Even an elite coach would surely struggle at Old Trafford amid the executive chaos and with an unfit, uneven squad

In January 2014 the 13th series of Celebrity Big Brother aired in the UK, the show so popular that its run time was extended by five days before a public vote anointed Jim Davidson the winner. Then, two years later when Brexit happened, people wondered where their tolerant country had gone, lamenting the ephemeral spirit of London 2012 as though the 2011 riots were some kind of fever dream, not a desperate response to decades of structural and institutional racism exacerbated by the cruelty of unnecessary austerity.

The truth is that if security is quickly upended, it was built on quicksand to begin with. Which brings us to Manchester United, easing effortlessly from an uplifting third-place finish to some of the worst football in their history.

Alexia Putellas won the women’s Ballon d’Or for the third time while Harry Kane took the men’s, the first Englishman so to do for 25 years

Talking of UK winners, it’s absolutely insane to think that, in 1968, three winners – Denis Law, Bobby Charlton and George Best – played in the same Manchester United team. Now, though, despite the money in the Premier League and with the exception of Erling Haaland and Bruno Fernandes, the best attackers are found in La Liga and Ligue 1. That looks likely to change only in the next generation and only if English clubs develop their own elite talent

DAZN have just interviewed Michael Owen, since the sad death of Kevin Keegan the only surviving British winner. If I’m honest, he did pretty well to get that, which isn’t to decry his efforts – in Rome and Cardiff especially – but the best player in the world? Not for me, Clive.

Bournemouth humiliated Manchester United to leave Michael Carrick on the brink, while Liverpool beat Brighton, Newcastle won at Palace and Hull drew with Brentford

Otherwise, Carrick goes for ballast in the midfield, with Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba, which makes sense, but in front of him, there’s a palpable lack of magic. Matheus Cunha, hooked at half-time in Como, drops out, with Amad one of the least dreadful when he came on, coming in on the right. His numbers tell us he’s not the standard required, but he offers good out-of-possession work and gives the team balance, such as it is, the only dribbles in a team severely lacking one v one ability.

Otherwise, Mason Mount, every manager’s favourite, is relocated to the left, while Bryan Mbeumo continues up front in the absence of Benjamin Sesko – which tells us plenty about what Carrick thinks of Joshua Zirkzee, despite his goal in midweek.

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That took 78 seconds – and remember, Sunderland scored at 90+3 of 90+5 in their last game against Torreense. The Prem, problems, but in Europe they’re flying!

Poznan are bottom of the Europa League and already, we’ve seen why. The ball goes back to Lis, who sells Gurgul short with the ball out wide. Angulo snaps into the challenge, needs only one touch to set, and crosses for Tutierov to head home his first Sunderland goal!

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Where is the game? Spurs will look to dominate possession, with Gray and Tonali dictating play, so Maddison, Kudus and Marmoush can buzz about behind Solanke. The absence of a proper winger means they’ll probably look to create centrally, Solanke attacking space for little balls in behind, before going wide to put crosses into a well-populated box.

“None of this is De Zerbi’s fault,” reckons Dave Estherby, “yet lose tonight and surely, he’s toast.”

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Forest will want – and probably need – to make this game a mess. If it’s open and played through midfield, Arsenal will open them up because, with the guile they’ve added by buying Guimaraes, along with an in-form Odegaard, they have the ability to exploit space. For that reason, Forest need bodies everywhere, especially in the middle of the pitch, forcing them wide, where Saka might just’ve lost the spring in his acceleration following last season’s achilles injury while, on the other side, Eze isn’t going to go on the outside.

Elsewhere, 10-man Sunderland trail Bournemouth 2-0 with seconds remaining, while Brighton have splattered Palace 5-0 to move second above Arsenal, their goal difference +18. Ridiculous behaviour.

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Email! “I say this is a perfect fixture,” writes Mary Waltz. “To get back to semi normal football. We have had a week to focus on the City problem but let’s get real. Whatever happens to them it will probably months before the lawyers get all their billable hours in and we don’t know what the final outcome will be. I for one am tired of speculating when it is pointless until the powers that be make up their minds. Let’s play ball.”

