Kemar Roofe showed why Michael Beale talked up his importance to Rangers with the opening goal in a 2-0 cinch Premiership win over Ross County in Dingwall.

The Gers boss spoke on Friday about the 30-year-old striker and attacker Tom Lawrence being key to his plans this season despite nine new signings and Roofe, starting for the first time in 16 months, repaid that faith after 22 minutes with a close-range strike.

Skipper James Tavernier added a delightful second four minutes later with a clever finish which ultimately took the three points south.

The relatively stress-free victory was a boost for Beale’s side ahead of their crucial Champions League play-off game against PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday night.

The tie is sitting at 2-2 from the first leg at Ibrox and Roofe was not included in the squad for this round due to Beale’s concern about him playing three games in a week.

The former Leeds player has been troubled with injuries at Ibrox but after two substitute appearances this season, he started for the first time since April 2022, while Lawrence, out for a year with a knee injury, was on the bench.

Midfielders John Lundstram and Sam Lammers also came in while Jose Cifuentes, Ryan Jack and Abdallah Sima started among the substitutes, while midfielder Yan Dhanda replaced Kyle Turner for Malky Mackay’s side.

There was little action early on but in the 10th minute a header from Gers striker Cyriel Dessers was saved by the legs of County keeper Ross Laidlaw and the same player headed over from the resulting corner.

Rangers stepped up the pressure and from Borna Barisic’s corner from the right, Roofe shrugged off the attentions of County defender James Brown to volley in at the back post for his first goal since February.

Tavernier’s terrific counter soon afterwards came when he robbed George Harmon in midfielder and strode forward before sending the ball dipping over Laidlaw from 20 yards, his third goal in six matches this season, underlining his own influence on the Govan outfit.

The match had swung away from the home side in a matter of minutes and Laidlaw did well to claw a curling Lammers effort from distance away from the top corner just before the break.

County stormed into attack after the break.

Striker Jordan White missed a great chance by heading a Dhanda cross past the post from six yards, while unmarked.

On the hour mark Roofe and Lammers made way for Sima and Rabbi Matondo as Beale injected real pace into his attack.

The changes had the desired effect and the Ibrox side’s threat was re-established.

Laidlaw tipped a powerful Matondo drive over the bar before saving a Sima header moments later, with the home side defending the subsequent corners.

Lawrence came on for his long-awaited return along with Brazilian striker Danilo, with Dessers and Todd Cantwell going off.

Ross County had brought on Will Nightingale, Turner, Josh Reid and Eamonn Brophy but could not find a way back albeit Sima did well to take the ball off Nightingale’s head yards from the Rangers goal.

In the 84th minute Matondo missed the target with an angled-shot but there was no harm done.

Rangers will have harder days in the Highlands but they have to regroup quickly for their high-stakes trip to the Netherlands.

James Maddison opened his account for Tottenham before Dejan Kulusevski ended his goal drought to help the feelgood factor around Ange Postecoglou’s new-look team continue with a 2-0 win at Bournemouth.

Maddison had starred in last weekend’s fine victory over Manchester United, but was spotted on crutches and in a protective boot later that same night.

A sore ankle failed to stop Spurs’ new number 10 featuring on the south coast and he applied the finishing touch to an excellent team move after 17 minutes while continuing to pull the strings throughout this Premier League encounter.

Bournemouth did improve after the opener but Kulusevski was able to clip into the bottom corner in the 63rd minute for his first goal since January to ensure Postecoglou’s side extended their unbeaten run to three matches.

Maddison had been a pre-match doubt after he only returned to training on Friday, but he started at Vitality Stadium .

After morning sunshine in Bournemouth, the heavens opened by the time referee Tim Robinson blew his whistle and it was a bruising start for Spurs.

Destiny Udogie, Maddison and Cristian Romero all received early blows in the pouring rain, but it failed to knock the visitors off their stride and the opener arrived in the 17th minute.

Pedro Porro and Yves Bissouma exchanged passes before the latter found Pape Sarr, who spotted Maddison’s late run and the England international was able to scuff his shot into the bottom corner from eight yards.

While Maddison’s finish was scruffy, it still represented his first goal for Tottenham since a £40million switch from Leicester.

