Barcelona and Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmati scooped the Ballon d'Or Feminin for a second successive year following more club and international success last season. 

Bonmati fought off competition from Barcelona team-mates Caroline Graham Hansen and Salma Paralluelo as well as Lyon's Ada Hegerberg to win the prize. 

The Spaniard enjoyed another stellar year, helping Barca to the Women's Champions League crown, scoring the opening goal in a 2-0 win over Lyon in the final.

She finished with the most goal involvements (11, six goals and five assists) in last season's competition.

Bonmati made 41 appearances in all competitions, scoring 19 goals from midfield and setting up 17 more.

She was also part of the Spain side that followed up their World Cup success by winning the first edition of the Women's Nations League, scoring in the final against France. 

Her success sees her follow club and international team-mate Alexia Putellas in winning back-to-back Ballons d'Or.

Hansen finished as the runner-up, with Paralluelo coming third, making it a Barca top three in Paris. 

The first Women's Johan Cruyff Trophy was won by former Chelsea boss and current United States head coach, Emma Hayes. 

Hayes ended her 12-year stint with the Blues at the end of last season, and went out on the back of clinching her seventh Women's Super League title.

The 48-year-old then led the USWNT to glory in her first tournament in charge, with her side claiming gold at the Paris Olympics.

Spanish and European champions Barca, unsurprisingly, retained the Women's Club of the Year, having won the inaugural award in 2023.

Lewis Hamilton insisted that he had no doubts that Mercedes team-mate George Russell would race cleanly in their battle at the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday. 

Hamilton finished the race in fourth, one place ahead of Russell, the seven-time world champion's best finish since winning the Belgian Grand Prix back in July. 

The pair started fifth and sixth respectively, but swapped places on the opening lap, before Russell regained the initiative on Lap 14.

They each moved up a place through the pit stop phase, with Max Verstappen losing ground by serving two 10-second penalties, and Hamilton then closed in on Russell.

Hamilton shadowed Russell before eventually making the move stick into Turn 1 on Lap 65, climbing up into fourth position.

“It’s pretty straightforward, I don't think either of us are silly,” Hamilton said on his battle with his team-mate.

“George is really smart, and is fair, and he's just really good at where he places his car, and I think for me too.

"So when [the team] comes on the radio and says, keep it clean, it's like, ‘of course.’

"It's not really different to when you're fighting anyone else, except for it is your team mate, so you have to be double careful because you both want to finish.”

“It was fun, I had fun today,” Hamilton added. “I had a good start, I had a really bad first stint, took too much front wing out of the car, I had massive, massive understeer.

“After my stop, I was able to rectify it, and then after that I had a much better pace, and I was able to push and keep going.

"We stopped a little bit early as well, compared to what I had planned and stuff. We got good points.”

Hamilton will, however, hope to do better in Brazil this time around, having scored more points (185) than any other driver on the current grid around the Interlagos circuit. 

Russell, meanwhile, ensured Mercedes claimed a double top-five finish and was happy with his finish after crashing in FP2 on Friday. 

“I mean the pace looked pretty strong in the first stint but when I came out the pits behind Piastri, I pulled out down the straight and my front left flap just collapsed,” Russell said.

“I hit this bump so that probably cost me three or four tenths for the remainder of the race, so it was tricky to hold on for 40 laps. P5, probably would have taken that after Friday.”

Mario Balotelli has completed a sensational return to Serie A four years after leaving Brescia, joining Genoa on a free transfer. 

Balotelli, who has 52 goals in 141 appearances in the Italian top-flight, has been without a club since the end of last season after departing Turkish Super Lig side Adana Demirspor.

The 34-year-old joins a struggling Genoa who currently sit in the bottom three in Serie A after managing just six points from their first nine games this term. 

Alberto Gilardino's side have also scored just seven goals this season, with only bottom club Lecce (three) scoring fewer.

"I am pumped. I don’t want to talk much. I just want to get started," Balotelli said earlier on Monday. "I'll give it my all," he added, addressing the fans.

Genoa became the fourth Serie A side Balotelli has played for, having signed for Inter from Lumezzane in 2007, going on to win six major honours for the Nerazzurri. 

After a three-year stint with Manchester City, where he won the Premier League, he returned to Italy for Inter's rivals Milan in 2013, rejoining them on loan in 2015 from Liverpool.

Balotelli has since had stays in France, Turkey and Switzerland, but is now hoping to help Genoa stay in Serie A.

