Manchester United survived a late VAR scare as Raphael Varane’s second-half goal saw them edge past an impressive Wolves to get their Premier League campaign off to a winning start at Old Trafford.

Varane headed home from close range with 14 minutes remaining to ensure an unconvincing display from Erik Ten Hag’s team ended in a 1-0 victory that was barely deserved.

Indeed, it looked like Wolves might get the chance to equalise from the penalty spot at the death when goalkeeper Andre Onana appeared to clatter into Sasa Kalajdzic, but referee Simon Hooper waved away protests and VAR backed his decision.

It felt harsh as few will have seen a performance like this coming from Wolves, whose plans for the season were thrown into disarray last week when boss Julen Lopetegui left just five days before kick-off, with Gary O’Neil coming in.

O’Neil, who was sacked at Bournemouth after keeping them up last season, will have been thrilled at what he saw as his new side put in a slick counter-attacking display that had United on the run for the majority of the game.

But it was old failings that came back to haunt them as they could not take any of their chances, with the electric Matheus Cunha hitting the post in the second half.

United will know a display like this will not be good enough, but they at least got the job done to ensure they join Manchester City and Arsenal in taking maximum points in the opening weekend of the campaign.

There was a small scale demonstration outside the ground before kick-off as United fans again chanted against the Glazers and the lengthy sale process of the club, which has been going on since November.

However, planned protests against the possibility of Mason Greenwood being integrated back into the squad did not extend beyond the odd banner, with the forward’s fate still unknown as the club are still in a consultation phase following the conclusion of their internal investigation.

The off-the-pitch issues have not clouded what was a promising pre-season for Ten Hag’s men, though they could not translate that into a cohesive performance in the opening 45 minutes.

In fact, to much surprise given their build-up to the season, Wolves were the better team as they had United running scared with pace on the break, creating two excellent openings to take the lead.

In the 26th minute a lightning counter attack saw Cunha surge forward and pass to Pablo Sarabia, but it was slightly behind him and the Spaniard saw his drilled effort go just wide with the aid of a deflection.

Another slick move saw roles reversed six minutes later as Sarabia’s excellent pass played in Cunha, but he dragged his shot wide after bursting into the box.

That acted as something of a wake-up call to United, who came to life in the final 10 minutes of the first half.

There were loud shots for a penalty when Marcus Rashford headed against the arm of Nelson Semedo, but the Wolves defender managed to tuck his limb in just in the nick of time.

But Wolves rediscovered their counter-attacking verve after the break and should have led in the 50th minute.

Another lung-busting break from Cunha, who ran virtually the length of the pitch, saw him lay the ball off to Sarabia and it came back to him at the far post, but, slightly off balance, his shot clipped the outside of the post.

The hosts were petrified of Cunha and their defence parted in alarming fashion five minutes later but saw a low shot saved by Andre Onana.

Cunha was at it again in the 71st minute with another run that had United floundering and the loose ball fell to Pedro Neto, but he shot straight at Onana.

There was an inevitability about what was to come as Wolves paid for their lack of cutting edge when United stole the lead in the 76th minute.

Bruno Fernandes unlocked the defence to play in Aaron Wan-Bissaka and his cross from the right was headed home by Varane from close range.

Wolves knocked on the door for an equaliser and Fabio Silva had a hat-trick of chances but was denied by Onana’s legs twice while Luke Shaw produced a goal-saving block to earn his side victory.

The visitors thought they should have had a penalty in the sixth minute of time when Onana went walkabouts, but Hooper and VAR denied them.

Jurgen Klopp called for clarity on time-wasting offences after Trent Alexander-Arnold was booked for taking too long over a thrown-in during Liverpool’s draw with Chelsea on Sunday.

This season has seen the introduction of measures to try and keep the ball in play for a greater proportion of matches, with significant increases in added time seen over the Premier League’s opening weekend.

It is hoped that adding on time to reflect the length of pauses to the game will deter players from delaying the re-start of play.

