Christophe Galtier admitted he was concerned about fielding Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in Paris Saint-Germain's final match before the World Cup.

Messi returned from a minor Achilles injury to join Neymar and Mbappe in PSG's star-studded attack for their routine 5-0 win over Auxerre at the Parc des Princes on Sunday.

Mbappe opened the scoring early on before Carlos Soler scored one and set up Achraf Hakimi for another as PSG eased towards a seventh straight win in all competitions.

Galtier was able to replace Messi and Neymar in the 75th minute, with substitutes Renato Sanches and Hugo Ekitike helping themselves to a goal apiece.

While the superstar forward trio were eager to play a part in the contest, Galtier was glad all three came through unscathed before heading off to Qatar.

"The afternoon is perfect. I can't even say almost perfect, it's perfect," Galtier told Amazon Prime. 

"We only conceded one chance and had a serious match that everyone wanted to play. Nobody was particularly concerned about the World Cup. 

"It was probably me who was the most [concerned]. That's why I wanted to relieve Ney and Leo. Kylian stayed on the pitch, but he is 23 years old. 

"Ney had also stopped in the middle of the week during a session, while Leo was coming back from an overload in the calf. I'm happy with the entries of Renato and Hugo."

PSG have gone 22 matches without defeat under Galtier, winning 18 of those, and enter the World Cup break five points clear of surprise package Lens.

The Parisians have reached the 40-point mark after 15 games for the fifth time in their history, with no other team in Ligue 1 history doing so on a single occasion.

Galtier will now enjoy a short hiatus, which includes taking in a few World Cup groups in Qatar, the home of PSG's mega-rich backers.

"I'm going to take advantage of being with my family and my granddaughter," he said. 

"And then I'm going to Doha for four days to see three matches, including the match for the France team, alongside my president and my leaders."

Sunday's contest marked the first time since Messi arrived ahead of last season that PSG have scored four goals in a row without one of their superstar attackers being involved.

It was also a welcome first clean sheet in five matches for Galtier's side, with defender Presnel Kimpembe being used as a substitute ahead of linking up with the France squad.

"The World Cup is something we've been thinking about for a while, albeit in the back of our minds," said Kimpembe, who has had hamstring issues this season. 

"Now the first part of the season is over, we can focus solely on the France team. I was never worried about picking up an injury beforehand.

"Playing minutes today felt good. I am feeling positive, but the fact I was brought onto the field shows everything is fine."

Robert Lewandowski expected Barcelona "would not win everything" in his first season as he called for patience with the rebuild at Camp Nou.

Xavi's side head into the World Cup break two points clear of Real Madrid at the LaLiga summit but crashed out of the Champions League in the group stages for the second season in a row.

Having brought in the likes of Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde alongside a host of high-profile free transfers, their European failures have placed some scrutiny on Blaugrana coach Xavi.

But Lewandowski suggested it was always going to take time for Barca to regain their Spanish and European dominance, owing to the transformative period the Blaugrana are going through.

"I knew that in my first season at Barcelona, we were not going to win everything," he told Marca. "This team is still being rebuilt, and it needs time, this is part of the process.

"We should be playing the next round of the Champions League, but we have learnt a lot, especially because we have a lot of young players.

"We made a few mistakes and at this level, you must always be ready. It doesn't matter how you do it, you need to learn how to win."

Despite falling out of the Champions League, Lewandowski says the marked improvements with Xavi's side are already noticeable.

"I think that even in a few months, you can see the progress we've made at Barcelona," he continued. "At the beginning of next year, we can show our better performances, and we can grow up as a team.

"Even next season will be much better, and we'll have more stability. In football, you can win a lot in a short amount of time. We've had a lot of injuries and as a result we lost a lot of stability. 

"In that sense, we haven't had much luck. In just a few weeks we lost a lot of players. Then, when you consider we also had to play a new system with a new set of players, it made things even more difficult.

"But now we've learnt from this and now we can move forward."

The 33-year-old scored 50 goals across all competitions last season, the most across Europe's top five leagues, as Bayern Munich lifted their 10th Bundesliga title in a row.

