James Milner joined an exclusive club as he became just the fourth player to make 600 Premier League appearances.

Milner replaced Harvey Elliott, who is 17 years his junior, midway through the second half in Liverpool's 3-1 win over Southampton at Anfield on Saturday.

In the process, the former Manchester City and Aston Villa midfielder - who made his debut in the competition for Leeds United as a 16-year-old on 10 November, 2002 - joined Gareth Barry (653), Ryan Giggs (632) and Frank Lampard (609) as the players to have played in 600 Premier League matches.

Milner hopes he can set an example for Liverpool's youngsters, as he hailed Anfield as a "perfect place to be" for developing players.

"It's a big number isn't it? It's unbelievable," said Milner said in an interview with BBC Sport.

"It's been a very long time. You see someone like Ben Doak come on the other night at a similar age and do well. Hopefully they can have a long career as I have.

"For our young guys it's an unbelievable place to be. You can learn so much. You won't go too far wrong watching these guys here and learning off them."

Darwin Nunez's double secured the points for Liverpool, whose opener had been cancelled out by Che Adams.

Stephen Crichton kicked the decisive drop-goal as Samoa made Rugby League World Cup history, beating England 27-26 after golden point extra time to reach the final.

Samoa were underdogs having lost 66-6 to England in the tournament opener, but held a 10-6 lead at the break after first-half tries from Tim Lafai and Ligi Sao, with Elliott Whitehead scoring for England

Tommy Makinson dotted down under the posts after a Samoa error handling a kick and gave England the lead with his conversion, but a sensational move featuring slick handling from Jarome Luai and Junior Paulo sent Crichton over for Samoa.

Lafai doubled his tally after more excellent ball handling, but Herbie Farnworth barged over before John Bateman's try levelled matters. Crichton's interception score looked to have won it for Samoa, only for Farnworth's second try after a George Williams break and Makinson's conversion to force sudden death.

England lost all composure in the extra period, though, and Crichton was fittingly the hero with a superb kick as Samoa became the first side other than Australia, New Zealand or Great Britain to reach the final since the tournament expanded beyond four teams. They will face the Kangaroos in next Saturday's final.

Darwin Nunez scored twice as Liverpool went into the World Cup break on a winning note with a 3-1 victory over Southampton at Anfield.

With Jurgen Klopp watching on from the stands on Saturday due to his one-match suspension, Liverpool claimed a victory that lifts them to sixth in the Premier League.

It was not always easy, with Che Adams scoring Southampton's first goal under new boss Nathan Jones to cancel out Roberto Firmino's opener.

But Nunez, who will feature for Uruguay in Qatar, bookended a thrilling opening 21 minutes to make it 2-1, with his second goal late in the first half enough to secure the points.

Firmino was left out of Brazil's World Cup squad this week but continued his fine scoring form after six minutes when his looping header caught Gavin Bazunu flat-footed.

Liverpool's lead lasted only three minutes, though, with James Ward-Prowse's wonderful free-kick headed home by Adams.

Bazunu prevented Liverpool from restoring their lead with a brilliant save in the 16th minute, lunging out to deny Mohammed Salah, but could do nothing to stop Nunez making it 2-1 when he prodded in from Harvey Elliot's weighted ball.

Nunez had his second just before the break, sliding in to divert Robertson's cross beyond Bazunu.

Salah headed over from Trent Alexander-Arnold's centre and Liverpool would have been punished had Alisson not denied Mohamed Elyounoussi at the other end.

Liverpool wanted a penalty when Salah took a tumble after testing Bazunu, though another terrific Alisson stop - this time a dive down to his right to keep out Adams' header - ensured there would be no nervy finish for the hosts.

What does it mean? Reds rediscover their form

Successive defeats to teams starting the day in the bottom three (Leeds United and Nottingham Forest) had left Liverpool's season swiftly spiralling downwards, but Klopp's team have corrected course and will go into the World Cup break in the top six should Chelsea and Brighton and Hove Albion lose.

New Southampton manager Jones, meanwhile, will hope to use the hiatus to work on his system and approach as the Saints bid to get out of the bottom three when the league restarts in late December.

