Kylian Mbappe suffered from muscle fatigue in Paris Saint-Germain's win at Lorient, says Christophe Galtier, who has eased fears over the attacker's fitness ahead of the World Cup.
Danilo Pereira's late header sent PSG five points clear at the top of Ligue 1 on Sunday, after in-form Terem Moffi had cancelled out Neymar's opener at the Stade du Moustoir.
However, Mbappe attracted attention by heading straight down the tunnel following his 85th-minute withdrawal.
France will already be without Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante for their World Cup defence, while Karim Benzema has missed several of Real Madrid's fixtures during an injury-hit season, including the upcoming meeting with Rayo Vallecano.
Galtier, however, quashed concerns over Mbappe's condition after the win, telling Amazon Prime Video: "[It's] nothing serious. We saw the news about Karim, but nothing serious for Kylian.
"Kylian made an effort. It's much better to ask to go off than to take the risk of staying on the pitch, or being on the pitch and being totally absent."
In his post-match press conference, Galtier revealed Mbappe had been suffering from fatigue as a result of PSG's congested schedule.
"There is no alert in a specific area, it's fatigue linked to the sequence of matches," Galtier said. "The playing conditions were difficult.
"He also came out tired after Juventus on Wednesday. It's a very busy schedule, with a certain apprehension. Everyone is listening to their body in this pre-World Cup period. There can be a fear."
With PSG failing to meet their usual standards in their penultimate game before the World Cup break, Galtier believes the spectre of the tournament caused his side to play with "restraint".
"Automatically, the World Cup is in the minds of the players. It's hard for them to manage. There is always information that can make them doubt," Galtier said.
"You have the feeling of playing at 100 per cent, but today I saw a certain restraint, linked to fatigue, plus the announcement of the squads in a few days.
"We did a little less, we were a little fearful in duels, but fatigue also made it difficult in the second half."
PSG were without Lionel Messi against Lorient, though he is expected to return before the World Cup break.
Chelsea are at a different stage of their development to Arsenal, claimed Graham Potter after the Blues' defeat to the Gunners at Stamford Bridge.
Gabriel Magalhaes bundled home for Arsenal shortly after the hour on Sunday to seal a 1-0 win that sent Mikel Arteta's side back to the top of the Premier League.
It means Chelsea are now without a win in four league matches, while they have lost back-to-back top-flight games for the first time since December 2020.
Chelsea sit seventh, 13 points behind Arsenal, with just one league game remaining prior to the World Cup.
For Potter, who took over from Thomas Tuchel in September, Sunday's result was merely evidence of the work Chelsea have ahead of them.
He told BT Sport: "We're playing against a team in a really good moment, a confident team, but the boys gave everything.
"It was a huffing and puffing performance from us without the quality we really need, over the course of the game not too many complaints with the result.
"Don't think it was a lack of urgency, have to look at where the two teams were at. Arsenal have good confidence, they've been working together for a long time, a good understanding of what they're trying to do.
"We're probably at a different phase. We probably tried to make the game a bit more of a London derby, and maybe that's why we lacked a bit of quality. The effort was there, we were beaten by the better team.
"It's an indication of where we have to work, where the process is and where we have to do better, that's where we're at."
It was a particularly frustrating day for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who endured a miserable reunion with his old side.
Aubameyang had just eight touches in his 64 minutes on the pitch, managing only one shot, which was blocked.
Potter, however, refused to pin the blame on any individual, saying: "I think it's part of the team, we didn't function as fluently as we would like.
"There's always two teams on the pitch, you have to understand where they're at, they come with good players and a good structure, Mikel's done a good job there, so you can see the points they have, they're in a good place and we're slightly different.
"You can have those moments in a season, what's important is we understand where we're at, what we have to do better and then execute it."
Unai Emery marked his return to English football in style as Aston Villa beat Manchester United 3-1 at Villa Park in the Premier League on Sunday.
