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Sergio Ramos' late penalty secured Real Madrid their first win of the 2020-21 LaLiga season as Los Blancos won 3-2 at 10-man Real Betis, for whom Barcelona-owned Emerson endured something of a nightmare.

Zinedine Zidane's men began their title defence with an underwhelming 0-0 stalemate with Real Sociedad, and while they were only marginally better in Seville, they just about made the most of their numerical advantage.

Madrid initially looked good value for their lead when Federico Valverde prodded them in front, but Betis showed excellent resilience to turn it around.

Aissa Mandi and William Carvalho did the damage in a three-minute salvo, the latter netting in successive games having not scored in his first 57 outings for the club.

Things began to look up for Madrid early in the second half when Emerson found his own net before then getting sent off, and Los Blancos completed the win thanks to Ramos' spot-kick eight minutes from time.

Michaela Abam and Dorine Chuigoue helped Real Betis win the 2020 Andalusian Women's Cup after a 2-1 win over Granada in the final on Saturday.

The Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea internationals signed in the 2019 and 2020 summer respectively on permanent deals. They impressed for Pier Luigi Cherubino's side to claim the maiden title.

Before Saturday's final, the Africans starred in Betis' 2-1 semi-final triumph over Cordoba on Friday evening following up on a massive 10-0 quarter-final win in which Abam hit a hat-trick on Thursday.

Chuigoue's experience earned her a starting role against the Reto Iberdrola side, while Abam was brought on to preserve their victory.

After a few botched attempts, Betis finally broke the resistance of Granada when Oriana Altuve blasted home 10 minutes after the restart.

However, the Reto Iberdrola outfit fought back immediately and Laura Perez brought them back on level terms a minute later.

Desperate for a winner, Aixa Salvador netted in the 70th minute to ensure the Primera Iberdrola side celebrated victory in the end.

Chuigoue was in action from the start to finish, while Abam, who scored three goals in three games featured in the last 10 minutes.

The win means Chuigoue and Abam have won their first trophy with the Iberdrola club and gained a huge boost ahead of the season.

After the match, the Africans will be hoping to launch their new league campaign on a high when they face Eibar in a week's time.

Salimata Simpore assisted one goal and netted thrice, Lebogang Ramalepe scored one goal and assisted one, while Rhoda Mulaudzi scored and assisted twice in Dinamo-BSUPC's 11-0 victory over Bostor on Saturday.

The African trio shone in Dinamo's biggest win of the season, with a 15-0 win against Dnepr Mogilev along with Claudia Dabda before the international break on September 11.

The Africans were aiming to keep up their incredible form as they were boosted by the return of South Africa star Bambanani Mbane after three months on the sidelines due to her injury against Bostor.

At home to the bottom side, Anastasia Shuppo got the encounter off to a flying start as she turned in a fine pass from Burkinabe striker Simpore after just three minutes into the match for Dinamo.

Mulaudzi found a breakthrough past the visitors' defence and set up Simpore to double the lead for the hosts three minutes later.

Shuppo bagged her brace in the tie in the ninth minute before Mulaudzi assisted Simpore again to net the fourth, which came nine minutes later before Karachun Valerya added the fifth in the 21st minute.

Anastasia Shlapakova teed up Mulaudzi to get on the scoresheet two minutes later and the former later joined the list of scorers thanks to Viktoriya Kazakevich's pass in the 36th minute.

Five minutes from half time, Simpore hit her treble of the encounter off Shuppo's assist for the eighth for Dinamo.

After the restart, Ramalepe provided an assist for Shuppo to bag a hat-trick 14 minutes into the second half before she fired in her fifth thanks to a pass from Karina Olkhovik in the 63rd minute.

The four-goal heroine later reciprocated the favour from Ramalepe as she assisted her to grab her own goal of the match in the 67th minute to wrap up the massive victory.

