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Quique Setien has claimed that the decision to remove him as Barcelona coach had been made regardless of the Catalans' historic 8-2 capitulation at the hands of Bayern Munich. 

The former Real Betis boss stepped into the breach at Camp Nou following Ernesto Valverde's sacking in January after a Supercopa defeat to Atletico Madrid. 

Setien's charges failed to shine, however, surrendering the La Liga title to Real Madrid despite sitting top when the new man took over at the start of 2020 amid a series of disappointing results. 

His fate was then sealed definitively when Bayern ran rampant in the Champions League quarter-final, imposing a bruising defeat on the Blaugrana which led to the coach being relieved of his duties. 

But Setien maintains that he would have been on his way no matter what the outcome was in Lisbon's Estadio da Luz in August. 

"You end up tremendously damaged, you go into Barcelona history with that defeat," he told ex-Spain coach Vicente del Bosque in an interview with El Pais. 

"I take my share of the blame. All the same, one day I will write about it. After my sacking I found out that the decision had been made since before the 8-2. I heard about everything."

That thrashing will be the reason for which most Barcelona fans remember Setien after his short, underwhelming spell on the bench, and he regrets not having the chance to impose his trademark swashbuckling playing style on the team. 

"I was not myself. I couldn't be, or didn't know how to be, that is the truth," he added. 

"When you sign for a club of Barca's dimension you already know that things aren't going to be easy, despite having the best players in the world. 

"The truth is that I couldn't be myself, nor did I do what I should have. It is true that I could have taken drastic steps, but that would not have helped either in as short a time as I was there and in which everything was condensed after lockdown. 

"Until that point the team was fine. We had started to change a lot of things. We went into the break two points ahead. Coming back we started well in Mallorca and Madrid's run was extraordinary. 

"In the end, the tension was too much. But really, there are situations that in a different context and in different circumstances I could have been different. There was no time to think or to work." 

Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman admitted he is worried about the stuttering club following their equal worst La Liga start.

Barca equalled their worst tally of La Liga points after six games since the Spanish competition reverted to three points for a win following Saturday's 1-1 draw at 10-man Deportivo Alaves.

Antoine Griezmann cancelled out Luis Rioja's opener with 27 minutes remaining to salvage a point for Barca, who have just eight points to already be as many points adrift of defending champions and bitter rivals Real Madrid.

Barca – who languish in 12th place amid a four-match winless streak in La Liga – have the same total of points as they managed at the start of the 2002-03 campaign under Louis van Gaal.

"I'm worried by our performance in attack," Koeman – in his first season at the helm after replacing Quique Setien – said. "It's not an attitude problem, nor concentration, but it's a question of being more assured in front of goal.

"It happened to us against Juventus and today as well. Furthermore, we gifted Alaves their goal. But if we create that many chances, we can't miss so many. If you create chances and you only score one, it's not good.

"Of course I'm worried that we've only picked up two points from the last 12 [available]. I think the play has been, in general, very satisfactory. I'd be more worried if we weren't creating chances.

"We have to perform better in front of goal. The final pass, the final shot. We can't miss so many [chances]. We're missing too many."

Lionel Messi's struggles also continued – the superstar Barca captain has now gone 877 minutes without scoring in open play. Messi's last open-play effort came against Napoli in the Champions League back in August, although he has scored three penalties and one free-kick since then.

Koeman made three changes at half-time, introducing Miralem Pjanic, Pedri and Trincao for Sergio Busquets, Clement Lenglet and Ousmane Dembele following Rioja's 31st-minute opener.

"I wasn't happy with the first half," said Koeman. "I made three changes because I wasn't happy and there were some players on a yellow card.

"If you criticised me the other day for making changes too late, today I made changes at half-time. I wasn't happy with our first half and there were people on the bench with the capability of scoring. I wanted to change things to win the game."

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Liverpool have matched their all-time club record for unbeaten home league matches with their 2-1 win over West Ham at Anfield on Saturday.

