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Arsenal and Chelsea both face long-distance trips in the Europa League after the group stages were drawn on Friday. Unai Emery's side were drawn in Group E with Qarabag of Azerbaijan, Sporting Lisbon and Vorskla of Ukraine. Chelsea will also be travelling to eastern Europe having been drawn with Belarus' BATE Borisov, Hungary's Vidi and PAOK Salonika in Group L. Emery is no stranger to the competition having won the competition three times, back-to-back, with Sevilla. The London club were knocked out in the semi-finals last season losing to eventual winners Atletico Madrid, 2-1 on aggregate. Lisbon and Arsenal last faced one another in 1969 in Europa League predecessor the Fairs Cup with the Gunners emerging as the winners over two legs. Chelsea won the competition back in 2013, with Rafa Benitez in charge, beating Benfica 2-1 in the Amsterdam Arena. Full Europa League draw: Group A: Bayer Leverkusen, Ludogorets, FC Zurich, AEK Larnaca. Group B: FC

Liverpool have been drawn at home against Chelsea in the pick of the Carabao Cup third round ties. All ties will be played on the week commencing September 24, with Liverpool and Chelsea's meeting coming days before their Premier League match at Stamford Bridge on September 29. Elsewhere, reigning champions Manchester City head to Oxford United of Sky Bet League One. Jose Mourinho comes up against Frank Lampard in the dugout, with Manchester United welcoming Derby to Old Trafford. Lampard played under Mourinho at Chelsea - winning the 2005 trophy together - but now the Derby boss will be tasked with knocking his former manager out of the competition. Last season's runners-up Arsenal play host to Sky Bet Championship Brentford in a London derby. Tottenham will host Watford, and have applied to the EFL board for special dispensation to play the tie at Stadium MK. Everton play Southampton and Wolves take on Leicester in all-Premier League ties.

Liverpool could be drawn into a difficult Champions League group after being left in pot three following Benfica's qualification for the group stages. If Basel and Benfica had failed to qualify for the group stage draw, which takes place on Thursday in Monaco at 5pm, last year's runners-up would have been in pot two. While Basel were unable to progress, Benfica beat PAOK Salonika 4-1 in Greece on Wednesday night - after a 1-1 draw in the first leg - to reach the group stages, consigning Liverpool to pot three. Liverpool are the top-ranked team in pot three based on their UEFA coefficient of 62.000, narrowly missing out on pot two as they trail Roma who have a coefficient of 64.000. Jurgen Klopp's side were bound to be drawn against some of Europe's elite with the league champions and winners of Champions League and Europa League all in pot one. However, had they been placed in pot two they could have avoided facing Borussia Dortmund, Porto, Shakhtar Do

Lucas Moura scored twice as Tottenham stunned Manchester United with a 3-0 win at Old Trafford on Monday Night Football. Harry Kane's superb header from a corner  and Lucas' tidy finish gave Spurs daylight against a shell-shocked United, after Jose Mourinho made six changes from the side that lost 3-2 at Brighton last week. Spurs then caught United on the break to add a third through man-of-the-match Lucas' fine finish, meaning United have suffered their worst start to a Premier League season since 2014.

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Chelsea made it three wins from three with a dramatic 2-1 victory at Newcastle. De Andre Yedlin's unfortunate own goal on 87 minutes sealed the win for Maurizio Sarri's dominant side - who had 81 per cent possession - after a controversial finale at St. James' Park. Eden Hazard fired Chelsea in front from the penalty spot on 76 minutes after Fabian Schar was harshly penalised for a foul on Marcos Alonso, but Newcastle were level six minutes later as Joselu's near-post header was allowed to stand, despite Yedlin catching Olivier Giroud in the face with an elbow in the build-up. Chelsea had the final word, though, as Yedlin turned Alonso's cross into his own net to maintain the Blues' flawless start to the season, and leave Rafa Benitez's men waiting for their first win.

