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Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insisted Donny van de Beek will get game time as he tries to balance his starting XI.

Van de Beek came off the bench as struggling United overturned an early deficit to rout Newcastle United 4-1 in Premier League action on Saturday.

The Netherlands international swapped Ajax for United before the transfer window closed amid much fanfare but he is yet to start a league match for the Red Devils.

Solskjaer resisted calls to start Van de Beek following United's 6-1 drubbing at the hands of Tottenham prior to the international break – the Dutch midfielder replacing Daniel James 14 minutes from the end at St James' Park.

Asked about Van de Beek as he attempts to accommodate Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Fred and Scott McTominay, Solskjaer told reporters: "He'll get his game time. He's been fantastic in the group.

"I think you see today and in training, he's so neat and tidy, I don't think he lost the ball once.

"It's about finding the balance in the team. We've won 4-1 today and you're asking why I didn't start one of the players. He'll have a very good impact on the team."

Under-fire United captain Harry Maguire headed in a 23rd-minute equaliser to cancel out Luke Shaw's second-minute own goal before Fernandes, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Marcus Rashford scored during the closing stages.

"Harry scored and leads by example. He showed good character, I am happy for him. He had a couple of difficult weeks since he last played for us," Solskjaer said. 

"The boys came together really well. The are looking forward to every game. Today I rested a few and they have come on and done the business for us."

The Red Devils had lost two of their opening three Premier League fixtures before enjoying their 10th comeback win against Newcastle in England's top flight – the most by any side against a single opponent in the competition. 

United are 14th in the Premier League table through four games, seven points adrift of leaders Everton.

Solskjaer's United will open their Champions League campaign at last season's finalists Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.

After a hiatus of seven years, Mohammedan Sporting are set to participate in the upcoming I-League after they took an unassailable lead on the points table of the qualifiers by virtue of winning three games on the trot. 

With both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal jumping ship to the Indian Super League (ISL), it will be Mohammedan who will be carrying the flag of Kolkata as the sole representative from the football-crazy city. 

But their journey back to I-League has been far from smooth. In July 2020, amidst a full-blown pandemic, there was a change of guard in the board room with Wasim Akram and co. taking charge.

The 33-year-old general secretary had to start from scratch and his primary task was to assemble a squad that would be the strongest amongst other competitors, at least on paper. 

In came Willis Plaza and Eze Kingsley, and if the Coronavirus pandemic had not played spoilsport, then the officials would have roped in a Japanese who is a popular face in Kolkata, courtesy of playing for both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. The domestic contingent was also strengthened as household names like SK Faiaz and Subhash Singh were signed. 

The pandemic delayed the preparations and they were unable to start training. The officials made a special plea to the West Bengal state government to get a training clearance and the sports minister Aroop Biswas obliged. Hence, on August 24, the Black Panthers became the first football club of the country to start practising once again after sporting activities came to a halt in March. 

"It was very complicated. This has not been an easy ride. In this short period, there have so many ups and downs. But we always had our eyes on the target. Finally, it has been achieved. I thank the IFA (Indian Football Association), AIFF (All India Football Federation) and the West Bengal government for their support. Now, we move on to the next goal i.e. to win the I-League," stated Akram to Goal. 

The officials are not willing to rest on their laurels and a day after ensuring promotion to I-League, they met with their Gurgaon-based investors Bunkerhill Private Limited to chalk out the way forward.

"We can sign five foreigners, and the fans can hope that they will see better players in I-League. We are already working with our investor on the plan for I-League." 

The players should also get their due credit as they swept aside all controversies under the blanket and showed character by putting in a clinical performance against a determined Bhowanipore side. Akram assured that the core group of players will be retained by the club and even Shaheed Ramon will remain at the helm of affairs.

But the I-League is a completely different ball-game. Giants like East Bengal have struggled to taste success and as fas as Mohammedan are concerned, they too don't have many fond memories of the competition. Nothing short of silverware will do justice to Mohammedan's 129-year-old history and heritage as the combined age of all other participants will be less than that of the black and whites.

The target has been locked, the preparations are underway, and now it remains to be seen whether Ramon and his men can replicate their success in the big boys' league. 

India international striker Bala Devi hopes to have spectators inside the stadium when the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup kicks off in India. 

The Rangers striker, who made her debut for the Scottish club earlier this year, believes the global event to be hosted by India can inspire youngsters to take up the sport as their profession. Although there are concerns whether the tournament can be organized as planned due to the ongoing pandemic, Bala is hoping that things will get better by then so that spectators can enjoy the sport from the stadium. 

The tournament was scheduled to be in October 2020 initially before being scheduled to start in February 2021. However, it has been delayed again.

