Dominic Calvert-Lewin is determined to stay fit after revealing his frustration at his latest injury setback.

The England striker returned from a fractured cheekbone to score Everton’s third goal in their 3-1 win at Brentford.

“It’s difficult when you keep getting sidelined and you’re doing everything to stay on the pitch, but I think everyone knows I’m doing everything I possibly can,” Calvert-Lewin told the club website.

“I’m in a good place now, feeling physically fit, strong, fast. I’m buzzing to get the goal and long may it continue.

“We knew we needed a result and most importantly a win but we have to continue the work we’ve been doing, keep the momentum and take that into next week.”

James Tarkowski had headed the Toffees back into the lead against his old club after Mathias Jensen cancelled out Abdoulaye Doucoure’s opener.

Calvert-Lewin then secured Everton’s first win of the season and condemned the Bees to a first home defeat.

“I think that Everton deserved to win,” said Bees boss Thomas Frank. “The first five games we played this season, we performed very well – this was a bad performance. We need to learn from that, move forward and bounce back.

“What this group of fantastic players have done very well over all the years I’ve been in charge here is that, after a bad performance, they’ve bounced back.

“Everything that Everton came with didn’t surprise us. We expected everything, we just handled it poorly. We just didn’t deal very well with it.

“There are two things, besides the bad performance, that we need to look into: one is defensive set-pieces, obviously we conceded two goals and we weren’t on top of them.

“Secondly, is our quality and decision-making on the ball, especially in the first half. We were throwing the ball away way, way too easy with touches, passes and decisions.”

Lewis Hamilton criticised Mercedes’ tactics and suggested he and George Russell needed to “work as a team” after on-track battles throughout the Japanese Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion finished fifth at Suzuka, two places ahead of Russell in a race where the pair scrapped repeatedly and aired frustration over the team radio.

After an early coming together where Russell surged past Hamilton before swiftly losing the place again, the 38-year-old pushed his team-mate off track in a second scrap and they then disagreed over how to defend their places against Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

Russell was struggling on his tyres having attempted a one-stop strategy, while others around him deployed a two-stop, and Hamilton urged his team to let him through.

The 25-year-old resisted on the radio before being told “this is an instruction, George” and allowing Hamilton to pass.

Hamilton was then told to stay within DRS range to help his team-mate defend against Sainz, as the Spaniard had done to thwart Russell a week ago in Singapore.

“We should have swapped around earlier and I should have got as far ahead as possible to get the gap as big as we could to the Ferrari,” Hamilton said.

“Because he (Russell) was trying to fight me he was damaging his tyres and I think it just made it all complicated.

“The fact is we are not fighting each other in the team championship. As drivers it is not important where we are.

“What is important is that one of us finishes ahead of the Ferrari and to keep the position. Today we really needed to work as a team.”

Hamilton also disagreed with the team’s DRS strategy.

“I don’t think that was a good idea at all,” he said. “When they suggested it to me I knew that they obviously thought of it from the last race but it made no sense.

“I needed to get as far clear as possible. I was on my way, around two seconds ahead and they asked me to give George DRS and I had to come off the gas down the straight.

“Then he got overtaken by Sainz. He then got past George and he was right on my tail which was not ideal.”

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was absent for this race due to knee surgery, with his role divided among numerous other staff while the Austrian was on the intercom.

The team’s lead to Ferrari was cut in the battle for second in the constructors’ championship – which Red Bull clinched at Suzuka with a record six races remaining.

Max Verstappen stormed to victory, with McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on the podium ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Russell, who lost sixth to Sainz at the death, said he had no hard feelings over the battle with Hamilton.

“The main goal is to finish P2 in the constructors’ championship,” Russell said. “The drivers’ championship is out of the window for me totally. Lewis is in a good place to fight for a good position.

“The goal is to finish ahead of Ferrari this season and keep on working for next year. No issues on my side.

“I viewed it as good, hard racing. Of course we lost a bit of overall time fighting each other. You are a bit frustrated on the radio but that is just part of racing.

“We are not even going to discuss it, there is nothing to discuss. We have bigger fish to fry which is how do we make the car go quicker.”

Johnny Sexton says beating defending champions South Africa is among Ireland’s best Rugby World Cup wins but insists his team must push on and “make it count”.

Andy Farrell’s men put one foot in the quarter-finals of the tournament by edging a classic Paris encounter 13-8 to register a 16th straight victory.

