Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson was proud of his players as they won 2-1 at Sky Bet League Two promotion rivals Mansfield in the FA Cup first round to continue his club’s long-standing affinity with the competition.
Away from home against a side who only suffered their first defeat of the season in midweek, Wrexham played superbly.
Wrexham keeper Arthur Okonkwo denied Rhys Oates in a third minute before the Welsh club went ahead in the 23rd minute as James McClean set up Sam Dalby for an explosive rising finish.
Dalby also hit the crossbar and home keeper Christy Pym denied Dalby and Elliot Lee in a fantastic 42nd-minute double save.
Dalby set up Paul Mullin to curl home Wrexham’s second after 58 minutes, but Oates won the ball and smashed home a reply two minutes later to keep a thrilling tie alive.
Parkinson beamed: “I am immensely delighted.
“Mansfield have been flying high apart from Tuesday’s defeat. Before that they were unbeaten in 19 games, so I thought tonight we were immense.
“The two goals we scored were really good, particularly the first one and we had other chances in the first half. I know they did too, but we had some clinical moments of great football which we didn’t quite capitalise on.
“I said before the game that it was important we respected the history of Wrexham AFC in the FA Cup.
“The FA Cup means a great deal to Wrexham, who have a great tradition with it.
“So it was important we put in a performance our supporters who made the long trip and the ones back home watching on TV could be very proud of – and I think we’ve done that.”
Stags boss Nigel Clough was left ruing the missed chances. He said: “I thought we had more opportunities and situations than they did. We just didn’t hit the target enough and we didn’t finish.
“They have put two great finishes away – one in the top corner and then Mullin has curled one in.
“There was an element of misfortune with the second one as a clearance hit our own man and rebounded straight into his path. I didn’t see that sort of break occurring at the other end.
“We started the second half brilliantly. They played well in the first half and looked a bit fresher than us as they have had a nice clear week whereas we had that big game against Port Vale here in which we put in everything.
“Tonight we asked the lads to go again and they gave absolutely everything. They are on their knees down there so I can’t ask any more from them.”
White Abarrio made a real statement as he claimed the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic in commanding fashion.
Trained by Richard Dutrow Jr, the four-year-old arrived at Santa Anita on the back of an impressive victory in the Whitney Stakes at Saratoga.
Big-race jockey Irad Ortiz Jr always had his mount hot on the tail of Bob Baffert’s Pacific Classic winner Arabian Knight and entering the stretch they looked to have the race between them.
Having beaten off Arabian Knight with the wire approaching, White Abarrio refused to be passed as Japanese contender Derma Sotogake and Proxy made their challenge in the closing stages.
It was a second winner of the Classic for his trainer, who only returned from a 10-year suspension for medication and administration violations in February earlier this year.
Dutrow said: “It’s incredible and the only way I can get this feeling is through this horse. I don’t know how I’m feeling right now, it’s just incredible stuff what I’m going through right now.
“I thought he was the winner the whole way round the track, he broke good and was sat with a couple of horses in front of him which he likes. He came up on the outside and when he did that I knew at that point we had nothing in our way, it was just a matter of if someone could come and catch us. I felt good.
“It wasn’t unlike when I won the Classic with Saint Liam. Winning this is an indescribable feeling. I don’t really know what I’m going through right now. It feels unbelievable, I love it.”
He added: “I don’t feel I’m back at the top, but I feel like the white horse is. I feel lucky being around him.
“I came back seven months ago. I hope this will help me pick up better horses and quality clients and I’m gonna be striving for it calling everyone up once I leave Disneyland.”
Harry Kane scored his third Bundesliga hat-trick as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund 4-0 in Der Klassiker at Signal Iduna Park.
Bayern produced the perfect response to an embarrassing DFB-Pokal exit to third division Saarbrucken as Dayot Upamecano gave them an early lead before Kane added a second after just nine minutes.
The England captain then struck twice more after the break, completing his treble in added time, to make it 15 goals in 10 league games and put Bayern two points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
Alejandro Grimaldo scored twice as Leverkusen earlier won 3-2 at Hoffenheim.
