Molynes United, Portmore United and Waterhouse all picked up wins in the latest round of the Wray & Nephew Jamaica Premier League on Sunday.

Molynes picked up their first points of the season with a dominant 4-0 win over Chapelton Maroons at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.

Honors were even until six minutes before halftime when Jevaughn Brown gave Molynes United the lead.

The scoring was completed in the second half by Mickel Graham (53’, 71’) and Taraj Andrews (86’) as the Kingston-based club secured their first points of the young season.

Elsewhere, a 37^th minute strike from Junior Grizelle and a second half stoppage time goal from Shacquwell Henry gave Portmore United a 2-0 win over Vere Phoenix United at Ferdie Neita Park.

In the day’s other games, Atapharoy Bygrave scored just before halftime for Waterhouse in a 1-0 win over Tivoli Gardens at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex while Humble Lion and Harbour View played out a 1-1 draw at the Effortville Community Centre.

Oquassa Chong gave Harbour View the lead in the 25^th minute before Andre Clennon equalized for Humble Lion in the 67^th.

On Monday, defending champions Cavalier SC will take on Dunbeholden at Sabina Park while a double-header at the Montego Bay Sports Complex will see Mount Pleasant facing Racing United before Montego Bay United battles Arnett Gardens.

Ryan Gravenberch has impressed with his performances for Liverpool so far this season, and he says it is a result of the trust shown to him by Arne Slot.

The midfielder joined Liverpool from Bayern Munich last September and made 26 Premier League appearances under Jurgen Klopp, but only started 12 of those games.

Gravenberch has played in all but one of the Reds' games in all competitions so far this season, only missing their EFL Cup win over West Ham, and has become an integral part of Slot's set-up in the deeper-lying midfield role.

The Dutchman has won possession 42 times, more than anyone in the team, and has also won the most duels (41) and made the second-most interceptions (12), only behind Virgil van Dijk (17).

Liverpool sit top of the Premier League going into the international break, with Slot making the best start of any Liverpool manager in the club's history, and Gravenberch credited the manager for his uptick in form.

"The coach gives me confidence and sets me up," Gravenberch told ESPN. "I just do my own thing. The things I did at Ajax, I do now.

"I discuss all kinds of things with him. It's mainly about football. We talked last season as well. I have a good bond with him, and I'm very happy he's here.

"We think in the same way. He likes football and building up from the back. That suits me super well too.

"I'm at a top club now, at Liverpool. I played a lot more last season than in the season before. That was my goal. This season my goal is to play even more than last season and I'm on my way."

Barcelona and Spain forward Ferran Torres has suffered a hamstring injury and will be out of action for an indefinite period, the Catalan giants said on Monday.

The 24-year-old will miss Spain's Nations League matches against Denmark on Saturday and Serbia next Tuesday, having damaged the biceps femoris muscle in his right thigh.

Spanish media reports said Torres could be out for six to eight weeks after he sustained the injury in Barca's 3-0 win at Alaves on Sunday, limping off after just five minutes.

"Tests carried out on Ferran Torres confirm that he has an injury to the biceps femoris muscle in his right thigh. His return to training will be dependent on his recovery," Barcelona, LaLiga leaders with eight wins from nine games this term, said.

The Blaugrana are navigating an injury crisis, with Dani Olmo, Gavi, Fermin Lopez, Andreas Christensen, Ronald Araujo and goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen among the players sidelined.

"Ferran's injury is worrying. We don't have many options in attack," Barca boss Hansi Flick said on Sunday.

Torres has made 10 appearances for Barcelona in all competitions this season, scoring once and registering two assists.

There were plenty of thrills and spills across the board in the Premier League as matchday seven ran its course.

Manchester City and Arsenal both had to come from behind to beat Fulham and Southampton respectively at home, while there were eight goals scored as Brentford overcame Wolves 5-3, with six of those strikes coming in the first half in west London.