But Klopp believes the yellow card shown to the Alexander-Arnold in the 67th minute at Stamford Bridge whilst the score was 1-1 was unfair since the defender was looking for a player to throw the ball to.

“I think last season some teams stretched it, definitely,” he said. “And we are not one of these teams, we never were. I knew we would get a yellow card – probably the first yellow card – for time wasting with a throw-in.

“When Trent is looking for a player and tries to find a player, this is a tactical thing – he cannot just take the ball and throw it.

“Maybe we have to clarify it a little bit, but besides that I think too many teams stretched it and did it too obvious and that’s why everybody thinks we should watch a bit more football.

“I don’t know exactly what the net ball in play time was today, but that’s how it is now. It was not a problem today for me, to be honest. What was it, first half six minutes? Because of the VAR decisions. And second half, five, I think.

“That’s a lot but this is a time where we try to sort it like that. I am not sure that will last forever but at the moment it’s like that and we have to deal with it.”

Liverpool led early in west London thanks to Luis Diaz’s well-taken breakaway goal and thought they had doubled their lead when Mohamed Salah slotted home, only for VAR to adjudge the striker was offside.

Chelsea levelled through debutant defender Axel Disasi and had a second goal of their own from Ben Chilwell chalked off after a video check, as the sides played out an entertaining draw.

The game was characterised by a lack defensive control in midfield from both sides, though Chelsea have since beaten Liverpool to the £115million signing of Moises Caicedo from Brighton and look set to land Southampton’s Romeo Lavia, who has also been courted by the Reds.

“We should’ve solved it better,” said Klopp of his team’s difficulty in midfield. “The best way to avoid these kind of things (is) obviously controlling the game (which) we could’ve done, because when we did that we passed in the right moment and kept the ball in the right moment and created one v one situations on the wing, so it was really tricky for Chelsea to deal with.

“It’s the first game, not the last, so we have a lot of things to improve there’s no doubt about that, but I saw already a good basis.”

Of the two clubs’ competition over Caicedo and Lavia, he added: “(More players) is usually what a Chelsea manager wants, and usually they get it.”

Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber will see a specialist to determine the extent of his knee injury, with reports suggesting he is set for an extended spell on the sidelines.

The Dutchman, signed from Ajax in a £38.5million summer transfer, limped off early in the second half of Saturday’s win over Nottingham Forest in the Gunners’ opening Premier League match.

According to reports, Timber has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, which if confirmed would see the Netherlands defender facing a lengthy spell of rehabilitation and possibly being out until early 2024.

Arsenal confirmed on Monday evening that further assessments will be needed to determined a timeframe for Timber’s return to action.

“Further to his substitution during our match against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, Jurrien Timber has received extensive assessments and scans which have confirmed he has sustained an injury to his right knee,” a club statement read.

“Jurrien will undergo a further detailed assessment and review with a consultant in the coming days to assess the full extent of the injury, in order to determine the next steps. A further update will be provided in due course.

“Everyone at the club will be focused on supporting Jurrien at this time.”

President of the Jamaica Football Federation, Michael Ricketts, has consistently highlighted the importance of education to every part of society, including football.

In keeping with that philosophy, Ricketts announced last Thursday that, starting in September, the JFF will be providing a pair of scholarships valued at $300,000 each to two members (one male and one female) of Jamaica’s national youth football setups.

“We want to ensure that our players get some academic support. The JFF is very proud to announce that we will be providing two scholarships valued at $300,000 each,” Ricketts said.

“This year will be the inaugural year and this will be for a boy and girl out of a High School. That boy and girl ought to have matriculated to be a national player. A number of our U17s and U20s would certainly qualify for this initiative,” he added.

“This is something that the President dreamed about when I spoke to him about it last year. He said he wanted to do something for children and academics,” said JFF General Secretary, Dennis Chung.

“The Wisynco Foundation will be working with us and we thought it was important because we can’t just focus on the football side. We have to emphasize academics and push that,” he added.

Ricketts offered similar sentiments.

