Gareth Taylor insists Manchester City know "exactly what we have to do" to win the Women's Super League, as he urged his players to "really push on" after last season's disappointment.

City came agonisingly close to landing their second WSL title last term, losing out to Emma Hayes' Chelsea on goal difference.

Taylor's side were in the driving seat with a three-point cushion heading into the final two games. However, a 2-1 defeat by Arsenal in their penultimate match proved costly, with the Blues going on to claim their seventh crown in eight seasons.

That marked a seventh second-place WSL finish since 2015 for City, who begin their quest to go the extra step against the Gunners on Sunday, when they will come face to face with former forward Vivianne Miedema.

While Taylor is adamant his side's inability to get over the line should not be regarded as a failure, the head coach reinstated his burning desire to bring the WSL crown back to Manchester this term.

"Sometimes, you work tremendously hard like we did last season, and things don't quite go your way," said Taylor.

"That's not to say that we're not incredibly proud of what we did. The one thing we can take, is we know exactly what we have to do now to win the title.

"We have to use that as fuel, whether it be in the Champions League, or in the WSL, to really use all of those experiences, use all of that knowledge and really push on.

"People can look at trophies as being the be-all and end-all. Don't get me wrong, I'm here to win. Of course, we want to be there.

"But the fact we are going deep in pretty much in all competitions is what we're about and, of course, there can only be one team that wins."

He continued: "People tend to forget that there's four or five teams that are really close to winning at the beginning of the season and there's only one team that can ever win. That doesn’t make the other four [teams] a failure.

"It's really tough, but the objective is absolutely to win. I'm not going to hide away from that.

"I've never hidden away that it's the title that I really want to bring to the club. You've seen how fine the margins are and I don't see that changing this season."

Russell Martin was delighted with how Southampton bounced back in the EFL Cup and urged them to keep that fighting spirit in the Premier League against Ipswich Town.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis cancelled out Abdoulaye Doucoure's opener for Everton in the EFL Cup third-round tie on Tuesday before they beat the Toffees on penalties to progress.

It was a much-needed victory for Southampton, who have failed to win all four of their Premier League games so far, with their 3-0 defeat to Manchester United last time out their 400th loss in the competition.

It is a huge game for both promoted sides, but Martin is keen to build on their win in midweek by providing the perfect Premier League response.

"I loved the togetherness and the spirit [against Everton]," Martin said. "We're going to need all of that on Saturday.

"We were so good for half an hour last weekend, but we didn't respond well enough to a setback. [On Tuesday] we did, and that's the biggest area of growth and learning.

"We are going to have setbacks as a team and a group and a club this season, we've spoken about that, but how we respond to them and how we bounce back is going to be the most important bit."

Meanwhile, Ipswich had a tough start to life back in the Premier League with defeats to Liverpool and reigning champions Manchester City, but they have since picked up points in draws with Fulham and Brighton.

Kieran McKenna's biggest challenge, though, has been integrating their 11 new signings into the squad, and he believes they are starting to see positive results from their transfer business.

"It's not going to happen overnight," said McKenna on the squad gelling together.

"We're in a process and I think we're going to get better week-by-week if we take the right approach.

"It's good that we've already been pretty competitive in our games. If we stick on the right path, then over the course of weeks and months we'll be in a much better place than we are now."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Southampton – Ben Brereton Diaz

Ben Brereton Diaz has played 18 Premier League matches across spells with Sheffield United and current side Southampton and is still yet to end on the winning side (D4 L14), an all-time Premier League record for games played without winning.

He is also yet to score since joining the Saints, giving up the opportunity to take a penalty last weekend, and he will be desperate to end both of those droughts.

Ipswich Town – Sammie Szmodics

Ipswich have had just nine shots in the first halves of their four Premier League games so far this season, the fewest of any side.

Away from home, the Tractor Boys have managed one first-half shot in two games – Sammie Szmodics' goal against Man City in August.

MATCH PREDICTION: SOUTHAMPTON WIN

Southampton lost 1-0 at home to Ipswich in the Championship last season but have not lost consecutive home league games against the Tractor Boys since April 1980.

The Saints are one of two teams yet to lead for a single minute in the Premier League this season, alongside Crystal Palace. Southampton have also spent more time in a losing position than anyone else in 2024-25 (208 minutes and 15 seconds, inc. injury time).

