Gabriel Moreno highlighted a six-run first against Clayton Kershaw with a three-run homer and the Arizona Diamondbacks rolled to a stunning 11-2 rout of the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the NL Division Series.

Tommy Pham had four hits with a homer and Corbin Carroll and Alek Thomas also went deep for Arizona, which is 3-0 in these playoffs – all on the road.

Arizona wasted no time jumping on Kershaw, who gave up a leadoff double to Ketel Marte and an RBI single to Carroll before Christian Walker’s double made it 2-0.

Moreno followed with a blast over the wall in left field to extend the lead to 5-0 and after a groundout and Thomas’ walk, Evan Longoria doubled home another run.

Kershaw – a three-time Cy Young Award winner - was relieved by Emmet Sheehan after he was tagged for six runs and six hits while recording just one out.

He had never made a start where he pitched less than one inning.

Carroll led off the second with a home run and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. added an RBI double before Longoria’s sacrifice fly upped the advantage to 9-0.

Merrill Kelly didn’t need all the offensive support, as he allowed three hits in 6 1/3 scoreless innings for his first win against the Dodgers.

He entered 0-11 with a 5.49 ERA in 16 starts against them.

Thomas homered in the seventh and Pham’s blast in the eighth made it 11-0.

Will Smith had a two-run triple in the eighth to get Los Angeles on the board.

Harper homers, Phillies shut out Braves

Bryce Harper’s home run backed a stellar pitching performance, and the Philadelphia Phillies stifled the MLB-best Atlanta Braves 3-0 in Game 1 of the NL Division Series on Saturday night.

Wild-card series hero Bryson Stott broke a scoreless tie with a run-scoring single off Spencer Strider in the fourth.

Harper took Strider deep in the sixth to make it 2-0 and the Phillies tacked on another run in the eighth when catcher’s interference was called against Sean Murphy.

After the call was reviewed and upheld, there was a brief delay when a handful of fans threw rubbish on the field.

The Phillies took a 1-0 lead over the Braves in the NLDS for the second consecutive season after they upset Atlanta 3-1 on an improbable run to the 2022 World Series.

Ranger Suarez limited the 104-win Braves to one hit in 3 2/3 innings and Jeff Hoffman escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fourth.

Seranthony Dominguez struck out the side in the fifth and Jose Alvarado, rookie Orion Kerkering, Matt Strahm and Craig Kimbrel shut down Atlanta the rest of the way.

Strider, the majors’ only 20-game winner this season, allowed two runs and five hits over seven innings with two walks and eight strikeouts.

Alvarez hits 2 home runs as Astros beat Twins

Yordan Alvarez homered twice, and Justin Verlander pitched six scoreless innings to lead the defending World Series champion Houston Astros to a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins in an AL Division Series opener.

Jose Altuve led off the bottom of the first with a home run and Alvarez finished with three RBIs to help Houston win its 10th straight in Game 1 of a Division Series.

The 40-year-old Verlander allowed four hits with three walks and six strikeouts for his 17th career playoff win, most among active pitchers.

Minnesota rallied against Hector Neris in the seventh, with Jorge Polanco providing the big hit with a three-run homer. Two pitches later, Royce Lewis belted his third home run in three playoff games to get the Twins within 5-4.

Alvarez connected off Caleb Thielbar in the bottom half to extend Houston’s lead.

The Houston slugger took starter Bailey Ober deep in the third for a two-run shot for a 3-0 advantage.

Rangers’ bullpen holds off Orioles

Five Texas relievers kept the Baltimore Orioles in check and the Rangers held on for a 3-2 victory in their AL Division Series opener.

Third baseman Josh Jung homered and came up with a key defensive play as the Rangers improved to 3-0 in these playoffs – all on the road.

After Dane Dunning gave up Anthony Santander’s solo home run in the sixth to cut Texas’ lead to 3-2, Will Smith, Josh Sborz, Aroldis Chapman and Jose Leclerc combined for the final 10 outs.

Chapman walked the first two batters in the eighth before Jung ranged to his left and snagged Santander’s bouncer on a short hop to start a 5-4-3 double play.

Chapman then struck out Ryan Mountcastle with a runner on third to end the inning.

Leigh Wood toasted the “best win” of his career after retaining his WBA featherweight title by battling back from a sustained beating to stop British rival Josh Warrington.

