Joao Palhinha scored a stunning equaliser as Fulham held Brighton to a 1-1 draw at the Amex Stadium.

The Seagulls were the better team in the early stages and were rewarded through Evan Ferguson’s neat finish before Palhinha’s superb strike secured a point for the Londoners.

The result extended Brighton’s winless run to three as they rued missed chances in front of goal.

Roberto De Zerbi’s side showed little signs of fatigue following Thursday’s 2-0 Europa League win over Ajax and nearly took an early lead.

Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno kept out Carlos Baleba’s shot from range in the seventh minute and saved Simon Adingra’s effort inside the six-yard box moments later to keep it 0-0.

Baleba was pulling the strings for Brighton as his vision and inch-perfect passes picked out the pacey Adingra, who enjoyed runs into space.

The hosts got the goal they deserved after 26 minutes.

Igor Julio drove the Seagulls up the pitch and when Ferguson retrieved the ball outside the box he showed excellent composure to slide the ball past Leno with his left foot into the bottom corner.

The goal highlighted a gulf in quality between the two sides and the lethargic Cottagers were fortunate not to concede again immediately after the kick-off when their defence was caught napping by Adingra.

A rain-soaked Marco Silva cut a frustrated figure and his pleas to his Fulham players were left unanswered as Willian’s wasteful free-kick put an end to the first spell of meaningful possession the visitors had enjoyed in the Brighton half since the opening minutes.

Left-back Antonee Robinson was struggling to cope with Adingra and the American then gifted Ferguson a back pass, but the Seagulls’ goalscorer failed to double his tally when he was denied by Leno after 40 minutes.

Brighton started the second half quickly and Lewis Dunk was unfortunate not to score in the 49th minute. The skipper lined up a set-piece and his side-footed effort dipped onto Leno’s crossbar.

Fulham made Brighton pay for their missed chances as they made it 1-1 in the 65th minute through Palhinha.

The visitors threw men forward in numbers and the Portugal international got the ball out of his feet on the edge of the box and blasted an effort past Jason Steele.

The goal swung the momentum in the Londoners’ favour and substitute Rodrigo Muniz nearly punished Brighton from the restart through an audacious back heel that was kept out by Steele.

Both teams had opportunities to win it with Robinson clearing an effort off the line before Harry Wilson came close to grabbing a winner at the other end.

Michael Smith scored twice against his former club to give Sheffield Wednesday a 2-0 victory over South Yorkshire rivals Rotherham United – their first win of the season.

In a derby encounter dominated by the home side, both goals came during the first 45 minutes. Rotherham never threatened to mount a comeback, only carving out a couple of decent chances.

It was new manager Danny Rohl’s first home game since taking charge at Hillsborough and he restored Reece James, Di’Shon Bernard and Callum Paterson to the starting line-up. Rotherham boss Matt Taylor named an unchanged side.

The opening goal came when Anthony Musaba got on the end of a great ball from Barry Bannan and had a shot saved by Viktor Johansson before picking up the rebound and squaring to Smith (12), who fired into the net. That was Wednesday’s first goal in over 10 hours.

The home side continued to apply pressure with George Byers shooting over, Musaba having a low shot saved and Josh Windass putting a great chance off-target after being set-up by Musaba.

Smith made it two-nil in the 36th minute, applying the finish after the lively Musaba caused problems for the Rotherham defenders, who failed to clear.

Another great chance came Wednesday’s way before the break when Callum Paterson’s cross was met by Musaba, but his downward header from a good position bounced over the bar.

Buoyed by their two-goal lead, Wednesday continued to hold the upper hand after the re-start.

A Windass shot from distance threatened to catch out Johansson, with the keeper relieved to see the ball go wide.

The visitors had a chance to pull a goal back when the ball fell to Sebastian Revan following a goal-mouth scramble but he fired over.

That apart, is was virtually all Wednesday from an attacking point of view.

Dominic Iorfa saw his shot deflected off-target and Smith put a low shot just wide. Musaba then had a shot blocked and Will Vaulks put an effort wide.

