Mansfield boss Nigel Clough was delighted to see his side hit a higher gear in the second half as they twice came from behind to beat Stockport 3-2.
Stags remain unbeaten in Sky Bet League Two after a late Davis Keillor-Dunn double saw them to victory.
Clough said: “It feels like in six games we’ve had 20 games worth of thrills and spills and entertainment. We are certainly creating chances.
“I am not too happy with the two we conceded today at all. But we’ve got the result and that’s the main thing.
“First half we were a bit lethargic. We were nowhere what we have been in recent weeks. We were a shadow of ourselves.
“It took us going behind for us to get on the front foot after half-time and I thought for the majority of the second half it was us in the ascendency and we could have scored more. They got some brilliant blocks in and the keeper made some great saves.
“It was much more like us in the second half.
“We got a bit fortunate with the equaliser with the deflection. But one had to drop for us.
“We had to come from behind at Doncaster and we did it at Grimsby and now we’ve done it for a third game running. It shows a lot of character. It was a brave second half.
“Losing play-off finalists, Stockport are one of the best teams in the league. So to get three points off them today, even this early in the season, is very important.”
Will Collar threaded in the lively Louis Barry down the middle for the sixth minute opener, only to see George Maris turn home a Stephen Quinn cross to level nine minutes later.
Fraser Horsfall restored County’s advantage with a far post header from a 25th minute corner and Barry should have made it 3-1 just before half-time but he missed the empty net from 35 yards after Christy Pym had raced out to clear and gifted the ball to him.
The hosts dominated after the break and Stockport goalkeeper Ben Hinchliffe made some big saves before Keillor-Dunn, who had already hit the bar, levelled via a big deflection on 70 minutes and nine minutes later curled the winner home from Quinn’s pass.
Stockport boss Dave Challinor said: “We expected them to come at us second half. We set up in a way that we accepted we might be a bit deep but thought we could hurt them on the counter-attack.
“We had opportunities to do that but didn’t take them.
“But you have to defend well and the goals were awful again. They were down to poor concentration. You can’t concede three goals and expect to win any games of football.
“We need to have more control when we have the ball – we gave it away too cheaply.”
Serie A side Genoa confirm sacking of head coach Gilardino
Serie A side Genoa have confirmed the departure of their head coach Alberto Gilardino, with Patrick Vieira reportedly on his way in.
Gilardino, a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006, leaves the club with them sitting just one point above the relegation size with 10 points from 12 matches this season.
A former striker who played for clubs including Genoa, Parma, AC Milan and Fiorentina, Gilardino took charge of Genoa in 2022 and helped them earn promotion to the top division before a 11th-place finish during the 2023-24 season.
"The club thanks Gilardino for the goals achieved together over the years and wishes him the best for his career," Genoa said in a statement.
The 42-year-old saw his side salvage a late 1-1 draw against Cesc Fabregas' Como in their last match before the international break.
Genoa were also knocked out of the Coppa Italia in the second round following a defeat to Sampdoria on penalties in September.
Arsenal legend Vieira is set to replace him, according to multiple reports.
The former France midfielder has been out of work since leaving Strasbourg by mutual consent in July.
Doncic backs Mbappe to turn fortunes around at Real Madrid
NBA superstar Luka Doncic has backed Kylian Mbappe to "figure it out" after his underwhelming start to life at Real Madrid.
Mbappe has scored eight goals in 16 games for Madrid in all competitions since joining as a free agent following the expiration of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.
He has gone four matches without a goal – a run that includes losses to Barcelona and Milan – and has been left out of France's latest squad.
However, Dallas Mavericks guard Doncic – a Real Madrid supporter due to his previous ties with the sports club – can see Mbappe turning things around.
"Obviously [their season] could be better," Doncic told Managing Madrid after the Mavericks' win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
"But when you get a guy like Mbappe, it takes some time to get used to it. We'll figure it out."
Mbappe has scored six goals in 11 LaLiga appearances for Madrid but has underperformed his season's expected goals (xG) total by 2.04.
The forward is averaging a goal every 166 minutes in all competitions this term, compared to one every 88 minutes for PSG in his last of seven seasons in Paris.
Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 last time out in the league to return to winning ways but still trail leaders Barcelona by six points.
Asked about his connections with Madrid, former Los Blancos basketball player Doncic said: "I follow Real Madrid every time.
"I grew up there. They taught me everything, so it's a part of my life. You can call it a secondary home.
"I learned a lot of stuff there and, especially, they gave me a way to be here right now [in Dallas]. I always appreciate that 100%."
Madrid return to action after the international break with a trip to Leganes on Sunday.
Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona: Guijarro brace sets visitors up for Clasico glory
Patri Guijarro's first-half brace set Barcelona on their way to a thumping 4-0 win over rivals Real Madrid in Liga F on Saturday.
Claudia Pina and Alexia Putellas were also on target as Barcelona continued their perfect start to the season, extending their lead at the top of the table.
The visitors dominated from the off, as Guijarro broke the deadlock inside the fourth minute, tapping in from Putellas' flick-on from a corner.
Cata Coll was forced into a big save to deny Alba Redondo an equaliser shortly after, but Madrid's hope was soon dented as Guijarro picked out the bottom corner with a superb long-range strike for her second.
Pina strengthened their lead six minutes before the break, clinically slotting past Misa with her low strike.
Putellas added some more gloss to the scoreline with four minutes remaining of normal time, beating the Madrid keeper with a lovely dink to bring up her 199th goal for the club.
Barcelona have won all 10 of their games, and now sit eight points clear of Madrid, who suffered their first league defeat of the campaign.
Data Debrief: Total dominance
Madrid will have felt fairly confident coming into this game after a strong start to their season, but they once again failed to find a way past their Clasico rival.
Los Blancos have lost every single game they have played against Barcelona in all competitions, with this their 15th such meeting.
Barcelona smothered their attack early on, restricting their hosts to just one shot in the first half, while they had 10.
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