Nunez hitting his stride 

Maligned in the opening weeks of his Liverpool career, Nunez is starting to hit his stride in English football. He might lack the craft or poise of some of his fellow Reds attackers, yet it is this direct, blood-and-thunder approach that is paying dividends.

The 23-year-old now has five Premier League goals, adding to three in the Champions League. All three of his shots on Saturday hit the target, while he also created two chances.

Robertson matches Baines record

Robertson teed up two of Liverpool's goals, playing in the free-kick that Firmino turned in before supplying a crisp low delivery for Nunez to make it 3-1.

In the process, he joined former Wigan Athletic and Everton left-back Leighton Baines on 53 Premier League assists – the record for a defender in the competition.

What's next?

Both sides are in EFL Cup action after the World Cup, with Liverpool facing Manchester City.

Rodrigo Bentancur struck twice in the final 10 minutes as Tottenham battled back from behind three times to snatch a dramatic 4-3 victory against Leeds United on Saturday.

Spurs conceded the opening goal in a game for the eighth time in a row when Crysencio Summerville scored for a fourth Premier League match running inside the first 10 minutes.

Rodrigo Moreno matched that scoring streak when scoring either side of equalisers from Harry Kane and Ben Davies to give Leeds a 3-2 lead in the 76th minute.

But Bentancur equalised in the 81st minute and earned Tottenham a thrilling victory two minutes later as Leeds, who had Tyler Adams sent off late on, imploded in north London.

Napoli saw off a late comeback from Udinese to seal an 11th consecutive Serie A victory, the first time they have done so in a single season.

Goals from Victor Oshimhen, Piotr Zielinski and Eljif Elmas had the hosts in full control but two goals in the final 11 minutes, from Ilija Nestorovski and Lazar Samardzic, led to a nervy finish for Luciano Spalletti's side.

Standing firm to hold on for a 3-2 victory, Napoli moved 11 points clear of Lazio at the summit of Serie A.

Lazio face Juventus on Sunday after Spalletti's side became only the second team to win at least 13 of their first 15 matches (Juventus having done so on four previous occasions, most recently in 2018-19).

Stretching back to last season, Napoli stand undefeated in their last 19 Serie A matches and have won 17 of those games, scoring 50 goals in the process.

Napoli now face an extended break due to the World Cup in Qatar, not taking to the field again until January 4 for what could be a stern challenge against Inter.

The Neapolitan side have won Serie A just twice before in their history, with their last such triumph coming in the 1989-90 season.

Pep Guardiola acknowledged Brentford were worthy victors after Ivan Toney's double condemned Manchester City to a damaging Premier League defeat on Saturday. 

City approached their meeting with Brentford knowing a win would move them – at least temporarily – to the top of the table, but Toney added to his opener with a 98th-minute winner as the Bees clinched a shock victory.

The champions failed to build on Phil Foden's outstanding first-half equaliser despite subjecting Brentford to long spells of pressure, and Guardiola believes the result was a fair one.

"The best team won, the better team won," Guardiola told BT Sport. 

"We struggled a lot from the long balls, direct from [David] Raya up to the striker, and when they lost the ball, they were always behind the ball.

"We had problems up front and we didn't have our rhythm. We had more momentum, but when it was crosses, second balls... we struggled.

"It's difficult, in the small spaces, we need the quality and we struggled. But yeah, they were better, I accept it."

Toney's second strike came after 97 minutes and 16 seconds, making it the latest winning goal scored against City in the Premier League since Opta's exact goal times became available in 2006-07.

The result ended City's 20-match unbeaten run on home soil, but Guardiola does not feel the spectre of the World Cup affected his team's performance.

Asked whether his side played with caution ahead of the tournament, Guardiola said: "Who knows? I don't think so. 

"I think the problem was tactical, you saw how the guys ran and how they fought, it was more the long balls and second balls, we weren't able to do it.

"It's football, now there's a break for everyone. I congratulate Brentford. Hopefully the guys at the World Cup can enjoy it, and we'll come back."

Christian Eriksen has described his comeback as "amazing" as he gears up to represent Denmark at the World Cup in Qatar.

