Tottenham fought back to beat Southampton 4-1 and get their 2022-23 campaign off to a winning start, with Dejan Kulusevski proving key.
Antonio Conte elected not to hand starts to his new signings, five of which were on the bench while Richarlison served a one-match suspension, but the old guard proved to be fully capable on Saturday.
James Ward-Prowse volleyed Southampton into an early lead but Spurs hit back before half-time – Ryan Sessegnon and Eric Dier both heading home to turn the tide.
Further gloss was added in the second half, with Mohammed Salisu turning the ball into his own net before Kulusevski capped off a fine individual display with a goal as Spurs eased their way to all three points.
Southampton came flying out the blocks and took the lead with in the 12th minute, as Moussa Djenepo clipped a byline cross to Ward-Prowse, who finished in style.
Spurs were soon level, though, with Sessegnon on hand at the far post to head in Kulusevski's inviting cross.
The hosts' dominance paid dividends with a second 10 minutes later – Son Heung-min the provider as his corner was headed in by Dier.
With Spurs in full flow, Ben Davies tested Gavin Bazunu from distance and Son drilled over after dancing through Southampton's defence.
Any threat of a Southampton comeback was quelled in the second half, with Salisu diverting Emerson Royal's cross into his own net.
Having teed up Spurs's equaliser and generally proving a menace throughout, Kulusevski grabbed a deserved goal of his own just after the hour, cutting inside and sweeping home a left-footed shot to wrap up a statement victory for Conte.
Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls registered a historic 67 – 51 win over New Zealand to advance to the netball final of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England on Saturday.
The result followed up another big win for the team, after getting by world number one-ranked team Australia in Pool A. The Jamaicans are now scheduled for a rematch with the Australians in the final. The Australians defeated England 60-51 in the day’s other semi-final.
Against New Zealand, Jamaica captain Jhaniele Fowler had a perfect 54 goals from 54 attempts to lead her team. The Jamaicans got off to a strong against the world number two ranked team and ended the first quarter with an 18-9 lead. It was an advantage they never really surrendered, despite a strong fourth-quarter rally from the Kiwis. New Zealand were led by Grace Nweke who netted 24 goals from 24 attempts.
New Zealand will face off with England in the bronze medal match, which will also take place on Sunday. The appearance will be the first in the Commonwealth Games final for the Sunshine Girls, having previously won three bronze medals.
It was certainly a Wolmer's reunion when Olympian Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce came to the JOA's Commonwealth Manor at the very "vibes" Edgbaston Hotel and Conference Centre in Birmingham where the Commonwealth Games is taking place.
JOA President, Christopher Samuda, and JOA Secretary General/CEO, Ryan Foster, who both hail from the prominent Marescaux Road educational institution, Wolmer's Boys' School, welcomed their "sistren' Shelly-Ann, who attended Wolmer's Girls' School, and was on a doctor's visit to Birmingham.
The Commonwealth Manor in Birmingham is the second edition of the current administration of the JOA, the first having been held at the snazzy and popular Helm Bar in the Gold Coast, Australia, where the 2018 Games took place.
Shelly-Ann said "yes this is Wolmer's" in an evident show of scholastic camaraderie as she identified with the governors of JOA.
Samuda, in embracing the collegiate and national spirit, stated: "We are Wolmerians, the maroon and gold champions, and black, green and gold patriots" while Foster, inspired by the enviable history of his alma mater, was moved to say "changemakers and innovators we are and servant leaders we will always be"
The BBC is a global name and the Jamaica Olympic Association is a household name and therefore it was natural for both to meet in Birmingham at the JOA's Commonwealth Manor, being hosted by Jamaica's apex governing body for Olympic and non-Olympic sports at the 2022 Commonwealth Games now underway in the city of Birmingham.