Liverpool kept themselves ahead at the summit thanks to a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace, while Manchester United stopped the rot by holding Aston Villa, albeit they have now tallied up their lowest points total after seven games of any Premier League season.

Leicester City, meanwhile, grabbed their first win of the campaign, while Anthony Gordon endured a miserable return to Goodison Park with Newcastle United. In the final fixture of the weekend, Brighton stunned Tottenham, forging a second-half comeback to win 3-2 at the Amex Stadium.

So, after all that, who were the unlucky, and lucky, teams based on the underlying metrics?

Lucky winners: Leicester City

Leicester finally got their first top-flight win of the season on the board, as they edged out Bournemouth 1-0 thanks to Facundo Buonanotte's excellent run and finish.

But, it's fair to say it was something of a smash-and-grab for Steve Cooper's team at the King Power Stadium. Leicester had just six shots, with only two of those hitting the target, and they tallied up just 0.79 expected goals (xG).

On the other hand, Bournemouth had 19 attempts, creating five big chances (a tally bettered only by Brentford's eight and West Ham's nine this week) and accumulating 2.16 xG.

Bournemouth only have themselves to blame for wasteful finishing – they got just two of their efforts on target – but the Cherries can still consider themselves unfortunate.

Unlucky losers: Newcastle

Determined to impress against his former club, Gordon fluffed his lines when his big moment arrived as Newcastle drew 0-0 with Everton on Saturday.

With James Tarkowski having conceded a penalty by recklessly pulling the shirt of Sandro Tonali, Gordon stepped up to the spot, but Jordan Pickford guessed the right way.

While Everton wanted a penalty of their own in the second half, the Toffees were largely second-best and that is backed up by the metrics. Even discounting Gordon's spot-kick, Newcastle finished with 1.26 xG and 14 shots. The hosts accumulated 0.67 xG and had eight attempts.

Lucky winners: Man City

It's not often that the champions are given a run for their money at home, but Fulham did just that.

Indeed, Fulham finished with 2.6 xG at the Etihad Stadium, the fourth-highest total across the league this weekend, while they created five big chances.

Pep Guardiola has said he is not concerned by Man City's unusually open defence, but he will want to see better from his team in that regard after the international break.

Going forward, City benefited from three excellent finishes - two from Mateo Kovacic and one from Jeremy Doku. Their 1.57 xG came from 20 shots, though they created only one big chance.

As we gear up for another edition of the Women's Champions League, the excitement around this iconic club competition is as tantalising as ever.

This season's tournament, which starts on Tuesday, brings with it new managers and big moves from some top players, as the best and brightest across women's European football go toe-to-toe.

Sixteen teams have qualified and will now battle it out to be crowned champions of Europe in Lisbon next year.

The tournament will welcome Celtic and Galatasaray, who have become the first teams from Scotland and Turkiye, respectively, to reach the group stage in this current format.

There are also debutants in the form of Swedish side Hammarby, who turned heads in the qualifying rounds by knocking out last season's quarter-finalists Benfica.

After trailing in the first leg, Hammarby managed to claim a historic victory. No team had ever previously overturned a first-leg deficit in a Women's Champions League qualifier.

Barcelona are the reigning champions after they beat Lyon in the final back in May.

The growth and strength of the Women's Super League has been reflected in this year's final 16. With Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City all qualifying, England are now only the third nation to have three teams reach the group stage of the competition, with Germany and France having done so previously.

Europe's best are ready to battle it out, but who are the contenders, and which players could light up the 2024-25 edition?

The main contenders

Holders Barcelona will have a fight on their hands to retain their trophy this season, but they also have a strong chance of making more history themselves.

Barca are striving to become only the second club to win a third consecutive Champions League, and they will also bid to equal Lyon's record of appearing in five straight finals, with the French side having achieved the feat between 2016 and 2020.

Barca grew into a dominant force under former boss Jonatan Giraldez, who is now coaching Washington Spirit. 