And the Italian could make his debut for the club on Thursday, with Fiorentina the visitors to the Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris. 

Bruno Fernandes led the tributes for departing Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag after his two-year stint at Old Trafford came to an end on Monday. 

Ten Hag was relieved of his duties after Sunday's controversial 2-1 defeat to West Ham, leaving the Red Devils 14th in the Premier League table after nine games.

The 54-year-old was only rewarded a new contract ahead of the new campaign after leading United to an FA Cup triumph over rivals Manchester City - his second trophy in as many seasons after winning the EFL Cup the previous year.

Fernandes played a starring role in those successes, and was a key figure in Ten Hag's side. 

The United captain played more games (120) in all competitions under Ten Hag than any other player, while only Marcus Rashford (42) scored more times during the Dutchman's tenure than Fernandes (29). 

"Thanks for everything boss," Fernandes wrote on Instagram. "I appreciate the trust and the moments we share together. I wish you all the best in the future.

"Even knowing the last period hasn’t been great from all of us I hope you fans can keep with you the good things the manager has done for our club!"

Kobbie Mainoo also expressed his gratitude to his former boss, having been handed his senior United debut by Ten Hag in an EFL Cup tie against Charlton Athletic in January 2023.

“Thank you for your trust and belief in me and for giving me the opportunity to play with my boyhood club," Mainoo posted to Instagram. “I wish you all the best for the future”.

Alejandro Garnacho, another player given his first outing for the Red Devils by Ten Hag, also wished the Dutchman well in his next adventure.

"Thank you for everything, boss," Garnacho said. "I will always be grateful to you for giving me the opportunity and the confidence to play for this club.

"It hasn't gone as well as we wanted, but I will remember the good times we had together, and I wish you all the best in the future. Thank you very much Erik."

Ten Hag managed 128 games in all competitions during his time at Old Trafford, winning 72 (D20 L36). 

Only David Moyes (32.4%) lost a higher percentage of his Premier League games as United manager than Ten Hag (31.8%).

United confirmed that Ruud van Nistelrooy will take charge as interim head coach during the club's search for a permanent replacement.

Paulo Fonseca believes Milan's early-season rhythm has been disrupted following the late postponement of their Serie A fixture at Bologna last weekend. 

The match, scheduled to take place at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara on Saturday, was postponed 24 hours before kick-off after heavy rain and flooding in the region.

After failing to win their first three league matches, Milan have since taken 12 points from their next five games, propelling them up the standings after a difficult start. 

But with the Rossoneri not in action over the weekend, they dropped to eighth in the Serie A table ahead of facing leaders Napoli on Tuesday.

"It was tricky to manage this moment. On the eve of the game, we trained without knowing whether we’d play or not the following day," Fonseca said. 

"We wanted to play, and I think we’ve been affected by not playing in this match."

Napoli come into the game on the back of a 1-0 triumph over Lecce, with Giovanni Di Lorenzo's 73rd minute strike sealing a seventh win of the campaign. 

Antonio Conte's side are now unbeaten in their last eight league games, their best run since a run of eight straight wins in February 2023 under Luciano Spalletti.

They have also kept five clean sheets in their last six games, as many as in their previous 34 Serie A matches. 

"As the table shows, Napoli are a strong team at a good moment. They are the table leaders and will be motivated to face us," Fonseca said.

"We are also motivated to play this match against a very strong team that has won games comfortably."

Milan, however, have won just one of their last nine meetings against Napoli whent he fixture has been played in the first half of a Serie A campaign (D2 L6). 

Despite his side's league position after nine games so far, Fonseca believes Milan can win a 20th Scudetto title under his guidance.

"The fans must believe because we are a strong team and we are improving. We think we can fight for the Scudetto," he said.

The first managerial departure of the 2024-25 Premier League season has come, with Erik ten Hag leaving his role at Manchester United.

United's decision to dismiss Ten Hag came after the Red Devils slumped to a 2-1 defeat at West Ham on Sunday, leaving them 14th in the table.

Elsewhere, Liverpool and Arsenal shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw, Manchester City downed Southampton, Chelsea beat Newcastle United and Brentford came out on top in a seven-goal thriller against Ipswich Town.

Late goals also ruled the roost this past weekend. There were five games to have a final result-altering goal scored in the 90th minute (or later) in the Premier League this weekend, the most across a single matchday in the competition's history.

But what do the underlying metrics tell us? 