Maddison had been denied by Neto two minutes earlier after a similar move but was running the show despite proving unpopular with the home fans.

Sarr was next to go close but his deflected shot was saved after Maddison and Son combined and Spurs’ new captain Son sent a volley wide after 26 minutes.

It was Maddison again at the heart of Tottenham’s next chance when Romero produced a fine tackle on Antoine Semenyo and the visitors’ number 10 led the counter-attacker before playing through Richarlison, but he was crowded out and the chance went begging.

Richarlison headed Maddison’s corner into the side-netting minutes later, but Bournemouth – also at the start of a new era under Spaniard Andoni Iraola – did finish the first half strongly.

Ryan Christie tested Guglielmo Vicario with a low effort and Philip Billing curled wide from 18-yards.

The Cherries continued their momentum into the second half with Dominic Solanke firing a dangerous ball across the face of goal and Semenyo curling wide.

Postecoglou had seen enough and Richarlison’s frustrating afternoon ended not long after he received a yellow card for a late tackle on Illia Zabarnyi with Ivan Perisic and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg introduced by the hour mark.

Son was now down the middle and the tactical tweak worked a treat with a one-two with Udogie resulting in Kulusevski making it 2-0.

Udogie got to the byline and brilliantly cut back for Kulusevski, who flicked into the corner. Kulusevski let out a roar in celebration after his 63rd-minute effort and it was timely for Tottenham.

Maddison could have put the game to bed seven minutes later but dragged wide before Perisic survived a VAR call for shoving Max Aarons.

A raft of substitutions was followed by another downpour alongside thunder and lightening, but it failed to dampen Spurs spirits with Postecoglou’s side able to continue their promising start with a second consecutive win.

Hot favourite Nostrum trailed home last of six runners as Spirit Dancer completed his hat-trick in the Sky Bet And Symphony Group Strensall Stakes at York.

Considered a Classic contender at the start of the year before injury intervened, the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Nostrum made a spectacular reappearance at Newmarket in July before finding Epictetus too strong in a Group Three at Goodwood.

Back on a sounder surface, the son of Kingman was widely expected to get back on the winning trail, but the 5-6 shot checked out quickly halfway up the straight and was virtually pulled up by Ryan Moore.

Flight Plan took the field along for much of the nine-furlong contest and a daring move by Danny Tudhope to plough a lone furrow on the far side of the track after turning for home briefly looked like it might pay dividends.

But the 6-1 chance Spirit Dancer, stepping up in class in the colours of part-owner Sir Alex Ferguson following handicap wins at York and Windsor, came home strongest on the opposite side of the track to get up and score by a length from El Drama under Oisin Orr.

“He’s enjoying life and I’m enjoying watching him – he’s done well,” aid Fahey.

“I was a little bit worried they wouldn’t go much of a gallop but there was plenty of pace to aim at and we get the trip well so we were keen to head for home soon enough.

“In the back of my mind, before today, I was thinking about the Bahrain Trophy, the million dollar race there in November time. That’s more or less confirmed, we’ll go there if they invite us. I’m sure he’s earned his ticket there.”

Jurgen Klopp admitted Liverpool must be “lucky” with the availability of their centre-backs this season as he hinted he was unlikely to add to his options before the transfer deadline.

Ibrahima Konate is a doubt for Sunday afternoon’s trip to Newcastle because of a muscular problem and Joe Gomez or Joel Matip could instead partner Virgil Van Dijk at the heart of the Reds’ defence.

Nat Phillips is another alternative but Klopp is well aware that a shortage of options and a spate of injuries could spell trouble as he had to get creative with his backline during the 2020-2021 season.

A total of 20 different combinations were used during the turbulent campaign and Klopp is keeping everything crossed that he does not have to deal with a defensive crisis in the forthcoming months.

“In an ideal world, we have six, seven, eight centre-halves and cover for absolutely everything,” the Liverpool manager said. “No, we need to be lucky with injuries, there is no doubt about that.

“I have no doubt about the quality of the boys we have. We have (academy player) Jarell Quansah, a super-talented player, available as well.

