Erling Haaland "will have a break", Pep Guardiola assured the media after his Manchester derby heroics. Just not yet, it seems.

Concerns around the amount of football Haaland has played since signing for Manchester City are understandable.

Heading into this week's Champions League matches, team-mate Joao Cancelo was the sole outfield player in the Premier League to play more minutes than Haaland across all competitions this season.

Cancelo and Haaland are two of three players – the other being goalkeeper Ederson – to start every City match. Named in the line-up once more against Copenhagen on Wednesday, Haaland made his 12th start in City colours; his 12th of last season, playing at Borussia Dortmund, did not come until December.

Indeed, Haaland had already sustained a thigh injury this time a year ago, and only returned briefly before another lay-off with a hip problem.

Guardiola is well aware of those issues, though, describing City as "lucky" to have "incredible physios".

"Last season, he could not play many games," the City manager said after the 6-3 win over Manchester United. "He was injured all the time."

He added: "Dortmund couldn't do it [keep Haaland fit], and we can do it. That is fantastic for us. That is why I thank them [the medical staff]."

And if there is no immediate risk of injury, of course Guardiola wants to keep sending his superstar striker out to put opponents to the sword.

After two goals in the 5-0 defeat of Copenhagen, Haaland has 19 in those 12 matches. Riyad Mahrez (24) was the only City player to score more in all competitions in the entirety of last season.

City already possessed the best team in England, blessed with a vast array of supreme talents, but Haaland is now the undoubted star of the show.

Ahead of kick-off on Wednesday, his goals in the warm-up were cheered louder than any other player's, as was his name as the line-ups were announced.

It was with some inevitability then that Haaland's first touch following kick-off was the opener, steered past Kamil Grabara, who wisely didn't bother to move.

"Who else?" asked the Etihad Stadium's public announcer, as if the role of confirming the goalscorer was even needed.

Haaland spoke last month of his "dream" to score five goals from just five touches – an ambition that does not tally with Guardiola's outlook on the game, as he replied on Sunday: "I don't like that. I want him involved. He can touch the ball many more times."

But Haaland remained as efficient as ever, his second touch a pass to the outstanding Jack Grealish, who in turn found Bernardo Silva for a shot that struck the post.

That was one of only three passes Haaland made in the first half, yet he was involved in everything, attempting four shots.

Perhaps the loudest roar of the night from the Copenhagen fans followed a tackle that robbed Haaland of the ball on halfway. It provided only momentary cheer, though, as the City number nine tapped in a simple second soon enough.

The only way the overmatched visitors could prevent Haaland scoring yet another hat-trick was by themselves prodding beyond Grabara – Davit Khocholava turning in an own goal for the third with Haaland waiting right behind him.

If Guardiola had no sympathy for Copenhagen when he removed Haaland at the break – assuming his words had not cursed the forward with an injury – perhaps he was thinking of poor Julian Alvarez.

The Argentina international's second City start had been overshadowed by Haaland just as his first had, when Alvarez scored two against Nottingham Forest but his team-mate netted three.

There were glimpses of a partnership forming as Haaland's pressing led to a chance from which Alvarez could not get a shot away, but in 235 minutes on the pitch together across seven matches, they have traded just four passes and are yet to combine for a goal – Haaland creating a single chance for Alvarez.

Alvarez is much more like the type of forward City fans have been used to watching under Guardiola – diminutive and busy, but not as clinical as Haaland. Admittedly, few, if any, are.

A second-half penalty was dispatched by Mahrez, with Alvarez watching on when Haaland surely would have snatched the ball for his hat-trick, while the former River Plate man later became the second City player to hit the post from a Grealish pass.

Finally, after another wonderful Grealish run and then a cutback from Mahrez, Alvarez converted the fifth when he simply could not miss in front of an open goal – reward at the end of a slightly frustrating night, if such a thing exists in a 5-0 victory.

Regardless, unless Haaland's injury woes are gone for good, Alvarez will get further chances in the coming months.

But for now, fear for Southampton, who face Haaland on Saturday coming off a 45-minute rest – his longest of the season.

Real Madrid made it three wins from three in the Champions League after seeing off Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 at Santiago Bernabeu.

Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior were on target in the first half as the reigning champions maintained their perfect start in Group F.

Having converted only two of 35 shots on goal – thanks mainly to an inspired performance by Shakhtar goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin – Madrid were hanging on after Oleksandr Zubkov halved the deficit before the break.