It was an amiable meeting with Olympian Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce who had lively exchanges with JOA Directors, Christopher Samuda, Ryan Foster, Jacqueline Cowan and Nichole Case and BBC producers who had a riveting conversation with Jamaica's 'Mummy Rocket" through the lens of the camera.
It was more than a "feel good" meeting as sport was on display uniting stakeholders who all share a common bond - "sport" - that impacts a global citizenry at play.
JOA Secretary General/CEO, Ryan Foster, said: "Sport is the winner here and if we all play by the rules the game of life would be inspiring and peaceful."
It was a meeting of the minds and the natural beauty of the undulating green and flowered gardens of Edgbaston Hotel made it more tranquil. "This is sport and nature creating a conversation the value of which is priceless" JOA President, Christopher Samuda, said.
The JOA's Commonwealth Manor comes to a successful end on August 3 with Jamaica Night when members of the Jamaican diaspora, including dignitaries and business interests, will continue to meet and greet officials, athletes and coaches of the Jamaican delegation to the Commonwealth Games.
It is public knowledge that Jamaica's prowess in the field events has become known on the global stage and the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) salutes our champions in the field who are toiling diligently and valiantly in making fertile the soil in sport.
The 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games is witnessing the continued growth and development of the field sports which augurs very well for the future.
JOA President, Christopher Samuda, in acknowledging the advancement of the field sports stated: "Shanieka Ricketts' admirable performance in accomplishing that gold in the triple jump - her first major title - and in so doing writing her name indelibly in the history book of the Commonwealth Games demonstrates that our footprints go deep and are well established in the sand."
Travis Smikle, a seasoned campaigner, hurled the discus in Birmingham in securing the bronze medal in the men's event which is well decorated with Fedrick Dacres, our national record holder and former Olympic Solidarity Scholarship recipient, and Chad Wright. O'Dayne Richards, a JOA Scholarship awardee who placed sixth in the finals of the men's shot put in Birmingham, is an experienced soldier with gold medals in his cabinet.
"We are proud of our women and men in the field events who continue to be an inspiration to generations of youth who aspire to emulate them and who the JOA salute with the greatest of respect" JOA Secretary General/CEO, Ryan Foster, said with evident pride.
The golden leap of Lamara Distin in the women's high jump and the bronze achievement of Kimberly Williamson in that event are crowning moments for independence. "At a time when we are celebrating independence it is uplifting to know that landmark achievements in various sports are being established as we, in the JOA, pursue our mandate 'sport for all, all for sport" Foster said.
Kimberly Williams, a celebrated medalist, and a Ackelia Smith, who leapt to a personal best at the games, both represented our nation well in the finals of the triple jump and "exemplify the character and mettle of our national ambassadors who are establishing milestones and creating legacies in sport" Samuda remarked.
Jurgen Klopp conceded Liverpool must be happy with a point after "a really bad game" against Fulham.
The Reds, who looked sharp in defeating Manchester City 3-1 in last week's Community Shield, were unable to hit their best form on Saturday as they opened their Premier League campaign with a 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage.
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored Fulham's opener in the first half, but Liverpool hit back through substitute Darwin Nunez's first Premier League goal.
Mitrovic then became the first player to score twice for a promoted team on the opening day of a Premier League season since Steve Mounie for Huddersfield Town in 2017 when he netted from the penalty spot after drawing a foul from Virgil van Dijk.
Yet Liverpool had the resolve to restore parity for a second time, Nunez involved again when he perhaps inadvertently nudged down to Mohamed Salah, who swept home his eighth goal on the opening day of a Premier League campaign, the joint-highest total along with Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney.
Liverpool have now gained 115 points from losing positions under Klopp in the Premier League, the most of any side since the German took over in October 2015, but he was far from pleased with what he saw in west London.
Klopp told BT Sport: "The best thing about the game is the result, that we got a point from a really bad game for my side. Now the question is how can that happen.
"The energy was not right in the beginning, then we wanted to fight back but it is not easy. The pitch was dry, we played really into their hands most of the time. When we found a bit of direction and ended up in front of their goal, we had the bigger chances.
