Impressive Cheltenham scorer Broadway Boy will have his sights raised in his next outing, with connections eyeing either Sandown or Kempton next month for their star staying novice.

Trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies, the five-year-old went into plenty of notebooks when making a low-key fencing bow at Worcester, before performing encouragingly in defeat behind Flooring Porter in October.

Returning to Prestbury Park for Listed action during the November Meeting, he confirmed the promise of his early chasing endeavours with a destructive display, making all as he romped to a 20-length victory over well-regarded stablemate Weveallbeencaught.

The talented young chaser is now in line for a step up in class with Sandown’s Betfair Esher Novices’ Chase on December 8 or a Boxing Day tilt at Kempton’s Grade One Ladbrokes Kauto Star Novices’ Chase both options for his next start.

“He’s come out of Cheltenham amazingly well,” said Willie Twiston-Davies, who in his role as assistant to his father plays a key part in readying Broadway Boy.

“I’m a bit unsure where we are going to run him as the horse will tell me when he’s fresh and well again, but he seems to have come out of Cheltenham brilliantly.

“I suppose we will enter for Sandown on December 8 for the Esher Chase, the Grade Two on Tingle Creek weekend. If not we will probably wait for Kempton and go there.”

Although having one eye on the Cheltenham Festival in March, the Twiston-Davies team are keen to strike while the iron is hot when their talented operator is ready for action, with nothing among the UK staying novice ranks giving connections many sleepless nights.

“There is no rush and the owner Mr Proos is really laid back,” continued Twiston-Davies.

“We’ve obviously got one eye on March, but we realise there is plenty of prize-money and races to be won on this side of the pond at the minute.

“Stay Away Fay was impressive, but I don’t think many will have the improvement Broadway Boy has probably got. He’s only five and already running to a high rating so early on in his career. I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet.”

Broadway Boy’s Cheltenham victory saw him introduced into the betting for the two staying novice events at the Festival in March and although a shade shorter at a general 16-1 for the longer National Hunt Chase, connections are certain he will be sticking to the three-mile route, with the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase the aim for March.

Twiston-Davies added: “Dad and I had a big discussion about it after he won at Cheltenham. He’s only five now and will be six at the time, so I don’t think we want to be running over four miles and we would like to think he has a bit more class than just being a four-mile slogger at this stage of his career – he’s not slow at all.

“I think he’s a very classy animal and I don’t think we need to be going four miles just yet.”

The younger Twiston-Davies cut a delighted figure after Broadway Boy’s Cheltenham success, racing to the top of the shoot to congratulate winning rider and good friend Tom Bellamy.

And although admitting he should not have favourites, it is clear Broadway Boy holds a special place in the former jockey’s affections having been involved with the horse from the very moment he was purchased for just £22,000.

“I bought him and broke him in and have sort of ridden him every day,” said Twiston-Davies.

“You don’t sort of have favourites but you do get attached to some horses and this is just one of those I’ve been fortunate enough to ride every day and I deal with David Proos the owner very closely.

“It’s more chance than anything, but luckily he has turned into a very nice horse.”

Stephen Curry described the Golden State Warriors' In-Season Tournament elimination as a 'tough pill to swallow' after their crushing 124-123 defeat to the Sacramento Kings.

The Kings avenged last season's playoff elimination at the hands of their rivals with a dramatic fightback win on Tuesday, with an off-balance Malik Monk hitting a fadeaway with seven seconds left to hand them a memorable victory.

That came after Golden State led by four with just 46 seconds remaining, and the Warriors wasted one last chance for victory after Monk's shot as Curry missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.

The Warriors had needed a 12-point win to advance from West Group C and led by 24 points at one stage, and the last-gasp nature of their defeat – their first in three games against Sacramento this season – infuriated Curry.

"It's going to be tough to swallow just because we should have won that game," he said. 

"We played well enough to win for 40 minutes, and knowing the stretch we've been on, we were really motivated. 

"You get to the finish line and you end up losing. It's a tough pill to swallow, it's frustrating. We've all got to look ourselves in the mirror."