“In this moment we are covered but it is not dreamland where you can be prepared for absolutely each situation. We had to learn that in the past as well a couple of times.

“We will try to do our absolute best to have a squad for next week, a squad for us where we can react on pretty much everything. Is that possible? We will see.”

Liverpool were the only side to do the double over a Newcastle side that lost just five times in the Premier League and qualified for the Champions League last season.

Despite their rapid improvement under Eddie Howe, Newcastle are on a 13-match winless sequence against Liverpool stretching back to December 2015 – although Klopp is wary of what they will face this weekend.

He feels two of their signings in particular this summer were among the shrewdest of any team.

“Newcastle are an incredibly strong team, qualified for the Champions League, fully deserved,” Klopp said. “Super development under Eddie Howe, I have to say. Eddie is a super coach, a super manager.

“Smart business. I don’t want to miss anybody but probably the two standouts in this window: (Sandro) Tonali and (Harvey) Barnes. Really good business.

“The speed they have is really good. Newcastle, since last year at least, they don’t concede a lot but score. So that’s a proper game.”

While Thiago Alcantara and Curtis Jones are missing once again, Klopp will be able to call upon fellow midfielder Alexis Mac Allister after his red card in the 3-1 win over Bournemouth was overturned.

Mac Allister – signed from Brighton in the summer for £35million – was shown a straight red by referee Thomas Bramall after catching Bournemouth midfielder Ryan Christie on the foot at Anfield last weekend.

“When I saw the pictures back I was pretty sure that it’s not a red card but that doesn’t mean then immediately that our appeal will be successful,” Klopp added.

“You don’t have that a lot of times, that pretty much everybody agrees this is not a red card and should not be a red card. Harsh tackles should always be punished, I absolutely support that 100 per cent.

“But it was not a harsh tackle, it was just a touch in the situation. It was a massive relief when I heard that it is overturned. Very good news.”

Max Verstappen topped a rain-interrupted final practice session for Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix.

The concluding hour before qualifying was red-flagged on three occasions following a series of accidents in the tricky conditions at Zandvoort.

With the session a little more than 10 minutes old, Kevin Magnussen spun out in his Haas at Turn 3, before Zhou Guanyu beached his Alfa Romeo at the penultimate corner.

Liam Lawson – the New Zealander making his Formula One debut as a replacement for Daniel Ricciardo who suffered a broken wrist in practice – then performed a pirouette heading into the main straight.

Lawson, 21, grazed the tyre wall on the opposing side of the circuit which led to a third stoppage.

When the action resumed, Verstappen, who is bidding to equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine consecutive victories, set an impressive pace in front of his home crowd.

The Red Bull driver finished three tenths clear of George Russell, with the Mercedes driver the only man within one second of Verstappen.

Sergio Perez took third spot, one place ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso with Lewis Hamilton fifth for Mercedes.

Qualifying takes place at 3pm local time (2pm BST) with the unsettled weather conditions forecast to continue throughout the day.

The Spanish Football Federation has announced an intention to take legal action over comments made about its president Luis Rubiales by World Cup winner Jenni Hermoso.

Hermoso was quoted in a statement issued by Futpro, the players’ union representing her, as stating “in no case did I seek to raise (lift) the president” during a a podium embrace after the World Cup final between Spain and England in Sydney.

The Federation says it has analysed four images of Hermoso and Rubiales embracing, claiming they show it was Hermoso’s force that lifted him.

Hermoso had accused the Federation of a “manipulative, hostile and controlling culture” as the World Cup-winning squad refused to play while Rubiales remains in post.

A total of 81 players signed a letter stating they will not accept national team call-ups while Rubiales refuses to resign after kissing Hermoso – who has stressed she did not consent – following the country’s World Cup win.

He claimed it was “spontaneous, mutual, euphoric and consensual” but Hermoso, who previously suggested comments playing down the incident attributed to her by the federation were false, hit back with an attack on the organisation as a whole.

The Federation said: “The RFEF announces the presentation of as many legal actions as may correspond in defence of the honourability of the President of the RFEF.

“In the union’s note, it is said to speak on behalf of Jennifer Hermoso and some statements by the player are attributed to her that are in quotation marks, implying that they have been pronounced by her.