"The result is fine, I don't think we deserved more than that, the performance… massively improvable.
"We cannot always hug the boys. We do that usually when they deserve it. When you start a game in a specific way that was opposite to how we wanted to start, really completely opposite, we didn't find direction. Everyone was under pressure, we couldn't break the lines, which was a clear message. We never had momentum.
"We could have won the game, we had the bigger chances, but that would probably have been a bit too much today."
Liverpool had some complaints about Fulham's opener, with Jordan Henderson claiming he had been fouled by Joao Palhinha in the build-up, though VAR did not intervene.
"It doesn't have to be deliberate, I think it's that they don't go back that far, that's the thing," said Klopp when asked about the incident.
"This result was not about the referee, but we discussed the situation in a Premier League meeting that the refs don't want to go that far back. I'm not sure how far back it was. If it was a foul, it would have been nice, but he saw it differently."
While Nunez became just the third player in Premier League history to both score and assist off the bench on his debut in the competition, Mitrovic has now scored 45 goals in English league football since the start of last season, 16 more than any other player.
Mitrovic managed only three top-flight goals in the 2020-21 season, but Fulham boss Marco Silva was thrilled with the striker's performance.
"Mitro is not just goals, if someone thinks that, forget [it]," Silva said on BT Sport. "The job he did this afternoon, for the team, his pressure, helping the midfielders, the back line… after that, if you deliver for him, he'll score.
"I have to congratulate him, the work he did without the ball he did was fantastic. He knows that, I demand that from him."
The Green Bay Packers will be hoping that a hamstring injury sustained by Darnell Savage in practice on Friday does not prove too serious.
Savage, the Packers' starting safety heading into the 2022 season, suffered the injury to his right hamstring during one-on-one matchups between receivers and defensive backs at the team's traditional "family night" at Lambeau Field.
The 25-year-old was covering Amari Rodgers, but had to watch the rest of the session from the sideline.
A first-round draft pick three years ago, Savage also had ice wrapped around his leg.
However, he was confident it was only a minor issue.
"I don't think it's a concern," Savage said, as reported by ESPN.
"It's a fast-people injury. Some of those things you can't avoid. I'll just handle it the right way and listen to those guys back there and I'll be all right."
Darwin Nunez scored one goal and set up an equaliser for Mohamed Salah as Liverpool twice came from behind draw 2-2 at Fulham in their first Premier League game of the season.
Aleksandar Mitrovic headed top-flight new boys Fulham into a deserved first-half lead, but Nunez came off the bench to equalise at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
Mitrovic restored the Cottagers' lead with a penalty after he was upended by Virgil van Dijk with 18 minutes remaining, but Salah poked in from close range after Nunez laid the ball into his path to salvage a point before Jordan Henderson hit the woodwork in stoppage time.
It is a record six consecutive seasons Salah has scored in Liverpool's opening match of a Premier League season, but they did not do enough to win it and also lost Thiago Alcantara to a hamstring injury.
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr. is targeting further European glory beyond the UEFA Super Cup, as he looks to win "five or six" Champions League trophies.
The 22-year-old scored the only goal of the game in the Champions League final against Liverpool last season, the club's fourth in nine seasons but his first since joining the club from Flamengo in 2018.
Madrid have the opportunity for further honours in the Super Cup clash with Eintracht Frankfurt, taking place on Wednesday, and Vinicius is keen for a win in Helsinki but has aspirations that stretch far in the future with the Spanish giants.
"It is very important to try to win as many games as possible, especially if you want to win competitions as important as the UEFA Super Cup," he told UEFA's official website.
"We will do all we can to win the first piece of silverware on offer in the season.
"I look up to the players who have achieved so much at this club, who achieved those things at the biggest club in the world.