Musaba, who put in an excellent performance, was forced to go off in the 74th minute after picking up a knock with John Buckley taking his place.

A rare Rotherham attack in time added on saw Revan fire in a shot which flashed just wide of Cameron Dawson’s right-hand post.

The result leaves Wednesday eight points from safety at the foot of the Championship table.

Everton ended a difficult week on a positive note as Dominic Calvert-Lewin fired them to a 1-0 win at West Ham.

The Toffees were playing their first match since the death of chairman Bill Kenwright on Monday at the age of 78.

It had been emotional week, too, for Hammers manager David Moyes, who formed a close friendship with Kenwright during his 11-year spell in charge at Goodison Park.

But while West Ham slumped to a third defeat in eight days following reverses at Aston Villa and in the Europa League at Olympiacos, Everton were able to put some more breathing space between themselves and the bottom three with a second away win of the season.

Calvert-Lewin’s goal was his 50th in the Premier League for Everton, joining Romelu Lukaku, Duncan Ferguson and Tim Cahill in reaching the half-century.

It came six minutes into the second half after a first half that will not live long in the memory.

West Ham created an early opportunity when Lucas Paqueta skilfully lifted the ball over Nathan Patterson and drilled in a low cross which Jarrod Bowen could only slice wide.

Moments later Paqueta showed the side of his game which so infuriates Moyes, gifting the ball to Jack Harrison who burst through only to fire too close to Hammers keeper Alphonse Areola.

Ghana winger Mohammed Kudus, making first Premier League start for West Ham, showed he is already getting used to the darker arts of English football after he was chopped down by James Tarkowski.

As Jordan Pickford raced out of his goal to tell the youngster to get up, Kudus shoved the England keeper away in a skirmish which earned both a booking.

Calvert-Lewin had his first chance from Vitalii Mykolenko’s cross but the striker headed over.

A torturous half was summed up by the audible sigh which echoed around the London Stadium when five minutes of stoppage time was announced.

The game desperately needed a goal and it almost came through Bowen, who got on the end of a James Ward-Prowse free-kick but guided his header too high.

Instead the goal arrived at the other end after Jarrad Branthwaite won the ball back for Everton in midfield and fed Calvert-Lewin.

The former England forward played a one-two with Harrison before executing a Cruyff turn which left both Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd flat-footed and firing low past Areola.

It was Calvert-Lewin’s sixth goal in all competitions against the Hammers, the most he has scored against one single club.

Everton almost doubled the lead when Zouma and Aguerd got in another tangle but Areola got down well to tip Aboulaye Doucoure’s shot wide.

The closest West Ham came to an equaliser was a Said Benrahma volley which Pickford kept out at his near post to secure the points.

Aberdeen manager Barry Robson took responsibility after his side put in a laboured performance in a 2-0 defeat to Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

The Dons failed to create anything of note as goals from Kyle Vassell and Marley Watkins either side of half-time gave Kilmarnock a deserved win.

Robson admitted he should have made more than the one alteration from the side who threw away a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 to PAOK on Thursday night in the Europa League.

He said: “We were poor today. In the first half, I didn’t think it was a very good game. They scored right before half-time, which was a bit of a sucker punch for us.

“But the biggest problem was probably my fault. I should have freshened the team up more from Thursday night.

“It was pretty evident that we looked leggy in the first half. We made a change at half-time and tried to change the shape, but it’s hard.

“That was on me. We needed some fresh legs. I think we would have seen a different team today.

“We’re not looking for excuses. We should come down here and try to win the game. We weren’t at our best at all. I should’ve changed it from the start and I think we’d have had a better outcome.”

Aberdeen remained in 10th position in the cinch Premiership and the Dons manager also admitted results have not been at the required level.

He added: “Our league form hasn’t been good enough. It’s been stop-start, with games being cancelled or moved.

“But if you want to play at this level, play in Europe and go far in cups, you need to deal with that.

“We’ve not dealt with it so far, so we need to start doing that better.

“We’ve got a massive game against Motherwell in midweek and if we can go and win at Motherwell, that can race us up the league and then there’s the chance to reach a final against Hibs next weekend.”