“This JFF has one single item on its agenda and it’s to grow the sport of football. We also want to make it very clear that it’s not just about football,” said Ricketts.

“We want to, from a commercial and a social standpoint, positively impact the psyche of every single boy and girl in this country,” he added.

A 26-year-old worker has died during construction work at Everton’s new stadium.

Merseyside Police confirmed that an injured man later died at hospital “after an incident” at Bramley Moore Dock on Monday afternoon.

They said that “his next of kin have been told and an investigation is under way”.

Everton tweeted that everyone at the club is “heartbroken” by the news a male worker had died following an incident at the site.

They said: “The thoughts and condolences of everyone connected with Everton are with his family, friends, and colleagues at this unimaginably sad time.”

Stadium contractor Laing O’Rourke said they were “shocked and saddened” by the death.

Work at the site has been suspended work “until further notice” with both the police and the Health and Safety Executive in attendance, the contractors said.

In June, Everton said the club would consult with fans as part of their considerations over whether to move into the new stadium midway through the 2024-25 season.

A police spokesman said: “We can confirm that a man has died after an incident at Bramley Moore Dock this afternoon.

“At around 1pm it was reported that a man, aged 26, had been injured.

“He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. His next of kin have been told and an investigation is under way.”

A Laing O’Rourke spokesman said: “We can confirm that earlier today a member of our team, who was carrying out work for one of our sub-contractors, was seriously injured in an incident.

“He was taken to hospital via ambulance, where he sadly died.

“We are shocked and saddened by today’s tragic incident and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the deceased man and our wider project team.

“The police and the Health and Safety Executive are on site and we have suspended work until further notice. We will co-operate fully with any investigation that follows.”

Moises Caicedo’s £100m move from Brighton continues Chelsea’s lavish spending under Todd Boehly’s ownership group and represents another major profit for the Seagulls.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the two clubs’ contrasting approaches in the transfer market.

Boehly breaks the bank

Chelsea became used to unprecedented transfer outlay under former chairman Roman Abramovich but if anything, Boehly and Behdad Eghbali’s Clearlake consortium have taken it to new levels.

Raheem Sterling was the first signing of the new era for a reported £47.5million last summer, with defenders Wesley Fofana (£70m), Marc Cucurella (£60m) and Kalidou Koulibaly (£34m) the other stand-out deals in a window that saw them spend over £250m in all.

A British record £106.8m deal for Enzo Fernandez and an initial £62m, potentially rising to as much as £89m, for Ukraine winger Mykhailo Mudryk followed in January. The Premier League’s spending of £815m that month was almost double the previous January record of £430m, while Chelsea’s £308m alone would have ranked second on that chart and was more than the rest of Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues combined.

That £650m-plus season expenditure – plus pay-offs to sacked managers Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, and a reported £20m to Brighton to lure Potter in the first place – could not help Chelsea to success as they limped to a 12th-placed finish in the league, their worst finish since 1994.

The solution, unsurprisingly, has been to spend another £290m and counting this summer on the likes of forwards Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson, defender Axel Disasi – whose debut goal earned a draw with Liverpool on Sunday – and now Caicedo.

With a reported ongoing interest in Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia and an admitted need for another striker following Nkunku’s injury, Boehly’s Blues could be on course for an even larger outlay in this window and potentially even a total outlay topping £1billion within 15 months of their takeover.

Brighton bring in big bucks

Caicedo is the latest off-the-radar discovery to make a huge profit for Brighton, having signed from Independiente del Valle in his native Ecuador for a reported £4.4m as recently as February 2021.

Now seemingly worth up to 26 times that amount if the £15m in potential add-ons in his deal are all activated, the midfielder continues an impressive trend.

In the last three seasons, Albion have sold 10 first-team players who made at least 20 league appearances in the previous campaign and have made a profit on all but two.

The summer 2021 window saw homegrown defender Ben White move to Arsenal for a reported £50m and Dan Burn to his hometown club Newcastle for £13m, a near-£10m profit for the Seagulls.

