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Tino Kadewere has expressed his excitement after scoring a brace which completed Lyon’s 2-1 comeback win over Saint-Etienne in Sunday’s Rhone-Alpes derby.

The 24-year-old forward came off the bench to replace Moussa Dembele in the 57th minute and he inspired Rudi Garcia's side to victory despite trailing by a goal at half-time.

Anthony Lopes' own goal in the 40th minute gave Saint-Etienne the lead at the Groupama Stadium but Kadewere's goals in the 65th and 74th minutes turned the game around and secured all three points for the hosts.

Gabon's Denis Bouanga had a chance to get the Green a point but he misplaced his effort from the penalty spot in the 88th minute.

Kadewere was assisted by Ivory Coast's Maxwel Cornet for his two efforts which stretched his tally to three goals after nine Ligue 1 matches.

In his reaction, the Zimbabwe international described Sunday’s heroics as a "dream come true" after earning Lyon the derby bragging rights.

“I think it was great today. I am very happy personally. It was a derby and it was very important for us and the supporters,” Kadewere said, per Foot Mercato.

“The most important thing is to win these matches. I really believe in God. I have faith and I knew it was going to happen because I always had the dream of playing for Lyon and it happened.

“It's better when you actually do things. I am very happy. Tonight my dream has come true. I'm very happy to score and win, but I was not alone. We are a team, we win together.”

Lyon coach Rudi Garcia lauded the team’s overall performance but he heaped more praise on the summer-signing, who moved to Lyon from Ligue 2 club Le Havre.

“Everyone who entered brought something,” Garcia said.

“Thiago Mendes brought impact in the middle, Lucas Paqueta brought fluidity and presence behind Memphis Depay.

“Karl [Toko-Ekambi] and Leo [Dubois] made the difference in the first half on their side. But right now you just have to play left to score. I'm happy for him [Kadewere].

"The man is appreciated by all. The player, we knew, really has qualities. He is fairly complete, he had a good game, he has the qualities of a finisher.”

Former Kaizer Chiefs attacking midfielder Jabu Mahlangu pulled no punches when it came to assessing the team as well as individual players' performances this season.

Mahlangu was commenting in his capacity as a SuperSport TV analyst and was speaking after Chiefs lost 2-0 to Orlando Pirates in an MTN8 second leg semi-final on Sunday afternoon at the FNB Stadium. This followed a 3-0 win for Bucs in the first leg game a week earlier.

Amakhosi have struggled all over the park - there have been defensive mistakes, a lack of creativity in midfield, and up front, they have been firing blanks.

Referring to two of the Amakhosi forwards, Khama Billiat and Lebogang Manyama, Mahlangu (formerly Pule) was especially scathing.

“These guys, they are senior players, getting paid a lot of money,” he said.

“[They are among] the highest paid players in the team and in the league. They need to encourage the [young kids] like [Nkosingiphile] Ngcobo, [Njabulo] Blom.

“Both players were Player of the Season [Billiat won PSL Player of the Season while at Mamelodi Sundowns and Manyama did it with Cape Town City].”

Chiefs have now won only two of six matches this season under new coach Gavin Hunt.

Hunt has not been able to add any players to his squad due to the Fifa transfer ban, and while there have been injury problems to deal with, it's also worth noting that this is the same Chiefs team that were literally one goal away from winning the league title last season.

Because of their second place finish last season, the Glamour Boys will be partaking in the Caf Champions League, which Mahlangu feels could further add to their problems.

"Injuries, travelling, and they don't have depth in their squad,” he said. “So its going to be a very difficult season for Gavin Hunt and Kaizer Chiefs.

“But the so-called big players, they need to come out, they need to raise their hand. Manyama, four, five games, from the [bio] bubble, he's never been the same again.”

Following the international break, Amakhosi return to action with a league match against Golden Arrows in Durban on November 21.

The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has confirmed the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match pitting Kenya's Harambee Stars against Comoros will be played without fans.

The local federation was yet to confirm whether fans will be allowed into the stadium owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, in a poster advertising the match, which will be played on November 11 at Kasarani Stadium, the federation has confirmed fans will not be allowed to attend but will have the chance to watch the game live on TV.

“New week, a new challenge,” read the banner from FKF on their social media pages. “Watch us from home as we take on Comoros, back-to-back. The game will kick off at 19:00 [East African time] and it will be live on TV.