Mohamed Salah's 23rd-minute strike proved to be the difference as Liverpool moved to the top of the Premier League with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Brighton at Anfield. Salah scored the only goal of the game - his 29th in 29 appearances for Liverpool at Anfield in all competitions - side-footing a first-time effort past Mat Ryan in the first half. Jurgen Klopp's side were far from their best and they had Alisson to thank late on when he pushed Pascal Gross' header past the post, but they held to maintain a 16-month undefeated league run at home and secure their best start to a Premier League season in five years.

Liverpool have confirmed goalkeeper Loris Karius has joined Besiktas on a two-year loan deal. The 25-year-old was named on the bench for Liverpool's opening Premier League fixture of the season against West Ham, but left out of the squad against Crystal Palace and Brighton. On Friday, Besiktas appeared to confirm the arrival of the Liverpool keeper with a graphic of him on their Twitter page, and the move was completed on Saturday. Karius made 49 appearances for the Reds after joining from Mainz in 2016. Thirty-three of those appearances came last season, where he came under fire for his performance in the Champions League final, which included two errors that led to goals in the 3-1 defeat against Real Madrid. He was in tears at the final whistle and the Reds decided to sign Roma's Alisson, subsequently signing the Brazil 'keeper in a then world-record £67m transfer.

Unai Emery got his first win as Arsenal manager as the Gunners beat West Ham 3-1 in the Premier League on Saturday. West Ham may feel their performance deserved a point as they went ahead in the 25th minute with Marko Arnautovic firing home from the top of the area. Arsenal were level five minutes later as Nacho Monreal slotted home before West Ham defender Issa Diop saw the ball strike his midriff from an Alexandre Lacazette cross and go in. Danny Welbeck then added the cherry on top in the second minute of added time, given plenty of space to slot home from a Hector Bellerin delivery as West Ham suffered three opening Premier League defeats for the second season in a row.

Wolves impressed as they earned a 1-1 draw with Premier League champions Manchester City on Saturday at Molineux. After City hit the woodwork twice in the first half, Wolves took the lead in the most controversial fashion as Willy Boly handled Joao Moutinho's fine cross into the far corner, the touch not spotted by referee Martin Atkinson or his assistants. City equalised through Aymeric Laporte's strong header from Ilkay Gundogan's set piece, before Sergio Aguero hit the crossbar with a free-kick in the last minute of stoppage time.

Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez is backing his former club Chelsea to be part of a three-way battle for this season's Premier League crown. The Spaniard, who spent six months in interim charge at Stamford Bridge, delivering Europa League success and a third-placed finish, is confident the Blues will be title contenders once again under new head coach Maurizio Sarri. Benitez's Newcastle will welcome Chelsea to St James' Park on Sunday, and when asked if they can win the league this year, he said: "I think so. "Maybe at the moment, there are three teams that you could say that they are a little bit ahead of the others, for me - Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City - because of the level, the performances last year and the money they spent. "Then Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal, they have to go back to things they were doing well. They have quality in the squad and they can compete, for sure. "But if you have to pick three, I wi

Maurizio Sarri is confident Eden Hazard will stay with Chelsea this season and expects to resolve Ruben Loftus-Cheek's future in December. With the European transfer window not closing until August 31, Hazard has been linked with a summer move to Real Madrid. The European champions have already brought goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois over from Chelsea, but Sarri was able to recruit Kepa Arrizabalaga for a world-record £71.6m  before the Premier League window closed. With Chelsea unable to replace Hazard, Sarri confirmed he expects the Belgian to remain at Stamford Bridge for the remainder of the campaign, and added that the playmaker is in line to start at Newcastle on Sunday. Chelsea blocked Crystal Palace's attempts to bring Loftus-Cheek back on loan earlier this August, while Schalke are not interested in signing the 22-year-old, contrary to reports. Sarri added: "I have spoken with him twice this week, after I spoke with the club. I think Loftus will rema

The World Cup-winning goalkeeper, 31, was charged following a routine patrol stop in the early hours of Friday morning. According to a Metropolitan Police statement, the Frenchman was stopped in Gloucester Place, Marylebone, central London. Lloris, of East Finchley, north London, was bailed to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on September 11, the force said. Lloris joined the north London club from Lyon in 2012 and has made 207 Premier League appearances and kept 74 clean sheets. He has won more than 100 international caps and captained his country to World Cup glory in Russia, with France beating Croatia 4-2 in the final. Tottenham won both of their opening league games with a 2-1 win at Newcastle and a 3-1 victory over Fulham. They play Manchester United, live on Monday evening. The news of his charge broke after manager Mauricio Pochettino's media conference had finished - Spurs have been approached for comment.

