Kylian Mbappe struck twice as champions Paris St Germain powered to a 4-1 win over troubled Lyon in Ligue 1 on Sunday.

It continued the France World Cup-winner’s strong start to the season after a summer overshadowed by a high-profile contract dispute.

Achraf Hakimi and Marco Asensio also got on the scoresheet as PSG effectively wrapped up victory with all four of their goals in the first half at the Groupama Stadium.

Corentin Tolisso scored a second-half consolation for the hosts but the result piled on the pressure for under-fire Lyon manager Laurent Blanc.

Blanc’s side are now bottom of the table with just one point from four games and were booed off at half-time and the end of the game.

Mbappe, by contrast, is enjoying an upturn in fortunes. After months of headlines and speculation relating to his future, the forward let his football do the talking in recent weeks.

The 24-year-old scored three goals in his first two outings of the season and bagged another after just four minutes after PSG were awarded an early penalty.

Tolisso was the guilty party as he brought down Manuel Ugarte and Mbappe made no mistake from the spot.

Rayan Cherki fired wide at the other end but Vitinha and Mbappe both went close to a second for PSG before Hakimi did double the lead when he pounced on a rebound after 20 minutes.

Duje Caleta-Car and Cherki both had opportunities as Lyon responded but Hakimi hit the crossbar for PSG and the visitors took firm control when Ugarte teed up Asensio for a third, seven minutes before the interval.

PSG were not finished there as a quick break led to Asensio releasing Mbappe and the striker showed great football to slot his second in first-half injury time.

Lyon were booed off at the break and things almost got worse after the resumption when a looping Ousmane Dembele header hit the crossbar.

The hosts did pull one back after Warren Zaire-Emery brought down Nicolas Tagliafico and Tolisso converted the resulting penalty after 74 minutes but it was never going to change the outcome.

PSG eased off in the final stages as they closed out a comfortable victory.

Mbappe had a chance to complete a hat-trick in injury time but lashed the ball into the side-netting.

Celtic’s 1-0 win over Rangers was undoubtedly the big match of the fourth weekend of the cinch Premiership season.

But there were plenty of talking points elsewhere with late equalisers in Perth and Livingston, controversy in Kilmarnock and big wins for Motherwell and Hibernian.

Here are five things we learned from the weekend’s action.

Michael Beale is under real pressure

Defeat by Celtic at Ibrox took Brendan Rodgers’ side four points clear of their rivals, who have already lost two league games before the first international break. The Rangers supporters turned on Beale and his players in a toxic atmosphere at the end of the game and there will have to be a marked improvement in results if Beale is to win the fans back. With one win in six meetings against Celtic, which came after the title was decided last season, Beale will need to improve that record in a fixture that ultimately decides how his tenure is viewed.

Some things VAR cannot correct

Kilmarnock were left with a huge sense of injustice after referee Kevin Clancy blew for a penalty just as the ball was flying into the net off Stuart Findlay’s head. The referee apologised to Killie manager Derek McInnes for being too quick with his whistle after spotting a shirt pull but the mistake cost Killie a point after Ross Laidlaw saved Danny Armstrong’s spot-kick. Even without the benefit of VAR, Clancy would have been far better waiting to see if an advantage emerged.

David Gray gets a big win

The caretaker manager earned Hibernian only their second win at Pittodrie since 2012. The previous one was achieved by Jack Ross on a night when Hibs clinched third spot in 2021 but Lee Johnson, Shaun Maloney, Paul Heckingbottom, Neil Lennon and Terry Butcher had all failed to win at Aberdeen. The international break will likely allow Hibs to make a permanent appointment but Gray’s win could even tempt the Hibs board to take their time.

St Mirren and Motherwell enjoy the view

Saints moved top of the Premiership table on Saturday night thanks to Stav Nahmani’s last-gasp equaliser at Livingston, which took the Paisley side’s unbeaten run to eight matches. Celtic went back top on Sunday but Motherwell later joined them on 10 points thanks to a 1-0 win at Hearts despite having Paul McGinn sent off. The Steelmen are now unbeaten in 10 Premiership matches and have not lost a league game on the road in more than six months under Stuart Kettlewell.

