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Simy Nwankwo was on target as Crotone suffered their fifth Serie A defeat of the season after bowing to a 2-1 loss against Atalanta on Saturday.

Simy reduced the deficit for Giovanni Stroppa's side two minutes after Luis Muriel grabbed his brace for the visitors in the 38th minute.

The 28-year-old has now scored three goals in six top-flight matches but Crotone's poor run continued as they are yet to win a match in this campaign.

The Nigeria forward registered Crotone's only shot on target with his first-half goal and also won the highest number of free-kicks in the encounter (6), alongside his teammate Milos Vulic.

The Pythagoreans have drawn one and lost five of their opening six matches which put them at the base of the table with just a point.

Simy and Libya midfielder Ahmed Benali played the entire duration for Crotone while Ivory Coast winger Amad Traore was an unused substitute for Atalanta.

Simy will shift his focus to Crotone's next Serie A outing against Torino on November 7, with the ambition of maintaining his goalscoring form and helping his team end their poor run.

Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller and head coach Hansi Flick were united in their frustration with the Bundesliga champions' performance in Saturday's slender 2-1 win at Cologne.

Muller gave Bayern the opening goal with a penalty before Serge Gnabry made it 2-0 on the stroke of half-time with a fine effort that ultimately proved to be the winner.

Cologne pulled one back late on as they enjoyed some pressure of their own, but Bayern – who rested talismanic striker Robert Lewandowski – did just enough to take the points.

Neither Muller nor Flick were impressed, however, with the former particularly vocal after the match.

"It was a laboured victory, especially because we unfortunately missed the chance to score the third goal at the beginning of the second half," Muller said. "Then anything could have happened until the final whistle. It wasn't a glitzy or glamorous performance. We'll take it as it is.

"We certainly too often lost the ball carelessly and acted a bit too casually during the game. Cologne lay deep a lot. They did that well.

"Nevertheless, we could have been a bit more clinical in a couple of situations and got at goal more. The passion was there to take the victory with us. I'm not criticising ourselves, but we've definitely been better."

Flick added: "It was a deserved win in the end, but we made life difficult for ourselves. The game cost us too much energy. I'm happy with the result, not so much with the game.

"I'm satisfied with the attitude, mentality and the will to win. We made life difficult for ourselves with our mistakes in the passing game.

"We could have made the win easier. We let Cologne get back into the game."

Despite the underwhelming performance, Bayern have now won 31 of their previous 32 games in all competitions, only failing to do so on the second matchday of the 2020-21 Bundesliga campaign at Hoffenheim when they lost 4-1. Similarly, the two goals in Cologne took Bayern to 24 in the Bundesliga this term, a record after six matches in the competition.

Next up for Bayern are Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League, before they travel to Bundesliga title rivals Borussia Dortmund next weekend.

Kylian Mbappe scored one and set up another as Paris Saint-Germain extended their winning Ligue 1 run to seven matches with a 3-0 victory over Nantes on Saturday.

PSG were without injured forward Neymar and that told in a poor first half as the visitors failed to register an attempt on target until the 47th minute when Ander Herrera swept home.

Nantes were unfortunate not to be a goal ahead at that point, Moses Simon somehow missing an open goal from all of three yards at the Stade de la Beaujoire.

Mbappe added a second from a penalty he won and Pablo Sarabia profited from a defensive error late on to seal the win, but only after Keylor Navas had kept out Kader Bamba's penalty at a delicate point in the game.

Danilo Pereira headed wide in a rare first-half opportunity for PSG, shortly before Simon produced one of the worst misses of this or any other Ligue 1 campaign.

Randal Kolo got away from Abdou Diallo and set up his team-mate for what should have been the simplest of finishes, only for Simon to kick the ball against his standing foot.

After a poor first-half display, PSG needed just 103 seconds to open the scoring after the interval as Herrera picked out the bottom-right corner after being teed up by Mbappe.

Mbappe was gifted the chance to put his side two goals ahead when pushed in the back by Jean-Charles Castelletto, the prolific forward dusting himself down to pick out the bottom-right corner from 12 yards.

Nantes, who have now lost 17 of their last 18 league matches against PSG, missed a penalty of their own 20 minutes from time after Diallo felled Marcus Coco – Navas guessing the right way to thwart Bamba.

It was then left to Sarabia to seal all three points as he intercepted Imran Louza's weak back pass and lifted the ball over Alban Lafont.