With her latest hat-trick, Simpore has now scored 19 goals in 14 league outings for Dinamo this season, while Mulaudzi has managed four goals in four matches and Ramalepe two.

Mbane made her return to the pitch for the first time after almost four months on the sidelines as a second-half substitute, while Dabda played for 45 minutes before she was taken off.

The victory marks Dinamo's 17th league win this term and they now got 51 points from 17 matches, retaining their nine points gap with rivals Minsk, who they will host in their next outing on October 3.

Naif Aguerd and Sehrou Guirassy got their names on the scoresheet as Rennes recorded a 3-0 away win at Saint-Etienne on Saturday which restored their lead on the top of the Ligue 1 table.

The Red and Blacks have had a bright start to the new campaign, going unbeaten after drawing at Lille on the opening day before bagging wins against Montpelier, Nimes Olympique and AS Monaco.

They had relinquished top spot after Lille saw off Nantes 2-0 on Friday. Julian Stephan’s men, however, were not shaken and continued from where they left off with Aguerd giving them the lead in the 33rd minute, heading the ball in from a Benjamin Bourigeaud corner kick.

They maintained that lead going into the break but just two minutes after the restart, Saint-Etienne had the ball in the back of the net through Arnaud Nordin. It was however ruled out for offside by the Video Assistant Referee.

Rennes grew in confidence as the game wore on and added a second in the 53rd minute via Guirassy, the 24-year-old forward of Guinean descent firing in an overhead kick having latched on to a cross from Romain Del Castillo.

Adrien Hunou got the job done with a lob over Saint-Etienne goalie Jessy Moulin one minute from time.

Aguerd had a strong performance for the 90 minutes he played, winning six of nine total duels, one interception, two tackles and three clearances. He also had 61 touches on the ball and a high passing accuracy of 90%. The Morocco international has now scored twice since joining from Dijon in the summer, netting first in the victory at Nimes.

Guirassy meanwhile had two shots on target, one successful dribble from a sole attempt while also producing 30 touches, 12 accurate passes (67%) and winning seven of 12 total duels before going off for Hunou in the 84th minute. The forward who joined from Amiens, now has three goals for his new employers having also netted in the victory at Nimes.

Rennes will be at Roazhon Park when they face Reims in their next Ligue 1 encounter on November 4.

Omar Colley scored his first Sampdoria goal with a first-half header in Saturday’s Serie A clash against Benevento.

In the process, the Gambia international ended his three-year wait to find the back of the net for I Blucerchiati.

Even with the effort, his team lost 3-2 at home – surrendering a 2-0 lead to the Luca Caldirola-inspired visitors.

Sampdoria began the game like a house on fire with Fabio Quagliarella handing Claudio Ranieri’s men an eighth-minute lead after finishing off a pass from Federico Bonazzoli.

The second goal came 10 minutes later after Colley headed past goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipo, the cross from Antonio Candreva.

That strike woke up the visitors from their slumber as Luca Caldirola reduced the deficit in the 33rd minute.

In the 72nd minute, Luca Caldirola levelled matters after heading past goalkeeper Emil Audero, the corner-kick from Gianluca Caprari.

Gaetano Letizia had the final say with two minutes left to play after drilling home a ferocious strike outside the goal area of the hosts.

The Gambian defender was in action from start to finish, nevertheless, he could not rescue his team from their second defeat in a row.

For Filippo Inzaghi's team, Burkina Faso star Bryan Dabo was handed a place in the starting XI, but he was replaced in the 59th minute by Riccardo Improta, while Ghana's Abdallah Basit and Cote d'Ivoire's Siriki Sanogo were not listed for action.

In his post-match reaction, Colley – who is reportedly on the radar of Jurgen Klopp’s men as a replacement for Dejan Lovren is excited to have broken his duck but is disenchanted that his team ended up on the losing side.

"I am happy for my first goal, yesterday was my wife's birthday. But I'm disappointed because we lost,” Colley told the club website.