The Hammers took an early lead through Pablo Fornals but Mohamed Salah equalised with a penalty just before half-time before Diogo Jota scored an 85th-minute winner to secure all three points for the Reds.

The victory stretched Liverpool's unbeaten league run at Anfield to 63 matches (W52, D11), with their last Premier League defeat at home coming in April 2017 when they fell 2-1 to Crystal Palace behind a brace from their former striker Christian Benteke.

That run of 63 games has matched Liverpool's previous record, which was set in December 1980. Chelsea hold the all-time English top-flight record for consecutive unbeaten league home matches, with their 86-game run coming to an end in 2008.

The defending Premier League champions have endured a difficult start to the 2020-21 season despite moving into first place with the win against West Ham.

Injuries to key defenders such as Joel Matip, Fabinho, and Virgil van Dijk, as well as goalkeeper Alisson, have hampered Jurgen Klopp's side in the back, with the inexperienced Nat Phillips handed the start at centre-back on Saturday against the Hammers.

Though they have won five of their seven Premier League games thus far in 2020-21, Liverpool have conceded 15 goals in those seven matches after it took them 23 games to concede the same total last year.

Only Aston Villa in 1897-98 (17) conceded more goals in their first seven league matches as a reigning top-flight champion than Liverpool this season.

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. However, Klopp's men have recovered to win all three of those matches, becoming only the second side in Premier League history to pull off such a feat after Blackburn in November 2009.

Jota can take plenty of credit for Liverpool's home comebacks this season, as the Portugal international 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.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was full of praise for Nat Phillips after his stint at the back on Saturday, while admitting that the emergency defender was not exactly the most graceful player around. 

Phillips, 23, made his first Premier League start against West Ham alongside Joe Gomez, as the Reds continue to deal with an injury crisis that has robbed the Premier League champions of Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Joel Matip in recent weeks. 

The new-look defence got off to a rocky start when Pablo Fornals opened the scoring just 10 minutes in but Liverpool rallied to take a 2-1 victory, with goals from Mohamed Salah and substitute Diego Jota sealing three points. 

Phillips spent last season on loan in the 2. Bundesliga with Stuttgart honing his talents, and Klopp was happy to see the youngster step up when his side needed him. 

"He's a brilliant guy, smart guy, intelligent, everything. He's not easy on the eye, he's not Messi but who cares?" the manager joked to Match of the Day.

"In the air, he's a monster! He was incredible.

"For the first game, I think everyone can imagine how nervy that must be after a long wait. It's a crazy story, three years ago he was on his way to America to college.

"Twelve Championship teams wanted him and to me it was clear he was going, and I was fine with that - and it didn't work out for whatever reason, and it's great! Tonight he was spot on, helped the team incredibly."

Klopp was also pleased to see Jota make an impact off the bench, scoring what proved to be the winner five minutes from the end.

"We fought really hard to sign him. We didn't need to convince him too much, but we had to fight for it," he added.

"He's an exceptional talent. He has the speed, physicality, technique, he's both-footed... He's much better than I thought he would be and that's really impressive."

"We had a lot of good football - not 500 chances or whatever but enough. It's a real challenge for the concentration levels, and we did it. I don't want to see us in a moment be brilliant because it's not possible, I want to see us dig in and we did that, and I'm so, so happy."

Aland United returned to the summit of the Finnish Naisten liiga log after a 3-0 win against KuPS Kuopio courtest of a brace from Ode Fulutudilu in Saturday’s encounter.

The South Africa international has been in superb form for Aland in this campaign and again shone against the visitors at Wiklof Holding Arena.

The forward was handed her 14th starting role in the contest and delivered a five-star display to help her side reclaim top spot.

Aland started the game on a high as they were gifted a penalty,  allowing Isabella Mattsson to open the scoring in the second minute from the penalty spot.

Fulutudilu doubled Aland’s lead with an individual effort on the half-hour mark before she struck on the brink of half time to complete her brace and the triumph for the hosts.

Besides her goal, Fulutudilu, who featured for 82 minutes before she was replaced by Singy Aarna in the encounter.