The world’s top-ranked team have a two-week break before returning to Stade de France to complete their Pool B fixtures against Scotland.

“I think we’ve had some big wins in pool stages before, that’s right up there,” said captain Sexton.

“When you play against the reigning world champions, it’s always going to be incredibly tough and it was.

“They didn’t let us down in terms of the physicality of the game but I thought we fronted up and gave some good stuff ourselves in that regard.

“Yeah, it’s right up there but we’ve got to make it count now.

“We’ve got some time off this week with the bye week, then we regroup and we’ve got to back it up against Scotland and make sure we do the business to get out of the pool.”

Mack Hansen’s first-half try, plus five points from the boot of Sexton and a late Jack Crowley penalty moved the Six Nations champions within touching distance of the knockout stages.

South Africa remained in contention until the final whistle through Cheslin Kolbe’s score and a Manie Libbok penalty but paid a heavy price for some wayward goal kicking.

Ireland were roared home by an estimated 30,000 Irish fans on an unforgettable evening in the French capital.

Veteran fly-half Sexton felt the “insane” support was a vital factor in securing a statement victory.

“We’ve had some big days before in terms of results in the pools but I’ve never ever seen a crowd like that,” said the 38-year-old.

“Someone said there was 30,000 fans but there was no way it was 30,000.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if there was 60,000 and they were insane throughout. They gave us the lift that we needed.

“Honestly, it’s not lost on us. We talk about it a lot, about inspiring those people that put their hand in their pocket week after week.

“They probably saved for four years to come here and it’s something we refer to all the time and I mean that.

“We play for them and they gave us the edge, fair play to them.”

Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi urged his side not to dwell on the disappointing result as they seek to bounce back in a crucial clash with Tonga.

“The intensity of the game was exactly what we needed for a lot of players that have never played at such intensity,” said the flanker.

“The whole atmosphere was amazing on the field but we know exactly what we need to do as a group.

“We’ve got to lift our heads, we’ve got a big game coming and if we dwell too much on what happened, we will forget to perform next week.

“We need to get through that one and then we can start thinking about afterwards. Tonga is an important game.”

Phil Foden admits Manchester City have a big hole to fill after influential midfielder Rodri picked up a three-game ban in Saturday’s win over Nottingham Forest.

The Spain international was sent off early in the second half of City’s 2-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium for raising his hands towards the neck of Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White.

The treble winners now face being without Rodri for their midweek Carabao Cup trip to Newcastle, next Saturday’s game at Wolves and – most crucially – the encounter at Arsenal on October 8.

Foden said: “He is one of our most important players and he seems to play all the minutes. He is going to be a big miss, but we have players to step up now and we are going to need them.”

Rodri’s dismissal dramatically changed the mood of a game City had been cruising to victory in following goals from Foden and Erling Haaland in the first 14 minutes.

A tame affair became fractious and City lost some of their composure before switching to a defensive mindset.

Attacking players Jeremy Doku and Julian Alvarez were sacrificed for Kalvin Phillips and Nathan Ake as manager Pep Guardiola took a pragmatic approach to secure three points.

“I thought we showed a different side to the team,” Foden said.

“It was not ideal with Rodri getting a red card so early in the second half, but I thought we showed heart and desire – a different side to the team that we sometimes need to show.

“I am really happy with the performance. We dug deep.”

Despite making their latest victory unnecessarily complicated, the champions’ 100 per cent start to the season remains intact.

In an ominous warning for the rest of the competition, Foden believes there is plenty more to come.

The 23-year-old said: “I would say it is a perfect start, but there are still a couple of gears for us to go. We are happy with the start, but we still know we can get better.”

Forest manager Steve Cooper was pleased with his side’s response in the second half and felt they should have got more from playing against 10-man City.

He said: “When you play a game and you get presented an opportunity, you really want to recognise that you have to take that.

“I’m not angry with the players. I’m not disappointed in any way, shape or form, and I’ve told them that.

“But I’ve just challenged them, like, ‘Come on boys, really back yourselves, because I do’.

“Hopefully we’ll reflect on the game and be motivated that we can play in these really tough games and do some good things.”

Conor Benn hailed his unanimous points victory over Rodolfo Orozco in Florida as the perfect response after “going through hell” outside of the ring.

The 26-year-old returned to the ring for the first time since April 2022 after his provisional doping suspension was lifted.

