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Manchester United star Marcus Rashford has become the fifth player to score a hat-trick as a substitute in the Champions League, with his 27 minutes on the pitch on Wednesday the fewest number played while also netting a treble in the competition's history.

Rashford entered the field in the 63rd minute with the Red Devils a single goal ahead courtesy of Mason Greenwood's opener, before scoring three times in his short time on the pitch to help the home side to a crushing 5-0 victory over RB Leipzig.

In doing so, he joined Kylian Mbappe, Walter Pandiani, Joseba Llorente and Uwe Rosler as the only players to come off the bench and bag three goals in Europe's top club competition.

Rashford also matched a feat set by manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as he became the second Manchester United player to score a hat-trick as a substitute, after the Norwegian did it against in the Premier League against Nottingham Forest in February 1999.

"I think the manager wanted me to up the tempo," three-goal hero Rashford told BT Sport after the match. "That for us means going forward. There was definitely spaces there. We got Bruno [Fernandes] and Paul [Pogba] on the ball. We looked dangerous throughout and like we could score every time we went forward.

"It was a real team performance. The ones who started did well and the substitutes did well too. We can't ask for much more than that in terms of the attitude and the intent to go and kill the game off. It worked in our favour."

Leipzig came to Old Trafford with a high-tempo pressing game and did trouble United at times but it was the home side who went ahead after Pogba slid [Mason] Greenwood through, with the 19-year-old finishing clinically to score his first Champions League goal.

The match remained within Leipzig's reach until Rashford's introduction in the second half, with the England international running on to Bruno Fernandes' pass and streaking through to score, with VAR correctly ruling he was in his own half when the pass came.

Only four minutes later, Rashford snared his second after United won possession high up the field, before Anthony Martial got on the scoresheet from the spot after being fouled in the penalty area.

Rashford put an exclamation mark next to his performance and earned the match ball with a third deep into stoppage time, as he deftly finished again from inside the box.

The 22-year-old has also been kicking goals off the field recently, with the striker being told he has done more to combat child poverty in the UK than any politician has in the last 25 years by Manchester councillor John Leech.

United - who host Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday - are now clear on top of their Champions League group with six points, with PSG and Leipzig three adrift.

Former Manchester United player Owen Hargreaves is in no doubt that Donny van de Beek will become a key part of the Reds first team, suggesting that he could have a similar impact to Bayern Munich legend Thomas Muller. 

Van de Beek completed a move to Old Trafford over the summer after United beat out Real Madrid for the Ajax star's signature. 

Since moving to Old Trafford, though, the Dutchman has had a limited impact, being confined to the bench as he continues to wait for his first Premier League start six matches into the season. 

The midfielder did get the chance to feature from the beginning in the Champions League on Wednesday, playing the first hour of his club's 5-0 rout of RB Leipzig before making way for Bruno Fernandes with his side one goal ahead. 

And while he is still yet to show his best form in the few opportunities he has enjoyed so far for United, Hargreaves believes it is only a matter of time before he becomes an undisputed part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's plans. 

"I think he's a really good player," the ex-United, Bayern and England star told BT Sport.

"He hasn't had the opportunity to show it. He could be like what Thomas Muller is for Bayern Munich - the style.

"Everybody tried to get Thomas Muller out of the team, but once he's in, you can't get him out in terms of goals, assists, he's very unselfish, he can press the ball, he works in a midfield three, he can play as an 8 or a 10.

"[Van de Beek] is one of those... once he's in the team, Ole is going to find it hard to get him out."

Solskjaer took the opportunity to rotate his starting line-up from the weekend's draw with Chelsea and the gamble paid off handsomely as Marcus Rashford came off the bench to score a stunning hat-trick and Mason Greenwood and Anthony Martial also found the net. 

The win showed the depth of talent the Norwegian can call on, especially in midfield - a fact not lost on Hargreaves as he considered the selection dilemma around Van de Beek. 

"The problem you have is: You've got £100m Pogba, Bruno Fernandes... getting them all in one team with the front three they have is going to be a challenge for Ole," he added.

Arsene Wenger says that a potential European Super League would "destroy" the Premier League, but the former Arsenal manager believes that it could become a reality if English football's biggest clubs to agree to it.