While the Warriors have now lost eight of their last 10 games and are 8-10 for the campaign, the Kings will host the New Orleans Pelicans next Monday in the last eight of the inaugural In-Season Tournament.

Sacramento's De'Aaron Fox, who matched Curry's game-high 29 points, said: "We want to win. Obviously, our fans want us to beat Golden State.

"A game this close, coming back from being down 24, you want to win regardless of if it's a tournament game or not.

"This league is a game of runs. You just try to win as many segments as you can to win the game.

"We want to get to Vegas and be one of the first teams to advance to the final four of the In-Season Tournament."

Injury has ruled out Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker for more than a fortnight but manager Jurgen Klopp admits it could have been worse and the Brazilian should be fit to face Manchester United next month.

The keeper appeared to sustain a hamstring problem late in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Manchester City and although he managed to complete the match he is set to miss the next five matches – two of which he would not have played in as Caoimhin Kelleher deputises in the Europa League.

Alisson will miss European ties against LASK and Union Saint-Gilloise as well as Premier League games against Fulham, Sheffield United and Crystal Palace but should make a timely return for the visit of their arch-rivals on December 17.

Forward Diogo Jota was also injured in City game but his prognosis is not as good.

“Both are out. Ali is a bit lesser, so we have to see. Not day by day – he cannot play tomorrow or Sunday. Probably not the week after should be kind of OK,” Klopp said ahead of the Europa League visit of LASK.

“Alisson is not as bad (as we thought) but still bad enough. Diogo will take a little bit longer, don’t know exactly. Have to see.”

Kelleher has made only five appearances this season but last played back-to-back matches in January 2022 and has never played more than three matches in a row in his Liverpool career.

In the summer there was speculation about the 25-year-old wanting to seek first-team football elsewhere but Klopp said the current situation was exactly why the Republic of Ireland international was persuaded to stay.

“Yes, that’s pretty much exactly it. That’s why we knew we wanted to have Caoimh here for these moments,” added the Liverpool boss.

“Nobody, Caoimh as well, wanted Ali to get injured, but if these things happen then you need the strongest possible option and that’s Caoimh for us.

“That’s the only positive about that, to be honest, that we can put in Caoimh. That’s fine.

“Now he gets an opportunity that he deserves, he would have played tomorrow night anyway, that’s clear, but now he will have a few more games and hopefully he can show his full potential.”

Defeat in Toulouse earlier this month made Liverpool’s task of guaranteeing top spot in the group – and thereby avoiding a play-off round in the knockout stages – slightly more difficult but it could be secured on Thursday at home to LASK if Union Saint-Gilloise beat the second-placed Ligue 1 side.

But Klopp rejected the suggestion that result was a reminder that his much-changed European sides have standards to maintain.

“It was not needed but it wasn’t helpful. It was three weeks ago and a lot of things happened since then. It just made the situation more difficult, that’s how it is,” he said.

“Toulouse was maybe a one-off performance-wise – it was around Luton (a 1-1 draw) which was not too great either – but this was in a very short period of time.

“Besides that the boys usually perform and that’s what we should concentrate on.

“We want to win tomorrow night and we want to win in Belgium as well but if we don’t win tomorrow night the game in Belgium, in a super intense period, will be tough so it’s all about performing tomorrow night and really going for it, that’s the idea.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo said playing with Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton was "like heaven" after the trio combined to guide the Milwaukee Bucks to the quarterfinals of the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament.

The Bucks moved to 13-5 for the season and 4-0 in East Group B for the In-Season Tournament with Tuesday's 131-124 win over the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center.

Milwaukee found themselves down 118-115 with three minutes and 25 seconds to play, but they finished on a 16-6 run to tee up a home game in the last eight, with Antetokounmpo leading the way with 33 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

The two-time MVP was ably supported by Lillard, who posted 32 points and nine assists, and Middleton, who finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. 

After the game, Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin revealed Antetokounmpo had suggested feeding the ball to Middleton more often, and the star forward said doing so made Milwaukee less predictable.