Lewandowski also broke Gerd Muller's long-standing Bundesliga record by scoring 41 goals in a single season in the 2020-21 campaign, while his 43 league goals in 2021 serve as the record for a calendar year in Germany's top tier.

Having accumulated 344 goals and 57 assists across 375 appearances in all competitions for Bayern, Lewandowski says he left Julian Nagelsmann's side as he needed a new challenge.

"It was a very tough decision but I knew it was the right moment for me to leave. At Bayern, I had everything under control and I was in my comfort zone," he added. 

"But, in my head, I knew it was my team to leave, I wanted to play a long career and continue to be happy.

"When I started to talk to Barca, I knew for my personal and footballing life, the best decision was to move to Barcelona to play in LaLiga. It was always my dream to play in La Liga.

"Also, I didn't want to play my entire life just in one league and that was another reason, even after I won everything at Bayern.

"I will always be proud and grateful for that, but my head was clear, and I wanted to move on to Barcelona. I have a new happiness now."

Inter striker Edin Dzeko says his form does not take him by surprise after his double steered the Serie A side to victory over Atalanta on Sunday.

Goals either side of half-time took the Bosnian to three in his last two appearances, and the 3-2 win at the Gewiss Stadium helped push the Nerazzurri back into the thick of the top-four race.

With a break for the World Cup set to halt all domestic football at the highest level until after Christmas, it marks an impressive capstone to the first half of the campaign for the veteran.

At 36, Dzeko should arguably be looking to wind down his career but after his 250th Serie A appearance, the forward told Sky Sport Italia: "I am not surprised by my form.

"I've been doing this for over 15 years. Others might be surprised, but I'm not.

"We started a bit sluggish, but we woke up after conceding. Atalanta are always a dangerous team, but we really woke up after that initial goal and it was a good performance from then on."

With a contract that expires at the end of the season, many had wondered if this could be Dzeko's final campaign for Inter, having arrived from Roma last year.

But the attacker harbours hopes he will continue in Milan, adding: "I have a contract until June. I do my best, I want to stay here and continue, so we’ll see what happens."

Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini saw his side lose points from a winning situation once again, having gone 1-0 up through an Ademola Lookman penalty, and admitted it is a pressing issue for the club this term.

"Undoubtedly, it is something we need to work on, because we barely had time to control taking the lead when we were pegged back," he noted.

"We are up against some technically gifted sides and right now we aren't as lucky as we were at the start of the campaign."

Barcelona would receive a €1billion bonus for being one of the Super League's founders, club president Joan Laporta has revealed.

Laporta also believes the competition would resemble a "much-improved Champions League".

Nine of the Super League's 12 founding clubs withdrew their support in the face of public and media pressure following a botched launch last year, though three clubs have advocated a revival of the competition.

Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus have all been vocal in their support for the project, with a new format reportedly being drawn up by A22 Sports' chief executive Bernd Reichart.

Having organised a meeting with Reichart earlier this week, UEFA hit out at the "greedy plan" of the Super League's backers, accusing them of jeopardising the future of football.

However, Laporta – who has spent his second spell as Barca president battling a financial crisis at Camp Nou – feels the competition would offer his club several benefits.

"From the outset, for the founding clubs, there is an initial bonus of €1bn, and per season, we could get about €300m annually in this competition," Laporta told Sport.

"In addition, the key to the Super League is that the clubs will have governance. UEFA will obviously be at the governance table, but the clubs will have the majority.

"The Super League is a great opportunity. But you can only win through dialogue. What the Super League aims to do is improve football. 

"It fights for the sustainability of football, so that the clubs come out of ruin, so that the clubs can be more and more competitive and have more resources. 

"The Super League will end up as a much-improved Champions League, which will be based on meritocracy, that is, it will be open, without club discrimination, but with guarantees and rules that will allow clubs to have more resources. 

"Super League chief executive Bernd Reichart met last Tuesday with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin in a very important step forward."

Despite their economic troubles, Barca embarked on a significant spending spree in the last transfer window, acquiring the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde and Raphinha.

While the Blaugrana were criticised for gambling the club's future after selling shares in their future television rights and in-house production company to fund those deals, Laporta says they will look for opportunities to strengthen again in January.