Talks of a potential European Super League have heated up in recent weeks, with outgoing Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu adding fuel to the fire by saying the club accepted an invitation to join the new league.

Although the idea of a mega-competition is not a new one, talks gained traction in recent weeks after a Sky report stated that a £4.6 billion ($6bn) package is being put together from Wall Street bank JP Morgan to see the creation of a European Premier League.

The competition, which would reportedly kick off in 2022 and feature either 16 or 18 teams, would see clubs play a minimum of 30 matches over the course of a season.

Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham are said to have been approached, with some of the world's biggest clubs expected to join.

The news comes in the wake of a recent discussion surrounding the Premier League's top clubs, Project Big Picture, which would have seen the biggest English teams seize more power.

But those talks died down following pubic outcry, and Wenger hopes that the European Super League fails to come to fruition as well as the former Arsenal boss believes it could spell the death of the Premier League.

"I don't believe that Europe is ready for that," he told the Guardian. "The period is actually that the Premier League has a superiority. The project wanted to reinforce this superiority.

"The other leagues tried to destroy the advantage the Premier League has. For them, the best way to tame that is to create a European League. That means to destroy the Premier League basically.

"If they get the agreement from the English big clubs, then it will happen."

Wenger added that he believes there are footballing reasons to want a new league, which would see the best teams in the world face off regularly.

However, he says that, like most things, the real reason behind these talks is money, as club owners are looking to continue to find new ways to profit.

"It is football as well but we are in the period of owners or investors. [For] investors, their first target is to make money," he said. 

"The European Super League is one way, maybe, to make more money."

Simphiwe Dludlu has announced her Bantwana final squad for the Cosafa U17 Women's Cup to be held from November 4-14 in South Africa.

Dludlu has trimmed her initial list to 20 players, with two goalkeepers, seven defenders, six midfielders and five strikers for the tournament in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Commenting on her final list, the coach, who led the team to a 1-0 friendly defeat to Banyana Banyana, believes her side are in good shape to challenge for the trophy this time on home soil.

“When you go to Cosafa you find players that are bigger and stronger and our practice game against Banyana Banyana gave us that resistance," she told Safa.net.

"We wanted to see how they behave and analyse their mental strength. We still have some work to do but I am happy with my squad selection.”

Bantwana are hoping to win the regional youth competition for the first time after they finished as runners-up in the inaugural age-grade regional championship held last year in Mauritius.

As African 2021 Women's World Cup qualification finalist, they will aim to surpass last year's feat but must edge Comoros, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Comoros in a round-robin event.

They will start their campaign against Zambia on November 4 at The Oval before taking on Zimbabwe two days later, Tanzania on November 8 and will wrap up against Comoros on November 12.

Bantwana Squad

GOALKEEPERS: Karabo Mohale, Manana Myeki

DEFENDERS: Mihle Lumko, Hlela Philisani, Nkateko Nkhuna, Shannon Macomo, Thimna Mphele, Flora Khosa, Yolanda Nduli

MIDFIELDERS: Jessica Wade, Janica Andrews, Nabeelah Galant, Aliyaah Allie, Lithemba Sam Sam, Cimone Sauls

STRIKERS: Oyisa Marhasi, Kananelo Taiwe, Jade Leask, Ronnel Donnelly, Tyler Scott

The Confederation of African Football President Ahmad Ahmad has announced his intention to run for a second term in office.

Ahmad’s confirmation comes on the back of a reported endorsement from 46 African Federations who are rooting for his success in the elective Extraordinary General Assembly in Morocco on March 12, 2021.

Three years ago, Ahmad ended Issa Hayatou's 29-year reign as Caf boss, after defeating the Cameroonian by 34 votes to 20.

"I accepted to be a candidate while listening to the presidents of the federation, around 46 of whom asked me after receiving my assessment of my initial mandate," Ahmad told BBC Sport Africa.

"As I have previously announced, I said I would pursue a second mandate if the need was there.

"This is an outcome of working together, of management which involves everybody, which has been happening since 2017.

The President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick is a potential rival that could face the 60-year-old Madagascan in the race for the top Caf job.