Liam Scales seizes his chance

The Celtic defender looked likely to move on after a season-long loan at Aberdeen but four injuries to centre-backs saw him catapulted into the team for the first time in 18 months when the Hoops drew with St Johnstone. While his return was underwhelming, his next game will live long in his memory. The Irishman produced a superb display to shut out Rangers at Ibrox and help seal an important victory.

Jadon Sancho claimed he has been “a scapegoat for a long time” as the Manchester United winger hit back at boss Erik ten Hag for saying he was dropped for the Arsenal game because of poor training performances.

The 23-year-old did not travel to north London for Sunday’s Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium, where two stoppage-time goals condemned the Red Devils to a 3-1 defeat.

Sancho was conspicuous by his absence from the squad having come off the bench in their first three matches, with Ten Hag revealing afterwards that he was dropped due to sub-par training.

“Jadon, on his performances in training we did not select him,” the United boss said after the defeat.

“You have to reach a level every day at Manchester United and we can make choices in the front line. So for this game he was not selected.”

Sancho later posted on Twitter: “Please don’t believe everything you read! I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue, I have conducted myself in training very well this week.

“I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won’t go into, l’ve been a scapegoat for a long time which isn’t fair! “All I want to do is play football with a smile on my face and contribute to my team.

“I respect all decisions that are made by the coaching staff, I play with fantastic players and (am) grateful to do so which I know every week is a challenge.

“I will continue to fight for this badge no matter what!”

Sancho has struggled for consistent form since moving to Old Trafford for Borussia Dortmund for £73million in 2021. The England international has scored 12 goals in 82 appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils.

He started Ten Hag’s first season brightly but did not feature from October 22 until February 1 – a period that saw him watch the World Cup from afar and do an individual winter fitness programme in the Netherlands.

Sancho played in the Carabao Cup final win against Newcastle after returning and ended the campaign with seven goals and three assists.

Big-serving Ben Shelton blew away fellow American Tommy Paul to reach the quarter-finals of the US Open.

The 20-year-old from Atlanta fired down two 149mph serves in one game on his way to a 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-4 victory at Flushing Meadows.

“I think it was straight adrenaline,” he said. “In any other atmosphere I don’t think I could get it done. I think my arm would fall off, but it’s feeling good right now.”

The record fastest serve at the US Open is still held by Andy Roddick, who hit a 152mph thunderbolt on his way to the title in 2003 – the last time an American man won their home slam.

It was sweet revenge for Shelton, who was knocked out by Paul at the same stage of the Australian Open in January.

He added: “I really learned how to be mentally tough. When I was playing in Australia after a long week, I was looking at my box saying ‘my legs are dead, I’m tired, I can’t go anymore’.

“I realised how important it is to believe in myself, believe that I can go all the way, the full distance emotionally and physically and now I have that belief here.”

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag revealed Jadon Sancho was dropped for the trip to Arsenal due to poor training performance.

The England winger did not travel to north London for the match, where United conceded two late goals to fall to a 3-1 loss at the Emirates Stadium.

Sancho, 23, had previously come off the bench in the first three Premier League games of the new season.

But Ten Hag accused the forward of not reaching the “level” required to be part of his matchday squad against the Gunners.

“Jadon, on his performances in training we did not select him,” the Dutchman said after the defeat.

“You have to reach a level every day at Manchester United and we can make choices in the front line. So for this game he was not selected.”

Sancho has struggled for consistent form since moving to Old Trafford for Borussia Dortmund for £73million in 2021.

He has scored nine league goals and provided just six assists in his 58 appearances for the Red Devils and will now have to prove himself to Ten Hag to get back in his thinking for the visit of high-flying Brighton after the international break.

Erik ten Hag was left bemoaning several decisions he felt went against his Manchester United side as they sank to a dramatic late defeat at Arsenal.