Florian Wirtz put the visitors ahead early on, with Grimaldo adding a second just ahead of the break.
Two goals in as many minutes from Anton Stach and Wout Weghorst had Hoffenheim level on the hour.
Grimaldo, though, struck again with 20 minutes left to secure unbeaten Leverkusen a sixth straight Bundesliga win.
RB Leipzig suffered an unexpected 2-0 defeat at strugglers Mainz, who moved off the bottom.
Lee Jae-Sung and Leandro Barreiro scored in the closing stages to give new boss Jan Siewert a win in his first game in charge.
Cologne now sit bottom after a 1-1 home draw with Augsburg, while two early goals for Omar Marmoush set Eintracht Frankfurt on their way to a 3-0 win at Union Berlin.
Vincenzo Grifo’s last-minute penalty saw Freiburg fight back to draw 3-3 with Borussia Monchengladbach.
In LaLiga, Ronald Araujo’s last-gasp header gave Barcelona a 1-0 win at Real Sociedad.
The defending LaLiga champions had captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen to thank after the German goalkeeper made several crucial saves to keep an energetic Sociedad side at bay.
Xavi’s men struggled to muster any genuine openings until the final embers of the match and cruelly took all three points when Araujo planted a powerful header through the legs of goalkeeper Alex Remiro, which was initially ruled offside, with virtually the last attack to seal the 1-0 victory.
Leaders Girona consolidated their place at the top of the table with a 4-2 win at Osasuna.
Youssef En-Nesyri scored a late equaliser as Sevilla fought back to draw 1-1 at strugglers Celta Vigo, who had midfielder Renato Tapia sent off midway through the second half.
William Jose and Ayoze Perez were on target as Real Betis beat 10-man Mallorca 2-0 to sit fifth.
Udinese heaped more pressure on AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli with a 1-0 win at San Siro for their first Serie A victory this season.
Roberto Pereyra’s penalty just after the hour proved decisive as the Rossoneri slumped to a second successive home defeat and saw their winless run extend to four matches in all competitions.
Inter Milan kept themselves top of the table with a 2-1 victory over Atalanta under heavy rain at Gewiss Stadium.
Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty broke the deadlock five minutes before half-time and Inter captain Lautaro Martinez doubled his side’s lead in the 57th minute.
Gianluca Scamacca swiftly pulled a goal back, but Inter closed out victory, with Atalanta substitute Rafael Toloi sent off for a second yellow late on.
Reigning champions Napoli had earlier moved into the top four with a 2-0 win at Salernitana through a first-half goal from Giacomo Raspadori and Elif Elmas’ late strike.
In Ligue 1, Marseille played out a low-key goalless draw at home with Lille.
It was the first game at the Stade Velodrome since the fixture with Lyon was called off after the visitors’ team bus had been pelted with stones on the way to the ground, with coach Fabio Grosso having suffered facial injuries.
Earlier, it also finished 0-0 between Lorient and Lens.
It was very much mission accomplished for Auguste Rodin, who was given the perfect ride by Ryan Moore to bring his season to a brilliant climax in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita.
Aidan O’Brien had long had this race in mind for his dual Derby hero, a plan firmed up after his thrilling victory in the Irish Champion Stakes, which cemented his place in his trainer’s affections.
There has been the odd hiccup in Auguste Rodin’s journey to stardom, but he has always bounced back from his setbacks in style and thrived in his first taste of international competition.
As when tasting Derby success at Epsom, the son of Deep Impact was ridden with patience by Moore, who rounding the turn for home found a golden passage up the rail and wasted little time in snatching the opportunity.
The Coolmore number one soon sent his mount for home and he surged clear of top American turf challenger Up To The Mark to give O’Brien a record-extending seventh success in a race Europeans continue to dominate.
Paying tribute to Moore’s ride, O’Brien said: “He had incredible confidence in him. He was drawn handy and he thought he might be handier, but when he was not, Ryan knew. What an incredible ride.
“The race wasn’t working out for us like we hoped. But Ryan knew at the top of the bend where he wanted to go.