This is the latest two newly promoted teams are meeting in a Premier League season with both still winless since Fulham beat West Bromwich Albion on matchday seven of the 2020-21 campaign; only one of the six games between such sides last season was won by the home team (Burnley 5-0 Sheffield United).

Meanwhile, Ipswich have won more Premier League games against Southampton than they have vs any other opponent (five). However, they lost the last such meeting between the sides 3-1 at Portman Road in March 2002.

Ipswich have failed to win any of their opening four Premier League games this season (D2 L2). It is the Tractor Boys' longest winless start to a top-flight season since 1984-85 (first five games).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Southampton – 43.4%

Draw – 25.7%

Ipswich Town – 30.9%

Michel has urged his team to be proud of their Champions League debut, despite a heartbreaking late defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

The visitors neutralised PSG's attack for much of the game, only for Paulo Gazzaniga, who had made a number of good saves, to let Nuno Mendes' tame delivery slip through his hands and into the back of the net.

The goalkeeper's own goal was the first in the 90th minute of a Champions League game since November 2022 (Porto's Ivan Marcano vs Atletico Madrid), while it was the first-ever such goal that proved to be the winner.

Despite the defeat, the Girona head coach praised his team's effort and the performance of his goalkeeper up until the goal.

"Now in the dressing room, people are a little bit down," Michel told reporters. "I told them that we have to be proud of the game we played.

"PSG subdued us, Gazzaniga made some good saves. There were two or three that could have been goals.

"We have to recognise that their victory is deserved but we are proud of the way we work.

"Let's see if we get another chance to come to Paris next year."

The Spaniard admitted his players were nervous in their first taste of Europe's elite club competition, but he was satisfied with their game as they faced a top-level team.

"At the start of the game, we were very nervous, you could see that. But as the first half went on, we found personality, commitment, attitude," he added.

"In the second half, we were tired. PSG pressed us more, we were continually defending a lot. We passed our first experience in the Champions League.

"We competed against a great team where the pressure can stiffen you and the team gave a good performance."

Girona face Feyenoord in their second league-phase fixture.

Luis Enrique compared Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League opener to childbirth as he admitted he did not enjoy watching their tense late win over Girona.

PSG secured victory after Girona's goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, who had thwarted numerous efforts from the French champions, made a calamitous error in the final minutes.

Nuno Mendes' tame, low delivery into the box slipped through the goalkeeper's grasp and into the back of the net, snatching PSG all three points in a 1-0 win on Wednesday.

Though winning in fortuitous circumstances, PSG have now only lost one of their 37 home games in the group stage of the Champions League (W29 D7) since the start of the 2012-13 campaign, and Luis Enrique acknowledged the tough nature of this victory.

"I think we were superior, but Girona played us in circles and made us dizzy," Luis Enrique told Movistar Plus.

"At half-time, we said that if we didn't press, we were going to suffer. We had to win, and it was very difficult.

"It was very difficult. I told [Girona manager] Michel that this was worse than giving birth, with all due respect."

Under the new Champions League format, teams play eight matches against eight different opponents, with the top eight sides in the 36-team league automatically advancing to the last 16, and the next 16 playing a further knockout round.

Luis Enrique observed that the format creates uncertainty about the significance of results.

"Winning a match or any title is difficult, but we don't know the dimensions of this competition with this format," he added.

"We are going to have to play matches against teams that have easier schedules than ours. How many points are we going to need? There are many unknowns that need to be cleared up."

Despite the victory, PSG suffered a setback as striker Marco Asensio limped off just before half-time. However, Luis Enrique was confident in the strength of his squad.

"He felt a twinge. Marco had started the season well. This is professional football, and we have a very good squad."

PSG will next play Reims away in Ligue 1 on Saturday.

Aleksei Miranchuk's stunning late goal salvaged a 2-2 draw for Atlanta United, ending Inter Miami's winning streak.

The visitors brought Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez off the bench in the second half but were unable to make it six wins on the bounce.

Miami had the better of the first half, with Julian Gressel forcing Brad Guzan into an acrobatic save before David Ruiz snuck in behind the hosts' defence to slot a lovely low shot into the bottom-right corner.