Nevertheless, Carlo Ancelotti's side moved five points clear of their Ukrainian opponents at the Group F summit.

The hosts broke the deadlock in the 13th minute when the ball ricocheted kindly for Rodrygo, whose 20-yard drive was too hot for Trubin to handle.

Rodrygo turned provider as Vinicius doubled the lead 15 minutes later, exchanging passes with Karim Benzema before sliding the ball through for his compatriot, who clinically swept home.

Madrid threatened a third goal with Trubin denying Benzema, Federico Valverde and Vinicius, who also had an effort cleared off the line, before the visitors pulled one back against the run of play as Zubkov emphatically volleyed in Bohdan Mykhaylichenko's pinpoint cross.

Mykhaylo Mudryk squandered a glorious opportunity to drag Shakhtar level eight minutes after the restart.

Following a swift counter, the winger was stifled out by Ferland Mendy and Andriy Lunin after opting to cut inside rather than shoot.

Madrid looked to restore their two-goal advantage with Rodrygo and Vinicius drawing smart reflexes out of Trubin, while Marco Asensio's deflected effort hit the post, but they ultimately did not require a third goal to see out a victory that keeps them perfect at the top of the Group.

Chelsea won their first game in Champions League Group E as goals from Wesley Fofana, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Reece James sealed a resounding 3-0 victory over Milan on Wednesday.

Graham Potter's side had picked up just one point from their opening two games against Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb, but victory at Stamford Bridge against the Serie A champions has revived their bid to reach the knockout stages.

Fofana scored his first goal for the club since joining from Leicester City in September after 24 minutes, slotting home after a goalmouth scramble.

Aubameyang and James, who set up the former's strike, made sure of the three points in the second half as Chelsea made it back-to-back wins following the weekend triumph over Crystal Palace in the Premier League.

Ciprian Tatarusanu kept out Mason Mount's whipped effort from outside the penalty area after four minutes, while the Milan goalkeeper pawed over Thiago Silva's header midway through the first half.

Tatarusanu denied Silva again soon after, yet the rebound made its way into the path of Fofana, who stroked home to put the Blues ahead.

Mount saw an effort ruled out for offside as Chelsea continued to dominate, although only a smart stop from Kepa Arrizabalaga prevented Rade Krunic from pulling Milan level on the stroke of half-time.

Former Rossoneri youth player Aubameyang doubled the Blues' advantage 11 minutes after the restart with a close-range finish from James' sublime cross. 

James wrapped up the scoring five minutes later, the England international slamming into the roof of Tatarusanu's net after being played in by Raheem Sterling. 

What does it mean? Chelsea breathe life into Champions League campaign

Failure to secure three points here would have severely damaged Chelsea's hopes of reaching the last 16, yet a superb display – and result – saw them leapfrog Milan into second in the group, just a point behind Salzburg.

Milan, who had only one shot on target, were well off the pace and have now won just one of their 21 away European matches in England.

James shines

James was at the heart of everything good about Chelsea and at the age of 22 years and 301 days, he became the youngest Chelsea player to both score and assist a goal in the same Champions League game.

Fofana's joy turns to disappointment

It was a game of mixed emotions for Fofana. The 21-year-old opened his account for his new club with a close-range finish, but his participation ended just 14 minutes later when he hobbled off after appearing to hurt his knee in a clash with Rafael Leao.

What's next?

Both sides are in domestic action on Saturday ahead of next week's return fixture, with Chelsea at home to Wolves and Milan welcome Juventus to San Siro.

Erling Haaland added two more goals to his ever-increasing season total as Manchester City enjoyed a simple 5-0 win against Copenhagen in the Champions League.

Haaland's first-half brace was followed by a Davit Khocholava own goal, a Riyad Mahrez penalty and a tap-in from Julian Alvarez as Pep Guardiola's side eased to victory at the Etihad Stadium.

That makes it 19 goals in 12 games in all competitions for the former Borussia Dortmund star following his hat-trick in Sunday's derby win over Manchester United.

City have a 100 per cent record in Group G after three games and need just two more points to seal their place in the last 16.

To the surprise of nobody, Haaland opened the scoring inside seven minutes, slamming home Joao Cancelo's low cross with his right foot.

