Gary Neville praised Liverpool head coach Arne Slot for his ruthless approach in their win against Ipswich Town on Saturday. 

Slot, who was taking charge of his first competitive fixture as the new Reds boss, watched on as his side struggled in their Premier League opener at Portman Road.

Liverpool registered an expected goals (xG) total of 0.09 from their three shots on target, winning 47.4% of the 97 duels they contested in the opening 45 minutes. 

The Dutchman chose to withdraw Jarell Quansah for Ibrahima Konate at half-time, with his side improving after the break as Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah struck to secure the triumph. 

Quansah won four of his eight contested duels, while also being successful in two of his four aerial duels, something Slot said was a key factor in his substitution. 

"The first thing I said (at half-time) is that we don't need to speak about tactics if you lose so many duels," Slot told TNT Sports. 

"And that's what we did, not that Jarell (Quansah) lost every duel - many of us lost too many duels but I think we needed Konate to win these long balls through the air from their number nine."

Speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast after Manchester City's 2-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday, the former defender delivered his verdict on the decision. 

"I thought Arne Slot was quite tough on Quansah," he said. "It is [a big call]. I mean subbing someone at half-time is big and I do not think it is done lightly by managers.

"It was the way after the game as well, he was quite blunt about the way he answered it and there was no holding back.

"So, I think there is an element of him being quite clinical and brutal and he was reacting to the game and what was happening.

"He felt like they needed to win the duels, that was his main thought behind the decision.

"It worked, you have to say, Liverpool were a lot better in the second half and it was a good win for them."

Carlo Ancelotti criticised his Real Madrid side for having a lack of balance as they started their LaLiga title defence with a 1-1 draw against Mallorca on Sunday. 

Madrid took the lead in the 13th minute through Rodrygo's fine finish, only for Vedat Muriqi to level eight minutes into the second half. 

Ancelotti boasted an attack of Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham, with the quartet all playing a role in the opening goal of the game. 

But Los Blancos struggled in front of goal, registering an expected goals (xG) total of 0.6 from their 13 shots, compared to their opponents' 0.96. 

Ancelotti bemoaned his side's defensive display, going on to say that his players lost focus after taking an early lead at the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix. 

"Today I am not happy. I think we could have been done much better," said Ancelotti.

"We need to be more concentrated, work better as a group... It's not a fitness problem, it was mental.

"I don't want to make excuses for anything. We had to do better and show more attitude.

"We can learn a lot from this match, it's a match where you can see clearly where we can end up having problems."

Madrid's draw saw them fail to win their first game of the season for the first time in six campaigns under Ancelotti's stewardship. 

The Italian suggested that Madrid could have easily lost the encounter due to their own mistakes and urged his star-studded squad to learn fast from their blunders.

"We started the game well, we took the lead and we had chances to score the second, but in the second half we lacked balance," Ancelotti said.

"It was a game we could have lost because we didn't have balance. It wasn't a good game.

"We are a very attacking team and defensive balance is a fundamental part of the way we are built.

"We struggled to steal the ball, to press after losing the ball. When we talk about defending, we are talking above all about collective commitment.

"The balance is found with the players thinking about the same thing. When we have to win the ball back we have to think about it all together.

"It's a problem for everyone, not the strikers, the midfielders or the defenders.

"It is a problem of a team that did not understand that this was a key aspect of the match." 

Lazio got their Serie A campaign off to a winning start with a 3-1 victory over newly promoted Venezia.

Visitors Venezia took a shock lead through Magnus Kofod Andersen just three minutes into the match, but Lazio roared back through Valentin Castellanos eight minutes later.

A penalty from captain Mattia Zaccagni put Lazio ahead on the stroke of half-time. The Italy international has now directly contributed to 35 goals in Serie A since the start of the 2021-22 campaign, second only to Antonio Candreva (40) among midfielders.

Venezia mustered seven shots in the second half, but their comeback hopes were extinguished when Giorgio Altare turned into his own goal late on.