“However, no fans will be allowed, it will be played behind closed doors.”

In an earlier interview, FKF President Nick Mwendwa revealed to Goal why they had decided to play the qualifier at Kasarani Stadium.

“We had planned to have the qualifier played at the refurbished Nyayo Stadium but it will not be the case because the lights at the venue are not in order, so we have been forced to push the match to Kasarani,” Mwendwa told Goal.

“The match will kick-off at 19:00 and it will be played under floodlights, we have already confirmed the Kasarani lights are working well, so the match will be played there but under strict Covid-19 rules.”

It will be Kenya’s first match under new coach Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee, who was appointed a month ago to take over the mantle after the FKF parted ways with former coach Francis Kimanzi on mutual agreement.

Two days ago, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) set guidelines ahead of the resumption of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Afcon qualifiers had been suspended since the outbreak of the coronavirus earlier this year which wreaked havoc across the world. The last qualifiers were played in November 2019, as the games scheduled for March this year were postponed due to Covid-19.

In the guidelines, Caf revealed that the qualifiers will be played without the fans but also gave an exception to the rule.

“According to Caf's Covid-19 protocol, all matches must be played behind closed doors, without spectators,” read the Caf statement seen by Goal.

“However, if the government of the host Association wants spectators to be present, then the Association in question will need to obtain Caf's approval.

“In the event of exceptional situations other than those mentioned above, the Organizing Committee will be consulted for a final decision.”

Kenya are currently second in Group G after managing two draws from their first two matches, 1-1 against Egypt and the same scoreline against Togo.

Selangor have been playing some attractive football under technical director and interim head coach Michael Feichtenbeiner, which saw them return to winning ways and record huge wins in the later stages of the Malaysia Super League last month.

Perhaps they had expected to utilise the same tactic of transition football in their round one Malaysia Cup match against Melaka United on Sunday.

Instead, their plans were scuppered by a heavy rain that fell just before the match.

With the Hang Jebat Stadium pitch waterlogged, both teams were left having to combat the pitch as much as one another, and the Red Giants struggled to truly dominate the game.

It was the Mousedeer who controlled the first 20 minutes or so and won corner kick after corner kick, which thankfully for the designated home team, they failed to capitalise on. Having absorbed the pressure, a brilliant counter-attacking move by Sandro da Silva led to the opening goal by Ifedayo Olusegun in the 21st minute. The Brazilian continued his brilliance in the 52nd minute, this time scoring himself with a brilliantly-struck volley.

But the breathing space that Selangor won with the second goal did not last long, their nervy defence giving way to allow Uche Agba to pull one back for Melaka just seven minutes later. 

Both teams attempted to find their next goal, but their forwards just could not be clinical in front of the goal, and no further goals were scored. The 33-time champions scraped through to the quarter-finals, to face Kedah.

Feichtenbeiner admitted that his gameplan was hampered by the condition of the pitch, in the post-match interviews.

"We need a good field to play our game, in that we build from behind. If they stay very deep, four in the back and four in midfield, it's hard to create something on this field. However, after some time the boys managed to improve and create a few chances.

"I'm totally happy with the win today...I told my players that they must be brave and also smart to play here, and most importantly, in the end we must be successful.

"We played some good football despite the condition of the pitch and should have led by more than one at halftime. They felt more confident after the first goal and kept creating more chances," he explained.

The German however stated that the tough evening allowed his charges to hone their other side. 

"Melaka were only dangerous from their many set-piece situations, but we were in control of the game in overall. They had nothing to lose [after trailing] because it was a knockout game and we had to defend in the last 20 minutes. It is not normally our style but we had to do it.

"I told my players that we definitely can play better than we did today, but in the end we won. Sometimes we have to show another face. The pitch today made playing not easy and we still created chances," noted the former youth coach.

Manchester United need four players like Bruno Fernandes, according to Louis Saha, who says the Red Devils must spend more to compete for the "big trophies".

Solskjaer has spent in excess of £200 million ($264m) on new players since inheriting the managerial reins at Old Trafford, bringing in talent such as Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Fernandes and Donny van de Beek with a view to bringing back the glory days.

That sizeable investment has yet to deliver tangible success in the form of major silverware, with the Red Devils still struggling for consistency and lagging behind Liverpool and Manchester City.

United's patchy form has continued at the start of the 2020-21 campaign and they have slipped to 14th in the Premier League standings after seven fixtures, recording three wins, three defeats and one draw.

