Phenoms

Olivier Giroud became France's second top scorer when he netted a double to take his international tally to 42 goals as the world champions crushed an injury and COVID-19-ravaged Ukraine 7-1 in a friendly in a near-empty Stade de France on Wednesday.

Giroud, who celebrated winning his 100th cap, found the back of the net twice in the second half to move within nine goals of Thierry Henry's French scoring record. The Chelsea striker leapfrogged Michel Platini, who scored 41 goals from 72 games between 1976-87. 

A perfectly balanced contest between Barcelona and Sevilla at the Camp Nou on Sunday ended in a 1-1 draw with Luuk de Jong’s early strike being promptly cancelled out by Philippe Coutinho’s first goal for the club since May of 2019.

The meeting between second (Barça) and fourth (Sevilla) in last season’s table figured to be the sternest test of Ronaldo Koeman’s early reign despite the fact that Julen Lopetegui wasn’t on Sevilla’s bench after being sent off in Thursday’s 1-0 victory over Levante.

Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski scored four goals including a stoppage-time penalty to give the German champions a 4-3 home win over Hertha Berlin in a pulsating Bundesliga clash at the Allianz Arena on Sunday.

The result left Bayern fourth in the standings on six points from three games, one behind the top three led by Leipzig on goal difference, while Hertha slipped to 13th on four points.

Lewandowski fired Bayern into a 2-0 lead with two trademark goals before the visitors hit back through Jhon Cordoba and Matheus Cunha to set up a frantic climax.

For Real Madrid supporters, the new season had been worryingly labored, bordering on wasteful. It began with a 0-0 draw against Real Sociedad, continued with a narrow win over 10-man Real Betis that required a late Sergio Ramos penalty and reached a crescendo at mid-week after Vinícius Júnior’s scuffed effort was the only difference in a home victory over Valladolid.  

In-form Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has earned his first call-up to the senior England squad while Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood were dropped for disciplinary reasons.

England host a friendly with Wales on Oct. 8 before Nations League matches at home to Belgium and Denmark.

Calvert-Lewin has scored eight goals this season in all competitions, including a hat-trick against West Ham United in the League Cup fourth round on Wednesday.

Lionel Messi might have grabbed the headlines this summer for all the wrong reasons as he attempted to leave Barcelona, but on Monday morning they finally belonged to someone else.

Despite being just 17, a lot is expected of Ansu Fati and he did not disappoint, putting in a magical display as Barça thrashed Villarreal 4-0 on Sunday.

Many have pondered what life is going to be like at the Nou Camp once Messi finally leaves, and with the Argentine apparently seeing out the final year of his deal before moving on next year, Fati gave a glimpse of what that might be like.

France forward Kylian Mbappé marked his return to action with a vintage performance and a goal as champions Paris St Germain rediscovered their form with an impressive 3-0 win at Nice in Ligue 1 on Sunday.

Mbappé, who missed the opening three games after contracting the coronavirus, fired PSG ahead with a 38th-minute penalty and had a big part in Angel Di Maria's strike before Marquinhos headed home the third in the second half.