The hosts needed just seven minutes to take the lead, Leon Bailey firing home, with Lucas Digne then dispatching a free-kick shortly after to leave Villa in control.
United pulled one back in the first half, Jacob Ramsey directing Luke Shaw's effort from distance into his own net, but he then scored at the right end shortly after the restart.
Erik ten Hag's side could not find a response, with Villa's defence never truly tested on what was another frustrating day for United.
Emery's return to the Premier League began in ideal fashion, Ramsey feeding a pass through to Bailey who showed his pace to find space away from Lisandro Martinez before sending his shot into the bottom-right corner.
The home side doubled their lead four minutes later as Lucas Digne expertly converted a free-kick from just outside the area to leave David de Gea with no chance and send Villa Park into pandemonium.
United reduced the deficit before the interval, Shaw letting loose from distance and the strike taking a wicked deflection off Ramsey.
Villa restored their two-goal lead three minutes into the second half, Ollie Watkins driving forward and laying off a pass to Ramsey, who arrived inside the box to fire a fierce effort into the roof of the net.
United failed to threaten a revival and suffered their fourth defeat of the season and first since the start of October.
Francesco Bagnaia broke down in tears after withstanding an issue with his Ducati to become MotoGP world champion on Sunday, ending a 50-year wait for an Italian to win the title on an Italian bike.
Bagnaia needed only two points at the Valencia Grand Prix to hold off 2021 champion Fabio Quartararo and clinch his first championship.
But the 25-year-old has done things the hard way this year, recovering from a slow start to surge to the top of the standings, and the season-ending race was far from straightforward.
Although Bagnaia enjoyed a strong start to the race to keep the pressure up on Quartararo – who needed to win even if his rival failed to finish – contact between the pair saw the championship leader lose part of his right wing.
It was a struggle then for the former Moto2 champion to get to the finish in one piece, meaning he was in an emotional state after crossing the line in ninth and sealing the title.
"It was the worst race of the year, for sure, maybe of my life, because I was there, fighting with my bike," Bagnaia told BT Sport.
"At the start, everything went well, everything was okay. But after losing my wing, I started struggling a lot – a lot, a lot, a lot. It was very difficult to manage everything.
"I just tried to arrive in the last laps with a bit of calm. Finally, when I saw on the pit board I was world champion, I started to cry a lot. It's something incredible."
Valentino Rossi had been the last Italian MotoGP champion in 2009, while Casey Stoner was the last man to triumph with Ducati in 2007.
Not since Giacomo Agostini took the title with MV Agusta in 1972 had an Italian won on an Italian bike.
"To be world champion is the main thing for every rider in MotoGP," Bagnaia added. "To be world champion with Ducati as an Italian is something unbelievable.
"I'm very happy. It's difficult to share with you my happiness in this moment. I'm very emotional, so it's difficult to say what I really want to say."
Mikel Arteta saluted his "phenomenal" Arsenal side after they returned to the top of the Premier League with a 1-0 derby win at Chelsea.
Gabriel Magalhaes capitalised on poor Blues defending to score the only goal of the game in the second half, tapping in a Bukayo Saka corner that evaded everyone and gifted the defender a chance he could not miss.
Chelsea did not pose a threat as their 12-match unbeaten home run came to an end, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang starved of service in his first match against his former club before he was hauled off in the second half.
Arsenal comfortably saw out a third consecutive win at Stamford Bridge for the first time since 1974, moving two points clear of Manchester City at the summit.
Gunners head coach Arteta expects another outstanding display to give his players even more belief that they can last the pace in the title race.
He told BT Sport: "We wanted to get back to the top, but the competition is so difficult in this league. The challenge for us was to come to this stage and play against a top team to perform and win the game and the boys did that."
Asked what impressed him the most, the Spaniard replied: "I think for such a young team the maturity they showed, the composure, the resilience and the courage to play the way we wanted to play it was phenomenal. It's easy to say it before the game but to do it against these opponents it's a different story.