“You can see the pace that he has, he was able to quicken when he wanted him to and it was a brilliant ride. He doesn’t do much when he gets there and that was a little worry because Ryan sent him down the inside and he ended up getting there early.
“He’s a super horse and during the week the way he was cantering on the dirt I was wondering have we done the right thing, should we have had him in the other race (Breeders’ Cup Classic). He was cruising on the dirt, most other horses don’t handle it when they are not used to it really, but he was incredible really.
“We’ve always felt he has a beautiful action and that he’s a kind of dream horse.
“His dam (Rhododendron) was one of the best Galileo mares ever, and he’s the absolute double of his grandsire (Sunday Silence). His pedigree brings the best of Japan and Europe together.”
Reflecting further on Moore at his very best, O’Brien said: “Ryan doesn’t waste any energy in being anything other than what he is. He’s familiar with all the top tracks and the top races.
“He says he can’t be getting better, but he’s 40 and I’ve told him you peak at 45.”
Moore said: “I got squeezed out and horses were getting in each other’s way. I didn’t like where I was, but once he got there he did it very easily. Considering how the race went against him in the early stages, it was a really big performance.
“Going up the rail was Plan F, my horse was getting a bad trip and the reason he won is because he’s so good.
“He’s now won two Derbys, an Irish Champion and come here and beaten proper horses. He had things go against him today, but he overcame them. He’s shown himself to be a good Derby winner and a real top-drawer horse.”
Raising the possibility of Auguste Rodin staying in training as a four-year-old, Coolmore’s MV Magnier said: “We’ve been thinking about it for a while, there’s a lot of things we could do with this horse. We could stand him in America, we could stand him in Europe and there’s definitely a strong possibility we will keep him in training next year.
“How fun would that (Classic) be?”
Jamaica’s Navasky Anderson copped his first senior medal for the country with bronze in the men’s 800m at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile on Saturday.
The 23-year-old, who represented Jamaica at the World Championships in Budapest where he was disqualified in the heats, produced 1:46.40 for third in Saturday’s final behind Mexico’s Jesus Lopez (1:46.04) and Venezuela’s Jose Antonio Maita (1:45.69).
Anderson broke his own Jamaican national record earlier this season when he ran 1:44.70 at the DC Track Championships on July 30 to achieve the World Championship qualifying standard.
Barcelona snatched an unlikely victory after Ronald Araujo headed home the only goal of the game in the third minute of stoppage time at Real Sociedad.
The defending LaLiga champions had captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen to thank after the German goalkeeper made several crucial saves to keep an energetic Sociedad side at bay.
Xavi’s side struggled to muster any genuine openings until the final embers of the match and cruelly took all three points when Araujo planted a power header through the legs of goalkeeper Alex Remiro, which was initially ruled offside, with virtually the last attack to seal the 1-0 victory.
The hosts made a rapid start when Ander Barrenetxea forced ter Stegen into a fine diving save inside the first minute.
Aihen Munoz was next to try his luck and should have done better, while Mikel Merino glanced a free header wide during a frentic opening three minutes.
La Real continued their momentum as Barcelona struggled to get into the match and Takefusa Kubo found himself with a great chance to break the deadlock, but ter Stegen denied the Japan international’s fierce far-post effort.
Mikel Oyarzabal should have done better when he latched on to a slack back pass from Barca defender Jules Kounde, but the Sociedad captain poked his effort wide when one-on-one with ter Stegen.
Sociedad ensured play was deep in Barca’s half and piled on the pressure further through a series of corners around the half-hour mark, which created more opportunities to opening the scoring.
Martin Zubimendi juggled the half-clearance from a Kubo corner before sending in a low cross. His centre was deflected to ter Stegen, but he spilled the ball and Oyarzabal was fastest to react as he stabbed an effort goalwards, only to be denied by the goalkeeper for another corner.
As half-time approached, Barcelona appealed for two penalties, firstly when Robert Lewandowski went down under a challenge before Joao Felix jinked past Zubeldia, where there was substantial contact, but referee Javier Alberola Rojas and VAR decided it was not worthy of a spot-kick.
