Erling Haaland added two more goals to his ever-increasing season total as Manchester City enjoyed a simple 5-0 win against Copenhagen in the Champions League.
Haaland's first-half brace was followed by a Davit Khocholava own goal, a Riyad Mahrez penalty and a tap-in from Julian Alvarez as Pep Guardiola's side eased to victory at the Etihad Stadium.
That makes it 19 goals in 12 games in all competitions for the former Borussia Dortmund star following his hat-trick in Sunday's derby win over Manchester United.
City have a 100 per cent record in Group G after three games and need just two more points to seal their place in the last 16.
To the surprise of nobody, Haaland opened the scoring inside seven minutes, slamming home Joao Cancelo's low cross with his right foot.
But for the impressive shot-stopping of former Liverpool academy goalkeeper Kamil Grabara it could have been far worse for Copenhagen in the first half, though his parry of Sergio Gomez's shot was tapped in by Haaland for City's second just after the half-hour.
It was three before the break after Gomez's shot from the edge of the box took two deflections, the second of which, off Khocholava, bounced into the net.
Haaland was subbed off at half-time, which may well have irked him considering he would have had a chance at another hat-trick when City were awarded a penalty early for Marko Stamenic's foul on Aymeric Laporte.
It was the left foot of Mahrez, not Haaland, which sent Grabara the wrong way from the spot.
Guardiola gave youth a chance as City cruised in second gear, with Alvarez on hand to make it five after a neat run from Jack Grealish ended in Mahrez supplying the striker with a simple finish.
Lionel Messi broke yet another record with his delightful goal for Paris Saint-Germain in Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Benfica
His first-half goal made him the only player to have scored against 40 different opponents in UEFA's flagship club competition.
The 35-year-old started off an intricate one-touch move before receiving the ball from Neymar and stroking home a delightful left-footed strike into the left-hand corner.
Out of the 40 teams he has found the net against, Messi has scored more times against Arsenal (nine) than any other club, while the former Barcelona star has also scored six goals against his current team, PSG.
The goal was his 127th in the competition, meaning only Cristiano Ronaldo (141) has scored more. His first in the competition was against Panathinaikos in November 2005, when the Argentine was 18.
Celtic must believe they belong at the top level of European football if they are to salvage their Champions League campaign, so says Ange Postecoglou.
The Hoops sit bottom of Group F, having taken just one point from their opening three games after losing 3-1 to RB Leipzig on Wednesday.
Celtic came out strong but went in at half-time 1-0 down courtesy of Christopher Nkunku. Despite Jota grabbing an early equaliser in the second half, a double from Andre Silva secured the three points for the Bundesliga side.
Postecoglou thinks Celtic must show more belief in their own ability, citing their mentality will change with more experience.
He told BT Sport: "A lot of it is experience at this level. Guys believing they belong, guys believing they can achieve at this level. It's not easy to translate that to people when they're out there. There's a lesson there for us tonight.
"We know when we're aggressive and play our football, we can cause anyone problems. When we're not, it's going to be very hard for us to be successful.
"For us to get over this hump of being a good side and getting results we have to have a stronger belief and mentality, but that's not easy, it comes with experience.
"If you play for survival that's all you'll ever get, you never get anywhere."
Leipzig's second goal came after Joe Hart made a mistake while trying to play the ball out from the back, and the former England goalkeeper knows his error was a costly one.
"They were pressing with three... I decided to pass to Greg [Taylor] and I missed. It's high-level football, something I love playing, and when you make a mistake you get punished," Hart told BT Sport.
"Sometimes it's going to hurt us but ultimately we proved we could get through the press and gave ourselves some good opportunities to score goals.
"We've got two big games at home in a row. If we play to our potential, we believe that we can win them and then it will look different."
Celtic take on St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership on October 8, before Leipzig travel to Glasgow for the reverse fixture in Group F three days later.
Myles Garrett returned to practice with the Cleveland Browns on Wednesday, nine days after the star pass rusher sustained multiple injuries in a single-car accident.
It was the first day he was back on the field since September 26, when the 26-year-old lost control of his Porsche while speeding, veered off the road and flipped it over.
The two-time All-Pro suffered a sprained shoulder, strained biceps, cuts, bruises and a broken eye blood vessel in the accident, forcing him to miss last Sunday's 23-20 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
''Good to have Myles even in the walkthrough, just having his presence and having him in the meetings,'' Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said before practice.
''He's a big part of what we do, so good to have him back out there. I haven't seen him practice yet. He's worked out, obviously off to the side. But I get to watch practice today and get a good feel for where he is.''
