England Under-21s went goal crazy as they produced a stunning display to crush Serbia 9-1.
Chelsea forward Noni Madueke, debutant Jaden Philogene and Harvey Elliott all scored twice at the City Ground.
Liam Delap, Jonathan Rowe and Luka Subotic’s own goal heaped further misery on Serbia as the Young Lions came from behind in their first home game since winning Euro 2023.
They had to hit back, despite dominating, after Vladimir Lucic’s classy strike gave Serbia the lead in the Euro 2025 qualifier.
Victory made it two from two in Group F ahead of Monday’s game with Ukraine in Slovakia.
Boss Lee Carsley had moved to distance this squad as European champions with just six of his winners featuring on Thursday after the majority of the class of 2023 aged out.
His new-look Young Lions should have been cruising inside 10 minutes but Charlie Cresswell planted a free header wide after Philogene’s effort was turned over by Veljko Ilic.
The goalkeeper then gathered a tame effort from Elliott and continued to deny the hosts, a reaction stop keeping out Philogene at the far post.
Madueke pulled the strings, the forward teasing the overworked Serbia defence, but he should have done better than to drag wide following a neat exchange with Hayden Hackney.
Carsley’s side dominated, Elliott shooting over, but they were shocked by Serbia after 27 minutes.
Lucic started the move on the left and when Nikola Stankovic was played in behind Hackney he found Lucic to brilliantly guide a first-time finish into the top corner from 16 yards.
It was a stunning finish and checked England’s momentum which, until then, had only been growing.
The Young Lions were briefly cautious as they sized their opponents up again but Delap should have levelled nine minutes before the break rather than let Ilic save with his legs.
Yet just two minutes later they levelled as Philogene marked his debut by smashing in high from the edge of the box after being gifted the ball by Ilic.
Elliott went close before England got the second they deserved after 41 minutes when captain Cole Palmer was thwarted by Ilic but Philogene recycled the ball to find Delap who crashed in from five yards.
It opened the floodgates and Elliott added a third when he collected the ball, advanced and arrowed a strike into the top corner.
Eight minutes after the break Madueke got the goal he deserved when he danced across the Serbia defence and drilled in low.
It was now a procession, with Serbia resorting to needless fouls to halt England’s rhythm, but they could do nothing to stop Madueke’s second.
Hackney was allowed to run and slip the ball into Rico Lewis whose backheel found Madueke to roll into the corner.
England continued to pile on the pain and Philogene got his second after 63 minutes, Delap unselfishly squaring to his Hull team-mate after Lewis put him clear.
The scoreline reflected the gulf in quality and Cresswell and James McAtee went close to adding a seventh before Elliott hit the crossbar.
It was left to Serbia to embarrass themselves as, under pressure from Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Mitar Ergelas’ clearance clattered off Subotic and looped over Ilic with three minutes left.
There was still time for substitute Rowe to get a debut goal, the Norwich forward heading in Elliott’s cross from close range.
Then, in stoppage time, Elliott added the flourish with a ninth goal, seizing on Igor Miladinovic’s wretched pass to complete the scoring.
'It's an honour' - Flick delighted by Messi's Barcelona praise
Hansi Flick says it is an "honour" to hear Lionel Messi praise Barcelona's start to the season.
Flick took over as Barcelona head coach in May, with the club making an impressive start to LaLiga, as they sit top on 33 points after 13 matches.
They have won 11 of their games, losing the other two, while they are sixth in the Champions League table, just three points behind leaders Liverpool.
Messi, who spent 17 years at Barcelona before leaving to join Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, recently described Flick's team as "spectacular", in particular lauding his use of young players in the team.
The German has not shied away from using academy players during his time at Barcelona so far, with Lamine Yamal the standout of the bunch after he carried last season's form into this campaign.
Yamal is the only player across Europe's big five leagues to complete 25+ dribbles (34), create 25+ chances (26), have 25+ shots (39), score 5+ goals (five) and provide 5+ assists (seven).
When asked how he felt about Messi's comments, Flick was delighted.
"It's an honour to hear the best player in history say that he likes this Barca," he told reporters.
"He follows the team closely, he has his heart set on this club, that means a lot to the youngsters and to the team."
Barcelona return to LaLiga action when they travel to Celta Vigo on Saturday, looking to extend their lead at the top of the league.
Simeone makes LaLiga history with 700th game in charge of Atletico
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has become the first manager to take charge of 700 games with the same LaLiga club.
The Argentine hit the milestone as his Atleti side welcomed Alaves to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Saturday.
Simeone first took charge of Los Rojiblancos in December 2011 and has gone on to become the most successful manager in the club's history, having brought eight honours to the Spanish capital.
The former midfielder guided Atletico to the LaLiga title in 2014 and 2021, while also overseeing two Europa League triumphs in 2012 and 2018 in addition to helping them reach two Champions League finals.
Saturday's game is Simeone's 492nd LaLiga match in charge - the most by any manager at a single club - and he has also managed the third-most games with a single club in the Champions League (109), after Alex Ferguson with Manchester United and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.
Atleti have won each of their last four matches across all competitions, and another on Saturday would be the 54-year-old's 300th in the Spanish top flight.
Sheffield United go top of Championship with draw despite Ahmedhodzic red
Sheffield United went top of the Championship following their 2-2 draw away to Coventry City despite twice surrendering the lead.
Chris Wilder's side are one point ahead of second-placed Sunderland ahead of Saturday's other matches although, after Tyrese Campbell put them one up after 13 minutes, they would have been hoping for a bigger lead.
Coventry forward Norman Bassette equalised nine minutes later, but Jesurun Rak-Sakyi had the visitors back in front on 34 minutes, having been set up by former Coventry man Gustavo Hamer.
Then came the game-defining incident, with Anel Ahmedhodzic sent off in the 44th minute after grabbing Bassette by his neck and throwing him to the ground. Tempers flared into half-time, but it was the home side who piled on the pressure in the second half.
The managerless Sky Blues got their reward 10 minutes from time through Bobby Thomas, meaning that they have now come back from losing positions to draw in back-to-back matches. They sit 16th in the table.
Elsewhere, Burnley went third after their second straight 1-0 victory as they beat Bristol City on the road. Jaidon Anthony scored the only goal of the game, although the home side created plenty of pressure and saw a penalty claim denied in the second half.
Scott Parker's side, nevertheless, kept their fourth clean sheet in five to get themselves back in the hunt for the top two.
Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff City shared the points in a 1-1 draw at Hillsborough that does neither side many favours in their aim to climb clear of the relegation scrap.
Both goals came within two first-half minutes, with Ollie Tanner getting the visitors ahead from a Callum Robinson rebound in the 34th minute. The lead didn't last long though, with Di'Shon Bernard on hand to scramble home and restore parity almost straight away.
The result leaves Wednesday in 14th, four points above the bottom three, while Cardiff are 19th and just a point above third-bottom Luton Town.
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