In the 66th minute, the home side appealed for a penalty when Oyarzabal was felled in the area but to no avail, before Sociedad tested the visitors’ goal once more.
A long throw was half-cleared by the Barcelona defence, which fell in the direct of Barrenetxea on the edge of the box to fire a brilliant volley which was pushed wide by ter Stegen.
From the following corner, Kubo then raced around Gavi to get to the byline inside the area, but his cutback was cleared by a retreating Pedri.
Substitute Raphinha fired a 25-yard free-kick just over for the away team before they produced one of their best moves of the match, with a flowing counter-attack resulting in Ferran Torres picking up the ball on the edge of the area, but he blazed way over.
Barcelona almost snatched victory when another break led Pedri to patiently lay off to Gavi inside the area, but his effort was expertly saved by Remiro.
Araujo initially looked in anguish as he headed home Ilkay Gundogan’s teasing cross after the assistant flagged him offside. However, following a VAR check, the Uruguayan defender had timed his run to perfection to be Xavi’s unlikely match-winner.
Mauricio Pochettino believes under-fire Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has done an “amazing” job and harbours no lingering animosity over his sacking in 2019.
Chelsea manager Pochettino will return to Spurs for the first time since being dismissed by Levy for Monday evening’s derby against his former side.
The Argentinian was a popular figure during a five-and-a-half-year spell in north London but risked tarnishing his legacy by joining one of their fiercest rivals in the summer.
Levy – the Premier League’s longest-serving chairman – has endured criticism and protests from fans since the end of that era, albeit his recent appointment of Ange Postecoglou and a strong start to this season has restored some credit.
Pochettino received a message of congratulations from his former boss following his move to Stamford Bridge and insists they are on good terms ahead of an eagerly-anticipated reunion.
Asked about the state of the relationship, he replied: “Very good, yes.
“We are very respectful and he sent a text when I signed here, wishing the best to me and everyone.
“We need to be natural. Nearly six years working together, how many things happened in six years? Good and not so good.
“We are responsible for our relationship. We cannot now forget our relationship in a period which was very important in our careers and for the club.”
Tottenham challenged for the Premier League title, became Champions League regulars and built a £1billion stadium during Pochettino’s time working under Levy.
Pochettino feels the 61-year-old businessman deserves credit for helping grow the club.
He also acknowledged intense scrutiny comes with the territory when asked for his view on some Spurs supporters calling for Levy to go.
“Football is football,” said Pochettino.
“He is involved now more than 20 years in football and understands the situation.
“I think it’s really important to understand that the fans are very emotional, more than us, and they want that your team every time win and play well.
“I cannot say fair or not fair (the calls for Levy to step down). (Or) if it was fair that we were sacked or not – that is football and we need to accept the rules of football.
“Daniel is really clever, clever enough to understand that the feelings are the feelings. But that doesn’t mean that the people don’t recognise your job.
“He was amazing, the job he’s doing for Tottenham, for the club.
“You see Tottenham 20 years ago and now, how it changed, how it moved on and I think you need to recognise his job.”
Pochettino is unconcerned about the reception he will receive from fans of his former club.
The 51-year-old suggested he could still be Tottenham boss, if he had not been dismissed.
“I am going to accept what they will show,” he said of the supporters.
“I didn’t decide to leave. We parted ways because I was sacked.
“But it’s not a criticism to the club. That is a difference, we didn’t decide to leave. Maybe (we could be) still there.”
Udinese heaped more pressure on AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli with a 1-0 win at the San Siro for their first Serie A victory this season.
Roberto Pereyra’s penalty just after the hour proved decisive as the Rossoneri slumped to a second successive home defeat and saw their winless run extend to four matches in all competitions.
AC Milan now find themselves in a fight to stay in the top four heading towards the international break – with Pioli facing more questions on his future.
Udinese created an early opening when Jordan Zemura cut the ball back and it was not cleared properly, but Pereyra could only fire his shot over the bar from 15 yards.