At a frenzied Sheffield Arena, Warrington was well on the way to becoming a three-time champion at the weight as his relentless bursts of aggression and occasional roughhouse tactics left Wood reeling.

But Wood kept his composure in a cauldron-like atmosphere and seized his moment in emphatic fashion as he followed up a stiff right hook with pinpoint combination punching that put Warrington on his back.

Warrington rose gamely but unsteadily returned to his corner and as he did not turn round, referee Michael Alexander waved off the contest at the end of the seventh round to the Leeds fighter’s chagrin.

“It wasn’t my best performance,” Wood said. “I did feel a bit groggy making the weight but no excuses.

“That’s my best win, Josh is a two-time world champion, he has massive scalps on his record and I’m the only Brit to be beat him.

“He’s a great fighter – definitely my best scalp. If we do it again then we do it again and if not, we’ll have a new challenge. We’ll see.”

Less than two years on from stopping Michael Conlan in the last round when trailing on the cards in a high-profile bout, Wood insisted he can never be discounted after racking up a 28th win from 31 fights.

“I don’t know what it is about me – I haven’t got any quit in me,” he said. “It’s never say die.

“It’s the same as my career – I didn’t make the best start, I turned it around and got there, it was the same as the Conlan fight.

“Write me off all you want, I’m just going to be there to the end and if I can do anything to win, I’ll do it.”

A fight at the City Ground, home of his beloved Nottingham Forest, could be next for Wood, who could move up to super-featherweight after admitting boiling down to 126lb was becoming increasingly tough.

While three years younger than his conqueror, Warrington’s future is less certain after slumping to his third defeat in 35 bouts, including back-to-back losses in world title fights in just under a year.

He immediately protested Alexander’s decision to call a halt to proceedings after belatedly turning round before slumping his head on the referee’s shoulder as he accepted there was no way back.

Warrington said afterwards: “I just feel a bit hard done by, it was the end of round, get to my feet, look at my dad with a smile on my face, turn round at (the count of) eight and it’s being waved off.”

This fight took place on neutral territory – halfway between Wood’s home city of Nottingham and Warrington’s Leeds – but any return bout will be on the champion’s patch.

With Wood insistent a fight at the City Ground is next, promoter Eddie Hearn suggested a rematch against Warrington is a highly tempting option.

“It’s going to take a big fight for Leigh Wood at the City Ground,” Hearn said. “I want to see the fight back.

“If Josh would have turned round, they would have 100 per cent let the fight carry on. If the ref did call it off at eight, it was too early because he should have given him the opportunity to turn around.

“The ref said to me ‘he wouldn’t turn round and if he doesn’t turn round I can’t let him continue’.

“When you look at frontrunners for sizes of fights at the City Ground, I think the rematch is probably the biggest one.”

Andy Farrell insists a World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand is “as tough as it gets” after “little old Ireland” topped Pool B thanks to a six-try demolition of Scotland.

The rampant Six Nations champions emphatically underlined their status as Test rugby’s top-ranked side by banishing any lingering doubts of an early exit with a crushing 36-14 success which eliminated the Scots.

Ireland will return to Paris next Saturday for a showdown with the All Blacks seeking to make history by progressing beyond the last eight of the tournament for the first time.

Head coach Farrell led his side to a landmark series success in New Zealand last summer and is braced for another major test following statement Stade de France victories over reigning champions South Africa and Scotland.

“New Zealand are a fantastic side, and for little old Ireland to be talked about in the same bracket as the All Blacks shows how far we’ve come as a rugby-playing nation,” he said.

“The respect we’ve got for New Zealand is through the roof.

“The form they’ve got at this moment in time is top drawer and I’m sure that they will be relishing this fixture to try and put a few things right. It’s tough, it’s as tough as it gets.

“Two weeks ago (against South Africa), it was a tough game and this one was knock-out type rugby so it gets a whole lot tougher next week against the All Blacks and hopefully they will need to be at their best to beat us as well.”

James Lowe’s early try settled any Irish nerves in Saint-Denis before Hugo Keenan crossed either side of a score from the recalled Iain Henderson to quickly take the game away from shell-shocked Scotland.

Dan Sheehan and Garry Ringrose added to the opposition’s embarrassment, prior to consolation tries from Scottish pair Ewan Ashman and Ali Price.