Pinnick, a former Caf vice-president, said he was considering his options for the position last month but Ahmad remains unfazed by any challenge.

"It's always good during an election to have a rival candidate, but we wait," he continued.

"I know that some people are awaiting other things unrelated to the elections - but as for the elections themselves, they all know they cannot beat me given I represent a group of people who want to go forward together."

Egypt's Amr Fahmy, a former Caf General Secretary, also announced his candidacy for the presidency seat but he lost his battle with cancer earlier this year.

Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar was forced out of Wednesday's Champions League clash with Istanbul Basaksehir as the Brazilian star limped off with an injury.

Neymar was forced off inside half an hour in Instanbul with match still scoreless as PSG faced the Turkish side in the second match of the group stage

The winger was forced out after 26 minutes, having previously come off the pitch a few minutes earlier due to an apparent injury.

He was replaced by Pablo Sarabia, who joined Kylian Mbappe, Moise Keane and Angel Di Maria in the PSG attack, with Neymar becoming the first PSG player to be substituted in the first half in a Champions League game since Thiago Motta against Manchester City in April 2016

Wednesday's injury comes after Neymar recently overcame a back issue after previously dealing with a calf issue.

The Brazilian winger has made four appearances for PSG in Ligue 1, scoring two goals as the defending champions sit atop Ligue 1 with 20 points through eight games.

He also started PSG's Champions League opener, earning a yellow card as last year's runners-up fell to Manchester United at the Parc des Princes.

Neymar scored three goals in seven appearances throughout PSG's run to the final last season, featuring in the finale as they fell to Bayern Munich in a 1-0 defeat.

While Champions League success has eluded Neymar and PSG since he made the move from Barcelona to France in 2017, the Ligue 1 giants have claimed three league titles, two Coupes de France and two Coupes de la Ligue.

The winger's injury could have a major impact on PSG's season, with the Ligue 1 side set to visit last season's semi-finalists RB Leipzig in their next Champions League clash.

Before that, though, they'll visit Nantes in Ligue 1 play, with their opponents currently sitting 15th in the league. 

Any extended absence could also see Neymar miss matches for Brazil, with the Selecao facing World Cup qualifiers in November.

Having topped Bolivia and Peru during the last international break, Brazil are set to host Venezuela on November 13 before visiting Uruguay four days later.

Gareth Bale's fitness is "improving a lot" as the Welshman prepares to make his second start of the season for Tottenham in the Europa League. 

Bale started for the first time since returning to the Premier League club in the 3-0 win over LASK last week. 

The 31-year-old has been eased back into first-team duties following his return to north London on a loan move from Real Madrid agreed in the summer transfer window.

He had previously been used off the bench against West Ham, coming on midway through the second half before Jose Mourinho's side conceded a three-goal lead to draw 3-3. 

However, Bale remained an unused substitute during Spurs' 1-0 victory over Burnley on Monday, a result which helped the club climb up to fifth place in the Premier League standings with six games played so far in the 2020-21 season.

His fitness is being steadily managed by Spurs, but Mourinho's assistant head coach Joao Sacramento has confirmed the Real Madrid loanee will start the clash with Antwerp on Thursday. 

"I can tell you that we will make some changes but like in every previous match, the changes don't mean that the team is weak," Sacramento told Spurs' official website ahead of the Group J clash.

"We believe that with the squad that we have, even with rotation, the team will keep the level and the quality of play. 

"Tomorrow, Gareth Bale will start. Gareth is improving a lot – in terms of fitness level, his condition is much, much better, he's feeling better every day and with the interaction that we have with him, he's feeling very positive and we believe that soon he will be at his top level again." 

In his 66 minutes on the pitch against LASK, Bale had 44 touches and attempted 25 passes, finishing with a 72 per cent accuracy. 

However, he failed to have a single effort on goal and did not create any chances. His replacement, Son Heung-min, scored Spurs' third and final goal, which came from one of his two on-target attempts. 

Former Hearts of Oak and attacker Bernard Dong Bortey believes he has what it takes to lead rival club Asante Kotoko to Caf Champions League glory.

The 38-year-old recently announced his retirement from active football in an interview with Goal earlier this year, revealing he has identified coaching as the next step for his career.