"If they (the team) do well, it will help for sure. I hope by then the crowds can come back into football but it totally depends on the COVID-19 situation of course.

"The more people that watch, the more youth will be inspired to take up the sport," she told Goal. 

In a new set of guidelines, detailing the fifth phase of unlocking following the Coronavirus pandemic, the Government of India has relaxed crowd restrictions it had imposed on sporting events. 

The previous guidelines had stated that sporting activities, including football, can resume from 21st September 2020. But the Ministry of Home Affairs also specified that only 100 spectators will be allowed to attend sporting activities, outside of containment zones. 

However, as per the new guidelines released on Wednesday, states and union territories have been given the flexibility to permit such gatherings beyond the limit of 100 persons from 15th October 2020. 

With the pandemic scene in India not improving, the LOC (Local Organising Committee) and FIFA could find a new set of dates for the event again. There is also the possibility that it might be postponed to 2022.

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois believes the team's shock La Liga defeat to Cadiz is a good wake-up call heading into their Champions League opener and El Clasico showdown against Barcelona.

Defending champions and La Liga leaders Madrid suffered a surprise 1-0 loss to newly promoted Cadiz on Saturday.

Madrid succumbed to Anthony Lozano's 16th-minute effort, after Luka Jovic had a goal ruled out and Karim Benzema hit the crossbar.

It was Madrid's first loss of the 2020-21 season and first to Cadiz since 1991 as they prepare for Wednesday's Champions League clash with Shakhtar Donetsk and Saturday's Clasico at Camp Nou.

"A defeat is always a good thing because it gives you a wake-up call to get back down to work, realise the things we're doing badly and to improve," Courtois said post-match.

"We shouldn't attach too much importance to it. It's a defeat, in particular you've got to win your home games, but the games now come thick and fast and we'll have to put in a good performance against Shakhtar, win the match and head to the Camp Nou in confident mood."

"We'll have to analyse the match and take a look at things," Courtois added. "Our first-half performance was very poor, I was called into action three or four times, we weren't winning our individual battles and they were better than us in virtually every department.

"The gaffer made changes at the break and we were better in the second half, but we failed to score because they're a very well-organised side who defend very well. It's really tough when you go behind to teams like that.

"We'll have to talk about it tomorrow [Sunday] between ourselves. Besides yesterday's session, all 20 of us haven't trained together and with the international matches it's difficult to get everyone together to train, but that's no excuse."

Madrid midfielder Casemiro added: "We worked hard and fought, but they played better than us in the first-half. In the second-half we pressured higher up and we had more control of the game, but Cadiz is a quality side and we gifted them the game in the first-half.

"We have to look at the mistakes, but the attitude in the first-half was not good enough and we've lost three points against a very organised side who knew exactly what they had to do on the pitch. We have to forget about it because we now have a Champions League week and it's important for us to start well as it's a very long and hard week."

Madrid remain top of La Liga on goal difference ahead of Getafe – who stunned Barca – Cadiz and Granada.

FC Porto went to Estadio Jose Alvalade, played and got a 2-2 draw versus hosts Sporting Lisbon in Saturday’s Primeira Liga clash.

Having suffered a 3-2 home defeat their last time out against Maritimo, the Dragons travelled to Sporting with the aim of getting back to winning ways.

They were on course to take an opening minute lead, but goalkeeper Antonio Adan was at alert to make a brave save. Few minutes later, the hosts had their first chance at goal following a beautiful play between Joao Palhinha and Jovane Cabral, nevertheless, Matheus Nunes could not finish off from close range.

Lisbon took the lead in the ninth minute through Nuno Santos who rifled home an uncleared cross from Pedro Porro.

However, Mateus Uribe levelled matters for the visitors in the 25th minute with Nigeria international Zaidu Sanusi providing the assist.

Porto took the lead for the first time in the encounter through Jesus Corona in the 45th minute. Before the half time whistle, Sanusi brought down Pedro Goncalves - an action that saw referee Luis Godinho award a penalty kick while showing the left back a second caution. Nevertheless, the decision was reversed after VAR replays with manager Ruben Amorim getting the marching orders instead.

Sporting approached the second half like a wounded animal as they pushed for an equaliser. After several attempts, they finally evened matters in the 87th minute thanks to Luciano Vietto’s header that sailed into goalkeeper Agustin Marchesin’s net.

Sanusi was on parade from start to finish for the Dragons alongside Congo DR’s Chancel Mbemba, but Moussa Marega who was handed a place in the starting line up was substituted for Antonio Martinez in the 59th minute.

