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Big Spenders Threaten to Upset Champions League Hierarchy

Kylian Mbappe. (AP)
Kylian Mbappe. (AP)
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Big Spenders Threaten to Upset Champions League Hierarchy

Kylian Mbappe. (AP)
Kylian Mbappe. (AP)

The Champions League group stage starts Tuesday with a match between traditional heavyweights Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but big-spending upstarts elsewhere are the title favorites this season after a summer of eye-catching transfers.

Paris Saint-Germain bolstered its ranks with the arrivals of superstar Lionel Messi from Barcelona, former Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos, Italy’s European Championship-winning goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Netherlands midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, and wing backs Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes — the latter arguably the most exciting player in Portugal last season.

PSG, which has been backed by Qatar Sports Investment since 2011, reached the Champions League semifinals last season and the final the year before that, but has never won the title.

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the club’s spectacular recruitment campaign comes with a view to winning Europe’s premier club competition before Qatar hosts the World Cup next year.

PSG begins its bid Wednesday in Group A at Club Brugge, where Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé could play together for the first time, a fearsome attacking lineup for the Belgian champion to contend with. Messi warmed up for the game with a hat trick for Argentina in World Cup qualifying.

PSG rejected an offer of about $188 million from Real Madrid for Mbappé, despite knowing he can leave without a transfer fee when his contract expires next year.

Splashing the cash
Premier League clubs have been displaying a similar tendency toward recruitment. Last season’s Champions League finalists Chelsea and Manchester City spent club-record fees on marquee signings.

Attacking midfielder Jack Grealish joined City for $139 million, a record fee for a British player, and striker Romelu Lukaku moved back to Chelsea from Inter Milan for $135 million.

That strengthened already-deep squads at both clubs that helped them reach the final in Porto in May.

City hosts German club Leipzig in Group A on Wednesday, a day after Chelsea welcomes Zenit St. Petersburg in Group H for its first game as defending champion.

Manchester United trumped its domestic rivals by signing England forward Jadon Sancho, France defender Raphael Varane and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus for a combined cost in transfer fees of more than $150 million.

Ronaldo’s first Champions League game for United since losing the 2009 final to Barcelona is at Swiss champion Young Boys on Tuesday in Group F.

The big spenders have been bucking the recent trend across Europe, where the coronavirus pandemic has had an adverse effect on most clubs, including Juventus, which is struggling without Ronaldo before its visit to Malmö on Tuesday in Group H.

New era at Barcelona
Six-time champion Bayern has a new coach, Julian Nagelsmann, but had a very quiet offseason, giving young home-nurtured players such as Jamal Musiala and Josip Stanišić a chance to establish themselves in the team.

Barcelona endured a difficult summer, with the pandemic and years of big spending playing a role in the exits of Messi and Antoine Griezmann. Ansu Fati inherited Messi’s No. 10 jersey, and Barça supporters are also hoping another 18-year-old, Pedri, can help usher in a new successful era after his brilliant performances for Spain at the European Championship.

The Group E match at Camp Nou comes after Bayern trounced Barcelona 8-2 in their last meeting in the 2020 quarterfinals.

Tough test for Madrid
Inter Milan hosts 13-time champion Real Madrid in another intriguing opening-round game on Wednesday in Group D. Although Mbappé did not move to Spain, Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has succeeded in reviving an attack that had shown signs of stagnation in the final months of Zinedine Zidane’s tenure. Vinícius Júnior has found his scoring touch to add to the speed that creates more space for Karim Benzema.

Another big match sees six-time champion Liverpool host seven-time champion AC Milan on Wednesday in Group B. Liverpool, which last won the competition in 2019, can call upon defensive stalwart Virgil van Dijk again after a serious knee injury.