In the 56th minute, Saba Lobjanidze met Pedro Amador's whipped cross with a thumping header, nodding it through Drake Callender's legs, and the keeper arguably should have done better.

But just three minutes later, Miami were back in front – Leonardo Campana's free-kick from just outside the box took a huge deflection off the wall, giving the keeper no chance.

Messi led the search for a late third, with his low shot palmed away by Guzan straight into Suarez's path, but Amador was perfectly placed on the line to block it.

Atlanta then went straight up the other end, with Miranchuk floating a wonderful shot into the top-left corner after cutting inside from the right before Lobjanidze's late effort deflected off Ian Fray onto the post.

Miami are now eight points clear at the top of the Eastern Conference, while Atlanta sit in 11th. 

Data Debrief: Campana makes Miami history

Campana may have got a bit of luck with his goal due to a wicked deflection, but he will not care one bit, as that strike was his 30th goal for Miami.

He now becomes the outright all-time leading scorer for the club, overtaking Gonzalo Higuain, though Messi is just three behind him.

Borussia Dortmund rode their luck in their Champions League opener, but Nuri Sahin believes they deserved the three points against Club Brugge.

Dortmund won 3-0, with all of their goals coming in the final 14 minutes after their hosts had spurned several chances.

Brugge were the better side for much of the contest, but Jamie Gittens' brace and a penalty from Serhou Guirassy, who netted for the first time in a Dortmund shirt, sealed the win for the visitors. 

In the process, Gittens became the second-youngest player to score two or more goals as a substitute in a Champions League game, older than only Monaco's David Trezeguet.

And Sahin hailed his side's resilience for pushing them to victory.

"It was important to start with an away win against a tough opponent," Sahin said. "It was a good, attacking match from both teams.

"In the end, with the changes we had, I think we deserved to win."

However, Dortmund captain Emre Can admitted: "It wasn't a top performance but we took the win."

Midfielder Julian Brandt praised substitutes Gittens and Guirassy for their impact off the bench, which turned the contest in the team's favour.

"It was tough in the first half. We ran a lot," Brandt told DAZN. "It was a lot of work and a lot of attrition.

"At the end, you could see that the spaces were getting bigger. It's a good thing that the bench scores the goals.

"Once again, the substitutes decided the game."

Meanwhile, Brugge goalkeeper Simon Mignolet rued his side's profligacy in front of goal when the score was level at 0-0.

"That's the Champions League," he said. "Our performance was very good. If we score the first ourselves, the scenario is ideal. But they did that, and then you get an exaggerated scoreline.

"The difference is the squad depth of Dortmund. What they have on the bench... after a gruelling match, it is not easy against someone [like Gittens] who comes fresh from the bench.

"We can be very satisfied with our match. The football was very good and we created chances. We just have to seize our moments. Then we could even win." 

Pep Guardiola was proud of Manchester City's performance despite their failure to find a breakthrough in their goalless draw with Inter, declaring: "We are a fantastic team".

In a repeat of the 2023 Champions League final, City were unable to find a way past a resolute Nerazzurri defence at the Etihad Stadium.

Ilkay Gundogan missed two huge chances at the death for the hosts, but Inter themselves went close to snatching three points through Henrikh Mkhitaryan.  

Erling Haaland, meanwhile, was limited to the fewest touches of all 22 starters (14) as his bid to reach 100 goals for City was foiled.

Despite City failing to score for just the second time in 42 home Champions League games under him (also versus Sporting CP in 2022), Guardiola refused to criticise his men.

Asked what he liked about their display by TNT Sports, Guardiola said: "Everything, absolutely everything. We played so good, I love my team, we are a fantastic team.

"Against a team who are masters of defending, we did so, so well. We conceded one or one and a half chances, and you cannot expect to create 20 chances when a team defends so deep.

"When you lose easy balls, it's a counterattack, it's impossible to stop it. We had to be more precise. You cannot always control it.

"We had not a lot [of chances], but they were so clear. It's also the start of the season, these players will get better with a little bit more time."

Guardiola was also asked for an update on the condition of Kevin De Bruyne, who was withdrawn at half-time just four days out from a huge Premier League matchup against Arsenal, but he was unable to provide one.