Lazio's city rivals Roma did not fare as well, only managing a goalless draw away to Cagliari, with both sides hitting the woodwork in that contest.

Elsewhere, Udinese began their league season with a credible draw away at Bologna.

Vincenzo Italiano's first competitive game in charge of Bologna saw them dominate the match with 22 shots to Udinese's four, and they took the lead through a Riccardo Orsolini penalty.

Orsolini is the second Bologna player to score in seven different Serie A seasons in the past 50 years, after Carlo Nervo (seven between 1996-97 and 2003-04).

But Udinese managed to draw level through Lautaro Giannetti in the 68th minute, and held on for the remainder of the encounter to deny Italiano an ideal start.

Real Madrid's LaLiga title defence got off to a limp start as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Real Mallorca.

Vedat Muriqi's second-half header for the home side cancelled out Rodrygo's early strike and denied Kylian Mbappe a win on his domestic debut.

Madrid started well and took the lead thanks to a fine curling strike by Brazilian forward Rodrygo, who was cutely assisted by a backheel pass from compatriot Vinicius Junior in the 13th minute.

However, Muriqi netted a powerful header from a corner in the 53rd minute to level for Mallorca, who had gone close when Thibaut Courtois fumbled a shot before the break.

Mbappe twice went close to restoring Madrid's lead, first hitting the post from a tight angle before seeing a low effort saved by Dominik Greif, with Johan Mojica making a fantastic clearance to prevent Rodrygo getting onto the rebound.

Madrid's frustrations boiled over just before full-time - defender Ferland Mendy shown a straight red for a rash lunge.

Data Debrief: Ancelotti's run ends

Madrid have failed to win their opening game of a LaLiga season for the first time in six seasons under Carlo Ancelotti, while this is just the sixth time they have started a campaign in the competition with a draw in the 21st century.

Rodrygo grabbed the champions' first goal of the season. He now has 50 LaLiga goal contributions (27 goals, 23 assists) in 143 matches, having also netted Los Blancos' first league strike last term.

Erling Haaland is reaching the levels of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, so says Pep Guardiola.

Haaland marked his 100th appearance for Manchester City with his 91st goal for the club in a 2-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday.

The Norway forward has been directly involved in 106 goals for City.

And Guardiola believes the 24-year-old's record can be compared to the exploits of Messi and Ronaldo.

Guardiola said: "He has the numbers for Messi and Ronaldo, who controlled the last decade, 15 years, absolutely everything. In terms of the numbers, it is that level."

Despite his manager's praise, the data does not suggest Haaland is quite yet at the level of Messi or Ronaldo during their most fruitful campaigns.

Haaland has managed a goal on average every 88 minutes since joining City two years ago.

However, during Messi's best goalscoring season (2012-13), he managed a goal every 67 minutes in all competitions for Barcelona.

Meanwhile, in the 2014-15 season while at Real Madrid, Ronaldo scored every 76 minutes.

Norway did not qualify for Euro 2024, and Guardiola thinks Haaland has benefited from his extended rest this summer, as City began their hunt for a record fifth successive Premier League title in style.

He said: "I had a feeling that he feels better than last season at this stage. After last season, he felt a bit [so-so] or felt he was tired.

"This season, I think for the Euros unfortunately Norway were not there, there was more rest and he feels good."

Rennes kick-started their Ligue 1 campaign in confident fashion with a 3-0 victory over Lyon at Roazhon Park.

The home side's early dominance was rewarded with a goal, albeit fortuitously when a Benjamin Bourigeaud free-kick deflected in off veteran Nemanja Matic.

They doubled the lead two minutes later as the lively Amine Gouiri capitalised on a wayward pass back from Lyon's new signing Moussa Niakhate before rounding Lucas Perri and slotting into an empty net.

Lyon dominated possession in the second half and looked to have found a way back into the match after Lorenz Assignon bundled over Malick Fofana in the penalty box, but Steve Mandanda superbly saved Georges Mikautadze's spot-kick.