Farrell must wait to discover the true cost of a feisty affair in the French capital, with wings Mack Hansen and Lowe and replacement lock James Ryan each sustaining injuries.

“Obviously, we’ll see how they pull up in the morning but Mack went off with a HIA (head injury assessment) and when he came back on he felt his calf straight away, so we got him off,” said Farrell.

“James Ryan has a bit of a knock on his wrist that we have to assess more, so we’ll see how he is now.

“James Lowe got a bang in the eye, his eye shut and he couldn’t really see much. His vision was coming back towards the end of the game, which is good.

“Then, a few more bangs and bruises that we’ll need to assess tomorrow.”

Ireland once again performed a celebratory lap of honour in front of tens of thousands of jubilant Irish supporters.

Farrell savoured another special occasion, while wishing he could simultaneously enjoy the “bonkers” scenes back home.

“My wife and me two girls were there, that’s why I was singing to them,” he said.

“I think it’s amazing, the songs at the end of the game, I love all that.

“We got a bit of stick, didn’t we, for walking around against South Africa, but we walk round and thank the fans after every game.

“It’s the least we can do when they turn up in their thousands like they’ve done.

“We play for them, we talk about it every week. I talked about it before the game today in the dressing room, it means more than what people think, 100 per cent.

“I know that France is buzzing with Irish people, but I believe it’s bonkers back home. We’re torn a bit, enjoying it with the fans back home or stay here? We’ll stay here for now!”

Gregor Townsend admitted Ireland were simply too good for his Scotland team to handle as their World Cup dream ended with a chastening 36-14 defeat by the world’s top-ranked side in Paris on Saturday night.

After losing their opening match to South Africa, the Scots had to win with a bonus point or by denying the Irish a losing bonus in order to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Their hopes were dented by the concession of a try after just over a minute and the game was effectively over by half-time as the Irish ran in another three scores before the break to lead 26-0.

Scotland rallied slightly to win the second half 14-10, but there was a sense of dejection at full-time as they departed the tournament at the first hurdle at a time when they are ranked fifth in the world.

“It’s a very disappointing result, we have gone out of the World Cup against the highest-ranked side in the world, and they were well ahead at half-time,” rued head coach Townsend.

“We played the number two side in the world in the opening game and it was a close game.

“In isolation, this is a really disappointing defeat against a very good side and one we believed we had the ability to beat.

“They were the better team tonight, they were excellent and it’s probably the best I have seen them play.

“It’s probably where we and they are in terms of the rankings and why now they are the favourites for the World Cup.”

Townsend did not feel James Lowe’s early try set the tone as Scotland went on to enjoy a spell of pressure thereafter, albeit without reward, before Ireland turned the screw in the lead-up to half-time.

“The early try wasn’t a factor as we managed in that first 20 minutes to put some good rugby together, but we didn’t put any points on the board,” said Townsend.

“The tries before half-time we could have defended better, but I have to give credit to Ireland as they executed very well and the game went away from us.

“In the second half, I was really proud of the effort and the intent to not allow the score to become a bigger one. We came back and showed who we were in attack.

“The game had gotten away from us, so we focused on winning back respect. To get two tries against such a top team, we’ll take a little bit out of that.

“We’re very disappointed with the result and the first-half performance, but credit to Ireland, who were very, very good.”

While the fact they were placed in a group alongside the world’s top-ranked side and the defending world champions counts as some mitigation for Scotland’s early exit, Townsend acknowledged his team were not at their best over the course of the tournament.

“We certainly have to do better, and the responsibility is mine,” he said. “We believed we could get out of this pool, and we still believed that after losing to South Africa with the response the players showed in training and the games they played (against Tonga and Romania), gave us an opportunity tonight, which we didn’t take.

“Ireland are a better team than us on tonight’s performance, and they’ve won 17 games in a row so they’ve clearly been the better team over the last couple of years. Now, if we can get on the journey they have been on the last few years then great – but it is easy saying that, it is another thing doing it.

“You become a better team through defeats as well as victories, and we’ve got to make sure that this defeat makes us a better team for the Six Nations coming up and the next World Cup, although at this point the Six Nations is much more relevant.”

Leigh Wood retained his world featherweight title after weathering a ferocious onslaught from Josh Warrington to stop his British rival in a pulsating showdown at the Utilita Arena Sheffield.