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes was delighted with his side’s first clean sheet in nine games as they secured back to back wins in the league for the first time this season.

The home side moved up to fourth place in the league with the impressive victory.

McInnes said: “Everything is better than last season but we spoke at the team meeting about getting more clean sheets. Last week was a clean sheet display but we gave away a penalty.

“We had to deal with two key players missing in Corrie (Ndaba) and Joe (Wright) at the start of the second half. We’ve still got the clean sheet and my keeper hasn’t been too troubled.

“It was a good performance with strong individual performances. I don’t normally like singling boys out but Lewis Mayo was so good, especially with a three v three defensively which was a big test for us.

“It’s nice to follow up a strong display with another and to see us sitting where we are in the league.

“You don’t look at that too much until the first couple of rounds but I want to hang about there for as long as possible.”

Kylian Mbappe scored an 89th-minute winner as Paris St Germain secured a dramatic 3-2 Ligue 1 victory at Brest.

Mbappe’s second goal of the game – knocking home the rebound after Marco Bizot had saved his penalty – gave PSG three hard-fought points after Brest had battled back from 2-0 down.

First-half goals from Warren Zaire-Emery and Mbappe had put PSG in command, but Steve Mounie and Jeremy Le Douaron rocked the French champions either side of the interval.

PSG showed their intent in the opening 10 minutes as Lee Kang-in and Zaire-Emery had powerful shots beaten away by Bizot and Achraf Hakimi fired over from the edge of the box.

Brest responded with Le Douaron shooting in to the side netting after goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma had offered encouragement with a careless pass in his own penalty area.

The opening goal arrived after 16 minutes in sensational fashion as Bradley Barcola found Zaire-Emery following some clever footwork.

The 17-year-old hammered home from 20 yards, his first goal of the season flying past a startled Bizot.

PSG almost doubled their lead when the overworked Bizot tipped over Lee’s effort but, after Mahdi Camara fired over from 20 yards at the other end, the inevitable second did arrive.

Lee released Mbappe with a delicious pass after 28 minutes, and the France forward advanced to score with a shot which took a slight deflection off Brendan Chardonnet to wrong-foot Bizot.

Mbappe went close again before Brest, who had a penalty claim turned down when Barcola tangled with Bradley Locko, halved the deficit two minutes before the break.

Mounie exploited some poor marking on the edge of the six-yard area to meet Kenny Lala’s cross and beat Donnarumma with a firm downward header.

The goal rocked PSG and parity was restored within seven minutes of the restart after Milan Skriniar had thwarted Mounie with a desperate block.

Le Douaron met the resulting in-swinging corner to send a looping header beyond Donnarumma and inside the far post.

Brest were sensing a famous victory after losing their previous 11 games against the Parisians, and Donnarumma produced a brilliant double stop to deny Pierre Lees-Melou and Le Douaron.

PSG turned to their bench and Vitinha and Ousmane Dembele both saw efforts scrambled clear before Lilian Brassier clumsily challenged substitute Randal Kolo Muani.

The penalty was rewarded after a VAR review, a decision which sparked angry scenes between the two sets of players.

Hugo Magnetti appeared to push his hand into the face of Mbappe before the PSG captain stepped up to take the spot-kick

Mbappe’s kick was pushed out by Bizot but the ball fell kindly for him to stroke home the rebound and, his 10th goal of the league campaign, as PSG made it four successive wins in all competitions.

St Johnstone and manager Steven MacLean have parted company following a shocking start to Saints’ season.

The Perth club are bottom of the cinch Premiership with just four points from nine fixtures and without a league win.

The McDiarmid Park club released a statement which read: “St Johnstone Football Club can announce that it has parted company with Steven MacLean and Liam Craig.

“In the interim, Alex Cleland will assume responsibilities for first team matters.”

St Johnstone also lost to Stenhousemuir, Stirling Albion and Ayr in the Viaplay Cup earlier in the season.

Former Saints striker MacLean, who was first-team coach under former boss Callum Davidson, was scathing after his side’s 4-0 league defeat by St Mirren in Paisley on Saturday and warned that some of his players might have played their last game under him.

