It was quite the performance on Sunday from Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, who combined for all three goals as Paris Saint-Germain won 3-0 at Marseille in Ligue 1.
In the absence of the injured Neymar and with PSG trying to get back on track after a recent run of three consecutive defeats before a 4-3 win against Lille last week, the star duo took it upon themselves to rip apart Marseille.
As well as both achieving personal landmarks on Sunday – Mbappe scoring his 200th PSG goal and Messi scoring his 700th career goal – they also improved their already impressive record as a pair in the league this season.
The two standout players from December's exciting World Cup final between France and Argentina have proven there is no ill will from Qatar as they continue to lay chances on a plate for the other.
Mbappe and Messi have combined for 10 goals in Ligue 1, three more than any other two players in Europe's top-five leagues this season.
In fact, the second-most productive combination in France's top-flight also involves Messi, who has combined with Neymar for six goals, while Lille pair Jonathan David and Remy Cabella have five.
It is perhaps no surprise with Napoli seemingly strolling to the Scudetto in Italy that Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen sit in second place in Europe with seven goals, but it may raise eyebrows to learn that they are joined on the same amount by another Serie A duo of Roma's Paulo Dybala and Tammy Abraham.
Lazio's Ciro Immobile and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic are the third-most efficient in Italy after providing one another with a total of five goals.
In the Premier League, it did not take a fortune-teller to predict that Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland would work well together when Manchester City signed the Norwegian striker from Borussia Dortmund last year, and they lead the way in England with six combinations so far, ahead of Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford, as well as Jack Harrison and Rodrigo Moreno at Leeds United (both five).
There are also three pairings in Europe's top 12 from the Bundesliga, though interestingly, none from Bayern Munich or Dortmund.
Borussia Monchengladbach's Alassane Plea and Marcus Thuram and Bayer Leverkusen duo Jeremie Frimpong and Moussa Diaby have both combined for six goals, while surprise title contenders Union Berlin have been boosted by Jordan Siebatcheu and Sheraldo Becker producing five goals for one another.
Spain's LaLiga has not been quite as filled with potent partnerships, with three pairings tied on four goals each.
They include Ousmane Dembele and Robert Lewandowski of Barcelona, who have shone together at Camp Nou since the latter arrived from Bayern, while Atletico Madrid's Alvaro Morata and Antoine Griezmann have also managed four, as have Brais Mendez and Mikel Merino of Real Sociedad.
None can compare to the efficacy of Mbappe and Messi though, and while two of the world's best players continue to link up at the Parc des Princes, expect more and more magic moments from them.
KC, JC, St. George's all hit double figures in goal-filled Saturday in ISSA Manning Cup
Saturday’s action across six games in the ISSA Manning Cup was truly spectacular, producing 52 goals including a brutal 18-0 victory for Kingston College over Cumberland High at Stadium East to make up for their opening 2-2 draw with Penwood High on matchday one.
DeShawn Byfield and Kajay Fletcher split eight goals between them for the North Street school.
Demario Daley and Kamaul Patterson also had prolific days in front of goal, each securing hat-tricks as KC moved to the top of Zone C with four points and a goal difference of 18.
Jamaica College were also in a dominant mood on Saturday, blanking Ascot High 11-0 to move to w=two wins in as many games in Zone F.
Papine High were also victim of a ruthless beating on Saturday, 10-0 at the hand of St. George’s College at Papine.
STGC takes sole leadership of Zone G ahead of St. Catherine High opened their season with a 4-0 victory against Holy Trinity after being awarded the points for their first fixture versus Norman Manley.
Excelsior High defeated Bridgeport High 7-1 as they prepared for their encounter against Jamaica College in Zone F.
St. Andrew Technical High School held firm and showed resilience as they defeated Calabar High 1-0 at The Boys Town football field in Zone D.
Birmingham 3-1 Wrexham: Stansfield brace earns hosts Hollywood derby win
Jay Stansfield struck either side of half-time to give 10-man Birimingham a huge 3-1 victory over fellow promotion hopefuls Wrexham on Monday.
A game dubbed the 'Hollywood derby' was given a blockbuster start when Jack Marriot smashed home the opening goal for the visitors with just two minutes on the clock.