What does it mean? PSG maintain momentum

Thomas Tuchel complained this week about his players being pushed to their limits by the packed fixture schedule and that fatigue was clear to see in a low-quality first half.

Indeed, for just the second time in Ligue 1 this term, both sides failed to register a single shot on target in the opening 45 minutes – the other game being Rennes v Brest earlier on Saturday.

PSG deserve credit for stepping up a notch right from the restart and picking up a seventh league win in a row – five of those without conceding – even with the likes of Neymar and Angel Di Maria missing.

Mbappe steps up

Mbappe had a frustrating first half but looked a lot sharper in the second period, even if he did lose possession more times (19) than any other player across his 74 minutes on the field.

The France international picked out an unmarked Herrera for the opener, making it four league assists for the campaign, and then got on the scoresheet himself from the penalty spot.

Simon endures a public nightmare

Forget the worst miss of the Ligue 1 season – Simon's open-goal sitter will surely go down as the biggest howler of any of Europe's top divisions this campaign.

He simply had to convert Kolo's pass from three yards out but could not do so in a massive let off for PSG. That was one of 14 touches he managed before leaving the pitch injured 10 minutes later.

What's next?

PSG travel to RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday and host Rennes on their return to Ligue 1 action three days later. Nantes head to Lorient in eight days' time.

Antoine Griezmann salvaged a point for Barcelona as their struggles in LaLiga continued with a disappointing 1-1 draw against 10-man Deportivo Alaves on Saturday.

Visitors Barca, who had lost their prior two league matches, fell behind in the first half after a goalkeeping blunder by Neto allowed Luis Rioja to open the scoring.

Alaves had Jota sent off for a second bookable offence just after the hour mark, however, and the Blaugrana quickly equalised with a fine finish from France striker Griezmann.

But Ronald Koeman's side could not forge a decisive second despite late pressure, instead seeing their winless LaLiga run extended to four matches as they languish down in 12th.

Barca had begun brightly and Ansu Fati raced clear of the Alaves defence early on but could only strike his effort wide.

However, the visiting back line looked vulnerable on the counter and Rioja brought a smart save out of Neto after fine play by Deyverson.

It was from another Alaves breakaway that Barca found themselves behind after 31 minutes, although the goal came courtesy of self-inflicted Blaugrana errors rather than brilliance from the home side.

Gerard Pique made a weak, dangerous pass to Neto rather than clearing and, under pressure, the Barca goalkeeper got himself in a tangle which allowed Rioja to steal the ball and tap into the vacant net.

Koeman made a triple-change at the interval, but his team were not level until after Alaves were reduced to 10 men following Jota's high boot on Pique.

Griezmann took full advantage just over a minute later and stylishly clipped the ball over Fernando Pacheco as the Alaves goalkeeper raced off his line.

Pacheco saved superbly from Lionel Messi, but Griezmann soon thought he had the vital second, only for Trincao to be flagged offside in the build-up.

And Alaves were indebted to Pacheco as they hung on through a tense finale, their keeper saving from Miralem Pjanic and Sergino Dest to preserve a point.
 

What does it mean? More scrutiny on Koeman

Barcelona had not lost three LaLiga matches in a row since April 2016 under Luis Enrique, so the spotlight was on Koeman after back-to-back defeats to Getafe and Real Madrid.

The Catalan giants managed to avoid that unwanted statistic with a draw here, yet their new coach will continue to find himself under the microscope as his side already trail leaders Madrid by eight points - despite the clubs' contrasting European fortunes.

Neto's nightmare

The look of despair on the Brazilian goalkeeper's face after his dismal error spoke volumes. Long periods of inactivity are common for a Barca keeper but a lapse in concentration proved costly here.

Neto made just two saves in the match and looked shaky throughout. The return of first-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who recently resumed training following knee surgery in August, cannot come soon enough for Koeman.

Near-perfect Pacheco

In many regards, this match was a tale of two goalkeepers, with Neto's opposite number quite brilliant between the posts for Alaves.

Pacheco commanded his box with two clearances, vociferously organised his defence and contributed seven crucial saves. There was little more he could have done for Griezmann's goal.

What's next?

Barcelona are back in Champions League action on Wednesday with a Group G clash against Dynamo Kiev at Camp Nou. Alaves' next game sees them head to Levante next Sunday in LaLiga.

Diogo Jota came off the bench to score a late winner as Liverpool rallied from a goal down to beat West Ham 2-1 at Anfield. 

The Portuguese linked up brilliantly with fellow substitute Xherdan Shaqiri five minutes from time to ensure the champions denied their in-form opponents a share of the points. 