A 3-1 victory at Everton on Saturday eased some of the pressure on Solskjaer heading into the international break, with Fernandes scoring twice before setting up summer signing Edinson Cavani to score his first goal for the club.

The Portuguese quickly established himself as a talismanic figure in the squad following his €55 million (£50m/$50m) move from Sporting, and he now has an impressive 18 goals and 13 assists to his name from his first 33 games in the red shirt.

However, Saha thinks his old club are still short of a few players who share the same winning mentality as Fernandes, with further reinforcements a necessity if an unwanted trophyless streak is to be ended in the near future.

"The focus is on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer," the former United striker told Stadium Astro. "But you also have to look at the recruitment. Some new signings like (£47million midfielder) Fred, you can see the quality but he’s not going to make the difference.

"The signing of Fernandes, you need four of them. You need four of them to actually compete and this is what is missing. You need to know the mentality of new players.

"I want players there who want to win the Champions League and win big trophies. This is what is required here."

Kaizer Chiefs coach Gavin Hunt cut a frustrated figure following his team's 2-0 defeat to Orlando Pirates in an MTN8 semi-final second leg game at the FNB Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

That result rounded off a miserable week for Amakhosi following their 3-0 defeat to Bucs the previous Saturday. It also leaves them winless in their last three matches and means the last time they scored - (with the exception of an own goal in a 1-0 win over Chippa United - was six matches ago, in the first game of the season.

Speaking to SuperSport TV after the match, Hunt kept his comments to a minimum and was seemingly reluctant to publicly criticise his players.

One thing he mentioned, was that his players need to "do the other part of the game which we're not doing, because of a lot of things, and we've got to get that right."

In previous interviews, Hunt has spoken about the off-the-ball work that is needed, and this may well be what he was hinting about in a later interview, as quoted by the Citizen.

"But I mean I know a footballer, I know a player and I know teams, so if anybody can’t see that then I can’t. I don’t want to elaborate on that,” said Hunt.

“I know what needs to be done. We have to try and do the best we can, there is not much I can say. The younger players got a run in these two games, felt what it’s like, what’s required at this level and that’s pretty much it.

"I can’t talk about those types of things in the media. Look at the Wits players in the last two games and that’s the difference. They have the mentality and that’s what a team needs. That’s what we will look for."

Hunt was referring to the players he worked with while he was Bidvest Wits coach last season, and who have subsequently signed for Pirates, the likes of Deon Hotto, Thulani Hlatshwayo, Terrence Dzvukamanja and Thabang Monare.

They all put in committed, tenacious and industrious shifts in the MTN8 semis and it was probably these attributes - the willingness to put in the hard yards - Hotto in particular covered a huge amount of ground for Bucs, which Hunt may well have been alluding to.

It's something he will be looking to work on at training, although its also worth bearing in mind that attitude and desire are not easy to coach, and that Hunt has not been able to make any changes to his Chiefs squad due to the Fifa transfer ban.

Simba SC coach Sven Vandenbroeck insists they deserved to be awarded a penalty during their Mainland Premier League derby on Saturday.

The two Tanzanian giants battled to a 1-1 draw in the first Kariakoo derby of the 2020-21 season with Yanga taking the lead in the 31st minute through a penalty converted by Ghanaian striker Michael Sarpong.

Simba were made to wait until the 86th minute to snatch a draw when Kenya defender Joash Onyango rose the highest to glance home a header from a well-taken corner-kick.

Despite picking up a point from the derby, the Belgian tactician has maintained they deserved to get at least a penalty in the match because his players were fouled several times inside the danger zone.

“During the derby, I think we deserved to get a penalty because my players were fouled on several occasions when they reached the Yanga box [not once or twice, but on many occasions], I don’t know why the referee could not see that,” Vandenbroeck is quoted by Sokaletu.

“But since the referees did not see that, I don’t want to complain now, and already the jury is out, we drew 1-1, we must now shift our focus to the net match and strive to do better than we played in the derby.

“The league is a marathon, every team wants the piece of the cake and are all fighting hard to win the title, so we ask for the support of our fans to help push us to another league title, the job is not done yet but we will continue to push, we still have a tough job ahead of us.”

In an earlier interview, Vandenbroeck stated his charges put up a good show in the derby despite missing key players due to various reasons.