Former assistant coach to Giraldez, Pere Romeu, will have to see if he can continue the club's quest for trophies, but the bar has been set high by that quadruple last season.

Teams will be looking for the chink in the Catalans' armour. Defensively, Barca were generally excellent last season, though they did have a slight defensive underperformance, conceding 1.6 goals more than would have been anticipated based on their expected goals against (xGA) figures in the Champions League, albeit when discounting own goals, that underperformance dropped to 0.6.

They also had the meanest defence in the competition when it came to clean sheets, keeping six to help them win nine games. 

The best sides in front of goal last season were, unsurprisingly, the two teams that reached the final – Barca and Lyon. They netted 36 times each across 11 games apiece.

Lyon, although under new leadership, are the most successful side in the history of the competition, winning eight titles, and they are difficult to look past as the team to beat.

Their free-shooting, free-flowing attacking system under former coach Sonia Bompastor saw them produce a whopping 270 attempts on goal last term, an average of 24.5 per game. Barca (237) were second for shots, and shot conversion rate (15.19%), meanwhile.

Lyon's xG was a tournament-leading 35.4, while Barca's 29.11 ranked second – however, Barca greatly overperformed their xG.

Indeed, their 6.89 xG overperformance was the highest positive differential in last season's competition, proving their finishing was of an exceptionally high standard.

It will not all be about Barca and Lyon, though. Two other former continental champions, Arsenal and Wolfsburg, are sides who will see themselves as ready to dethrone Barca and taste European glory once more.

Wolfsburg are six-time finalists and two-time champions, so they should never be discounted. Nor should Bayern Munich, who have won the Frauen-Bundesliga title in the last two seasons.

Bayern went out in the group stage last season, only winning one of their six games, but they should fare better this time around. 

And while they are yet to go all the way in Europe, Chelsea and Manchester City could also be forces to be reckoned with.

English trio to challenge

Bompastor led Lyon to victory as their captain in 2011 and 2012 and as their head coach in 2021, an incredible feat that nobody else has achieved in the tournament's history.

She now finds herself in charge of English Champions Chelsea and will be keen to lead her new side to their first Champions League title.

Chelsea, who reached the semi-finals, had the best shot conversion rate (15.38%) in the 2023-24 tournament, scoring 20 goals from 130 shots.

Bompastor will hope to build on her own success and knowledge of the competition and become the first manager to lead an English side to European success since Arsenal's victory in the 2006-07 season.

Despite winning everything there is to win domestically under previous boss Emma Hayes, this is a trophy that has evaded the Blues and they are desperate for success. They lost 4-0 in a humiliating final outing versus Barcelona in 2020-21.

Serial winner Lucy Bronze has been brought into the Chelsea fold by Bompastor, and a huge factor in that transfer was her experience of Champions League success. The ambitious defender will aim to become only the second player, after Conny Pohlers, to win the competition with three different sides, previously lifting the trophy with Lyon and Barcelona.

City, meanwhile, are appearing in the group stages for the first time since the competition's format was changed in 2021 and Gareth Taylor and his team will be keen to show Europe's best why they have pushed Chelsea all the way in the WSL in recent seasons. 

Last season's star players

Kadidiatou Diani was the leading scorer in last season's Champions League, netting eight goals, and she will be as dangerous as ever in Lyon's attacking line.

Those goals came from 4.77 xG — that 3.23 overperformance was higher than any other player in the competition. She was not only the highest goalscorer, but her finishes were a level above what would have been anticipated based on the quality of chances she had.

Ada Hegerberg is the all-time leading scorer in the competition with 64 goals. However, she underperformed her tournament-leading 7.33 xG by 2.33 last campaign, so there's scope for improvement for the 29-year-old.

Despite the xG underperformance, she still tallied up an impressive five goals to finish tied for fifth in the charts, along with Caroline Hansen, Tabitha Chawinga, Marie-Yasmine Alidou and Sam Kerr.