"The economic levers have helped to save the club from bankruptcy and to build a competitive team," Laporta said. 

"But the hole was so big that we still have an operating deficit of €200m annually, as a result mainly of the enormous expenses that we have, especially with the wage bill.

"To sign in winter, we would have to incorporate players that improve what we already have. It's not easy, especially considering that we continue to have fair play problems due to our elimination from the Champions League, which has reduced our budgeted income.

"LaLiga has already warned us that we will have less capacity to sign. We will try to reverse it by negotiating with LaLiga to reconsider its interpretation [of the rules] and achieve new income with victories in the Europa League or the Supercopa de Espana. Even with some friendly matches during the World Cup."

Robert Lewandowski says "it would be a dream to play" with Lionel Messi amid speculation the Argentina star could return to Barcelona.

The Poland striker will face Messi at the World Cup in Qatar in Group C, though rumours persist the pair could play on the same team as the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner eyes a return to Camp Nou.

Blaugrana president Joan Laporta reiterated the Paris Saint-Germain forward "always has his home" at Barca, who were unable to keep Messi in August 2021 due to well-documented financial struggles.

While Lewandowski claimed to have no knowledge surrounding the speculation, the former Bayern Munich striker would love to combine with Messi if the opportunity arises.

"Messi is absolutely brilliant with the amazing passes he plays to the striker," he told Marca. "If you think about Messi, he has this brilliant connection with strikers.

"He knows how to put the ball into the box, between the lines... he's the best in the world at that. I don't know what's going on right now, but for a striker it would be a dream to play with Lionel Messi for sure."

The mouth-watering prospect of two of world football's most exciting attackers aside, Lewandowski will consider Messi a rival as the 35-year-old leads one of the pre-World Cup favourites in the Middle East.

"I think Argentina with Messi are one of the favourites to win the World Cup," Lewandowski added. "They haven't lost in 30 games; they play well and you can see they are a really good team.

"If you look at football for the past 10, 15 years, the main two figures have been Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and, in the end, if you think about who deserves to win this World Cup, these two names always pop up.

"They are legends. But on the flip side, this is football and you can never say what is going to happen because it's a dramatic and unpredictable game.

"But in Messi's case, it's impossible for his achievements to be replicated as his amazing story continues. Now he's dreaming to win the World Cup.

"For him, that's the big challenge. He wants to now win the World Cup with Argentina, but this is a World Cup and you can never know what is going to happen."

As for Poland's chances in football's biggest tournament, Lewandowski acknowledged his side must be at their best to escape Group C, which also contains Saudi Arabia and Mexico.

"It's a huge challenge and it's a very tough group, each game will be difficult," he continued. "In the World Cup, it's important to know how you're going to play.

"For everyone playing in Qatar at this part if the season, it's a huge challenge.

"We have to be ready for this, we have to fight from the first minute and it doesn't matter how hard it's going to be, you have to show your best."

Babar Azam was left frustrated after key bowler Shaheen Afridi was forced off with injury in Pakistan's T20 World Cup final defeat to England on Sunday.

Babar's men set England just 138 to win, but Afridi struck early to dismiss England opener Alex Hales before making a superb catch to remove Harry Brook off Shadab Khan's bowling, stirring Pakistan's hopes of victory.

However, Afridi injured himself in his role in Brook's wicket and was forced off the field, and though he did return, the 22-year-old managed just one delivery before having to make way again.

It was a bitter blow for Pakistan, who seemingly lost all momentum as Ben Stokes' half-century and some crucial boundaries from Moeen Ali condemned them to a heartbreaking defeat.

Babar pointed to Afridi's injury as the key moment, saying in the post-match presentation: "We were 20 runs short, but the fight to the last over was unbelievable.

"Our bowling is one of the best but unfortunately Shaheen's injury cost us a different result, but that's part of the game.

"The way the team has gone in the last four matches [was] incredible. I told the boys to play their natural game, with freedom. Congratulations to England."

The final defeat ended a disappointing individual tournament for Babar, who finished with a total run tally of 124 off 133 balls, while facing 62 dot balls as he passed 50 just once across his seven innings.

But the Pakistan captain was pleased with his team's campaign, despite his own struggles, adding in his press conference: "We weren't expecting to lose the first two.