Guinea Bissau’s Nanu was a 76th substitute for Wilson Manafa as Senegalese duo of Mamadou Loum and Mouhamed Mbaye were not dressed for action.

For Sporting Lisbon, Morocco international Zouhair Feddal was in action for the whole duration while Cape Verde international Jovane Cabral played for 56 minutes before he was replaced by Vietto.

With this result, Porto are second in the log with seven points from four games. Unbeaten Sporting Lisbon boast of the same number of points to occupy the third position, albeit, with a game less.

Bruno Fernandes admits he mistakenly changed his penalty approach in Manchester United's 4-1 win against Newcastle. 

While the Red Devils star did put his side ahead with a brilliant finish in the 86th minute, he had a spot-kick saved in the 58th minute after Karl Darlow produced a fine save to the bottom left of goal.

Fernandes had previously converted all 10 of his spot-kicks in the Premier League and has taken six more penalties than any other player in the competition since his arrival from Sporting earlier this year. 

Speaking after the match, Fernandes admitted he did adopt a new approach for his spot-kick and is ready for rival fans to point out his perfect record from the spot is no more. 

"I already change sometimes. Today it doesn't work," he told BBC's Match of the Day.

"I want to put the ball more in the corner but it was not good enough. Congratulations to him on being the first to save a penalty in the Premier League from me. That's 11 taken and one missed. Now people can say I can miss a penalty.

"I need to do what is better for the game, today was not the right choice but it doesn't matter. I missed the penalty and I have to keep improving in the next games." 

Despite conceding three late goals, Darlow had proved decisive for Newcastle with the shot-stopper making a number of saves across the 90 minutes. 

Newcastle manager Steve Bruce felt the final score wasn't a fair reflection of the game and revealed Darlow is now under an injury cloud after a heavy collision. 

"The disappointment is that we were naive towards the end. We had a big chance and [David] De Gea pulls off a wonder save. I know Karl has made some terrific saves but it might've been different," Bruce said post-match.

"We left wide open spaces and if you do that it becomes very difficult.

"He [Darlow] took a hell of a blow. We hope that he's not too bad. Until we see the scans we won't know how it is but he's very sore."

Inter boss Antonio Conte said bad luck was more to blame than his side's defending for their 2-1 derby defeat to AC Milan on Saturday.

Two goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic secured victory for the Serie A leaders, with Romelu Lukaku's effort proving to be mere consolation.

Inter created plenty of chances throughout, with Lukaku spurning two good openings and seeing VAR intervene with an offside call after he had initially won a penalty.

Achraf Hakimi also turned a header wide with the goal at his mercy as Inter managed just one shot on target in the second half.

"We're sorry to have lost a well-played game on our part. They were good and I think also a little lucky," Conte told Sky Sport Italia.

"We create a lot of chances to score goals in every game. We have to become more cynical to take advantage of them. But at the same time, I have nothing to blame the boys for. They fought to the end to equalise. We weren't very lucky."

Ibrahimovic's first came from a rebound after Samir Handanovic had saved his penalty, the veteran striker having been brought down in the box by Aleksandar Kolarov.

Kolarov, playing on the left of the back three, was nowhere to be seen when Ibrahimovic scored his second three minutes later at the end of a swift counter-attack.

Conte, though, insists such a position is "the best role" for the 34-year-old, saying: "He played it for the national team and for Roma. For his moment in his career, it's the right position."

When asked if Inter were wrong to allow the experienced centre-back Diego Godin to leave after last season, Conte replied: "Every decision was evaluated by the club and it's not up to me.

"What I must do is to try to get the best out of the players I am given, and I think that's something I do very well. If you want to talk about other matters, you can ask other people about them."

Inter are currently sixth in Serie A with seven points from their first four games and now find themselves five points adrift of early leaders AC Milan. 

Conte's side next face Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League on Wednesday night before backing up in the league on Saturday against Genoa. 

Andrea Pirlo described Federico Chiesa as "naive" after he was sent off on his debut in Saturday's 1-1 Serie A draw against Crotone. 

Chiesa, who joined the champions on loan from Fiorentina on transfer deadline day, saw red on the hour mark for a late challenge on Luca Cigarini. 

He had earlier set up Alvaro Morata for Juve's leveller after Simy had given Crotone the lead from the penalty spot. 

Adrien Rabiot was dismissed in the 2-2 draw with Roma on September 27, Juve's last competitive game after they were handed a 3-0 win for Napoli's no-show last time out, and Pirlo accepts his fledgling side's over-enthusiasm might come back to haunt them on occasion. 

"Unfortunately, we went down to 10 men in the last two games because of our errors, but we are a young team that needs to work and there hasn't been much time for that with so many internationals," he told DAZN.