“In the first half we did better than in the second: we lost concentration and they had a good attack.”

With his team now losing their two opening games of the 2020-21 season, the African has called for patience.

"The road is long. Let's focus and move on: this is football. We want to continue to work to improve ahead of the next few games,” he continued.

“Maybe a little tiredness has taken over, but we have to keep our concentration high throughout the game, otherwise we lose. Let's not give up."

Sampdoria would be eyeing their first win of the 2020-21 season when they travel to Fiorentina on October 2.

Benik Afobe scored a brace and Anthony Nwakaeme was on target as Trabzonspor cruised to a 3-1 triumph over Yeni Malatyaspor.

Afobe who moved to Turkey on a season-long loan from Bristol City this month, opened his Super Lig goal account on Saturday with his strike in the 24th minute. He found the back of the net again and made it 2-0 for the hosts nine minutes later.

On the stroke half-time, Nwakaeme sealed victory for Trabzonspor at the Senol Gunes Stadium with his first goal of the season.

Later in the second half, Adem Buyuk's 78th-minute strike from the penalty spot was not enough to inspire Yeni Malatyaspor who suffered their second defeat this season.

The result ended Trabzonspor's winless run after their opening day 3-1 loss to Besiktas and last Saturday's goalless draw against Denizlispor.

Afobe and Nwakaeme played for 87 minutes and 78 minutes respectively, while Ghana's Caleb Ekuban continues his recovery from a groin injury and new signing Mali's Fousseni Diabate was not listed for the match.

Before their substitutions, Nwakaeme and Afobe managed the most shots on target (2) each for Eddie Newton's side while the former had the most shots (3).

Yeni Malatyaspor fielded several African stars which include Morocco's Issam Chebake, Egypt's Karim Hafez, Zimbabwe's Teenage Hadebe, Burundi's Youssouf Ndayishimiye, DR Congo’s Jody Lukoki, Ghana duo Afriyie Acuqah and Benjamin Tetteh.

Afobe and Nwakaeme will be looking to build on their partnership when Trabzonspor visit Gaziantep FK for their next Super Lig match on Friday.

LA Galaxy II have parted ways with Omar Ontiveros after the defender used a racial slur towards a San Diego Loyal player, prompting the club to forfeit the match in protest.

The incident occurred during Wednesday night's 1-1 draw between the two sides, who compete in the USL Championship.

Ontiveros voiced a racial slur towards a black player in the 71st minute, receiving no immediate discipline for the incident from the officials.

Neither Galaxy II nor SD Loyal disputed the event during an investigation by the USL, prompting a six-game suspension from the league with the potential for further punishment to come.

That further punishment came on Saturday, as with the club saying in a brief statement: "LA Galaxy II have mutually agreed to part ways with defender Omar Ontiveros."

Ontiveros had been with the club since March 2019, having made the move to Los Angeles after previously featuring for Rio Grande Valley FC. 

SD Loyal, meanwhile, announced on Friday that the club would forfeit the point earned from the match, having only learned of the incident in the locker room after the game.

“We don’t even want to recognize being a part of a match where these types of actions take place”, said SD Loyal’s Chairman Andrew Vassiliadis. “The Loyal in our name is symbolic of the diversity in our community and as a club we will not stand for this.”

Added club president Warren Smith:“If there is anything we have learned during the last few months with all the racial injustice matters that have occurred, we have to take action that have consequences when these matters occur.

"I am proud of this organization, its ownership, staff and especially our players for wanting to take such action."

SD Loyal are managed by former U.S. men's national team star Landon Donovan as the club is currently playing its first-ever season as an expansion team.

The club has earned 23 points through 15 games, sitting seventh in the league so far.

Next up for Donovan's side is a match against Phoenix Rising on Wednesday, while Galaxy II face Las Vegas Lights on Saturday.