"Winning against these opponents in this stadium I think is another step for these players to keep believing that they can do it under pressure against big opponents and we have to enjoy it."
Gabriel Jesus headed wide from close range when he was presented with a glorious opportunity to open the scoring in the first half and is now without a goal in nine games.
But Arteta felt the Brazil striker gave another demonstration of how to lead from the front.
He said: "The energy that he transmits to the team is just phenomenal, that to me is his biggest quality. His all-round play I think it was phenomenal how he competes, how he holds the ball, the movement, the anxiety and uncertainty he gives opponents.
"It is something that has taken us to a different level, we've said that from the beginning. He's done it again and while he didn't score, I thought he was outstanding."
Mikel Arteta said Arsenal would "focus on ourselves" ahead of kick-off at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, when asked how his team planned to handle Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Striker Aubameyang spent four years at Emirates Stadium, before his time at the club ended with him being shuffled off to Barcelona in February.
Having propelled Arsenal to FA Cup success in Arteta's first half-season at the helm in 2020, club captain Aubameyang was rewarded with a new contract. Yet the following campaign brought just 14 goals and, by December last year, Aubameyang was out of the picture having fallen out with, and out of the favour of, Arsenal's manager.
After his short-lived, but successful, spell at Barcelona, Aubameyang is back in the Premier League with Chelsea, and the focus ahead of Sunday's London derby was on how he would match up against his old club.
Sixty-four minutes, eight touches, five completed passes and just one shot, which was blocked, later, we had our answer – Aubameyang subbed off by Graham Potter, a minute after Arsenal had taken the lead thanks to Gabriel Magalhaes' goal, with the Gunners holding out to return to the Premier League's summit.
Auba's dismal reunion embodies toothless Chelsea display
Arsenal have found Stamford Bridge a happy hunting ground in recent seasons. They are unbeaten at Chelsea in the top flight since December 2018, and have won on their last three league trips to the home of their London rivals.
They triumphed 4-2 in the corresponding match last term, which was the last time Chelsea had lost on home turf, but the Blues were by far second-best on Sunday.
Chelsea, beaten 4-1 by Potter's former side Brighton and Hove Albion last week, managed just five attempts at goal, their fewest in a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge since September last year, in a loss to Manchester City.
Aubameyang scored 68 goals in 128 Premier League games for Arsenal, including one against the Blues in December 2019, but he never threatened to become just the second player to score for both sides in this fixture in the Premier League (excluding own goals), after Cesc Fabregas.
His performance summed up Chelsea's blunt attack, with Mason Mount managing only one attempt and creating just one chance, while Kai Havertz and Raheem Sterling also struggled.
Arsenal, in contrast, had 14 shots, and while only two hit the target, they did what title contenders do and ground out a big result.
Jesus setting the tone
Gabriel Jesus was brought in to fill the void left by Aubameyang, and where Chelsea's 33-year-old centre forward floundered, the Brazil international excelled at the other end.
Jesus might not have scored in the league since the start of October, yet the 25-year-old's influence cannot be ignored.
He had three shots, as many as Chelsea's starting front four combined, and 62 touches. Only defenders Cesar Azpilicueta and Thiago Silva (71 and 69) had more on Chelsea's team.
Jesus' 26 duels led the match, with no player competing for more aerials (six). A combative display saw the Arsenal number nine concede a joint-game-high three fouls, but he also won four, more than any other player on the pitch, while only Bukayo Saka (three) created more chances than the ex-Manchester City striker.
Arsenal, the real deal after all?
Chelsea did not lose back-to-back Premier League games at all under Potter's predecessor Thomas Tuchel, but the Blues are now without a win in four top-flight matches.
While Chelsea are undoubtedly struggling to click into gear, take nothing away from Arsenal. This team are purring, and Blues owner Todd Boehly should look to the Gunners' example of sticking with a young coach, with a defined project, as to just what can happen with sustained support.