“We had prepared well for the game despite missing the services of some of our key players like Meddie Kagere and Chris Mugalu,” Vandenbroeck told reporters.

“As a team, we accept everything that has happened and we will rectify the mistakes made ahead of our next assignment. It was not our plan to get a draw against Yanga, we wanted a win and were psychologically prepared.”

Simba are now third on the 18-team league table with 20 points from 10 matches, while Azam FC are top on 25 and Yanga are second on 24 points.

Simba SC defender Shomari Kapombe has maintained they will still win the Mainland Premier League title despite their recent run of mixed results.

The Wekundu wa Msimbazi have had an inconsistent of results which saw them suffer back-to-back defeats against Tanzania Prisons and Ruvu Shooting before they recovered to hammer Mwadui FC 5-0.

However, their return to winning ways was also halted after they managed to come from a goal down to snatch a 1-1 draw against rivals Young Africans (Yanga SC) in the Kariakoo derby played on Saturday at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

Despite the inconsistent results, Kapombe, who has also been named in the Tanzania squad for the Africa Cup of Nations double-header against Tunisia in the month of November, has remained confident that they still have the best squad in the league to retain the title.

“I know we still have a huge task ahead of us as players and we must strive to achieve it by reaching the targets we set when the season kicked-off,” Kapombe is quoted by Sokaletu.

“Our main target is to make sure that we win the league title for the fourth season in a row and nothing has changed, I know it is very possible to do it again and every player in our squad knows exactly the same.

“We have dropped points from our recent matches but that happens in football, all we need to do is dust ourselves up and get ready to get started after the Fifa international break, we don’t need to panic, we are still on the path to achieve our goals, and the main target is to win the title again, and I know we will do it.

“For now, the big thing ahead of us is to ask the fans to keep supporting us, because in their presence, it gives us the boost to fight in every match, we know they are disappointed but soon they will be smiling.”

Against Yanga in the derby, Simba found themselves chasing the game from the 31st minute when the Jangwani giants took a deserved lead after striker Michael Sarpong converted from the penalty spot.

However, Simba never gave up, as they battled hard and levelled the score with four minutes left to the final whistle when Kenya defender Joash Onyango scored from a glancing header after a well-delivered corner-kick.

Rangers defeated Hamilton Academical 8-0 in Sunday’s Scottish top-flight outing, with Nigeria international Joe Aribo bagging a brace.

The midfielder found the net twice in the first 45 minutes as Steven Gerrard’s men maintained their impressive start in the 2020-21 campaign.

Brian Rice’s team went to the Ibrox Stadium with the ambition of ending their two-game losing streak, however, they returned home with a basket full of goals scored against them.

Scott Arfield and Kemar Roofe, who returned to the Gers’ starting XI, gave Rangers a two-goal lead in the 16th and 18th minutes, respectively, before Aribo made it three for the hosts in the goal-laden first-half.

The 24-year-old made a powerful run from deep after getting the ball and when he cut inside from the right, his left-footed shot took a deflection off Scott McMann before it sailed past goalkeeper Ryan Fulton.

Nine minutes before the half-time break, he completed his brace by firing a shot into the roof of the net after being teed up by captain James Tavernier.

Gerrard’s team continued from where they stopped in the second half as they took a five-goal lead through Roofe, who scored from close range after profiting from a rebound from Jermain Defoe’s shot.

The harvest of goals continued in the 62nd minute through substitute Brandon Barker’s deft finish following a nice build-up play from prowling left-back of Nigerian descent Calvin Bassey.
 

Tavernier completed the rout with a late double.

South African midfielder Bongani Zungu, who is on loan from Amiens, made his debut for Rangers after coming on for Ryan Jack at the beginning of the second half.

While Leon Balogun was in action from start to finish, Aribo made way for Iani Hagi in the 69th minute of the encounter. For the visitors, Zimbabwe star David Moyo saw every minute of action.

Thanks to this result, the Gers maintained their lead in Scotland’s top-flight having garnered 38 points from 14 games - nine points above second-placed Celtic, while Hamilton Academical remain at the base with just seven points from 12 fixtures.

Aribo and Balogun are part of Nigeria’s squad to face Sierra Leone in a 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualification double-header billed for Benin City and Freetown.

Lluis Sastre is expected to pull the strings at the centre of the park for Hyderabad FC in the upcoming season of the Indian Super League (ISL). 

The Nizams have made wholesale changes to the squad and have roped in six new foreigners.