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard is in no doubt Thiago Silva will shine at Stamford Bridge despite suffering a torrid debut away to West Bromwich Albion. 

The Brazilian was given the captain's armband by Lampard on Saturday in his first game since completing a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain. 

But it turned out to be an afternoon to forget for Silva, whose blunder allowed Callum Robinson to swoop for his and West Brom's second goal after just 25 minutes at the Hawthorns. 

Kyle Bartley converted two minutes later after more atrocious Blues defending to put the hosts up 3-0 by half-time, although Chelsea rallied to grab a point after the break through goals from Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Tammy Abraham. 

And while Silva looked extremely uncomfortable during his introduction to the Premier League Lampard has full faith in him to recover swiftly. 

"Thiago Silva is going to be fantastic for us. He has been incredible in his career and absolutely, I will not look at him," the manager explained to BBC Match of the Day.

"I can talk about the misses, they are clear and I am open and honest about that. We are a team but we have to react around that and, to be fair, the team did in the second half. But, there is nothing on Thiago, I am sure he will stand up and say it was a mistake.

"But other than that, I thought he was pretty faultless in the game. That’s his first Premier League game done and in the bank. We will get a lot more from him as well especially as he gets fitter and as the whole squad get fitter."

While Chelsea may have rescued a draw, their fragile defence was once more called into question; and Lampard did not hide his frustration with dropping further points following last weekend's 2-0 reverse at home to Liverpool.

"It was three defensive mistakes for three goals. They scored with their three attempts on target, which made it very difficult," he added.

"We controlled the game other than that. We had some chances and the question was how much character would we come out with second half. I always felt we could do it, but it is still two points lost.

"There was a lack of urgency in our game. We can move the ball quicker, the movement of the ball was slow in the first half. When we started to move it quicker and cut through them we became more dangerous.

"It needed a couple of changes, both players who came on did that. There were positives in our performance.

"But I would be stupid to say we can make three mistakes, give ourselves a mountain to climb and be happy with that.

"We have to accept the fact that this is a process in real time."

Inter sporting director Piero Ausilio has ruled out a move for N'Golo Kante in the current transfer window while also restating the club's intentions to hold onto defender Milan Skriniar. 

Kante has emerged as a transfer target for the Nerazzurri this summer, with coach Antonio Conte reportedly keen on a reunion with his former Chelsea charge at San Siro. 

The Blues, however, have been reluctant to open talks over their midfield star, with Frank Lampard describing Kante as "fundamental" to his plans. 

Kante too is happy to stay in west London, leading Ausilio to apparently call off Inter's pursuit of the World Cup winner. 

"Kante is an important part of Chelsea, I don't think he will be up for sale," the director explained to DAZN on Saturday prior to Inter's Serie A clash with Fiorentina. 

"We have eight important central midfielders, we will begin and move forward with them."

Skriniar has similarly attracted attention from Tottenham, with Ausilio admitting there was a meeting with Spurs representatives over the defender's future. 

But with Diego Godin leaving this summer for Cagliari, he is wary of leaving the club short of options in the middle of defence as they look to build on last season's second-placed finish behind Juventus and challenge for the Scudetto. 

"There were talks with the Tottenham management, but we will reiterate that Skriniar is a confirmed player for us," he added. 

"We are not planning to lose him after Godin."

Inter's meeting with the Viola on Saturday marked their first league match of 2020-21, having sat out the opening weekend after being given extra time to rest due to their Europa League commitments. 

"Inter set out with the mission of playing well, like in every season," Ausilio stated, while also revealing the club's intention to ease new signing Ashraf Hakimi, who started on the bench, into regular game time. 

"The pre-season went well, both in Italy and in the Europa League, where we were just one step away from winning [the final against Sevilla].

"Hakimi? It just shows our options: we are lucky enough to have a lot of great players and with the five substitutions the chance is there for everybody to play."