In the first defence of his second reign as WBA champion, Wood absorbed some punishing blows over several rounds and remained upright despite being clearly troubled by Warrington’s relentless flurries.

Wood, though, kept his composure amid a cacophony of noise and unloaded with precise combination punching, finishing with a right to the temple and then a left when Warrington was on the way down.

Warrington, seeking to become a three-time champion at 126lbs, rose gamely but was on wobbly legs, prompting referee Michael Alexander to wave off the contest right at the end of the seventh round.

Warrington protested the decision before slumping his head on the referee’s shoulder in grim defeat as Wood celebrated his latest comeback victory to improve his record to 28 wins and three defeats.

A fight at the City Ground, home of his beloved Nottingham Forest, could be next for Wood, who could move up to super-featherweight after admitting boiling down to 126lbs was becoming increasingly tough.

While three years younger than his conqueror, Warrington’s future is less certain after slumping to his third defeat in 35 bouts, including back-to-back losses world title fights in just under a year.

Jude Bellingham’s goalscoring hot streak continued with a brace as LaLiga leaders Real Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 at the Bernabeu.

The England midfielder opened the scoring with a ninth-minute finish and added another effort nine minutes into the second half to take him to 10 goals in as many games for Real since joining them from Borussia Dortmund over the summer.

Further finishes followed from Vincius Junior and Joselu, who then saw a penalty saved by Osasuna goalkeeper Sergio Herrera.

Girona leapfrogged Barcelona – who play at Granada on Sunday – into second, two points behind Real, with a 1-0 win at 10-man Cadiz.

After the hosts had Darwin Machis sent off in the 10th minute, Aleix Garcia netted a 59th-minute winner.

Valencia drew 1-1 at Mallorca thanks to Diego Lopez’s headed equaliser in first-half stoppage time after Daniel Rodriguez’s opener, while Sevilla fought back from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw at home against Rayo Vallecano, with Youssef En-Nesyri scoring a stoppage-time leveller.

Oscar Valentin and Alvaro Garcia put Rayo in control inside 26 minutes before Djibril Sow halved the deficit and En-Nesyri’s last-gasp equaliser.

AC Milan moved to the top of Serie A with a 1-0 win at Genoa that saw Christian Pulisic score late on before both sides had their goalkeepers sent off in stoppage time.

After Pulisic broke the deadlock by firing home in the 87th minute, the Rossoneri were then reduced to 10 men in the eighth minute of time added on when Mike Maignan was shown a red card.

Pulisic’s fellow substitute Olivier Giroud took over from Maignan in goal, and saw the Milan crossbar get rattled moments later – before the drama continued with Genoa keeper Josep Martinez being shown a second yellow card.

With Giroud then making a save in the final few moments, Milan saw out the victory to take top spot, going two points clear of Inter Milan, who were held 2-2 at home by Bologna earlier in the day.

Inter looked well in control after early goals from Francesco Acerbi and Lautaro Martínez, but Bologna hit back with a Riccardo Orsolini penalty in the 19th minute, and Joshua Zirkzee then equalised seven minutes into the second half.

Juventus moved above champions Napoli into third with a 2-0 win at home against derby rivals Torino, Federico Gatti and Arkadiusz Milik getting on the scoresheet. Napoli play Fiorentina at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday evening.

Monaco lead Ligue 1 by a point after winning 3-1 at Reims – Ismail Jakobs, Folarin Balogun and Wissam Ben Yedder netting for the visitors before Teddy Teuma replied with a penalty.

The result took Monaco back above Nice, who had earlier moved to the top following a 1-0 win at Metz, with Hichem Boudaoui scoring the only goal in the 14th minute.

Stuttgart are the current table-toppers in the Bundesliga following their 3-1 come-from-behind win over Wolfsburg.

Replying to Yannick Gerhardt’s opener, Serhou Guirassy registered a second-half hat-trick, the first goal a penalty, to take him to 13 goals for the season in just seven games.

A point behind them are Borussia Dortmund, who beat Union Berlin 4-2 at Signal Iduna Park.

The hosts were behind at the break after Niclas Fullkrug’s opener was cancelled out by Robin Gosens and Leonardo Bonucci scored a penalty, before a second-half turnaround saw Nico Schlotterbeck, Julian Brandt and Julian Ryerson net for Dortmund.

