Top-class colt Westover has been retired after suffering a career-ending injury when finishing second in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Sunday.
A luckless third behind Desert Crown in last year’s Derby at Epsom, Ralph Beckett’s charge went on to gain compensation with a brilliant victory in the Irish Derby and has continued to run with distinction at the highest level as a four-year-old.
He chased home Japanese superstar Equinox in the Dubai Sheema Classic in March, filled the runner-up spot in the Coronation Cup in June and claimed his second Group One win in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud before being narrowly beaten by Hukum in a thrilling renewal of the King George at Ascot in July.
Having found only the brilliant Ace Impact too strong in Paris last weekend, owner-breeders Juddmonte had been targeting major prizes on foreign soil before the end of 2023 – but they have now had to prematurely call time on the son of Frankel’s racing career.
“It’s devastating news, unfortunately he suffered a career-ending injury on Sunday and he’ll have to be retired,” said Juddmonte’s racing manager Barry Mahon.
“Long-term he’ll be fine and he’ll be OK for a stallion career, but we had such good days with him this year and last year, we had an exciting end to the season planned and we were all very excited about it. Unfortunately it’s come to an end.
“We were looking at the Breeders’ Cup and we actually only entered him in the Japan Cup on Tuesday. We were planning on doing a bit of travelling and seeing a bit of the world with him, but unfortunately that’s not to be.”
Mahon is confident Westover will go on to enjoy a successful second career at stud, adding: “I’d say he’ll be a top-class stallion. He’s one of Frankel’s best sons and as we saw with Ace Impact (by Frankel’s son Cracksman), Frankel’s sons are off to a flying start.
“He’s been beautifully trained by Ralph, Rob Hornby has obviously built up a good association with him last year and this year and Colin Keane was exquisite on him the day he won the Irish Derby.
“It’s been a great story for a lot of people, none more so than Juddmonte. We’re very lucky to have had him.”
Beckett said in a statement: “I am very proud of the horse and what he has achieved, he gave his all every day at home and on the racecourse and we will all miss him.”
Jamaal Lascelles completed a journey from the brink of Premier League disaster to European football’s top table as he led Newcastle to a stunning Champions League victory over Paris St Germain.
The 29-year-old defender was one of three men in the Magpies’ starting line-up for Wednesday night’s remarkable 4-1 Group F victory over the French champions at St James’ Park, who was also in the XI for head coach Eddie Howe’s first game in charge in November 2021, a 3-3 league draw with Brentford.
At that point the club, which had just been taken over by Amanda Staveley’s Saudi-backed consortium, sat in 19th place in the table, but has since invested around £370million in new players, a recruitment drive which has seen club captain Lascelles slip down the pecking order until an injury to Sven Botman threw him back into the spotlight.
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Asked about club captain Lascelles’ performance against PSG, Howe said: “I’m so pleased for Jamaal. I said countless times last year how good his attitude was, how well he trained, how good he’d been for the group.
“But ultimately he’s desperate to show how good he is on the pitch. The biggest compliment I can pay him is that he’s stepped in and he’s really stepped up to the challenge and I think he’s performed really, really well in the last group of games that we’ve had.
“He had to train so well to continue to develop his game when he wasn’t playing and my inner belief was always that he could improve with the team even though he wasn’t in the starting XI, and his game was in a really good place.
“I think he proved that tonight, so we’re delighted for him. It’s a real testament to his attitude and his character.”
Lascelles, who had joined Newcastle in a joint deal with keeper Karl Darlow in August 2014, emerged as a leader from the wreckage of the club’s slip into the Sky Bet Championship in 2016, providing a defiant voice in the dressing room as a 22-year-old to prompt then-manager Rafael Benitez to hand him the armband.
He helped Benitez’s side to win promotion at the first attempt, but has found his chances limited since the influx of signings under the new owners, with Kieran Trippier deputising as captain in his absence.