Alireza Jahanbaksh’s move to Fenerbahce that summer represents Brighton’s only significant loss on a first-team player in that timeframe, the Iran winger leaving for less than £1m having signed for a then club-record fee of almost £17m in 2018.

Neal Maupay, signed for just over £14m from Brentford and sold to Everton last summer for £10m, is the only other player to lose Brighton money in the market but it was offset by selling Yves Bissouma and Marc Cucurella, both signed for in the region of £15m, for £25m and £60m to Tottenham and Chelsea respectively.

A £7m profit on Leandro Trossard followed with his January move to Arsenal before this summer saw £7m signing Alexis Mac Allister and academy product Robert Sanchez sold for, respectively, an initial £35m to Liverpool and £20m to Chelsea. Caicedo’s move makes it a combined profit of around £245m on the 10 players.

Chelsea have completed the signing of Moises Caicedo from Brighton for an initial £100million, possibly rising to £115m after add-ons.

A deal for the midfielder was finally agreed late on Sunday night after a lengthy saga that saw Brighton knock back three bids for the 21-year-old.

He underwent a medical and agreed personal terms on Monday and has signed an eight-year contract with the club.

Caicedo said: “I am so happy to join Chelsea! I am so excited to be here at this big club and I didn’t have to think twice when Chelsea called me, I just knew I wanted to sign for the club.

“It’s a dream come true to be here and I can’t wait to get started with the team.”

The PA news agency also understands Chelsea have won the race to sign Romeo Lavia from Southampton after the midfielder picked Stamford Bridge over a move to Liverpool

Though a fee is yet to be agreed, the 19-year-old has indicated his desire to join Mauricio Pochettino’s side and negotiations will now take place over personal terms, with the deal likely to be worth in excess of £50million.

It is the second time in less than 24 hours that the club have beaten Liverpool to a key transfer target following Caicedo’s capture.

Belgium international Lavia has played just 29 Premier League games since joining Southampton from Manchester City last summer but was a standout performer last season despite Saints’ relegation to the Championship.

Liverpool had reportedly agreed a deal worth £60m to sign Lavia as Klopp looks to reinforce his midfield following a clutch of departures, but look set to miss out again in an echo of their failure to lure Caicedo, for whom a £111m fee had been agreed before Chelsea stepped in.

Moises Caicedo has joined Chelsea from Brighton in a deal worth a possible £115million.

The Blues look set to eclipse their own British transfer record having agreed to pay £100m up front for Caicedo, plus a further £15m in potential add-ons.

Here, the PA news agency compares the transfer with previous big-money signings.

Highest transfer fees paid by British clubs

The Caicedo deal is the fourth nine-figure transfer in Premier League history.

The record remains at £106.8m – the amount that Chelsea paid Benfica for Enzo Fernandez in January – but Caicedo’s move could eventually surpass it should he meet add-on criteria totalling £15m.

The Fernandez fee appears to have set a new precedent for central midfielders, with Declan Rice also having moved from West Ham to Arsenal for £100m plus add-ons earlier this summer.

Manchester City’s Jack Grealish was the first Premier League player to break the £100m barrier, with the former Aston Villa captain having signed for Pep Guardiola’s side in 2021.

Most expensive under-21s

Caicedo is the third player aged 21 and under to command an initial fee of £100m or more.

The Ecuadorian follows in the footsteps of Kylian Mbappe and Joao Felix, who moved to Paris St Germain and Atletico Madrid for £165.7m and £113m respectively.

Mbappe was 19 when PSG secured his permanent transfer from Monaco in 2018, while Felix was the same age upon moving from Benfica to Atletico 12 months later.

Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham’s £88.5m switch from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid continued the German club’s impressive record of signing young players and selling them for a large profit.

Ousmane Dembele – who joined Barcelona from Dortmund as a 20-year-old in 2017 – also ranks in the five most expensive players aged 21 and under (£96.8m).