Defender Ruben Dias was also pleased with most aspects of City's performance, saying: "A very intense game against a very strong opponent.

"We knew what was coming, they're a top team as well, they're used to winning, and we knew we were not going to have an easy job. 

"In the end, I think the team had a great performance, we were very close to scoring."

Another huge chance for Inter to snatch victory saw defender Matteo Darmian inexplicably attempt to find Nicolo Barella with a backheel when he had a clean sight of Ederson's goal in the second half.

Asked about that moment after the game, Nerazzurri boss Simone Inzaghi said: "I asked him, 'what were you playing at?', and he said he could hear Barella behind him."

City's next Champions League game is at Slovan Bratislava on October 1, while Inter host Crvena zvezda on the same day.

Mikel Arteta confirmed Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard will be out "for a while" after suffering a significant ankle injury while playing for Norway.

The 25-year-old hobbled off during his country's Nations League 2-1 win over Austria in Oslo on September 9 and returned to London on crutches.

Odegaard missed Sunday's 1-0 derby victory against Tottenham and Arteta revealed the bad news on the midfielder ahead of Arsenal's opening Champions League game away to Atalanta.

"The scans showed that he's got some damage especially on one of the ligaments in the ankle," the Arsenal manager said on Wednesday.

"It's something quite significant so we're going to lose him for a while."

Arteta, whose side are second in the league and two points behind Manchester City, said he hoped it would not be months "but let's see".

Odegaard has become a key player for Arsenal, missing only a handful of games over the last three seasons, and a lengthy absence will come as a huge blow.

"He's our captain. He's been one of the biggest and best players in our team," continued Arteta.

"Our identity is very linked to how he plays and behaves. It's a big test for the team to see how able we are to show a different face."

Norway coach Stale Solbakken told VG newspaper he had been fully updated about the injury and was "preparing for a life without Martin".

"We have to take it week by week and day by day. Some types of damage go faster and some go slower," he said.

Manchester City's bid for a second Champions League crown got off to a frustrating start as they were held to a goalless draw by Inter in a repeat of the 2023 final.

Both teams squandered numerous chances in a breathless back-and-forth affair at the Etihad Stadium, with Inter defending resolutely before threatening to hit Pep Guardiola's hosts on the break on numerous occasions.

City's goal machine Erling Haaland was hoping to become the fastest player in history to score 100 goals for a European club, but he saw a header held by Yann Sommer early on before rolling another effort narrowly wide of the post.

Marcus Thuram flashed a first-time shot over the crossbar as Simone Inzaghi's men fired a warning shot of their own, while another Sommer save prevented Phil Foden from capping a delightful City move with a goal.

Inter's clearest opening came in the 53rd minute, but former Manchester United defender Matteo Darmian inexplicably tried to find a team-mate with a backheel when presented with a clear sight of Ederson's goal.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan had City fans breathing a huge sigh of relief when he missed another golden late opportunity, sending a wild effort spinning over the crossbar from 10 yards out.

But the last chances went City's way, Ilkay Gundogan eliciting huge groans from the home fans with two misses from short-range headers in the dying seconds.

Data Debrief: Inter make a statement

City are always favourites on their own turf, but Inter were expected to put up a fight on Wednesday and they did precisely that, marking themselves out as potential challengers for the European crown.

It was just the second time City had failed to find the net in 42 home Champions League matches under Guardiola, with the other being a goalless draw with Sporting CP in 2022.

Alessandro Bastoni, Francesco Acerbi and Yann Bisseck impressed in the heart of defence, limiting Haaland to the fewest touches (14) of any starter on either team.

The Nerazzurri also offered a threat going forward, with their 10 first-half attempts making them the first Champions League visitors to reach double figures at the Etihad since Monaco in February 2017 (also 10). 

Jamie Gittens scored twice as Borussia Dortmund opened their Champions League campaign with a 3-0 victory away at Club Brugge.

Serhou Guirassy added a late penalty for last season's finalists, who netted three times in the final quarter of an hour at Jan Breydelstadion.

Brugge carried the greater attacking threat for most of the contest, going closest to scoring when Hugo Vetlesen rattled the crossbar, but they were made to pay for their profligacy.

Gittens entered the action as a 68th-minute substitute and broke the deadlock eight minutes later - albeit in fortuitous circumstances - with his shot taking two deflections before nestling in the top-left corner.