Unlucky losers: Fulham

Fulham took a point away from Goodison Park on Saturday, but Marco Silva thought his team deserved two more. 

And it is fair to say Everton were largely second-best, with Beto's last-gasp equaliser sparring Sean Dyche's team.

Fulham, who took the lead through Alex Iwobi, registered 1.26 expected goals (xG) to Everton's 0.79 and had 14 shots to their hosts' 10. That being said, perhaps Silva's side only have themselves to blame - they converted only 7.14% of their shots and got only three attempts on target.

Lucky winners: Bournemouth

Evanilson's late header secured a 1-1 draw for Bournemouth at Aston Villa, and though the Cherries could point to some potential penalty decisions going against them, it is fair to say the metrics suggest they were fortunate to avoid defeat.

Only Southampton (0.21) mustered a lower xG than Bournemouth's 0.31 across the fixtures in the top flight this past weekend.

Villa, on the other hand, registered 1.81 xG - the fifth-highest total in the division across the games - while Mark Travers was exceptional in the Bournemouth goal.

He made seven saves to keep Villa at bay, bar Ross Barkley's opener. Indeed, Villa's 3.23 expected goals on target (xGoT) was more than any other team in matchweek nine, so Travers finished with a goals-prevented figure of 2.23.

Andoni Iraola's team certainly rode their luck.

Unlucky losers: Man Utd

Ten Hag's time is up, though the Dutchman was fuming about a contentious penalty decision that ultimately settled the match in West Ham's favour.

When discounting the xG from that penalty, West Ham finished with 2.21 xG - just less than United's 2.34.

United had 18 shots and five big chances (the second-most after Brentford across the weekend's matches), but failed to put those opportunities away, apart from Casemiro's close-range header.

The soft defence that plagued Ten Hag's tenure, though, ultimately came back to bite them yet again.

Gary Neville believes Erik ten Hag's lack of a consistent playing style or identity was his biggest failure at Manchester United and expects another painful rebuild at Old Trafford.

Ten Hag was sacked after just over two years at the helm on Monday, in the wake of Sunday's demoralising 2-1 defeat at West Ham.

That loss left United 14th in the Premier League table with just 11 points from nine matches. Only under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2019-20 (10) have they had fewer at this stage of a campaign.

Former United right-back Neville, who defended Ten Hag when his position was questioned following an eighth-place finish last term, now concedes the Dutchman failed to oversee any significant progress in terms of results or style.

Asked whether Ten Hag should have departed in pre-season, when he instead penned a new contract, Neville told Sky Sports: "Those that felt it should have happened will feel they've been proven right.

"However, there were hundreds of thousands, even millions, of fans who wanted to continue with Ten Hag, to give him a chance to succeed under a new structure.

"The shock for me has been how bad they've been with the new signings coming in, with Ten Hag having some stability. To be 14th is unacceptable with that level of spend.

"I think the lack of identity or style has been a real mystery for the last two and a half seasons.

"Even though the recruitment has been awful at times, I do believe there's a group of players there that can play a lot better than they are, if you put an identity into them.

"Yesterday I was shocked to see Casemiro and Christian Eriksen in midfield with [Manuel] Ugarte on the bench. If I was an owner, I'd be asking questions around that.

"It's a real struggle watching United play and that hasn't changed in 18 months, that's been as big a problem as the results."

United struggled for control throughout Ten Hag's reign, with their 136 expected goals against (xGA) since the start of 2022-23 the fifth-worst figure of all ever-present Premier League clubs.

They have also underperformed their underlying attacking figures by a greater margin than any other top-flight team this term, scoring eight times from 14.56 xG.

United also faced 1,739 shots in their 128 games under Ten Hag. Since 2022-23, Manchester City have faced 717 fewer shots than the Red Devils despite playing six more games in that time.

Former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was appointed as an assistant to Ten Hag in July, will now take charge on an interim basis.

Neville, however, does not expect much to change in the short term and feels no player should be guaranteed a place when the club appoints a permanent successor.

"He could set the team up differently, but he's been on the bench with Ten Hag so I'd be amazed if something drastic happened," Neville said of his former team-mate. 

"A lot of work needs to be done with those players. Erik ten Hag couldn't get performances out of them and a lot of those players are his players.

"They're not good enough but they are better than 14th, they're probably better than sixth. The new manager that comes in should probably be made to work with these players for seven or eight months to work them out, to figure out who they want to keep close."