Gouriri was a menace throughout, going close to a second when he struck the crossbar with a deft curling effort, and he helped Rennes add further gloss when he teed up Henrik Meister in injury time.

Antonio Conte apologised to Napoli's supporters after his side were humbled 3-0 at Verona in Serie A, taking responsibility for Sunday's opening loss.

Conte and Napoli endured a dreadful start to the campaign as Verona scored three goals in the second half, with the 2023 Scudetto champions unable to prevent the hosts from creating a plethora of chances.

Dailon Livramento opened the scoring after 50 minutes before a late double from substitute Daniel Mosquera condemned Conte to a torrid start in his first game back in charge of Napoli.

"We immediately let Verona have a shot at the start of the second half, and in the second instance we went behind," Conte told Sky Sports Italia.

"Then we melted like snow in the sun. What I feel like saying is that we should apologise to the Neapolitan supporters, who follow us with such passion. I am the coach and it is right that I take full responsibility."

Conte acknowledged serious work would be needed to bring Napoli up to the standard he aimed for.

"[It was] a performance that shows we need to work hard in every aspect," the Italian added. "I came to Napoli with lots of enthusiasm, with great desire. If I can help Napoli, I will."

The 55-year-old coach is desperate to seek additional reinforcements before the transfer window closes.

"On the market, one, two, three, four could arrive, as many as the club want to sign," the former Chelsea manager continued. "The problems must be faced head-on, and they are not necessarily easy issues to fix."

That transfer frustration may centre around Victor Osimhen, who appears set to leave Naples, as the striker's exit continues to block Conte from adding to his squad.

"This is a question you should ask the club and not me," Conte said of Osimhen's future. "I see that Osimhen has trained separately. You should ask the club, absolutely not me.

"I said it straight away, I was a spectator on this matter. But beyond a single player, you definitely need to have a different attitude, with more personality, more desire."

Thomas Frank revealed that Ivan Toney is not on the verge of leaving Brentford despite his absence from the Bees' squad against Crystal Palace.

Frank left Toney out of his squad for Brentford's Premier League opener on Sunday.

The Dane said that decision was due to transfer speculation concerning the England forward, whose absence was ultimately not felt too keenly as Brentford claimed a 2-1 win.

The 28-year-old has caught the attention of a number of English sides and teams in the Saudi Pro League, but Frank was quick to quash any rumours that suggested he was on the brink of departing.

Asked whether Toney was on the cusp of a move, Frank replied: "No, it’s not close.”

However, Frank still seemed resigned to Toney eventually leaving.

Asked by BBC Radio 5 Live if it was a matter of when and not if Toney left, he said: "Yes, I guess that's fair."

Losing Toney, who has scored 72 goals in 141 appearances for the Bees since joining in 2020, would be a huge blow, but Frank is confident other players can step up.

He said: "I think Ivan is a top player. He has been a top player and one of our best players, if not the best player over a long spell.

"All the top players in the Premier League, one day they will leave the club and someone will have to step up and do well."

Enzo Maresca wants Raheem Sterling to stay at Stamford Bridge but acknowledged Chelsea must trim their bloated squad.

Sterling was omitted from the matchday squad as the Blues started their 2024-25 Premier League campaign with a 2-0 defeat at home to Manchester City.

The England international had featured in the first match across the last 11 league seasons for Chelsea and former clubs City and Liverpool.

Sterling's representatives issued a statement prior to kick-off on Sunday seeking "clarity" after the 29-year-old was left in the cold, along with Trevoh Chalobah, Romelu Lukaku and Conor Gallagher.

Maresca said prior to the match that the decision was based on "technical" aspects, and reiterated that sentiment in his post-match conference – though conceded outgoing transfers are needed.

"The only thing I can say again is it's a technical decision, it's nothing more than that," said Maresca after his first league game in charge of the Blues.

"I want Raheem Sterling, but I want all the 30 players that we have, but there's no space for all of them. So, for some of them, they have to leave."