"It's great, for me it's like heaven when you have two guys that can create their own shots, and I don't have to make something happen," Antetokounmpo said.

"It's great. My whole career it's been that way, and now also we have Khris and Dame that can do that. It makes the game easier for everybody. 

"Them breaking down the defenses is great, but if they can't, they can give the ball to me and I'll spread it to the corners or play one-on-one.

"Offensively, I think guys got to the spots and were able to execute, a few pick and rolls with Dame as the ball handler, a few pick and rolls with Khris as the ball handler… it was great. 

"I think it helps the flow of our offense when it doesn't always have to be Dame and Giannis, then we can play from there.

"I feel like that's where we are, all playing as a team, the energy is better, everybody has more touches of the ball, I think we can be more effective that way."

The Heat were made to pay for the absence of Jimmy Butler, who missed the game with an ankle sprain after averaging 37.6 points as Miami eliminated Milwaukee from the playoffs last season.

Bam Adebayo scored 31 points for Miami, with Kyle Lowry adding 21 and Josh Richardson contributing 20, and head coach Erik Spoelstra was broadly pleased with their display, despite the result.

"I felt like we played a very good basketball game," Spoelstra said. "A very good offensive game, in particular."

Now 10-8 for the campaign and eliminated from the In-Season Tournament, Miami will look to halt their three-game losing streak when they face the Indiana Pacers in a home double-header later this week. 

Mouse Morris views the Make Your Best Bet At BetVictor Chase at Thurles as the perfect starting point for French Dynamite.

The consistent eight-year-old ran several big races in defeat last season, including when narrowly denied in the Paddy Power Gold Cup and when jumping the final fence in front in the Ryanair before fading into fourth.

Morris had earmarked the Clonmel Oil Chase as the place to get his season under way but testing ground has delayed him by a few weeks.

However, despite this only being Listed class, he faces five from the powerful Willie Mullins yard with two having won at Grade One level in the past.

“It’s some race isn’t it? It couldn’t be much tougher!” said Morris.

“He’s very well anyway, and we’ve got to get him started somewhere. We’ve had him ready a while, he was supposed to go to Clonmel but the ground was way too soft that day.

“We’ll see what happens and see how he gets on. We have to start somewhere.

“He’s a grand horse, I’d love a stable full of horses like him but he is just stuck between a rock and a hard place in not quite being a Grade One horse so far. The ground is a big thing for him, he always needs goodish ground.

“I have a couple of things in the back of my mind for him later in the season, but we’ll have to see how things go. He might be a horse for the Grand National, something like that.”

Mullins runs Janidil (Jody McGarvey), Classic Getaway (Danny Mullins), Capodanno (Mark Walsh) and Haut En Couleurs (Paul Townend).

Conor O’Dwyer’s El Barra, Ellmarie Holden’s Ex Patriot and Gordon Elliott’s Farouk D’alene complete the list.

A debate in parliament on the subject of controversial affordability checks is “crucial”, according to Nevin Truesdale, chief executive of the Jockey Club.

Industry leaders have warned that new regulations could cost the sport up to £250million over the next five years, threatening racecourses with closure and putting some of the 80,000-plus jobs associated with racing at risk.

On Tuesday, a petition against the implementation of what are seen as intrusive checks passed 100,000 signatures – the point at which parliament is obliged to consider whether to hold a debate into the proposals.

The petition is industry-wide, but is registered in the name of Truesdale, who said: “The racing industry and its many supporters have demonstrated the level of concern about the proposed affordability checks by helping this petition reach 100,000 signatures.

“The government has been left in no doubt about the strength of opposition to these intrusive and potentially discriminatory checks with a knock-on effect to racing’s financial ecosystem and the 88,000 jobs which depend upon it. It is therefore crucial that we now secure a debate in parliament so that the vitally important issue of problem gambling and how best to address it in the digital age can be discussed properly.

“We want to see targeted measures implemented so that those at risk of gambling harm get the support they need and that measures are put in place which actually address the core issue. As such I would urge parliament to take steps to ensure such a debate takes place as swiftly as possible.

