Erling Haaland failed to score as Norway were held to a 0-0 draw on their long trip to Kazakhstan in Group B3, while Benjamin Sesko scored a penalty in Slovenia’s 1-1 draw with Austria in the same section. Kazakhstan, who are ranked 109th in the FIFA World Rankings, were able to deny Haaland the Norwegian striker who has bagged seven goals in his first three Premier League games for Manchester City. Italy recovered from conceding inside 13 seconds to fight back and beat France 3-1 in their UEFA Nations League clash in Paris on Friday, while Belgium beat Israel and Wales drew with Turkey.

Bradley Barcola had opened the scoring at the Parc des Princes with the fastest ever goal by a France player, but the home side failed to build on that stunning start and Italy ran out deserved winners with Federico Dimarco, Davide Frattesi and Giacomo Raspadori all on target.

The result is a boost for Luciano Spalletti’s Italy team after their poor showing at Euro 2024, when their defence of the title was ended limply by Switzerland in the last 16.

“Italians love football and they have been very sad recently,” Spalletti said.

“I am happy tonight because we are relieved to see a better performance.

“Now we can continue on this road because we saw how much potential we have.”

France, for whom captain Kylian Mbappe struggled to make an impact, picked up where they left off at the Euros, when they never found their best form despite reaching the semi-finals.

“It hurts for all of us,” admitted their coach, Didier Deschamps.

He gave a full international debut to London-born Bayern Munich right-winger Michael Olise, but he was upstaged by Barcola.

The Paris Saint-Germain winger robbed Italy’s Giovanni Di Lorenzo to run through and score, in the process beating the previous quickest French goal, scored after 38 seconds by Bernard Lacombe, also against Italy at the 1978 World Cup.

Italy saw Frattesi hit the bar soon after, but they drew level on the half-hour via a stunning goal, as Dimarco laid the ball off for Sandro Tonali and then met the latter’s first-time return with a sweet volley that flew into the far corner.

Frattesi turned in a Mateo Retegui cross to put Italy ahead early in the second half, and substitute Raspadori got their third goal on 74 minutes.

The winning start in this edition of the Nations League leaves Italy level at the top of Group A2 with Belgium, who beat Israel 3-1 on Friday.

Kevin De Bruyne scored twice for Belgium, including a penalty, either side of a Youri Tielemans goal and a Timothy Castagne own goal in a game played in Hungary after Belgian authorities decided the fixture was too high-risk to host.

Italy face Israel next on Monday, with that match taking place in Budapest due to the security situation in the Middle East. France play Belgium in Lyon.

Elsewhere on Friday, new Wales coach Craig Bellamy saw his side draw 0-0 with Turkey in Cardiff in Group 4 of the second-tier League B.

Turkey left with a point despite having Baris Yilmaz sent off in the second half.

“I am not a master at this after one game, trust me. But I enjoyed it. It was a great country to play against in your first game and I am really happy,” Bellamy told the BBC.

Wales next go to Montenegro, who lost 2-0 in Iceland on Friday.

Romania, with veteran Mircea Lucescu back in charge, won 3-0 in Kosovo in Group C2.

Erling Haaland fired Manchester City to the top of the Premier League with a second consecutive hat-trick in a 3-1 win at West Ham on Saturday. The Norwegian put Ipswich to the sword last weekend and followed up with another treble to take his tally to 70 goals in 69 Premier League games since joining City from Borussia Dortmund. City have started the defence of their title in ominous fashion for those looking to depose Pep Guardiola’s men after winning the league for four consecutive seasons.

The English champions are the only side so far to win all three of their opening fixtures before an upcoming international break, helped in no small part by Haaland’s electric start.

“No words for him. All we can do is make him play better and better and give him as many balls as possible to the box,” said Guardiola. 

The City boss could again afford the luxury of leaving Rodri, John Stones and Kyle Walker on the bench after their exertions in reaching the final of Euro 2024, while Phil Foden missed out for the second successive game through illness.

In contrast to most of his team-mates who were in action at the Euros and Copa America, Haaland had the summer off from international duty and looks as refreshed as he has been ruthless.

“I feel good, I feel energised. I had a long vacation and pre-season,” said Haaland.

“Only footballers know how important it is to have a break.

“You need to calm your body and mind down because it’s a long season. It’s not as easy as people think. I feel fresh and that’s the most important thing.”

After scoring in the opening weekend win at Chelsea and hitting his 10th City hat-trick against Ipswich, Haaland is now up to a Premier League record seven goals in the first three games of a season.

