Key events
The first and most pressing question that Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola was asked at his press conference on Friday, before his side’s trip to former club Bournemouth on Sunday?
Whether Dominik Szoboszlai’s goal against Tottenham in midweek was a volley.
Iraola smashed it, 100% the correct answer. It is categorically not a volley, neither a half-volley. “We need a new word for it,” said the Spaniard.
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I enjoyed this, from Andrew Beasley, on Tottenham’s failures so far this season. Spurs have failed to score a single goal in their four matches to date.
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Updated at 11.24 CEST
Inter legend Sandro Mazzola dies aged 83
Former Italy forward Sandro Mazzola, who spent all 17 years of his senior career at Internazionale, has died at the age of 83, the club said on Saturday.
Mazzola, considered a club icon at Inter, scored 158 goals in 565 appearances, helping them win four Serie A titles and two European Cups. He was part of the Italy side that won the Euros in 1968 and reached the World Cup final in Mexico two years later.
“Sandro Mazzola was one of the greatest footballers in history. Not only in the history of the Nerazzurri,” Inter said in a statement on their official website, using a nickname for the team. “He was Inter’s history: he joined the club as a boy and never left it.“
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Italy had lost one of the most beloved figures in its soccer history. “He brought joy and passion to generations of Italians, leaving an indelible mark on our nation,” she posted on social media.
Mazzola was six years old when his father Valentino, also an Italy international, died in the Superga air disaster, a plane crash in May 1949 that killed the entire Torino team on their way back from a match in Lisbon.
At 18, Mazzola made his senior debut when Inter fielded their youth side in a match against Juventus, after the Italian federation overturned a decision awarding Inter a 2-0 victory following a pitch invasion by Juventus fans and ordered a replay.
A former Inter club mascot as a child, Mazzola made his senior debut at 18 and quickly became a first-team regular, helping Inter win their first European Cup in 1964 by scoring a double as they beat Real Madrid 3-1 in the final. He played a key role when Inter won the title again the next season.
Mazzola retired as a player in 1977 and later served as Inter’s sporting director. He also became the sporting director of Torino, his father’s club.
“The star with the moustache shone on the pitch, and still does today. As he often said, he had one final wish: to be remembered as a good man, someone who keeps fighting even when winning is impossible, like in that 9-1,” Inter said. Reuters
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Regarding Trent Alexander-Arnold’s England recall, here’s what Tuchel had to say …
… and here is Sid Lowe’s analysis, the view from Spain:
Thomas Tuchel said Trent Alexander Arnold had enjoyed a good start to the season, which came as news to those in England who have not been watching him at Real Madrid. It also, in truth, came as news to those in Spain who have. If the England manager did not see enough in Alexander-Arnold to include him in the World Cup in the summer he has not really had the chance to see enough to change that decision as autumn begins. Two unremarkable league starts provide insufficient evidence with which to make a case for the full-back’s recall, or indeed his exclusion, but he is in the squad.
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The Ben White/England situation continues to be frustrating. After missing out on the World Cup squad through injury – a tournament which Reece James struggled for fitness, Tino Livramento was sidelined for and Trent Alexander-Arnold was dropped (and White’s relationship with Saka on the right wing could have proved invaluable) – the versatile Arsenal right-back was again omitted from Thomas Tuchel’s squad on Friday, with the German admitting that he would have called up the 28-year-old – possibly instead of Trent Alexander-Arnold – had he not been injured.
“Ben White pulled out with an injury after a fantastic start to the season with Arsenal. He’s not available now – which has been the story with Ben,” said Tuchel on Friday.
All of which is fine, until Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta announced later on Friday that White was fit enough to be in contention for Arsenal to face Brighton this weekend. Hmmm. With England not playing their first match of the international break for another week, something does seem to be up. Just what, we don’t know.
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That Malen has better numbers than even Kane since January is remarkable. Especially as the Englishman is continuing to break scoring records with Bayern. Kane scored two on Friday as Bayern roared past Union Berlin 7-0 – smashing the 49-year-old record for the fastest player to reach 100 Bundesliga goals (in 98 games). Cologne’s Dieter Müller set the previous mark in 1977, but it took him 129 matches.