Liverpool were forced to come from behind after Pablo Fornals' well-taken early goal, which was cancelled out by Mohamed Salah's penalty moments before the break. 

The turnaround helped Jurgen Klopp's men prevail as they extended their unbeaten league run at Anfield to 63 games, equalling a club record streak set between February 1978 and December 1980.

As they would have expected, Liverpool started the game by taking complete control of possession, probing a penned-in West Ham defence. 

But after holding firm throughout their early examination, the visitors showed that they only needed one chance to get on the scoresheet, Fornals latching onto a poor Joe Gomez clearance and steering the ball in off a post. 

Indeed, the Hammers were the best side for large parts of the first half, finding their way deep into opposition territory with worrying regularity from the hosts' perspective. 

Still, they could not entirely manage the Liverpool threat and, with a half-time lead seemingly in the bag, conspired to give away a penalty as Arthur Masuaku clumsily clipped Salah, who converted from the spot. 

Despite that setback, the Hammers' first-half performance meant they had every reason to come out for the second period brimming with confidence, and they wasted little time in underlining their ambition after the restart as Masuaku's cross was almost poked home by Fornals. 

With Liverpool still struggling to find their cutting edge by the 70th minute, Klopp looked to the bench, introducing Shaqiri and Jota. 

And the Reds manager thought that move had paid off handsomely when the latter turned the ball home after Sadio Mane had been denied from close range. 

However, a VAR check showed the Senegalese to have fouled goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski in following the ball in, prompting referee Kevin Friend to chalk the goal off after checking replays. 

Jota would simply have to wait a little longer for his big moment, though, with an inch-perfect Shaqiri ball setting him up to thrash the ball home at the Kop end with five minutes remaining.

What does it mean? Reds grind it out again 

Despite not being at their convincing best once again, Liverpool leapfrogged Merseyside rivals Everton to take top spot in the Premier League. 

Klopp will want more in terms of performance from his players as the season progresses but, in terms of results, will have few complaints about their start to the campaign. 

Phillips shines on league debut 

A surprise pick to partner Gomez at the heart of the home defence, Nathaniel Phillips showed Klopp was right to put faith in him as he kept Sebastien Haller quiet. 

The Englishman comfortably surpassed his team-mates in making nine clearances, none more important than the powerful last-minute header that kept a West Ham corner at bay. 

Firmino struggles again 

Another Liverpool win, another difficult day for Roberto Firmino, whose poor form is even more concerning from his point of view given the pressure Jota is exerting on his position in the team. 

The Brazilian's 70 minutes on the pitch resulted in just 43 touches, 34 passes, and zero shots or key passes. 

Key Opta facts

- Only Aston Villa in 1897-98 (17) have conceded more goals in their first seven league matches as reigning champions than Liverpool (15). The Reds took 23 games to concede 15 goals last season.
- Since David Moyes' first game back in charge, West Ham have dropped more points from winning positions than any other side in the Premier League (16).
- Liverpool have conceded the first goal in three of their four home league games this season - as many times as they did in all 19 league matches at Anfield last term.
- The Reds have scored each of the last 18 penalties they have taken in all competitions (excluding shoot-outs), with Mohamed Salah himself netting his last 13 for the club.
- Diogo Jota is just the second player to score in all of his first three Premier League appearances for Liverpool at Anfield, after Luis Garcia in October 2004.

What's next? 

Liverpool turn their attentions to the Champions League in midweek as they travel to Atalanta, followed by a huge clash with Manchester City. West Ham, meanwhile, have a week off before a London derby against Fulham. 

Joao Felix followed up his Champions League heroics with another brace as Atletico Madrid maintained their unbeaten start to LaLiga with a 3-1 win over Osasuna. 

The Portugal international scored twice in the 3-2 midweek win over Salzburg – including a late winner – and got Diego Simeone's side up and running with a well-struck penalty shortly before the interval in Pamplona.

He missed a second penalty after 48 minutes, but doubled Atleti's advantage in the 69th minute with a sublime strike from the edge of the area.

Although substitute Ante Budimir pulled one back for the hosts 10 minutes from time, Atleti added a third late on through Lucas Torreira to move up to third in LaLiga – two points behind leaders Real Madrid.

Atleti, without the rested Luis Suarez in attack, struggled to get a foothold in the game early on and had to wait until the 25th minute for their first sight of goal, Joao Felix completely missing the ball six yards out with the goal at his mercy. 