Kotoko have been on the search for a continental title since winning the 1983 Champions League title.

"Kotoko's Caf continental trophy droughts can be solved by me if I become coach for Kotoko," Bortey told Hot FM.

"I am ever ready to coach Kotoko and I can win Africa for Kotoko.

“Kotoko have a good strong squad for the Ghana Premier League but they have to buy players outside Ghana to blend the players for them to be able to succeed in Africa."

Kotoko's closest chance of winning a continental trophy in recent times came in 2004 when they reached the final of the inaugural Caf Confederation Cup competition. In the end, their attempt ended in disappointment as they lost to rivals Hearts in an all-Ghana final, interestingly with Bortey on the side of the Phobians.

Two years earlier, the Porcupine Warriors succumbed to Moroccan club Wydad Athletic Club (WAC) Casablanca in the final of the now-defunct Caf Cup Winners' Cup.

In the Champions League, Kotoko have not progressed beyond the group stage of the competition since 2006.

This season, Maxwell Konadu's outfit is set to make another attempt for the cup.

"I want to be a coach now. I’ve retired. I was not 100 per cent sure but I have done it," Bortey told Goal in April.

'I’m still playing football but not competitively. I don’t want to play any more competitive leagues like the Ghana Premier League because I have made my name already.

"Everybody knows my name in Ghana football. So I have to leave for the young ones to take over. Now, I’m a coach. I’m not a footballer anymore. I’ve retired."

Bortey, who played over 20 times for Ghana at senior level, also won four Ghana Premier League (GPL) titles with Hearts and the 2002 league goal-king award.

Orlando Pirates let their lead slip to draw 1-1 with Stellenbosch FC in a Premier Soccer League (PSL) match which was played at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday night.

Bucs opened the scoring through Ntsikelelo Nyauza, but Nathan Sinkala levelled matters for Stellies a few minutes later. 

The Buccaneers were looking to record their maiden win of the 2020/21 PSL season after being held to a 1-1 draw by AmaZulu FC over the weekend.

Coach Josef Zinnbauer handed Richard Ofori his Pirates debut, while Happy Jele made his first start of the season joining Thulani Hlatshwayo in central defence.

While Stellies were also targeting their first victory of the campaign after holding newly-promoted Swallows FC to a 1-1 draw over the weekend.

Zinnbauer's counterpart, Steve Barker crowded his midfield as three holding midfielders Grandwald Scott, Nathan Sinkala and Robyn Johannes all started. 

The first chance of the match fell for Stellenbosch when Johannes set-up an unmarked Sinkala at the far post and the latter headed over the crossbar from close range and Pirates survived a scare.

This served as a wake-up call for the Buccaneers, who began pushing forward in numbers and Kabelo Dlamini's deflected effort narrowly missed the target.

The deadlock was broken from the resultant free-kick when Ntsikelelo Nyauza poked the ball home from close range to make it 1-0 to Pirates in the 33rd minute after the visitors had failed to clear their lines.

However, Pirates went to sleep at the back and they were punished by Zambia international Sinkala after Paseka Mako had lost possession in his own-half. 

Sinkala made amends from an early miss as he beat Ghana international Ofori with a looping header to make it 1-1 with 19-year-old midfielder Jayden Adams grabbing an assist three minutes before half-time. 

It should have been 2-1 to Stellenbosch when Ashley Du Preez was sent through on goal, but he was denied by Ofori from a one-on-one situation and the score was 1-1- at the interval.

Zinnbauer made a triple substitution prior to the start of the second-half as Terrence Dzvukamanja, Lerato Lepasa and Thabiso Monyane were all introduced.

Pirates controlled the match and they created goalscoring opportunities with Lee Langeveldt being a very busy man in the Stellenbosch goal-posts.

The experienced shot-stopper denied Fortune Makaringe with a good save, before producing a brilliant diving save to deny Lepasa as pressure mounted on Stellies.

Langeveldt was then beaten by Lepasa's low effort, but Alan Robertson made a crucial clearance on the goal-line in the closing stages of the match.

The 33-year-old shot-stopper, who was in top form, was not done as he produced two great saves to deny Monyane and Mako to ensure that the match ended in a 1-1 draw on the night.