Stefanski said the team will monitor his progress throughout the week before deciding if he can suit up for Sunday's home game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
While Garrett was back practicing, fellow All-Pro defensive end Jadeveon Clowney remained sidelined.
Clowney has missed the last two games with an ankle sprain, and without their two formidable defensive ends in Week 4, the Browns were gashed for 202 yards rushing after allowing an average of 83.7 yards on the ground in their first three games combined.
Stefanski remains hopeful Clowney will be able to practice later in the week.
"I think they are both on two different progressions, and we'll treat them as such," Stefanski said. "See how Myles looks today and then obviously just kind of wait and see with Jadeveon.
The LIV Golf Invitational Series has announced a partnership with the little-known MENA Tour in a bid to gain recognition from the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).
The OWGR does not currently recognise the LIV circuit, and several of the Saudi Arabia-backed tour's most high-profile players have expressed frustration at their inability to pick up ranking points.
Cameron Smith said last month that the awarding of ranking points at LIV events "would mean a lot", but some players on the rival PGA Tour have been less sympathetic.
Both Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas have said LIV players can only blame themselves if they fail to qualify for majors, but the breakaway circuit may have found a way to earn the OWGR's blessing.
The MENA Tour – a feeder circuit that operates in the Middle East and North Africa – announced the formation of a "strategic alliance" with LIV Golf on Wednesday.
A statement from the MENA Tour said the agreement "will result in LIV Golf Invitational events becoming part of and sanctioned by the MENA Tour", which has been recognised by the OWGR since 2016.
"This is a very exciting day for the MENA Tour and our players," said commissioner David Spencer.
"Through this alliance, our players will now have enhanced playing opportunities and stronger pathways. This is great news for the future of many young players on our tour."
LIV Golf president Atul Khosla added: "We are taking this mutually beneficial action to support the game at the developmental level and because of the importance and fairness of LIV golfers qualifying for OWGR points.
"We're pleased to create pathways that give more opportunities for young players, while also giving fans rankings that include all the world's best golfers."
However, reports have noted the OWGR is yet to ratify the move, while the ranking points awarded are likely to be minimal should LIV events continue to employ smaller 48-player fields and take place over just three rounds
Massimiliano Allegri's position as Juventus head coach has "never been even slightly in doubt," according to Bianconeri vice-chairman Pavel Nedved.
Juve have endured a poor start to the 2022-23 campaign; they already trail early Serie A pacesetters Napoli and Atalanta by seven points after eight games.
The Bianconeri also lost their opening two Group H matches in the Champions League, with Allegri describing Wednesday's visit of Maccabi Haifa as a "must win" following a pair of 2-1 defeats against Paris Saint-Germain and Benfica.
Although, they do have momentum after Sunday's 3-0 victory over Bologna ended a five-game winless streak across all competitions.
And Nedved insists everyone is focused on turning the club's fortunes around.
"I don't know why it is difficult for us in the Champions League," he told Sky Sport Italia prior to Wednesday's game.
"We are doing everything, the club, coach, staff and players, to get us back on track, to play Juve-style games that can get us through to the next round and recover in Serie A. That is our objective.
"The coach has never been even slightly in doubt, I want to make that clear. There was more confidence after the win, but we have also had very few training sessions, very few, so we will discover the form of the team as we go forward."
Celtic's hopes of qualification for the Champions League last 16 suffered another blow as they slumped to a 3-1 defeat against RB Leipzig following a Joe Hart howler.
The Scottish champions sit bottom of Group F with one point from three games after Christopher Nkunku and Andre Silva put them to the sword in Germany.
Nkunku looked to have broken the deadlock in the 17th minute when he chipped Hart, only to be ruled to have strayed offside by VAR.
Ten minutes later he did open the scoring, poking home after being played in by Silva following the Portugal forward's surge upfield on the counter.
Celtic levelled two minutes into the second half through Jota's first-time finish into the bottom-right corner but, after Dominik Szoboszlai saw a goal controversially chalked off for Silva being in an offside position, Leipzig restored their advantage in bizarre fashion.
Hart's pass out from the back was intercepted by Szoboszlai, who played in Silva for a simple finish.
Silva then doubled his tally by popping up at the back post to finish a fine team move and put the game to bed with 13 minutes remaining.
Jamaica began its defence of the Caribbean Golf Association's (CGA) Four-Ball Championship by ending Tuesday’s opening day atop the leaderboard in three of the five team categories.