However, he was a rock at the heart of a team which dumped treble-winners Manchester City out of the Carabao Cup last Wednesday evening and similarly resolute as Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Goncalo Ramos and Randal Kolo Muani came calling a week later.
That provided the foundation upon which a famous victory was built courtesy of goals from Miguel Almiron, Sean Longstaff, Dan Burn and – after Lucas Hernandez had pulled one back – Fabian Schar.
Asked if that kind of result had featured even in his wildest dreams, Howe said: “I thought it was an even game. I thought they had some moments where they hurt us, I thought we had some moments where we hurt them.
“But to score four goals wasn’t necessarily something that we expected to do, but I’m just delighted that we were able to do that in front of our supporters. It’s a very special night.”
World champion Rachel Choong hopes badminton will continue to break down access barriers for the next generation as she focuses on making history at the 2024 Paralympics.
Choong, 29, is a multiple medal winner from her SH6 Para-badminton class, taking world gold in both doubles events as well as the singles in 2015 at Stoke Mandeville.
While more world and European success followed, hopes of competing when para-badminton debuted at the Tokyo Paralympics were dashed after the female short stature category was not included.
However, with the programme since expanded for Paris, Choong has been able to refocus again backed by full-time UK Sport funding as she targets increasing her medal haul.
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Liverpool-born Choong took up the sport aged six and is also part of Badminton England’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee.
Choong helped launch the new ‘Badminton – A Sport for Everyone’ initiative, which sets out a blueprint for the growth of the sport at all levels over the next decade, with a focus on youth and inclusion.
She is confident Badminton England’s approach can help tap into the next generation of talent and make potential Paralympians feel they can make a real impact on the sport.
“I have found that badminton has never put up any barriers because of my disability or my ethnic background or my gender, and I feel like that’s fantastic,” Choong told the PA news agency.
“I just hope that particularly with this strategy, we can show more people how accessible badminton is and that it can bring so many people together, create communities within communities and I think that’s really special.
“I would say there are less barriers now, luckily. For me, para-badminton was not really something that we were really aware of.
“I only found out about para-badminton in 2007, so I was already seven years into playing the sport and I didn’t even know that it even existed.
“Whereas now people with disabilities, I would like to think that a lot of them in this country already know that badminton is an option for them.
“That is something that we want to promote even more, to get coaches involved in para-badminton as well, just so people aren’t turned away at clubs, and that coaches are more open to that as well.
“For me, that initial very first badminton experience really needs to be positive, particularly for someone with a disability or there is something that could maybe prevent them from playing badminton.
“The coaches need to be given the tools to bring people in and give more people a positive experience, which means that more people will hopefully be in the sport for longer.
“And with para (sport) taking such a big part of the strategy and Badminton England understanding how we can grow para-badminton, it means that hopefully we can find our next Paralympic stars.”
Having gone through a tough spell trying to attend events as an unfunded athlete and train through the Covid-19 pandemic, Choong now faces the challenge of working her way back up the world rankings.
As well as competing in singles, Choong has teamed up with Jack Shephard in the SH6 mixed doubles. The pair took bronze at the 2022 Para-Badminton World Championships in Tokyo and during August were runners-up at The 4 Nations Para Badminton International in Sheffield.
“To find out that my events are now being included for the Paris 2024 Paralympic programme is hugely exciting for me. It’s an opportunity that I felt I couldn’t let pass me by,” Choong said.
“I’ve grabbed it with both hands and just invested everything I possibly can into this opportunity because I’ve waited so long for it and I was so desperate for it.
“I do feel like I’m playing catch up a bit, but it is exciting. It is motivating and it means that I have got something to aim for.
“Before, because I was in the fortunate position of being on top (of the rankings), it did mean that I didn’t know where really I was aiming for or how far I could really be pushed, but now the sport has progressed and advanced.
“It is an exciting place to be in, but it is not a given anymore that I will do well at tournaments – but that is a good thing as well.”