He said: “The goals we lost are unacceptable. It’s the basics of football. In the second half, we just imploded and it looked like a couple of players chucked it.

“It is my responsibility and some of these players will be lucky if they play for me again. It is not happening under my watch and it might be I need to play young boys. I thought it was really, really poor.

“You need to show a bravery in those situations and you need people to lead. I just thought we lacked that all over.”

St Johnstone play Kilmarnock at McDiarmid Park on Wednesday night.

Kilmarnock moved up to fourth in the cinch Premiership with a deserved 2-0 victory over a poor Aberdeen at Rugby Park.

Captain Kyle Vassell gave the home side the lead with a superbly taken goal on the stroke of half-time.

And Marley Watkins extended their lead just after the hour mark after a mistake by Dons defender Stefan Gartenmann.

Danny Armstrong also hit the crossbar for the impressive hosts while Aberdeen were toothless throughout as they remained in 10th.

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes made just one change from the side who defeated Livingston last weekend, with Matty Kennedy coming to face his old club in place of Corrie Ndaba.

Aberdeen also made just one change to the side who agonisingly lost to PAOK in the Europa Conference League on Thursday, with Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes replacing Dante Polvara.

In a tight opening period it was the hosts who had the better of the chances, with Kennedy firing straight at Kelle Roos in the seventh minute with the first shot of the match.

Kilmarnock were very nearly in front 10 minutes later as Watkins picked out David Watson in the centre of the box but the midfielder’s shot was deflected over the bar from eight yards.

Kennedy also fired wastefully over in the 24th minute, with Aberdeen’s only chance of the first half coming in a long ball up the field that Duk almost tucked around an onrushing Will Dennis.

It had been a cagey half but the home side had been on top and they made the breakthrough just seconds before referee Kevin Clancy was set to blow his whistle.

A long ball from Dennis was flicked on by Armstrong to Vassell who cut inside Slobodan Rubezic and fired past Roos from just outside the box.

Aberdeen looked to respond after the break and Duk did well to get to the byline but Dennis clawed away to safety.

But it was Kilmarnock who continued to look more likely to add to their advantage. From a short free-kick, Kennedy unleashed a dipping effort that was tipped over by Roos, before Watson headed narrowly wide from the resulting corner.

The impressive Armstrong had been threatening all game and he was inches away from extending the hosts lead in the 62nd minute as he curled against the crossbar from the edge of the box.

Kilmarnock only had to wait two minutes to make it 2-0 though, as a dawdling Gartenmann saw his attempted clearance charged down by Watkins who calmly stroked the ball past Roos.

Aberdeen boss Barry Robson made four substitutions and he looked to get back into the game.

One of the replacements was Ester Sokler and he almost made an instant impact, heading narrowly wide when well found by Duk.

The visitors continued to probe but they never came close to threatening a comeback as Kilmarnock saw out the game comfortably to record a second consecutive home win.

Liverpool have confirmed an “ongoing situation involving the family of Luis Diaz” amid reports the forward’s parents were kidnapped in Colombia.

Colombia’s president said Diaz’s mother “has been rescued” but his father remains missing.

Liverpool said they were supporting the player and he sat out the Reds’ Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

“Liverpool Football Club can confirm it is aware of an ongoing situation involving the family of Luis Diaz in Colombia,” read a club statement.

“It is our fervent hope that the matter is resolved safely and at the earliest possible opportunity. In the meantime, the player’s welfare will continue to be our immediate priority.”

Colombia president Gustavo Petro said on X, formerly known as Twitter: “In an operation in Barrancas, Luis Diaz’s mother has been rescued, we continue the search for the father.”

The country’s football federation said in a statement that the kidnapping was regrettable and urged authorities to rescue Diaz’s father.

“The Colombian Football Federation rejects the security situation that the parents of our player Luis Díaz are going through,” they said.

“From the FCF we express our solidarity with him and his entire family and we call for the relevant authorities to act as quickly as possible to resolve the situation.”

Liverpool signed Diaz from Porto in January 2022 in an initial £37.5million deal that included a potential extra £12.5million in add-ons.