The Manchester United midfielder suffered a cardiac arrest in June 2021 during his nation's opening Euro 2020 match against Finland but, fewer than 18 months later, is travelling to Qatar for the mid-season tournament.

It was initially unclear whether he would be able to return to football and Eriksen was released by Inter as he was unable to play competitive football in Italy.

A subsequent return to the Premier League with Brentford caught the eye and earned a transfer to Manchester United, while on the international stage the bond within the team has become "very tight".

"The first thing that I said publicly was that I wanted to be back and having a chance to be at a World Cup and the time that's happened between then has been really amazing," he told Sky Sports.

"The bond the team has is very tight, I mean, it's always been tight but definitely after what happened it's been even tighter. As a group, even without me the whole group really grew together, together with the country.

"I remember days where there was no fans in stadiums and now it's sold out even before the game has been announced. So, it's just amazing to be part of it, the whole group is in a good place.

"Denmark has changed compared to the last tournament [Euro 2020], because the last tournament that we went to we went through to the semi-finals. Now the pressure is on to even get that better than the semi-finals at the Euros. So, I think it's just go as far as possible.

"I think that's changed compared to before where before even the last World Cup in 2018, we had to go through the group and then we take it from there. But I think now we're looking at trying to go as far as possible."

Denmark begin their World Cup campaign against Tunisia on November 22, then facing France and Australia in Group D.

James Maddison limped off injured in his final club game before joining up with England's squad for the World Cup in Qatar.

Thursday's announcement saw him included in Gareth Southgate's squad for the tournament having previously picked up just one cap, three years ago.

But after scoring a superb strike to put Leicester City 1-0 up away at West Ham, Maddison was then forced off through injury in the 25th minute, clutching at his hamstring.

The news will come as a big blow to Southgate, who said Maddison had "earned the right" to be included after registering the second most Premier League goal involvements among England players in 2022 behind Harry Kane.

With the Three Lions' opening group game against Iran just nine days away, Maddison faces a nervy wait to find out the extent of his injury.

If Maddison is ruled out, Southgate could call on Ivan Toney in his place, with the Brentford striker responding to missing out on Southgate's squad by scoring both of his team's goals in a shock 2-1 victory at Manchester City.

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank struggled to find the words to describe Ivan Toney after he fired Brentford to a dramatic 2-1 win at Manchester City, declaring: 'what a striker!'

Toney was overlooked when Gareth Southgate named England's World Cup squad this week, but he responded in outstanding fashion by scoring twice in a famous win for the Bees. 

Having latched onto Josh Dasilva's cross to score a dramatic winner eight minutes into stoppage time, Toney has reached double figures for Premier League goals this season, scoring two or more goals in three separate games. 

Speaking to BT Sport after masterminding Brentford's victory, Frank hailed Toney's performance and praised his side for keeping City talisman Erling Haaland quiet.

"He's fantastic," Frank said of Toney. "I can't praise him enough. What I would say is the most important thing is how good a person he is, how emotionally intelligent he is around his team-mates.

"Then of course, what a player, what a striker! Scoring two goals, he should probably have had one more. Imagine having a hat-trick here at the Etihad, I thought that was only for Haaland!

"We spoke before the game about how to eliminate Haaland, but I think we did it perfectly. We tried to stop the sources into him, then when the ball came into the box, we defended it brilliantly."

Toney has now scored 22 Premier League goals for Brentford, more than double the tally recorded by any other player for the club (Yoane Wissa is second with 10). 

Having fired Brentford to their first win at City since 1937, Toney said he would not let his disappointment at missing the World Cup affect his displays.

"Listen, the only thing is to keep doing well, keep doing my best for the team and who knows what can happen," Toney said.

"I mean, obviously it's a disappointment but I know what I'm capable of, I won't let it put me down, I'll just keep going and keep doing well for Brentford.

"The motivation is the boys in the dressing room and the fans, as you can see. When you work hard, it's all you can do."

Josip Stanisic has signed a new long-term contract with Bayern Munich ahead of linking up with Croatia for the World Cup.

The 22-year-old defender joined Bayern in 2017 and has been part of the first-team squad since April last year.