But for the impressive shot-stopping of former Liverpool academy goalkeeper Kamil Grabara it could have been far worse for Copenhagen in the first half, though his parry of Sergio Gomez's shot was tapped in by Haaland for City's second just after the half-hour.

It was three before the break after Gomez's shot from the edge of the box took two deflections, the second of which, off Khocholava, bounced into the net.

Haaland was subbed off at half-time, which may well have irked him considering he would have had a chance at another hat-trick when City were awarded a penalty early for Marko Stamenic's foul on Aymeric Laporte.

It was the left foot of Mahrez, not Haaland, which sent Grabara the wrong way from the spot.

Guardiola gave youth a chance as City cruised in second gear, with Alvarez on hand to make it five after a neat run from Jack Grealish ended in Mahrez supplying the striker with a simple finish.

Lionel Messi broke yet another record with his delightful goal for Paris Saint-Germain in Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Benfica

His first-half goal made him the only player to have scored against 40 different opponents in UEFA's flagship club competition.

The 35-year-old started off an intricate one-touch move before receiving the ball from Neymar and stroking home a delightful left-footed strike into the left-hand corner.

Out of the 40 teams he has found the net against, Messi has scored more times against Arsenal (nine) than any other club, while the former Barcelona star has also scored six goals against his current team, PSG.

The goal was his 127th in the competition, meaning only Cristiano Ronaldo (141) has scored more. His first in the competition was against Panathinaikos in November 2005, when the Argentine was 18.

Celtic must believe they belong at the top level of European football if they are to salvage their Champions League campaign, so says Ange Postecoglou.

The Hoops sit bottom of Group F, having taken just one point from their opening three games after losing 3-1 to RB Leipzig on Wednesday.

Celtic came out strong but went in at half-time 1-0 down courtesy of Christopher Nkunku. Despite Jota grabbing an early equaliser in the second half, a double from Andre Silva secured the three points for the Bundesliga side.

Postecoglou thinks Celtic must show more belief in their own ability, citing their mentality will change with more experience.

He told BT Sport: "A lot of it is experience at this level. Guys believing they belong, guys believing they can achieve at this level. It's not easy to translate that to people when they're out there. There's a lesson there for us tonight.

"We know when we're aggressive and play our football, we can cause anyone problems. When we're not, it's going to be very hard for us to be successful. 

"For us to get over this hump of being a good side and getting results we have to have a stronger belief and mentality, but that's not easy, it comes with experience.

"If you play for survival that's all you'll ever get, you never get anywhere."

Leipzig's second goal came after Joe Hart made a mistake while trying to play the ball out from the back, and the former England goalkeeper knows his error was a costly one.

"They were pressing with three... I decided to pass to Greg [Taylor] and I missed. It's high-level football, something I love playing, and when you make a mistake you get punished," Hart told BT Sport.

"Sometimes it's going to hurt us but ultimately we proved we could get through the press and gave ourselves some good opportunities to score goals.

"We've got two big games at home in a row. If we play to our potential, we believe that we can win them and then it will look different."

Celtic take on St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership on October 8, before Leipzig travel to Glasgow for the reverse fixture in Group F three days later.

Myles Garrett returned to practice with the Cleveland Browns on Wednesday, nine days after the star pass rusher sustained multiple injuries in a single-car accident.

It was the first day he was back on the field since September 26, when the 26-year-old lost control of his Porsche while speeding, veered off the road and flipped it over.

The two-time All-Pro suffered a sprained shoulder, strained biceps, cuts, bruises and a broken eye blood vessel in the accident, forcing him to miss last Sunday's 23-20 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

''Good to have Myles even in the walkthrough, just having his presence and having him in the meetings,'' Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said before practice.

''He's a big part of what we do, so good to have him back out there. I haven't seen him practice yet. He's worked out, obviously off to the side. But I get to watch practice today and get a good feel for where he is.''

Stefanski said the team will monitor his progress throughout the week before deciding if he can suit up for Sunday's home game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

While Garrett was back practicing, fellow All-Pro defensive end Jadeveon Clowney remained sidelined.

Clowney has missed the last two games with an ankle sprain, and without their two formidable defensive ends in Week 4, the Browns were gashed for 202 yards rushing after allowing an average of 83.7 yards on the ground in their first three games combined.

Stefanski remains hopeful Clowney will be able to practice later in the week.