The 26-year-old winger has made 11 appearances this season and scored three goals.

Diaz was an unused substitute for Thursday’s 5-1 Europa League win against Toulouse after starting the Premier League victory over Everton last weekend.

He was not in the 18-strong squad that Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp named for Forest’s Premier League visit to Anfield.

Eddie Nketiah dedicated his first Premier League hat-trick to his recently deceased aunt after his treble sank Sheffield United.

The newly-capped England striker put the Blades to the sword, scoring the opening three goals before a Fabio Vieira penalty and a first Arsenal strike for Takehiro Tomiyasu wrapped up a convincing 5-0 win.

The result takes the Gunners two points off the top of the table, with Mikel Arteta’s side unbeaten in their first 10 league games of the campaign.

Nketiah, who has started eight of those matches, had not scored since August but topped a special day by finishing the game wearing the captain’s armband.

“To do it at Emirates Stadium, in the Premier League, in front of my family and friends is an amazing feeling,” the 24-year-old said of his hat-trick.

“I lost my aunt not too long ago and I just want to dedicate that to her and her family.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dreamt of this moment – to get three goals in a Premier League match.

“I’m a childhood supporter of the club, so to do it in front of the fans, my friends, my family and my teammates is an amazing feeling. It’s a day I’ll remember forever.”

There could another goal for Nketiah after he picked the ball up to take a late penalty, given after a lengthy VAR check for a foul on substitute Vieira.

Instead, the Portugal midfielder asked to take the spot-kick himself to mark a special moment in his life.

“I was going to take it – I wanted to take it,” explained Nketiah.

“I always want to get more goals. Fabio came to me and he wanted to take it. He won the penalty as well. He’s expecting a little one and it was a really good moment for him to get on the scoresheet and dedicate it.

“I’m a team player – I’d scored a hat-trick and I could allow other players to get in on the act. He took the penalty and scored, so we’re happy.”

Captain Oliver Norwood conceded the penalty as Sheffield United slumped to another defeat that leaves them bottom of the table and with just one point from 10 games.

He was bullish when asked about the performance in north London.

“It is very disappointing,” he said.

“We go in at half-time 1-0 down. Second half it’s difficult to really come and speak and say too much other than it’s not acceptable to keep losing the way that we are.

“It is easy to stand and say ‘we stick together through the hard times’, it’s easy to say that, but now we’ve got to show it.

“We’ve got to really dig in, have a look in the mirror at ourselves individually, because it’s not good enough.”

Liverpool have confirmed an “ongoing situation involving the family of Luis Diaz” amid reports the forward’s parents were kidnapped in Colombia.

Colombia’s president has said Diaz’s mother “has been rescued” but his father remains missing.

“Liverpool Football Club can confirm it is aware of an ongoing situation involving the family of Luis Diaz in Colombia,” read a club statement.

“It is our fervent hope that the matter is resolved safely and at the earliest possible opportunity. In the meantime, the player’s welfare will continue to be our immediate priority.”

Colombia president Gustavo Petro said on X, formerly known as Twitter: “In an operation in Barrancas, Luis Diaz’s mother has been rescued, we continue the search for the father.”

The country’s football federation said in a statement that the kidnapping was regrettable and urged authorities to rescue Diaz’s father.

“The Colombian Football Federation rejects the security situation that the parents of our player Luis Díaz are going through,” they said.

“From the FCF we express our solidarity with him and his entire family and we call for the relevant authorities to act as quickly as possible to resolve the situation.”

Liverpool signed Diaz from Porto in January 2022 in an initial £37.5million deal that included a potential extra £12.5million in add-ons.

The 26-year-old winger has made 11 appearances this season and scored three goals.

Diaz did not feature in Liverpool’s 5-1 Europa League victory over Toulouse on Thursday but had been expected to return for Nottingham Forest’s Premier League visit to Anfield on Sunday.

Last year’s beaten finalists St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) and Kingston College secured an advantage over Kingston Technical and Campion College, as they registered contrasting victories in their respective first leg second round ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup fixtures at Jamaica College on Saturday.

