The United States made light work of minnows Zambia as they began their Paris Olympics campaign with a 3-0 victory.
There had been pressure on the USA going into the game after two poor warm-up displays, including a 0-0 draw to Costa Rica, but Emma Hayes' team ran out comfortable winners in the former Chelsea boss' first competitive match in charge.
All of the damage was done in the first half, with the Americans three goals up after just 25 minutes in Nice - Trinity Rodman opening the scoring before a quickfire double from Mallory Swanson.
The four-time Olympic gold medallist started as they meant to go on, hitting the crossbar early on through Rodman and Swanson before the former opened her account for the tournament with a drilled finish past Zambia goalkeeper Ng'ambo Musole.
They doubled their advantage thanks to Chicago Red Stars forward Swanson, and she was on hand again to virtually end the contest just a minute later after good work down the left from Sophia Smith.
Zambia's woes were compounded by a red card dished out to Pauline Zulu, which was initially given as a yellow but was upgraded following a VAR review.
Zulu was adjudged to have been the last player when she brought down 18-year-old Smith, and her dismissal all but ended Zambia's slender comeback hopes.
Data Debrief: History made in Hayes' competitive debut
Though the USA had gone into the contest lacking rhythm and form, which raised hopes of a Zambian upset, it was not to be found, with Hayes' side enjoying complete domination from the start. The USA created chances worth an xG of 4.96 to Zambia's meagre 0.37, while they also had 27 shots to Zambia's eight, with 25 of those coming from inside the box.
Hayes became the first coach to win their first major tournament match in charge of the USA by a margin of three or more goals. Meanwhile, with assists in the 17th and 24th minute, Horan is the first player in USWMT history to record two assists in the opening 30 minutes of a major tournament.
Swanson's goals came 66 seconds apart, making them the fastest two goals by a single player in a major tournament in the team's history.
Emery: Villa 'missed some energy' in Man Utd stalemate
Unai Emery believes Aston Villa "missed some energy" during their goalless draw with Manchester United on Sunday.
The spoils were shared following an underwhelming 90 minutes at Villa Park, where the hosts recorded their second stalemate in as many Premier League games after last weekend's 2-2 draw at Ipswich Town.
Villa were aiming to build on their memorable Champions League victory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday but only registered a single shot on target courtesy of Youri Tielemans' second-half attempt.
And Emery believes his side's midweek exploits in Europe took their toll on Sunday.
"It is not the best result, but it's not the worst," the Villa boss said. "I think a draw is fair.
"We played the second half much better than the first and, at the end, we were close to winning the match [when Diogo Dalot blocked Jaden Philogene's stoppage-time shot]. We tried to score, but couldn't.
"We missed some energy. Maybe it's because we have some players injured, some other players are also still improving."
It was the first 0-0 draw Villa have played out under Emery at Villa Park since he took over in November 2022. Although they could not achieve the three points, they remain fifth in the Premier League table with 14 points after their opening seven games.
After opening their Champions League campaign with successive wins, and a Carabao Cup last-16 clash with Crystal Palace coming up later this month, Emery is pleased with the shape his side are in.
"We are in the process of building a team," he added. "We are managing things better. I am happy. We could be higher in the table, but we are more or less in the top six. I am happy with what we are doing.
"We are happy in the Champions League and happy, of course, in the Carabao Cup. We're going to play seven matches in the next month. We have to stay competitive like we are now and be demanding."
Chelsea 'deserved to win', says Maresca
Enzo Maresca insisted Chelsea deserved to win their home clash with Nottingham Forest despite having to come back from behind.
The hosts went 1-0 down on 49 minutes when Chris Wood poked home the opener from a free-kick, but Noni Madueke proved Chelsea's saviour just eight minutes later as he fired in the equaliser.
Forest have now taken points from the two top-four opponents they have faced away from home in the Premier League this season, also getting a historic 1-0 win against league-leaders Liverpool.
Chelsea's manager, however, feels his side deserved more from the game, which saw a spate of chances in the 13 minutes of stoppage time after James Ward-Prowse had been sent off for Forest.
"I think we deserved to win," he told BBC MOTD2. "They are a very good team, and we knew they would defend well.
"It was a tough and tricky game, very different to Brighton. We were patient on the ball and created chances.
"Their keeper was the best of the game. We created chances and arrived at goal in the way we want to."
The hosts recorded an expected goals (xG) total of 2.27 compared to their opposition’s 0.85. They also dominated possession, boasting a 66.5% share of the ball.
Despite winning all their away matches in the Premier League this season, Chelsea have won just once at home, also recording two draws and one defeat.
Maresca, however, brushed that off when asked if he had concerns.
"I don't think so. If you analyse the games, I think Crystal Palace was like today - we created and deserved to win. I don't think there is any reason," he responded.
The game proved a thrilling encounter in the final stages. Robert Sanchez denied both Neco Williams and Jota Silva with fingertip saves, while Matz Sels pulled off good saves to keep out Cole Palmer and Christopher Nkunku at the other end.
It left Nuno Espirito Santo pleased with his side's embattled display as they ended up playing 25 minutes with 10 men after Ward-Prowse was awarded a second yellow.
"The full game was a very good game with both teams trying. We played and created," he said.
"The second half was very good for the spectators. We controlled the game well. There is no other way to play against big teams. If you don't unite, then it's difficult.
"We blocked the middle of the park and dealt well with one-v-ones out wide. The game was stretched, we had a good chance and then Chelsea had a good chance. The goalkeepers were great at both ends."
The visitors face a similar predicament to their hosts, with their away form proving better as they remain unbeaten on their travels.
In fact, only Frank Clark (59) has picked up more away points as manager of Nottingham Forest in the Premier League than Nuno (19).
"We don't make any difference in performance at home and away," asserted the Forest boss.
"We need to assess why we aren't getting results at the City Ground. Away, we are doing really well, but at home, we aren't. The issue is to resolve what is happening at the City Ground."
Deportivo Alaves 0-3 Barcelona: Lewandowski hat-trick seals emphatic win
Robert Lewandowski's first-half hat-trick got Barcelona back to winning ways in LaLiga with a 3-0 victory away at Deportivo Alaves on Sunday.
Barcelona started brightly but were denied a fifth-minute lead as Raphinha's dinked finish over Antonio Sivera was ruled out for offside.
However, just two minutes later, Lewandowski headed home from a Raphinha free-kick, and the pair linked up again in the 22nd minute, with the forward finishing off a lightning-quick counter-attack by the Brazilian.
Lewandowski completed his hat-trick in the 32nd minute, netting his 10th league goal of the campaign, doing well to guide it into the net as he took a tumble.
Toni Martinez had a first-half goal disallowed by VAR for the hosts, and also struck the post just after the break before Joan Jordan's late header was chalked off following a review.
Barcelona, who move three points clear of Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga, could have had more, but Alaves were indebted to Sivera, who stood strong, making six saves to keep the scoreline down.
Data Debrief: Lewandowski's flying start continues
Lewandowski has settled back into life under Hansi Flick since the German's move to Barcelona, and his numbers do all the talking.
He sits top of the LaLiga goalscoring charts already, and he scored the fourth-earliest hat-trick by a Barca player in LaLiga, netting his three goals within 32 minutes.
It is the sixth time that Barcelona have collected 24+ points from their opening nine games of the campaign, and they secured the title at the end of three of the previous five.
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