Joao Felix made up for his earlier miss two minutes before the interval, drilling into the bottom-left corner from 12 yards after Facundo Roncaglia had brought down Vitolo inside the penalty area.

The forward squandered a golden opportunity to extend Atleti's advantage three minutes after the restart when his spot-kick crashed back off the upright after Osasuna captain Oier Sanjurjo had been penalised for handball, with Angel Correa inexplicably blazing the rebound over an unguarded net. 

Atleti's bad luck continued when Correa whipped a 20-yard effort against Sergio Herrera's left-hand post from 20 yards just a minute later.

Joao Felix did eventually double Atleti's advantage with a thunderous strike from 18 yards after being teed up by Correa, but Osasuna gave themselves a lifeline when Budimir headed home Ruben Garcia's cross. 

Atleti sealed a third consecutive LaLiga win two minutes from time, though, when substitute Torreira lashed home a superb half-volley for his first goal for the club following his loan move from Arsenal, with Kieran Trippier getting the assist.

What does it mean? Joao Felix inspires dominant win

Simeone described Joao Felix's performance against Salzburg as "complete" and this one was not far off. 

A missed penalty aside, the 20-year-old was imperious in a display that saw four shots and one key pass amongst a pass completion rate of 90.3 per cent – marginally below Koke, whose 90.8 rate was the highest of any Atleti starter. 

Simeone, meanwhile, can celebrate making it 22 games unbeaten in LaLiga – a run that equals the fourth-best unbeaten streak in the competition's history. 

Herrera impresses in the engine room 

Joao Felix will rightly steal the limelight, but Hector Herrera's impressive display in midfield should not be overlooked. The Mexican was a metronomic presence, making a joint game-high 69 successful passes and gaining possession 12 times – the most of any player for the side from the capital. 

Roncaglia given the runaround 

Roncaglia endured a game to forget, giving away Atleti's first penalty with a clumsy challenge and winning just three of his 10 duels before he was substituted late on. 

Key Opta Facts

- Joao Felix has been involved in seven goals in his last nine games for Atletico Madrid in all competitions (six goals and one assist).
- Atletico Madrid (6 games) are one of the three teams yet to concede in the first half in the top five European leagues this season, alongside Elche (five) and Lille (eight).
- Joao Felix has scored three of the four penalties he has taken for Atletico Madrid in all competitions (two in the Champions League and one in LaLiga).
- No other player has conceded more penalties than Roncaglia in LaLiga since the start of 2016/17 (seven - level with Djene Dakonam, Inigo Martinez and Ruben Duarte).
- Ante Budimir is the first player to score on his LaLiga debut for Osasuna since Chimy Avila against Leganes in August 2019.

What's next?

Atleti travel to Lokomotiv Moscow in Champions League Group A on Tuesday before hosting high-flying Cadiz in LaLiga on Saturday – the same day Osasuna visit Sevilla.

Ivan Perisic scored in the 92nd minute as Inter recovered from Gervinho's double to draw 2-2 at home to Parma in Saturday's Serie A clash. 

Gervinho found a way through 19 seconds into the second half - the third straight game he has scored against Inter - and added a second shortly after the hour mark. 

That had Inter facing the real prospect of back-to-back home league defeats, though substitute Marcelo Brozovic pulled one back 137 seconds later to give his side some hope. 

Inter had a strong penalty shout rejected but Perisic glanced in a last-gasp equaliser to deny Parma, who can still hold claim to being unbeaten in five away games with Inter at San Siro.

Chelsea star Mason Mount is delighted to have claimed a place in the Blues' midfield, affirming that it is the position in which he feels most comfortable. 

The 21-year-old has played across the pitch for his side so far in 2020-21, including stints on both wings. 

But it is in a more central role that he has thrived, as he showed in a fantastic display to take down Burnley on Saturday. 

Mount contributed an assist for Kurt Zouma to net the second goal of Chelsea's 3-0 away win, which takes the Blues up to fourth in the Premier League standings, and the youngster hopes he will continue in his favoured spot for some time to come. 

"I am a number eight and a midfielder," the England international explained to Chelsea's official website after the final whistle at Turf Moor.

"I have always been in my whole career, so it is natural for me to play in there and I know I have started a bit wider this season, but I love playing in midfield.

"It is my position and the fluidity we had in the game with the wingers [was good today]."

A fine afternoon for Frank Lampard's charges was marred by a potentially serious injury setback for Christian Pulisic. 

The ex-Borussia Dortmund star was forced out in the warm-up before kick-off and now faces a scan on his injured hamstring, as revealed by Lampard after the game. 