Stoppage-time strikes from Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus secured a 3-1 win for the hosts, who had equalised through Martin Odegaard just 110 seconds after Marcus Rashford had opened the scoring for United.

The late double would have been even more galling for the away side as substitute Alejandro Garnacho thought he had won it with his own strike, only to see it ruled out by a close offside VAR call.

That was just one of the close decisions ten Hag believes fell in Arsenal’s favour as the Red Devils slipped to a second defeat of the season in north London.

The Dutchman also felt Kai Havertz should have been booked for diving after seeing a penalty award overturned by VAR and that Rice’s goal came about only because Jonny Evans had been fouled – while he called for debutant Rasmus Hojlund to have been given a spot-kick of his own.

“The performance was right but the result was not on our side and definitely many decisions were against us,” he said.

“Let’s start at the penalty given but rejected. Everyone can see it’s a simulation but he did not get booked for it.

“Then the foul on Hojlund in the penalty area and I don’t think it was even noticed by the VAR. Then the disallowed goal from Garnacho.

“I think they looked from the wrong angle and it’s onside. Then the final goal. How can they allow that? It’s a clear and obvious foul on Jonny Evans otherwise he would have blocked the shot from Declan Rice. So it’s a lot.”

Despite the defeat ten Hag felt his team – without a number of injured first-team players and having also lost centre-back pairing Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof to injury and illness, respectively, during the game – put in a strong showing.

“I also have a good feeling because our performance was very good,” he added.

“I won’t say it was perfect because there is definitely room for improvement. But if we see our compactness, pressing, moving with the ball and making the counters, very calm, we never gave Arsenal an opportunity to press us.

“The next stage is we could have done that better and the movement we could have done in the right moments. There were a lot of positives in this game but there is still a lot to do.”

Arsenal have now won three of their opening four games as Rice once again shone following his £105million summer move from West Ham.

He topped off a fine display with the important second goal as manager Mikel Arteta hailed the influence of the England midfielder.

“I think, a tremendous performance,” he said.

“When you look at how a holding midfielder needs to dominate his area, how he needs to break up play, how he glided the team together when they were stretched a bit.

“Then he produced a magic moment to win us the game, so, (I’m) really happy with him.

“He’s a great kid. I think he’s got a good mixture between being extremely demanding with everybody and himself, having a bit of banter and being around the staff and the boys in a really humble way. So I think he’s fitting in brilliantly.”

Lautaro Martinez scored a second-half brace as Inter Milan moved top of Serie A after easing to a 4-0 victory over Fiorentina to extend their 100 per cent start to the season at San Siro.

The hosts began to press from the off and Denzel Dumfries half-tested returning Fiorentina goalkeeper Oliver Christensen – who missed Thursday’s Europa Conference League qualifying play-off with Rapid Vienna – with an easy shot.

Marcus Thuram headed Dumfries’ cross straight at Christensen after 11 minutes as Inter looked for an opener.

Eight minutes later, the home side came close with their first real chance of note as Thuram continued to cause Fiorentina problems but he fired over the crossbar after a nice run.

The summer signing from Borussia Monchengladbach did finally break the deadlock with his first goal for Inter midway through the first half.

Federico Dimarco whipped in a well-timed cross to pick out Thuram, whose powerful header from the centre of the box beat Christensen.

The hosts came close to doubling their lead on the half-hour mark and Thuram was again well placed to claim his brace but he could not turn Alessandro Bastoni’s cross home as he fired over.

The Viola were pushing hard for an equaliser as the half started to draw to a close but were yet to really test Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

While – at the other end – a brilliant Inter free-kick from Turkey midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu was well kept out by the diving Christensen and Thuram fired another wasted chance over on the stroke of half-time.

Fiorentina looked like they might try their luck early in the second half but were easily thwarted by the Nerazzurri, who proved too strong for their opponents and found their rhythm soon afterwards.