Herrienta Akaba scored a goal and provided two assists as Minsk continued their winning momentum with a 4-1 win over Zorka-BDU in a Belarusian Women's League encounter on Saturday.

Akaba made her first appearance of the season in the 1-0 hammering of Bostor before the international break, scoring on her debut.

Minsk avoided a slip up against last season's runners up Zorka with Anastasiia Skorynina giving them the lead thanks for a superb pass from the right from Akaba in the fourth minute.

Ksenia Kubichnaya converted the second goal for Minsk in the 38th minute before Akaba bagged her second assist, setting up Elvira Urazaeva to add the third goal four minutes from half time.

After the break, Zorka stepped up their quest for a comeback in the second half and were rewarded with a goal through Valeria Bogdan in the 68th minute.

However, the Cameroon international provided Minsk's fourth goal, tapping from close range to wrap up the victory seven minutes from time.

Akaba, who has now scored two goals in two league outings for Minsk lasted the duration along with Cote d'Ivoire's Nagede Cisse.

The win sees Minsk remain second on the log with 42 points from 17 matches - nine points adrift of leaders Dinamo-BSUPC.

They will aim to close the gap on leaders Dinamo when both teams meet in the reverse fixture on October 3.

Jack Wilshere should be considering a move to MLS, says Joe Cole, but the ex-West Ham midfielder has suggested that Serie A or La Liga may be more suitable landing spots for him.

The former Arsenal star has entered the final 12 months of his contract at the Hammers.

He is also struggling to convince David Moyes of his worth after enduring all too familiar injury struggles while in the East End.

It has been suggested that he could be released by the Hammers, with other options being favoured.

Cole feels an American adventure should appeal to Wilshere if another door opens for him, with the ex-England international having spent time in the States with NASL side Tampa Bay Rowdies towards the end of his career.

“I really like Jack, he’s a fantastic player and I think he’s very similar to myself, in that when he came onto the scene it was all very exciting for everyone,” former West Ham midfielder Cole told talkSPORT.

“I feel for Jack because he hasn’t even been able to really get there, he’s never really played regularly in his career and he’s 28 now.

“His injuries have been so much, I think he just need to play football now and enjoy himself.

“He’s got a young family and he would absolutely love the States, particularly if he goes to a place like Miami or Tampa, somewhere warm.

“It actually makes your body feel a lot better playing in those climates.

“I’m a big fan of Jack’s and I’d just love to see him playing football, that’s his natural habitat and he’s such a talented player.”

Wilshere is eager to continue testing himself at the highest level and has hinted that he will look to stay in Europe if he severs ties with West Ham.

He told The Times: “I just want to play games and get back to the level whether that's at West Ham or somewhere else, different country, a different culture maybe.

“I still feel like I've got something to give whether that will be in England, in Italy, Spain or anywhere.

“I want to prove people wrong and most of all for myself to see if I can get myself to a high level again.

“I want to show people what I can do. Any footballer that says he's happy being on the bench is lying. I want to play.

“I want to get a run of games, 15-20 games which I still think I can do and have an influence on games and get that confidence back.”

Yanga SC's partner GSM's investment director Hersi Said has explained why Carlinhos has struggled in the last three Mainland Premier League matches.

Carlinhos was signed in the last transfer period but has not earned a regular place as Said reveals the Angolan struggled because of food matters. According to the official, the forward has not been accustomed to the local delicacies but the club has found a new way of helping the 25-year old.

“That [solving food issues] has been successful especially because we received a lot of help from the Angola embassy. They have indeed been grateful all throughout the process as they have even offered us a chef,” Said told Mwanaspoti.

“The new chef has already started his job and apart from that, he will train our other chefs so that they can be preparing the same food for our players when they are in camps.

“Carlinhos has been struggling a lot and that is why he has not been able to show his real talent since he signed. You all understand football is a game that is highly judged by what one does on the training ground.