The statement surrounding Sterling's future had disappointed numerous pundits before Chelsea's opening-game clash with City, who won thanks to goals from Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Jamie Redknapp urged Sterling to "play better" and "just get on with it", while former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher had a similar conclusion.

"Massive fan of Raheem as a player and a lad," Carragher wrote on social media platform X. "Not a fan of the Chelsea setup with [the] owners, but this statement is ridiculous!

"As a camp... We look forward to gaining clarity! No need for a statement, especially an hour before kick-off! Just play better."

Ben Chilwell, Axel Disasi, Armando Broja and Carney Chukwuemeka were all absent from the Chelsea match squad, too, leaving Maresca with more decisions to make over players' futures.

"Axel is only just coming back from an injury, while Chilly [Chilwell] has been ill," the former Leicester City boss added, having previously said Chilwell is a likely candidate to leave.

"Every case is a bit different. Carney, he's a very good player but with his injuries in the past the best thing for him is to play 30, 35 games in a row and to show himself he's fit and how good he is.

"With us, is he going to play 35 games? I'm not sure."

Napoli's Serie A season began in calamitous fashion on Sunday as they were thrashed 3-0 by Verona, also losing star winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to injury.

Antonio Conte, overseeing his first league game in charge of the 2023 Scudetto winners, was forced to withdraw Kvaratskhelia just before half-time after the Georgian collided with Pawel Dawidowicz.

Napoli's problems mounted after the break when Dailon Livramento got in front of their defence to slot home from close range and give the hosts the lead.

The nightmare continued for Napoli after 75 minutes as substitute Daniel Mosquera received a throughball and calmly slotted his finish past Alex Meret.

With Napoli throwing men forward late on, Verona added some gloss to the scoreline as Mosquera claimed his brace, tapping home a cutback from Darko Lazovic for his brace.

Data Debrief: Conte's perfect record ends

After a dismal 2023-24 season that saw Napoli, as defending champions, go through three head coaches and finish 10th in Serie A, hopes were high that Conte's arrival would herald an instant upturn.

However, the Partenopei were stunned in his first league game at the helm, as he started a season as a Serie A manager with a defeat for the very first time.

He had previously registered five wins and one draw on matchday one in the competition.

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson says his side's goalless draw away at Bolton Wanderers proves they can compete in League One.

Bolton finished third in the league last season behind Portsmouth and Derby County before losing out in the play-off semi-finals against eventual promotion winners Oxford United.

The Welsh side, meanwhile, were promoted from the fourth tier and opened their League One campaign with a 3-2 victory over Wycombe Wanderers last time out.

Parkinson's side and Ian Evatt's hosts could not be separated on Sunday, however, as the visiting manager suggested the result shows Wrexham are equal to the level of the third-tier competition.

"It was a good test and I was interested to see how we fared," said Parkinson.

"They started so quickly and we didn't quite react to that. But we grew into the game. We showed at times we have got quality. We had moments, so did they.

"It was important for us as well to show we can compete at this level, at the top end of the division. I felt we did that.

"At times in the second period, we gained some control with the ball and looked like we could go on and win it. But we had to rely on Arthur [Okonkwo] for one particular outstanding save."

Parkinson believes his faith in ex-Arsenal goalkeeper Okonkwo, who denied the impressive Dion Charles, has paid off after his successful attempts to sign him.

"I said to the owners in the summer Arthur was a key signing," Parkinson added. "He is someone who can grow with the club.

"He's not just a good keeper, he is a good character as well. Everyone saw his quality. He was immaculate."

Over 24 League One contests on home soil last season, Bolton had 15 wins, five draws, and four losses, and Evatt felt the home side should have continued that impressive record on Sunday.

Bolton were also denied a stoppage-time penalty for a shirt pull on skipper Ricardo Santos, much to the dismay of Evatt.

"I thought we deserved to win it," Evatt said. "We were the team probing and asking questions for large spells. We should have and probably could have gone ahead and we had enough chances to win it.