The three-day, the five-country championship is being played in Florida at the Golden Palm Golf Course with Jamaica is gunning for its third consecutive win after copping the country trophy, the Ambrose Gouthro Cup in 2019 and 2021.
There was no championship in 2020 due to the pandemic.
The team of Jodi Munn-Barrow and Lisa Gardner who are defending the Maria Nunes Trophy led the Ladies 35 and Over category with a seven over-par 78. They are three shots ahead of Puerto Rico’s team of Mara Pagan and Rebekah Alford who 81.
Meanwhile, Maggie Lyn and Michelle McCreath have it all to play for as the only team vying for the Desire Henry Trophy. They posted a first-round score of 84 in the category for Ladies 50 and over.
On the men's side, the team of Philip Prendergast and Owen Samuda led their group in defence of the Ramon Baez Romano Trophy (for men 35 and over). They carded 73 in the opening round and were trailed by Lynford Miller and Ashley Glinton of the Bahamas who shot 75.
The Higgs & Higgs Cup for Men 60 and over, saw Joe Delfillipo and Roger Hanson of the Cayman Islands, and Fernando Diaz and Arturo Morales of Puerto Rico tied up for the lead.
Wayne Chai Chong and Rory Jardine are tied for second along with three other teams after posting four over par 75 for the round.
Robert Chin and Dorrel Allen were one stroke back on five over par 75 in seventh place.
The third local team in the category, Peter Chin and George Hugh, were nine over for a score of 80 and ninth place.
In the play for the Francis Steel Perkins Trophy, two of the three Jamaican teams are in joint fifth place. Dr Mark Newnhan and Michael Gliechman, and Metry Seaga and Dave Cameron both posted six over par 77 at the end of round one.
The other team of William 'Tommy' Lee and Carlyle Hudson were just one stroke back in seventh place after scoring seven over par 78.
Bahamian pair Peter McIntosh and Horace Miller posted 72 to lead the group at the end of day one.
"(The) course was long, especially for the ladies,” Jonathan Newnham said afterwards.
“Overall, we had a few tough holes that we compounded with errors but (we are) proud of the fight throughout. (We) kept ourselves in it with each category with two days to go."
Barcelona have lost another player to injury after announcing midfielder Frank Kessie pulled up in training on Wednesday.
The Ivory Coast international, who was a late substitute in Tuesday's 1-0 Champions League loss at Inter, strained an adductor muscle in his right thigh.
Barca said in a statement that the 25-year-old's injury will be monitored, but no timeframe has been put on his return to action.
He has played eight times for the Catalan giants since joining as a free agent from Milan in the close season, six of those coming as a substitute.
Kessie's injury came on the same day Barca confirmed Andreas Christensen suffered a ligament sprain during the highly contentious defeat to Inter.
They join Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, Hector Bellerin, Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay on the sidelines during a gruelling run of fixtures for Barca.
Xavi's side host Celta Vigo and Inter in LaLiga and the Champions League respectively over the next week, before taking on Real Madrid in a top-of-the-table Clasico on October 16.
In fantasy football, it’s often the ones you least suspect.
Every week, there are surprise stars who seemingly come out of nowhere to deliver performances that prove decisive in fantasy matchups.
Unexpected contributors are the theme of this week’s fantasy picks.
The players mentioned are not unknowns, but they either have matchups that would not be expected to deliver fantasy success or feature for teams that have surprisingly become relevant in both the NFL and fantasy worlds.
As usual, Stats Perform has backed up its selections of four offensive players and a defense with advanced data that supports their case for inclusion in fantasy lineups this week.
Quarterback: Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans @ Washington Commanders
Tannehill is approaching the end of his time as the Titans' starter, but he still holds value for a Tennessee team looking to recover from a slow start to win a bad AFC South and for fantasy players eyeing a matchup to exploit this week.
That matchup comes in the form of a Commanders defense that has allowed over seven yards per pass and has given up 10 passing touchdowns, tied for the most in the NFL.
With Tannehill delivering an accurate, well-thrown ball on 87.6 per cent of his pass attempts – the third-best ratio among quarterbacks with at least 50 attempts – he is in a strong position to see his consistent accuracy rewarded on Sunday despite the relative lack of playmaking talent around him.
Running Back: Saquon Barkley, New York Giants @ Green Bay Packers
Most in the NFL world will be anticipating the Giants to come back down to earth against the Packers in the second London game of the season.
While the Packers are heavy favourites to slow New York’s fast start to the season, the odds of them halting Barkley's renaissance look slim.