I actually wonder if the events of yesterday will have persuaded the suits that they need to act sooner rather than later. I can’t see that, given how long process can take, they’ll wait for the appeal to be heard to administer any punishment, should there be one.

Max Verstappen led from start to finish, with Charles Leclerc second and Kimi Antonelli – who has an outside chance of clinching the title in the next race – third

Zak Brown of McLaren confirms he has had a stern one with his drivers after they go in each other’s way yesterday. “I didn’t say please,” he laughs. “It’s an order.”

Our race comprises 62 laps and the relatively long track means it’ll last roundabout two hours. It’s hot, too, meaning a proper physical struggle for our drivers.

France score four goals in the last 13 minutes to come from behind to beat Belgium, while Italy beat Turkey and Northern Ireland daw with Georgia

It really is ridiculous how many good players France have. But can Zidane find the balance Deschamps could not against Spain? The answer, perhaps, might lie with Eduardo Camavinga, left out of the World Cup squad but whose quality and athleticism could make the difference in future.

Tonight’s a big night for the aforementioned Yoro, who’s shown his quality since joining Man United from Lille, but not consistently. Moreover, he doesn’t seem to have improved his weaknesses all that much: he’s still prone to losing men at set-pieces and his passing should also be better, faults thrown into sharper clarity by how well Jacquet has settled at Liverpool. United have been conceding goals, and the way Michael Carrick wants to play suits him, in theory – pace is essential with a high line. But, so far, he’s not shown enough to force his way into the starting XI ahead of Harry Maguire or Lisandro Martinez.

Cody Gakpo’s injury-time equaliser earned Xavi’s Netherlands a draw with Jürgen Klopp’s Germany, while Portugal beat Wales 1-0

Robert Earnshaw is in the BBC studio wearing the same rig he was in on Sky this morning. The thing with red and blue is you leave yourself open to accusations of dressing like Mario.

I can’t say I love the look of Xavi’s Netherlands outfit. The front three might be a handful, but there’s a severe lack of quality in midfield and the centre of defence is short of pace. For a coach used to Barcelona quality and principles, this is a tough gig.

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I’m not sure we’ll see Chelsea play 3-5-2 that often this season. It makes sense tonight because Vienna are playing it and, if teams match up, the better one tends to win; it also make sense given the players Sonia Bompastor has available.

Against Birmingham at the weekend, Chelsea set up in a 3-4-3 and there are three changes made to that XI: in net, Livia Peng replaces Hannah Hampton; at the back, Katie McCabe is on for Lucy Bronze; and up front, Melvine Malard comes in, with Wieke Kaptein dropping into midfield and Lexi Potter dropping to the bench.

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I don’t imagine Rose spent too long sweating over his team. Kluivert is a miss, and of course Junior Kroupi is long-term injured, but otherwise, his team is pretty settled. Adam Scott, who we might’ve thought would leave in the summer, stayed, and has started the season in excellent form. His ball-carrying is exceptional and he offers height in both boxes; if he can develop his passing, especially shirt, punched through the lines, he might develop into an all-round monster.

But back to our game, let’s have a closer look at our dramatis personae.

Goals from Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes, Benjamin Sesko and Lisandro Martínez gave United a comfortable victory in their opening game

It’s also worth noting that Patrick Dorgu starts at left-back tonight, for the first time under Carrick. Bought for Ruben Amorim, really he’s a specialist wing-back – not a defender because his awareness isn’t great, nor his ability to pass the ball out from the back, nor a winger because he lacks finesse and one-on-one ability – he starts at the back tonight mainly because Shaw is rested and there’s no better option. But if he’s to have a future as a starter, it feels much more likely it’ll be at the back than in attack – though, as we’ve seen he’s got a worldie in him.

Thinking more about that United defence, this is a big evening for Leny Yoro. He was pretty good in his first season at Old Trafford, but didn’t get to play much last; ultimately, Carrick couldn’t afford to risk him because he had a formula that worked – Maguire and Martinez, plus fast counters – with points to win and a job to secure.

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Nope, the Feyenoord goal has been chalked off for offside, early in the move.

Right, let’s get the teams in our 8pm games – though Feyenoord have just pulled a goal back.

