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• Salah, Van Dijk released early in boost for Liverpool ahead of Chelsea clash

  Mohamed Salah will return to Liverpool earlier than expected, along with Virgil van Dijk, after he was released from international duty by Egypt on Saturday. 

  The 32-year-old was on the scoresheet as Egypt defeated Mauritania 2-0 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Friday, and was also expected to feature in the return fixture on Tuesday. 

  However, in a boost for the Reds, who face fourth-placed Chelsea in the Premier League on October 20, Salah will head back to Merseyside having played just once for his country.

  "The technical staff of Egypt's senior football team led by manager Hossam Hassan held a meeting with Mohamed Salah, the captain of the Pharaohs," the Egyptian FA said in a statement. 

  "It was agreed during the meeting to rest the player from the upcoming match."

• Croatia 2-1 Scotland: Kramaric rounds off comeback as visitors denied by late drama

  Andrej Kramaric's 70th-minute header was enough for Croatia to clinch a 2-1 victory over Scotland, with the visitors denied a last-gasp equaliser.

  The forward completed the comeback after Igor Matanovic cancelled out Ryan Christie's opener, but Kristijan Jakic's blushes were spared as his last-second own goal was disallowed for an offside against Che Adams.

  In a fairly even first half, Christie got the breakthrough, latching onto Luka Sucic's sliced attempted clearance, and bundling the ball over the line with help from Duje Caleta-Car.

  However, just under four minutes later, Croatia were back on level terms as Ivan Perisic cushioned the ball to Matanovic, who drilled his low shot into the bottom-right corner.

  The hosts upped the pressure after the break, and Sucic thought he had given them the lead, only to have his goal chalked off for a foul in the build-up.

  And they got their reward when Craig Gordon pushed away Borna Sosa's volley, with Kramaric on hand to nod it in from close range when it looped into the air.

  Adams had already sent a looping effort wide of the far post in his search for an equaliser and thought he had finally got it after pressuring Jakic into poking it over the line. However, he had done so from an offside position so VAR ruled it out, and Scotland were denied a first point this Nations League campaign.  

  Data Debrief: Scotland suffer more late heartbreak

  Late drama seems to follow Scotland everywhere in this competition at the moment - they lost their first two games in the competition due to late goals despite putting up a fight.

  As such, Scotland extended their longest winless run in competitive matches in their history (P9 D3 L6), while they have now lost four consecutive games for the first time in five years, last doing so in October 2019.

  The match-winner, Kramaric, scored his 30th goal for Croatia on his 99th appearance, with more than half of these (16) coming since he turned 30, while he has scored twice as many goals (eight) than any other Croatian player since the start of 2023.

• 'It certainly doesn't help' - Eidevall fails to concede Arsenal title hopes after Chelsea loss

  Jonas Eidevall failed to concede Arsenal's hopes of winning the Women's Super League title after falling to a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea at the Emirates on Saturday. 

  The defeat leaves Arsenal in sixth place in the early-season standings having taken just five points from their opening four games of the season. 

  Mayra Ramirez and Sandy Baltimore handed the visitors a two-goal advantage early on, with Caitlin Foord's fine individual effort before half-time proving to be just a consolation. 

  It brought an end to a dismal week for Eidevall, having watched his side lose their Champions League opener 5-2 to Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

  "It certainly doesn't help, but as I said before, the only way is to go game by game," Eidevall said on his side's hopes of winning the title after their poor start to the campaign. 

  "We are disappointed with the result and the start today, but I am very proud of the heart that the players showed."

  But following Chelsea's first two goals, it was Arsenal who were in the ascendency, creating the better of the chances in north London but failing to make them count. 

  The Gunners registered 20 attempts during the contest, but only four of which were on target, rarely troubling visiting goalkeeper Hannah Hampton for the most part. 

  Though Arsenal find themselves already four points behind the early-season pacesetters, Eidevall still believes he is still the right man to lead the Gunners forward. 

  "I gave my absolute everything. You can see that the players certainly gave everything on the pitch too, and that is the thing you can control," Eidevall said. 

  "I think the way that the players played with the heart on the pitch, I can't ask for anything more," he added when asked if he had the backing of his players. 

  "It showed in the way that they played that they were giving their absolute everything on the pitch."

  Chelsea, meanwhile, continued their fine start under Sonia Bompastor, building on their impressive win against Real Madrid in midweek with a triumph over their fierce rivals. 

  But it was anything but comfortable for the Blues, who managed an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.35 from their efforts during the second half. 

  "For sure it was a tough game, we were expecting that. It's always good to win, three points are three points," Bompastor said.

  "But I wish my team were able to play the ball better in the second half. The quality of the players we have, we should be able to produce more.

  "Good moments, we need to enjoy them and have fun."