The draw left Pirates and Stellenbosch placed ninth and 10th respectively on the league standings with two matches played.

Pirates have now turned their attention to their eagerly-anticipated clash with Kaizer Chiefs in the MTN8 semi-final first-leg match at Orlando Stadium on Saturday. 

Premier Soccer League newcomers Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila earned a morale-boosting point after playing to a 0-0 draw with defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Wednesday night.

After Sundowns had looked relatively enterprising in the first half, they struggled after the interval to create openings against the hard-working visitors.

The game got off to a lively start with the Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila defence doing well to close down Themba Zwane and deny him a shooting chance in the first minute.

The Limpopo side then created a chance of their own through former Orlando Pirates frontman Justin Shonga, who drew a smart save by Denis Onyango with a fourth-minute snap shot.

Having settled into the game, the Brazilians were unlucky not to go in front after 12 minutes when Hlompho Kekana won the ball in midfield before firing a shot against the woodwork.

The Tshwane side kept asking questions of the TTM defence and it took a very good save from Washington Arubi to keep out Lyle Lakay's shot from an acute angle on 26 minutes.

While Masandawana were dominating ball possession they weren't creating too much in the way of clear scoring chances, their next opening arriving in the 42nd minute, when Lakay crossed for Peter Shalulile, whose first-time effort was saved by Arubi.

Following the restart, TTM began to claw their way back into the match and they had a couple of sniffs at goal themselves, including a shot by Man of the Match Diamond Thopola which went wide on the hour mark.

As the second half wore on, Sundowns became increasingly frustrated at their inability to penetrate a stubborn TTM defence.

Indeed there was very little work for Arubi to do as his defence held firm.

A lack of urgency and creativity didn't help Sundowns either and in the end it was job well done by the Premier Soccer League rookies as they did well to stifle their illustrious opponents and to earn their secon point in two matches after opening with a 1-1 draw against TS Galaxy.

Bundesliga matches will be played behind closed doors from November 2 after it was announced Germany would return to a partial lockdown amid a significant increase in coronavirus cases. 

German chancellor Angela Merkel and the regional leaders of the 16 states decided on a raft of new measures to control the spread of the virus on Wednesday. 

One of these is to prevent any supporters from attending professional sports in the country.  

Ahead of the 2020-21 season, Bundesliga clubs announced they would be ready to welcome back fans if public health authorities considered it a safe step to take, having played out the final weeks of the 2019-20 season behind closed doors. 

The largest attendance under the restrictions was Borussia Dortmund's home clash with Freiburg when 11,500 fans watched on, while other clubs - including reigning champions Bayern Munich - did not reopen their stadiums due to the high number of COVID-19 cases in the surrounding area.  

Dortmund's managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke accepts the decision but insists supporters were safe inside the club's stadium. 

"In view of the extremely increased number of infections in Germany, the decision by politicians to be able to continue gaming operations without spectators for the time being must be accepted," he told Sky.  

"Nevertheless, I would like to state that the Bundesliga never posed a threat due to an elaborate, coherent hygiene concept valued by experts. We all at BVB hope that we can play again in front of our great fans as soon as possible." 

The restrictions do not come into place until Monday, which means Bundesliga fixtures this weekend could still yet be played in front of supporters.  

The German government is expected to reconvene on November 11 to reassess the situation, but it is believed the new measures will be in place until at least the end of the month. 

RB Leipzig lead the Bundesliga after five games with 13 points, with champions Bayern Munich and Dortmund sitting just a point behind. 

Bayern star Robert Lewandowski, has taken a commanding early lead in his lead to retain the league's top scorer crown, netting 10 goals to jump straight to the top of the charts.

Two goals from Moise Kean got Paris Saint-Germain their first win of the 2020-21 Champions League as they beat Istanbul Basaksehir 2-0.

A positive result for Thomas Tuchel's side, who lost 2-1 to Manchester United on matchday one, was undermined by the loss of Neymar to an apparent thigh injury in the first half.

PSG delivered a largely laboured display in Turkey, one that is unlikely to do much to ease some of the pressure on Tuchel, but Kean followed up his double against Dijon last weekend with a timely header from Kylian Mbappe's corner 64 minutes in and a clever finish 11 minutes from time.