Josh Warrington believes his costly slip-up set in motion a chain of events that led to Leigh Wood becoming world champion ahead of their all-British showdown this weekend.
Warrington vacated his IBF featherweight crown in January 2021 to pursue a fight with WBA titlist Xu Can but the following month a tune-up went horribly awry as he was brutally stopped by Mauricio Lara.
As Warrington licked his wounds, Wood stepped up to dethrone Xu while earlier this year the Nottingham fighter avenged his own knockout defeat to Lara by outpointing the Mexican to regain his WBA title.
In the interim, Warrington won back and lost the IBF belt but he can now become a three-time world champion at 126lbs against an opponent he believes has enjoyed success as a result of his setback.
“Credit to Leigh, he’s taken the opportunities that have been put in front of him,” Warrington (31-2-1, 8KOs) told the PA news agency.
“His drive has got him into this position but that position has come through me, technically – he got the opportunity to fight Can Xu because I lost against Lara. His fights with Lara are what’s made his stock rise, Lara became big because of me.
“I’ve been involved in all this and unfortunately for Leigh Wood, I’m going to squash it as well.”
Warrington has previously admitted he was too embarrassed to leave his house in the weeks after the Lara defeat and the Yorkshireman endured a few sleepless nights when he dropped his world title in December last year following a razor-thin majority points loss to Luis Alberto Lopez.
However, neither retirement nor a tick-over fight were options for Warrington, who still harbours ambitions of a Las Vegas bout if he is able to defeat Wood at Utilita Arena in Sheffield on Saturday.
“I didn’t want to be dropping down from world level, I didn’t get stopped, it was a close decision, there were one or two rounds in it and I thought I won,” the 32-year-old added of his loss to Lopez.
“(In the weeks after that) it was probably more on a night time in my head when I was trying to sleep – coulda, woulda, shoulda.
“But you can’t cry over spilled milk, you can only learn from it and the best way to get round it is by putting the gloves back on, getting back in the ring and doing the business.
“I only want to be in big fights. I don’t need warm-up fights or comeback fights.
“I know in my heart of hearts I can become a three-time world champion and still be at the top. You know as a man, a boxer and a person when you’re done. No one else can ever tell you, you know inside.”
Zac Purton has been booked to ride the Willie Mullins-trained Absurde in next month’s Lexus Melbourne Cup.
Purton, who is a six-times champion jockey in Hong Kong, will team up with the Ebor winner in the Flemington feature on November 7 after Frankie Dettori rode the five-year-old to victory at York.
Absurde is set to carry 8st 5lb in the big race which is too low for Dettori to maintain the partnership, so Purton is delighted to renew an old association with Mullins, having ridden Max Dynamite to finish third for the handler in the 2017 Melbourne Cup.
“I think he’s just a wizard as a trainer, he’s a very, very intelligent guy when it comes to training horses,” Purton told www.racing.com.
“You can even see with the Melbourne Cup, the horses he picks to take down for the race, how he strategically places them in the lead-up races to try and beat the handicapper.
“He just knows exactly what he’s doing and I’d always said to my manager that he’s a trainer that I think one day is going to win the Melbourne Cup and hopefully we can be a part of it.”
Purton has ridden Group One victors in his native Australia as well as Japan, Britain and Singapore but admits the Melbourne Cup is a tough race in which to have a winning opportunity.
He added: “Unfortunately, it’s been hard to get the right rides in it because the Europeans generally take their own jockeys, the Japanese like to take their own jockeys and the rides in Australia are sewn up by the jockeys that have the connections with the owners and trainers down there.
“From the position I’m in, it’s just really hard to get that right horse and I’ve got an opportunity again, so hopefully I can make the most of it. I’ve had an amazing career, I’ve ridden a lot of great horses, won a lot of big races but this is the one that is left that I’d love to win now.”