“British racing has consistently demonstrated that it is stronger and more effective when it works together and the way we have collaborated on this issue, which threatens the future of the industry in so many ways, is another fantastic example of that.”

Leading National Hunt trainer Nicky Henderson helped drive the push to reach 100,000 signatures.

In an open letter to Racing TV customers, he wrote: “In recent weeks, I have realised that this very much is my problem. If you are reading this, you are a racing fan, which means it’s your problem as well.

“I have spoken to one or two quite serious punters who are already being impacted by affordability checks and are furious that the gambling white paper is set to make it even harder for them.

“They are adamant they are not going to hand over their personal financial documents. I don’t blame them. Why should they or any punter, big or small, be told whether or not they can afford to have a bet?

“It is completely wrong in principle – and even if you don’t bet, it doesn’t mean this has nothing to do with you. Affordability checks are going to smash a hole in racing’s finances and do untold damage to British racing and rural communities.

“That’s why I’ve been urging people in Lambourn to sign the sport’s petition against affordability checks. This is a massive issue and we must do all we can to make a difference.”

Earlier this month, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport provided a detailed response to the setting up of the affordability checks petition.

It stated: “The government recognises the enormous value of horseracing as both a spectator sport and through its economic contribution.

“The white paper’s estimate was that financial risk checks will reduce online horserace betting yield by 6% to 11%, which would in turn reduce racing’s income by £8.4 to £14.9 million per year (0.5% to 1% of its total income) through a reduction in levy, media rights and sponsorship returns.

“We are working with racing and refining that estimate. We have also commenced a review of the Horserace Betting Levy to ensure a suitable return to the sport for the future.

“The government and Gambling Commission are working with the industry and others to ensure the checks can be implemented in an effective but proportionate way.

“We are also exploring the role of pilots or phased implementation to help ensure this. The Gambling Commission will set out details on its plans in due course.”

Luke Donald will captain Europe in the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York, Ryder Cup Europe have announced.

Donald has been reappointed after masterminding a commanding win in Rome earlier this year, after which Europe’s players immediately urged him to break with recent tradition and remain in charge for a second consecutive contest.

The 45-year-old becomes Europe’s first repeat captain since Bernard Gallacher performed the role in 1991, 1993 and 1995 and will bid to become only the second captain after Tony Jacklin in 1985 and 1987 to win home and away.

“I’m delighted and honoured to have been given the chance to lead Team Europe in the Ryder Cup once again,” said Donald, who was initially appointed for the 2023 edition after Henrik Stenson was sacked for joining LIV Golf.

“Great opportunities don’t come along very often in life and I’m a great believer that when they do, you need to grab them with both hands. This is one of these moments.

“I’ve been fortunate as a player to have had many amazing times in the Ryder Cup over the years and so to add being a winning captain to that, to form bonds with the 12 players like we did in Italy and to get the result we did, was very special indeed.

“The Ryder Cup means so much to me, so to be captain again and have the chance to create more history by becoming only the second European captain to win back-to-back is exciting.

“There is no question that being a captain away from home is a tough task. But I have never shied away from challenges throughout my career and it is precisely the kind of thing that motivates me.

“I can’t wait to get another 12-strong team to Bethpage in 2025.”

While Jacklin and Gallacher led the side on multiple occasions, it had been common practice since 1997 for the captain to only get one bite of the cherry, even if they spearheaded record victories.

However, Donald’s players made it clear they wanted the former world number one to break the mould as they chanted “Two more years” while he gave a television interview following the five-point victory in Rome.

“I think everyone sitting here would be very happy to have him again,” Rory McIlroy said in the winning team’s press conference.

Tommy Fleetwood, who secured the winning point, added: “Luke is amazing, we are all so proud of him.

“From when this whole process started, he’s been so, so good. The way he’s been this week has been phenomenal. We just look at Luke on another level. He’s been amazing and I’m so happy that we could all get it done for him.”

Donald said in the immediate aftermath of Europe’s win that he would consider remaining as captain, although he was well aware that the last away victory was the ‘Miracle at Medinah” in 2012.