STATHS with a clinical second half display, blanked Kingston Technical 4-0, courtesy of a brace from Richard Livingston (58th and 81st), with Leon Brown (58th) and Alexavier Gooden (88th), getting the others.

Kingston College had things much more difficult and had to come from behind to edge Campion College 3-2 in the feature contest of the double-header.

Tyler Falconer (21st) and Djas Less (25th) gave Campion a handy lead, but Demario Dailey (59th), O’Neil Bryan (83rd) and Robert Seow (90+3), responded for Kingston College.

After playing out a goalless first half in the curtain raiser, STATHS came to life on the resumption and found the go-ahead goal 13 minutes in when Livingston converted from the 12-yard spot, after Brown was felled by goalkeeper Jahiem Orr.

The Bumper Hall-based school continued to press and doubled the lead through Brown, who was on hand to slam home a loose ball from close range, his 14^th goal of the season.

With Kingston Technical offering very little resistance, particularly in the latter stages, scoring got easier for STATHS and Livingston helped himself to another, as he skipped a defender and drove home a right-footed effort from just inside the 18-yard box.

Gooden then capped the win with a fine header that gave Orr no chance at a save.

The second contest between Campion College and Kingston College, was expected to be more competitive and lived up to its billing.

Campion took the lead against the run of play when a poor clearance by goalkeeper Malique Williams, went straight to Falconer, who made no mistakes.

Another poor attempt by Williams to gather the ball, allowed Less to tap the ball in at the far post, almost hurting himself in the process when he slammed into the upright.

Though down, Kingston College was not out, and they again found some momentum in the latter stages of the first half, and they maintained it after the break.

The North Street-based team made it count a minute to the hour mark through Dailey, who finished off an Otaivian Halloway pass with aplomb.

With that goal literally knocking the wind from Campion College’s sails, Kingston College went for broke, and Bryan put them back on level terms with a tidy finish from deep inside the 18-yard box.

Seow completed the comeback befitting of their motto “the brave may fall, but never yield,” with an easy tap in at the far post.

Winning coach Vassell Reynolds praised his team for the win.

“It was a tough one, we gave up two soft goals but it’s a part of the game. We asked the guys at half-time to dig in and in the end, fitness spoke, and we got three goals. It is a young and experience team, but we have asked them from the start of the season to always fight in a way that is of a Kingston College spirit, and they did that, so I am very proud of them,” Reynolds said in a post-game interview.

His counterpart Ashton Blankson also lauded his team but felt they were undone by a lack of fitness.

“I thought they got a little tired and the heads dropped, but we fought all the way to the end. We want to go back to playing our game which is the passing game, and we will see what happens (in the second leg) on Wednesday,” Blankson noted.

Saturday’s results

St Catherine 2, Wolmer’s Boys 0

Excelsior 0, Hydel 0

Jamaica College 3, Eltham 0

Mona 3, Jonathan Grant 0

Kingston College 3, Campion College 2

STATHS 4, Kingston Technical 0

St George’s College 2, St Jago 0

Haile Selassie 0, Tivoli High 0

Interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert is hoping his makeshift team can bounce back quickly to not only take three points off Guatemala, but more importantly, put themselves in a much better position to top the qualifying group on their way to next year’s Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup.

The Girlz, who went down 1-2 away to Panama, are currently at the foot of the three-team Group B in League A of the qualifiers, but a win against Guatemala at the National Stadium on Sunday, would see them back in contention for the coveted top spot.

This, as Panama currently lead with six points from three games, followed by Guatemala with three points from two games, while the Girlz will be contesting their second fixture to be followed by the return leg encounters on November 29 and December 3 respectively.

Sunday’s game is scheduled for 5:00pm.

“I think the ladies can bounce back, but it is going to be a tough encounter similar to what we experienced against Panama. I think the ladies are in a much better place after getting the first game out of the way and we managed to get an extra session in with everybody so that was good,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.

“The spirits are high, so we just have to come out and execute. As I said before, it is going to be tough, and we are mindful that they (Guatemala) beat Panama before Panama defeated them. We know that they like to shoot from different areas, and I think offensively they are strong, so we just have to nullify their strengths,” he added.