What the papers say
Kaoru Mitoma is reportedly set to rebuff massive interest to remain at Brighton. According to London World, the 26-year-old winger is eager to sign a new long-term contract with the Seagulls. This comes despite Mitoma believed to be high on the wishlist for both Manchester United and Manchester City.
The Daily Express says Chelsea are growing increasingly unhappy with Nottingham Forest loanee Andrey Santos. Citing The Athletic, the Express reports Chelsea could recall the 19-year-old midfielder from his loan spell if he does not start getting substantial first-team football.
The Evening Standard reports a host of European clubs are tracking New York Red Bulls’ 15-year-old American winger Julian Hall, with Manchester United, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich all believed to be keen on the highly rated prospect.
Social media round-upPlayers to watch
Michael Kayode: Fiorentina are set to offer a new contract to the 19-year-old defender, according to Calcio Mercato.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: Gazzetta reports the Denmark midfielder wants to leave Tottenham if he cannot be guaranteed first-team football.
Former France and Manchester United goalkeeper Fabien Barthez announced his retirement from football, on this day in 2006.
The 1998 World Cup winner made his announcement on French television channel TF1, three months after appearing in the 2006 World Cup final.
Barthez, aged 35 at the time, said: “I am quitting the French team, I am quitting club football. I am going to continue enjoying myself without football.”
The mercurial Frenchman, who also helped his country win Euro 2000, initially quit soon after being released by Marseille at the end of the 2005-06 season.
He had been France’s first-choice keeper in the 2006 World Cup, with his last match being the penalty shoot-out loss to Italy in the final.
Barthez was with United for four years between 2000 and 2004, winning two Premier League titles in the process.
But his erratic displays saw Sir Alex Ferguson lose patience with him and he spent the final season on loan back at former club Marseille, who he subsequently joined on a two-year permanent deal.
Shortly before he announced his retirement, Barthez had been trying to agree a deal with first club Toulouse, but it did not work out.
“The only club I wanted to go to was not so happy to have me,” he said. “It happens and you have to live with it. I needed an adventure and I have only done things that I want to.”
Barthez’s club retirement did not last long though, with the keeper announcing in December 2006 that he had signed a deal with Nantes.
But the following April, after an altercation with a Nantes fan, Barthez left the club and, although he stated his intention to carry on playing, he did not make another appearance.
In 2008, Barthez switched sports and began a successful motorsport career. He won the 2013 French GT Championship alongside Morgan Moullin-Traffort and competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 2014, 2016 and 2017.
Sonny Gray and five relievers combined on a shutout and the Minnesota Twins advanced in the postseason for the first time in 21 years with a 2-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.
Minnesota, which ended an 18-game playoff losing streak with a 3-1 win in Game 1, completed the sweep and moved on to face the defending World Series champion Astros in the best-of-five AL Division Series, starting Saturday in Houston.
The Twins snapped a nine-round losing streak that started with an ALCS defeat to the Angels in 2002. The Atlanta Braves (2001-2019) and Chicago Cubs (1910-1998) share the all-time mark with 10 consecutive series lost.
The Blue Jays lost their seventh straight playoff game, leaving nine runners on base in each game.
All the game’s offense came in the bottom of the fourth.
Royce Lewis drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on Max Kepler’s infield single against reliever Yusei Kikuchi.
After pinch-hitter Donovan Solano walked to load the bases, Carlos Correa singled home a run. Willi Castro then hit into a double play to make it 2-0.
Gray allowed five hits over five innings with two walks and six strikeouts.
Brock Stewart and Griffin Jax each worked one inning and Jhoan Duran struck out the side in the ninth to trigger the celebration.
Gallen, Diamondbacks complete sweep of Brewers
Ketel Marte highlighted a four-run sixth with a two-run single and the Arizona Diamondbacks finished a sweep of the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers with a 5-2 victory.