The hosts doubled their lead – following a chance where Dumfries struck the post – after 53 minutes as Martinez went on a run from outside the box and slotted home Thuram’s cross with a great strike straight down the middle.

Inter were given the chance to extend their lead further before the half-hour mark as they were awarded a penalty for a foul by Christensen on Thuram.

Calhanoglu made no mistake to score his first goal of the season as he sent his powerful spot-kick to the keeper’s bottom-left, leaving Christensen diving down to his right.

Inter continued to dominate and put the result beyond doubt with 17 minutes remaining as Martinez tapped the ball home after beating his opponent to substitute Juan Cuadrado’s inch-perfect cross into the box.

Fiorentina could find no reply as the hosts kept their clean-sheet record intact for the season while moving above rivals AC Milan at the top of the table.

Jos Buttler credited New Zealand for outplaying England after they kept the four-match T20 series alive with an emphatic 74-run victory at Edgbaston.

England could have clinched the series with victory following fine wins in Durham and Manchester, but the Black Caps posted an imposing 202 for five after Finn Allen crunched 83 and Glenn Phillips blitzed 69 off 34 balls.

It left the T20 world champions requiring their third highest chase to secure a first series success since they pipped Pakistan to the world title last November, but they made a dismal start to their reply.

Openers Will Jacks and Jonny Bairstow were out cheaply while Dawid Malan produced a painful innings of two from 11 balls as England slumped to 30 for three before they were skittled for 128 despite Buttler’s 40 at a strike rate of 190.47.

“Credit to New Zealand, they really outplayed us,” Buttler reflected ahead of Tuesday’s finale in Nottingham.

“A good toss to win and we probably let them get a few too many. Credit to them, I thought that partnership with Finn Allen and Glenn Phillips, we just couldn’t break that and they took the game away from us a bit.

“Chasing that kind of score, we needed a fast start and a really good powerplay, but New Zealand bowled well and we didn’t get anything going, any partnerships so it looks a big defeat in the end.”

On a dry and turning wicket, England’s spinners struggled and Moeen Ali, who later hit 26, was surprisingly not given the ball, which Buttler later confirmed was a tactical decision.

Adil Rashid had bowled economically to concede 23 from his first three overs, but Allen sent him out of the attack with a bang after three successive sixes in the 15th over while Liam Livingstone faced similar punishment to register one for 55.

Gus Atkinson was a rare positive for the hosts after he claimed two for 31 in his second international appearance having been a shock selection in England’s preliminary World Cup squad last month.

Buttler told Sky Sports: “Delighted for Gus and great for him to get more exposure under his belt, more games of international cricket.

“He looks very comfortable at the minute, he has settled in really well with the group and his performances have been brilliant.”

England’s batters had less to shout about with Malan following up his four-ball duck at Old Trafford with an equally disappointing innings, while star of the summer Harry Brook contributed just eight and Livingstone’s lean spell with the bat continued with two.

Assistant coach Marcus Trescothick admitted a chase of 203 was too tall an order, especially after they were 30 for two at the end of the powerplay.

“They both played well, there is no doubt about that and they did something we didn’t, which was a partnership,” Trescothick said of Allen and Phillips, who put on 88 for the third wicket.

“It wasn’t an easy pitch but if you had people get in and used to the pace of it, then it was a little easier.

“Chasing 200 you have always got to get off to a decent start. You need to get 55 or 60 in the powerplay and we lost a couple of early wickets and didn’t get going, so it put us on the back foot.

“You are always trying to play catch up at that point.”

New Zealand opener Allen was pleased to make a significant contribution after a string of starts during the last month in England where he featured for Southern Brave in The Hundred.

“It has been a frustrating last six weeks because I feel like I’ve got a lot of starts and not kicked on, so to stick one out and bat deep was quite nice for a change,” Allen added.

“Pre-game we talked about how it was important we focused on our individual roles and we pretty much nailed that as a team. Our bowlers came out and hit their areas from the start, so it was a pretty well-rounded team performance.”