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Inter, meanwhile, look solid. They’ve won three from three in Serie A, and will, I think, look to clutter the centre of the pitch. That’s another reason I’d like to have seen Diomande on from the start, but Mourinho has – unusually for him – done without a defensively-minded midfielder. I’m looking forward to seeing how Curtis Jones does, as I think he’s a good player who’ll thrive with regular selection and greater responsibility. And there’s no disputing the danger Inter offer up front; I don’t fancy either Madrid centre-back against Thuram and Martinez.

Our main focus here, though, will be on Madrid v Inter. Mourinho’s men lost at Betis last weekend, and are without the suspended Eduardo Camvinga, Bernardo Silva and Arda Guler. As such Trent Alexander-Arnold comes in on the right of the central three – a move I doubt Aurelien Tchouameni likes all that much. I can’t say I think Alexander-Arnold is much use in that position – as Gary Neville once noted, most right-backs are failed midfielders – but he’s capable of creating something from nothing. I guess I’d quite like to see Yan Diomande on the right, but i’m not surprised Mourinho wants the extra body in midfield that Brahim Diaz can become.

Qinwen Zheng comes from 0-5 down in the first set to beat Iga Swiatek in two, while Mirra Andreeva, Elena Rybakina and Alexander Blockx also make the last eight

Back on Armstrong, we’re still level but at 4-4, Potapova playing with confidence and poise. She holds to 30, and Andreeva must now serve to stay in set one.

Zheng and Swiatek are out on court; Zheng, the Olympic champion, had to come through qualifying after missing time with an elbow injury, but two weeks of competition have brought her into the main event nicely loose. I’d be surprised if she finds a way to win here, but she did at those Olympics, so knows she can.

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We’re 4-4 in the doubles and knocking up on Ashe. Thinking more about the match, I’d expect Townsend to use top spin to hit cross at Sabalenka’s backhand, taking her outside the lines if possible. She’ll also try and slow the game down, I think, and frustrate the champ, who doesn’t enjoy the wind-ups.

Townsend comes out wearing a coat that wouldn’t be out of place in the Night’s Watch, photo to follow but, in the meantime:

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It feels rather odd saying this, given that Osaka is a two-time former US Open champion, but she’s something of a wildcard contender this fortnight, having not won a title since 2021. But over the past year she’s been building momentum, after returning from her maternity leave in 2024, and there were plenty of green shoots on the grass at Wimbledon, where she beat Aryna Sabalenka en route to the quarter-finals. And Osaka has started strongly today, leading Siniakova 3-1 and serving at 40-15. Make that game, as the 13th seed’s pace is too much for the Czech to handle.

Swiatek is serving for the first set at 5-3. And on her second set point, at her advantage, she takes it, when Podoroska prods a return wide. After starting with three holds to love, the set got closer, but the eighth seed found a way through and she’s skipping to the back of the court to start the second set. She looks up for this – and most importantly, more confident than she has done for so much of this year.

Sabalenka made quick work of Iatcenko in the second round, while Tiafoe, Tsitsipas, Pegula and Muchova were among the other notable winners

And Nakashima breaks too – he’s hitting it hard off both wings and I wonder if he’s in the process of finding a new level. The first few times I watched him, I thought he had a bit of something and, real talk, I thought he’d be better by now than he is. But I really like what I’m seeing from him and, as we know, progress isn’t always linear.

It’s a good start for Medvedev, Gorzy – who saved five match points in round one – tamely ceding serve to 15.

Fery could not repeat his Wimbledon odyssey as he lost in the first round to Musetti, while Fritz, Rybakina and Andreeva advanced in straight sets and Cobolli fought back to win in five

Nothing’s going Cobolli’s way at the moment, as he thwacks his own leg with his racket while trying to hit the ball, as he’s taken to deuce once more on his serve. He recovers to get to his advantage, but then balloons another errant forehand well long, before finally getting on the board to reduce his deficit to 3-1.

It was also a day when Stan Wawrinka played his final grand slam match, Carlos Alcaraz made his return from injury and Aryna Sabalenka, after a shaky summer, started her title defence with a comfortable victory.