Two years after losing 110 games, the Diamondbacks advanced to the NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Zac Gallen allowed two first-inning runs but settled down to toss six solid innings before Arizona’s bullpen finished with three scoreless frames, the final three outs coming from Paul Sewald.
Milwaukee has lost nine of its last 10 playoff games, a stretch that started with a Game 7 home loss to the Dodgers in the 2018 NLCS.
Freddy Peralta held Arizona hitless for 4 2/3 innings before Alek Thomas homered to make it 2-1.
The Diamondbacks knocked out Peralta and grabbed a 5-2 lead with four runs in the sixth.
After Marte singled home a pair of runs, the Diamondbacks got another run on Abner Uribe’s wild pitch and extended the advantage on Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s RBI single.
Stott hits slam as Phillies sweep
Bryson Stott hit the second grand slam in Phillies postseason history and Aaron Nola was masterful on the mound as Philadelphia rolled to a 7-1 win over the Miami Marlins for a two-game sweep.
J.T. Realmuto also went deep, and the Phillies will face the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS for the second straight season after last year’s series win in four games.
Nola limited Miami to three hits over seven scoreless innings, getting an inning-ending double play in the fifth.
Already leading 3-0, Stott’s blast off Andrew Nardi in the sixth all but assured the Phillies of advancing.
Rangers finish sweep of punchless Rays
Adolis Garcia and rookie Evan Carter homered to back Nathan Eovaldi’s stellar start as the Texas Rangers secured a spot in the AL Division Series with a 7-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Rangers outscored the Rays 11-1 in a pair of wins and won a postseason series for the first time since 2011, when they reached the World Series.
Texas will open the ALDS on Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles.
Eovaldi gave up six hits over 6 2/3 innings while walking none with eight strikeouts to beat Tampa Bay for the third time this season.
The Rays’ postseason losing streak reached seven straight, as they were bounced in the Wild Card Series for the second consecutive year.
Garcia led off the fourth with a home run against Zach Eflin, igniting a four-run inning.
Leody Tavares singled with two outs, stole second and scored on Josh Jung’s triple. The 20-year-old Carter followed with a home run to right for a 4-0 lead.
England are ready to kick off their World Cup defence with a rerun of their 2019 final victory against New Zealand, but returning hero Ben Stokes has emerged as an injury doubt for the opening game.
The lure of repeating the tournament triumph of four years ago was enough to draw Stokes out of ODI retirement after a year away from the format, but he may be confined to a watching brief in Ahmedabad.
While England fans will be glad to hear there are no signs of his long-term knee problems flaring up, skipper Jos Buttler revealed the 32-year-old has been struggling with soreness in his left hip in recent days.
He was the only member of the 15-strong squad not to play some part in this week’s warm-up win over Bangladesh, meaning he has not featured since scoring a new national record of 182 against the Black Caps on September 13.
Stokes joined his team-mates for their final training session under lights at the Narendra Modi Stadium – which is not expected to fill even half of its gargantuan 132,000 capacity – but was little more than a bystander.
He spent some time in the indoor gym but did not bat. Given the lengthy nature of the competition, which spans nine group games over six weeks, it seems highly unlikely that England would gamble with their prized asset at such an early stage.
“He’s got a slight niggle with his hip, but fingers crossed that it’ll be good news for us. We’ll see,” said Buttler.
“We’ll make the right call. If he’s not fit to play, he’s not fit to play. It’s not the time to take big risks on someone at the start of the tournament. Nearer the end, maybe you do take more of a risk with people’s injuries but it’s going to be a long tournament.”
Buttler is looking to repeat the career-defining achievement of his predecessor Eoin Morgan by lifting the trophy, but distanced himself from the notion of a title ‘defence’.
For a side who have rebuilt their entire philosophy around an aggressive mindset, it is a term he is more than happy to banish.
“I don’t see us as defending champions. We’re not defending anything. I want us to attack so I don’t like the word defending,” he said.