No player in the NFL is averaging more yards per game than Barkley's 115.8, while a Packers defense that has traditionally struggled against the run is surrendering 4.97 yards per rush, the 11th-most in the league.
Hopes of progress for the Packers on run defense have yet to be realised, and Barkley should take advantage of their fallibility on the ground.
Wide Receiver: George Pickens, Pittsburgh Steelers @ Buffalo Bills
This is less about the matchup, which is an awful one for Pittsburgh, and more about opportunity for rookie receiver Pickens, who figures to be one of Kenny Pickett's favourite targets as the rookie quarterback makes his first career start.
Over the last two weeks, Pickens has been targeted 15 times, and he enjoyed the best game of his young career so far against the New York Jets, catching six of his eight targets 102 yards in a game Pickett entered for the second half.
The Buffalo defense is substantially better than that of the Jets, allowing only 4.75 yards per pass play. Yet the Bills are still dealing with injuries in the secondary and Pickens, whose big-play rate of 38.6 per cent is 10th among receivers with at least 20 targets, has the all-round game to turn the attention he will get from Pickett into production regardless of the difficult matchup.
Tight End: Tyler Conklin, New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins
There's such a lack of depth at tight end for fantasy football purposes that it's necessary to take a few swings if you're stuck for an answer at the position.
Conklin represents such a swing but is one you can have more confidence in after his impressive Week 4.
He demonstrated chemistry with Zach Wilson on the quarterback's return from a knee injury, hauling in three catches for 52 yards in the Jets' surprise win over the Steelers. Conklin was targeted five times and registered a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup with a defender when targeted, on all five.
This week, the Jets face a Miami defense that has conceded 7.43 yards per pass play this season. Only the Seattle Seahawks (8.24) have fared worse by that measure. If Wilson and Conklin continue to build their rapport, the latter could prove an astute fantasy play by those managers who take a chance on him.
Defense/Special Teams: Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans
The Jaguars being competitive with the unbeaten Philadelphia Eagles a week after stunning the Los Angeles Chargers illustrated just how far they have come in so little time under Doug Pederson.
Very few thought the Jags would quickly be in the mix for the AFC South but that is where they stand, with a diverse and aggressive defense playing a huge role in Jacksonville's progress.
The Jags have forced 27 negative plays this season, tied for the eighth-most among NFL defenses. The winless Texans, meanwhile, have seen their offense suffer 26 negative plays for minus 121 yards. Only four teams have lost more yardage on those plays this season.
Tied third in the NFL for takeaways with nine, look for a defense nobody saw coming to make the most of a favourable matchup and get Jacksonville back on track.
The Indianapolis Colts have ruled running-back Jonathan Taylor out of contention for Thursday's clash against the Denver Broncos due to an ankle injury.
Taylor suffered a twisted ankle in Sunday's defeat to the Tennessee Titans but was hopeful that he would be able to feature in the opening game of Week 5.
"I definitely do plan to play, but if you can't go you can't go. That's why you have to get as much treatment as you can," he said on Tuesday.
However, the Colts announced on Wednesday that Taylor was among four players officially listed as out for the meeting in Denver, alongside safety Julian Blackmon (ankle), linebacker Shaquille Leonard (concussion/nose/back) and defensive end Tyquan Lewis.
Nyheim Hines is likely set to see increased usage on the ground in Taylor's absence, having largely been an aerial presence for the Colts this season – just 11 of his 124 yards in 2022 coming from rushing plays.
The Colts stand 1-2-1 for the season ahead of facing the Broncos, who they boast a 7-3 record against from their last 10 meetings.
Xabi Alonso has replaced Gerardo Seoane as Bayer Leverkusen's head coach.
Former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich midfielder Alonso coached Real Sociedad B between June 2019 and May 2022, having previously worked in Los Blancos's youth system.
The 40-year-old has now been handed his first head coach role at the top level on a two-year deal, with Leverkusen opting to part ways with Seaone after a dismal start to the season has left them sitting 17th in the Bundesliga.
"Gerardo Seoane has done a good job for Bayer 04 over the past year and a half, above all by qualifying for the Champions League," said sporting director Simon Rolfes.
"Unfortunately, we have strayed from the road to success. From our point of view, the early elimination from the DFB-Pokal, but especially the fact that the current position in the Bundesliga is far below our expectations, made the change of coach imperative.
"In Xabi Alonso, we have signed a coach who, as a player, was an absolute world-class professional for many years, an intelligent strategist and extremely successful in three of the most demanding European leagues."