Sastre is a dynamic midfielder who likes to sit deep and dictate the tempo of a match. Let's take a closer look at the forward who has immense experience of playing in the Spanish second division. 

Jersey Number: 6

Youth Career and Professional Debut

Lluis Sastre was born in Majorca of the Balearic Islands. He is a product of FC Barcelona's famed youth setup La Masia. He joined the Blaugrana academy in 1998 at the tender age of 13. Till 2005, he was plying his trade for various age group teams of Barcelona until he was promoted to Barcelona C. He scored six goals for the side and was rewarded with a promotion to Barcelona B in 2006. 

In 2007, it was understood that he will not be promoted to the senior squad and he chose to secure a deal to Real Zaragoza. But very soon, he was loaned out to Huesca where he would make his professional debut against CD Castellon in a 2-2 draw. He became a key figure at Huesca and helped the side gain promotion to the Second Division which prompted them to sign him permanently. 

La Liga & Segunda Division Exploits 

Sastre continued to flourish at Huesca. He stayed there for four seasons and made 110 appearances. He became an absolute fan favourite with his assuring displays at the centre of the park, but when the opportunity came to play in La Liga with Real Valladolid he could not turn down the offer. 

In 2012, he joined Valladolid and made his La Liga debut against Zaragoza in a 1-0 win. But his most memorable match will be against Real Madrid where he scored a late goal against the Spanish giants. A screamer from outside the box that beat Diego Lopez. Although his side was beaten by a narrow margin, Sastre had a good game going up against the likes of Luka Modric and Kaka in midfield. 

In his second season, Valladolid was relegated to the Segunda Division but the midfielder chose to stay on and fight for promotion. At the end of his contract, he joined fellow second division side Leganes and in his first season, he helped Leganes gain promotion back to La Liga. He made 33 appearances and scored three goals during the campaign.

In 2017, he joined Huesca once again and it was termed as his 'homecoming'. In the next season, he helped Huesca gain promotion to La Liga, becoming a key figure under Juan Antonio Anquela. It was for the third time that he had helped a side to qualify for the top division from the Segunda. 

Last Stint

In January 2019, he moved to Cyprus to join AEK Larnaca FC. He made 26 appearances for the Green-Yellows in two seasons and after ending his contract in the summer of 2020, he joined Hyderabad FC on a free transfer. 

Chennaiyin FC's foreign contingent this time around has five new faces from last season. After reaching the final in the last Indian Super League (ISL) season, they have retained only two of their foreign stars in Rafael Crivellaro and Eli Sabia. 

Two important players upfront in Andre Schembri and Nerijus Valskis have left the club and the Marina Machans have responded by bringing in Jakub Sylvestr and Esmaël Gonçalves. 

Goncalves, known as just Isma, is a strongly built forward who can play as a striker or as a winger. He is good at hold-up play but also has a good turn of pace about him, not to mention a strong physique. 

He has played in the top tiers of Portugal, Scotland, France among other countries in Asia and more. Let's take a look at the 29-year-old's career so far. 

Youth career in Portugal and debut in France

Isma was born in Guinea-Bissau but migrated along with his parents to Portugal at the age of three. He would join the youth set up at Boavista at a young age and spent three years there. His strong performances in the youth set up at Boavista attracted attention from established European clubs including Liverpool. However, he would end up moving to Ligue 1 outfit OGC Nice in 2008.

He spent two years in their youth team and was promoted to the reserves in 2010. After a successful period with the reserves, he was called up to the first team in January 2011. He made his professional debut in a 2–0 defeat to Bordeaux, appearing as a substitute. He would not make any more appearances for Nice that season but was given a professional contract in June 2011. 

He made 17 appearances in the 2011-12 season, scoring two goals including the winner in a 4–3 victory at Lyon in the final league match of the season. But he would return to Portuguese outfit Rio Ave in the very next season after he grew homesick. 

However, after just six months, he joined Scottish outfit St. Mirren on loan in January 2013. Local media in Scotland even went on to call him the next Didier Drogba who was also Isma's idol. He made an instant impact at St. Mirren, scoring on his debut against Celtic in a 3-2 win in a Scottish League Cup semifinal. He also scored on his Scottish Cup debut for St. Mirren. He would go on to play a starring role in the League Cup final against Hearts, scoring one and assisting another in a 3-2 win - the club's first major trophy since 1987.

