Brazil beat Colombia 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier in São Paulo to become the first South American team to qualify for Qatar 2022. Lucas Paquetá scored the vital goal after 72 minutes with a shot that David Ospina got a hand to but could not stop.
The result means Brazil top the 10-team group with 34 points from 12 games, nine clear of second-placed Argentina, who play Uruguay on Friday. The top four teams qualify automatically and the fifth-placed side go into an inter-regional play-off.
Aston Villa have appointed Steven Gerrard as manager on a three-and-a-half-year deal, ending his three-year reign at Rangers. Gerrard replaces Dean Smith, who was sacked on Sunday after a run of five successive defeats.
The former Liverpool captain leaves the Scottish champions having guided them to a first league title in 10 years last season.
Stevie G takes over a Villa side that are 16th in the Premier League, only two points above the relegation zone.
“Aston Villa is a club with a rich history and tradition in English football and I am immensely proud to become its new head coach,” said Gerrard.
Marcus Rashford and Jude Bellingham have been recalled to the England squad for this month’s World Cup qualifiers with Albania and San Marino but there is no place in the squad for Rashford’s Manchester United team-mates Jadon Sancho and Jesse Lingard.
England play Albania at Wembley on 12 November before rounding off their qualifying campaign away to San Marino on 15 November and they require four points from those games to qualify for Qatar 2022.
Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, who last played for the Three Lions on 5 September, also returns to the squad.
Tottenham Hotspur have appointed Antonio Conte as their new head coach following the sacking of Nuno Espirito Santo.
The 52-year-old Italian, who Spurs chairman Daniel Levy targeted before appointing Nuno in the summer, has signed an 18-month contract – with an option to extend – following successful talks with the club’s hierarchy in London on Monday.
Conte, who guided Chelsea to the 2016-17 Premier League title and the FA Cup the following season, has taken up his first managerial post since leaving Inter Milan, with whom he won the Serie A title last season.
Conte told Tottenham’s website:
Ronald Koeman has been on the hot seat for months now, and Barcelona finally put an end to his 14 months in charge at the Nou Camp after losing at Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday.
The defeat left Barcelona ninth in the table, six points adrift of the joint leaders after having picked up just 15 points from 10 games in La Liga and have already lost twice in the group stage of this season’s Champions League.
Marseille and Paris St-Germain played out an eventful draw with several big VAR decisions as play was held up several times for crowd trouble.
In both halves play had to be stopped as home fans threw bottles at Neymar as he tried to take a corner. On both occasions security staff used plastic shields to block the missiles while the corner was taken.
A pitch invader ran onto the pitch and put his hands on Lionel Messi’s back in the second half.
Both sides had goals ruled out by the video assistant referee (VAR) and PSG had Achraf Hakimi sent off for a professional foul on Cengiz Under.
Liverpool delivered an annihilation job on Manchester United on Sunday evening, battering the hosts 5-0 at Old Trafford in a game that saw pressure mount further on under-fire manager Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer.
The Norwegian could only watch on dismayed as the Merseyside side carved his Red Devils to shreds, and a hat-trick from Mohamed Salah provided the prime highlight of an incredible game of football, for one side at least.
Jurgen Klopp’s side arrived with attacking intent; and they were one up within five minutes, Salah turning provider for Naby Keita to slide beyond a hapless David de Gea.
Real Madrid beat Barcelona in a new-look El Clasico to briefly go top of La Liga and leave Ronald Koeman’s side down in eighth in the table.
It was the first Clasico without Barca icon Lionel Messi or Real legend Sergio Ramos – who both joined Paris St-Germain in the summer – since 2004.
David Alaba started and finished a counter-attack for the first and Lucas Vazquez got a second in added time.
Sergio Aguero scored his first Barca goal but it was almost the last kick.
Substitute Paulo Dybala scored an 89th-minute penalty to earn Juventus a draw at Inter Milan and keep them within touching distance of the top four.
Inter’s Denzel Dumfries was ruled to have caught Alex Sandro inside the box, with the referee making the decision after viewing the pitchside monitor.
Inter coach Simone Inzaghi was sent off for his angry reaction to the decision.
Edin Dzeko had put Inter ahead in the Derby d’Italia, turning in after Hakan Calhanoglu struck the post from range.
Napoli earlier drew 0-0 with fourth-placed Roma to move back above AC Milan at the top of the Serie A table.
The Europa League kicked off this week as Real Betis and Napoli mounted memorable comebacks from two goals down while there were winning starts for Galatasaray, West Ham and Lyon.
The big match was in England where Leicester City hosted Napoli. Ayoze Pérez finished a superb team move to put Leicester ahead and Harvey Barnes added a second. However, Victor Osimhen scored a brilliant first before thumping in a header from Matteo Politano’s cross to earn his side a point, Leicester losing Wilfred Ndidi to a second yellow card in stoppage time.