"Young players need to gain experience by playing in matches and it can happen that they make naive errors as part of the learning process.

"We built a team with quality, but it is still a work in progress and needs time. The lads will learn through mistakes, unfortunately that also means taking a few risks in the early matches of the season.

"We made a few mistakes in the timing of the press, but as I said, these things happen when we're still getting the machine oiled. We only really spent half-an-hour on this tactical movement in training yesterday, so it will improve."

Crotone were good value for their first point since returning to Serie A, limiting Juve to just two shots on target, and their boss Giovanni Stroppa says his side can take pride in their performance. 

"Serie A is another sport compared to Serie B," he said. "We've conceded a few goals with naive errors, but I still believe we are on the right track.

"We could've made more of the extra man and been sharper in the final third, taking them on one-on-one, but we still did well with 11 against 11 and 11 against 10.

"This is not the best Juve team, but we saw they still had remarkable talents to come off the bench and bring new elements to the side, so we can be proud of this result."

Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman complained about a "lack of respect" during his team's surprise La Liga defeat to Getafe, singling out Allan Nyom.

Koeman suffered his first loss as Barca boss on Saturday – Getafe claiming a 1-0 victory thanks to Jaime Mata's 56th-minute penalty.

It was Getafe's first league win over Spanish giants Barca since November 2011, a run of 16 games.

Koeman, who replaced Quique Setien at the start of the season, was less than impressed with the behaviour of Getafe full-ball Nyom.

"I told him [Getafe coach Jose Bordalas] that his number 12 [Nyom] had shown me a lack of respect, he had said two or three very ugly things to me which I won't repeat. He insulted me," Koeman said post-game.

"I told Bordalas that he needs to speak to his player, because we cannot tolerate that type of behaviour in modern football."

On Koeman's comments, Bordalas added: "I'm here to talk about football, not about controversy. I haven't spoken to the boy, I will tomorrow, but I doubt that Nyom would do that, I know him well.

"He's very competitive, but he's a very respectful person. I don't allow bad behaviour among my players but I doubt that Nyom insulted him."

Lionel Messi struck the post and Getafe captain Djene Dakonam was spared from scoring an own goal by the crossbar, however – after starting his reign with back-to-back wins – Koeman has now seen his side pick up a solitary point from their next two outings.

Barca – who have their lowest tally of goals after four La Liga fixtures since 2015-16 with eight – had 73 per cent possession but managed just one on-target attempt as Getafe conceded 20 fouls in a physical contest.

After Mata converted a spot-kick following a foul by Frenkie de Jong on Dakonam, Koeman said: "I don't know if it was a penalty, it looked like they were looking for it and we fell into the trap. I don't know if we had VAR or not today.

"I don't like to talk about referees, but if you watch the match and see how many fouls they made and how many cards were given out, then you can make your own mind up.

"We knew this was a very difficult ground to come to but we tried to create passages of play and move the ball around quickly and they kept disrupting that with fouls."

Crotone striker Simeon Nwankwo celebrated his goal against Juventus by a raising a T-shirt to show his support for an end to police brutality in Nigeria. 

The 28-year-old striker scored his side’s only goal in the 1-1 draw with the Old Lady bereft of Cristiano Ronaldo, who is self-isolating after testing positive for Covid-19.

Simy’s powerful moment came 11 minutes in the first half after beating Gianluigi Buffon from the penalty spot as Leonardo Bonucci was adjudged to have fouled Arkadiusz Reca inside the penalty area.

To celebrate his effort, the Nigeria international ran to the touchline and raised a T-shirt reading ‘END POLICE BRUTALITY IN NIGERIA’ in a nod to the movement calling for an end to police brutality in the West African Nation.

Earlier in the day, Victor Osimhen was involved in a similar goal celebration after scoring his first Serie A goal for Napoli in the 4-1 victory over Atalanta at the Stadio Sao Paolo.

The likes of Ian Wright, Mesut Ozil, Marcus Rashford, Antonio Rudiger, Tammy Abraham, Frederic Kanoute have all lent their voices to support the scrapping of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a unit of the Nigeria Police Force.

SARS officers have been accused of harassing, robbing and killing youths for no just reasons over the last few years.

In February 2020, they murdered the vice-captain of Nigerian second division club Remo Stars, Tiamiyu Kazeem.

Thanks to Alvaro Morata’s 21st minute goal, Andrea Pirlo’s men cancelled out Simy’s early penalty.

However, the visitors’ hopes of sealing all points at stake hit the rock following the dismissal of Federico Chiesa with 30 minutes remaining. Chiesa joined the reigning Italian champions on loan from Fiorentina on transfer deadline day.