“The RFEF wishes to inform public opinion that the competent bodies of the RFEF that are processing the complaints filed with the Federation have tried to contact Jennifer Hermoso, having been unsuccessful at all times.

“The RFEF and Mr President will demonstrate each of the lies that are spread either by someone on behalf of the player or, if applicable, by the player herself.

“The RFEF and the President, given the seriousness of the content of the press release from the Futpro Union, will initiate the corresponding legal actions.

“The RFEF regrets that after such an extraordinary sporting success as the one that occurred in the Soccer World Championship, it cannot be celebrated as the situation and success deserves for completely non-sports reasons.”

Juanma Lillo will introduce himself to the Premier League at large on Sunday as he takes charge of champions Manchester City in Pep Guardiola’s absence.

Guardiola’s little-known number two will call the shots from the dugout as the treble winners travel to Sheffield United without their influential manager.

Guardiola is recuperating in Spain after undergoing back surgery earlier this week and so Lillo, who only rejoined the club this summer after a year away, finds himself in the spotlight.

The experienced 57-year-old has had a varied and interesting coaching career, working in countries including Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Japan and China as well as his native Spain.

He first joined Guardiola’s backroom staff after the departure of Mikel Arteta in 2020 and spent two years at the Etihad Stadium before leaving to take up a post in Qatar.

City swept to Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup glory without him but Guardiola sought to bring him back after the exits of Enzo Maresca and Rodolfo Borrell at the end of the campaign.

The pair have been friends since Guardiola played under Lillo at Mexican side Dorados de Sinaloa and were keen to work together again.

“When I left was more of a ‘see you later’,” said Lillo at a press conference. “He’s someone very special to me, not only in footballing terms.

“I am here to be with someone who’s been very important in my life.”

Lillo recognises he has returned to a very strong set-up and is determined to do his best to ensure it remains that way.

He said: “A good team without good players is impossible, but at the moment we have good players and a really good coach. It’s very well managed.

“The way we train has a lot to do towards the way we play. That’s how we do it.

“Things might not always go our way, but I can assure you that we’re going to continue doing things the right way.”

Bernardo Silva, who signed a new contract at City this week, is available again for the trip to Bramall Lane after illness. New signing Jeremy Doku could come into the reckoning but John Stones and Kevin De Bruyne are sidelined.

Eddie Howe will send his Newcastle side into battle with Liverpool still haunted by the memories of their encounters last season.

The Reds were the only club to complete a Premier League double over the Magpies, although they gained a measure of revenge when they went on to finish fourth – one place and four points better off than Jurgen Klopp’s men.

However, Howe admits it does not take much to stoke memories of the Fabio Carvalho winner in the eighth minute of stoppage time which handed Liverpool victory at Anfield last August, or the red card in a 2-0 defeat in the reverse fixture which cost goalkeeper Nick Pope his place in the Carabao Cup final.

Howe said: “I move on quickly from the game in the sense that then you have to prepare the next one, but I think the emotion of the game and the feeling and the memories of the game, they stay with you for some time.

“The memories of last year’s games, they’re with me. I can visualise certain moments, but then you have to detach yourself from that and go, ‘right, how do we prepare this one?’, because whether it’s tactical or whatever the thing is that you think you can do better, it’s about then delivering that to the best of your ability.

“There’s a lot of defeats in my management career that are still there and they just need probably the emotions stoking and they’ll come back to the forefront of my brain.”

Newcastle’s resurgence, fuelled in large part by the wealth of their Saudi-backed owners, has seen them re-establish a rivalry with Liverpool which sparked a series of memorable encounters in the 1990s.

Klopp has on more than one occasion taken aim at the Magpies, and the two coaching teams have at times enjoyed a frosty relationship on the touchline.

However, Howe expressed surprise at the perception there is added needle between the two camps when they go head-to-head.

Asked why he believed the rivalry had become so intense in recent seasons, he replied: “I don’t know. Has it?

“Genuinely, I think the rivalry between Newcastle and Liverpool has always been there, historically. I don’t think it’s been ramped up particularly any more than it’s always been.