“For us it’s irrelevant. It certainly is for me. It’s fantastic to be reigning champions and I won’t say we’ve left that behind completely because it’s a nice place to be, but you’ve given that trophy back now. It’s done.
“It’s about trying to create something new. There’s always a desire for more, a hunger for more. We wouldn’t be here if we were content with what we’ve done.”
Stokes’ likely absence could open the way for Harry Brook to make his World Cup debut, a remarkable shift in fortunes for a player who was omitted from the original squad only to edge out Jason Roy at the eleventh hour.
Prop Tadhg Furlong believes Ireland have proven they can thrive under big-game pressure as they seek to avoid a shock Rugby World Cup exit.
Andy Farrell’s men have topped the world rankings for well over a year and won a national-record 16 Test matches in a row.
Yet the Six Nations champions are still in danger of flying home from France before the knockout stages heading in to Saturday evening’s decisive Pool B clash with Scotland in Paris.
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Leinster tighthead Furlong has helped his country beat each of their major rivals during the Farrell era and expects the team to once again deliver under the weight of expectation.
“I think it brings the best out of rugby players,” he said. “It shows your mentality, it shows what you are about, it shows what the group is about. It shows a lot.
“The proof is always in the pudding in terms of how the match goes, and how you deal with the pressure. It’s just about trying to get on.
“I think as a group, we are relatively experienced and we have a good understanding of how we work and how the team works and how to get the most out of the team in these big games.
“We have played in big games before. Now it’s just about trying to get your prep right and try to get your best performance out there.
“It’s (about) not being afraid of it, it’s about embracing it and getting on with it.”
Head coach Farrell will name his team for the Stade de France showdown on Thursday afternoon and is likely to make few, if any, changes following a 13-8 victory over South Africa on September 23.
A win or draw will send Ireland through as group winners ahead of the Springboks.
But success for Gregor Townsend’s side could see them snatch progression at the expense of their rivals, depending on the margin of victory and bonus points obtained.
Ireland have dominated recent meetings between the two nations, winning eight in a row and 12 of the last 13 across the last decade, including March’s 22-7 Six Nations triumph at Murrayfield.
Furlong feels Scotland represent a “ huge challenge” and a far tougher proposition than that match just under seven months ago when the Irish overcame a host of injury setbacks to keep themselves on course for the Grand Slam.
“Of course you look at the last game, you probably don’t look at the seven before that,” said the 30-year-old.
“Rugby is ever changing and evolving. They’re flying at the minute. I was really impressed with their warm-up games against France and have been really impressed with how they’ve performed in the tournament so far.
“I would imagine they’re disappointed with their South Africa performance (an 18-3 loss).
“They’ve come on a lot since the Six Nations, and they had a really good Six Nations.
“They were flying then as well. It’s going to be a huge challenge for us this weekend.”
Duhaney Park Red Sharks won their seventh consecutive National Club Championship men’s (NCC) Grand Finals, and ninth overall after a hard-fought 32-20 win over Washington Boulevard Bulls at the UWI Mona Bowl on Sunday.
The champions had an early scare when play maker Chevaughn Bailey departed the game after only two minutes with an injury. However, they still managed to go into the half-time break with a narrow 10-4 lead after tries from Ryan Grant and Joseph Shae, Grant with the conversion.
Bulls’ first half points came from a try form winger Javon Lewis.
The Red Sharks surged further ahead 20-4 early in the second half with tries from Shaqueil Pollack and Adrian Thomas, Grant kicking one of the two conversion attempts.
The Bulls then narrowed the gap to 20-14 with tries from Orlando Messado and Reinhardo Richards, Mohenjo Thompson kicking one of the conversions.
With 15 minutes remaining, the Red Sharks made it a two-score game when hooker Akeem Murray burrowed over from close range, Grant again converting.
However, the Bulls again found a response, this time through Shamoy Stewart, Thompson again converting to leave the game in the balance at 26-20.