The Nigerian’s goal effort was his second of the 2020-21 Serie A campaign after his maiden strike in the Pythagoreans’ 4-1 defeat at Sassuolo. With this result, they climbed to 18th in the Italian elite division log with one point from four matches.

Crotone would be hoping to get their first win of the season when they visit Stadio Is Arenas for a date with Cagliari on October 25.

Zinedine Zidane admitted Real Madrid could have conceded two or three goals in a nightmare first-half display against Cadiz that contributed to their shock 1-0 loss at the Santiago Bernabeu. 

The Liga new boys picked up their third win of the season at the expense of the reigning champions, going joint-top of the league in the process. 

A single goal from Anthony Lozano after 16 minutes was enough to sink Zidane's charges, who went into the weekend's fixtures as sole leaders in Spain but now share the summit with Cadiz, Granada and Malaga. 

Barcelona's subsequent defeat to Getafe at least kept the Catalans away from top spot, but the Merengue coach could not hide his frustration with what he saw, especially in the opening 45 minutes. 

"If we had conceded two or three goals in the first half we could not have said anything. There is no excuse," the coach fired to reporters after the final whistle. 

"There is no explanation, we are not happy with what happened, but it is something that can happen in football. We did not start the game well. 

"It was tough right from the start, we were a little better in the second half. We didn't get into the game, we struggled physically, creating chances depends on how you start and we really struggled." 

To compound Madrid's misery, Zidane was forced to withdraw Sergio Ramos at half-time with an apparent physical complaint, although the Frenchman is confident his captain avoided injury. 

"I hope Sergio's problem is just a small thing. He has a little knock," Zidane added. 

Madrid will be back in action midweek in their Champions League Group B opener at home to Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. 

Three days later they travel to Camp Nou for the first Clasico of the season against Barca, and Zidane hopes his charges will put Saturday's woes behind them for the crucial upcoming matches. 

"We're now going to think about the next game and what we have to do is rest up well and try to do better to win the match," he explained.

"Today is a bad time for all of my players and all of Real Madrid and we're going to try and turn that around in our next game."

Liverpool face an anxious wait to discover the extent of Virgil van Dijk’s knee injury, amid fears the Dutchman is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Van Dijk was forced off just 11 minutes into the Reds’ 2-2 draw at Everton on Saturday, following a reckless challenge from Blues goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

He was sent for a hospital scan immediately after the game, with Liverpool’s medical staff concerned at the possibility of serious ligament damage. 

Club sources insist there have been no scan results at this stage, but beIN SPORTS  reported during the Manchester City-Arsenal game that Van Dijk had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament, and could face a spell of seven to eight months out of action. Liverpool were left deeply unimpressed by that report, making their feelings known to the Qatar-based broadcaster.

Reds captain Jordan Henderson revealed that Pickford, who was not even booked for the challenge, had sought him out at the final whistle, asking him to pass on an apology to Van Dijk.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, though, was unamused at the refusal of VAR to intervene and issue the England goalkeeper a red card. Indeed, it emerged later that Liverpool had contacted the Premier League asking them to review the application of VAR in the game, having been further incensed at seeing a late winning goal, scored by Henderson, ruled out for a questionable offside against Sadio Mane.

On the Van Dijk incident, Klopp said: “In the game, it was pretty quick. For me, it was a clear penalty what I saw and then obviously we saw that the flag went up, so offside. I still thought it's worth to have a look on the foul but that didn't happen. 

“We have no power there, we just sit here and now you discuss it with me. We have to ask other people about that. 

“What can I say? I don't want to say Jordan Pickford wanted to do it but it's, of course, not a challenge how a goalie can do it in the box because there's another player. If it's not offside, it's 100 per cent a penalty. So it's nothing, that's all.”

Liverpool also have concerns over the fitness of midfielder Thiago Alcantara, who was on the end of a wild challenge from Everton forward Richarlison in the closing stages of Saturday’s game.

Thiago was able to finish the game, with Richarlison, who was shown a straight red card, later tweeting an apology to the former Bayern Munich man . But afterwards Klopp revealed the 29-year-old had complained of pain. 

“When I left the pitch, Thiago told me in the red card situation with Richarlison he thinks he got injured,” Klopp said. “We will see if it’s true or not, but if he felt like this then we need to have a look.”

To lose either, of course, would be a huge blow to Liverpool’s ambitions this season. Van Dijk had, prior to Saturday, played every minute of the Reds’ last 74 Premier League matches, becoming a totemic presence since his £75 million move from Southampton in January 2018.