“For one to be successful he needs to eat good food and I think now Carlinhos is ready to deliver. We know how good he is and we are promising our fans that soon, they will see a good player in him.”

Meanwhile, Mtibwa Sugar head coach Zuberi Katwila has revealed his side’s readiness to face Yanga on Sunday. Katwila is drawing hope from their 1-1 draw against Simba SC and believes they can perform against Timu ya Wananchi.

“Yes, Yanga have many foreign players, but whenever we have been playing against them they have always struggled to get a better result,” Katwila told Mwanaspoti. “I have confidence in my players' abilities and I know they can do a good job.

“Simba also have a lot of international players but we fought and drew against them. They are the defending champions, yes but they faced a tough time against us.

“So, I can only tell Yanga to be prepared that a football match is determined within 90 minutes.”

Mtibwa Sugar have one win in three matches and it came against Ihefu FC. They drew 0-0 against Ruvu Shooting while Yanga have seven points from a draw against Tanzania Prisons, and 1-0 wins against Mbeya City and Kagera Sugar.

Chuba Akpom made a goalscoring debut for Middlesbrough as Bright Osayi-Samuel earned Queens Park Rangers a 1-1 draw in a Championship encounter.

Akpom who completed a permanent move from Greek outfit PAOK last Saturday, was handed his first start by Neil Warnock on Saturday and he immediately made an impact.

The former Arsenal youth star opened the scoring in London for Boro in the 19th minute, courtesy of an assist from Patrick McNair.

Nine minutes later, Osayi-Samuel got Mark Warburton's side level with his maiden strike of the season.

Akpom and DR Congo's Britt Assombalonga were in action for 90 minutes while Egypt midfielder Sam Morsy was introduced as a second-half substitute, four minutes after the hour-mark.

For QPR, Osayi-Samuel made his third appearance in the second division in this campaign and he has played every minute of their games alongside Sierra Leone's Osman Kakay.

Akpom created the most chances for Middlesbrough in the game, with three shots while Osayi-Samuel starred for the hosts with the most dribbles (8), most key passes (3) and the joint-highest shots on target (2).

QPR are yet to win a league match since their opening day 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest. Osayi-Samuel will be hoping to help the London outfit return to winning ways against Sheffield Wednesday on October 3.

Meanwhile, Saturday's result makes it back-to-back draws for Middlesbrough and they are without a win since the start of the 2020-21 Championship campaign.

They host Barnsley at the Riverside Stadium next Saturday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has attempted to explain Paul Pogba’s slow start to the season, with the Manchester United midfielder taking in another forgettable outing at Brighton.

Inconsistency at club level has been an issue for the France international throughout a second spell at Old Trafford.

Fitness issues have worked against him at times, with Solskjaer suggesting that the World Cup winner still is not up to full speed.

Pogba returned to action on the back of ‘Project Restart’ over the summer, but had been short on competitive minutes for some time prior to that.

He has now been denied a proper pre-season heading into the 2020-21 campaign and has looked sluggish through his early performances.

The 27-year-old made little impact on proceedings during United’s thrilling 3-2 victory over Brighton, with only the intervention of VAR seeing him spared the indignity of conceding a second-half penalty.

Solskjaer concedes that the most expensive asset at his disposal is not firing on all cylinders, but feels there are obvious reasons for that and believes a spark will be found if patience is shown.

He told reporters when quizzed on Pogba after taking in a dramatic contest at the Amex Stadium: “He missed a lot of pre-season because of his illness.

“He's not had internationals or the friendly against Villa.

“The two 65 minutes he's had will help him along and he'll just get better and better.”

Pogba is not the only issue for United to address at present, with their leaky back four looking far from watertight once again when edging out the Seagulls – with the woodwork coming to their rescue on five occasions.

Solskjaer has been urged to address those problems by bringing in another centre-half, but the Norwegian is not convinced that he needs to be reinforcing in that area before the summer transfer window slams shut.