With five minutes remaining and the Bulls pushing for the equalizing score, a drop ball from Kahil Green in their own half gifted the Red Sharks possession.
Prop Owen Linton then went on a thundering charge up the middle and scored under the sticks, Grant again slotted home the conversion to seal the 32-20 victory for the champs.
Winning Head Coach Roy Calvert while happy for the win praised their opponents’ effort.
“Hats off to the Bulls, they were determined. The conditions were not perfect and both teams had a hard time holding on to the ball,” Calvert remarked.
“I’m proud of my team though, we have ended the season unbeaten, so it’s another historic moment for us. I was really pleased to see the growth of some of our young players and to end with a win in the Grand Finals is the perfect ending to the season.”
Oshane Edie coach of the Bulls expressed his pride at how his team performed in the losing effort.
“It was a good final. We lost momentum in the first half, got back in it the second but we failed to capitalize on our opportunities. I’m proud of the boys, it was a very intense game and congrats to the Red Sharks on their victory.”
In the third-place playoff, Western Hyenas ran out 32-12 winners over Liguanea Dragons.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe will not allow Newcastle to get ahead of themselves despite seeing them dismantle Champions League giants Paris St Germain.
The 4-1 victory over the 2020 runners-up at St James’ Park took the Magpies – playing in the competition for the first time in 20 years – to the top of Group F after two games.
However, head coach Howe was refusing to be carried away by a performance and a result which brought back memories of the club’s 3-2 Champions League win over Barcelona 26 years ago.
Howe, who inherited a Newcastle side seemingly heading for the Sky Bet Championship less than two years ago, said: “Going from the difficult moment we were in to now, it’s a great lesson for us not to get ahead of ourselves.
“We’ve come a long way in a short period of time, but we want to keep going and we take nothing for granted. Amazing night, but we’ve got to continue to work hard from here.
“It goes without saying we hope that gives us that belief that we need to be successful in this competition. Against Milan in our first game, there was an element of us not quite hitting the levels that we expected of ourselves.
“But I think it’s only by doing that you can truly prove to yourself that you can do it consistently, and I think today will go a long way towards proving that.
“But as I said, there are so many difficult games to come in this competition. It’s a small step forward, but there’s still a long, long way to go.
“The next game in this competition will be hugely important, but that goes to the back of our minds now as we focus back on to the Premier League and West Ham.”
The Magpies got off to a dream start when Bruno Guimaraes picked off Marquinhos’ ill-judged ball out of defence and although Gianluigi Donnarumma saved Alexander Isak’s initial shot, Miguel Almiron followed up to score.
Dan Burn made it 2-0 with a towering header six minutes before the break, after a lengthy VAR check, and Sean Longstaff put the Magpies in dreamland five minutes after the restart.
Lucas Hernandez’s 56th-minute header sparked something of a fightback, but ultimately it amounted to little and Fabian Schar smashed home a fourth in stoppage time to cement a remarkable win.
Howe was particularly pleased for Geordies Burn and Longstaff, lifelong supporters of the club they now represent with such distinction.
He said: “I really do respect the Geordies who have had life-long associations with the club and understand what it means to play for Newcastle and have a unique experience, really, so for Sean to score and play how he did and for Dan, they’re amazing moments in their careers.”
A crowd of 52,009 witnessed a remarkable night on Tyneside, although the visiting fans, some of whom briefly caused troubled as they were escorted to the stadium by police, left less than impressed by what superstar Kylian Mbappe and his team-mates produced on the pitch.
Asked if he took responsibility for the performance, PSG boss Luis Enrique said: “Yes absolutely, there’s no doubt about that, I’m the first person to be responsible for what happened this evening. Of course I’m responsible for it.
“I think the outcome of the game was fair, although the scoreline was perhaps a little bit too much in their favour, not really a fair reflection.
“But of course we made such careless mistakes which led to their goals and when you play at this level, you can’t afford to do that.”