Highest fees received by British clubs

Brighton are the fifth British club to receive a nine-figure sum for an individual player.

The Seagulls are fast proving themselves as adept as Dortmund when it comes to developing young talent, with Caicedo having joined for an estimated £4.4m from Ecuadorian club Independiente del Valle in 2021.

His sale is the third this summer to breach the £100m mark, after Tottenham and West Ham cashed in on their club captains Harry Kane and Rice respectively.

Liverpool – who Caicedo turned down in favour of Chelsea – have held on to top spot in terms of most expensive sales in Premier League history.

The Reds sold Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for an initial £105m in January 2018, with a further £37m received in subsequent add-ons.

Spain take on Sweden and England face co-hosts Australia in the Women’s World Cup semi-finals.

Here, the PA news agency looks at what the tournament statistics can tell us about the games ahead.

Spain v Sweden

The two top-scoring semi-finalists meet in Auckland on Tuesday, with Spain having scored 15 goals – matching eliminated Japan for the tournament high – and Sweden 11.

The Scandinavians have actually had the fewest attempts on goal of any of the last four, just 62, but have the best conversion rate, having scored with 18 per cent of their shots.

Four-goal defender Amanda Ilestedt is also the unlikely leading challenger to current Golden Boot leader Hinata Miyazawa, whose Japan side Sweden knocked out in the quarter-finals.

Ilestedt aside, the statistics heavily favour Sweden. Among the semi-finalists, they rank first and Spain fourth for total shots and shots on target, ball progressions both attempted and completed, line breaks attempted and take-ons completed.

Some hope for Sweden comes from Spain’s defensive record – their six goals conceded is at least twice as many as any of the other remaining teams. Japan scored four of those, and Miyazawa two, in a surprisingly one-sided final game in Group C – but having beaten the Nadeshiko, Sweden will be confident.

They will also know they can respond if, as the statistics point to, they fall behind – Spain have scored nine goals in the first half of games but seven of Sweden’s 11 have come after the break.

The two teams have each used 22 of their 23 available players, with only their respective third-choice goalkeepers Enith Salon and Tove Enblom yet to play a single minute in the tournament.

Australia v England

England and Australia, by contrast, have used only 17 players apiece and fatigue could be a factor in the second semi-final in Sydney.

England’s 553 minutes played is the most in the tournament, closely followed by their opponents with almost 548 minutes. Five Australians and three England players have played every one of those minutes, with Australia naming nine of the same 11 starters in every game – goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold and the back four of Ellie Carpenter, Clare Hunt, Alanna Kennedy and Steph Catley, plus Hayley Raso, Katrina Gorry, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Caitlin Foord – and England six.

Working in England’s favour in that regard could be the distance the respective teams have covered. Their 562.3km is 2.5km lower than any other semi-finalist, with Australia once more ranking second in that regard, and England also have the lowest proportion of that spent sprinting or “high-speed running” at 27 per cent, according to FIFA’s official statistics, and the highest proportion of walking at 39 per cent.

England have scored 10 goals to Australia’s nine and are the most accurate shooters of the remaining teams, with 44 per cent of their efforts on target, while Australia are least accurate at 30 per cent. The co-hosts have had more total shots, 76 to England’s 68, but have allowed 64 at the other end compared to just 52 on Mary Earps’ goal.

Expect England to have the bulk of the possession – they have attempted and completed over 1,000 more passes than Australia, 2,691 of 3,100 compared to 1,584 of 2,061.

Australia are only the second country to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup as host nation, following the United States who won the 1999 final at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl and were also semi-finalists in 2003.

Newcastle new boy Sandro Tonali announced himself in the Premier League with a stunning debut in Saturday’s 5-1 demolition of Aston Villa.

However, the £52million former AC Milan midfielder is not the first Italian to make an early impact, for better or for worse, in England’s top flight.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how he and some of his predecessors fared in their first appearances.