"But how we've come back, grabbed chances, I'm proud of the team as a captain."

Jos Buttler labelled Ben Stokes the "ultimate competitor" after his first T20I half-century saw England beat Pakistan to win the T20 World Cup at the MCG.

Chasing a target of 138 after bowling first, England captain Buttler had hit 26 from 17 deliveries himself but departed with his team still needing 93 more runs.

After a slow start, Stokes eventually took the game to Pakistan along with Moeen Ali (19 from 12). Stokes then hit the winning run to end on an unbeaten 52 from 49 balls.

There were five fours and a six in that knock, which finished with the final ball of the 19th over.

"He's the ultimate competitor in anything he does," Buttler said at the post-match presentation.

"He's got a hell of a lot of experience to bank on, he can take a lot on his shoulders. He timed it perfectly, that impetus he and Moeen Ali had at that phase of the game just took it away from Pakistan."

Speaking to Sky Sports after the presentation, Buttler was asked if he had been comfortable leaving Stokes at the crease after his own dismissal.

"I was comfortable after 10 overs, and then I said to someone: 'If he played like that in a Test match, he'd drop himself'," Buttler joked. "He managed to get it done in the end."

Buttler shared the praise around, with England's success scarcely seeming imaginable after a Super 12 loss to Ireland.

"To be able to win the T20 World Cup, I'm just immensely proud of everyone here," he said. "It's been a long journey and a few changes of how we've played over the last few years, and we're reaping the rewards of that.

"It's been a fantastic tournament. We've been away for a long time; we went to Pakistan before coming here, which was a really valuable time for the group.

"This felt a long way away after the Ireland match, but the character we've shown from that point on in must-win games has been amazing."

England limited Pakistan to 137-8 from their 20 overs, with the turning point coming at the start of the 12th over when Adil Rashid (2-22) caught and bowled Babar Azam for 32 before completing a maiden over.

"Absolutely that was a huge swing in the game, that was a fantastic over from Adil," Buttler said. "The last three games especially, he's been outstanding for us. He's always been the guy that we've thrown the ball to to make things happen.

"It certainly wasn't easy, we managed to get away to a decent start, which controlled the run rate. We bat deep as well, which gave us a lot of options and trust."

Paris Saint-Germain restored their five-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 ahead of the World Cup break with a routine 5-0 win over Auxerre at the Parc des Princes on Sunday.

Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring early on following some good build-up play from Lionel Messi, who returned from injury to join the France forward and Neymar in attack. 

A seventh win in a row for PSG in all competitions never looked in doubt when Carlos Soler added a second goal and then assisted Achraf Hakimi for the home side's third.

Christophe Galtier made full use of his squad depth and substitutes Renato Sanches and Hugo Ekitike added gloss to the scoreline with a couple of late goals.

The serene nature of the contest ensured Galtier could replace a number of PSG's Qatar-bound stars, with no players sustaining an injury problem of any sort.

Messi sent a delightful lofted ball over the Auxerre defence for Nuno Mendes to deliver a first-time pass towards Mbappe, who in turn helped it over the line with 11 minutes gone.

The goal stood following a VAR check for a possible handball against Neymar, but Auxerre nearly levelled as M'Baye Niang forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into a fine save.

PSG toiled before Mendes took the ball past a couple of players and picked out Soler to glance a header away from Benoit Costil and in off the far post early in the second half.

Soler turned provider six minutes later when playing in Hakimi to coolly slot past Costil from a one-on-one position.

Messi hit the post but could not get his name on the scoresheet, though Sanches fired in off the post before fellow substitute Ekitike profited from some poor defending to coolly add a fifth.

Two Edin Dzeko goals helped Inter move clear of Atalanta and into Serie A's top form with a 3-2 win at Bergamo going into the World Cup break.

Inter trailed to Ademola Lookman's penalty on Sunday, but Dzeko scored either side of half-time to swing the game back in the visitors' favour.

Dzeko's second effort benefited from a deflection off Joakim Maehle, and Atalanta helped the Nerazzurri out again when Jose Luis Palomino put through his own net for the third.