Though the club wanted to make Goncalves' deal permanent, Rio Ave would not budge from their high asking price and he had to return. In July 2013, he was sent out on loan to Cyprus' APOEL, for whom also he would score on debut in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. He would end his stint with APOEL in December 2013 and signed for Greek club PAE Veria in January 2014, again on loan. 

He would go on loan to another Cyprus club Anorthosis before deciding to end his association with Rio Ave in 2015, signing permanently for Anorthosis. He would end up joining Hearts in January 2017, for whom he would score 15 goals in 42 appearances. 

He left Hearts in January 2018 and sign for Uzbek club Pakhtakor Tashkent. His Asian sojourn saw Isma play for the likes of Iran's Esteghlal and Japan's Matsumoto Yamaga. 

International football

Isma is a naturalised Portuguese citizen and has played for the Seleccao's youth teams. He has represented the Portuguese U17 side and was called up to the U20 team in the run up to the 2011 FIFA U20 World Cup. But he could not make it into the final squad due to fitness issues. 

He would go on to earn a senior cap for his country of birth Guinea-Bissau in 2018, starting a 2-0 friendly loss to Burkina Faso. However, that is the only international appearance so far for Isma.

Last stint

Isma's last stint before joining Chennaiyin was in Japan with Matsumoto Yamaga. In the 2019 season, where he joined only in September, he made three appearances as the club were relegated from the J1 League. 

In 2020, in the J2 League, he made six appearances for the club but could not score a goal. 

Andrea Pirlo backed Paulo Dybala, defending the playmaker's attitude after Juventus were held by Lazio.

Dybala came off the bench as Juve were pegged back late in a 1-1 Serie A draw at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday.

Cristiano Ronaldo had put Pirlo's men ahead, but Felipe Caicedo scored a 95th-minute equaliser after a tremendous run by Joaquin Correa.

Pirlo said he had no complaints about Dybala's attitude, with the forward recently ruled out of Argentina's upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

"I think his attitude is not wrong. He was willing to do well and wanted to help the team," the Juve head coach told a news conference.

"Sometimes it happens not to be in the best physical condition as he is now. He needs to work and play, we just need to manage these situations in the final moments of the games if we want to clinch the victory."

Juve sit fifth in the Serie A table, four points adrift of leaders AC Milan, who salvaged a 2-2 draw with Hellas Verona on Sunday. 

Pirlo's side were on track for victory before Caicedo's goal, and since last season, the Ecuadorian has scored five goals from the 90th minute in Serie A – the most of any player.

"When you concede one goal it is not because of the individual but the whole team. We win and lose as a team," Pirlo said.

"We must manage these situations in a better way, being hungry to achieve the result until the very last second."

Juve return to action at home to Cagliari on November 21 before hosting Ferencvaros in the Champions League a few days later. 

Pirlo will be hoping he can call on Cristiano Ronaldo when they return to action with the manager confirming his Portuguese star suffered an ankle injury against Lazio. 

"Ronaldo is a key player not only for us but for all the teams he has played for. Unfortunately he had an ankle problem and was forced to leave the field," Pirlo told DAZN. 

"Today [Federico] Chiesa was unable to play, [Giorgio] Chiellini is injured and Alex Sandro and [Matthijs] de Ligt are out, but we can’t use these as excuses.”

Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho believes the club would challenge for the league title in many countries across Europe but will find it difficult to claim the Premier League crown. 

Spurs picked up a narrow 1-0 win over West Brom on Sunday as they entered the international break sitting second in England's top-flight. 

Mourinho's side have won their past three matches in the Premier League and haven't lost in the competition since the opening day when they fell to defeat against Everton. 

With no club currently a clear favourite for the title, Tottenham have emerged as genuine contenders but Mourinho was quick to stress just how hard it is to finish first in the competition. 

"I would say that this team could be champion in many European countries," Mourinho said in his post-match press conference. 

"The Premier League is the most difficult one to be, because in the Premier League you can do a good season, can have lots of points, but in the end...Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea, Man United, Leicester, Arsenal.

"So you can have a good season and not be champion. So what can we do? We go match after match. We try to win, we don't care about the others.

"I promise you I'm not worried about Leicester v Wolves, or City v Liverpool. If Liverpool wins, it is because City loses points. If Leicester wins, it is because Wolves dropped points.

"So I don't care, I just want the team to play match after match, and then at the end of the season let's see where we are."