He added, with Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof having started on the south coast: “We've got many defenders here and I put Eric [Bailly] on to bolster the defence, following the runs of [Leandro] Trossard and [Neal] Maupay.

“So, for me, we've got enough good centre-backs here at the moment.

“When you concede chances and concede goals there are two different things you can look at: it's the team shape or are there any individual mistakes.

“For me, we're not in our best shape of form, our shape isn't there, we're not sharp enough to stop crosses or follow the runs.

“We're a little bit behind and that's structural mistakes more than individual mistakes. I thought Victor did well today.”

Nigeria national team coach and former Bordeaux manager Gernot Rohr has thrown his weight behind Samuel Kalu to rediscover his form for the Ligue 1 side.

The 23-year-old has been with the Girondins since the summer of 2018 when he teamed up with the side from Belgian First Division club Gent.

The winger has featured in more than 40 league games for Bordeaux since his arrival at Matmut Atlantique.

Kalu is a consistent performer for the Nigeria national team under German tactician, Rohr, and has played in 13 games for the West African side since he made his debut against Libya in 2018.

The forward was one of the stand-out players for the Super Eagles at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, helping them to finish third in the tournament.

Kalu, however, struggled to replicate his eye-catching Super Eagles displays for the Girondins last season, starting 15 games and scoring only one goal for the side.

The forward, who has been linked with Turkish Super Lig side Fenerbahce this summer, is starting to enjoy more game time under manager Jean Louis Gasset.

The winger has featured in four league matches in the 2020-21 season, starting three of the outings and opened his account against Lens last time out.

Rohr has no doubt of the ability of the forward and has backed him to regain his confidence for the Girondins.

"There's this Kalu who is playing very, very well with me and Nigeria, who lost a bit of confidence last season," Rohr told Girondins magazine.

"It was not going very well with the staff from the previous season. There, he is trying to find a little of his means, both physical and moral.

"It is resurfacing. With the new staff, he will have more possibilities to play in his real position, which is the position of a pure winger, dribbler, centralizer, who can even score goals as he did with us.”

Rohr is hoping the 23-year-old will feature prominently when Bordeaux take on Nice in their next league game on Sunday.

"I hope to see him again on Sunday against Nice,” he continued.

Rohr has named Kalu in the Super Eagles squad that will take on African champions Algeria and Tunisia in friendlies next month.

Tanzania Premier League Board (TPLB) has continued with their intention to make sure all Mainland Premier League matches have standard pitches after they banned Ushirika Stadium in Moshi.

The league managers confirmed on Saturday in a statement obtained by Goal that they have banned the venue until further notice for lacking basic needs for a stadium to fully host league matches.

“TPLB has banned the use of Ushirika Stadium based in Moshi from hosting any top-tier matches, or even competitions owing to missing vital requirements as explained in the rules governing the game in the country,” read a statement from the TPLB and obtained by Goal.

“The Board has given the management 21 days to make renovations in the stadium in the aforementioned areas before the Inspection Committee visits the facility for inspection.”

As a result, Polisi Tanzania, who host their home matches at the venue, will not be allowed to use the facility and have been given an alternative by the board.

“Following the decision we ask Polisi Tanzania, who use the venue as the home ground, to start using Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium in Arusha for their on-going matches for the 2020-21 league campaign.

“After renovations have been done, the decision will be reviewed.”

Ushirika becomes the fourth venue to be suspended by TPLB after Mabatini based in Mlandizi, Pwani, Karume, and Gwambina Stadiums.

Karume Stadium based in Mara was banned from hosting any competitive matches owing to the poor playing surface compared to Gwambina, whose playing surface was classified as substandard by TPLB.

Gwambina FC, who were promoted to the top-tier for this campaign, have been advised to use either CCM Kirumba or Nyamagana Stadiums, both based in Mwanza, as their home ground for the time being.