City's late winner against Fulham on Saturday could have dealt Arsenal's confidence a blow, but instead they made another statement of intent.
"From the start until the end, we deserved to win, we were the much, much better team," Granit Xhaka rightly said in his post-match interview with BT Sport.
"We are so happy, we are doing everything the coach is telling us. These are the results."
Arsenal have won three consecutive Premier League games against fellow 'big six' opposition for the first time since February-April 2012, while the Gunners – on 34 points from their 13 matches – are the first side to win 10 top-flight away games at Chelsea.
They remain the only side to have scored in every top-flight match this term, while no teams have kept more clean sheets than the Gunners (six).
There's one potential complication for Arsenal, of course. The World Cup break is looming, and who knows if this momentum will be here by the time the league resumes in late December.
For now, though, their fans, players and previously much-maligned manager – who marked his 150th game in charge in style – can bask in deserved adulation.
Joao Felix came off the bench to rescue a point for Atletico Madrid against 10-man Espanyol as they drew 1-1 at the Metropolitano on Sunday.
The game had started with some jeers from the crowd after Atletico finished bottom of their Champions League group in midweek, and the mood did not improve as the Rojiblancos struggled to break down their visitors.
It looked to be set up nicely for the hosts when Leandro Cabrera was sent off in the first half, but despite having an extra man, Atletico contrived to fall behind after Sergi Darder's volley just after the hour mark.
Joao Felix arrived to bring the scores level with just over 10 minutes remaining, but a draw will still be a disappointing result for home coach Diego Simeone in the circumstances.
Espanyol lost a man in the 28th minute when Cabrera saw red after being judged to have brought down Alvaro Morata when trying to prevent the Spain striker from racing through on goal.
Marcos Llorente went close shortly after when he got on the end of a cross from the left by Reinildo but sent his first-time effort over the crossbar.
It was Espanyol who took the lead against the run of play in the 62nd minute, with Oscar Gil's cross from the right headed back across goal by Joselu for the unmarked Darder to volley past Jan Oblak.
In the 78th minute, Felix chested down a ball out to the left by fellow substitute Thomas Lemar before dashing towards goal and rifling a left-footed shot inside Benjamin Lecomte's near post, though Atleti were unable to find a winner.
Francesco Bagnaia dethroned Fabio Quartararo as MotoGP champion by holding his nerve at the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix, where Alex Rins won on Sunday.
Bagnaia needed only two points – a 14th-placed finish – to become the first Ducati champion in 15 years; even had he fallen short of that modest target, Quartararo would have needed to win the race.
The 2021 victor vowed to be "aggressive but intelligent" after qualifying in fourth, and was good to his word.
But Bagnaia, starting from eighth, did enough early on to ensure a race win was out of Quartararo's reach, then settling in for a careful ride that sought to ensure there would be no late crash to alter the outcome.
Rins dashed away to victory ahead of Brad Binder as Suzuki bowed out of the series in style, but the focus was further back in the field at the end of the longest ever MotoGP season.
Bagnaia passed Quartararo into Turn 1, only for the Frenchman to quickly recover and then attack Jack Miller, moving back into fourth.
Despite five retirements in 2022, the season leader was not going away quietly, and he battled back before contact between the two title rivals robbed him of his right wing.
Quartararo came out on top in that tussle, but the distraction allowed the race leaders to build a significant gap back to the contenders – one that became increasingly difficult to bridge as Bagnaia did not relent.
Finally, with those in front out of sight, Bagnaia backed off, riding home in ninth as Quartararo's fourth-placed finish left him 17 points short of back-to-back championships.
Paris Saint-Germain moved five points clear at the top of Ligue 1 as Danilo Pereira's late header gave the champions a 2-1 win over Lorient.