Sandro Tonali

Newcastle invested heavily in 23-year-old Italy international Tonali this summer and he wasted little time in starting to pay off his fee. He scored six minutes into his competitive debut at St James’ Park and went on to produce a fine individual display to inspire the Magpies to a victory which suggested they picked up where they left off at the end of the previous campaign.

Fabrizio Ravanelli

Former Juventus frontman Ravanelli made perhaps the most eye-catching debut of all the Premier League’s Italian stars after swapping Turin for Middlesbrough in a £7million move. The man known as “The White Feather” plundered a hat-trick in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Liverpool at the Riverside Stadium on the opening day of the 1996-97 season, in the process unveiling his trademark shirt-over-head celebration to a new audience.

Attilio Lombardo

Promoted Crystal Palace raised eyebrows with the £1.6million swoop for Lombardo, who had played a key role in Juventus’ Serie A title win the previous season, during the summer of 1997. Dubbed “The Bald Eagle” by Palace supporters, he made his Premier League bow on August 9 in a 2-1 victory at Everton in which he scored the opening goal and swiftly endeared himself to the Eagles faithful with an inspirational display.

Massimo Taibi

Goalkeeper Taibi’s arrival at Manchester United came amid an injury crisis following the departure of treble-winning Peter Schmeichel with Mark Bosnich and Raimond Van Der Gouw both unavailable. The £4.5m signing from Venezia endured mixed fortunes on his debut at Liverpool in September 1999, his error allowing Sami Hyypia to drag the home side back into the game before he made late saves to deny Vladimir Smicer and Robbie Fowler and secure a 3-2 victory in which Jamie Carragher scored two own goals.

Bernardo Corradi

Former Inter Milan, Lazio and Valencia striker Corradi arrived at Manchester City during the summer of 2006, but his career in England got off to a bad start and went downhill from there. He made his debut in a 3-0 defeat at Chelsea in which he was sent off for two bookable offences – and took 13 games to score the first of just three goals for the club before eventually being released with a year of his contract remaining.

England midfielder Keira Walsh insists the Lionesses are not thinking about the Australian hearts they would break if they eliminate the World Cup co-hosts in Wednesday’s Sydney semi-final.

Australia reached the final four for the first time after beating France in a thrilling penalty shootout, while this will be England’s third crack at advancing to the final of the global showpiece – a feat they have yet to accomplish.

The fervour with which Australians have embraced their side has grown at a frenetic pace, culminating with thousands gathering in fan parks across the country to watch the quarter-final and millions more breaking viewing records on TV.

Walsh said: “Whatever game I play, I want to win. It doesn’t matter who you are playing against. For us, I wouldn’t say we are thinking about spoiling the party.

“I think it is just another game and a massive game at that. We are just fully focused on trying to reach a World Cup final, regardless of who we are playing. I think obviously with the support from Australia it is going to be a little bit different for them in that sense.

“I think we have seen that the (England) girls are ready to fight.

“Obviously, when the whistle ends it is a different story, but I think in the game the girls are very aware of what the game is going to be like, what the stadium is going to be like. I think, for us, we are more than ready for it.”

Sydney’s Stadium Australia, where England beat Colombia in the last eight, seats over 75,000 fans, the majority of whom are expected to support the hosts.

In that sense, the Lionesses’ 2-1 comeback victory over Colombia to reach this stage served as an excellent dress rehearsal, their fans another sea of raucous yellow who equally viewed England as public enemy number one.

Walsh, who in just over a year has secured both the Euro 2022 trophy with England and the Champions League title with Barcelona, said dampening the mood with a goal or two could help the Lionesses take control of the narrative.

She said: “(The crowd) was massive for us at the Euros, especially in the final. There are those moments where the opposition could score and it shifts momentum sometimes when you’re playing, it gives you an extra push when you know the crowd is behind you.

“But also when you can quieten the crowd it is a very nice feeling. I think for us trying to take the momentum out of the game is going to be important. There are positives and negatives for both. We have experienced both.”

Walsh missed England’s third group-stage encounter against China after sustaining a knee injury in the first half of their 1-0 victory over Denmark.