Alonso, who helped Spain win the 2010 World Cup, made 79 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern between 2014 and his 2017 retirement, winning three successive league titles under Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti.
"I know Leverkusen from my time in Germany as an excellent club," Alonso told his new team's official website.
"Bayer 04 have always had great players, and I see a lot of quality in the current squad too.
"During discussions with the club, it quickly became clear that, despite the current difficult situation, ambitious goals are still being pursued in principle. I am very excited about this task and I am sure that we will live up to this claim."
Seaone's final game in charge was a 2-0 Champions League loss at Porto on Tuesday, Leverkusen's fourth defeat in their last five away games in the competition.
Veteran wide receiver Cole Beasley has decided to retire from the NFL after 11 seasons.
His agents told NFL.com on Wednesday that Beasley was bringing an end to his career just two weeks after signing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
After going unsigned as a free agent this offseason, Beasley joined the Bucs on September 21 with the team hit by a rash of injuries at receiver.
The 33-year-old played in two games but only contributed 17 yards on four receptions.
"He is ready to be with his family after playing in 11 seasons, and it's time to be a full-time dad and husband," Beasley's agent Justin Turner said.
Beasley had been coming off two productive seasons with the Buffalo Bills.
After recording career highs of 82 receptions and 967 receiving yards in 2020, the Texas native matched that catch total last season while posting 693 yards.
Considered undersized by most scouts, the 5-foot-8, 174-pound Beasley went undrafted despite producing two 1,000-yard seasons in college at SMU.
He made Dallas' roster in 2012 and spent his first seven seasons with the Cowboys before signing a four-year, $29million contract with the Bills in 2019.
Beasley finishes his career with 554 receptions, 5,726 yards and 34 touchdowns in 151 regular-season games.
He also played in 11 postseason games during his time with Dallas and Buffalo.
Gareth Southgate believes England have grown stronger as a result of their poor form ahead of the World Cup, as he pledged to stand firm on his selections.
England suffered a humiliating relegation from the top tier of the Nations League last month, finishing their campaign with three points – and no wins – from six games.
The Three Lions begin their World Cup campaign against Iran on November 21, and their six-match winless run is their longest such sequence going into a major tournament.
Southgate was jeered by England supporters in the aftermath of a 1-0 defeat to Italy on September 23 and has been criticised for standing by Manchester United's struggling defender Harry Maguire.
Speaking at Monday's Legends of Football event in aid of Nordoff Robbins Music, Southgate accepted criticism of his decisions, but maintained he must sometimes resist "popular appeal".
"I think everybody in the country can see we're trying to accomplish extraordinary things," he said. "To accomplish extraordinary things is incredibly difficult.
"This is a job where every decision, every selection is questioned, debated, ridiculed. That's just by my postman, by the way!
"Column inches are full, airwaves are filled. As a manager, you're not going to get every decision right.
"But I have to be strong enough to withstand popular appeal for something and do what I really believe gives us the best chance to win.
"If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, and blaming it on you. If you can trust yourself, when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too. That doubting, that noise that surrounds us is because people care. They're passionate.
"They just want to win, and I understand that. And if we don't win for six matches, then quite rightly, I have to accept that criticism.
"That's what goes with our job. If nobody cared or commented, then it wouldn't be the great and incredible challenge that it is."
England failed to score an open-play goal in their first five Nations League games, before coming from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 in last week's thrilling draw with Germany, but Southgate believes the team's poor run could benefit them heading to Qatar.
"Milan was painful. I knew walking over to our fans that it wasn't going to end well. But I wasn't going to take a backward step," Southgate added.
"I've enjoyed the warmth and the adulation, so you've got to ride with the discomfort as well.
"Against Germany, I think we showed what we're capable of, good and bad. It showed there is character there. As a team, I think we'll be better for that challenging period we've just been through.
"You wouldn't choose to go into a World Cup with the run of results we've had, but I actually think we're stronger for that and the players have had to take some ownership.
"Those moments, like coming back from to 2-0 down and hearing the roof lift off Wembley, are hard to describe."
With England reaching the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and finishing as runners-up at Euro 2020, expectations surrounding the Three Lions have undoubtedly risen.
"In seven weeks' time, I get to lead my country to another World Cup. We have players I'm proud to lead, who give us everything," Southgate said.
"We want to bring people together, create memories and history. I've said before the last two tournaments: if we can make people proud, we'll have had an amazing time.
"I know that the bar of what might be deemed success is raised and getting higher for us. But as a team, we have to focus on performance, and the rest will fall into place.
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