"For a team like them that ask you lots of questions and score a lot of goals, they didn't create a great deal. They really celebrated the draw so that shows where we are at."

Enzo Maresca insisted Chelsea were equal to the masterful Manchester City in the aftermath of Sunday's 2-0 loss at Stamford Bridge.

The Italian started his Blues tenure with a loss as Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic scored in either half for the Premier League champions in their 2024-25 opener.

Chelsea mustered 1.23 expected goals (xG), however, to City's 0.82 and almost drew level when Nicolas Jackson had a strike ruled out for offside on the stroke of half-time.

Jackson was again denied by Ederson after the interval, while Enzo Fernandez's cross would have found debutant Pedro Neto for a tap-in if not for Rico Lewis' late intervention.

Former Leicester City boss Maresca believes his side matched City's efforts, yet the game was decided by the quality of Pep Guardiola's team in both boxes.

"I think we competed very well for much of the game," former City development coach Maresca told Sky Sports. "We were similar if not better.

"The performance was there but we didn't take the chances. Probably the big difference was inside the box. I'm quite happy in terms of performance.

"For me, the important thing is to create chances. We didn't score but we created chances. The first goal for them was almost offside, we almost scored.

"These things change results but the performance was good overall. It was quite clear, you can see a team trying to keep the ball and dominate.

"We were against the champions. We will continue and win games. They are a master in this kind of moment.

"They are a master of keeping hold of the ball. The performance was there and that is the main thing. You can see how they managed the ball.

"In terms of chances, we had the same. Keeping the ball was more or less there. We don't like to lose. We just need to continue."

Maresca's maiden match in charge at Stamford Bridge was clouded by his decision to leave out Raheem Sterling, whose representatives then issued a statement demanding "clarity" over the forward's future.

Sterling had featured on the opening matchday of the last 11 Premier League seasons for Liverpool, City and Chelsea, but was omitted from the squad along with Ben Chilwell, Romelu Lukaku and Conor Gallagher.

Maresca insisted the decision was based off "technical" aspects before the game, and reiterated that sentiment following the disappointing defeat.

"To be honest, I didn't see the statement," Maresca said. "I have nothing to say. It was a tactical decision, no more than that.

"In the next day, we will clarify in case we need to. I have been clear, it's a tactical decision. I didn't see it."

Erling Haaland is aiming to become a better all-round forward in the 2024-25 campaign after starting the season with a goal in Manchester City's 2-0 win over Chelsea.

Haaland put City ahead after 18 minutes at Stamford Bridge, taking in Bernardo Silva's pass and bursting between two challenges before clipping a neat finish over Robert Sanchez.

The Norwegian had previously started both of his Premier League campaigns with City by scoring a brace, against West Ham in 2022-23 and Burnley in 2023-24.

He is the sixth player to score his team's first goal in three different Premier League seasons and the second to do so for City, after David Silva (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16).

Across the last three seasons, Haaland has also scored two more Premier League goals in the month of August (13) than Chelsea have managed as a team (11), and four more than rivals Manchester United have netted (nine).

Haaland had a long pre-season to prepare for 2024-25 following Norway's failure to reach Euro 2024, but he says he is still finding his feet.

"Three points, it's a perfect start, the first games are always hard for everyone, it doesn't matter if you had a pre-season or not," Haaland told Sky Sports. 

"I had a long pre-season but I don't feel perfect, I'm not in the perfect state. It's good to get that win.

"I knew exactly what to do, I think it was a really good goal. I remember last year he [Sanchez] made a really good save against me, it had been irritating me for a long time, so yeah, it was a perfect goal."

Haaland has now been directly involved in 106 goals in 100 appearances for City across all competitions, with Sunday's opener being his 91st goal for the club (15 assists).

However, the Norwegian has been criticised by some pundits over a perceived lack of contributions outside the penalty area, and he has made improving his overall game a key target.