Benn, who had been out of the ring for 525 days, extended his undefeated run to 22 fights after the judges scored 99-91, 99-91 and 96-94 all in favour of the Englishman.

Benn did not show any signs of early ring rust on his return and dropped the Mexican in the third round before getting other rounds under his belt and a seemingly easy beat down over Orozco.

‘The Destroyer’ was happy to get valuable time in the ring after such a long lay-off and targeted a home fight next time out.

After the fight, he said: “We didn’t want a walk in the park. I needed the rounds after 18 months out.

“He’s a true Mexican, my first Mexican I’ve fought, and we knew he was durable. Credit to him, he’s never been stopped before and he’s one tough man and I hope he progresses.

“They are stronger and take shots more. I don’t think there was ring rust, I was going through the gears after going through hell.

“Britain is my home and it’s only right I fight back there, sooner rather than later.”

Max Verstappen moved to within range of a hat-trick of world titles by returning to winning ways at the Japanese Grand Prix as Red Bull clinched the constructors’ championship.

The Dutchman backed up his searing pace in qualifying by easing to victory by a massive 19.387 seconds a week on from seeing his record 10-race winning run ended in Singapore.

Lando Norris finished second ahead of McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with Lewis Hamilton fifth and George Russell seventh for Mercedes.

Verstappen has won 13 of 16 rounds this season, extending his lead to 177 points over team-mate Sergio Perez – who endured a miserable afternoon – and he will have the chance to wrap up his third title at the Qatar Grand Prix in two weeks, potentially even in the Saturday sprint by outscoring Perez by three points or more.

While it was serene at the front, the race behind was thrilling as Perez was involved in two early collisions before retiring – only to briefly return – and Mercedes team-mates Hamilton and Russell scrapped with each other.

Red Bull are the first team in Formula One history to win the team championship with six races to spare as Verstappen’s victory moved the Milton Keynes-based team 318 clear of second-placed Mercedes in the standings. It is Red Bull’s sixth constructors’ title since their debut season in F1 in 2005.

Norris predicted after qualifying that if Verstappen led after the 277-metre dash down to turn one, there would be nothing the rest of the field could do.

The McLarens put up a strong fight, sandwiching Verstappen as Norris surged around the outside to go second, but the pole-sitter emerged from the first corner ahead.

Perez was overtaken by Ferrari’s Singapore winner Carlos Sainz and drifted into Hamilton, forcing the seven-time world champion onto the grass.

The safety car was deployed before the end of the first lap due to debris on the track after heavy contact between Valtteri Bottas and Alex Albon.

Perez pitted under the safety car on lap three to replace a damaged front wing and fit the hard tyres but re-joined 17th.

The race resumed on lap five and Verstappen blasted clear of Norris.

Perez’s miserable start continued as he was handed a five-second penalty for overtaking under the safety car as he entered the pits.

It soon went from bad to worse as he suffered more front-wing damage in a collision with Kevin Magnussen, forcing him to pit again on lap 13, and was given another five-second penalty for causing the contact.

The Mexican was put out of his misery on lap 15 as Red Bull retired the car. Remarkably he was briefly sent back onto the track on lap 40, with the team keen for him to serve his outstanding penalty.

Elsewhere it was a story of battling team-mates.

Hamilton was soon engaged in a thrilling scrap with Russell, who slid up the inside at the final corner but Hamilton blasted back ahead down the pit straight.

The battle soon resumed as Hamilton ran wide and had to defend fiercely against Russell, forcing the 25-year-old off the track at the Spoon Curve.

“Who do we want to fight here, each other or the others?” Russell asked his team.

Hamilton’s defence was investigated but cleared by the stewards as he pitted first.

Meanwhile, Piastri had gained an advantage by pitting just as a virtual safety car was called, leapfrogging Norris after his pit stop.

Norris was soon on his team-mate’s gearbox, urging McLaren to act.

“The longer I stay behind the worse you are going to make the race for me,” Norris said, adding “What’s he doing?” before McLaren allowed him through.

Russell rolled the dice by attempting a one-stop strategy on an afternoon where tyre degradation was an issue for all the teams at a baking hot Suzuka.

But he was swallowed up by both McLarens, Charles Leclerc and team-mate Hamilton – with Russell urging his team to get Hamilton to give him DRS to defend from Sainz, as the Spaniard did a week ago to thwart Russell.