Swansea centre-back Ben Cabango has given Wales boss Rob Page another injury worry after he limped out of his side’s 2-1 home win over Norwich in the Championship.
Wales are already without Aaron Ramsey and Brennan Johnson for the vital Euro 2024 qualifier with Croatia on October 15 and Swansea boss Michael Duff confirmed Cabango suffered a hamstring issue after he went off in the second half of his club’s victory on Wednesday night.
“Ben did the right thing in coming off. He felt something in his hamstring in the first half and then again later on,” said Duff.
“If he isn’t fit for the weekend, then I don’t think he’ll be able to go off to play for Wales during the international window.”
The win gave Duff’s new-look side a haul of 10 points from a possible 12 in their last four Championship matches having failed to win in any of their opening seven games in all competitions.
“I was delighted with the result and the performance. We started with real intent and the first goal came from a high press,” said Duff.
“Then their goal came from us getting our press wrong. In the second half we defended our box well and got the winner.
“Norwich are one of the best teams in the league and we finished very strongly against them. The fans really got behind us in the added six minutes at the end because our lads were out on their feet.”
Norwich boss David Wagner was “very disappointed” after seeing his side fail to press home their advantage in the second half.
“We didn’t do our job properly in each box, goals change games and we didn’t take our chances,” said Wagner.
“That’s three away defeats in a row now and we lost a game that we could have won. We have to be better in both boxes.
“After two away defeats in a row we knew we had a chance to pick up some points in an important game. It was there for us, but we didn’t do our job.
“Obviously the result is very disappointing. Performance-wise, first half we were not good, second half we were much better.
“Second half we have to kill the game. We had enough very good opportunities until 75-80 minutes.
“After that they put pressure on us with set-pieces. If you don’t kill the game, then one situation can cost you.
“It’s very frustrating that we were not clinical in both boxes today and have not won a game we had opportunities to win at 1-1.”
Leeds boss Daniel Farke was pleased to see his side grind out a 1-0 victory over QPR in the Championship.
Crysencio Summerville coolly slotted in the only goal of the contest after nine minutes to move the Whites into the play-off places.
The hosts missed chances to kill the game off against a QPR side who had goalkeeper Asmir Begovic sent off in stoppage time, but Leeds held on as they returned to winning ways following Saturday’s defeat to Southampton.
“I am really happy and pleased,” Farke said.
“I told the lads I am proud because you can be on a great spell like we were on before Southampton and after one bad result, the next game is very difficult.
“The confidence is not there like it was before and to grind out a result it’s never champagne or football fireworks, it’s always hard work.
“To bring this tight lead over the line and be there again with a clean sheet, a win, is fantastic and in this type of game you have to be there to be able to celebrate.”
Leeds missed a handful of chances in the second period which could have put them out of sight and Farke admitted it started to get more nervy as the game wore on.
He added: “When you don’t score the second goal the opponent believes there is a chance.
“Because you don’t score a second goal it gets more nervous. We dominated every stat, but one scruffy situation in the second half saw a ball go through and thank God (goalkeeper) Illan (Meslier) was in the right position.”
QPR slipped to their sixth league defeat of the season and are without a win in five, but boss Gareth Ainsworth took heart from the performance.
“We’ve had a couple of collapses in my time so resilience wise I’m very proud of the boys,” he said.
“They gave everything, I asked for a bit more output, bit more of the committed work rate, I haven’t seen enough of that this season and we have that tonight. I think we will finish way higher than what people think.”
Ainsworth disagreed with the decision to send off Begovic, who saw red after fouling Patrick Bamford outside his area.
“He (Begovic) does not touch him (Bamford). I’ve had verification from both players that there’s no contact,” Ainsworth said.
“Patrick’s a great lad and he’s just jumped out the way and the referee has seen it as he thought he caught him. We may be able to get it overturned, I don’t know.”
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