“When the game’s been on historically over a number of years, it’s a game everyone will go, ‘I want to watch that, I want to see what’s going to happen’.

“There will be moments and flashpoints because they are two iconic clubs going against each other. I don’t think it’s necessarily ramped up in the last two years.”

Matt Wallner had a three-run triple in the first inning and the Minnesota Twins rolled to a 12-2 rout of the reeling Texas Rangers on Friday in a game that saw the benches clear.

Rangers starter Dane Dunning walked three of the first four batters and eventually walked the bases loaded before Wallner cleared them to put the Twins up 3-0.

Jeffers capped the four-run first with an RBI single and was later hit by Dunning in the third inning.

Minnesota starter Sonny Gray hit former Twin Mitch Garver in the fourth and players from both teams and bullpens convened around home plate and the pitcher’s mound before order was restored.

The Twins essentially sealed the win with a six-run seventh.

Carlos Correa began the inning with a home run and Donovan Solano had an RBI single before Edouard Julien crushed a 435-foot, three-run homer to make it 10-1.

Max Kepler hit a home run off Texas catcher Austin Hedges in the eighth.

Gray allowed one run and six hits over seven innings.

The Rangers walked eight and hit three batters in their eighth straight loss, dropping them into a tie with Seattle for the AL West lead.

Diamonbacks stay hot despite Pham’s lost home run

Tommy Pham lost a home run on a bizarre fan interference, but Jace Peterson drove in three runs and the Arizona Diamondbacks won their sixth straight, 10-8 over the Cincinnati Reds.

With Arizona leading 8-4 in the seventh inning, Pham sent a towering shot to the wall in left that Reds outfielder Spencer Steer caught as he reached over the wall. But a kid in the stands reached into Steer’s glove and pulled the ball out.

The home run was negated after the review.

Arizona has won eight of nine to move a one-half game ahead of the Cubs for the second NL wild card.

Nick Martini hit his first two home runs of the year and Will Benson had a ninth-inning grand slam for the Reds, who dropped a game behind the Cubs in the wild-card race.

Bautista’s injury overshadows Orioles’ win

Rookie Gunnar Henderson hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning and the Baltimore Orioles rallied to beat the Colorado Rockies 5-4 in a win that was marred by an apparent injury to All-Star closer Felix Bautista.

Bautista retired the first two batters in the ninth but slipped awkwardly off the mound after delivering a pitch to Michael Toglia.

Manager Brandon Hyde said Bautista left with “arm discomfort” and was “still being checked out.”

Ryan Mountcastle and Austin Hays also homered as Baltimore won its 80th game and moved three games ahead of second-place Tampa Bay in the AL East.

Manchester United smashed the British transfer record when they completed the signing of Argentina’s Angel Di Maria on this day in 2014.

The Red Devils, in a rebuilding phase following the departure of their hugely successful manager Sir Alex Ferguson the year before, paid £59.7million for the then 26-year-old.

Di Maria, brought in by the club’s new Dutch boss Louis van Gaal, arrived at United fresh from helping his old club Real Madrid seal their 10th European title the season before.

Di Maria said at the time of his signing: “I am absolutely delighted to be joining Manchester United. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Spain and there were a lot of clubs interested in me, but United is the only club that I would have left Real Madrid for.

“Louis van Gaal is a fantastic coach with a proven track record of success and I am impressed by the vision and determination everyone has to get this club back to the top – where it belongs. I now just cannot wait to get started.”

However, things never really clicked for Di Maria at Old Trafford on the pitch. He also endured a fairly miserable time off it, after an attempted burglary at his home in February 2015.

Less than a year later, he joined Paris St Germain, and told the French media that he did not have a great relationship with Van Gaal.

Di Maria spent seven years at PSG before joining Juventus in 2022.

Last year was a special one for him, as he played and scored in the World Cup final as Argentina beat France on penalties.

Earlier this summer he rejoined Portuguese side Benfica, his first European club after leaving Rosario Central in 2007.

Daniel Dubois knows he will have to “bully” Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night if he is to stand any chance of becoming Britain’s 10th world heavyweight champion.