Jordi Fernandez labelled his first NBA triumph as "special" after watching his Brooklyn Nets side upset Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks 115-102 on Sunday.

Fernandez's team outworked the Bucks for four quarters, forcing 18 turnovers and grabbing 12 offensive rebounds while attempting 17 more field goals than their opponents.

Cam Thomas and Dennis Schroder starred in the victory, scoring 61 points between them, handing the rookie head coach a maiden win at the third attempt. 

Fernandez is the first Spanish-born head coach in NBA history, with the result marking the end of a 15-year journey through the ranks. 

He started with the Canton Charge in the G League, then becoming an assistant for both the Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings before his move to the Nets in April. 

"It's very special to come all the way from starting from the bottom in the NBA, and working really hard and move up, and move up, and some good moments, some tough moments, different teams, friends, memories," Fernandez said.

"And it's really cool now you look and you have to enjoy this moment because there's only one time that you're a head coach and win a game.

"On the other end, I also feel like, what's the next step? And we've got to move on to the next thing and I want to be in this league, I want to be with this club for a long time."

Borussia Dortmund will likely be without full-back Julian Ryerson for their DFB-Pokal trip to Wolfsburg, but Nuri Sahin could welcome back Marcel Sabitzer and Waldemar Anton.

All three players were injured during Saturday's 2-1 loss at Augsburg in the Bundesliga, as Dortmund succumbed to a second defeat in four days after squandering a 2-0 lead to lose 5-2 at Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Speaking at Monday's pre-match press conference, coach Sahin told reporters: "I don't have high hopes for Julian Ryerson.

"With Sabi and Waldi, every hour counts. It will only become clear towards kick-off whether they can play."

Sahin is keen to see Dortmund tighten up at the back after losing three of their last five league matches, slipping seven points behind leaders Bayern Munich.

"The goals we're conceding for the effort we're putting in are extreme. That can't happen to us. We're conceding goals too easily by making mistakes," said the former midfielder.

"At the moment, we have so many issues of our own that it doesn't feel so easy."

Dortmund have lost four consecutive matches on their travels in all competitions since their last DFB-Pokal outing, a 4-1 victory at Phonix Lubeck.

They have gone unbeaten through their last three games against Wolfsburg, however, outscoring them 8-1 since suffering a 2-0 defeat at Volkswagen Arena in November 2022.

Sunday's Premier League loss at West Ham proved one defeat too many for embattled Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag, who was sacked on Monday.

The Red Devils are now seeking their sixth permanent boss since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, with David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ten Hag all failing to return the glory days to Old Trafford.

Ten Hag led United to the EFL Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup earlier this year, making him their second-most successful boss of the post-Ferguson era after Mourinho, who won the Europa League, EFL Cup and Community Shield.

However, a dismal eighth-placed Premier League finish in 2023-24 has been followed by a dreadful start to 2024-25, prompting the INEOS regime to take action.

Here, we delve into the Opta data to pinpoint where it went wrong for Ten Hag at United.

No defence for United rearguard

When Ten Hag arrived at Old Trafford in 2022, having led an exuberant Ajax side to a Champions League semi-final and three Eredivisie crowns, hopes were high that he would bring a modern, possession-based style to a United side characterised by chaos for so long.

However, that dream failed to materialise. Throughout Ten Hag's time in the dugout, United were consistently among the Premier League's worst defensive outfits.

Since his first Premier League match in charge in August 2022, United have registered a total xG against (xGA) figure of 136.

While they only conceded 112 goals under him, their xGA was the fifth-worst of any ever-present Premier League side in that time, better than only Everton, Fulham, West Ham and Wolves. 

Meanwhile, United faced 1,253 shots in the Premier League under Ten Hag – only four teams (Brentford, Wolves, Bournemouth and West Ham) have faced more shots in the competition since the start of the 2022-23 campaign.

The £70million arrival of midfield enforcer Casemiro failed to solve United's defensive issues, and a failure to control games was a key theme of Ten Hag's tenure. Only Brighton (17) and Everton (16) conceded more Premier League goals from fast breaks than United (13) during the Dutchman's reign, and only three teams gave up more shots from such scenarios (61).

Attackers go missing

In the early weeks of 2024-25, however, a failure to take their chances at the other end has primarily cost United. 

Only Crystal Palace and Southampton (six each) have scored fewer Premier League goals than United (eight) this season. They have the biggest negative differential between expected goals and goals scored in the competition this term (-6.56 – eight goals, 14.56 xG).