Lyon's Selma Bacha created the most chances in last season's competition (35), registering 4.12 expected assists (xA), though she only provided two assists in total.

Barcelona's Hansen (33) was second-highest for chances created, but led the way for xA (4.66) and assists (five), level with her team-mate Aitana Bonmati and just ahead of Bronze and Roma playmaker Manuela Giugliano (both four). 

Between the sticks, St. Polten's Carina Schluter was the busiest goalkeeper, making 43 saves, though Chelsea's Zecira Musovic boasted the best save percentage (81.82%) of any shot-stopper to play at least 90 minutes.

Jennifer Falk, of BK Hacken, was the best-performing goalkeeper when it came to goals prevented, however, conceding 10, which is 3.85 fewer than would have been anticipated based on the quality of shots she faced, according to Opta's expected goals on target (xGoT) model.

The groups

Four groups of four teams will battle it out to reach the knockout stages. There are some top ties to look forward to before we get to the last eight, and undoubtedly there will be some surprises along the way.

Group A boasts two former champions with 10 titles between them in Lyon and Wolfsburg. The two sides have met in finals of the tournament on four occasions, with Lyon victorious in three of those instances.

But Wolfsburg, who thrashed Fiorentina in qualifying, have lost some huge names over the summer. Germany midfielder Lena Oberdorf, Poland forward Ewa Pajor and Netherlands defender Dominique Janssen all exited ahead of the new campaign.

Pajor has made a fantastic start to life at Barcelona, scoring six goals already, and generating the highest xG of any player in the top five leagues so far in 2024-25 (6.56).

Roma will join the two giants from Germany and France. Their best finish in the tournament saw them progress to the last eight on their competition debut in 2022-23. 

The group's final side, Galatasaray, battled hard through the qualifying rounds and stamped their mark on the competition by knocking out three-time quarter-finalists Slavia to become the first Turkish team to reach the group stage.

Group B has served up a familiar matchup with Chelsea and Real Madrid being drawn together for a third consecutive year.

Dutch Champions Twente will bring an attacking brand of football to the tournament and should not be underestimated. They scored 20 goals to qualify for the group stages. Debutants Celtic, meanwhile, will also look to make their mark.

Group C could be considered the group of death, with former champions Arsenal, Bayern and surprise package Juventus, who caused the biggest upset of the qualifying rounds, going head-to-head.

The Bianconere became the first team to knock out Paris Saint-Germain before the quarter-finals since Tyreso in 2013-14, ending the dreams of English number one Mary Earps after her big move from Manchester United.

Group D will host the most exciting fixture of the group stages as holders Barca take on Man City in the opening game. The teams have met previously in a quarter-final in 2020-21, with Barca going on to win the tournament that year.

St. Polten have qualified for the fourth time in five seasons, and Hammarby have shown they are not scared of the bigger sides by knocking out one of last year's quarter-finalists Benfica in the qualifying rounds. 

The tournament promises to be exciting, with some intriguing storylines to follow from top to bottom.

Will Barcelona win a third straight crown, can Lyon extend their record number of titles, or is it time for an English champion for the first time since 2007? We can't wait to find out. 

Aston Villa have tied down Jhon Duran to a new contract after the Colombian's fantastic start to the campaign.

Duran has netted four times in the Premier League this term, with all of those goals coming from the bench.

Last week, he grabbed his first Champions League goal, converting with an audacious lob over Manuel Neuer to hand Villa a memorable 1-0 win over Bayern Munich.

No player to have scored at least three goals in the Premier League this season has a better minutes-per-goal ratio than Duran (46), who has also overperformed his 2.06 expected goals (xG).

Duran was on the verge of leaving Villa over the summer, with both Chelsea and West Ham interested, but he ultimately stayed put.

The club have now moved to secure the 20-year-old's future, and Duran has signed a deal to keep him at Villa Park until 2030.

Duran was unable to wield his usual influence from the bench as Villa drew 0-0 with Manchester United on Sunday, seeing Unai Emery's team head into the international break in fifth place.