"I think they are both on two different progressions, and we'll treat them as such," Stefanski said. "See how Myles looks today and then obviously just kind of wait and see with Jadeveon.

The LIV Golf Invitational Series has announced a partnership with the little-known MENA Tour in a bid to gain recognition from the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).

The OWGR does not currently recognise the LIV circuit, and several of the Saudi Arabia-backed tour's most high-profile players have expressed frustration at their inability to pick up ranking points.

Cameron Smith said last month that the awarding of ranking points at LIV events "would mean a lot", but some players on the rival PGA Tour have been less sympathetic.

Both Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas have said LIV players can only blame themselves if they fail to qualify for majors, but the breakaway circuit may have found a way to earn the OWGR's blessing.

The MENA Tour – a feeder circuit that operates in the Middle East and North Africa – announced the formation of a "strategic alliance" with LIV Golf on Wednesday. 

A statement from the MENA Tour said the agreement "will result in LIV Golf Invitational events becoming part of and sanctioned by the MENA Tour", which has been recognised by the OWGR since 2016.

"This is a very exciting day for the MENA Tour and our players," said commissioner David Spencer. 

"Through this alliance, our players will now have enhanced playing opportunities and stronger pathways. This is great news for the future of many young players on our tour."

LIV Golf president Atul Khosla added: "We are taking this mutually beneficial action to support the game at the developmental level and because of the importance and fairness of LIV golfers qualifying for OWGR points.

"We're pleased to create pathways that give more opportunities for young players, while also giving fans rankings that include all the world's best golfers."

However, reports have noted the OWGR is yet to ratify the move, while the ranking points awarded are likely to be minimal should LIV events continue to employ smaller 48-player fields and take place over just three rounds

Massimiliano Allegri's position as Juventus head coach has "never been even slightly in doubt," according to Bianconeri vice-chairman Pavel Nedved.

Juve have endured a poor start to the 2022-23 campaign; they already trail early Serie A pacesetters Napoli and Atalanta by seven points after eight games. 

The Bianconeri also lost their opening two Group H matches in the Champions League, with Allegri describing Wednesday's visit of Maccabi Haifa as a "must win" following a pair of 2-1 defeats against Paris Saint-Germain and Benfica.

Although, they do have momentum after Sunday's 3-0 victory over Bologna ended a five-game winless streak across all competitions.

And Nedved insists everyone is focused on turning the club's fortunes around.

"I don't know why it is difficult for us in the Champions League," he told Sky Sport Italia prior to Wednesday's game.

"We are doing everything, the club, coach, staff and players, to get us back on track, to play Juve-style games that can get us through to the next round and recover in Serie A. That is our objective.

"The coach has never been even slightly in doubt, I want to make that clear. There was more confidence after the win, but we have also had very few training sessions, very few, so we will discover the form of the team as we go forward."

Celtic's hopes of qualification for the Champions League last 16 suffered another blow as they slumped to a 3-1 defeat against RB Leipzig following a Joe Hart howler.

The Scottish champions sit bottom of Group F with one point from three games after Christopher Nkunku and Andre Silva put them to the sword in Germany.

Nkunku looked to have broken the deadlock in the 17th minute when he chipped Hart, only to be ruled to have strayed offside by VAR.

Ten minutes later he did open the scoring, poking home after being played in by Silva following the Portugal forward's surge upfield on the counter.

Celtic levelled two minutes into the second half through Jota's first-time finish into the bottom-right corner but, after Dominik Szoboszlai saw a goal controversially chalked off for Silva being in an offside position, Leipzig restored their advantage in bizarre fashion.

Hart's pass out from the back was intercepted by Szoboszlai, who played in Silva for a simple finish.

Silva then doubled his tally by popping up at the back post to finish a fine team move and put the game to bed with 13 minutes remaining.

Barcelona have lost another player to injury after announcing midfielder Frank Kessie pulled up in training on Wednesday.

The Ivory Coast international, who was a late substitute in Tuesday's 1-0 Champions League loss at Inter, strained an adductor muscle in his right thigh.

Barca said in a statement that the 25-year-old's injury will be monitored, but no timeframe has been put on his return to action.

He has played eight times for the Catalan giants since joining as a free agent from Milan in the close season, six of those coming as a substitute.

Kessie's injury came on the same day Barca confirmed Andreas Christensen suffered a ligament sprain during the highly contentious defeat to Inter.