They were guilty of spurning several clear-cut chances at the London Stadium last time out, and seven of Ten Hag's 27 Premier League defeats came via a 90th-minute winner, the highest percentage of defeats to last-minute goals of any manager to lose 20 or more games in Premier League history.

With 42 goals, Marcus Rashford was United's leading scorer in all competitions under Ten Hag.

Thirty of his strikes came in Ten Hag's debut campaign, though, and he has only netted once in nine league outings this term.

Bruno Fernandes, who Ten Hag installed as captain, has created the most chances for United since the start of 2022-23 with 364. Christian Eriksen (131), Diogo Dalot (116) and Rashford (115) were the other three players to set up at least 100 chances for team-mates under the former Ajax boss.

However, Fernandes – who scored 29 goals under Ten Hag and laid on 31 assists – has struggled for form this campaign, with his 2.48 xG the highest figure of any player yet to net in the Premier League.

The highs and lows

Ten Hag's tenure brought a few obvious highs, with the 2023 EFL Cup final win over Newcastle United ending a near-six-year trophy drought and May's FA Cup showpiece victory over Manchester City denying United's neighbours a domestic double.

That was one of two victories over City under Ten Hag, though they lost more games to Pep Guardiola's men (four) than any other team during his reign.

Most damagingly, Ten Hag's United were blown away in several big games, shipping 17 goals versus City and 16 against Liverpool. Of course, they were trounced 7-0 by the Reds at Anfield in March 2023 – the joint-heaviest competitive defeat in the Red Devils' history.

Ten Hag's reign ends after 128 games, with his 70 victories giving him the second-best win ratio (54.7%) of any United boss post-Ferguson in all competitions, after Mourinho (58.7%).

His record of 1.72 points per Premier League game, though, only bettered the figures managed by Moyes (1.68) and Ralf Rangnick (1.72) in that span.

Only Rangnick (0), meanwhile, has overseen a worse goal difference in the Premier League than Ten Hag (+11), among United bosses to manage at least five games.

And only Moyes (32.4%, 11/34) lost a higher percentage of his Premier League games as United boss than Ten Hag (31.8%, 27/85).

In the overall Premier League standings since Ten Hag took charge, they sit fifth with 146 points, some 57 adrift of first-placed Man City and also fewer than Arsenal (191), Liverpool (171) and Aston Villa (147).

Lando Norris believes Max Verstappen deserved the 20-second penalty he was hit with at the Mexican Grand Prix.

Verstappen received two separate 10-second penalties for incidents early on in Sunday's race, which was won by Carlos Sainz.

Reigning Formula One champion Verstappen was given one penalty for forcing Norris off the track at Turn Four in the 10th lap, and then another for leaving the track four corners later.

It meant Verstappen saw his lead at the top of the driver standings cut to 47 points, while Ferrari are now ahead of Red Bull in the constructor standings.

And Norris has little sympathy for his title rival.

"It was not fair, clean racing," said Norris, as reported by BBC Sport. "I think he got what he had coming to him.

"I felt like I just had to avoid collisions, and that's not what you feel like you want to do in a race.

"He's in a very powerful position in the championship. He's a long way ahead. He has nothing to lose.

"It's not my job to control him. He knows how to drive. And I'm sure he knows that today was probably a bit over the limit."

Norris and Verstappen tussled at Austin, too, but the McLaren driver wants to race clean.

"Austin, I don't think anyone should have got a penalty," he added. "Let's say we both kind of did things wrong. I feel like I was made to do something wrong.

"The majority of people, the majority of drivers feel like that was the same thing.

"That's why you've heard of some of the rule changes that might be coming and those types of things. It's because there's a common consensus that it wasn't correct what happened in the result that I had last weekend.

"Today, I think, was another level on both of those cases. I was ahead of Max in the braking zone, past the apex. I am avoiding crashing today. This is the difference. I don't see it as a win or anything like this, but it's more that I hope Max acknowledges that he took it a step too far."

"I go into every race expecting a tough battle with Max. It's clear that it doesn't matter if he wins or second, his only job is to beat me in the race. And he'll sacrifice himself to do that.

"But I want to have good battles with him. I want to have those tough battles, like I've seen him have plenty of times. But fair ones. It's always going to be on the line. It's always going to be tough with Max. He's never going to make anyone's life easy, especially mine at this point of the year.”