"The best players are the best on the easiest things. Touching it with your right and passing with your left. That's the important thing. Pep [Guardiola] says this all the time," he added.

"I want to get more involved, that's what Pep wants. But in games like this, do I need to be that much more involved? 

"That's the million-dollar question. I want to get more assists and become a better player."

Pep Guardiola was left both relieved and pleased as Manchester City overcame Chelsea on Sunday to banish last season's Stamford Bridge demons.

City and the Blues played out a chaotic 4-4 draw in the corresponding fixture last term, but no such issues were present on matchday one of 2024-25 as Guardiola's side kicked off with three points.

Erling Haaland delivered a well-taken opener on his 100th competitive appearance for City, with his 91st goal for the club paving the way for a routine triumph.

Mateo Kovacic put the result beyond all doubt six minutes from time, powering forward before steering an eye-catching finish into the top-left corner against his former club.

With key midfielder Rodri absent after a late return to training and Phil Foden only fit enough to appear from the bench, Guardiola was satisfied to see his team pass their first test of the campaign.

"I didn't expect it. We are away from our best so three points is the good news. The bad news is we have 65 games ahead of us," he told Sky Sports after the full-time whistle.

"We have an advantage, it's our ninth season together so we know each other well. Of course, there are mistakes you have to improve on but we talked, the difference in being champions was our body language, how did we behave?

"It's the bad moments in the season and in the games that define the big teams. For me, it is an honour to be in charge of these guys. I'm so fortunate, I could not say more.

"There is a plan, defensive, offensive. But afterwards, it's how we celebrate the good moments and come back from the bad moments.

"That's what defines these teams and no one talks about it. For a while, we could never win at Stamford Bridge – this is a big step."

Across the last three seasons, Haaland has scored two more Premier League goals in August (13) than Chelsea have managed as a team (11), and four more than rivals Manchester United have scored (nine).

The Norway striker could have had a second after the break if not for a smart Robert Sanchez stop, before his foul on Levi Colwill saw a finish from the impressive Rico Lewis disallowed.

Yet a routine victory was hardly expected for the visitors, considering they started without Rodri, whose influence on Guardiola's team remains seismic.

Prior to this clash, City had lost just six of 102 matches when Rodri had started since the start of the 2022-23 season, as many defeats as they had suffered in 18 games without him.

Guardiola warned records are there to be broken, however, as the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss hailed the influence of Rodri's replacement Kovacic.

"Be careful with statistics with us because we break it," Guardiola told BBC's Match of the Day.

"Rodri is massively important for us so it's important to have Mateo here because he is an experienced player and a great person. He made a good performance."

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers hailed the hunger of his side after they brushed aside Hibernian on Sunday.

Rodgers' side are into the quarter-finals of the Scottish League Cup after a 3-1 victory at Celtic Park.

Daizen Maeda scored twice in the opening 15 minutes during a one-sided start before Nicolas Kuhn's second-half finish made sure of victory after Mykola Kuharevich's header had the visitors back in the contest.

Celtic will face Falkirk in the next round, where Rodgers will hope his Scottish Premiership champions can replicate Sunday's fine performance.

"I thought we were excellent from the start of the game. We showed our hunger," Rodgers said after the comfortable triumph.

"We said before the game that our playmaker today would be our counter-pressing. It was there and we were winning so many second balls.

"Our only real danger was from throw-ins. They've got guys on either side who can throw it in and add a little bit of pressure and make you fret a little bit.

"We dealt well with that, and their header was a great header. We don't have any complaints. We could maybe have shifted our wall back a bit but we'll learn from that."

This victory came just a week after Celtic had dispatched the same opponents 2-0, their second victory in as many league games to start the season.

The Hoops also hammered Kilmarnock 4-0 in their Scottish Premiership opener, with an away trip to St. Mirren the next test of their title defence.

An Old Firm challenge then awaits as Celtic welcome Rangers on September 1, though Rodgers will be confident of his side's capabilities based on their early showings this term.