’s going to have to improve, but that attitude he possesses is a huge asset, so why not give him a spin in those kind of races? You’re probably pitching him in for places, but who knows?”

New stoppage time rules saw playing time increase by around seven minutes on average compared to last season across the EFL’s opening weekend and Sunday’s Community Shield.

Arsenal and Manchester City’s clash at Wembley lasted longer than all but seven of last season’s Premier League games, following on from a league programme in which five games had over 20 minutes stoppage time across the first and second halves combined.

Here, the PA news agency looks at how the new approach affected playing time.

Community Shield

Substitute Leandro Trossard scored Arsenal’s equaliser in the 11th of 12 minutes added at full-time against City before his side sealed victory on penalties.

A total of 105 minutes and 45 seconds of playing time was over six minutes longer than last year’s equivalent fixture between City and Liverpool.

It was also more than seven minutes up on last term’s Premier League average of 98mins 31secs and longer than all but seven of the season’s 380 top-flight games – Chelsea v Everton, on last August’s opening day, being the longest at 110:21.

City boss Pep Guardiola expressed frustration before the match with the new rules, noting that “every game we’re going to play for 100 minutes” as part of a wider criticism of the demands placed on players.

Opposite number Mikel Arteta was unsurpisingly more positive after Trossard’s strike, saying: “It is really good to do that (enforce rules against time-wasting). It was going too far and now teams are going to have to think twice.

“We have to prepare to play 100 minutes. It is going to happen every single week.”

Championship

Average playing time across the 12 Championship fixtures this weekend was 104 minutes and nine seconds, nearly six minutes up on last season’s average of 98:21.

Leeds’s Crysencio Summerville snatched an equaliser against Cardiff in the fifth added minute while Adam Idah’s winner for Norwich came in the sixth, with Hull manager Liam Rosenior sent off for his protests after only five were indicated by the fourth official.

Ipswich’s win at Sunderland was the longest game at just over 108 minutes, with all bar Middlesbrough v Millwall and Bristol City v Preston cracking the 100-minute barrier.

League One

The third tier saw Saturday’s matches all last beyond 100 minutes with an average of exactly 106, up from 99:20 last term.

Portsmouth’s 83rd-minute substitue Kusini Yengi scored a stoppage-time equaliser against Bristol Rovers, albeit barely a minute beyond the end of the 90, while Fleetwood’s equaliser at Carlisle came in the fourth minute of first-half added time.

Northampton v Stevenage, with a total playing time of 112 minutes and 36 seconds, was the longest across the English league this weekend.

League Two

The most striking increase came in League Two, where games lasted an average of 107 minutes and four seconds – exactly eight minutes longer than last season.

Accrington v Newport was the longest at 110:46 while even the shortest games, Stockport v Gillingham and Wrexham v MK Dons, lasted 104:24.

Farrend Rawson scored Morecambe’s winner two minutes into added time against Walsall while Wrexham’s typically madcap 5-3 loss on their EFL return featured goals in the fourth and sixth minutes of second-half stoppage time.

Lauren James became the fourth England player to be sent off in a World Cup knockout match after her red card against Nigeria.

The 21-year-old suffered the same fate as David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Millie Bright on the world stage.

Here, the PA news agency looks back at those who saw red in white.

David Beckham v Argentina, 1998

England were drawing 2-2 with their fierce rivals from South America when, two minutes after half-time, Beckham was shoved to the ground by Argentina henchman Diego Simeone.

As he was lying face down on the pitch, the Manchester United midfielder petulantly swung his right leg at the perpetrator.

It was hardly the crime of the century but it occurred right in front of referee Kim Morten Nielsen, who booked Simeone before swapping cards and giving Beckham his marching orders.

The 10 players of England managed to hold out for a 2-2 draw but lost on penalties, with Beckham made the scapegoat for their exit in the last 16.

Wayne Rooney v Portugal, 2006

Rooney was tussling for the ball with Ricardo Carvalho when he left the sole of his boot in the groin of the Portugal defender.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney’s then-Manchester United team-mate, led the protests towards referee Horacio Marcelo Elizondo, who initially looked set to take no further action after awarding a free-kick.

Rooney shoved Ronaldo away before Elizondo brandished the red card, prompting the famous wink towards the bench from the Portugal superstar.

Again, England held out for more than half an hour a player down to force penalties after a goalless draw. And again, they lost the shoot-out to exit in the quarter-finals.

Millie Bright v USA, 2019

England were 2-1 down, had seen a goal disallowed and missed a penalty when, in the 86th minute, centre-half Bright made another heavy challenge on USA goalscorer Alex Morgan.

Having already been booked for a crunching tackle on the striker in the first half, Bright was shown a second yellow to become the first woman to be sent off for England at a World Cup.

It was a deflating semi-final exit for the Lionesses, while the USA went on to lift the trophy in France, with England eventually finishing fourth.

Lauren James v Nigeria, 2023

There were echoes of Beckham and Rooney when England’s brightest young star, Chelsea forward James, trod on the back of Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie.

James was initially booked for the 87th-minute incident but the replays were not pretty and, after a VAR review, it was upgraded to a red card.

England held out through extra time for a goalless draw and, for a change, won the penalty shoot-out to go through to the quarter-finals.