Wolves have alleged one of their players was subjected to discriminatory abuse during their Premier League game at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

The club reported the matter to the officials and stadium authorities at Selhurst Park and a supporter was subsequently ejected from the ground. Police have also been informed.

The player affected has not been named.

A statement from Wolves read: “We are very disappointed to report that one of our players was the target of discriminatory abuse by an opposing fan during today’s game with Crystal Palace.

“We reported the incident quickly to Crystal Palace, Premier League match centre and the matchday officials.

“Crystal Palace security moved swiftly to remove the supporter in question and notified police at Selhurst Park.

“We are offering our full support to the player involved and have provided a formal statement to the Metropolitan Police.

“Racism or discrimination in any form is completely unacceptable and should never be left unchallenged.”

The PA news agency has contacted the Metropolitan Police.

Tributes have poured in for one of rugby’s cross-code greats following the death of David Watkins at the age of 81.

Blaina-born Watkins, known affectionately as “Dai”, played rugby union for Newport and was part of the team which famously beat the touring All Blacks in 1963.

He also won 21 caps for Wales and captained the British Lions before making a shock switch to rugby league with Salford in 1967 having resisted interest from St Helens as an 18-year-old.

A statement from Salford read: “Salford Red Devils are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of club icon, David Watkins, one of the very greatest to represent our club, and to ever play our game.

“All our thoughts go out to David’s family and friends at this truly difficult time.”

The Rugby Football League described Watkins as “one of the best cross-code converts from Wales”.

A statement from the Wales Rugby Football League read: “Everyone at Wales Rugby League was sad to hear about the passing of David Watkins MBE, one of our greatest ever players. He was aged 81.

“Dai, as he was affectionately known as, is recognised as one of the greatest Welshmen to have ever pulled on a rugby shirt.”

Watkins played a key role in Salford’s golden era, making more than 400 appearances and scoring almost 3,000 points as they were crowned champions twice in three seasons during the 1970s.

He kicked a world record 221 goals during the 1972-73 season and his feat of scoring in 92 consecutive matches for the club remains unbeaten.

His club form once again earned him recognition at international level with both Wales and Great Britain, who he represented on the Lions tour to Australia in 1974.

Watkins, who coached Britain at the 1977 World Cup final and later took charge of Wales, also had brief spells with Swinton and Cardiff Blue Dragons.

He moved into media work following his retirement in 1982, and was awarded an MBE for his services to rugby league four years later.

Watkins was elevated to the Wales Rugby League hall of fame in 2018 and admitted to the RFL’s equivalent during last year’s World Cup.

Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus fired Arsenal to a stunning 3-1 stoppage-time victory against Manchester United as a thrill-a-minute clash came to an unforgettable conclusion.

Last year’s Premier League runners-up hosted the side that finished third on Sunday afternoon as these teams looked to kick on from more unconvincing starts than their respective points tallies suggested.

Marcus Rashford brilliantly put Erik ten Hag’s United ahead in the first half at the Emirates Stadium, only for Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard to impressively level 110 seconds later.

The match looked set to end in an absorbing draw after a penalty for a foul on Kai Havertz was overturned following a pitchside review, before the VAR ruled out substitute Alejandro Garnacho’s late winner for narrowly straying offside.

United’s wholehearted celebrations were cut short and there was still time for more drama in a jaw-dropping ending.

A deep corner found Rice to slam home his first Arsenal goal off the heel of Jonny Evans in the sixth minute of stoppage time, before substitute Jesus coolly added gloss for Mikel Arteta’s men.

Lewis Hamilton apologised to Oscar Piastri after he admitted he was “totally at fault” for his collision with the McLaren rookie in Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix.

Hamilton was hit with a five-second penalty for the coming together at the Variante della Roggia as the two drivers duelled for eighth on lap 41 of 51 in Monza.

Hamilton improved to sixth and was able to pull out a seven-second margin on Williams’ Alex Albon to ensure the sanction had no impact on his result.