Reflecting on the first game, Gilbert was encouraged by his team’s display for the most part, given the fact that they were pulled together only a few days prior to that game.

In fact, had it not been for an own-goal and a defensive error by Alika Keene in either half of the contest, Gilbert’s makeshift side would have pulled off a highly unexpected win.

“When you look back at the first game against Panama, they really didn’t break us down to score and unfortunately, we didn’t come away with anything because of the own-goal and defensive error. But we have Marlo Sweatman coming in for this game and with her experience in the middle of the park, I think we should give a much better performance on this occasion,” the tactician noted.

Marlo Sweatman, who didn’t make the trip to Panama, joined the team’s training session on Friday. She along with fellow 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup veteran Chinyelu Asher, are expected to do most of the work in the midfield, both from an attacking and defensive perspective.

Sweatman, 28, who currently plays professionally in Hungary, is eager to ply her part in the makeshift Girlz resurgence.

"I am very happy to be here. I have been playing attacking midfield and scoring a lot of goals, and I feel like I am in good form,” she said.

“This is a very young team, and so I will bring in a lot of experience and some leadership, especially in the midfield, as well as off the field, to help them grow as players and as people off the field as well,” Sweatman shared.

Jude Bellingham scored twice as Real Madrid took El Clasico honours with a 2-1 win at Barcelona.

The England midfielder struck with a 30-yard drive to cancel out Ilkay Gundogan’s early goal for the hosts.

Bellingham then volleyed a stoppage-time winner to take his goal tally to 13 in 13 appearances since moving to Madrid from Borussia Dortmund.

Goals from Lucas Ocampos and Ivan Rakitic saw Sevilla come from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 in Cadiz, Las Palmas won 2-1 at Almeria and Mallorca were held 0-0 at home by Getafe.

In the Bundesliga, Harry Kane scored a hat-trick – including a goal from inside his own half – as Bayern Munich thumped Darmstadt 8-0.

Joshua Kimmich was sent off after just four minutes, but red cards for Klaus Gjasula and Matej Maglica ensured the hosts had the man advantage at the break after a goalless first half.

Kane’s second goal was a magnificent effort from four yards behind the halfway line. Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sane scored two apiece and Thomas Muller was also on target.

Bayern moved to the top of the table after Stuttgart slipped up 3-2 at home to Hoffenheim.

Borussia Monchengladbach beat Heidenheim 2-1, Augsburg were 3-2 winners at home to Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen sank Union Berlin 2-0 and Leipzig thumped Cologne 5-0.

Andrea Cambiaso struck with virtually the last kick of the game as Juventus climbed to the top of Serie A with a 1-0 win over Verona.

Moise Kean had earlier seen two goals disallowed by VAR as Verona chased an unlikely point in their battle against relegation.

But Verona have never won away at Juventus in Serie A history, and that record now stands at 33 matches, following a heartbreaking defeat.

In the seventh minute of stoppage time, Arkadiusz Milik’s header came back off the inside of the far post and Cambiaso smashed in the rebound.

Alessandro Buongiorno goal just before half-time gave Torino a 1-0 win at Lecce, while Sassuolo drew 1-1 at home to Bologna

In France, two penalties from Florian Sotoca helped Lens to a 4-0 win over Nantes and Reims beat Lorient 1-0.

Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City gatecrashing the established elite is “uncomfortable” for their Premier League rivals.

Famously labelled Manchester United’s ‘noisy neighbours’ by Sir Alex Ferguson, City’s takeover by their Abu Dhabi owners in 2008 and then the appointment of Guardiola as manager in 2016 have led to gradual progress from insignificant upstarts to the dominant force in English football.

City have lifted the Premier League trophy in five of the last six campaigns, including three in a row, while their crowning moment came last season as they emulated Ferguson’s 1998-99 treble-winning side.

Guardiola marvelled at how the fortunes of the clubs have switched ahead of Sunday’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford, where City could extend their lead between the teams to nine points with a victory.