Without him, Liverpool would have to rely on Joe Gomez and Joel Matip as their only specialist senior centre-backs. Matip himself only returned from a hamstring problem against Everton, emerging unscathed after his first 90-minute outing in almost a year, while Gomez too has a history of injury issues and has not been at his best so far this season. 

Fabinho is another option, though the Brazilian’s importance in midfield is significant too, especially if Thiago were to miss any period of time. Liverpool also have Nat Phillips, the 23-year-old who spent last season on loan with Stuttgart in 2.Bundesliga, and teenagers Rhys Williams, Sepp van den Berg and Billy Koumetio as emergency options. 

Williams, 19, featured in the Carabao Cup games against Lincoln and Arsenal last month, while Van den Berg made four cup appearances last season. 

Koumetio, the youngest of all at 17, has made a big impression since being asked to train with the senior squad at their pre-season camp in Austria, but is yet to make his professional debut.

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed Paul Pogba didn't start in Saturday's 4-1 win against Newcastle due to niggling injuries picked up on international duty. 

The Frenchman featured in all three of his country's recent fixtures but only came on for the final 15 minutes of their midweek win over Croatia. 

Pogba then found himself in a similar situation at club level, with Solskjaer opting to keep his star midfielder on the bench until the 69th minute on Saturday when the clash was still deadlocked at 1-1.

The Red Devils would ultimately score three late goals to wrap up the win with Solskjaer forced to clarify why Pogba didn't start the match having previously started in the club's three previous league games. 

"Paul had hip and back problems when he was away with France, so it wasn't right to start him," Solskjaer told Sky Sports. 

"We have got big games coming up. Everyone has to perform when they come on. I am delighted for him."

On the game itself, Solskjaer added: "Great result and great character to come back, led by a very inspirational captain.

"The boys came together really well. The are looking forward to every game. Today I rested a few and they have come on and done the business for us.

"The season started for us today. We have come up to the speed of the game and that showed today."

Solskajer opted to start under-fire defender Harry Maguire against Newcastle and the club captain delivered with an early equaliser for the Red Devils. 

"Harry scored and leads by example. He showed good character, I am happy for him. He had a couple of difficult weeks since he last played for us," Solskjaer said. 

Newcastle manager Steve Bruce believes the scoreline wasn't a fair reflection of his side's efforts, who were close to walking away with a point with less than 10 minutes remaining. 

"I thought we were a little bit too easy at times to play against. We will go away really, really disappointed because we were 10 minutes away and it could have gone either way when it gets that late," Bruce told MOTD. 

"It is work in progress for us. We have tried to change and with that it will take time. The defeat looks worse than it really was."

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire admits the club still have a long way to go after their 4-1 win against Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday.

The Red Devils were beaten 6-1 by Tottenham in their last match and found themselves trailing inside two minutes against Steve Bruce's side after a Luke Shaw own-goal. 

Maguire however headed his side level in the 23rd minute before three late goals handed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a vital three points. 

Despite calls for Maguire to be rested following a tough week that saw him sent off for England during the midweek match against Denmark, the centre-back started the game on Saturday and believes the Red Devils responded positively after the thrashing against Spurs. 

"I wouldn't say we have answered them [the critics]. It's funny, three games into the season and it seems like a big crisis. Won two lost two. There is a long way to go, we have to improve," Maguire told Sky Sports post-match. 

"When you play for this club and get beat at home, we ask questions. We work hard in training, it is a great group and we knew we had to bounce back. I felt it would have been really harsh if we came away with just a point. A full deserved win.

"It was important. Every game in the Premier League we want to be on top. Some games we will not be at our best but we have to do the basics well and in the games we lost we didn't do the basics well.

"We knew we needed to get three points and we managed to do so. We've got a tough run coming up.

"We are still a young team but we won't use that as an excuse. It was disappointing to start like we had but big performance tonight when we needed it."

Bruno Fernandes had a second-half penalty saved against Newcastle before putting his side ahead with a cool finish in the 86th minute.

The Portugal star was quick to highlight Maguire's resilience post-match and believes the defender can be pushed to greater heights. 

"H is a big man. He is playing for the national team and Manchester United. It is of course difficult for every player being under fire but he did what he had to do on the pitch," Fernandes told MOTD. 

"He scored. We can push him and he can push us."

Mason Greenwood missed Manchester United’s win against Newcastle because he was not fit enough to play, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed after the match.

With Anthony Martial missing through suspension due to his red card in the 6-1 defeat to Tottenham before the international break, many had expected Greenwood to lead the line for United at St James’ Park on Saturday evening.