St Kitts and Nevis Senior Men’s National team head coach Francisco Molina has named his squad for the upcoming Concacaf Nations League home matches in October. The team will face off against the British Virgin Islands on October 9 and the Cayman Islands on October 15, with both matches set to take place at Warner Park at 3:30 pm.

The squad will feature experienced goalkeeper Julani Archibald, who will be relied upon to provide stability between the posts. He will be supported by defenders such as Kai Trotman, Ash-on Maynard, and Kalonji Clarke, while Raheem Hanley and Omarion Liburd add versatility to the backline.

Midfield will be anchored by Malique Roberts, Marvin McSheen, and Devion Harvey, who are expected to drive the team’s transition between defense and attack. Mervin Lewis and Nequan Browne will also play pivotal roles in midfield, with the likes of Tyquan Terrell and Yohannes Mitchum adding creativity and energy.

Kyle Kelly and Tiquanny Williams will be tasked with providing the attacking flair, while Kimaree Rogers, Dequan Hamilton, and Gvaune Amory add depth in forward positions. Javern Matthew, Shevene Boston, Jahlyan Burt, and Dionis Stephens are all set to contribute to the team's efforts as well, with Trimar Samuel and Jahmarli Connor adding further options to the squad.

The squad also boasts the experience of Romaine Sawyers, who will bring leadership and composure to the midfield, making him a key figure in the team's campaign.

As St Kitts & Nevis look to build on their performances in the Concacaf Nations League, these home matches offer an opportunity for the team to secure valuable points and continue their push toward regional success.

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone acknowledged his team need to do better going forward, while praising their effective defence, after drawing 1-1 with Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Atleti went a goal ahead through Julian Alvarez after just 51 seconds, but were unable to add to that before conceding a long-range strike from Luka Sucic with six minutes left.

That goal was one of just five that Simeone's side have conceded in LaLiga this season, which is at least two fewer than any other team, but they failed to have another shot on target after taking the lead.

The visitors' attacking impotence is something Simeone was acutely aware of, while also wanting to be balanced and praise the team's efforts at the opposite end.

"The team found the goal and defended very well, it was a collective effort," Simeone told a press conference.

"We needed to have some counter-attacks with the space we had and do it better than we did, which is also a credit to the opponent.

"I'll stick with the positive things about the defence and we'll continue in the same search, to improve the transitions. There are players who know how to do it."

Sucic's equaliser for Sociedad was an early contender for goal of the season. The Croatian hit the ball first-time from outside the box after a misplaced pass from Atletico midfielder Rodrigo De Paul, which looped over goalkeeper Jan Oblak and into the top corner.

While frustrated with losing their lead, Simeone was of the opinion that goals of such quality are hard to legislate for when it comes to defending.

"I don't think [their goal] was a lack of our concentration, it was a great goal from 35 metres," Simeone said.

"There was a loss of the ball, but they hit us from almost 40 metres and he scored a great goal. We have to improve all the small details, but you can lose a ball because it's part of the game. We have to congratulate him for the great goal he scored."

The 1-1 draw leaves Atletico Madrid third in LaLiga going into the international break, four points behind Real Madrid and seven behind leaders Barcelona.

The result means that, while they have won just one of their last four league games, Atleti maintain their unbeaten start to the season.

"The numbers are good, we are working very well," said Simeone.

"We are in a league where the first team has won eight games out of nine and the second team is [three] points behind. We are working well, growing from the defensive to the offensive."

AC Milan boss Paulo Fonseca was in an angry mood following his side's 2-1 loss away to Fiorentina on Sunday, suggesting the decisions to give three penalties turned the game into a 'circus'.

Remarkably, all three spot-kicks were saved during the match. The home side initially saw Moise Kean's penalty kept out by Mike Maignan, while David de Gea then saved from Theo Hernandez - who was later sent off - and Tammy Abraham either side of half-time.