The 20-year-old doubled his and Dortmund's tally with four minutes remaining, cutting inside before firing past Simon Mignolet in the Brugge goal.

Guirassy added further gloss to the scoreline from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time, slotting home from 12 yards after he was fouled by Brandon Mechele.

Data Debrief: Super sub Gittens stars in historic win

Keeping Brugge at bay, Dortmund became the first team in Champions League history to play a single opponent five times without conceding a goal.

Gittens got the ball rolling at the other end. At 20 years and 41 days old, he is the second-youngest player to score two or more goals as a substitute in a Champions League game, older than only Monaco's David Trezeguet, who was just 34 days younger when he struck against K. Lierse SK in October 1997.

Guirassy completed the victory from the spot, meaning Dortmund have now converted each of their last six Champions League penalties, last failing from 12 yards against Barcelona in September 2019 through Marco Reus.

Jamie Gittens scored twice as Borussia Dortmund opened their Champions League campaign with a 3-0 victory away at Club Brugge.

Serhou Guirassy added a late penalty for last season's finalists, who netted three times in the final quarter of an hour at Jan Breydelstadion.

Brugge carried the greater attacking threat for most of the contest, going closest to scoring when Hugo Vetlesen rattled the crossbar, but they were made to pay for their profligacy.

Gittens entered the action as a 68th-minute substitute and broke the deadlock eight minutes later—albeit in fortuitous circumstances—with his shot taking two deflections before nestling in the top-left corner.

The 20-year-old doubled his and Dortmund's tally with four minutes remaining, cutting inside before firing past Simon Mignolet in the Brugge goal.

Guirassy added further gloss to the scoreline from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time, slotting home from 12 yards after he was fouled by Brandon Mechele.

Data Debrief: Super sub Gittens stars in historic win

Keeping Brugge at bay, Dortmund became the first team in Champions League history to play a single opponent five times without conceding a goal.

Gittens got the ball rolling at the other end. At 20 years and 41 days old, he is the second-youngest player to score two or more goals as a substitute in a Champions League game, older than only Monaco's David Trezeguet, who was just 34 days younger when he struck against K. Lierse SK in October 1997.

Guirassy completed the victory from the spot, meaning Dortmund have now converted each of their last six Champions League penalties, last failing from 12 yards against Barcelona in September 2019 through Marco Reus.

Paris Saint-Germain sneaked to a 1-0 home victory over Champions League debutants Girona on Wednesday after Paulo Gazzaniga's costly late blunder.

Nuno Mendes' harmless low delivery across goal slipped through visiting goalkeeper Gazzaniga's grasp in the 90th minute to hand the hosts an opening victory at Parc des Princes.

Girona's defence effectively neutralised PSG's attack in the first half, causing mounting frustration for the hosts before Michel's side began to waste time, drawing boos from the Parc des Princes crowd.

Randal Kolo Muani and Achraf Hakimi had late chances, but both missed from close range before Gazzinga inexplicably allowed Mendes' tame cross to squirm through his hands.

Data Debrief: PSG's fortress continues unbroken

Though winning in fortuitous circumstances, PSG have now only lost one of their 37 home games in the group stage of the Champions League (W29 D7) since the start of the 2012-13 campaign.

Parc des Princes remains the Ligue 1 champions' fortress, with only one of the last 29 teams (D8 L20) travelling away to PSG for the first time in the competition winning (Manchester United, 3-1 in March 2019).

Luis Enrique has Gazzaniga to thank, however, with Girona's own goal the first in the 90th minute of a Champions League game since November 2022, since Porto's Ivan Marcano against Atletico Madrid.

It was the first ever 90th-minute own goal in the competition that proved to be the winner but, concerningly, PSG have now attempted 71 shot attempts since one of their own players scored in Europe.

Tottenham produced an inspired late turnaround to scrape through to the EFL Cup's fourth round with a narrow 2-1 victory over a spirited Coventry City.

The Championship side took a deserved lead at the Coventry Building Society Arena through Brandon Thomas-Asante, but Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson struck late on to snatch victory from under their noses.