But Sainz moved past to take sixth as Ferrari gained the edge on Mercedes in the battle for second in the constructors’ standings.

Sir Bradley Wiggins won gold in the men’s time trial at the Road World Championships in Spain on this day in 2014.

Wiggins clocked 56 minutes 25.52 seconds for the 47.1-kilometre route in Ponferrada to win by an emphatic margin of 26.23secs.

Germany’s Tony Martin, seeking a fourth straight world title, had to settle for silver, while Tom Dumoulin of Holland took bronze.

It was Britain’s first gold in the event in 20 years, since Chris Boardman won the inaugural edition of the road time trial.

Wiggins said: “I paced it perfectly. I still had gas in the final. Even on the last descent, I knew I was ahead, but I was pushing all the way.

“I don’t know what to say. I knew coming into it that I had the legs.

“Once I saw the course I knew if I was ever going to beat Tony it would be here.”

Wiggins – Olympic time-trial champion as well as Tour de France champion in 2012 – added a first road world title to multiple golds he had achieved at World Championships on the track.

The Pittsburgh Pirates erased a nine-run deficit for the first time in their 133-season history in a wild 13-12 victory over the playoff-hopeful Cincinnati Reds on Saturday.

The Reds built a 9-0 lead with three runs in the first, five in the second and one in the third before the Pirates scored the next 13 runs.

Cincinnati rallied to get within one but stranded the potential tying run at third in the ninth.

It was the fourth straight loss for the Reds, who dropped 2 ½ games behind the final NL wild-card spot with six games remaining.

Cincinnati squandered a nine-run lead for the first time since a 10-9 loss at Milwaukee on April 28, 2004.

Pittsburgh’s Alfonso Rivas tied a career high with five RBIs, including a three-run double in the seventh that tied the score at 9.

The Pirates scored four runs in the eighth against closer Alexis Diaz when Jack Suwinski and Rivas hit run-scoring singles and Ji Hwan Bae followed with a two-run double.

Christian Encanacion-Strand, Tyler Stephenson and TJ Friedl homered off Pirates starter Bailey Falter, who allowed eight runs and nine hits in two innings.

 

Montgomery pitches Rangers past Mariners

Jordan Montgomery pitched seven scoreless innings for the second time in three starts and Jonah Heim drove in another run to lead the Texas Rangers to their fourth straight win, 2-0 over the Seattle Mariners.

Montgomery scattered five hits, struck out six and walked two to improve to 4-2 in 10 starts since joining Texas in a trade with St. Louis.

The Rangers extended their AL West lead to 1 ½ games over Houston, which lost to Kansas City.

Mitch Garver had an RBI single in the second inning and Heim singled home a run in the fourth.

Heim has seven RBIs in his last four games and 15 in his past 11.

Seattle remained a half-game behind the Astros in the West and in the wild-card race.

 

Rays rally late again, beat Blue Jays

Josh Lowe hit a three-run homer and a walk-off single to cap a two-run ninth inning as the Tampa Bay Rays got past the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-6.

Toronto entered the bottom of the ninth with a 6-5 lead but Yandy Diaz had a leadoff double, took thirde on Harold Ramirez’s single and scored on Curtis Mead’s hit.

After Isaac Paredes struck out, Junior Caminero – in his big league debut - grounded into what appeared to be an inning-ending double play.

But the call was reversed in a video review and Lowe ended it with an opposite-field single down the left-field line.

The Rays remained 1 ½ games behind AL East-leading Baltimore, while Toronto, which rallied from a 5-0 deficit, holds the second wild card, one game ahead of Houston.

Reigning Horse of the Year Atomica registers fourth-consecutive win

Gary Subratie’s face portrayed ease with a tad bit of excitement, as he watched the replay of a race where his highly rated filly Atomica comfortably brushed aside rivals and copped the third running of the Menudo Trophy over 10 furlongs (2,000m), at Caymanas Park on Saturday.

That delight on Subratie’s face was very much understandable given the fact that this was Atomica’s fourth-straight win, following a slight injury setback earlier this year, and the manner of this performance, underscored that the four-year-old filly is well and truly back to her best.

Running from the widest draw in the small five-horse of the three-year-olds and upward Graded Stakes/Open Allowance contest, Atomica, partnered with customary jockey Dane Dawkins got out well and settled behind Jason DaCosta’s Outbidder (Jerome Innis) entering the clubhouse turn.