He has made 29 appearances for the reigning Bundesliga champions in total, 13 of those being starts, and has featured in 11 matches this season.

Bayern confirmed on their official website on Saturday that Stanisic, a member of Croatia's 26-man squad for Qatar 2022, has put pen to paper on a deal running until July 2026.

"This contract extension is a nice vote of confidence from FC Bayern, which I'd like to repay and which motivates me a lot for my further development," Stanisic said. 

"As someone born in Munich, it's a dream to be able to play in this shirt. My goal is to win as many titles as possible with FC Bayern."

Confirmation of academy product Stanisic's new deal comes a day after back-up goalkeeper Sven Ulreich extended his contract until the end of next season.

Bayern face Schalke on Saturday for their final Bundesliga outing prior to the World Cup hiatus.

The San Francisco 49ers are getting healthy at the right time as they bid to kick-start a second-half surge towards the postseason and get a rare win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

San Francisco had their bye in Week 9, having got to 4-4 in emphatic fashion a week earlier, routing the Los Angeles Rams 31-14 at SoFi Stadium.

They return home to Levi's Stadium to face the Chargers in primetime and, while they have beaten the Rams eight times in a row in the regular season, they have not had such fortune against the other Los Angeles team in the NFL.

Indeed, the Chargers are looking to win their sixth straight game against the 49ers, which would make them the first team to do so since the Seattle Seahawks (who nine games from 2014 to 2018).

However, the two teams have not met since Los Angeles' home win in Week 4 of the 2018 season.

The 49ers, who have once again battled the injury bug in a recurring theme of head coach Kyle Shanahan's tenure, are set to get eight players back from absences.

Versatile star wide receiver Deebo Samuel (hamstring), Jauan Jennings (hamstring), fullback Kyle Juszczyk (finger) and linebacker Dre Greenlaw (calf) are all set to return after missing the win over the Rams.

Running back Elijah Mitchell, linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, backup tackle Colton McKivitz and defensive end Jordan Willis will also make their comebacks from injuries that saw them placed on the injured reserve list.

Mitchell has not played since injuring his knee in Week 1, and it is his and Samuel's infusion back into the lineup that will be most intriguing to watch from an offensive standpoint for San Francisco.

Neither Samuel nor Mitchell has had the chance to play with 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, whom San Francisco acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Carolina Panthers last month.

In his second game against the Rams, McCaffrey threw for, rushed for and caught a touchdown. He was the first player to do so in the same game since the Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson completed the feat in Week 6 of the 2005 season and only the fourth since the 1970 merger.

Adding Samuel, whose ability to excel as a receiver and a running back propelled the Niners to the NFC Championship Game last season, and 2021 leading rusher Mitchell into the mix alongside another dual running and receiving threat in McCaffrey opens an array of options for Shanahan, especially against a Charger run defense allowing the most yards play (5.7) on the ground in the NFL.

In contrast to the 49ers' improving injury report, the Chargers will again be without top wide receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, while right tackle Trey Pipkins is out with a knee injury. Practice squad lineman Foster Sarell could get the nod in his stead ahead of much-maligned backup Storm Norton.

Despite losing left tackle Rashawn Slater to a torn ACL earlier in the season, the Chargers' offensive line has held up well. Quarterback Justin Herbert was not sacked in the win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 9, and the Chargers have allowed the fewest sacks in the league this season (10). They have not given up 10 or fewer sacks through eight games since the 2008 season (also 10).

That could change against a fearsome 49ers defensive front. The Niners are third in the NFL with a sack rate of 8.9 per cent, though they are once again missing their best interior pass rusher, Arik Armstead, with a foot injury.

The lack of receiving weapons and injuries up front would appear to put Herbert and the 5-3 Chargers in a tough spot. However, the 49ers will be wary of Herbert's ability to overcome adversity, as he has continued to thrive even as the Chargers have failed to deliver since he entered the league in 2020.

Through 40 career starts, Herbert has accounted for 90 touchdowns (82 passing, 8 rushing). Only Patrick Mahomes (107), Dan Marino (95) and Kurt Warner (91) accounted for more scores in their first 40 starts.