RB Leipzig had a penalty saved in each half as they were held 0-0 at home by Bochum, Manuel Riemann denying Xavi Simons and then Emil Forsberg.

Hoffenheim moved into the top four with a 3-2 win at Werder Bremen sealed by Marius Bulter in the second minute of stoppage time – a minute after Jens Stage had equalised for the hosts.

Maximilian Beier’s early goal put Hoffenheim ahead in the eighth minute, but Romano Schmid equalised nine minutes later only for Grischa Promel to regain the first-half lead for the visitors.

Darmstadt won 2-1 at Augsburg thanks to goals from Tim Skarke and a Tobias Kempe penalty before Ermedin Demirovic netted a late consolation for the hosts.

England boss Gareth Southgate says it is “not a stupid question” to ask whether Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham is the best player in the world right now.

Having impressed at Birmingham and flourished at Borussia Dortmund, the 20-year-old midfielder has gone up another level since his big-money switch to Spain.

Bellingham has immediately established himself as one of Madrid’s main men and has scored 10 goals in 10 matches since moving to the Bernabeu for an initial £88.5million fee.

The midfielder scored a brace in Saturday’s 4-0 win against Osasuna, which will only increase talk of the midfielder being the world’s top player at the moment.

Asked if Bellingham was the best in the world right now, Southgate – speaking before the Real star’s two-goal showing on Saturday – said: “I wondered if you might say that!

“No, it’s not a stupid question. I haven’t seen everybody and studied everybody playing.

“All I can say is he’s at one of the biggest clubs in the world, arguably the biggest, and he’s playing exceptionally well and he’s currently the match-winner for them so he’s in a brilliant place.”

Bellingham has quickly established himself as a fan favourite at the Bernabeu, where he has added more goals to his game playing in a more advanced position.

The 20-year-old scored a solo stunner in Tuesday’s 3-2 Champions League win at Napoli, with Spanish media comparing him to Diego Maradona and Alfredo Di Stefano.

“He’s playing higher,” Southgate said. “We played him higher against Scotland, he had that freedom in the Ukraine game as well, we didn’t use the game well enough in the final third.

“But he’s always looked dangerous and had an impact around the opposing box with Dortmund and with us, without looking quite as calm as he has this season in front of goal.

“It’s brilliant to have people who can win games.

“He’s been the match-winner for Real Madrid and the start for him has been absolutely phenomenal. I’m chuffed to bits for him.”

Asked if Bellingham is a number 10 who could play up top on his own without a number nine, the England boss said: “Well, there are lots of different number 10s, aren’t there?

“The 10s I played against, (Dennis) Bergkamp, (Gianfranco) Zola probably were forwards that dropped deeper rather than the other way round.

“Jude is a more powerful player than those, slightly different. More of a midfield player, who’s going to make midfield runs. That doesn’t mean he’s any less effective, as we’ve seen.

“Their team have found a nice balance with the athletic midfield they have behind and, having lost (Karim) Benzema as they did and lost Vinicius (to injury) as they did, they have been adapting.

“He’s been defending on the left wing in a couple of games and I can just imagine the reaction from all and sundry if I asked him to do that!

“So, look, he’s doing brilliantly well and that’s the beauty of some of the options we’ve got. We can play players in different positions. They’re good players so they can adapt.”

Bellingham will now join up with England for a Wembley double-header, with Friday’s friendly against Australia followed by a Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy.

Southgate largely stuck with the tried and tested with his selection for October’s fixtures, meaning vice-captain Jordan Henderson kept his place after his controversial move to Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia.

“His physical data is fine,” Southgate said of the former Liverpool skipper. “The games are not at the same intensity as the games here. The heat is part of that.

“There are two or three drinks breaks per game, which is an indication of the climate, and that his having an impact on how teams play.

“It is a situation that we are tracking closely. I will go out and watch games. But we get all his games the same way we get everybody else’s.

“That’s a longer trip and in these first couple of months we’ve felt it more important to see as many games live as we can, as quickly as possible, by getting around our country more.

“But as time moves on, we’ll get to more of the Milans, the Madrids and the Bayern Munichs, as well as out to see Hendo.”