In fact, Dawkins –instead of playing the cat-mouse game with his rival – bided his time with the Nuclear Wayne and Honkeytonkville progeny for most of the way and it wasn’t until the left the half-mile that he sent Atomica into the ascendancy.

While Outbidder and D Head Cornerstone (Sadiki Blake) were kicking up a storm in close quarters, Dawkins remained cool, calm and collected as he gradually released the rein on the talented filly approaching the stretch run.

Once there, it was a case of how far Atomica would win, especially with Dawkins giving her a glimpse of the left-hand stick to which she responded and went on to win by four lengths going away.

Atomica secured the lion’s share of the $1.75 million purse for owner Oakridge Farms and breeder Karl Samuda, as she stopped the clock in 2:08.2, behind splits of 24.1, 49.3, 1:13.2 and 1:40.4.

Miniature Man (Ramon Nepare), D Head Cornerstone and Outbidder, completed the frame.

Subratie, secured another win on the 10-race card courtesy of Sensational Move (Richard Henry), in the seventh race.

Former three-time champion Anthony “Baba” Nunes, also had a brace of winners in Mr Senator (Jawara Steadman) and Hoist The Mast (Tevin Foster), while Philip Feanny, saddled Gilbert, which completed Foster’s double, and I’ve Got Magic in the night pan ridden by Reyan Lewis.

Lewis, the leading rider, earlier won aboard Peter-John Parsard’s Neo Star in the day’s penultimate event.

Racing continues on Sunday with another 10-race programme.

Andy Farrell hailed the mental strength of his players after Ireland propelled themselves to the cusp of the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals with a statement 13-8 success over South Africa.

The world’s top-ranked team took control of Pool B by edging an epic contest on a raucous Paris evening thanks to Mack Hansen’s try plus five points from Johnny Sexton and a late Jack Crowley penalty.

Reigning champions South Africa dominated the second half at Stade de France but Ireland doggedly held on to stretch their winning run to 16 matches and move within touching distance of the knockout stages.

Asked what pleased him most about the performance, head coach Farrell said: “Our resilience, which has been really good of late anyway.

“That was a proper game, a traditional game, it had absolutely everything, there were ebbs and flows, ups and downs and how we stayed on point mentally was fantastic.

“The game was never going to be perfect.

“First half, I thought we had the rub of the green as far as field positions is concerned and probably didn’t capitalise on that. Certainly it was roles reversed in the second half.

“But we kept our heads. Getting those couple of penalties at the end when it really mattered is the big plus side of our performance.”

Cheslin Kolbe’s second-half try and a Manie Libbok penalty kept the Springboks in contention before they fell agonisingly short in a nail-biting finale.

Jacques Nienaber’s side ultimately paid the price for a series of wayward kicks at goal, with Faf de Klerk missing two penalties and Libbok squandering a further effort, in addition to the conversion attempt after Kolbe’s score.

Ireland, who were vocally backed by an estimated 30,000 fans in the French capital, also survived a series of frustrating line-out losses.

“I think as the competition goes on, we’ll need to be better because, you know, there’s a few inaccuracies,” continued Farrell.

“But there’s always going to be that type of thing with games like this, especially with the pressure that South Africa put on you.

“We again were able to find a way and when you say it was an emotional game and how do we bottle that, we’ve gotten very good at not getting too emotional, making sure that we stay on task.

“So being given a game like that within the pool stage is great for us.”

Ireland have a fortnight’s break before finishing the group against Scotland and emerged from a bruising encounter relatively unscathed in terms of injuries.

South Africa head coach Nienaber conceded his side were second best but insists they can still retain the World Cup.

The Springboks, who recovered from losing to New Zealand in their opening match at the 2019 tournament to claim the title, take on Tonga next weekend.

Nienaber said: “Yeah, we can still (win the tournament). Obviously you have to (believe). We’re in this competition to win it.

“Teams that lose a game in the pool stages must work hard to get out of the pool, so definitely we can still win it.

“We played against the number one team in the world and we lost by five points and we had opportunity in the 79th minute to get a result.

“Hats off to Ireland, they were better than us on the night and that is the bottom line

“But that’s the number one team in the world and the margin is very small.

“We will have to work harder at the stuff that we weren’t good at. If we can fix that and we have a little bit of luck, we can win the World Cup.

“We missed a couple of points off the tee. I won’t say that was the reason solely for not getting over the line.”