"I felt sorry for Christian, he felt his [hamstring] in the warm up so hopefully he is back soon," Mount added.

"He is an unbelievable player. We dedicated the win to him today. Timo [Werner] came in and was brilliant as were all the players after a tough week.

"It was a tough week this week, three away games. A lot of travelling and flights, so we didn't have a lot of time to recover for games but today I thought we were brilliant.

"Winning the game, winning the fight, matching them up and then we knew what we could do on the ball. I thought we did brilliantly and it showed in the scoreline."

United States women's national team star Megan Rapinoe and basketball legend Sue Bird have announced their engagement, with Joe Biden among the first to offer congratulations.

Two-time Women's World Cup winner Rapinoe, who was hugely influential in last year's triumph at the finals in France, met Bird at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

They announced they were a couple in July 2017, and Bird has now posted a picture on Instagram of Rapinoe putting a ring on her left hand.

Speaking to ESPN three years ago, Rapinoe explained how she and four-time Olympic gold medallist Bird found love, saying: "We have a lot in common and just sort of clicked. I joke she is my number one go-to-for-advice person. She's just so level-headed."

Tennis great Billie Jean King sent warm wishes to the couple, with Chelsea Clinton also congratulating Rapinoe and Bird, as did the USWNT and the WNBA's Seattle Storm, Bird's longtime team.

U.S. presidential candidate Biden wrote on Twitter: "Love will always win. Congratulations, @S10Bird and @mPinoe!"

Earlier this year, Rapinoe offered to be the running mate for Biden, the Democratic Party's candidate.

The 35-year-old has used her platform to speak out on societal issues including racism, homophobia and the gender pay gap.

She drew the ire of incumbent U.S. president Donald Trump having said she had no intention of visiting him if the USWNT won last year's Women's World Cup.

Rapinoe has been on a hiatus from the game, having last seen the field in March. She skipped the Challenge Cup and the fall series with her NWSL side OL Reign this year. 

After she opted out of October's USWNT training camp, head coach Vlatko Andonovski said he still has Rapinoe in his plans moving forward.

"Of course we’re in constant communication with Pinoe," Andonovski said. "We had a good talk and Megan said that she didn’t feel like now was the right time to come back to the team, and had some physical concerns as well so we’ll continue to monitor her.

"She’s not going to be here, some of the more experienced players are not going to be here so we’ll just use this opportunity to evaluate some of the younger players and see how they fit in the environment."

Thembi Kgatlana scored the winner on her first start for Eibar as they secured a 1-0 win at Espanyol in Saturday's Spanish Primera Iberdrola contest at Ciutat Esportiva Dani Jarque.

The South Africa international joined Eibar from Portuguese outfit SL Benfica this summer and had scored once in all her previous three outings as a substitute for Iker Dorronsoro's team.

Following her fine showing in her last games, the 24-year-old was handed her first start by manager Dorronsoro and she played a significant role in her side's second victory of the campaign.

Sheila Elorza teed up Banyana star Kgatlana to net the vital winner in the 19th minute and ensured Eibar's return to winning ways.

Her goal was her second in her fourth appearance for Eibar as she played for 35 minutes before Nigeria's Charity Adule took her place.

Equatorial Guinea's Ruth Alvarez was an unused substitute, while South Africa's Noko Matlou, who arrived at the Spanish club a week ago, would have to wait a little longer for her debut.

The victory moves Eibar to fifth on the Spanish log with seven points from four matches - five points adrift of leaders and defending champions Barcelona.

The Gunsmiths will aim to build on their latest win at home when 2018 champions Atletico Madrid visit on November 5.

Tom Barkhuizen's Championship goal drought continued on Saturday as Preston North End suffered a 2-1 loss to Birmingham City.

The 27-year-old forward has played in eight league matches this season and are yet to find the back of the net, with his last Championship effort dating back to February.

Riley McGree gave Birmingham City an early lead at Deepdale with his opener in the second minute but Jayden Stockley brought the hosts level with his 24th-minute goal.

Preston North End were dealt a blow towards the end as Gary Gardner grabbed the match-winning goal for the Blues in the 85th minute.

During the encounter, Barkhuizen managed three shots in total but two were on target and could not beat goalkeeper Neil Etheridge.

It is a different tale for the Bafana Bafana hopeful in the Carabao Cup where he has scored two goals in his two appearances so far.

Preston North End dropped to 16th in the Championship standings after conceding their second straight loss in the league.