Tottenham's league form has been perfect since they gave up a 3-0 lead to draw with West Ham in October and Mourinho feels his side have responded well to that setback. 

"I said that we were speaking a lot about it and working a lot about that situation. I am not going to say we are not going to lose matches or lose points in the last minutes, it can happen to anyone," Mourinho said.

"We felt the pain against West Ham and since then strategically the team is behaving in a different way.

"The two clean sheets at Burnley and this afternoon showed the lesson – a team in the last five minutes that was very solid, it looked like the pain made a positive effort and the team improved after that."

AC Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has admitted his recent cryptic social media post was not an attempt to push for a return to the Sweden national team. 

The 39-year-old last played international football back in 2016 but did flirt with the idea of accepting a call-up for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. 

Two years later and Ibrahimovic again got fans speculating about a possible comeback by posting an image of him in a Sweden shirt on Instagram with the caption: "Long time no see."

Speaking on Sunday after scoring an injury-time equaliser for AC Milan in a 2-2 draw with Hellas Verona in Serie A, Ibrahimovic revealed the post was done simply to annoy a select few back in his home country and not to push for a recall. 

“No, I was just trying to irritate people in Sweden,” Ibrahimovic told Sky Sport Italia. 

The former Manchester United forward has been in fine form this season in Italy and he has a league-high eight goals from just five Serie A appearances so far. 

While Sweden, who have lost four of their last five games, could certainly use Ibrahimovic's goals, manager Janne Andersson had already shut down any chance of the striker being brought back into the fold. 

"There were some people who told me there was a plan behind that photo. But I don't understand what it means, it’s beyond me. I won't waste too much energy on it," Andersson told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.

“It has been four and a half years since he said he had finished his career in the national team. I have the utmost respect for him, just like many other players who have made the same decision. You can recover a bit during the international break, you don't have the same pressures.

“If, on the other hand, you are part of the national team, you have to return to your country and play at the highest level again. I fully respect those who don't feel this motivation 100 per cent. So, the matter is closed for me." 

Ibrahimovic is Sweden’s all-time leading scorer with 62 goals in 116 appearances but his relationship with the national team’s hierarchy has often been strained. 

Anderlecht went to the Ghelamco Arena, saw and played out a 1-1 draw with Sulayman Marreh and Anderson Niangbo’s Gent.

As predicted, the Belgian topflight encounter lived up to expectation as both teams cancelled out one another on Sunday evening.

In a tough first half, on loan Brighton and Hove Albion forward Percy Tau was cautioned in the 26th minute by referee Nicolas Laforge for a careless tackle.

Despite the yellow card, that did not reduce the South Africa international’s effectiveness as he was majestic in the visitors’ midfield.

Anderlecht took a well-deserved lead in the 44th minute courtesy of Michael Murillo who profited from Yari Verschaeren’s assist to fire past goalkeeper Sinan Bolat as they went into the half time break with a thin advantage.

Gent came out stronger in the second-half but were unsuccessful in their quest to break the water-tight backline of Vincent Kompany’s men.

However, they levelled matters in the 89th minute through Roman Yaremchuk who found space in the visitors’ goal area before heading home a cross from Iranian defender Milad Mohammadi.

After an impressive shift, Tau was replaced with ten minutes left to play by Josh Cullen while Sierra Leone's Mustapha Bundu and Nigeria's Paul Mukairu were unused substitutes.

For Gent, Gambia's Marreh was in action from start to finish whereas Cote d’Ivoire’s Niangbo was substituted for Dylan Mbayo in the 62nd minute. Cameroon's Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui, Congo DR's Jordan Botaka, Angola's Nuno Fortuna and Guinea's Ibrahima Cisse were not listed for action.

Despite the draw, Norwegian right-back Andreas Hanche-Olsen expressed his delight with the outcome against Kompany’s squad.

"It wasn't an easy match, but the point that we got out of the fire in the end is more than deserved,” Hanche-Olsen told Gent website.

“We kept fighting until the last minute and that paid off. After the loss in Belgrade, the focus was quickly on Anderlecht.

“We got a lot of injuries and absentees because of Covid-19, but we didn't hide behind those excuses.

“Our mentality was good, we fought for each other, even though the situation was not always good."

With this result, Genk stay fourth in the Jupiler League with 22 points from 12 games while Anderlecht are seventh having garnered 21 points from the same number of games.