But after the game, Fonseca's attention was on the performance of the officials rather than the goalkeeping.

"I don’t like to talk about refereeing but this isn’t football. Football is about contact and a mere touch shouldn’t be enough to award a penalty," he told DAZN.

"Just a simple touch can lead to a penalty, we saw that this weekend as well. It makes everyone nervous, and that creates problems. This is football, not a circus."

Interestingly, neither Hernandez nor Abraham is Milan's designated penalty taker despite them taking the responsibility on Sunday.

"Our penalty taker is [Christian] Pulisic. I don't know why the players changed their minds, I spoke to him and said that it must not happen again," said Fonseca.

Pulisic did score Milan's only goal of the night, having equalised after an hour, before Albert Gudmondsson scored the winner for the hosts.

The United States international was visibly angry when brought off for Samuel Chukwueze with seven minutes to go after putting in a bright performance, but the Milan manager explained that he did not want to aggravate an injury.

"It was out of caution for Pulisic, he had a problem with his flexor during the week. Chukwueze came in well and created opportunities," said Fonseca.

In terms of his side's overall performance, Fonseca did not want to focus on their penalty problems and instead suggested they did not do enough to get anything from the match.

"In the first half, we lacked defensive aggression and strength in duels. The way we conceded goals clearly illustrates this; they almost always won the second balls," he said. "We weren't disciplined in our structure."

The defeat ended a run of three straight league victories for Milan, meaning they go into the international break sixth in the table and on the back of a defeat.

Despite that, and the gap to league leaders Napoli extending to six points, he was not panicking.

"In Italy when you win, you’ve played a great match. If we don’t score, we’re the worst team in the world, just as I’m the worst coach. I know how things are," he said.

Fonseca's assessment of the performance was mirrored by defender Matteo Gabbia, who was unhappy with how the game went.

"We are certainly not satisfied with the initial approach. We feel this defeat, as it was our fault and we did not do our best tonight," he said.

"It starts with us, I saw the right disappointment and anger in the dressing room and it can be the only positive from this very negative night. We are angry that we put in this performance."

The Portland Timbers were held to a goalless draw by FC Dallas on Sunday, having already clinched an MLS Cup playoff berth by virtue of results elsewhere.

Austin FC's 2-1 defeat to the LA Galaxy on Saturday, which led to the team firing head coach Josh Wolff, ensured they could not overhaul Portland for the Western Conference's final wild-card spot.

The Timbers still went with a strong lineup for their final home game of the regular season but had to settle for a point.

Both Portland and Dallas had their chances, having 19 and 18 shots respectively, with the hosts almost finding a winner in second-half stoppage time as Dario Zuparic's header was cleared off the line.

Perhaps their best opportunity came in the 88th minute, but Dallas goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer pushed Felipe Mora's attempt over the crossbar to preserve the visitors' clean sheet.

Dallas, who had already been eliminated from the playoff race, sit 11th in the West, while Portland missed a chance to close the gap to the automatic qualification spots, which are now out of reach due to seventh-placed Minnesota United boasting two more wins with one game remaining.

Data Debrief: Timbers end playoff exile

Portland enter the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2021, having missed out in both of the last two campaigns.

They finished as runners-up when they last made the postseason, while three of their last six playoff appearances have seen them make the MLS Cup Final. 

Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique was not disheartened by seeing his side relinquish top spot following Sunday's 1-1 draw at Nice in Ligue 1.

PSG were forced to come from behind to maintain their unbeaten start to 2024-25, with Nuno Mendes cancelling out Ali Abdi's opener early in the second half.

The French champions were unable to find a winner despite enjoying 71.1% of the possession and attempting 19 shots to Nice's eight. Nice's possession share of 28.8% was their lowest in Ligue 1 since December 2011 (28.7% versus Lille).

The result leaves PSG second in the table with 17 points, two adrift of Monaco.