They have gathered 10 points from nine games, with two wins in their last five outings.

Barkhuizen will be aiming to end his poor run in front of goal when the Lilywhites travel to Reading for their next league fixture on November 4.

Swansea City were 2-0 victors against Blackburn Rovers in Saturday’s Championship encounter, with Ghana’s Andre Ayew among the goalscorers.

With the Riversiders threatening to erase their one-goal deficit, the 30-year-old guaranteed victory for Steve Cooper’s men a minute after the hour mark.

The hosts went into the game having silenced Stoke City in their penultimate outing on Tuesday at the Liberty Stadium.

For Rovers, they arrived in South Wales as the division’s leading scorers – with 18 goals from eight games. Against the Swans, however, they were unable to beat on loan Newcastle United goalkeeper Freddie Woodman.

The first chance of the game fell to Adam Armstrong inside the opening minutes, albeit, his shot went wide despite skipping past Ben Cabango.

As the game progressed, the hosts grew in confidence. Jamal Lowe went close to scoring the opener after latching onto Yan Dhanda’s through ball.

Nevertheless, they took the lead in the 25th minute with Cabango – who returned to the starting XI - showing great strength to hold off Darragh Lenihan’s challenge to head home Conner Roberts’ corner.

Tony Mowbray’s team looked to respond with Joe Rankin-Costello heading wide from Lewis Holtby’s inviting cross. On the stroke of half-time, the left-back was involved at the other end as the Swans had a shout for a penalty turned down by referee Dean Whitestone.

Blackburn Rovers came out stronger in the second-half in search of an equaliser but it was the Swans who doubled their advantage in the 61st minute through stand-in skipper Ayew who headed past goalkeeper Aynsley Pears from a sumptuous cross from Yan Dhanda.

Even at the two-goal deficit, the visitors kept fighting but returned home with their heads bowed low. Saturday’s victory was the Swans’ first in four attempts against Rovers.

Ayew who now boasts four goals in the 2020-21 Championship campaign so far, was in action from start to finish as well as Namibia international Ryan Nyambe for Blackburn Rovers.

With five wins from nine games, Cooper’s men are second in the league after accruing 18 points – three points less than leaders, Reading. They travel to Brentford in their next game on November 3.

Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard is grateful for the "big boost" his side has received from in-form Hakim Ziyech. 

Ziyech scored the opener on Saturday at Burnley as Chelsea cruised to a 3-0 win at Turf Moor that took them up to fourth in the Premier League table. 

With the goal, Ziyech became the first Chelsea player since Diego Costa in 2014 to score on his first two starts for the club in all competitions, after he also netted in a midweek Champions League win at Krasnodar.

After making a £37 million ($48m) move from Ajax, Ziyech's debut with Chelsea was pushed back due to a twisted knee sustained in the club's only pre-season game away at Brighton.

Now that he is back, Lampard couldn't be happier with what he's seen from the Morocco international. 

“I expected a lot of him because I was very aware of his qualities and how important they can be to the club," Lampard told a post-game press conference.

"He brings a different property to us, with an eye for a pass, his receiving, crossing and assist-making. But what I have seen since he has been here is his absolute personality when he plays to want the ball.

"His work-rate off the ball is very, very good as well. He has brought those qualities and comes with real confidence. He has given us a big boost. His demeanour, the way he plays.

"Two games in a few days with a trip to Russia for him after being out for so long has been really good by him.”

Another summer Chelsea signing starting to find his rhythm for the club is Ben Chilwell, who has started the club's last four Premier League games after recovering from an early-season foot injury.

Lampard was also full of praise for the attacking contributions made by the 23-year-old, who joined in the off-season from Leicester City.

"It has been a really positive impact and it is an important part of how I want to play involving our full-backs in an offensive sense," Lampard added.

"I am not taking away the defensive thing because I thought him and Reece [James] found the perfect moments to join in, get higher up the pitch and then perfectly recovered back up the pitch for second balls that were coming at us today.

"With the quality of Chily, we have to utilise him and get him high up the pitch at times. [It] is a big deal for us and he will get better as he is settling in. There’s a lot more to come from Chily."

Eric Choupo-Moting featured for Bayern Munich in their 2-1 victory over Tolu Arokodare’s Koln in Saturday’s Bundesliga game.

Choupo-Moting has been delivering fine performances for Hans-Dieter Flick’s men since his arrival in the summer, scoring twice against Düren Merzenich earlier this month.

