Leicester continued their winning start to the season with a 1-0 victory away at Huddersfield.
Enzo Maresca’s side made it three wins from three in all competitions thanks to Stephy Mavididi’s first Foxes goal.
The summer recruit from Montpellier has already begun to repay the reported £6.4million outlay as he grabbed what proved to be the winner midway through the second half.
After performing the great escape last season, Neil Warnock’s outfit continued their slow start to the new campaign as they slipped to a third successive defeat.
In their first meeting since a 4-1 Leicester win in the Premier League back in April 2019, it was Huddersfield who started the brighter in this affair.
Youngster Brahima Diarra had two early opportunities to open the scoring, with his prodded strike narrowly wide of the target the closest.
Despite the Terriers’ early dominance, it was the visitors who nearly snatched the advantage in somewhat freakish circumstances.
Defensive miscommunication enabled Kelechi Iheanacho space in the box with his effort deflecting off Matty Pearson and looping onto the roof of the net.
Maresca’s visitors quickly assumed control of the match and again spurned a glorious opportunity to take the lead inside the half-hour mark.
A delightful Ricardo Pereira pass split the Town defence to send Dennis Praet through on goal, but the Belgium international was thwarted by Lee Nicholls.
The momentum pendulum again turned in Huddersfield’s favour with Michal Helik – a scorer in the opening weekend defeat at Plymouth – having the chance of the half.
A quick free-kick resulted in a pinpoint Sorba Thomas delivery finding the onrushing defender, but Helik wildly blazed over from point-blank range before the interval.
The Terriers began the second period in similar fashion to the first with Danny Ward heading narrowly over before Diarra stung the palms of keeper Jakub Stolarczyk.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall then looked to add to his double versus Coventry last weekend, but his effort curled wide as Leicester regained control.
However, the Leicester youngster’s blushes did not last long with teammate Mavididi breaking the deadlock with 17 minutes left.
The lively winger shifted the ball to an acute angle and unleashed a venomous strike which wriggled through the legs of Town keeper Nicholls.
The hosts launched a spirited fightback and should have levelled when an unmarked Pearson met a Thomas set-piece, but the defender headed straight at Stolarczyk.
Substitute Marc Albrighton should have doubled the Foxes’ lead in stoppage time, but his low strike was pawed clear by Nicholls.
The visitors ultimately held onto their slender advantage to continue their impressive start to life under new boss Maresca, with recent history suggesting this could be a successful season in their bid for an immediate return to the Premier League. In each of the last three seasons, Huddersfield’s first home league opponent has gone on to lift the Championship title.
Shaw reveals how advice from former Man City stalwarts Bronze, Sterling assisted her to settle at the club
After struggling to find her footing when she just arrived at Manchester City, Jamaica international Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw, revealed that it was the advice of Lucy Bronze and Raheem Sterling, coupled with hard work, that assisted in her now being the club's record goalscorer.
Since her transfer from Bordeaux in 2021, Shaw has cemented her status as one of the game’s most clinical strikers during her spell with Gareth Taylor's side so far. In the process, she smashed a number of records, including most goals scored by a Manchester City women’s player in a single season -31 in the 2022-23 campaign -before becoming the club's all-time leading goalscorer with 72 goals overall.
However, she wasn't always confident that she would have accomplished those feats, as she pointed out how guidance from former Manchester City pair Bronze and Sterling put her on the path to history in sky blue, after a difficult early period at the Joie Stadium.
“When I came here initially, I was struggling a bit,” Shaw revealed on The Women's Game Podcast with Sam Mewis.
“One day I was coming in from training and Lucy [Bronze] was coming in as well and she asked, ‘are you okay?’ and I said ‘I just can’t get the way they play, I can’t get it right’. City play a specific type of way and I was saying when we were walking in from training ‘I cannot get this right’. I didn’t know if here was for me.
“She started laughing and she was like ‘you focus on what got you here, the bits you do well that got you here, there’s something they saw in you that got you here’. At that moment I was like ‘wow’. I then called Raheem [Sterling] and I said the same thing to him. He was just laughing and said, ‘when I came from Liverpool I struggled a bit, they play a certain way so trust the process, believe in what you’re doing and believe in yourself’," she added.
From there, the 26-year-old Shaw said she continued to put in the work, both on and off the field until her performances came together.
“I put the comments from both Lucy and Raheem together and it made sense. I told myself to continue working and watching the videos, see how I could improve my game and seeing how best I can help the team. By doing that, it helped a little better day-by-day. Couple of weeks later I called Raheem and said, ‘it’s working!’ He was laughing and said, ‘I told you, you’ve just got to believe in yourself and do all the right things and focus on you first and foremost before you can focus on anything else’," Shaw shared.
Although her 2023/24 campaign was cut short due to a broken foot, Shaw will finish the campaign with 22 goals and five assists. And she credits her sparkling City success to her dedication on the City Football Academy training pitch.
“I just kept at it and believing in myself. The confidence comes from scoring goals and as the games come, I’m thriving," she ended.
Girona 4-2 Barcelona: Hosts secure Champions League football while ending Blaugrana's title hopes
Girona beat Barcelona 4-2 to secure Champions League qualification and gift Real Madrid their 36th LaLiga title.
Madrid, who have lost only once in the league this season, hold a 13-point advantage over second-placed Girona, while Barca dropped to third after Saturday's loss.
The victory saw Girona seal European football for the first time in their history.
A brace from substitute Portu helped LaLiga's surprise package Girona to humble their Catalan rivals.
Andreas Christiansen scored in the third minute to give Barca the lead but Girona hit back a minute later, with LaLiga's top scorer Artem Dovbyk heading in the equaliser.
Robert Lewandowski put the visitors back ahead from the penalty spot just before the break.
However, in his first action after coming off the bench, Portu restored parity before Miguel Gutierrez scored from a rebound two minutes later to turn the match on its head.
And that paved the way for a stunning volley from Portu in the 74th minute to secure the win.
Real Madrid's LaLiga joy must be 'contained' ahead of Bayern meeting
Carlo Ancelotti knows Real Madrid's LaLiga title celebrations must be "contained" as they prepare to take on Bayern Munich.
Madrid were crowned LaLiga champions for a record-extending 36th time on Saturday, after Barcelona lost 4-2 to Girona.
The Blaugrana's defeat followed on from Madrid beating Cadiz 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Brahim Diaz, Jude Bellingham and Joselu were on target for Los Blancos, whose coach Ancelotti knows restraint is needed in his team's celebrations, with the Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern coming up on Wednesday.
"It's obviously a contained joy, because the most important game of the season is also very close, but we have to be happy," Ancelotti told Movistar Plus+ before the Barca game had been played.
"These games are difficult to prepare for, because you have Wednesday on your mind. But so far it's been spectacular, our team was steady, with hardly any mistakes. The advantage we have is well deserved.
"A big part [of Madrid's success] was achieved when we started to defend better, with a collective commitment.
"The effort put by the players up front was great, but the injuries early in the season helped us to realise that it wasn't about individuals but putting on a collective effort, and we did great."
Speaking to reporters in the mixed zone, Ancelotti said: "We are very good. It is the seventh victory in a row in the League, a spectacular one as a whole.
"We are very close to winning it and I think we are going to do it with merit.
"It is a celebration taking into account what has to happen on Wednesday. We are all happy with the match, but let's think about Bayern."
Thibaut Courtois, meanwhile, returned from his long injury lay-off to feature for the first time this season.
Ancelotti added: "Thibaut is a very important piece for this team, although [Andriy] Lunin has had a spectacular season and that is a lot of credit to Andriy. But Courtois has returned very well and was decisive. He is doing very well."
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