Although Palomino later scored at the right end, it was too little, too late, as Inter opened up a three-point gap to Atalanta, level on points with second-placed Lazio ahead of the rest of the day's action.

Atalanta had started the brighter of the two sides, with Duvan Zapata seeing a pair of early chances blocked before he was caught by Stefan de Vrij's outstretched leg for a penalty that Lookman cleanly converted.

The goal stunned Inter out of their torpor, pushing them onto the front foot, and they were rewarded with Dzeko's finish after the ball was helped into his path by a Lautaro Martinez header.

Atalanta had hoped to reassert their hold on the match following the interval but instead contributed to their own downfall as a combination of Dzeko and Maehle sent Inter in front from Federico Dimarco's cross.

Palomino then glanced an Inter corner past goalkeeper Juan Musso, meaning his own riposte – a diving header with 13 minutes to play – was not enough to recover an Atalanta result.

Ben Stokes says England's bowling attack was the key factor in their victory over Pakistan in the T20 World Cup final on Sunday, despite his crucial half-century.

Sam Curran (3-12) and Adil Rashid (2-22) bowled superbly to restrict Pakistan to just 137-8, though England's chase did not get off to the greatest of starts as openers Alex Hales and Jos Buttler were removed within the powerplay.

Stokes came in with England 32-2 after 3.3 overs, but smashed a sublime 52 off 49 deliveries to record his first ever T20I half-century and help his country to their second T20 World Cup title.

Stokes was keen to highlight England's bowlers as the reason for the win at the MCG in Melbourne, telling Sky Sports: "I think when you chase totals in games like this, you forget the hard work that goes in before.

"I thought the way that we bowled, Adil Rashid, Sam Curran, that's what won us the game. To restrict them to whatever we did, bowlers have got to take a lot of credit for that.

"We didn't feel under too much pressure with the run chase. I never felt it was out of our hands at all. It's never really panic stations when it's under eight an over."

England's triumph comes after a shock defeat to Ireland in the group stage that threatened to derail their tournament, having come in as one of the favourites.

Stokes referenced that loss after the final victory, saying: "I think with that [Ireland defeat] being so early in the competition, we obviously had to address it, say what we said and then let it go.

"In tournaments, you can't carry baggage. That was a little blip, but the best teams learn from their mistakes, they take it on the chin but they never let it affect them and they just let it go and move onto the next challenge."

England's success comes in new captain Jos Buttler's first tournament since taking over from previous incumbent Eoin Morgan, who led the team to ODI World Cup glory in 2019.

Stokes says Buttler has built on Morgan's good work to create history of his own, adding: "Jos has now created his own legacy.

"When the great man stepped down [pointing to Morgan] and Jos took over, you look how quickly he's managed to take control of the team and progress it from the legacy that Morgs [Morgan] has left.

"He's a guy who everyone follows. I think it shouldn't be taken for granted how hard it can be to make tactical decisions under pressure in this format. Ninety-five per cent of his decision-making he's got right. We're lucky to have him."

Ben Stokes says England's bowling attack was the key factor in their victory over Pakistan in the T20 World Cup final on Sunday, despite his crucial half-century.

Sam Curran (3-12) and Adil Rashid (2-22) bowled superbly to restrict Pakistan to just 137-8, though England's chase did not get off to the greatest of starts as openers Alex Hales and Jos Buttler were removed within the powerplay.

Stokes came in with England 32-2 after 3.3 overs, but smashed a sublime 52 off 49 deliveries to record his first ever T20I half-century and help his country to their second T20 World Cup title.

Stokes was keen to highlight England's bowlers as the reason for the win at the MCG in Melbourne, telling Sky Sports: "I think when you chase totals in games like this, you forget the hard work that goes in before.

"I thought the way that we bowled, Adil Rashid, Sam Curran, that's what won us the game. To restrict them to whatever we did, bowlers have got to take a lot of credit for that.

"We didn't feel under too much pressure with the run chase. I never felt it was out of our hands at all. It's never really panic stations when it's under eight an over."

England's triumph comes after a shock defeat to Ireland in the group stage that threatened to derail their tournament, having come in as one of the favourites.

Stokes referenced that loss after the final victory, saying: "I think with that [Ireland defeat] being so early in the competition, we obviously had to address it, say what we said and then let it go.