“Maybe I go out leaving a legacy as a winning Ryder Cup captain and not risk that,” Donald, who won the opening singles match in Europe’s comeback in 2012, said.

“Obviously going over there in New York, which would be a real cauldron, those fans are extremely passionate. It would be a really, really tough environment. If I was to do this job, and I was to go over there and win, that would be some accomplishment.”

A “quite dire” weather forecast is owner Michael Buckley’s biggest concern ahead of Constitution Hill’s return in the BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle on Saturday.

The pre-eminent star of National Hunt racing was a brilliant winner of the Gosforth Park showpiece last season, before going on to land the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton, the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham and the Aintree Hurdle to extend his faultless record to seven.

With Constitution Hill’s top-class stablemate Shishkin also set to make the trip to the north east for the Rehearsal Chase, a fantastic afternoon’s sport is in store. But the prospect of plummeting temperatures is a major worry for all those involved.

“I’m told the forecast is actually quite dire – Nicky told me this morning he’d had a phone call and they were saying temperatures might get down to minus 8C or 10, with only minus 1C in the day. If that happens I think any racing on Saturday might be in a bit of trouble,” Buckley told Sky Sports Racing.

“Newcastle last year was such a thrilling day and the crowd were so nice there. I’d never been to Newcastle before and I was looking forward to it, so I hope it all happens (again).”

Should Newcastle’s fixture fall to the cold snap, Constitution Hill looks set to head straight to the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day due to a lack of alternatives in the meantime.

Buckley added: “I think it’s going to be pretty tough for Nicky, because both horses (Constitution Hill and Shishkin) are going there and if everything goes well with them the idea was that they would both go to Kempton.

“There’s two things – there’s nothing suitable between now and then and there isn’t any time. It’s only three weeks from Saturday until Boxing Day.”

Constitution Hill will be extremely shorts odds to dispatch of a maximum of four rivals if the Fighting Fifth does go ahead, which Buckley admits does heighten the pre-race nerves.

He said: “Having a 6-1 on favourite is a different sort of pressure, but I’m looking forward to it.

“I had a coffee with William Haggas last week and he said ‘I feel for you, because you have these very good horses and they come along so infrequently for any of us, but there’s a different pressure’.

“He said going for the Queen Anne at 1-6 (with Baaeed) was one of the most pressurised things he’s ever felt, which is silly really, but all you do is think about what can go wrong rather than what can go right.

“It is a privilege to be given a horse like this. You can buy lots of horses, but it’s a gift if you get something that is so exceptional and it’s a joy and a thrill and the worrying bits are just part of life – I’d rather have those worries than not have the horse, anyway.”

Not only does Constitution Hill possess brilliant ability, but much is also made about his apparently bombproof temperament.

“He’s very chilled until the business moments arrive. He’s pretty exuberant when he sees a hurdle, certainly if there’s another horse around, but he is just what he is – he keeps his energy at a low level until he has to use it,” Buckley continued.

“It’s a bit terrifying at times, the way he takes off, but I think he just likes to show off. He likes to take off outside the wings and I just hope he doesn’t lose his ability to measure the hurdles properly!

“People seem to love him, so I hope he does his stuff and runs somewhere like he did last season.”

Exeter rugby director Rob Baxter has urged football’s law-makers to be careful after they agreed that sin-bins should be trialled at higher levels of the sport.

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) has supported the move following a successful implementation in the grassroots game.

Temporary dismissals of players for offences such as dissent and specific tactical fouls were backed by IFAB at its annual business meeting.

Sin-bins have been used in rugby for more than 20 years, and they were introduced across all levels of grassroots football from the 2019-20 season in an attempt to improve levels of respect and fair play in the game.

“I will be honest with you, I am very surprised football are doing it,” said Baxter, who is one of the English game’s most respected voices.

“I was a bit surprised when football went to VAR, and I am not sure how much they realised they were letting the genie out of the bottle.

“We are meddlers in sport, and rugby is the worst of the lot. We have actually realised we want less TMO (television match official) intervention, the international game is saying we need less TMO intervention.