Liverpool's ownership group have said the club is not for sale but that they would be open to minority investment amid reports of interest from the cousin of Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour. Fenway Sports Group (FSG), who purchased Liverpool in 2010, were responding to a report in the Daily Mail claiming that Sheikh Khaled Bin Zayed Al Nehayan failed in a £2billion attempt to take over the club at the end of 2017. "FSG have been clear and consistent in their stance that the club is not for sale," Liverpool said in a statement. "What the ownership have said again clearly and consistently is that 'under the right terms and conditions we would consider taking on a minority investor, if such a partnership was to further our commercial interests in specific marketplaces and in-line with the continued development and growth of the club and the team.'" FSG, who also own Major League Baseball team the Boston Red Sox, bought 18-time English c

Rangers have one foot in the Europa League group stage after a solitary goal gave them victory over Ufa at Ibrox in their play-off first leg. Connor Goldson's close-range strike on 41 minutes put Steven Gerrard's men in front after a dominant first half. Dmitri Zhivoglyadov almost levelled immediately but the Russians' best chance was blocked by Allan McGregor. Rangers could have extended their lead but had to settle for a single-goal advantage to take to Ufa next Thursday. Kyle Lafferty was brought on just a day after signing from Hearts for an undisclosed fee but the Northern Ireland international could not find the second goal the Ibrox side's pressure merited. If Rangers hold their nerve in the Neftyanik Stadium, it will be the first time the Scottish Premiership side have reached the group stage of a European competition since the 2010-11 Champions League.

A Burnley fan was stabbed, and four others injured, outside the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium ahead of the club's Europa League tie at Olympiakos. More than 900 Clarets supporters attended the qualifying play-off first leg in Piraeus, Athens, which saw Sean Dyche's side lose 3-1. "The vast majority were once again impeccably behaved with the coaching operation to transport supporters to the ground put in place by the club again a great success, as it was in the previous round in Istanbul," the club said in a statement. But Burnley confirmed one supporter received a stab wound to the leg and received medical treatment at the stadium. Those injured had all travelled independently to the ground, rather than using Burnley's organised travel, the club said. Burnley said they were working closely with Olympiakos and local police to investigate the incidents. Dyche's side were unbeaten in their first European venture in 61 years prior to the game, hav

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp insists his decision to sign Alisson was not based on the performance of Loris Karius in the Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid. Karius was at fault for Karim Benzema's opening goal in Kiev, while the German also failed to keep out Gareth Bale's long-range shot as the Spaniards ran out 3-1 winners. Alisson joined the Reds in a world-record £67m move from Roma less than two months after the defeat to Madrid, replacing Karius as No 1 at Anfield, but Klopp insists the Brazilian would have been signed regardless of the Champions League final. "The Champions League final had nothing to do with us getting Alisson. "Even if he had won it and Alisson would have been on the market we would have still signed him. "And how the people reacted negatively to Karius after the final, tried to isolate him, almost made me not get Alisson and rather stick it out with Karius. "But we had to be professional. Our job is to