West Ham only had themselves to blame for the opener as they coughed up possession deep inside their own half and Bernardo Silva picked out Haaland to coolly slot beyond Alphonse Areola.

City looked set to put the game to bed in the opening stages as Areola denied Kevin De Bruyne before the Belgian smashed a shot off the crossbar.

But with West Ham’s first purposeful attack they were level thanks to a helping hand from the visitors.

At the end of an impressive move from one end to the other, Jarrod Bowen drove into the City box and his low cross was turned into his own net by Ruben Dias.

City quickly restored their grip on proceedings and their lead with an intricate move of their own that ended with a resounding finish.

Rico Lewis‘ pass found Haaland, who then picked his spot and smashed the ball high past Areola.

Haaland should also have had an assist before the break as Lewis fired over from his deft lay-off.

City left the door open in the second half as they failed to find the killer third goal and could have been punished.

A lightning counter-attack saw Bowen play in Mohammed Kudus, who cannoned a powerful effort back off the post.

Haaland, though, fittingly had the final say to seal the three points.

The 24-year-old was played in by Matheus Nunes and confidently scooped the ball over substitute ‘keeper Lukasz Fabianski.

And the veteran Polish stopper was called into action to deny Haaland a fourth in stoppage time.

A second defeat in three games for West Ham leaves Julen Lopetegui’s men down in 14th.

Manchester United crashed to a last-gasp 2-1 defeat against Brighton and an Erling Haaland’s hat-trick fired Premier League champions Manchester City to a 4-1 win against Ipswich on Saturday. Erik ten Hag’s side were left shell-shocked by Joao Pedro‘s winner five minutes into stoppage-time at the Amex Stadium. United fell behind to a 32nd minute goal from Danny Welbeck, who poked in Kaoru Mitoma’s cross for his sixth goal in 16 appearances against his former club. Amad Diallo equalised for United after an hour, cutting inside for a shot that deflected in off Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke.

Joshua Zirkzee prevented Alejandro Garnacho from putting the visitors ahead in the closing stages when the United forward touched home his team-mate’s finish on the line.

Zirkzee, a close-season signing from Bologna, was in an offside position and VAR ruled out the goal.

Left completely unmarked at the far post, Brazilian striker Pedro rubbed salt into United’s wounds as he headed home from Simon Adingra’s cross to ensure Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler maintained his 100 per cent start following last weekend’s win at Everton.

The 31-year-old German is the youngest permanent manager in Premier League history after arriving from St Pauli to replace Roberto De Zerbi in the close-season.

“My team deserved to win. These moments make memories and we have to enjoy it,” Hurzeler said.

Ten Hag added: “Both goals are very soft. As a team, we should have done better. We have to be more clinical in both boxes.”

At the Etihad Stadium, City scored three times in four minutes to survive an early scare against promoted Ipswich.

Sammie Szmodics, signed from Blackburn in the close-season, gave Ipswich a shock lead in the seventh minute, running on to Omari Hutchinson’s pass and squeezing his shot through Ederson‘s legs.

City levelled when Leif Davis’s 12th minute foul on Savinho conceded a penalty that Haaland dispatched with ease.

Ipswich keeper Arijanet Muric spent four years with City before leaving in 2022 and he returned with a gift for his old club, dwelling in possession in the 14th minute as Kevin De Bruyne stole the ball and slotted home.

Unstoppable Haaland

City made it three when the unstoppable Haaland flicked De Bruyne’s deft pass past Muric.

German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan came off the bench for City in the second half after rejoining his former club from Barcelona on a one-year contract on Friday.

Haaland completed his treble in the 88th minute with a typically predatory finish for his fourth goal already this season.

Tottenham midfielder Yves Bissouma got back in favour with boss Ange Postecoglou as his superb strike inspired a 4-0 rout of Everton in north London.

Postecoglou picker Bissouma following a one-game suspension after posting a social media video that showed him inhaling nitrous oxide.

“You know what it’s like when you punish your child and they do everything right for the next two days?” Postecoglou had said of Bissouma’s return.

The Mali international made the most of his reprieve in the 14th minute, lashing home from the edge of the area for his first league goal for Tottenham in his 52nd appearance.

Son Heung-min doubled Tottenham’s lead in the 25th minute, forcing Jordan Pickford into an embarrassing mistake as the Everton keeper was robbed by the South Korean for a simple finish.

Cristian Romero headed Tottenham’s third in the 71st minute. Son bagged his second with a clinical finish six minutes later.

West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui earned the first win of his reign as second half goals from Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen sealed a 2-0 victory at Crystal Palace.