Dubois (19-1, 18KOs) will attempt to etch his name into British history alongside Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Lennox Lewis when he walks out at Tarczynski Arena in front of around 43,000 spectators.

Usyk’s WBA, IBF and WBO belts will be on the line and the Ukrainian (20-0, 13KOs) will be backed by a partisan crowd in Wroclaw, which will be filled with Ukraine natives who have resided in Poland since Russian’s invasion of their country last year.

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The bookmakers make Dubois, 25, the overwhelming underdog but he tipped the scales at 16st and 9lbs at Friday’s weigh-in, almost a stone heavier than 36-year-old Usyk’s 15st and 10lbs.

Both boxers have fought 20 times in the professional ranks but there is a big disparity in rounds with Dubois involved in 105 fewer than Usyk’s 168, which has contained plenty for a world title.

Nevertheless, all of Dubois’ bouts have been at heavyweight while the former undisputed world cruiserweight champion only stepped up to the blue-riband division in 2019.

Dubois told the PA news agency: “I have been boxing for most of my life so that (age) argument is out of the window. I have the experience and I need to be a veteran in this fight.

“I have to bully him. I have to go in there and be the bully. Be the bully and shake him up.”

The Londoner also has a secret weapon after joining forces with trainer Don Charles, who was in Derek Chisora’s corner when the British veteran caused Usyk problems in 2020.

“Yeah, Don will be putting in things that I am not even aware of style-wise and coach-wise. He has a lot of passion and that is what you need,” Dubois said.

“You need the bully-the-bull type mentality to go in there and f*** s*** up, as they say. That is what we need to do.”

Stablemate Tyson Fury will also act as inspiration for Dubois with Queensberry Promotions promoter Frank Warren able to draw parallels between this clash and a memorable world title fight in Dusseldorf in 2015.

Few gave Fury any chance when he stepped out to fight Wladimir Klitschko eight years ago but he produced an enormous shock to win on points and claim the belts now held by Usyk in his own first world title bout.

Dubois added: “All the great fighters had to do it. Before they were champions, people doubted them and had a lot of things to say.

“Boxing is made up of opinions so I never take it to heart or let it break me. I am ready to go. Ready to go out there and prove what I need to do.

“Tyson is a good example. Look at what he has done and gone on to achieve now. I just need to get the prayers going and hopefully the big man upstairs hears me.”

While most of the pre-fight focus has centred on whether a unification clash between Usyk and Fury could finally occur in 2024, the mandatory challenger wants to spoil a homecoming party of sorts in Poland.

After coming through the storm of his 2020 defeat to Joe Joyce, where he took a knee which allowed himself to be counted out in the 10th round due to a hugely swollen left eye, Dubois believes he now has a date with destiny.

“My dad especially backing me and being behind me has been paramount,” he said.

“This doesn’t happen often but I am ready for this opportunity and ready to perform. That is the main thing to perform on the night.

“Go out there and show everything I have done. All the hard work I have put in and my dad has put in over the years. It is finally time.”

The San Francisco 49ers have traded quarterback Trey Lance to the Dallas Cowboys less than three years after trading three first-round picks to draft him.

According to reports, the 49ers will receive a 2024 fourth-round pick for Lance.

Lance’s departure is not surprising after San Francisco made the decision earlier this week to give the backup job to San Darnold behind starter Brock Purdy.

Still, the choice to move on from Lance is stunning since the 49ers traded three first-round picks and a third-rounder to Miami in 2021 to move up from No. 12 and draft the untested quarterback third overall.

Lance only made 17 starts at FCS-level North Dakota State before he was drafted, and never gained much experience in the NFL.

Handed the starting job last season, Lance played less than five quarters before he broke his ankle in Week 2, sidelining him for the rest of the season.

Purdy, meanwhile, came on late in the season and won his first seven starts to take over the starting job heading into this season.

In his brief time with the 49ers, Lance completed 56 of 102 passes for 797 yards with five touchdowns, three interceptions and an 84.5 passer rating. He also rushed for 235 yards and one score on 54 carries.

Cooper Rush has been the backup most of Dak Prescott’s career in Dallas, including last season when he went 4-1 filling in after Prescott broke his thumb in the opener.