Real Madrid will launch a bid for Kylian Mbappe next week, if Paris Saint-Germain are punished for breaking UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations.  PSG must exercise their clause to buy Mbappe from Monaco for €180m (£161.76m) on Monday but that would seriously affect UEFA's investigation into their accounts which concludes on August 30.  PSG could be put in the position where they have to sell the striker to meet FFP obligations, giving Madrid a day to get their man.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has been shortlisted for the 2017/18 UEFA Player of the Year award. Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric and former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo, who moved to Juventus after winning the Champions League with the Spanish side, are the other players on the three-man shortlist - voted for by coaches and journalists across Europe. Salah - who was named PFA Player of the Year after his successful debut campaign at Anfield - scored 44 goals for Liverpool last season, while Ronaldo scored 27 La Liga goals to add to his 15 in the Champions League. The Portugal forward is the current holder of the award having won it three times in the past four seasons. Cristiano Ronaldo won the Champions League with Real Madrid, alongside Luka Modric Modric was a 2018 World Cup runner-up with Croatia and also the winner of the FIFA Golden Ball. Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and Chelsea's Eden Hazard were both included in the top 10, alongside

Liverpool turned on the style in their opening-day win over West Ham - but edging the close encounters this season will be key to their title hopes, says Jamie Redknapp... There's a real optimism at Liverpool right now. You could sense that ahead of the West Ham win on the opening weekend and I don't think I can recall that much of a buzz around Anfield at the start of a season. Yes, when they were on that run under Brendan Rodgers in 2014, when they really started to believe, it was a special place to be. But there's a feeling that Jurgen Klopp is putting together a lot of the pieces of the jigsaw now and maybe, just maybe, this could be their season. Manchester City are the outstanding favourites still, of course. They're a fantastic side and I feel like they will still come out on top. But Liverpool are in contention. There's a lot of talk about them having to make up a 25-point deficit on Man City from last year but remember Man City had to m

Former Manchester United star Lee Sharpe expects Jose Mourinho to be sacked by Christmas. Asked about what he expects to see at Manchester United this season and Lee Sharpe is typically forthright. "I am expecting the manager to get sacked before Christmas". "If he is going to continue with this dourness and this moaning, then people will turn around and say this attitude is not getting us to the top so we need to change it. "It just seems same old same old. As much as the press and fans have been on Jose Mourinho's case about the negativity over the past few seasons and him moaning about players he has and has not got, he just seems to ignore everybody and carry on as usual. He looks fed up and it is reflecting in his team's performances. He is playing negative stuff. "As a player, you come back for pre-season, you've had a break and you've missed football by the time you come back. You're excited and you're eager. You'

Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata blames former boss Antonio Conte's "direct" style for his indifferent form last season. The Spain international made an impressive start to his Blues career, scoring seven goals in his first seven games, but his form tailed off after Christmas. Morata found the net just three times in 23 appearances as Chelsea missed out on Champions League qualification, and that barren run saw him miss out on a place in Spain's World Cup squad. "The most important thing is the way we play .  Last season it was direct balls and for me to protect the ball in the air is not my best quality. "Now I can attack the space, I can play one touch and go in the area for the crosses. It's better for me."

A devastating first-half show from Brighton secured a memorable 3-2 victory over Manchester United. There was sheer jubilation inside the Amex Stadium as two goals in two minutes from Glenn Murray and Shane Duffy put Brighton two up inside 27 minutes. Romelu Lukaku halved the deficit on 34 minutes with a close-range header but there was no respite for the beleaguered United defence as Pascal Gross won and converted a penalty on the stroke of half-time to put Brighton in control. Paul Pogba scored a penalty in stoppage-time but it came too late to inspire a comeback as Jose Mourinho, in the week in which he accused Manchester City of lacking class, was left to reflect on a gulf in class on the field.

The Oyo State Government early on Sunday morning stormed the Music House from which the Fresh FM belonging to artiste, Yinka Ayefele, operated. Government bulldozers arrived the Challenge area of Ibadan where the building was located and pulled it down. The government carried out the demolition despite a court injunction secured by Ayefele restraining the government from carrying out the exercise. The government said that the building contravened physical planning rules, while Ayefele claimed that all the necessary papers were obtained for the construction of the building. Hundreds of sympathisers were seen at the scene of the demolition, with many of them crying and pleading for the station to be spared. Recounting the Sunday morning incident, Ayefele said, “We only got wind of the operation sound of the bulldozer. On stepping out to verify what was actually happening, the bulldozer had hit the gate. “At that point, it dawned on us that they were from the state gove