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Quite the match later on in Serie A, as Internazionale travel to Roma. The two teams are leading the way at the top of the table. Defending champions Inter are very much the team to beat in Italy, but the story really is Roma and free-scoring Donyell Malen
Malen has six goals from four league games this season and no player in Europe’s top five leagues has scored more goals since his Roma debut on 18 January, when he joined on loan from Aston Villa. Roma made that deal permanent in the summer – a snip at £21.6m. Malen also has more combined goals and assists (22) than any other player, putting Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes (20), Bayern striker Harry Kane (20) and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal (19) in the shade.
There is no doubt Roma are making great strides under Gian Gasperini, surely one of the finest managers on the continent. After qualifying for the Champions League last season, the Giallorossi now have their eyes set on a first Scudetto since 2001 – Batistuta, Totti, Montella et al.
Roma v Inter kicks off today at 5pm BST.
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There was a fabulous WSL game at the Academy stadium in Manchester last night. City were made to work very hard by an improving Liverpool side, with the defending champions scoring two in stoppage time to edge a 4-2 thriller. Here’s Tom Garry’s report:
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Elsewhere in the Championship, Wrexham host Southampton with the Welsh side looking to bounce back from that harrowing 6-0 shellacking at West Ham eight days ago.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, Wrexham’s co-chairmen, have previewed the game with the Saints with this video …
Possibly more interesting is the progress of the new Kop Stand at the Racehorse Ground. Which you have to say looks magnificent.
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Plenty of Championship storylines to go around today – as per – but the headline act is definitely Millwall v West Ham. It is the fierce rivals’ first clash in 14 years, and their 100th competitive meeting. Jacob Steinberg has penned this excellent preview:
The mood will still be tense. There is an odd dynamic to the game. West Ham have at times found it awkward because some of their fans care far more about beating Chelsea and Tottenham. But a trip to Stamford Bridge or N17 is a familiar experience. Going south of the river to Millwall is somehow viewed as different, the short train ride from London Bridge treated as an intrepid journey into some hostile alien planet.
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Updated at 10.01 CEST
Very early days, of course, but this is the current Premier League table. That’s quite the top six, even at this stage of the season.
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Let’s start with Brentford’s drubbing of neighbours Chelsea, who were soundly beaten 3-0. Quite a funny result for the neutral, but Brentford are no joke these days. Thiago is a starting striker for Brazil, Vitaly Janelt has just been called up by Jürgen Klopp to the Germany squad, Mikkel Damsgaard remains criminally underrated, Kevin Schade is quietly turning into one of the most efficient forwards in the Premier League and Jannik Schuster – signed for around £14m in the summer from RB Salzburg – has apparently inherited the spirit of Franco Baresi.
This is what Jonathan Wilson, at the at the Gtech Community Stadium on Friday, had to say about Brentford’s victory:
Those early-season thoughts that Chelsea might be the team best-placed to challenge Arsenal are beginning to look extremely over-optimistic. The two chaotic wins with which they began were always difficult to read: they might have been useful points picked up on the way to a more solid structure, or they might have represented evidence of significant problems. After three games without a win, and 12 goals conceded in five games this season, it’s beginning to look like the latter.
At the final whistle, Keith Andrews tipped his head back and roared at the sky, celebrating Brentford’s first home win over Chelsea since 1938. They remain unbeaten, coherent and disciplined, and moved up to third in the table. The comparison is impossible not to draw: as one side flail in an orgy of structured spending, their far less wealthy neighbours thrive with a clear plan and sense of direction. “It was a performance I felt was bubbling,” said Andrews. “I could see it in the players’ eyes over the last two days. They were very focused, very determined.”
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Updated at 09.39 CEST
Preamble
The last weekend before the international break. The final beer of the holiday. Savour it, drink in the sunset (Millwall v West Ham), ignore the kids screaming in the background (Tottenham v Aston Villa) and reminisce about all the memories you have created (Brentford 3-0 Chelsea).
There is, of course, plenty more besides to enjoy. We’ll have WSL, a full set of Scottish and Football League fixtures, four more Premier League matches, Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga and Ligue 1. You’ll be a lot of things today, but one thing you won’t be is bored.
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