It is the second season in a row that PSG have not led Ligue 1 after seven matchdays, having sat fifth at this stage last term. They topped the table after seven games in five of the previous six campaigns (second in 2020-21).

"We are at the beginning of the season. The start seems promising to me. I like what I see. I think it's a much better start than last season," Luis Enrique told a press conference on Sunday.

"Grades are given at the end of the season. When the season is over we'll see the grade... 

"The important thing is to win the league. The most important thing is to be in contention for all the titles."

The Spaniard did add, however, that simple errors had proven costly, saying: "There was a level of inaccuracy from most of the players that was not usual and a lot of very simple technical actions, easy passes, situations that we normally solve, a very high number of unusual mistakes.

He was, though, proud of his players' reaction to falling behind midway through the first half.

"I am especially proud after a bad first half. A really bad one. I'm proud of their spirit. They concentrated on the game, on trying to turn the game around," he said.

PSG face Strasbourg in their next league game on October 19, before taking on PSV in the Champions League three days later. 

Gary Neville believes Manchester United bought Erik ten Hag time with their 0-0 draw against Aston Villa, but is not sure how much.

United are winless in their last five games in all competitions, with their stalemate at Villa Park the fourth draw in that run, having also lost 3-0 to Tottenham in their last home match.

Ten Hag's side have won just three of their opening 10 matches in all competitions, while their eight points in the league cements their worst-ever start to a Premier League season.

Only 19th-place Southampton (four) have netted fewer goals than United (five) in the competition so far, while only in 1972-73 (four) have the Red Devils ever netted fewer in their first seven matches of a top-flight campaign.

Against a Villa side who beat Bayern Munich in their last outing before this meeting, a draw could be seen as a good result, but Neville believes that shows the "low bar" the team is currently working with.

"It's a small step forward," Neville told Sky Sports. "Before the game, if you offered any Man Utd fan, player or coach a draw, then they would have snapped your hand off.

"That's where, at the end of the game, when you see Erik ten Hag's interview, there's an element of relief because it keeps the wolves at bay for a couple of weeks at least. It gives them a little bit more time.

"I don't think anybody who thought a major incident would happen after the game thought it would happen with a draw. They always thought it would need to be a difficult day or difficult defeat like it was last week against Tottenham. I think it buys Ten Hag a little bit of time.

"It's Manchester United's worst start in Premier League history so we can't celebrate. When we're thinking it's a decent point when you draw at Villa, it tells you how far Villa have come - but it also tells you how low the bar is for United in this moment in time."

Ten Hag, who signed a new contract in the off-season, continues to insist that he has the backing of the club's hierarchy despite the less-than-stellar start to the campaign.

However, the pressure is starting to pile on the manager once more, with United failing to score in each of their last three Premier League games, equalling their worst run without a goal in the competition under the Dutchman (also a run of three in both December 2023 and April 2023).

While Neville does not think the club will rush into a decision on Ten Hag's future, he admits they might have to if things have not changed by the November international break.

"The club did make the decision to keep Ten Hag in the summer, so they won't want to reverse that decision within the first six or seven games," Neville added.

"They have just got to hope [something happens] in this next couple of weeks - through maybe a reset, some thinking time, some planning.

"Manchester United fans, coaches, players have talked about this new structure that surrounds Ten Hag, it needs to go to work quite quickly in the next few weeks.

"If the next international break comes around and Manchester United are still in that 13th, 14th position in the league, I think there's going to be a lot of pressure.

"The next few weeks are critical in making sure they can somehow get some momentum for the rest of the season so that Ten Hag can keep his job."

Luka Sucic scored a stunning late equaliser to ensure Real Sociedad held Atletico Madrid to a 1-1 home draw in LaLiga on Sunday.

Atletico had taken an early lead, Antoine Griezmann bringing down a lofted ball before setting up Julian Alvarez with a delightful backheel, and the Argentine scored after just 51 seconds. 

Jan Oblak then made a string of fine saves, including a double stop against Martin Zubimendi and Nayef Aguerd, as the hosts dominated possession.