Alex Iwobi’s 70th minute goal clinched Fulham’s 2-1 win against Leicester at Craven Cottage after Emile Smith Rowe’s first half opener for the hosts was cancelled out by Wout Faes.

Nottingham Forest won 1-0 at Southampton thanks to Morgan Gibbs-White’s 70th minute strike.

Title contenders Arsenal travel to Aston Villa in Saturday’s late game.

Manchester City got their Premier League title defence off to a winning start as goals from Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic inflicted a 2-0 defeat on Enzo Maresca in his first match in charge of Chelsea. Haaland marked his 100th appearance for the club with his 91st goal before Kovacic struck on his return to Stamford Bridge to give Pep Guardiola’s men the perfect start to their attempt to win a record fifth consecutive English top-flight title. City were shorn of all four of their Euro 2024 finalists — Rodri, Kyle Waker, John Stones and Phil Foden — from the start as Guardiola opted to give them extra time off to recover from their summer exertions.

Yet, the champions were still able to lay down a marker against one of the few sides they failed to beat in the league last season.

Maresca has the tough task of moulding a functioning team unit from a bloated Chelsea squad that has 43 players and over 50 on the books including those on loan.

The consequences of those difficult decisions played out even before kick-off as Raheem Sterling‘s camp released a statement expressing his dismay at being left out of the matchday squad.

Ben Chilwell was another to face the cull, while Conor Gallagher and Romelu Lukaku are among those not to have been handed squad numbers.

None of Chelsea’s nine summer signings to date were included in Maresca’s starting line-up.

Even more surprisingly, Enzo Fernandez was named captain despite being embroiled in a race row for a post on social media after Argentina’s Copa America victory last month.

City, by contrast, are a model of continuity and consistent excellence.

Haaland was one of City’s few stars to have had a summer off from international tournaments and took just 18 minutes to make his mark.

Jeremy Doku’s low cross was deflected by Bernardo Silva into the Norwegian’s path and he coolly dinked over Robert Sanchez.

Kevin De Bruyne curled inches wide and Sanchez leapt high to turn over Doku’s deflected shot.

But Chelsea ended the first half in the ascendency and should have been level before the break.

Ederson spilled Cole Palmer‘s tame shot but was bailed out by Nicolas Jackson’s straying needlessly offside before he turned in the rebound.

Foden was forced into action earlier than Guardiola would have hoped at half-time as the lively Savinho was forced off injured on his Premier League debut.

The lack of pre-season minutes for many on show was apparent in the more pedestrian pace than normal for a major Premier League clash.

Chelsea did most of the pressing for an equaliser but offered City chances to extend their lead in doing so.

Sanchez made a fine save to deny Haaland a second before De Bruyne again fired inches off target when unmarked at the edge of the area.

However, the Chelsea goalkeeper was at fault for the goal that sealed their fate.

Kovacic was allowed to burst through the midfield unchallenged and took aim for the top corner, which he found thanks to a weak hand from Sanchez.

Manchester United kick-off the 2024/25 Premier League season at home to Fulham on Friday before Manchester City begin the defence of their title at free-spending Chelsea on Sunday. New Liverpool manager Arne Slot will be under the spotlight on Saturday with a trip to newly-promoted Ipswich for his first competitive game since succeeding Jurgen Klopp. Here’s a look at what to expect from the opening weekend of the new season:

Ten Hag needs fast start

Manchester United’s shock FA Cup final win over Manchester City back in May went a long way to keeping Erik ten Hag in charge at Old Trafford.

The Dutchman has been backed by United’s new football operations hierarchy, led by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, and was handed a contract extension to 2026.

Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui have arrived to strengthen Ten Hag’s squad for around £150 million ($192 million).

But after finishing eighth last season — United’s worst ever Premier League finish — Ten Hag needs a fast start to the new campaign to dispell doubts he is the man to lead the club forward.

Fulham won at Old Trafford for the first time in 20 years in February.

Any repeat on Friday will have United fans fearing another season to forget.

Ipswich plan Slot shock

Arne Slot faces a tricky start to his Premier League career when Liverpool travel to an Ipswich side back in the top-flight after a 22-year absence and buoyant after successive promotions.

Liverpool are yet to make a single signing in the transfer window but have been rampant in pre-season with eye-catching wins over Arsenal, United and Sevilla.

Victory at Portman Road would bring some relief to Liverpool fans still coming to terms with the end of Klopp’s iconic reign.

The Reds could then build some momentum with a comfortable run of fixtures to come before the October international break.