The forward has now scored seven goals, including two braces for Aland in only 15 league appearances, amid other dazzling displays.

The win helps Aland reclaim the summit with 40 points from 17 matches despite being tied with TiPS but holds a five-goal superior difference.

She will hope to help his side celebrate a double when they meet title rivals TiPS in the final match of the campaign on November 8.

William Troost-Ekong’s Watford stuttered to a slim 1-0 defeat to Clarke Oduor’s Barnsley in Saturday’s Championship clash.

Unbeaten in their last four games, the Hornets went to Oakwell, saw and were caged thanks to a sixth-minute effort from captain Alex Mowatt.

The first half was a tough watch for Vladimir Ivic's men as they were unable to find their passing range, especially when playing from their own half.

As the game was still gathering momentum, the hosts pounced on a slack pass from Ben Wilmot to Etienne Capoue and Mowatt exploited that to rattle home from 20 yards which left goalkeeper Ben Foster with no chance.

Few minutes later, the Reds put together another fine move as Mowatt fired a fine cross-field ball to Conor Chaplin, who found Dominik Frieser on the edge of the box, nevertheless the Austrian fired over the crossbar.

Ivic’s Hornets reassembled before the interval, albeit, they were unable to find a way through a dogged Barnsley backline as the hosts went into the half-time break with a slim lead.

Watford appeared more adventurous after the restart and were presented a glorious chance to level in the 58th minute. Ismaila Sarr darted past Oduor before unleashing a low ball across the box, but Tom Cleverly blazed wide unmarked from six-yards out.

Minutes later, Ben Wilmot headed narrowly over the bar from a corner as Watford continued to probe.

Even with the introduction of Andre Gray and Will Hughes for the visitors, the Reds held on for their second win of the 2020-21 campaign.

Nigeria’s Troost-Ekong was handed his fourth start, however, he was substituted for Andre Gray in the 76th minute. The former Udinese defensive stalwart was cautioned by referee Matt Donohue in the third minute. For Senegal’s Sarr, he was in action from start to finish.

Kenya's Oduor was brought in for Callum Brittain in the 46th minute while Angola international winger Elliot Simoes and Nigeria's Victor Adeboyejo were not dressed for action.

With this result, Watford dropped to sixth in the log after garnering 15 points from nine games. They would be hoping to return to winning ways when they host Stoke City on November 11. Barnsley, who are currently ranked 15th are guests of Cardiff City on November 3.

West Ham manager David Moyes has hit out at the decision to award Liverpool a penalty in his side's 2-1 defeat in the Premier League on Saturday.

Pablo Fornals had put Moyes' side ahead after just 10 minutes at Anfield but the Reds were handed a way back into the game after Arthur Masuaku was ruled to have fouled Mohamed Salah in the box just before half-time. 

Replays showed the defender did fail to make contact with the ball and clipped Salah – who went down in a clear attempt to win the spot-kick before calmly converting the penalty.

Moyes was less than impressed to see the penalty awarded, clearly unhappy that players are being rewarded for making the most of minimal contact in the box. 

"I’m amazed that a penalty was given in the first half. I can’t believe that we’re allowing those sorts of penalties to be awarded," Moyes told Sky Sports after the game. 

"We weren’t clinical enough at times. We missed a couple of really good opportunities to get another goal.

"In a lot of games we feel we can challenge. We go into many games thinking we’ve got a chance. I wouldn’t say we were unlucky today, but I’m really disappointed when we were 1-0 up that the penalty was given."

Speaking to BBC Match of the Day about the penalty, Moyes added: "It’s not the sort of football I want to be involved in. I think our player stops and throws his arms up because he’s so disappointed about the dive.

"I’m just disappointed they didn’t turn the decision around. Maybe in the second half the decision [Diogo Jota’s disallowed goal] went for us, but the first-half one didn’t."

The penalty would prove decisive as Jurgen Klopp's side scored an 85th-minute winner via substitute Jota, who was teed up by Xherdan Shaqiri. 