“All the commentators and ex-professional footballers are saying we need way less VAR interference, and if it does happen it has to happen quickly and the crowd need to know what it is about because it is just causing mayhem in big games.

“Once you start the process it is very hard to stop tinkering with it. They are tinkering with it all the time.

“One of the things that football has always had as its strength is that everyone can explain the rules within five minutes to your average new supporter and they will get it.

“My advice to football would be just be careful. Do you think you genuinely need it to improve player behaviour?

“Or do penalties, free-kicks and yellow cards as they stand, which can escalate to reds for a double yellow, have they got the sanctions already within their game to control player behaviour and they just haven’t been using them?

“That is what I see in football. They have got the sanctions available in their game, so use them. For player abuse you only need to do it in one or two games and things change very quickly.

“Introducing yellow cards and removing players from the pitch is something I would be very careful of.”

Baxter warned against the danger of quick fixes, and believes rugby has had its share of problems in this area.

“We have been guilty of starting processes without thinking about the repercussions,” he added. “We think they are quick-fixed, and actually are they?

“The big debate on the football radio this morning was to get rid of VAR completely because they don’t want two-minute stoppages while someone decides if it was a handball or not.

“We brought that into rugby and realise we’ve pushed it to the Nth degree. You have got to be careful with the card thing.

“When you start to say that taking players off the pitch is your way of controlling player behaviour, you’ve got to be careful about when you want to limit it.

“We brought it in the right way because it was for repeat infringements on the whole. It was something that was required in rugby to stop repeat, repeat, repeats in a cynical way.

“We’ve gone through the period of realising that taking players off the pitch at every available opportunity is not necessarily the way to create a good game.”

Will Zalatoris will join Tiger Woods in returning to action in the Hero World Challenge after suffering what he describes as “a golfer’s worst nightmare”.

Zalatoris moved to the top of the FedEx Cup standings with his first PGA Tour title in the FedEx St Jude Championship last August, only to injure his back midway through the following week’s BMW Championship.

The 27-year-old did not play again for the rest of the year and, after completing seven tournaments at the start of 2023, suffered a more severe setback ahead of the Masters.

“It’s been an interesting seven months,” Zalatoris said. “Kind of a golfer’s worst nightmare is feeling your back giving out on the driving range at Augusta 30 minutes before your tee time.

“When I go from ramping up to Augusta, hurt my back on Thursday and then Saturday I’m already having surgery, it’s a big swing of emotions. I think the first five, six weeks was probably the hardest.

“It’s been a patience game. It’s been a grind. I had a lot of really good advice from guys that have had to go through the same thing and all of them said take your time, no one’s ever come back from an injury taking too long.

“I really started hitting balls probably a couple of months ago. Each week has just progressively gotten a little bit better. I was on a pretty strict ball count, strict amount of time of how much I could practice.

“I know way more about anatomy now than I think I ever really wanted to, but I feel really good right now.”

Zalatoris used his enforced time off to return to college and work towards completing his degree at Wake Forest, which he left during his senior year to turn professional, and also enjoyed a bucket-list trip to Wimbledon with his wife Caitlin.

When he was finally cleared to practice, Zalatoris was wary of making any changes to his distinctive swing, but knew it was necessary to relieve the strain on his back.

“I’ve always been very hyperdynamic, my left foot’s off the ground like JT (Justin Thomas),” Zalatoris added.

“The reality is that actually put a lot of stress on my back, and I had a bunch of side bend and maybe my posture wasn’t perfect, but in my three years on Tour, my worst strokes-gained approach was second.

“The last thing I wanted to do was change anything. (But) the surgery that I had actually was a huge benefit in the sense that really thin, wiry people, they don’t have a lot of room in their back typically.

“I had had some stuff that had popped up, your body tries to heal it, which ends up putting in less space. So clearing all that stuff out, I’m probably one of the only people that’s gone through back surgery and has actually had better range of motion.

“It was the stability coming back that was really the hard part.”

Manuel Akanji admits Manchester City need to cut our the errors after being exposed in their comeback victory over RB Leipzig at the Etihad Stadium.