The Cameroon international was handed his first league start at RheinEnergieStadion and gave a good account of himself.

Nigerian centre-back Arokodare was also afforded his third appearance for the Billy Goats in the encounter as a second-half substitute.

Bayern started the game impressively dominating proceedings and pressed for an early goal with Choupo-Moting spearheading the attack.

The Cameroon international was, however, cautioned in the 10th minute following a reckless challenge on Salih Ozcan as he aimed to win the ball for his side.

Three minutes later, Thomas Mueller opened the scoring for the Bavarians, converting from the penalty spot after Marius Wolf was adjudged to have handled the ball in the area.

Serge Gnabry doubled the lead moments before the half-time break after receiving a timely pass from Joshua Kimmich.

Koln took the game to the Bundesliga champions after the restart and were duly rewarded for the effort when Dominick Drexler reduced the deficit in the 82nd minute.

Despite making frantic efforts to avoid defeat, Bayern held on to their lead to secure all three points at RheinEnergieStadion.

Choupo-Moting struck two shots and had a 100% successful pass rate in the encounter before he was replaced by Nigerian youngster Joshua Zirkzee.

Arokodare, meanwhile played for 11 minutes after his introduction for Sebastian Andersson and made seven touches on the ball.

Recently, Koln general manager Horst Heldt revealed the Nigerian centre-back still needs to improve to get to the standard of the Bundesliga.

Choupo-Moting will hope to help Bayern continue their winning form when they take on Salzburg in a Champions League game on November 3.

 Arokodare will look to get more minutes under his belt when Koln square off against Werder Bremen on November 6.

Jurgen Klopp has trusted Nathaniel Phillips to line up at centre-back for Liverpool against West Ham because he is the most experienced option available.

The Reds are battling a defensive injury crisis after seeing Virgil van Dijk ruled out for several months with a knee ligament injury sustained against Everton in early-October.

With makeshift centre-back Fabinho out and Joel Matip still injured, 23-year-old Phillips has been drafted in for Saturday’s Premier League clash at Anfield.

Rhys Williams was the one trusted to replace Fabinho after the Brazil international limped off in the first half of Liverpool’s Champions League win against Midtjylland on Tuesday, while Klopp also highlighted 17-year-old Billy Koumetio as an option to partner Joe Gomez in the back line.

Meanwhile, the manager also said he is open to moving left-back Andrew Robertson into the middle to plug the gap.

Phillips had made just one senior appearance for the Reds - an FA Cup match against Everton earlier this year - before being handed his Premier League debut on Saturday.

The former Bolton youth academy player spent a season on loan at Stuttgart in the second tier in Germany, and Klopp believes his experience made him the ideal candidate to start against David Moyes’ side.

"Nat is the most experienced of the guys," Klopp said ahead of kick-off.

"He looks good in training, is a proper challenger, he loves the one on one situations and is good in the air. It's a special day for him 100 per cent."

Youngster Curtis Jones is also given another opportunity in midfield alongside Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum.

Elsewhere, Klopp's team has a more familiar feel, with the favoured front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino all back in. None of the trio started the Champions League win in midweek, though they did feature off the bench.

West Ham, meanwhile, started with Sebastien Haller up top in the absence of the injured Michail Antonio.

Liverpool are unbeaten in their last eight Premier League games against West Ham, who have lost 21 of their 24 away matches against the reigning league champions in previous seasons.

Frank Lampard thinks that Chelsea are growing in confidence after a run of four clean sheets and with back to back wins following their 3-0 away victory at Burnley.

Hakim Ziyech, Kurt Zouma and Timo Werner got the goals at Turf Moor for a win which has hauled the Blues up to fourth in the Premier League table and sees them just one point behind top of the table Everton.

It comes after a period of inconsistent displays with poor defending one week and an inability to create the next. Speaking in Lancashire, Lampard was pleased with how his side looked as he switched to a 4-3-3 system for the first time from the start and he thinks that the west Londoners are beginning to build momentum.

“I thought it was a very complete performance," Lampard told reporters after the match. "It’s a tough place to come here and play; they make it very difficult. You know you have to defend your box well, you have to be very strong with the first and second balls.

"I wanted that to be one focus and the other to be to keep developing the way we play on the ball. That is what really pleased me today. Some of the passing and the movement in the team from minute one, to the end of the game was very good.

"It feels like a nice step forward. I keep talking about the work we need to do; we are nowhere near the end of the road with that, so the performance was a really solid win."