However, the 19-year-old was conspicuous by his absence as he did not even make the trip to the North East for the club’s fourth league game of the campaign.

“Mason wasn’t fit to play so we had to leave him out. We hope he will recover quickly,” Solskjaer said after United won 4-1 to record their second league victory of the season.

It was an emphatic victory for United in the end but they had to come from behind after Luke Shaw deflected Emil Krafth’s cross past David de Gea with under two minutes on the clock.

Despite the early setback it was a promising reaction from Solskjaer’s side as they put four past Karl Darlow in Newcastle's goal.

“[The early goal] made it a lot harder for everyone,” Man Utd's head coach said. “It was hard enough as it was with the build-up to this game and the result from last time and then going 1-0 down after a minute and a half.

"I thought the boys responded fantastically. They were patient, resilient, they trusted what the plan was and in the end we created lots of chances to grind [out] a win.”

Harry Maguire, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Aaron Wan-Bissaka all got their names on the scoresheet and Solskjaer was also full of praise for Daniel James, who has been heavily criticised due to his recent form.

“He has incredible speed on the counter and today he showed more positivity, he trusted himself. We work with all the players to express themselves and show what they're good at,” Solskjaer explained.

“We wanted Bruno and Juan [Mata] in the pockets, to get in there and get on the ball. We wanted Dan and Marcus to work really hard, to run in behind and everybody to be positive. I thought all four of them did the job and I'm very pleased with Dan.”

Pep Guardiola has defended Sergio Aguero after the striker was criticised for touching lineswoman Sian Massey-Ellis during Saturday's win over Arsenal. 

Aguero found himself at the centre of controversy just before half-time at the Etihad Stadium after he took exception to Massey-Ellis signalling a throw-in for Arsenal, when the striker believed it should have been City's ball. 

The striker confronted Massey-Ellis and grabbed her by the shoulder near her neck, before his arm brushed across her back. Massey-Ellis reacted by swatting Aguero's arm away from her.

The incident caused plenty of strong reactions, with many believing the veteran striker had touched Massey-Ellis in an inappropriate fashion.

After the game, which City won 1-0 thanks to a Raheem Sterling goal, Guardiola attempted to shift the focus off the incident.

“Come on guys. Sergio is the nicest person I ever met in my life. Look for problems in other situations, not in this one," the Man City manager told reporters.

Guardiola also spoke about the importance of City's win, which came after an indifferent start to the season.

Saturday's win was only City's second in four Premier League matches, with the 2018-19 champions also recording a 1-1 draw against Leeds and a 5-2 defeat to Leicester City.

"It was a tight game as we expected. It was for our heads, so important this victory, for the problems that we have," Guardiola told Sky Sports.

"In the game against Leeds, Ederson made outstanding saves and again today.

"What we have done today, without the ball, defending together. I think Nathan [Ake] and Ruben [Dias] were incredible, and Kyle [Walker] as a central defender.

"We could not train one session on the build-up [with this back three]. We need more time to grow as a team, but it's okay.

"I think this game is going to help us to make a step forward."

The result was Guardiola's 500th victory of his coaching career, including his stint in charge of Barcelona B.

Guardiola's side are next in action with their Champions League opener against Porto on Wednesday before they return to their Premier League schedule with a match against West Ham next weekend.

Newly-appointed Al-Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane guided his team to a 2-0 win over Wydad Casablanca in a Caf Champions League first leg semi-final encounter at the Stade Mohamed V on Saturday.

The tone was set as early as the fourth minute when Mohamed Kafsha capitalised on an error by Yahya Jabrane to put the visitors in front against a Wydad Casablanca side who were champions in 2017 and are also coached by a former Sundowns manager Miguel Angel Gamondi.

The Moroccan side had a great opportunity to restore parity when they were awarded a penalty in the 43rd minute, but the chance was wasted as Badi Aouk struck his spot kick tamely and enabled Mohamed El Shenawy to make the save.

Victory was wrapped up by Al Ahly when Ali Maaloul slotted home a 63rd-minute penalty.

Known as 'the club of the century', the Egyptian outfit are aiming to extend their record Champions League triumphs from eight to nine.

Mosimane meanwhile is looking to claim his second Caf Champions League crown after his success with South African side Mamelodi Sundowns in 2016.

Sundowns were in fact knocked out of this season's Champions League by Al Ahly in the quarters, going down 3-1 on aggregate to the team from Cairo.

That was before Mosimane's switch to the Egyptian giants, and he now seems keen on making the most of his second shot at the crown following a solid victory on Saturday night away in Morocco.

The second leg encounter will take place on Friday 23 October in Cairo. The other semi-final is being contested between Raja Casablanca and Zamalek and the first-leg match takes place on Sunday 18 October in Morocco's capital.