They join Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, Hector Bellerin, Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay on the sidelines during a gruelling run of fixtures for Barca.

Xavi's side host Celta Vigo and Inter in LaLiga and the Champions League respectively over the next week, before taking on Real Madrid in a top-of-the-table Clasico on October 16.

In fantasy football, it’s often the ones you least suspect.

Every week, there are surprise stars who seemingly come out of nowhere to deliver performances that prove decisive in fantasy matchups.

Unexpected contributors are the theme of this week’s fantasy picks.

The players mentioned are not unknowns, but they either have matchups that would not be expected to deliver fantasy success or feature for teams that have surprisingly become relevant in both the NFL and fantasy worlds.

As usual, Stats Perform has backed up its selections of four offensive players and a defense with advanced data that supports their case for inclusion in fantasy lineups this week.
 

Quarterback: Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans @ Washington Commanders

Tannehill is approaching the end of his time as the Titans' starter, but he still holds value for a Tennessee team looking to recover from a slow start to win a bad AFC South and for fantasy players eyeing a matchup to exploit this week.

That matchup comes in the form of a Commanders defense that has allowed over seven yards per pass and has given up 10 passing touchdowns, tied for the most in the NFL.

With Tannehill delivering an accurate, well-thrown ball on 87.6 per cent of his pass attempts – the third-best ratio among quarterbacks with at least 50 attempts – he is in a strong position to see his consistent accuracy rewarded on Sunday despite the relative lack of playmaking talent around him.

Running Back: Saquon Barkley, New York Giants @ Green Bay Packers

Most in the NFL world will be anticipating the Giants to come back down to earth against the Packers in the second London game of the season.

While the Packers are heavy favourites to slow New York’s fast start to the season, the odds of them halting Barkley's renaissance look slim.

No player in the NFL is averaging more yards per game than Barkley's 115.8, while a Packers defense that has traditionally struggled against the run is surrendering 4.97 yards per rush, the 11th-most in the league.

Hopes of progress for the Packers on run defense have yet to be realised, and Barkley should take advantage of their fallibility on the ground.

Wide Receiver: George Pickens, Pittsburgh Steelers @ Buffalo Bills

This is less about the matchup, which is an awful one for Pittsburgh, and more about opportunity for rookie receiver Pickens, who figures to be one of Kenny Pickett's favourite targets as the rookie quarterback makes his first career start.

Over the last two weeks, Pickens has been targeted 15 times, and he enjoyed the best game of his young career so far against the New York Jets, catching six of his eight targets 102 yards in a game Pickett entered for the second half.

The Buffalo defense is substantially better than that of the Jets, allowing only 4.75 yards per pass play. Yet the Bills are still dealing with injuries in the secondary and Pickens, whose big-play rate of 38.6 per cent is 10th among receivers with at least 20 targets, has the all-round game to turn the attention he will get from Pickett into production regardless of the difficult matchup.

Tight End: Tyler Conklin, New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins

There's such a lack of depth at tight end for fantasy football purposes that it's necessary to take a few swings if you're stuck for an answer at the position.

Conklin represents such a swing but is one you can have more confidence in after his impressive Week 4.

He demonstrated chemistry with Zach Wilson on the quarterback's return from a knee injury, hauling in three catches for 52 yards in the Jets' surprise win over the Steelers. Conklin was targeted five times and registered a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup with a defender when targeted, on all five.

This week, the Jets face a Miami defense that has conceded 7.43 yards per pass play this season. Only the Seattle Seahawks (8.24) have fared worse by that measure. If Wilson and Conklin continue to build their rapport, the latter could prove an astute fantasy play by those managers who take a chance on him.

Defense/Special Teams: Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans

The Jaguars being competitive with the unbeaten Philadelphia Eagles a week after stunning the Los Angeles Chargers illustrated just how far they have come in so little time under Doug Pederson.

Very few thought the Jags would quickly be in the mix for the AFC South but that is where they stand, with a diverse and aggressive defense playing a huge role in Jacksonville's progress.

The Jags have forced 27 negative plays this season, tied for the eighth-most among NFL defenses. The winless Texans, meanwhile, have seen their offense suffer 26 negative plays for minus 121 yards. Only four teams have lost more yardage on those plays this season.

Tied third in the NFL for takeaways with nine, look for a defense nobody saw coming to make the most of a favourable matchup and get Jacksonville back on track.