After holding Tottenham and Manchester City to draws in recent weeks, West Ham have now failed to win any of their past three matches and have slipped to 13th in the Premier League. 

Liverpool, meanwhile, have temporarily claimed top spot but will return to second should Everton defeat Newcastle on Sunday. 

The Premier League will not be affected by a new lockdown set to come into force across the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed on Saturday. 

Coronavirus cases have been increasing at a rapid pace in the past few weeks, with the nation reporting an average of more than 20,000 daily positives over the last 10 days. 

In response to the growing 'second wave' Johnson announced in a press conference on Saturday that the UK would re-impose a national lockdown, closing non-essential businesses and restricting the movement of the population in a bid to reduce infections. 

England's top flight fell victim to the pandemic in March, with the 2019-20 season suspended for almost four months before the campaign's remaining fixtures could be completed. 

But Johnson affirmed that for the time being the current term was in no risk of similar measures. 

"I can say yes to the Premier League, I think, with authority," the PM told reporters when announcing the new lockdown rules, due to come into place from Thursday until December 2. 

Oliver Dowden, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, confirmed that top-level sporting activity would not be affected. 

"The changes mean people should work from home where possible," Dowden explained on Twitter. 

"But where this is not possible, travel to a place of work will be permitted - e.g. this includes (but not exhaustive) elite sport played behind closed doors, film & tv production, telecoms workers."

In a statement on Twitter, the FA acknowledged that it was still unclear how the lockdown would affect non-elite football.

"We acknowledge the government’s announcement today regarding Covid-19 restrictions and are awaiting further information before we can confirm how this may affect non-elite football across England. We will communicate any necessary updates in due course," the tweet read.

As well as the Premier League, several top European divisions have moved to act in the face of mounting cases across the continent. 

France's Ligue 1, which was concluded without completing the 2019-20 season back in March, will continue , as will the Bundesliga, although German football authorities have issued a new ban on fans attending games in order to reduce the risk of infection . 

Jurgen Klopp, whose Liverpool side squeezed past West Ham at the same time as Johnson was addressing the nation, affirmed that he was pleased to see the sport continue.

"It's obviously what we want. We proved that we can go on and keep the bubble kind of safe," the manager told reporters after the Reds' 2-1 victory. 

"Yes we have cases, everybody does, but we can isolate these cases pretty quickly. Things never happen at the training ground, they happen with travelling, national teams, new players into the club and things like that.

"We proved that we can do it, and in a lockdown I think it's important that the people can do things they like to do, and watching football is obviously something they like to do. I'm obviously happy we can continue."

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.

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.

Barcelona are off to their worst start in a La Liga campaign since 2002-03 following their 1-1 draw with Alaves on Saturday. 

Ronald Koeman has seen his side pick up just eight points from six games so far with Barca currently 12th in La Liga and on half the points of league leaders Real Madrid, who have played an extra game. 

Despite winning consecutive Champions League matches, Barcelona have failed to win their past four games in Spain's top-flight with their last victory coming on October 1 against Celta Vigo. 

Since then Koeman's side have been held to draws by Sevilla, Getafe and Alaves, while they lost El Clasico 3-1 to Real Madrid last weekend. 

The last time Barcelona started a season so badly they ended the campaign in sixth - a finish Koeman will be desperate to avoid. 

On Saturday, a howler from Neto handed Alaves the lead in the 31st minute before Barca equalised via Antoine Griezmann in the 63rd minute - just moments after Alaves saw Jota sent off for a second yellow card.

Koeman's men pushed hard for the winner against 10 men, taking 25 shots to Alaves's four and boasting 80 per cent possession, but failed to find another goal as they had to settle for a disappointing point. 

Lionel Messi took 10 shots across the 90 minutes but failed to get his name on the scoresheet and has now scored just once from his past 45 direct free-kicks for Barcelona. 

Alaves goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco proved to be the hero on the night as he made seven saves - the most by any shot-stopper in La Liga this season. 

Speaking after the Alaves draw, Frenkie de Jong stressed Barcelona need to start making the most of their ascendency. 