But Birmingham's £10million recruit Stansfield soon levelled the scores, being the first to react to Alfie May's effort that was parried into his path by Arthur Okonkwo.
The hosts then took hold of the encounter as May and Taylor Gardner-Hickman went close, but the game entered the break finely poised at St. Andrew's.
However, Blues' dominance prevailed seven minutes after the restart with Stansfield's header picking out the far corner following Alex Cochrane's pinpoint cross.
And the points were sealed just before the hour-mark in stunning fashion as Tomoki Iwata's strike from distance smashed in off the post, much to the delight of minority owner Tom Brady in the stands.
A fiesty conclusion to proceedings saw Chris Davies' side end the game with a man less after Krystian Bielik was shown a second yellow card for a late tackle on Andrew Cannon, but Birmingham were able to hold on for the win.
Data Debrief: The American dream
Much was made of Birmingham's approach to the transfer window after spending £25m in their attempts to return the Championship at the first time of asking, but their biggest investment proved his worth on Monday.
Stansfield notched his first two goals for the club since his permanent switch from Fulham, but the Blues striker also played a starring role in the encounter.
He registered an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.12 to Birmingham's 1.3 total, while he also produced more shots on target (three) and touches in the opposition box (six) than any other player.
Slot doubles down on selection policy ahead of Champions League opener
Arne Slot hit back at critics following his first defeat as Liverpool head coach but is relishing his first Champions League game in charge of the Reds against Milan.
After starting his Liverpool tenure with three wins from three, Slot's side were beaten 1-0 by Nottingham Forest last weekend upon their return from the international break.
It marked the Dutchman's first loss since replacing Jurgen Klopp, with Forest securing their first triumph at Anfield since 1969.
Slot named an unchanged team for the fourth consecutive game since taking over at Liverpool against Forest, with many questioning his decision to do so.
But speaking ahead of their encounter at the San Siro on Tuesday, Slot doubled down on his selection policy during his early tenure on Merseyside.
"If rotation would be the reason why you didn't win a game, then last Saturday probably wouldn't be the first game I lost in 2024," Slot said.
"It's too simple to put this loss on rotation, I think it was because too many players didn't reach their normal level. The playing style of the opponent made it really difficult.
"When you don't win, you try and look at as many possible reasons why, but I preferred to look back at what we did well and what we didn't do well.
"We could have done a lot better in things that were not related to rotation, but again it's not possible to say what would have happened if I did rotate.
"Now I can do something about rotation in the upcoming games but before the weekend they were with the national team.
"For me this loss didn't have anything to do with rotation, it was the opponent and too many players not bringing what they can bring."
Slot takes charges of his first game in the Champions League as Liverpool boss, but has struggled in the competition away from home.
The Dutchman has lost all three of his away games in the tournament, with each of those coming in the group stage with Feyenoord last season.
However, Slot's former side did have the second-best shot differential away from home in last season’s group stage (+19 – 48 for and 29 against), while only Man City (24) faced fewer shots on the road.
The fixture will also come on Slot's 46th birthday, with the Liverpool head coach hopeful of getting the perfect present from his players.
"I think it is the first time that my birthday is not so important tomorrow!', Slot said.
"It's a big game also for me, but it's a big game for us too because it's the first game [of the Champions League] and it's the next game and the next game is always the most important one, as you know.
"But because of the history that these two teams have and the venue where it's played in - it's one to look forward to."
Slot was also able to provide an update on Federico Chiesa, who is yet to feature since his switch from Juventus in the transfer window.
Chiesa offers Slot an experienced option against the Serie A side, having notched seven goal involvements (three goals and four assists) in the 13 games he has played against Milan.
But the Dutchman confirmed that any involvement for the Italy international will likely be from the bench.
"He is, for the first time, in our team selection," Slot said.
"And since I said it's the first time he's in our team selection it would be a big surprise for him and for everyone if he would start tomorrow.
"I don’t think you should expect that he starts but he can make a few minutes for the first time tomorrow if we need him. That is something we will see tomorrow.
"For the first time with us and don’t expect him to be there in the starting line-up because he has been with Juve training on his own for a long time.
"It is too early for him to play 90, but hopefully he can make his first minutes in the upcoming fixtures."
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