Zemura was involved again when he sent a pass across the face of the Milan goal following a free-kick, but no-one was able to get a telling touch.
The Rossoneri, missing Theo Hernandez through an ankle problem, finally showed some signs of life when Rade Krunic headed wide from a corner and then Davide Calabria had his shot beaten away by Udinese keeper Marco Silvestri.
American midfielder Yunus Musah again tested Silvestri with a fierce drive.
Alessandro Florenzi was unfortunate not to be rewarded for a fine piece of individual skill when he took a pass from Rafael Leao and spun around on to goal, but could not find a finish.
AC Milan made a couple of changes for the second half as Yacine Adli replaced Krunic and Swiss forward Noah Okafor came on for Luka Jovic, who looked to have picked up an injury.
Udinese wasted another chance to break the deadlock when a corner was flicked on to the back post, where defender Christian Kabasele lashed it over from close range.
The hosts then broke quickly as Okafor was sent clear, but his chipped effort over the on-rushing Silvestri dropped wide.
On the hour, Udinese were awarded a penalty when Festy Ebosele went down as he got in between Tijjani Reijnders and Yacine Adli, which was backed up by a VAR review.
Pereyra kept his cool to send Milan keeper Mike Maignan the wrong way as he rolled the ball into the bottom right corner.
Pioli made another change to try to spark his Milan side, with fit-again midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek coming on for a first appearance since the end of September.
It was Udinese, though, who then almost grabbed a second when Isaac Success’ downward header from a corner was palmed away by Maignan.
Milan pushed for an equaliser, with Rafael Leao threatening down the left before Florenzi lashed a shot high over the crossbar when a corner was cleared out to the edge of the box.
In the 89th minute, a deep cross from the left by Leao found Olivier Giroud, who diverted the ball towards the top corner off his shoulder, but Silvestri made a superb save at full stretch.
Silvestri tipped away a rising drive from Florenzi and Leao flashed a 20-yard drive just wide as Milan pressed in during seven minutes of stoppage time.
There was, though, to be no late reprieve as boos rang out from the disgruntled home fans at the final whistle while Udinese joyously celebrated a memorable first win under new manager Gabriele Cioffi.
It was very much mission accomplished for Auguste Rodin, who was given the perfect ride by Ryan Moore to bring his season to a brilliant climax in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita.
Aidan O’Brien had long had this race in mind for his dual Derby hero, a plan firmed up after his thrilling victory in the Irish Champion Stakes, which cemented his place in his trainer’s affections.
There has been the odd hiccup in Auguste Rodin’s journey to stardom, but he has always bounced back from his setbacks in style and thrived in his first taste of international competition.
As when tasting Derby success at Epsom, the son of Deep Impact was ridden with patience by Moore, who rounding the turn for home found a golden passage up the rail and wasted little time in snatching the opportunity.
The Coolmore number one soon sent his mount for home and he surged clear of top American turf challenger Up To The Mark to give O’Brien a record-extending seventh success in a race Europeans continue to dominate.
Mansfield made their second cup exit in five days as they lost 2-1 at home to Sky Bet League Two promotion rivals Wrexham in an exciting FA Cup first-round tie.
After starting the season with a 19-game unbeaten run, the Stags fell to a 1-0 reverse to Port Vale in the last 16 of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday before Wrexham arrived to deliver another cup defeat.
Sam Dalby and Paul Mullin put the Welsh visitors ahead before Rhys Oates’ effort proved in vain at a soggy One Call Stadium.
Arthur Okonkwo denied Oates one-on-one after only three minutes, but Dalby made the breakthrough with a superb rising finish in the 23rd minute after being slipped into the left side of the box by James McClean.
On the half-hour, Elliot Lee set up Dalby, but this time his finish came back off the crossbar. Home goalkeeper Christy Pym made a crucial double save in the 42nd minute, turning away successive shots from Lee and Dalby.
Three minutes after the restart Louis Reed forced Okonkwo to parry, then denied Oates from close range before Jordan Bowery volleyed the wrong side of the near post soon after as Stags fought hard.