"We need to win these games," De Jong told Barca TV. "I think especially in the second half we were pressing them a lot and created a lot of opportunities or chances. Maybe a bit unlucky, I don't know. The first half was not good enough." 

Barcelona must pick themselves back up quickly as they host Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League on Wednesday before facing Real Betis in La Liga action on November 7.

Eden Hazard was delighted to score a "beautiful goal" for Real Madrid after a year-long drought as Emilio Butragueno hailed the forward as "magnificent".

Hazard blasted home with his weaker foot from nearly 30 yards out to give the Spanish champions the lead over Huesca on Saturday.

Zinedine Zidane's men eased to a 4-1 victory that moved them back to the top of the table, with Karim Benzema scoring twice and Federico Valverde also on the scoresheet.

It was Hazard's strike that will be best remembered, though, as it ended a wait of 392 days for just his second goal for Madrid since joining from Chelsea for an initial €100 million (£88m/$112m) in 2019.

Hazard was beaming as he recorded a short video message for fans that was posted on Twitter by Madrid after the match.

"Hi, guys! I'm just happy to be back on a pitch, [and] score a beautiful goal,"  the Belgium international said.

"That's for you. I hope to see you soon."

Hazard did not create a chance for team-mates or produce a cross in his hour on the pitch against Huesca, but his link-up play with Benzema was encouraging throughout and one such move led to Valverde's emphatic third goal, leaving Zidane pleased with what he saw. 

"We are happy with Hazard's game and happy with what we did today. He has no discomfort, he is happy with his goal, his teammates are happy with him. It's a victory, it's four goals, three points and you have to be happy," the coach said.

Real's director of institutional relations and former star striker Butragueno was also thrilled with the performance of the Belgium star.

"What Hazard did was magnificent. We saw that in the first goal," he told Movistar after the game. "It gives you an idea of the category of player we're talking about.

"From then on, the team felt more comfortable. Being effective up top helps the game to go how you want it to.

"He has had back luck since he came due to injuries. He's a winner and what he wants is to be out on the pitch and helping the team. Hopefully, we can have him like this because he makes the difference."

Rwanda head coach Vincent Mashami is set to miss Solomon Nirisarike for the Cape Verde Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier after testing positive for the coronavirus.

Nirisarike has already started the mandatory 14-day self-isolation, a process that has automatically ruled him out of the upcoming qualifier in November.

“Unfortunately he won’t be a part of the team, he is Covid-19 positive and that will take up to two weeks or more to recover,” Rwanda’s team manager Jackson Rutayisire told The New Times.

“The coach has enough alternatives in his position, I think his absence will not do much harm.”

Nirisarike, playing for Pyunik of Armenia, is among the 10 foreign-based players that were called up – in a provisional squad that comprises 37 players - for the upcoming qualifiers.

The first qualifier will be held on November 11 in Praia before the return leg six days later in Kigali.

Amavubi are yet to win a game in Group G that also has Cameroon and Mozambique. They lost 2-0 to OS Mambas before going down 2-1 to the Indomitable Lions almost one year ago.

Simba SC’s Meddie Kagere was the first foreign-based player to join the squad on Wednesday while the US-based central defender Abdul Rwatubyaye was expected to jet in on Thursday, October 29.

Steven Rubanguka – who is based in Greece and earned his first call-up – is expected at the national team’s camp on November 1.

Haruna Niyonzima, Ally Niyonzima, Kevin Muhire, Djihad Bizimana and Yannick Mukunzi are the other foreign-based stars expected in camp before November 4 to boost Mashami’s winless side.

Meanwhile, 11 national players from Rwandan Premier League champions APR are expected to remain with the club until November 2.

APR were declared winners of the league when it was cancelled by Ferwafa mid this year due to the coronavirus pandemic and that gave them the automatic Caf Champions League slot.

The army outfit was allowed to start training for the continental competition since early October.

The exclusion of their players from the national side’s initial training sessions is also meant to give them ample time to train at club level.