In a recent interview, TPLB CEO Almas Kasongo confirmed they are working closely with Azam TV, who are the official broadcasters of the top-tier, to have selected venues outside Dar es Salaam to host night matches this season.

“We thank Azam TV for taking a leading role on facilitation to install flood-lights so people can also watch league games at night,” Kasongo told reporters.

“For the time being, only Simba SC, Young Africans (Yanga SC) and Azam have the opportunity for their matches to be played at night since their venues have the required infrastructure to embrace such duels.”

They are working closely with Azam TV, who are the official broadcasters of the Mainland Premier League, to have selected venues outside Dar es Salaam to host night matches this season.

The current season saw teams reduced from 20 to 18 so as to enable ample time to prepare between league matches.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will need to collect more trophies in order to cement a standing as an Arsenal legend, says Nigel Winterburn.

The Gabonese striker has helped the Gunners to FA Cup and Community Shield successes during his time at Emirates Stadium.

Those triumphs have helped to convince the prolific frontman to sign a new three-year contract.

With any uncertainty regarding his future brought to a close, the 31-year-old has been freed to chase down more major honours.

Winterburn believes further medals are going to be required in order to cement a place alongside the greats in north London.

The former Gunners left-back told FreeSuperTips: “If Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang keeps scoring like he has been over the next three years of his contract, then he’ll be heading in the right direction to achieve legendary status at Arsenal.

“I look back at players that people consider as legendary for the Arsenal, then I look at what they won at the football club and they didn’t win that much.

“The number of trophies that some of the players I played with won, in comparison to the amount that Aubameyang could win, it’s clear that he isn’t going to win the same number of trophies.

“Then eventually when he leaves – it depends always on what circumstances you leave; he will then be regarded as one of the legends of the club.” 

Aubameyang has already earned comparisons to some iconic figures from Arsenal’s past.

So impressive has his strike rate been, with 72 goals recorded through 112 appearances, that he has been likened to Ian Wright and Thierry Henry – the men who fill the top two spots on the club’s all-time leading scorer chart.

A star of the present has some way to go before he can claim to sit alongside legends of the past, but his presence should help to keep Mikel Arteta’s side in contention for more notable gongs.

The Gunners got their 2020-21 Carabao Cup campaign up and running last time out with a 2-0 victory over Leicester and have back-to-back league and cup outings against Liverpool to take in next week – starting with a Premier League clash with the defending champions at Anfield on Monday.

Stoke City claimed a 1-0 win over Preston North End in the Championship on Saturday with Tom Barkhuizen getting sent off for the first time in his professional career while John Obi Mikel provided the assist.

Both sides came into this match without a win in the English second-tier this season. The Lilywhites first lost at home to Swansea City before drawing at Norwich City last weekend. The Potters meanwhile drew at Millwall on matchday one before losing to Bristol City the last time out.

Both Barkhuizen and Mikel had played the entire 90 minutes in those matches and started for the third Championship game running.

The Anglo-South African was however given a straight red card for a dangerous foul on Stoke left-back Morgan Fox in the 22nd minute.

The disadvantage told on Preston, as Stoke used that to pile on the pressure which resulted in the opening goal six minutes before the half time whistle.

A nice interplay between the trio in Steven Fletcher, Tashan Oakley-Boothe and Mikel resulted in the Nigerian midfield veteran ultimately finding Lee Gregory who tapped home from close range.

It was the former Chelsea player’s first goal involvement for Stoke since he arrived in August.

He lasted the whole game for the third Championship match running and produced 64 touches, the fourth-highest among Stoke players while his passing accuracy of 90% from 45 passes was the highest among the Potters starters.

Mikel’s assist was the one big chance he created in the game and he also had one successful dribble. He successfully played three long balls out of four and won three of six ground duels.

Michael O’Neil’s men will hope to bag their first home league win of the season when they host Birmingham City next Sunday. Before that is an EFL Cup third-round tie against Aston Villa on Thursday.