Ahly and Wydad met in the Caf CL final in 2017, with each club featuring in one subsequent final since then.

Wydad missed out on the title last time around after Esperance were declared champions following a controversial final overshadowed by a VAR scandal, and the Tunisians also defeated Ahly 4-3 on aggregate the year before.

Gabrielle Onguene put up an impressive show for CSKA Moscow as they confirmed their place in the 2020 Russian Women's Cup final following Saturday's 2-1 semi-final win over Ryazan.

Going into the contest, CSKA had defeated Krasnodar 2-1 to reach the semi-final two weeks ago, while Ryazan edged Chertanovo in the quarter-final by the same scoreline on the same day.

The Red and Blue team made a promising start to the encounter when Tatyana Petrova fired them ahead after just five minutes at the Spartak Olympian Stadium.

Maksim Zinovyev's team continued to pile the pressure on Ryazan defence and found another breakthrough in the 27th minute as Petrova bagged her brace and her side's second of the match.

After the break, last season's runners up made the best start in the second half but could not find a way past CSKA's defence.

Ryazan, however eventually found the back of the net through Ksenia Tsybutovich but her effort seven minutes from time was not enough to deny Zinovyev's side a place in the final.

The Cameroonian striker was in action for the duration of the match and was finally able to inspire her side to a first Cup final since the 2017 triumph.

Having clinched a final spot, CSKA will face the second semi-final winner of November 4th's Zvezda Perm/Yenisey and Zenit Saint Petersburg/ Lokomotiv Moscow.

Ronald Koeman suffered the first defeat of his reign as Barcelona failed to capitalise on a shock loss for Real Madrid, slipping to a 1-0 defeat at Getafe. 

With El Clasico looming on the horizon, reigning champions Madrid were stunned by newly promoted Cadiz as LaLiga resumed on Saturday following the international break.

However, Barca missed the chance to move level on points with their rivals ahead of next Saturday's showdown at Camp Nou. 

Jaime Mata's 56th-minute penalty was enough for Getafe to secure a first league win over their illustrious opponents since a similar 1-0 result back in November 2011, a run of 16 games. 

Lionel Messi struck a post and Getafe captain Djene Dakonam was spared from scoring an own goal by the crossbar, but - after starting his reign with back-to-back wins - Koeman has now seen his side pick up a solitary point from their next two outings, laying bare the size of the task on his hands. 

Ousmane Dembele made his first start of 2020 and there was also an opportunity handed to teenager Pedri from the outset, suggesting the new boss will show faith in youth during the rebuilding job required. 

Still, it is a big-money signing who will once again come under the spotlight, Antoine Griezmann squandering his team's best chance to leave him still without a goal at club level in the early stages of the 2020-21 season. 

The French forward wastefully blasted over when clean through in a first half consistently punctuated by the sound of referee Cesar Soto Grado's whistle, with five players shown yellow cards. 

Getafe had rarely threatened before Frenkie de Jong helped them out, the midfielder clumsily catching Dakonam inside the area as he rushed in attempting to win the ball. 

Mata duly converted from the spot – sending Neto the wrong way – and the dogged hosts held firm to their slender advantage through to the final whistle. 

In an eventful finish to proceedings not in keeping with the rest of the contest, Juan Hernandez blazed over at one end before Getafe were saved by the woodwork in stoppage time, Barca unable to find a late leveller their performance scarcely merited.

What does it mean? Barca rebuild will take time 

The underlying issues within the squad following a tumultuous 2019-20 campaign were not going to be solved by moving on some of the old guard during the transfer window. There are some early positives, but this was the first real bump in the road for Koeman. 

Having failed to engineer his own exit, Messi is still around. However, so too is the dependency on him to create in attack. The visitors had 73 per cent possession but mustered just one on-target attempt. 

Getafe showing fighting spirit 

Rather than Barca, it is Getafe who are now on level terms with Madrid at the summit on 10 points. This was a performance that typified Jose Bordalas' side; they conceded 20 fouls and were happy to be without the ball for long spells, yet they still had more total shots and more attempts on target than the opposition. 

Griezmann miss crucial 

After impressing while away with France, Griezmann suffered another outing to forget when back on Spanish soil. Playing in his preferred position through the middle, his one attempt saw him badly fluff his lines. It was the kind of opening he would normally be expected to tuck away.

What's next?

Barcelona start their Champions League campaign at home to Ferencvaros in midweek, followed by a Clasico clash that has taken on even greater significance for both sides. As for Getafe, they host Granada in LaLiga action next Sunday.