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has encouraged home-grown midfielder Sean Longstaff to set his sights on an England call-up after shining on the European stage.

The 25-year-old’s career, which looked to have stalled under Steve Bruce, has been resurrected since Howe took over in November 2021 and he played a key role in Wednesday night’s 4-1 Champions League victory over Paris St Germain with a tireless display capped with the third goal.

Longstaff has been a key figure in the side which has gone six games undefeated and conceded just a single goal ahead of Sunday’s Premier League trip to West Ham, and while the Magpies’ head coach studiously avoids trying to pick Gareth Southgate’s squad for him, he insists the Academy graduate has what it takes to play international football.

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Howe said: “I haven’t spoken with Sean in any great detail about the England squad or his dreams and aims, but I’d encourage it for him because I think he is good enough.

“I think he’s got everything depending on what system you want to play but for us, he perfectly fits the number eight role that we’re using him in.

“I’d love to see him score more goals and get in more goalscoring positions because I think he is a very good finisher – you saw the other night with a really good goal – so hopefully there’s more to come from him.

“But he’s certainly done very well at the start of this season.”

North Shields-born Longstaff’s re-emergence has ensured a Geordie presence in Howe’s increasingly-cosmopolitan starting XI and he is not alone with Blyth native Dan Burn having made the left-back spot his own since his £13million arrival from Brighton in January last year.

At 6ft 6in, the 31-year-old – who also scored against PSG – does not fit the usual profile for a full-back, but having played the role earlier in his career, has adapted admirably to what he has been asked to do.

Howe said: “He’s been magnificent. He’s unusual. There are not many Dan Burn-type players playing football.

“He’s done so well to adapt to the position, but it’s a position he’s played before, so it’s not new to him. It’s just new to him for us, but technically he’s been very good.

“Defensively, he’s got a brilliant mindset to defending. He enjoys defending, he wants to defend.

“You can see in the last two games, the amount of good decisions he’s made against very good opponents, whether that’s a fast tricky winger or someone who is good positionally.

“He finds a way to react really well in-game to make adjustments to deal with his opponent.”

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola distanced himself from Mikel Arteta’s success at Arsenal, insisting he learned just as much from his fellow Spaniard as opposed to the other way around.

The narrative of Sunday’s skirmish between two sides tipped to be vying for the Premier League title at the end of the season centres on Guardiola the master going up against Arteta the protege.

Arteta was one of Guardiola’s assistants for three years before leaving for Arsenal in December 2019, making gradual strides to the point where they were City’s closest top-flight challengers last season.

Any notion Guardiola is indirectly responsible for Arsenal’s resurgence was rubbished by the former Barcelona manager, who believes he had a reciprocal arrangement with Arteta during their time at City.

Asked if he sees a lot of his characteristics in Arteta, Guardiola said with a smile: “Zero. He has a completely different father and mother and he has his own personality.

“All the success he has belongs absolutely to Mikel and his people at Arsenal, not me. People say ‘he was with Pep and learned a lot’. I learned a lot from him.

“People say always I have to teach my assistant coaches; I bring the assistant coaches here to teach me. I am here, the figure in front of the microphone but I learn like the players.

“People believe we teach the players but we learn off them to take the decisions many times. All of the good things about Mikel belong to him, his genetics his mum and dad are giving to him. Not me.”

En route to a historic treble last season, City collected a third successive league title as they finished five points ahead of Arsenal, who claimed a top-four spot for the first time since 2016.

Guardiola thinks Arteta can bring back the glory days at Arsenal, who signed England midfielder Declan Rice for a club record £100million, plus £5m in add-ons, in July after City dropped out of the race.

Guardiola said: “Everybody knows that we wanted him. In the end, Arsenal pushed more and wanted him more. Maybe Mikel was more convincing than me. We could afford it maybe less, that’s why.”

Arsenal, who are unbeaten after seven league games and lie just one point City in the table, also paid more than £60m for Kai Havertz and their spending power suggests they will be challengers for a while.

Guardiola added: “Normally when Manchester City spent this amount of money it’s crazy, when it’s the other ones how smart they are.

“I’m not denying that everyone can do whatever they want and never judge the other one. We have been judged all the time but it’s fine.

“When we were in the middle of the table it never happened (like) that, it was not a problem, we were not under scrutiny from the rest.