Neymar continued his stellar campaign with the opening goal inside nine minutes, but PSG were unable to extend their lead at the Stade du Moustoir.
Lorient's equalised eight minutes into the second half, with Terem Moffi firing home his ninth goal of the league campaign and then promptly hitting the bar.
It seemed that would be the closest either side came to a decisive second until Danilo rose highest from an 81st-minute Neymar corner to nod the winner.
Gabriel Magalhaes scored the only goal of the game as Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League with a derby win at Chelsea
Gabriel capitalised on some terrible Blues defending from a Bukayo Saka corner in the second half to move Mikel Arteta's side two points clear of Manchester City.
The Gunners were good value for their third consecutive away win over their London rivals in the top flight, as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang endured a miserable first game against his former club.
Chelsea have now suffered back-to-back top-flight defeats and this was their first loss at Stamford Bridge since going down 4-2 to Arsenal in April.
Arsenal dominated possession in a bright start and Ben White spurned a chance to put them in front when he dragged a shot wide from the edge of the penalty area.
Aubameyang was booed by the Gunners fans and the striker's only notable contribution in the first half was when he was booked for a late challenge on White.
Gabriel Jesus wasted a glorious chance to open the scoring just before the half-hour mark, ending a brilliant sweeping move by somehow heading Gabriel Martinelli's cross wide from close range.
Arsenal failed to have an attempt on target in the first half and they were wasteful again 10 minutes after the break, when Thomas Partey nodded wide with Martinelli behind him poised to head home Martin Odegaard's delivery.
There was more frustration from Jesus when he was denied from a tight angle, but Mikel Arteta's side were deservedly in front after 63 minutes as Chelsea were caught napping.
Gabriel could not believe his luck when Saka's corner evaded everyone and gave him a tap-in to break the deadlock.
Odegaard sliced a poor finish off target after great work Jesus, but Gabriel’s goal secured three precious points.
Erik ten Hag handed Cristiano Ronaldo the captain's armband for Manchester United's clash with Aston Villa on Sunday.
Ronaldo's future at United remains far from certain, with the 37-year-old not a guaranteed starter under Ten Hag.
However, 17 days on from storming down the tunnel after being an unused substitute against Tottenham – an act that saw him left out against Chelsea on October 22 – Ronaldo was given the armband for the game at Villa Park.
Against no side has Ronaldo scored more Premier League goals than he has against Villa (eight).
United's club captain Harry Maguire was named on the bench, with Victor Lindelof and Lisandro Martinez preferred to the England international in the centre of defence.
Ronaldo teed up Alejandro Garnacho's winner against Real Sociedad in the Europa League on Thursday, and the youngster was rewarded with his first Premier League start.
Donny van de Beek was also named in United's starting XI for the first time in the league, while new Villa boss Unai Emery made two changes to the side that was thrashed 4-0 by Newcastle United last time out.
Rohit Sharma believes Suryakumar Yadav is getting better and better as the India captain hailed his team-mate's form as "remarkable".
Yadav scored an unbeaten 61 from just 25 deliveries on Sunday against Zimbabwe to help seal a 71-run victory, sealing India's progression to the T20 World Cup semi-finals as Group 2 winners.
India will now face England, who edged out Sri Lanka on Saturday to progress into the last four at the expense of hosts Australia, for a place in the final.
Yadav has been in fine form throughout the tournament. The 32-year-old has scored 225 runs across his five innings, while his knock at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday included 10 boundaries, with four of those beating the rope entirely.
"What Suryakumar is doing for the team is remarkable, just coming out there, playing that way, taking the pressure off the others," Rohit said.
"We know his ability, and it allows the guy at the other end to take his time.
"The dugout can really be at ease when he bats, and he's shown a lot of composure when he's batted. We expected this from him, and he's gone from strength to strength."
Despite being pleased with India's display against Zimbabwe, Rohit is looking for a step up in their level against England in Adelaide.