"Of course, I want to keep winning here and play for a long time to win as much as them – to win five or six [Champions Leagues] – and to try to be as influential as some of the greatest players to have worn the Real Madrid shirt."
Madrid's run to the final last season was far from an easy ride, with late goals in the ties against Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City preventing an exit and Vinicius admitted it was an "emotional rollercoaster".
"That's just in the DNA of this club and this shirt, always turning up in important games, players who know how to approach games in this competition, so I believe that it was a bit of everything," he said.
"Some of the games were emotional rollercoasters and everything seemed to go our way.
"My favourite moment? The game against [Manchester] City here at the Bernabeu. In two minutes, Rodrygo came on and scored two goals which took us to the final.
"The most important moment of the competition, I believe, was the City game."
Kyle Shanahan praised the aggression of his San Francisco 49ers, but warned they must channel it appropriately after stopping practice earlier in the week due to fighting.
Tuesday's practice was reportedly halted by a scuffle between linebacker Fred Warner and receiver Brandon Aiyuk, with punches thrown.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Shanahan said he wanted to see his players push one another, metaphorically, but that it goes too far when they could potentially cause each other injuries.
"I want everyone challenging each other," Shanahan said. "I don't care how much crap each other talks; I don't care how close they get to fighting.
"They can do whatever they want to get themselves to be as intense as they want and bring the best out of each other, which happens a lot that way. And it's the same on the field.
"But once you throw a punch, you get ejected or you get a penalty... I want people to be irritants, I want people to get as close as they can to all that stuff. I want people to get right on the line where they're about to black out, but you can't black out on the football field or you cost your team."
The disagreement between Warner and Aiyuk reportedly erupted after the former hit receiver Marcus Johnson late, which put Johnson in concussion protocol.
"I love the intensity of it," Shanahan added. "I don't think you have to fight to be intense, though. Scuffles are scuffles but then they lead to other stuff.
"I think that's why we've got a guy in protocol, because he took an unnecessary shot on someone, which led to the big fight and then we had a bunch of haymakers and stuff thrown in there, which only break hands.
"I think our team is pretty tough. I think we're pretty physical. Most probably [we would be] voted the most physical team on tape last year, I think we'd win most of that, and we didn't get in one fight last year. So, I don't think that totally pertains to toughness."
A pre-season friendly between Juventus and Atletico Madrid scheduled to take place in Tel Aviv on Sunday has been postponed due to security concerns.
Juve and Atleti were due to meet at Bloomfield Stadium, but the game was called off on Saturday.
Increasing conflict in the Gaza Strip had raised doubts over whether the match will go ahead.
LaLiga club Atleti said in a statement: "Due to the current security situation, Comtec Group (match promoter), Juventus and Atletico de Madrid announce that the friendly game between the two teams that was to take place in Israel this Sunday 7 August at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv, has been cancelled."
It was due to be the final match for both clubs before they start their seasons.
Juve begin their Serie A campaign at home to Sassuolo on August 15, with Diego Simeone's Atletico side travelling to Getafe on the same day to get their LaLiga season under way.
Simon Kjaer has challenged Milan winger Rafael Leao to "grow enormously" and realise his potential to be one of the top five players in the world.
Leao played a big part in the Rossoneri's first Serie A title triumph in 11 years last season and has been linked with Real Madrid.
The 23-year-old Portugal international, who has just under two years remaining on his contract, scored 14 goals and provided 10 assists across all competitions in the 2021-22 campaign.
Milan defender Kjaer wants to see Leao scale new heights, while he is also expecting big things of 22-year-old midfielder Sandro Tonali and new signing Divock Origi.
"This year I want to see Leao and Tonali: they are no longer kids, they have to grow enormously," the Denmark captain told Sportweek.
"What they did last year is no longer enough. Leao has quality. extraordinary and therefore he can no longer afford games in which one sees little: he must always be decisive.
"If he can make this leap, he can be one of the top five in the world.