Erik ten Hag praised “massively important” Jonny Evans after the defender was drafted into the starting line-up and helped Manchester United to a 1-0 victory against Burnley.

The 35-year-old made his first start for the club since 2015 and, as well as helping secure a much-needed clean sheet, set up Bruno Fernandes for the only goal after having an earlier header ruled out.

Evans re-signed for the club earlier this month following his release by Leicester, and boss Ten Hag said: “We have problems and in this moment a lot is against us: injuries, decisions and we have all seen the examples.

“We are very happy to have a player like Jonny Evans in the squad. He comes in and he is calm, composed, he has character and a good skill-set. Even when you have things against you, you can bounce back and then you have the character in the team to do that.

“In the summer, I heard he was in to train with the under-23s, I said ‘Fletch (technical director Darren Fletcher), come bring him in with the first team. Maybe he can help us’.

“I already saw in pre-season with the schedule, the problems with the numbers in the squad. We decided to sign him because I think he can really contribute to the squad and today you have seen how massively important he can be.”

Fernandes’ first-time volley from Evans’ ball over the top was a moment of real quality in a game where Ten Hag knew United could not afford another slip-up after three losses in a row.

“This was a must-win and we knew that,” said the Dutchman, who had no complaints about the disallowed goal with Rasmus Hojland deemed to be offside and interfering in front of goalkeeper James Trafford.

“The team responded on the pitch. You could see the togetherness in the dressing room. It was a squad performance.”

Burnley are still looking for their first win following promotion back to the Premier League and have picked up only one point from their first five games.

But manager Vincent Kompany was pleased with the performance of his side, who hit the post in the first half through Zeki Amdouni and had several other good opportunities.

“We had two or three massive chances, really big,” said the Clarets’ boss. “The one from Jay Rod (Rodriguez) where he is controlling the ball in front of the keeper and then slices it, the one from (Jacob) Bruun Larsen, one-on-one with the keeper, just takes his touch a little bit too far.

“Then obviously the one from Zeki Amdouni that hits the post and rolls out. I don’t think you get many more big chances against a team like United. We have to take the positives from it and learn from the things we could do better.

“I am a rational mind, I thought 14 new players, and you see City, United, Chelsea, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Tottenham all within the first 10 games and you know this might be a difficult start but, if I look at the performance today, our moment will come.”

 Zhilei Zhang delivered a destinating third-round knock-out to win his WBO interim heavyweight title rematch against Joe Joyce at Wembley Arena.

Joyce had been mandatory for Oleksandr Usyk’s WBO heavyweight belt before he lost for the first time in the pro ranks to Zhang in April. The contest was stopped in the sixth round, with Joyce’s right eye badly swollen.

Southpaw Zhang had told the Englishman he was back to end his career and could well have proved true to his words with another chastening defeat for the ‘Juggernaut’, who now faces questions over where he goes from here.

Zhang used his moment of glory to call out Tyson Fury.

He said in his ring-side interview: “To the audience, I want to ask you a question: Do you want to see me shut Tyson Fury up?”

On his performance, he added: “I am happy. Like I said before the fight, it is going to end sooner than the first fight and I did it. Joe, hell of a fighter, respect to him. I like him and respect him, everybody please care for him.”

It was a cagey opening to the rematch, with both men content to find their range without trying to commit too much.

Zhang, the 2008 Olympic silver medallist, was first to land a telling blow in the second round, rocking Joyce with a big left hand before catching the Englishman again with another hook which sent him onto the ropes before the bell.

It remained one-way traffic in the third, Zhang also working the body as Joyce failed to find any response.

Zhang worked Joyce with the left before he delivered the knock-out blow with a powerful right hook which sent Joyce to the canvas – and could well end his hopes in the heavyweight division.

On the undercard, Ilford boxer Anthony Yarde stopped Portugal’s Jorge Silva in the second round to make an impressive return in his first fight since defeat by unified light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev.

Dubliner Pierce O’Leary retained the WBC international super-lightweight title with a unanimous decision over Manchester’s Kane Gardner.

Heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma, 18, produced a blistering first-round knock-out of Amine Boucetta for his fifth straight professional win.

Alistair Johnston hailed team-mate Daizen Maeda as a “machine” after the Celtic forward capped a fine performance against Livingston with his side’s third goal.