Instead, Wrexham went 2-0 up as a lucky break of the ball saw Dalby set up Mullin to finish low in the 58th minute.
Two minutes later, Oates won the ball and powered into the box to bury a powerful finish, giving Mansfield a lifeline, but Wrexham held on to book their spot in the second round.
Novak Djokovic will face Grigor Dimitrov in the Paris Masters final after taking down fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev in a nervy 5-7 7-6 (3) 7-5 semi-final.
The world number one is chasing a record-extending seventh title at the ATP Masters 1000 but has not always looked assured in this tournament, his first since winning the US Open in September.
Rublev controlled the first set, taking advantage of eight unforced errors from his Serbian opponent, who required treatment to his lower back after forcing the three-hour and two-minute match into a third set with an ace.
Djokovic, who sealed victory following a double-fault from the Russian, told Tennis TV: “Rublev was suffocating me like a snake suffocates a frog for most of the match.
“He was playing on an extremely high level. I knew that he possesses a great quality but today he played off the charts, honestly. I don’t think I’ve ever faced Rublev this good.
“On the other hand, I was struggling again with my fitness a little bit at the beginning, but I just kind of went through it.”
Saturday’s victory marked the 14th time Djokovic has reached 50 wins in a year and extended his winning streak to 17 matches to reach the 58th Masters 1000 final of his career.
Unseeded semi-finalist Dimitrov, meanwhile, reached just his second ATP Masters 1000 final and first since 2017 with a 6-3 6-7 (1) 7-6 (3) victory over seventh-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The Bulgarian saved all four break points he faced and was at one point 15-40 down in the third set before digging in and willing himself into a mindset shift telling the ATP website: “I was just thinking it can’t keep going like this, so I have to change something. In order to beat someone like him I just had to step through. That is the only thing I could have done.
“There were no tears, but I got very emotional [after the win]. I am just living in the moment right now. It has been a funny road of late, but each win means more and more to me.”
Dimitrov will try for his ninth career ATP singles title on Sunday, and first since 2017.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta branded the VAR decision not to rule out Anthony Gordon’s goal in his side’s 1-0 defeat at Newcastle “an absolute disgrace”.
Gordon turned home the winner in a scrappy game of few chances from close range midway through the second half to end Arsenal’s 10-game unbeaten Premier League start.
After referee Stuart Attwell awarded the goal, jubilant Newcastle fans had an extended, anxious wait as the VAR made a triple check to see whether the ball had gone out of play before Joe Willock’s cross, whether Joelinton had fouled Arsenal defender Gabriel and whether Gordon had been offside.
Arteta, whose side slipped two points behind leaders Manchester City, could not hide his anger after the match.
“You have to talk about how the hell did this goal stand up? Incredible. I feel embarrassed,” the 41-year-old Spaniard said.
“I have to now come in here and try to defend the club and please ask for help because it’s an absolute disgrace that this goal is allowed. An absolute disgrace.
“For many reasons, it’s not a goal. More than one reason, it’s not a goal. And there’s too much at stake here. We put so much effort (in).
“It’s so difficult to compete at this level and it’s an absolute disgrace. Again, I feel embarrassed.
“I’ve been more than 20 years in this country and this is nowhere near the level to describe this as the best league in the world, I’m sorry.”
When asked to comment on Arteta’s reaction, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said he had not seen replays of Gordon’s winner.
Howe said: “Maybe he’s seen something I haven’t because I’ve only seen it with the naked eye, live and from my angle I had no idea what was going on, to be honest.
“I had no idea what was going on with the VAR checks either, so in the lap of the gods really, you’re waiting like everybody else was in the stadium.
“With every check going through I was thinking they were probably going to find something. Very bizarre to have three VAR checks, but the goal was given and that’s all I know.”
As well as inflicting on Arsenal their first league defeat of the season, Howe’s side extended their unbeaten league run to seven games and closed to within four points of the Gunners.
Howe said: “It was probably more of a midfield battle than we expected. I think Arsenal respected us, there was a lot of direct play from them.
“We were really competitive. We needed to be. Thankfully we kept 11 men on the pitch. There were more bookings than there needed to be.