"In tournaments, you can't carry baggage. That was a little blip, but the best teams learn from their mistakes, they take it on the chin but they never let it affect them and they just let it go and move onto the next challenge."

England's success comes in new captain Jos Buttler's first tournament since taking over from previous incumbent Eoin Morgan, who led the team to ODI World Cup glory in 2019.

Stokes says Buttler has built on Morgan's good work to create history of his own, adding: "Jos has now created his own legacy.

"When the great man stepped down [pointing to Morgan] and Jos took over, you look how quickly he's managed to take control of the team and progress it from the legacy that Morgs [Morgan] has left.

"He's a guy who everyone follows. I think it shouldn't be taken for granted how hard it can be to make tactical decisions under pressure in this format. Ninety-five per cent of his decision-making he's got right. We're lucky to have him."

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has reiterated Lionel Messi "always has his home" at the club.

The Argentina superstar left Camp Nou in August 2021 to join Paris Saint-Germain, after financial issues left Barcelona unable to tie their academy graduate to a new contract.

Speculation of a return to Catalonia has been present ever since and have heated up ahead of 2023, when Messi is set to become a free agent unless he agrees to a fresh contract in the French capital.

Whether an emotional return materialises remains to be seen but Laporta is keen to stress that Messi will always be welcome.

"Leo knows that at Barca he always has his home," he told Sport.

"But let me not talk about Leo because he is a player of another team and we would enter again into a series of statements and counter-statements that would not benefit us at all. He has a current contract with a European club.

"I can only say that Leo has been the best player in the history of Barca."

Barcelona waved goodbye to another stalwart last week in Gerard Pique, who decided to retire, and Laporta made it clear the decision was solely down to the defender.

"Pique's departure has been decided by him. Motivated surely by a sports theme. If Gerard had had the confidence of the coach and played as an undisputed starter, he obviously would not have left," he added.

"Pique has decided what he wanted to do and we, from the board of directors, respect it.

"Xavi has been very honest with him. From the first moment the technician told him that he did not count on him and I also commented with him about his situation.

"But Gerard is a competitive man, a winner, and he still saw himself as a starter and wanted to continue. Although in the end he has seen reality and made a decision.

"He has had a way of saying goodbye to the club, given the haste, very nice. We always want our heroes to be eternal but it is impossible."

Barcelona head into the mid-season break for the World Cup top of LaLiga, two points ahead of Real Madrid, and return to action in late December against city rivals Espanyol.

Marcus Rashford thinks Erik ten Hag's tactical approach at Manchester United has helped him cement a turnaround in form this term, ahead of the final Premier League game before the break for the World Cup.

The forward struggled across a difficult 2021-22 campaign at Old Trafford, struggling to hold down a place in the United team and slipping out of the England reckoning.

But a superb start to the new season, with eight goals across 18 matches in all competitions, has seen him emerge at the spearhead of Ten Hag's United revolution.

Rashford certainly feels the Dutchman's arrival has helped reignite his talents and believes it comes down to the shift in play developed by his new manager.

"I am more effective," he told The Sun. "I am in more dangerous positions and that's what it's about for me. I can help the team win games. I can score goals and get assists, and that's the aim.

"It's probably the playing style we have created, better quality of chances and playing forward-thinking football. "He likes possession, but he is also in favour of us going for the kill. I am enjoying my time under him."

A defeat to Aston Villa last week checked United's momentum in the Premier League, though they gained revenge by dumping Unai Emery's side out of the EFL Cup in midweek, with Rashford finding the net again.

Ahead of a trip to Fulham on Sunday in their last match before the World Cup, the forward was determined to ensure there was no further slip-up, adding: "We dropped points last weekend and we can't afford to drop more back-to-back.

"So it's important for us to put in a big performance and get a win. It will be the last time we play together for a while, so it is important to leave with good energy, positive vibes, and momentum. You don't want to leave on a loss."

Rashford will have a busy mid-season break, having been recalled to the England fold by manager Gareth Southgate for the World Cup in Qatar.

The Three Lions get their campaign underway in Group B against Iran on November 21, before further matches against the United States and Wales.