"Then I want to see Origi: I was with him in Lille, he was a kid, now I expect a champion who makes the difference because he has everything to be, speed, strength and feet."
Kjaer has returned to action in pre-season after a long lay-off due to a knee injury.
Miguel Cabrera has clarified previous comments that began rumours of his retirement, saying: "No way am I going to quit."
Cabrera has had a difficult year with the Detroit Tigers, playing through knee pain in recent weeks and seeing his stats suffer as a result, with just three extra-base hits in his past 21 games.
The 39-year-old set tongues wagging on Thursday when he seemed to indicate his future was uncertain, telling reporters: "I don't think about next year. I'm thinking about trying to finish healthy this year."
However, speaking to The Detroit News, Cabrera made it clear he did not mean he was about to call it a day, insisting he intends to play through to the end of the 2023 season.
"I'm not going to retire," he said. "Not until after next year when my contract is done. They didn't understand what I said. No way am I going to quit."
Cabrera in April became only the seventh player in the history of the major leagues with at least 500 home runs and 3,000 hits, and will be owed $32million in 2023, the final fully guaranteed year of his contract.
"Next year is going to go way better," he added. "Next year I'm going to be right there."
Erling Haaland has said he will not dwell on missed chances as he prepares for his Premier League debut with Manchester City.
The Premier League champions begin their title defence at West Ham on Sunday, and spread further fear throughout the league when they sealed the signing of Haaland in June.
However, his debut in a City shirt did not go according to plan as he drew a blank in the 3-1 Community Shield defeat to Liverpool, including hitting the crossbar from point-blank range late on.
Speaking to former Newcastle United and England striker Alan Shearer for BBC Sport and The Athletic, the 22-year-old outlined his process as a goalscorer, and why he will not allow those misses to be carried into future games.
"As a striker, I think it's really important that when you're in the game to not think too much," Haaland said. "If I'm going to go into my next game thinking about the chance I missed last game, it's not good.
"You have to go into the game hungry. It doesn't matter what happened before, if you scored three goals, if you scored zero goals, if you haven't scored in a while. You have to go into the game with the same mentality. And so I think about not thinking too much about it."
Haaland scored 86 goals in 89 games in two-and-a-half years at Borussia Dortmund, but admitted there is extra pressure that comes with playing for City, who have won four of the last five Premier League titles, including pipping Liverpool by one point last season.
"Yes, of course it's pressure," he said. "I'm playing for the champions... so there's pressure, but in my head, it's about trying to go out on the pitch smiling as much as I can and to try to enjoy the game. Because life goes fast and suddenly my career is over.
"You saw that with my father (who retired aged 30 due to injury), suddenly it's over. So it's about trying to enjoy every single minute of it because I'm really lucky to have this job and to be here.
"In the end, we just want to enjoy playing football, enjoy what our childhood dream was. There will be people talking about you, especially as a striker if you don't score, then the talk comes, but in the end you cannot choose what people say, what people read, what people think about you.
"This is something you just have to live with. And yeah, I kind of enjoy it."
Haaland also outlined his early impressions of working with Pep Guardiola, who has won four Premier League titles, four EFL Cups and an FA Cup since arriving as manager in 2016.
"He's demanding in his messages about what to do and about doing everything at 100 per cent," he added. "It doesn't matter if it's a normal kind of running exercise, do it at 100 per cent, like you do it on the pitch. Train as you play. Easy as that."
The imposing striker is hoping to bring something extra to City, who were eliminated from the Champions League in agonising fashion by eventual winners Real Madrid in the semi-finals last season.
"We come as champions from last year, so we have to do the same kind of things they did and hopefully even better," Haaland said.
"In the important games be even better, the Champions League and the cups, and also to maintain all the time in the Premier League.
"It's not easy as we know. It's a difficult league, so many good teams, but it's about building on what they have been having here for so many years.
"I want to come in here and bring my own kind of things to the game and hopefully be better."
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