At the time it was feared the issue could be tournament-ending, like the anterior cruciate ligament injuries that prevented Euro 2022 captain Leah Williamson and Golden Boot winner Beth Mead from joining Sarina Wiegman’s World Cup squad.

It turned out not to be as serious as initially suspected, and the 26-year-old returned to play 120 minutes of England’s last-16 victory over Nigeria, which the Lionesses ultimately won 4-2 on penalties.

Williamson has now made the trip to Australia and was in the stands for the Lionesses’ Colombia victory.

“It’s a massive boost for the team,” Walsh added. “To see her supporting us on the opposite side of the world, it’s not an easy flight.

“I think it kind of shows what she feels about this team. The first time I saw her she was actually standing outside my hotel room waving.

“She didn’t want to distract us on game day, so she kind of just stood outside and waved from there.

“To get the win and celebrate with her afterwards, I mean I imagine it’s not easy for her to watch those games because she would want to be playing in them, so I think for us we really appreciate her support.

“I think it shows what a good character and what type of person she is that she’s able to do that for us.”

Justin Kluivert believes the "winning mentality" of Bayern Munich and Manchester City is what makes those clubs so hard to overcome in title races.

Last season saw City claim a historic treble, winning both the Champions League and FA Cup while lifting their fifth Premier League title in six campaigns, though they were run very close by Mikel Arteta's Arsenal who led for much of the way.

Bayern, meanwhile, secured their 11th straight Bundesliga crown thanks to Borussia Dortmund's collapse on the final weekend of the season in which they failed to beat mid-table Mainz at home, meaning Jamal Musiala's 89th-minute winner in a 2-1 win over Koln handed the title to Thomas Tuchel's men.

Kluivert, who was part of the RB Leipzig team that finished second to Bayern while on loan in the 2020-21 campaign, feels it was the lack of winning mindset from Arsenal and Dortmund compared to City and Bayern that meant they missed out on lifting their respective league titles.

"I think that's something you saw with Manchester City or also with Bayern Munich and Dortmund," Kluivert told Stats Perform.

"It's the winning mentality that maybe not even the players, but the club has. They know how to go with that feeling.

"You know, like City were champions. We thought maybe Arsenal or somebody else will be champions, but they [City] have the feeling they know how to win stuff.

"And I think Bayern Munich also has that. Dortmund had it in their hands and they just gave it away, to be honest. But that's the beauty of football. You don't know until the last game."

Having already faced Bayern in a league fixture, Kluivert will get the chance to play against City this season after joining Bournemouth from Roma for an undisclosed fee in June, looking to emulate his father, legendary striker Patrick Kluivert, who played in the Premier League for Newcastle United between 2004 and 2005. 

Justin feels his time at Leipzig playing under Julian Nagelsmann will stand him in good stead to make an impact at the Cherries, saying: "It was a strange season because it was the season with the coronavirus with no fans, so there was something we had to adapt [to].

"But I've learned a lot, played with great players such as [Christopher] Nkunku who's now going to Chelsea and I can name a bunch more. 

"And a great coach in [Julian] Nagelsmann. I think the philosophy the coach here [Andoni Iraola] has is a bit like him with the press, high press, play. So that's why I'm happy to be here and I've learned a lot."

Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has completed a season-long loan move to Real Madrid.

The 28-year-old Spain international, who joined the Blues in a £71.6million switch from Athletic Bilbao in August 2018, is contracted at the Bernabeu until June next year.

Real needed a new keeper after Thibaut Courtois was ruled out for the majority of the season with an ACL injury.

A statement on Real’s official website said: “Real Madrid CF and Chelsea FC have agreed on the loan of the player Kepa Arrizabalaga, who is linked to the club this season, until June 30, 2024.

“In his five seasons at Chelsea, he has won one Champions League, one Club World Cup, one European Super Cup and one Europa League.

“This year, he has received the award for the best save in the Premier League for the 2022-2023 season.