However, Piastri, 22, suffered front-wing damage and was forced to stop for repairs, dropping him out of the points. “He just turned across me under braking,” said Piastri on the radio.

Hamilton, who was also hit with two penalty points on his driver’s licence, doubling his total to four, went over to Piastri to concede his error at the chequered flag.

“It was totally my fault,” said Hamilton, 38. “It actually wasn’t intentional. I went and apologised to him straight afterwards.

“I got up alongside him and just misjudged the gap I had to the right and clipped him. It could happen at any time.

“I knew shortly afterwards it must have been my fault and I wanted to make sure he knew it wasn’t intentional. That’s what gentleman do.”

Hamilton’s Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had no complaints with the stewards’ verdict and praised his superstar driver for taking accountability.

“That was Lewis’ mistake,” said Wolff. “I think a five-second penalty for that is what the menu says. These things happen, you know. It’s hard racing and we’ve seen a few of these. It’s justifiable.

“Lewis is very sportsmanlike on these things. And he is the only one that I see out there admitting things that he did wrong.

“We just had a chat and he said ‘I didn’t see him on the right and that is on me.’ And I think that kind of sportsmanship is what you need to admire with him. Pretty much everyone else is complaining and moaning to try to avoid getting a penalty.”

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell brushed off the significance of joining Celtic at the top of the cinch Premiership but hailed his players for “pushing the boundaries” with a 1-0 win at Tynecastle with 10 men.

Callum Slattery’s well-worked first-half goal and a resolute defensive display – especially after Paul McGinn’s 69th-minute red card – sealed victory against a Hearts side who only forced one save.

Motherwell are second on goal difference behind Celtic but Kettlewell is not getting carried away with the table after four matches.

“I don’t mean to be all doom and gloom but it means nothing at this point,” he said.

“I did speak to the players about pushing boundaries as much as we can and I think, as a short-term goal, coming to Tynecastle and getting a clean sheet and winning is pushing the boundaries for a club like Motherwell.

“Their resources and everything that they have is astronomical compared to ourselves but that doesn’t mean that we can’t come here, push boundaries and win games of football – and acquit ourselves in the way that we did.

“We’re not going to look at the league table or speak about it as a group.

“For supporters and people outside our club it’s a big story and it’s something to talk about. But for us, very simply we feel as if we have hit an unbelievable stretch of form.

“That’s now 10 Premiership games without defeat and we have not lost an away game since I took charge.”

Kettlewell added: “It was a brilliant performance. In the first half we were very good. We did a lot of things well in possession and out of possession.

“Fundamentally when you come here you want to turn the crowd, you want to try and ensure the opposition have to change their shape and their personnel. They did all of those things so we felt that first marker was there for us.

“In the second half you know you are going to have to suffer at times. At times you won’t have the ball but when we were reduced to 10 men that had to bring out a different side in us.

“We were laughing with the players because we work on attack versus defence and you saw how comfortable they were with it.

“It looked like they enjoyed it and there was a unity in everything they did. I think for Liam Kelly to face only one shot on target all game, that’s pretty incredible. But it also shows the work done in front of him.”

Hearts technical director Steven Naismith admitted his team’s performance was “poor” as they suffered a fourth consecutive defeat.

Naismith added: “It’s been very similar to every game we have played after a European tie. A very slow start, lethargic, safe, which then turns into nerves, turns into giving away cheap chances.

“I don’t think we deserved to win the game, we didn’t create enough, especially when they went down to 10 men.

“It was more of hope than real desire to get the goal to get back in the game that would put them under real pressure, which we failed to do.”

Naismith refused to use the exertions of Thursday’s European tie against PAOK as an excuse.

“If you’re at a club where the demand is you play in Europe season in, season out, then you need to understand you need to dig deep when you’re not feeling at your best,” he said.

“You need to have that mentality that says ‘no matter what, we’re going to win this game if it might not go straight to plan’.

“We need to have enough to cause other teams problems and I don’t think we have done that in these games after the European games.”