But Ipswich defender Axel Tuanzebe is confident of maintaining Ipswich’s proud home record over the past two seasons.

“We’re going to empty the tank and give everything we’ve got,” Tuanzebe told the BBC.

“They’re just humans” he added. “It is just 11 v 11 on the pitch. Not many teams win at Portman Road and we intend to keep it that way.”

Chelsea chaos v City continuity

New Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has a baptism of fire against his former club.

Maresca was part of Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff at City before leading Leicester to promotion from the Championship last season.

The Italian inherits a chaotic situation at Stamford Bridge with a first team squad now boasting over 50 players and question marks over the future of most of them.

Chelsea’s issues were exposed in a torrid pre-season, that included a 4-2 defeat to City in the USA.

By contrast, there have been few changes for Guardiola’s champions.

Brazilian winger Savinho is the only new arrival, while Argentine forward Julian Alvarez departed this week for Atletico Madrid.

City’s England trio of Kyle Walker, John Stones and Phil Foden, plus Spanish midfielder Rodri, only returned to training this week after competing in the Euro 2024 final and are unlikely to start against Chelsea.

Man City vs Man United Highlights: City win 7-6 on penalties© AFP

File image of Kylian Mbappe.© Reuters

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag hopes to bolster his chances of avoiding the sack by ruining Manchester City’s history bid in the FA Cup final on Saturday. For the second successive season, Wembley will stage a Manchester derby in the showpiece fixture. Last year, City beat United 2-1 in the final on route to an incredible treble-winning campaign that included Premier League and Champions League glory. City remain England’s pre-eminent force, as they showed by clinching an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title last weekend.

United left Wembley still optimistic about the future despite that defeat 12 months ago because Ten Hag had ended their six-year trophy drought by winning the League Cup earlier in the season.

But the Red Devils return to north London shaken by a turbulent campaign that leaves the Dutchman fighting to save his job.

United finished eighth in the Premier League — their lowest final position since 1990 — and failed even to make it out of the Champions League group stage.

Ten Hag has blamed United’s woes on injuries, but that might not convince the club’s new co-owner Jim Ratcliffe to keep faith with him.

The Dutch coach reportedly caused friction among his squad after clashing with Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford, setting the tone for a series of embarrassing defeats against Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Fulham, Copenhagen and Galatasaray among others.

United only made it to the FA Cup final after blowing a three-goal lead and surviving a penalty shootout against second- tier Coventry in a semi-final that underlined the flaws in Ten Hag’s erratic team.

England boss Gareth Southgate, former Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino and Ipswich chief Kieran McKenna have all been linked with the Old Trafford job.

Ten Hag’s hopes of staying at United into a third season would be improved if they can spoil City’s bid to become the first English club to win both the Premier League and FA Cup two years in a row.

“I came here to win trophies,” Ten Hag said. “I’m just focusing on the job I have to do. That is first to win the game on Saturday and then keep going in the project.”

‘Fight until the end’

Beaten in six of the past seven Manchester derbies, United must lift the Cup for the first time in eight years to avoid their first season without European action since 2014/15.

A Europa League place is hardly the prize United fans dream of, but Andre Onana, the club’s goalkeeper, wants to repay their support with victory at Wembley.

Onana, who has endured an error-strewn first campaign at United, said: “It’s been a difficult season for them and for us.

“For me, it was difficult at the start and they were behind me so I’m very thankful. Let’s end on Saturday at Wembley. We will fight until the end.”

City’s dominant reign in the Premier League has extended to six titles in seven years, a dynastic spell that has led many pundits label them the greatest English team of all time.

Pep Guardiola’s men pipped Arsenal by two points after winning their last nine league games, leaving them on the brink of more history at Wembley this weekend.

“To do what we’ve done year in, year out, I don’t think many teams would be able to do that, especially in this Premier League,” City captain Kyle Walker said as he contemplated a potential second successive double.

Walker believes Guardiola’s drive and intensity are central to City’s seemingly unquenchable thirst for success.

“I think it starts from the manager, first and foremost. He’s addicted to winning. He is addicted and it rubs off on us,” he said.

Ominously for United, City playmaker Bernardo Silva said his side, who have won the FA Cup twice in the Guardiola era, are at their best when the stakes are highest.

“Sometimes at the beginning of the season when we don’t have that much pressure, the team relaxes when it shouldn’t and at the end of the season we always compensate for it,” he said.

Manchester City will be eyeing their fourth Premier League title on trot© AFP

File photo of Argentina football team star Lionel Messi© X (formerly Twitter)