Eventually La Real's pressure paid off and there was nothing the goalkeeper could do as Sucic's superb first-time shot from distance sailed over him and into the top corner in the 84th minute.

Atletico moved one place up to third on 17 points, four points behind second-placed Real Madrid and seven off leaders Barcelona. Sociedad are 15th with nine points.

Data Debrief: Quick off the mark

To salvage a point against Real Madrid last weekend, Atletico left it late, not scoring until the 95th minute to claim a point.

This time out, however, Alvarez scored the club's fifth-fastest goal in LaLiga in the 21st century (51 seconds), and the fastest since February 2018 when Griezmann netted in 38 seconds against Malaga. 

Instead, it was La Real who left it late, with just their seventh goal of the season. It is their worst scoring record at this stage of a LaLiga campaign since 2006-07 (five), the campaign of their last relegation to the second division. 

Paris-Saint-Germain missed out on the chance to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1, with Nuno Mendes saving a point in a dramatic 1-1 draw at Nice on Sunday. 

Nice started brightly and caused havoc as PSG struggled to find their rhythm in the early stages. Ali Al-Abdi soon took advantage of their visitors' lacklustre start, opening the scoring six minutes before half-time with a powerful strike from a corner.

Ousmane Dembele, who was dropped in midweek for the Champions League, orchestrated their equaliser, picking out Mendes, whose deflected shot beat the keeper to hit the back of the net seven minutes after the break.

They almost had a second moments later, Marquinhos rising high to meet Lee Kang-in's cross, only to see his powerful header rebound off the post.

Nice held firm despite the late pressure from PSG as goalkeeper Marcin Bulka kept out good efforts by Vitinha and Dembele.

It leaves PSG two points behind leaders Monaco heading into the international break.

Data Debrief: PSG's total dominance does not come to fruition

It has been a fairly disappointing week for PSG, who suffered a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Champions League, and failed to re-close the gap to Monaco at the top of the league by dropping points. 

They had 19 shots against Nice, with 14 of those coming in a dominant second half. Seven of those after the break were on target, while Gianluigi Donnarumma did not face a single effort at the other end. 

However, they only managed 0.97 expected goals (xG) - Mendes' goal came from a strike worth just 0.05 - and they could not find a late winner despite their best efforts.

David de Gea saved two penalties for Fiorentina, setting the stage for Albert Gudmundsson to score the winner in a 2-1 victory over Milan. 

In a pulsating encounter that saw three missed penalties and two red cards, Fiorentina prevailed to halt Paulo Fonseca's Serie A winning run.

The hosts had the first spot-kick of the game, with Moise Kean's tame effort being kept out by Mike Maignan before the forward had a goal disallowed for offside.

Former Milan midfielder Yacine Adli did break the deadlock soon after, ricocheting a low shot in off the far post from the edge of the box, and De Gea kept them ahead at the break, superbly denying Theo Hernandez from the spot. 

Kean had a second goal chalked off for offside in the second half and Milan wasted another golden opportunity from 12 yards, as De Gea got down well to keep out Tammy Abraham this time. 

On the hour mark, an in-form Christian Pulisic finally pulled the visitors level with a perfect volley, but the drama was far from over as Gudmundsson drilled his low shot past Maignan to put Fiorentina back in front in the 73rd minute.

Emotions ran high in the final moments as Fiorentina coach Raffaele Palladino was sent off, while Hernandez also received his marching orders for arguing with the referee after the final whistle had gone.

Data Debrief: De Gea's penalty redemption

For all the plaudits De Gea received while at Manchester United, one blip on his record was his struggles against penalties.

However, with his impressive showing against Milan, he became the first goalkeeper to make two penalty saves in a single Serie A match since Federico Marchetti in May 2016.

Since his debut in the top five European leagues (2009-10), the Spaniard has saved 10 of his 52 penalties in the league, including each of the last three, having also saved one against Fulham in May 2023.