“At the moment Arsenal’s recruitment is really good. They have a young squad for many, many years.

“The perspective for many is the fact that they will be there many times and, of course, Declan Rice is an exceptional, exceptional holding midfielder with the national team. He is an exceptional player.”

AC Milan moved to the top of Serie A with a 1-0 win at Genoa that saw Christian Pulisic score late on before both sides had their goalkeepers sent off in stoppage time.

After substitute Pulisic broke the deadlock by firing home in the 87th minute, the Rossoneri were then reduced to 10 men in the eighth minute of time added on when Mike Maignan was dismissed.

Pulisic’s fellow substitute Olivier Giroud took over from Maignan in goal, and saw the Milan bar rattled moments later – before the drama continued with Genoa keeper Josep Martinez being shown a second yellow card.

With Giroud then making a save in the final few moments, Milan saw out the victory as they managed to take maximum advantage of Inter Milan being held 2-2 at home by Bologna earlier in the day.

Securing a fourth successive league victory and eighth in nine Serie A games, Stefano Pioli’s went two points clear as they replaced Inter at the summit.

Pioli made five changes to his starting line-up from the 0-0 Champions League draw at Borussia Dortmund, including replacing the front three of Giroud, Pulisic and Rafael Leao with Luka Jovic, Samuel Chukwueze and Noah Okafor.

Two of that trio brought in almost combined for an early goal, with Chukwueze lofting the ball forward and Okafor just unable to finish as Martinez grabbed it.

The hosts then appealed for a penalty when Johan Vasquez went down in a tangle with Alessandro Florenzi but nothing was given.

A spell of Milan pressure around the quarter-hour mark saw Martinez deal with a shot from Florenzi and then block Tijjani Reijnders’ strike.

Florenzi subsequently got himself in the way of a Vasquez shot, before Theo Fernandez and Florenzi hit drives off-target.

After Pioli opted to bring on Pulisic and Leao for Chukwueze and Okafor at the interval, Milan continued to be frustrated in their search for a breakthrough early in the second half, struggling to fashion much in attack.

Leao then saw Martinez make a fine save to tip his bouncing header over the bar in the 65th minute, shortly before Giroud was introduced to the fray.

Genoa then threatened to grab the lead as Radu Dragusin’s shot deflected off Reijnders, with Maignan doing well to turn it around the post, and substitute Caleb Ekuban headed over.

It looked as if Milan would miss their opportunity to replace Inter at the top, but Pulisic then controlled a Yunus Musah delivery, turned and fired in, the effort standing after a VAR check for handball.

That proved only the start of a dramatic finale as stoppage time saw Maignan given a red card, via VAR, for clattering Ekuban, Giroud don the gloves, and the resulting free-kick by Albert Gudmundsson diverting off Fikayo Tomori and onto the Milan bar.

Martinez then fouled Musah and was sent off himself, before Giroud came out to bat the ball away from George Puscas as Milan emerged with all three points.

Rampant Ireland set up tantalising quarter-final rematch against New Zealand by condemning ragged rivals Scotland to another early World Cup exit with a crushing 36-14 bonus-point success in Paris.

Gregor Townsend’s men required a heroic win by eight points or more at Stade de France to snatch progression at the expense of their opponents.

But Test rugby’s top-ranked nation emphatically underlined their status with a thrilling display of attacking verve to avoid major drama in a feisty encounter.

James Lowe’s early try settled any nerves before Hugo Keenan crossed either side of a score from the recalled Iain Henderson to quickly take the game away from the shell-shocked Scots before the break.

Dan Sheehan and Garry Ringrose added to the embarrassment before Scottish pair Ewan Ashman and Ali Price claimed quickfire consolations.

Ireland will take on the All Blacks in the last eight, seeking to avenge the 46-14 thrashing suffered at the same stage of the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

Head coach Andy Farrell perhaps has cause for concern ahead of that showdown due apparent injuries suffered by wings Mack Hansen and Lowe.

Scotland, meanwhile, face an early flight home for the second successive tournament, with South Africa going through as Pool B runners-up to take on hosts France.

Premature departures for Blair Kinghorn, Jamie Ritchie and Darcy Graham due to fitness issues contributed to their woes, while Ollie Smith was shown a yellow card for causing a mass brawl.