Neymar hobbled off after treatment before the half-hour mark and his absence was telling as PSG mustered only one shot on target in the first 45 minutes.

They had Keylor Navas to thank for two saves to deny Edin Visca as Basaksehir grew in confidence going forward while remaining resolute at the back.

Kean's breakthrough came in disappointing fashion for the hosts, though, the striker simply nodding Mbappe's cross past the static Fehmi Mert Gunok after being left unmarked.

Navas made a smart save from Deniz Turuc's half-volley and PSG almost doubled their lead on the break, Mbappe eventually turning and shooting over the crossbar after starting a move in his own half.

Kean made the result safe with 79 minutes gone, volleying on the turn beyond Gunok from six yards out after Mbappe's good work in the penalty area.

What does it mean? PSG, like Neymar, look limp

PSG have their first three points in Group H but this display will not have convinced many onlookers that they are capable of matching last season and reaching the final again.

The loss of Neymar for any period of time would also be a significant blow as their hectic schedule continues towards the winter months in France.

Kean shows clinical touch

He might have had just 20 touches and seven successful passes, but Kean provided the killer touch to break Basaksehir's resistance with two well-taken finishes in the second half.

Epureanu deserved better

Alexandru Epureanu was defensively superb, making six clearances, three interceptions and three blocks, but he could only watch as Kean glanced home the opening goal after letting him out of his sight.

What's next

PSG face Nantes in Ligue 1 on Saturday before next Wednesday's visit to RB Leipzig. Basaksehir meet Konyaspor on Sunday, then head to Old Trafford to meet Manchester United.

Hakim Ziyech scored his first goal for Chelsea on his full debut to help his side ease to a 4-0 win over Krasnodar in Wednesday's Champions League Group E clash. 

Frank Lampard's side had drawn their previous three matches, including two outings without scoring, but found the right balance between attack and defence in Russia. 

Callum Hudson-Odoi was gifted his first goal in the competition by a goalkeeping error from Matvey Safonov after Jorginho had earlier missed from the penalty spot for the second time this season. 

Chelsea were given a scare when Yuri Gazinskiy's strike came back off the crossbar, but Timo Werner succeeded where Jorginho failed in converting from 12 yards out. Ziyech got off the mark to secure the result, while substitute Christian Pulisic added a late fourth.

Jorginho had sent Safonov the wrong way with his penalty after Werner was clipped by Kaio in the box, yet the ball ricocheted back off a post. 

However, Chelsea were gifted a goal 23 minutes later as Hudson-Odoi cut inside Igor Smolnikov and fired a weak shot on target that squirmed through Safonov's grasp. 

That goal forced Krasnodar to come out of their shell and they so nearly equalised 10 minutes into the second half, Gazinskiy hitting the bar with a volley. 

Krasnodar were competing at home in UEFA's showpiece competition for the first time and again went close through Marcus Berg's effort, which Edouard Mendy was equal to. 

But an unfortunate penalty decision against Aleksandr Martynovich - Pulisic's shot from point-blank range hitting the skipper's thigh and then his arm - allowed Werner to tuck home from the spot, five minutes after Jorginho had been substituted. 

Chelsea went through the gears and had a third goal via Ziyech's crisp finish, with the fourth arriving in the final minute through Pulisic's shot from a tight angle. 

Hakim Ziyech scored on his full debut for Chelsea in their 4-0 victory over Krasnodar in Wednesday’s Champions League game.

The forward was afforded his first start for the Stamford Bridge outfit since teaming up with the side in the summer and impressed.

The winger featured 30 times for Ajax in the top European competition during his four-year stay with the Dutch side and in the 2018-19 season, he was named in the tournament’s team of the season.  

The winger made his experience in the Champions League count when he opened his account for Frank Lampard’s men at Krasnodar Stadium.

After playing out a goalless draw in their opener against Sevilla, the Blues started the encounter on a fine note and could have opened the scoring in the 14th minute but Jorginho was unable to convert from the penalty spot.

The Premier League club eventually broke the deadlock in the 37th minute with a fine strike from Callum Hudson-Odoi.

14 minutes into the second half, Timo Werner doubled Chelsea’s lead from the penalty spot before Ziyech made it three with 10 minutes to play.