Coventry carried the greater threat during the first half, in which Tottenham failed to register a single shot on goal. Jack Rudoni saw a goalbound shot blocked by Destiny Udogie, while Norman Bassette fired narrowly over from a tight angle soon after.

Spurs then had Ben Davies to thank on the hour mark, when the skipper's sliding intervention prevented Haji Wright slotting into an empty net following a mix-up between Fraser Forster and Radu Dragusin.

However, the hosts broke through just three minutes later when Thomas-Asante turned in Bassette's cross from close range.

There was to be a late twist, though. With two minutes remaining, Spence rounded off a fine team move and, with penalties looming, Johnson raced onto Rodrigo Bentancur's throughball to complete the turnaround in the second minute of stoppage time.

Data Debrief: Spurs survive scare to maintain Cov dominance

Coventry were looking to reach the EFL Cup's fourth round for the first time in 16 years, and were just two minutes away from doing so after an impressive performance against their top-flight opponents.

However, Tottenham's timely late rally dug the Premier League side out of a hole, and sealed their fifth win in as many meetings between the teams.

Spurs have now progressed from 17 of their last 18 EFL Cup ties against sides from outside the Premier League.

Celtic placed down an early Champions League marker after hammering Slovan Bratislava 5-1 in Wednesday's opener.

Arne Engels teed up Liam Scales' fierce headed opener in the 17th minute at Celtic Park, before the midfielder himself scored from the penalty spot in the second half.

Kyogo Furuhashi had earlier added Celtic's second goal of the game just nine minutes before Engels' penalty, awarded for a needless pull on Alistair Johnson by Danylo Ignatenko.

Switzerland defender Kevin Wimmer reduced the arrears on the hour with a delightful outside-of-the-boot finish, though Daizen Maeda soon restored the advantage 10 minutes later after linking up with Reo Hatate.

Substitute Adam Idah rounded the scoring off with four minutes remaining, latching onto James Forrest's pass to complete a convincing triumph.

Data Debrief: Celtic firing on all cylinders

Engels' fine individual showing made him only the second player to both score and assist a goal on his Champions League debut for Celtic, after Sweden great Henrik Larsson against Juventus in September 2001.

Brendan Rodgers' side were completely dominant in every aspect, too, accumulating a massive 3.22 expected goals (xG) tally to Bratislava's minimal 0.30.

It was also just the second time Celtic have smashed four or more goals in one match in the competition, having also managed to do so in a 4-3 victory over Juve in October 2001.

With goals coming from all over the place, Celtic had five different scorers in a European Cup/Champions League match (excluding own goals) for the first time since September 1973 against TPS Turku (Dixie Deans, George Connelly, Harry Hood, James Johnstone, Thomas Callaghan).

Arsenal are facing an uphill battle after a surprise defeat in their Women's Champions League qualifier, though there was no such shock for Manchester City.

Jonas Eidevall's side were defeated 1-0 in the first leg away to Hacken on Wednesday, leaving a comeback needed in the reverse fixture next Thursday.

An error from visiting defender Katie McCabe, who missed a clearance from a diagonal pass, led to Tabitha Tindell's 77th-minute winner at Bravida Arena.

Arsenal face Man City in the Women's Super League between the two Hacken clashes, and Gareth Taylor's side will head into that domestic fixture with growing confidence from a fine European showing.

City ran out comfortable 5-0 winners away to Paris FC, with Vivianne Miedema scoring the opener on her competitive debut for the club.

Jess Park doubled the lead shortly after, and added a second to her own account later on, along with goals for Mary Fowler and Chloe Kelly in a one-sided outing in France.

Elsewhere in the qualifiers, Juventus secured a 3-1 first-leg lead in a battle of two heavyweights with Paris Saint-Germain.

New signing Amalie Vangsgaard opened the scoring against her former club before Thiniba Samoura levelled with a sumptuous equaliser soon after.

Sofia Cantore set up Juve's first and found the net for the home side's second to restore their lead, before Hanna Bennison wrapped up a fine team move to seal a commanding advantage.

There was no such fortune for Juve's fellow Italian side Fiorentina, however, as Wolfsburg produced a 7-0 hammering in the first leg at Viola Park.

Wolfsburg captain Alexandra Popp dominated with a hat-trick, along with a brace from defender Marina Hegering and goals for Jule Brand and Vivien Endemann.