“Kepa is an international with the Spanish team, with which he has been proclaimed champion of the 2023 Nations League. With Spain, he also won the U19 European Championship in 2012.”

Kepa will be formally presented as a Real Madrid player on Tuesday afternoon.

His return to Spain follows the arrival of 25-year-old compatriot Robert Sanchez at Stamford Bridge.

Sanchez made a £25million switch from Brighton earlier this month and started Sunday’s 1-1 home draw with Liverpool as youngster Lucas Bergstrom provided the back-up on the bench.

Kepa has 163 Chelsea appearances under his belt and was handed the captaincy last season.

However, he has become surplus to requirements under new boss Mauricio Pochettino and will now work for a season under former Chelsea head coach Carlo Ancelotti.

A statement on the club’s official website said: “Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has completed a season-long loan move to LaLiga side Real Madrid.

“The club wish him well for the season ahead in Madrid, where he will work with former Chelsea head coach Carlo Ancelotti.”

Aston Villa and England defender Tyrone Mings is facing a long spell on the sidelines as he is set to undergo an operation on a “significant knee injury”.

Mings was carried off on a stretcher in some distress in the first half of Villa’s season-opening 5-1 defeat at Newcastle after a seemingly innocuous tangle of legs with striker Alexander Isak.

Villa have not put a timescale on Mings’ recovery but expect a “lengthy rehabilitation”, with his setback coming days after the club lost Emiliano Buendia to a knee ligament injury for up to eight months.

The club said in a statement on Monday: “Aston Villa can confirm that Tyrone Mings has sustained a significant knee injury.

“The England international was stretchered off from the field after damaging his knee during the first half of Villa’s match at Newcastle United on Saturday.

“The defender has undergone scans and will unfortunately require surgery ahead of a lengthy rehabilitation process.”

Newcastle posted on Twitter in response to Villa’s update: “Wishing you a speedy recovery,
@TyroneMings”.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe signed Mings for Bournemouth in 2015 only to lose the centre-back for 15 months when he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament on his Cherries debut.

Howe said at the weekend: “I have to say he faced that period out with incredible courage and resilience, and what he’s done since that moment, to go on and play for his country and be outstanding in the Premier League, is testament to that resilience.

“We certainly wish him well and I send him all my love.”

Celtic captain Callum McGregor was delighted to see the resilience of his new team-mates after they came through a difficult early test at Pittodrie.

Aberdeen put Celtic under pressure in the first half especially but the cinch Premiership champions came out 3-1 victors to make it two wins from two.

McGregor said: “It’s always a tough game, they’ll get the crowd involved while the pitch was sticky as well. It’s obviously something they’ve looked at, trying to slow the game down. And slow our quality.

“When you have a new season and a new start, five or six players have joined you, it starts to have a new group feeling. And at the start of every season you start with zero points.

“So to come here, it’s a massive win and it’s one you tick off.

“It builds resilience, it builds confidence and the football does get slicker. There were still some really good moments in that game and, make no mistake, we battled well.”

Polish centre-back Maik Nawrocki came through his first away game in Scottish football while fellow summer signing Odin Thiago Holm and Yang Hyun-jun made positive contributions off the bench, the latter setting up Matt O’Riley’s late goal.

Kyogo Furuhashi had earlier given Celtic a half-time lead after Dons striker Bojan Miovski had cancelled out Liel Abada’s early opener.

McGregor said: “I thought Rocki was outstanding in the game and then the other boys coming on, they were excellent as well.

“It’s always tough here, 20-25 minutes to go and you’ve got to come on and be part of the team, be part of the group and show your personality, show your mentality. And I thought it was excellent from the three of them.

“When you cross the line, you have to be together, especially in a Celtic team. Everyone is trying to beat you and you have to have that sort of siege mentality. To see that two games into the season is outstanding.

“But that is something that will progress and we will get better at as the season goes on.

“There is a lot of football to be played, there is a lot of tough away games to be played, that type of character and resilience and togetherness should hopefully stand us in good stead.”