Brendan Rodgers’ men were ahead through a Reo Hatate penalty when Joe Hart was sent off for a foul on Mo Sangare.

However, Celtic extended their advantage through Matt O’Riley before claiming a third from Maeda in stoppage time.

Johnston hailed the Japanese international as an inspiration for his tireless running.

The Celtic full-back said: “He’s a machine. That’s the simplest way to look at it.

“You look back at the Rangers match and he was just flying around the pitch for 90 minutes and it was the same in this match as well. He’s got an unbelievable engine.

“He’s a nightmare to play or train against. Just ask any of our full-backs who have to go up against him. He’s just constant.

“He’s like this every day, which makes it really difficult for us, although it’s good to train against a guy like that. You can never take a minute off.

“He really does count for two on that side as you think you bypass him with the ball and he’s doubling down, pressing the guy again.

“It’s amazing to watch from my side across the pitch as you know the guy doesn’t know what’s coming as all of a sudden Daizen is there again. He’s a joy to have in your team, he’s such a weapon.

“He just helps us out in so many ways; the attacking side we see the goal he scored in the 90th minute and then the defensive side as well. He’s really special to have.”

Livingston manager David Martindale praised Celtic’s performance and rubbished the notion that they have not been as good since Ange Postecoglou left the club.

“I watched them on Tuesday (in the Champions League against Feyenoord) and I thought they were fantastic in the press, trying to get the ball back,” he said.

“There have been a few things floating about ‘they are not the same’ or ‘they’ve not clicked’, but I think you saw a wee bit of a change with the Champions League and then today.

“I think they showed true character and true spirit when they went down to 10 men. But we shoot ourselves in the foot by giving away a really avoidable second goal. When I look at all three goals, they’re really avoidable.”

Mauricio Pochettino thinks the 18 months he spent in charge of Paris St Germain kitted him out to tackle the complicated task of turning Chelsea’s fortunes around.

Under the Argentinian, PSG were crowned Ligue 1 champions in 2022 having missed out to Lille the previous campaign after he had replaced the sacked Thomas Tuchel mid-season.

Crucially he failed to land the club’s Qatari owners the prize they most coveted, the Champions League, losing in the semi-final to Manchester City in 2021 and to Real Madrid in the last-16 the following year.

It was reported that Pochettino never felt that he enjoyed full authority over the club’s star-studded squad, and was kept by the hierarchy from reining in the erratic behaviour of certain big-name players.

He left in the summer of 2022 and did not work in football again until accepting the job of piecing together Chelsea owner Todd Boehly’s expensively assembled side in June.

He said the experience of managing in the famously chaotic environment of the French champions helped him as a coach, but acknowledged that the challenge he faces at Stamford Bridge is of a different order.

“I think it helps,” said Pochettino. “It helps to take things in a different way. Of course, experience is a really important point in football, in how you are going to deal with things.

“It would be arrogant to say that because I was there, now I can manage everything. The demands always are completely different.

“But when you add experience and experience of different clubs, different countries, different cultures, I think it gives us the capacity as a coaching staff to help in a better way the players and then the club that wants to develop some new ideas or new projects, like we are now doing.”

Chelsea face Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Sunday when Pochettino will come up against another coach who knows intimately the unique demands of life at PSG, Unai Emery.

Emery managed the club for two seasons between 2016-18, winning the title in his second year but joining the list of coaches unable to fulfil the club’s frustrated Champions League ambitions, twice going out in the last 16.

He returned Villa to Europe for the first time in 12 years last season, finishing seventh in the Premier League after taking over from Steven Gerrard in October.

“For myself and for Unai, (the job) is not to prove anything,” said Pochettino. “I think it is to try to help (our) clubs to achieve what the clubs want. I never feel that I need to prove something.

“We (Pochettino and assistant Jesus Perez) arrived at PSG and in one year and a half we won three (trophies). We proved that we can win.

“But you can win with a team that normally wins when you are in a project ready to win. In that case, Unai and myself are building something. He is building at Aston Villa a very nice project, and we are starting to build a very good project for the long-term at Chelsea.

“I think it’s not easy to win with PSG, it’s not easy to win with different clubs. We need to give the credit for the coaches and players that win with different teams, because for different reasons, you feel the pressure in a club like PSG. You cannot (have) any excuses.

“But the Premier League is the most important competition and the most competitive, and if you can win here, I think the feeling for sure that the credit is bigger.”

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