“Both teams threatened to lose their discipline and I’m delighted we didn’t. It’s a massive win for us.”
Arsenal midfielder Kai Havertz’s ill-judged high challenge on Sean Longstaff sparked a first-half melee and Howe was annoyed three of his players were also booked as a result.
When asked if Havertz’s challenge warranted a red card, Howe added: “Again, I’ve not seen anything on replay.
“My initial thought was yes, because it was high and dangerous. That was just what I thought. I’d need to see it again to confirm my opinion.”
Jan Vertonghen believes his former Tottenham team-mate Harry Kane could be the "missing link" that helps Bayern Munich back to Champions League glory.
Kane has enjoyed a superb start to his career with the Bavarian giants, scoring his third hat-trick of the season in Saturday's 4-0 Klassiker win over Borussia Dortmund, taking his Bundesliga tally to 15 after 10 matches. No player has ever scored more than 13 in their first 10 games in the competition.
He is already just one goal behind the number the 2022-23 top scorers managed (Christopher Nkunku and Niclas Fullkrug – 16), while he is halfway to the record for the most goals scored in a debut Bundesliga season, currently held by Uwe Seeler (30) in the 1963-1964 campaign.
His record-breaking form is giving Bayern fans hope that he can lead them to a seventh Champions League title and their first since the 2019-20 campaign, and Vertonghen, who reached the final of that competition alongside Kane with Spurs in the 2018-19 season, believes the England international can be the man to return Bayern to European success.
Asked if Kane could be the final puzzle piece to a Bayern Champions League win, Vertonghen, an Athlete Partner for APEX, told Stats Perform: "For sure.
"There's not a lot of great number nines at the moment – that's why Barcelona paid the money for [Robert] Lewandowski, that's why Bayern Munich paid the money for Harry.
"The young number nines are very rare – you have [Erling] Haaland, Gabriel Jesus. A lot of teams are looking for them.
"Harry was there, he's fit, he's got a lot of good years ahead of him and for sure he could be the missing link there."
Kane's Spurs exit in August saw him end a 19-year association with the club, leaving as the club's record goalscorer, having found the net 280 times in 435 appearances in all competitions.
Despite Kane's departure, Spurs have started the season very well under new head coach Ange Postecoglou and will return to the Premier League summit if they can beat Chelsea at home on Monday.
Vertonghen feels Kane would not have taken the decision to leave Spurs lightly, saying: "On his side it wasn't a no brainer, because Tottenham is in his heart – he's a legend there, everyone loves him, born and raised in London. It wasn't easy for him to leave, Tottenham really wanted to keep him as well.
"But I understand why he did it. He plays now for one of the biggest clubs in Europe, he probably thought he had more chance of adding some silverware.
"It's a shame for Tottenham, it's a shame for Harry – especially now you see the way they're performing now, but nobody would have predicted that.
"Everyone at Spurs wants him to do well; he's a legend, a great guy and he never put a foot wrong for Tottenham. He never complained, even in the bad times, he was always there as a leader, so everyone just wants him to do well."
Charlie Appleby enhanced his fine Breeders’ Cup record, with Master Of The Seas flying home late to deny fellow Godolphin raider Mawj in a rip-roaring conclusion to the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita.
With Saeed bin Suroor’s 1000 Guineas heroine tracking the hot pace set by Japanese challenger Win Carnelian, in contrast William Buick had Master Of The Seas held up towards the rear of the field from his outside draw in stall 14.
The order remained unaltered swinging the turn for home when Oisin Murphy decided to angle out Mawj and send the ultra-tough Classic winner for home in what looked a race-winning move.
However, Buick’s patience was rewarded and as the wire approached, Master Of The Seas had one last lung-busting thrust in him to edge out Mawj and lead home an all-British and all-Godolphin one-two.
It was the third straight victory in the Breeders’ Cup Mile for both Appleby and Buick following their successes with Space Blues (2021) and Modern Games (2022), while the Moulton Paddocks handler now has 10 Breeders’ Cup victories to his name.
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