Part of the reason for the slow start was a lack of pre-season following reduced time between last year and the new campaign because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Lampard has pointed to less time on the training pitch as the reason why his side, with six new signings, haven't quite gelled yet. However, there are increasing signs that it is coming together on that front.

“Certainly we have had good momentum from this week," he continued. "Drawing at Manchester United, clean sheet, and two performances that are progressing and getting better. I have felt it. Before the start of the season we brought in players, we didn’t have pre-season.

"We haven’t had that working time and the work is happening. I knew we couldn’t throw everything up in the air and it would work perfectly. We are not at the end of the road. But the clean sheets are a great sign of a spine of the team,

"Thiago and Edouard Mendy have massively helped that, but the group, the way we are defending with the mentality, today was really positive on the ball. I’m not going to jump and up and down after a win like this, but it was a really positive day.”

Chelsea's run of three away games has now come to an end. The next two games are at home against Rennes in the Champions League and Sheffield United in the Premier League.

Azam FC have confirmed the return of monthly awards as they set sights on winning the Mainland Premier League title.

The Chamazi-based giants have confirmed in a statement they will start honouring their best player every month starting from September.

“We are pleased to announce the return of the best player award for every month in the top-flight,” Azam confirmed in a statement on their social media pages. “The winner of the award will be picked by votes from the fans and also a committee which will be set up.

“On Sunday, the club members will meet to form the committee that will be charged with the exercise and we want to ask all those involved to attend the meeting at Chamazi.”

The statement continued: “We will start the award from September and October and all the winners will be rewarded on November 5, before our league match against Dodoma Jiji.”

In a separate interview, Azam information officer Thabit Zakaria told Goal the reason to re-introduce the awarding system is aimed at improving the team’s performance as they chase for the league title which they last won in 2013-14 season.

“We want to make sure that our playing unit is well motivated and hence the decision to have the awards,” Zakaria told Goal. “We want to compete and achieve our targets this season, we have to play our part at the office and motivate the players, and that is what we have done.”

Azam have enjoyed a good start to the current 2020-21 campaign as they managed to go for seven matches without losing before they suffered defeat against Mtibwa Sugar and also dropped points in a 1-1 draw against JKT Tanzania.

“For the players to perform, you must support them,” Zakaria continued. “We are still on top of the table, we want to continue playing and getting points, we don’t want to let go of the position, and we must now win our next match to remain on course.”

The introduction of the awards comes just a day after Azam coach Aristica Cioaba was named the best for the month of September by the Tanzania Premier League Board while striker Prince Dube, also of the Chamazi-based club, was named the best player for the same month.

It was a tough day in the office for Kaizer Chiefs head coach Gavin Hunt as his side lost 3-0 to Orlando Pirates in a first leg MTN8 semi-final match at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The most successful coach currently in the Premier Soccer League, Hunt would have been relishing leading South Africa’s most popular club out into battle against their traditional Soweto rivals.

However, it all went wrong on the day. It wasn’t that Chiefs were played off the park by Pirates. It was more a case of Amakhosi shooting themselves in the foot on several occasions and the Buccaneers ruthlessly capitalising on those mistakes.

Indeed, had Khama Billiat and Leonardo Castro taken two great chances inside the opening 20 minutes, it could have been a different game.

Hunt was rather lost for words in his post-game interview...or rather, perhaps he was reserving himself to give his men a tongue-lashing back in the changing room, rather than publicly.

“There’s not much I can say. Long road, we’ll battle on and try regroup and go again,” Hunt told SuperSport TV after the match.

“First half we should have been 2-0 up before they scored," he added. We haven't scored a goal in four games now, the strikers."

It’s not just up front though where Hunt has work to do. In defence, his team have conceded three goals twice this season in the four matches they’ve played and none of the six or so players he’s used at the back this campaign have been in any sort of commanding form.

“The defending, there’s a lot to be desired,” Hunt elaborated. “In honesty, I don’t think its a 3-0 game. Turn-overs and then big long balls down the back of us. Lot of work to do.

“I can’t say too much now, there’s a lot I want to say but I’ll rather reserve it. Some things I see - first goal turn-over, second goal was a free kick, big long ball, bounces in our box, lot to be desired.

“Third goal is our corner, he tried to control it near the half-way line, he miss-controlled it, straight to them [Pirates] and its a goal. Overall….I don’t want to say to much. Everything is workable, we’ll keep battling on.”

Hunt has just a week now to find solutions and to somehow conjure up a minor miracle if he’s to turn the tie around – the second leg takes place next Sunday, October 8.