The forward fired his strike past goalkeeper Matvey Safonov and has now been involved in 13 goals in his last 15 starts in the top European competition, scoring six goals and providing seven assists.

The Morocco international featured for 81 minutes before he was replaced by Tammy Abraham, who set up Christian Pulisic to seal the victory.

Ziyech has now made four appearances for Chelsea since joining the side, having also featured against Southampton, Sevilla and Manchester United.

The forward will hope to play a part when the Blues take on Rennes in their next fixture in Group E of the Champions League on November 4.

Before then, Chelsea will square off against Burnley in a Premier League game at Turf Moor on Saturday.

South Africa U17 girls suffered a 1-0 defeat to the senior women's national side in a pre-2020 Cosafa Women's Cup tournament friendly at the Safa National Technical Centre in Johannesburg.

Bantwana are preparing to claim the Cosafa U17 Women's Cup title billed to be staged from November 4 to 13 in Nelson Mandela Bay, having finished as runners against Uganda last year.

On the other hand, Banyana Banyana are gearing up for a title defence and a third in a row on home ground at the Cosafa Women's Cup at the same venue, beginning from November 3 to 15.

The two teams, who had been in camp for over a week, locked horns in a test-match but Simphiwe Dludlu's girls bowed to Desiree Ellis' side before heading to Nelson Mandela Bay.

On her assessments, Ellis hailed her side's display but challenged them to improve their fitness level before the regional showpiece.

“I think the game went well, it was a test because we had a lot of questions with regards to the fitness, technical preparedness, tactical understanding of the game and understanding of each other as a team,’’ Ellis told Cosafa.com.

‘’However, the most important part was the execution of the game-plan, as well as the mental state to be able to handle pressure and push for 45 minutes and more.

“Do we panic or keep calm? I saw players build-up from the back and find solutions for themselves. It looked better but we can still do more fitness-wise. 

"It is not where we want it to be for the tournament but it is better because they have an understanding as compared to when they first reported for camp.”

On her part, coach Dludlu hailed her girls' fighting performance in the disappointing defeat to their senior national side. 

“We also had no injuries now; just muscle strains because the players have been out of action for a while,” she said.

After the friendly, both teams had since moved to Port Elizabeth to continue their build-up for their respective competitions on Wednesday.

Bantwana will open their U17 campaign in a five-team round-robin preliminary stage against Zambia on November 4 at The Oval.

For Banyana Banyana, they will launch proceedings against Angola on November 3 at the Wolfson Stadium in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Manqoba Mngqithi believes his side should have come away with more that a draw from Wednesday night's league encounter against Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

The Brazilians had a few chances in the first half but, having failed to take those, became increasingly frustrated in the second sytanza and seemed to run out of ideas as the game wore on.

Having beaten Kaizer Chiefs 3-0 in their previous match, Mngqithi would have been expecting much more against Premier Soccer League rookies TTM, and was unhappy with his side's inability to stamp their authority on the game.
 
"Two points lost, because honestly speaking, we pushed them from the first whistle," Mngqithi told SuperSport TV after the match. "We never gave them time to play.

"We created three good opportunities from our high press," he continued, "[and we were] unfortunate not to get a goal or even something on target."

Despite enjoying the lion's share of possession, Sundowns lacked dynamism in the final third, with PSL new boys TTM appearing largely comfortable in dealing with their incoherent attacking strategy.

"[Peter] Shalulile had a big chance, the captain had a big chance in the early stages of the game [Hlompho Kekana hit the bar], it was just unfortunate," the coach added. "When you don't take such chances against a team that is sitting back and hoping to catch you on the counter, you have to be worried.

"I was worried they would get one good counter attack and punish us."

The Downs mentor was also unhappy that his side was not given a penalty after Keletso Makgalwa and TTM defender Alfred Ndengane tangled in the opposition box.

"I honestly believe that was a clear penalty, but in football you must take what you get," he said. "It was an outcome of the situation when it was supposed to be a penalty.

"In my opinion, I have not looked at the video yet, but I believe that was a penalty."

Sundowns will have a week to regroup before their next match – a league fixture away to Cape Town City next Wednesday.