The Scots came into the competition with one of their most talented teams in years but, following a chastening evening in the French capital, were left to rue being placed in the most difficult group alongside the reigning champions and the world’s number one team.

Permutations, premature elimination and the slim possibility of the Springboks crashing out dominated the build-up to a titanic qualification shoot-out in Saint-Denis.

A deafening roar greeted the teams and the decibels were raised further among the dominant Irish support with just over a minute on the clock when Hansen sent Lowe over in the left corner after Ringrose dummied his way beyond Grant Gilchrist.

Scotland roared back and showed a statement of intent by kicking a series of penalties to the corner, forcing Ireland to ferociously repel prolonged pressure.

But their cause was not helped by losing full-back Kinghorn, whose 50th cap lasted just nine minutes, and captain Ritchie, while Ireland wing Hansen also went off.

Ireland’s defiant defending was matched equally by awesome attacking enterprise and they stretched the scoreboard significantly with two quickfire tries.

Delightful slick interplay from right to left unlocked the Scottish backline, culminating in Ringrose teeing up the onrushing Keenan in the 27th minute, before Henderson marked his first start of the tournament by bulldozing over minutes later.

Far from thinking about the knock-out stages, Scotland trudged down the tunnel at the break fearing humiliation.

Ireland’s well-oiled machine led 26-0 ahead at that stage with a bonus point in the bag after Johnny Sexton set up Keenan’s second and then sent over his third successful conversion.

Scotland desperately needed to show some fight and did so as tempers boiled over early in the second period during a melee sparked by Smith’s off-the-ball trip on Sexton.

Players from both sides piled in, with Pierre Schoeman and Sheehan ploughing over an advertising board, before instigator Smith was sin-binned.

Sheehan was on the floor again minutes later, this time diving over to claim Ireland’s fifth try before Farrell wisely withdrew talisman Sexton, in addition to five of his forwards.

Jack Crowley’s fine cross-field kick sent over Ringrose before Scottish resistance finally materialised in the shape of a pair of well-taken scores, each converted by the largely subdued Finn Russell.

Replacement hooker Ashman made an immediate impact by galloping over on the right to ensure his side were not whitewashed, before scrum-half Price finished a fine team move.

Yet their endeavours mattered little as Ireland comfortably marched on thanks to a 17th successive win and a ninth in a row against the eliminated Scots.

Former Manchester United star David Beckham believes he knows the right people to take over and restore the club’s fortunes.

Speaking to Sky Sports at the Qatar Grand Prix as the ongoing takeover saga at Old Trafford approaches its first anniversary, the 48-year-old Inter Miami president admitted he was hoping for a conclusion to the Glazer family’s strategic review sooner rather than later.

Asked if Saturday’s last-gasp Premier League victory over Brentford could be a turning point for manager Erik ten Hag, Beckham told Sky Sports: “Let’s see.

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“He’s a good coach. It is a difficult time at the moment, but there’s a lot of noise around the club at the moment, so it can’t be easy for him.

“We all want that noise to go away and we all want a decision to be made for the club, for the fans, for the players and for the manager as well because we are one of the, if not the, biggest clubs in the world and we want stability, and I think that’s the most important thing.

“We all have our favourites of who we feel need to run the club and look after the club and take the club back to where it belongs, but in our eyes, in the fans’ eyes, we’re number one and we want to be back at the top.

“I believe I know the right people to do that, so…”

Asked if “the right people” could be Sheikh Jassim, Beckham added with a smile: “We’ll see.”

Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim and INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe both submitted offers to buy the club in February and have made further bids since, although little significant progress has been made.

The club’s valuation on the New York Stock Exchange plummeted by more than £500million last month in the wake of reports the Glazers may not sell after all, and reports since have suggested Ratcliffe, the second-richest person in the UK according to the Sunday Times Rich List, could decide instead to buy a minority stake in the Premier League giants.

Meanwhile, Beckham sent his condolences to his former United boss Sir Alex Ferguson following the death of his wife Lady Cathy at the age of 84.

He said: “Obviously deepest sympathies go to the boss because to have Cathy by his side for a long, long time, got many, many years to be the strength that he needed through his career and through his life, it’s a really sad time for him and his family and the grandkids, so we obviously send our love to him.

“She was an incredible person and someone… We looked up to the boss, we also looked up to Cathy, so it’s a really sad time for him.”