"[It was] a very good all-round performance, [which was] something we were looking for," Rohit said.
"We had qualified, but we wanted to come out and play the way we wanted to play, which we achieved.
"We have played a game there, but we need to adjust quickly. England are a good team, and it will be a great contest.
"We should take pride in qualifying, firstly, and if we play that semi-final well, we have another big game as well."
Marcus Smart described the Boston Celtics' performance against the New York Knicks as a "thing of beauty" after they broke a franchise record on Saturday.
The Celtics drained 27 three-point attempts in their 133-118 victory against the Knicks, the most they have ever managed in a single game.
As usual, it was Jaylen Brown (30 points) and Jayson Tatum (26) who led the way in scoring, while Smart added 13 of his own, including hitting three from five attempts from beyond the arc.
"It felt amazing," Smart said after the win that put the Celtics on 6-3 for the season. "[Head coach Joe Mazzulla] was just preaching to us, 'Don't get tired, we're playing the right way.' I think every coach preaches that, but to see it actually happen in action is a thing of beauty.
"It's good for us. It felt good for guys to hit shots, felt good for the team to see how we play when we play that way and the things we can do, so we have to keep preaching that, we have to keep working."
It was a productive night for Boston at Madison Square Garden, needing just 41 attempts for their record 27 three-pointers, and shooting 53 per cent from the field overall.
Sam Hauser played his part from the bench, scoring five threes in just 21 minutes, going some way to justifying his full contract signed with the Celtics in the offseason.
"Once you get the first couple to go it opens it up a little bit," Hauser said. "I definitely had a lot of confidence tonight and I think I'm getting my feet under me and getting more comfortable knowing these guys and where I'm supposed to be. So I'm just going to keep playing off them and doing my part."
Los Angeles FC's MLS Cup hero Gareth Bale admitted it has been "mentally difficult" to maintain focus ahead of the World Cup.
The tournament starts in Qatar on November 20, with Bale set to lead Wales out in only their second appearance at the tournament.
Bale left Real Madrid to join LAFC on a free transfer midway through the 2022 MLS season in July, though has managed just two starts for the team, accumulating only 370 minutes on the pitch.
The 33-year-old was LAFC's hero on Saturday, however, as he came on from the bench to score an extra-time equaliser to make it 3-3 in the MLS Cup against Philadelphia Union and, despite Steve Cherundolo's side having had goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau sent off, they went on to win on penalties.
Bale's full attention can now turn to being fit to feature for Wales in their first World Cup match – coincidentally against the United States – on November 21, with England and Iran also in their group, though the former Tottenham and Madrid star acknowledged it has been tough to shirk off fitness concerns prior to the tournament.
"I'm feeling better and better as time goes on. I've had a few setbacks, a slight knock a few weeks ago that kept me out for 10 days," Bale said in a press conference.
"It's been difficult mentally, leading into the World Cup – you see so many players dropping out, missing the World Cup.
"So it has been difficult mentally, I'm sure it has been for a lot of players, leading into this World Cup, so for sure it's been in the back of my mind trying to make sure I'm a 100 per cent fit.
"I felt good enough to come on and help the team, and happy to see us lift the trophy."
Asked if he was fully fit, Bale said: "I'm not 100 per cent at the moment, still coming back, have a few little issues like most players do, but we spoke about, that if I was needed for the last 20, 30 minutes, then I'm available.
"I was able to come on and give as much as I can, glad I came up with the goal. That's what I'm here to do, I guess."
Bale's goal against Philadelphia – a brilliant header in the eighth minute of stoppage time at the end of extra-time – was his third for LAFC, though his first since August.
"It's been a difficult transition, trying to catch up, it's been difficult, especially with relocating with my family," Bale added.
"I've tried to stay as fit as I can, to help the team on and off the pitch, it's all worth it when you have moments like today. The most important thing was the target to win the MLS Cup, we've done that."
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