“Sir Alex was right (at the time), City were not challenging, they were in the middle to bottom,” Guardiola said. “United and Arsenal at the time were the richest ones, that’s why City were there.

“But after that, Sheikh Mansour and Khaldoon (Al Mubarak), who took over and made an investment. After that Sir Alex could not expect to know that and not even myself who was in Barcelona.

“We were not in the elite and now we are in the elite, maybe it’s uncomfortable for many things. That is a reality and we want to stay as long as possible.”

United have not won the league since Ferguson’s departure at the end of the 2012-13 season, coming closest under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, both of whom presided over runners-up finishes.

While Guardiola was adamant United will always be regarded as one of the top English clubs, the Spaniard suspects any chance of bringing back the glory days the red half of Manchester enjoyed under Ferguson is gone because of the number of sides now challenging for honours.

Such has been the trajectories of both clubs over the last decade, Guardiola admitted he does not consider United their biggest rivals – insisting that honour belongs to Liverpool.

Asked if United can dominate again, Guardiola responded: “Maybe not in the way that Sir Alex Ferguson did because back then there were just two or three teams, now there are more with a lot of incredible managers.

“Maybe not in that way but if they take good decisions, with the hierarchy, with the sports director, with the managers, with the players and the same ideas, Manchester United when something happens is in the highlights all day.

“The reputation and the prestige they have is always there. It just needs to click.

“There was one year with Ole that was close. But Liverpool have been our biggest rivals – they made us challenge higher and higher and helped make us a better team in all departments. They challenged us like no other team has done before.”

Erik ten Hag led United to third place last season, as well as winning the Carabao Cup and finishing runners-up to City in the FA Cup final, but they have fluctuated in this campaign with four losses in nine games.

Guardiola pointed out it took him a while before finding sustained success with City, having finished third in his first season in charge in 2016-17.

“It takes time,” Guardiola added. “United is able to win four, five six games in a row. If they do that they will be on top.

“Leave the manager to do the job that here they allowed me to do in my first season when we didn’t win. Give time to the managers and they will do it.”

Andrea Cambiaso struck with virtually the last kick of the game as Juventus climbed to the top of Serie A with a 1-0 win over Hellas Verona.

Moise Kean had earlier seen two goals disallowed by VAR as Verona chased an unlikely point in their battle against relegation.

Verona have never won away at Juventus in Serie A history and that record now stands at 33 matches, following a heartbreaking defeat.

Juve thought they had taken the lead in the 13th minute when Kean, after 10 league games without a goal, spun his marker 25 yards out and launched an unstoppable drive past Lorenzo Montipo.

But the VAR took the play back to when Kean originally collected the ball before turning back on himself and adjudged him fractionally offside.

Kean was denied again moments later when his header from Manuel Locatelli’s corner was tipped over by Montipo.

The Italy striker, still aggrieved at having his goal ruled out, beat another couple of challenges on the edge of the box but, having been forced wide, he lashed his shot off target.

Verona weathered the storm and fashioned a couple of half chances, but Michael Folorunsho and Milan Djuric fired wide while Wojciech Szczesny saved from Federico Bonazzoli just before the break.

Kean squandered another presentable chance early in the second half when he planted a free header wide.

His frustration grew to boiling point when he glanced a superb header home after a sweeping Juve attack, only for VAR to haul it back for a foul by the forward in the build-up.

The 23-year-old was promptly booked for hurling the ball away after another decision went against him.

An 11th match without a goal came to an end on the hour when Kean was replaced by Federico Chiesa.

The substitute was immediately in the thick of the action, forcing Montipo to acrobatically tip his shot over the top.

Chiesa had his head in his hands moments later when he received a cut-back from the byline, only to see his first-time shot from 10 yards cleared off the line by Davide Faraoni.

Federico Gatti tried his luck from 25 yards, but his fierce drive flew wide and teenage substitute Kenan Yildiz lifted a glorious chance too.

But Juve’s moment came at the end of six minutes of stoppage time when Arkadiusz Milik’s header came back off the inside of the far post and Cambiaso smashed in the rebound.