The holders trailed 2-0 after a lacklustre first-half display in Tuesday’s Champions League encounter before a Phil Foden-inspired recovery saw them fight back to win 3-2.

With their place in the last 16 already secure, there was little cause for alarm on the night but, after recent Premier League draws against Chelsea and Liverpool, the champions are not fully firing.

Switzerland defender Akanji said: “We didn’t play well in the first half. We did a lot of mistakes, (in) a lot of duels.

“We had it change it in the second half. We spoke in half-time that we needed to do better. It still wasn’t great but we improved a lot, we didn’t do many of the mistakes.

“It happens sometimes. We didn’t plan to go into the game like this. The first goal was me losing a duel off the long ball, the second one was Ruben (Dias) after the pass and it happens sometimes.

“Normally we don’t do these mistakes but the good thing is we’ve got a good team.

“Now we have important games before the Club World Cup against Spurs and Villa and we need to really focus on these games. We need points because we drew twice so it’s really important to get winning again.”

Akanji was indeed at fault for the first of Lois Openda’s two first-half goals, with Dias caught out for the second.

Foden sparked the comeback when he teed up Erling Haaland to become fastest player to reach 40 Champions League goals in just his 35th appearance.

The England midfielder then scored a sublime equaliser before showing further nimble footwork to set up the late winner for substitute Julian Alvarez.

The victory ensures City, who travel to Red Star Belgrade next month, will finish top of Group G.

With John Stones again not fit enough to feature, Akanji played in the defence-midfield hybrid role his colleague has excelled in.

“I like it,” Akanji said. “I play wherever the manager puts me but also in the Chelsea game and the weekend against Liverpool I felt more comfortable in there because I got used to the position.

“When you come from defence into midfield it’s a big difference because normally you have all the game in front of you and suddenly there are players coming from all angles.

“But I got a better orientation with the game set-up so I felt more confident. I can adapt pretty good. I play in different positions. I try to listen and do what the manager wants from me.”

Millie Turner is relishing being in the England fold again after a call-up she says was “quite unexpected”.

Manchester United defender Turner, whose previous Lionesses involvement came as part of a training camp in 2020 under Phil Neville, was called up by Sarina Wiegman last week as a replacement for the injured Millie Bright.

While it came as quite a surprise to the 27-year-old, it is something she says her father had told her he had “had a feeling” about.

Regarding the phone call she received from Wiegman, Turner told a press conference: “It was very exciting, and quite unexpected, to be fair.

“I remember I was sat at home and she rang me and I just tried to play it quite cool when she told me that she was calling me up, but after the phone call ended I was so buzzing.

“I rang my family, rang my Dad, and he said he was just so proud of me. It was a big moment for me and my family.

“I think my neighbours at the start were hating me because I was jumping around my house! But my Dad, I just remember him saying ‘Mill, I’m so proud of you’, and he said he had a feeling to be honest that I’d get called into this camp, so I think he’s been talking it into reality.

“For me, it’s all I’ve ever dreamed of, all I’ve ever hoped of – it’s just been such a big ambition for me to play for my country.”

Turner now has the possibility of making her senior international debut at Wembley.

England face the Netherlands at the national stadium on Friday in the first of their final two Nations League group games, with a clash against Scotland at Hampden Park following four days later.

Wilmslow-born Turner, who said she has around six family members coming down for the game on Friday, added: “(To make England bow at Wembley) would be incredibly special.

“Just to be part of this team is such a great honour and to be able to put that shirt on and even to play at Wembley would be incredible.”

European champions and World Cup runners-up England, third in Nations League Group A1, must beat leaders the Netherlands to stay in contention for top spot, the final position they need to have a chance to secure Paris 2024 Olympics qualification for Great Britain.

Turner said: “I think it’s going to be a massive game. But the Lionesses, we’re incredible, the way we have performed and come over every single barrier and come out of it really strongly. I think it’ll be a very good game to watch.

“The mentality never changes. We all fight and want to give absolutely everything that we can for our country – and I think it’s quite a good position to be in, because we’re ready to fight and ready to put on a performance.”