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Red Bull's Verstappen Fastest in Singapore to Claim 50th Career Pole

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands smiles as he speaks after finishing first during the qualifying session ahead of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix in Singapore, Singapore, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands smiles as he speaks after finishing first during the qualifying session ahead of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix in Singapore, Singapore, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
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Red Bull's Verstappen Fastest in Singapore to Claim 50th Career Pole

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands smiles as he speaks after finishing first during the qualifying session ahead of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix in Singapore, Singapore, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands smiles as he speaks after finishing first during the qualifying session ahead of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix in Singapore, Singapore, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Red Bull's Max Verstappen claimed the 50th pole position of his career when he went fastest in qualifying under the lights at the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday, repeating his heroics from the sprint qualifying session a day earlier.

Verstappen clocked one minute 31.373 seconds at the Marina Bay Street Circuit and will have Ferrari's Charles Leclerc alongside him on the front row, with the Monegasque driver just 0.054 seconds slower than the four-times champion.

Leclerc's team mate Lewis Hamilton was third fastest and championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fourth quickest for Mercedes.

"The margins are very close between us throughout all of qualifying, so of course, very happy to be on pole because this is the one that I wanted," Verstappen said ahead of his 250th race.

"The car has been ⁠pretty strong all ⁠weekend. Of course, I always think that you can be better, but it was enough for pole, so very happy with that."

Verstappen, who won a chaotic sprint in wet conditions earlier on Saturday, topped the timesheets despite gearbox issues in Q2 to claim his second straight pole of the season.

Leclerc had struggled in Q1 and Q2 but found his groove in Q3 to put Ferrari on the front row right at the end of the session.

"I had some weird things going on with the brakes, car pulling a ⁠bit under braking, which is not so nice on a track like here," Reuters quoted Leclerc as saying.

"But then in Q3, the lap was okay. I did some mistakes. I think there was a potential to be on pole today, but Max just did a better job."

With celebrity girlfriend Kim Kardashian watching on from the Ferrari garage, Hamilton topped Q1 and Q2 at a circuit where he has four victories, but the Briton could not reproduce his form in Q3.

"There's a real fine line with our car where it's over the edge or under the limit and finding that sweet spot is very, very difficult," said seven-times world champion Hamilton.

Mercedes driver George Russell, second in the championship, was sixth fastest in Q3 but the Briton is set to start from the back of the grid due to his engine penalty ⁠as he looks to ⁠bridge the 89-point gap to Antonelli.

Drivers struggled under braking in the first session, with Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll both forced to abandon their laps, but the biggest casualty of Q1 was Verstappen's team mate Isack Hadjar.

The Frenchman complained about an issue with his gearbox before the 22-year-old returned to the garage without setting a lap time, losing his 100% record of qualifying for Q3 this year.

"Nothing Isack could have done. We had a gearbox issue on his car," Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies told Sky Sports.

Verstappen also complained about gearbox issues despite advancing from Q2.

"Insanely, insanely bad shifts," he said. "The downshifts are so bad."

Reigning champion Lando Norris and McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri will line up on the third row after the stewards took no further action following the collision between the two drivers in the sprint.

Alpine's Pierre Gasly will start seventh on the grid followed by the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, and Audi's Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10.

Sports

Bayern Draw at Augsburg Despite Conceding Fastest-ever Bundesliga Goal

Bayern players react after the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Augsburg and FC Bayern Munich in Augsburg, Germany, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Bayern players react after the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Augsburg and FC Bayern Munich in Augsburg, Germany, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
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Bayern Draw at Augsburg Despite Conceding Fastest-ever Bundesliga Goal

Bayern players react after the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Augsburg and FC Bayern Munich in Augsburg, Germany, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Bayern players react after the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Augsburg and FC Bayern Munich in Augsburg, Germany, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Bayern Munich twice came from behind to draw 2-2 at Augsburg on Saturday after a mistake from Manuel Neuer led to the fastest goal in Bundesliga history.

Neuer handed Augsburg the lead with an early mistake, before two second-half assists from Harry Kane rescued a point in the second half, AFP reported.

Bayern missed the chance to knock Borussia Dortmund off top spot after the draw and remain two points behind the league leaders in second.

Augsburg could not believe their luck after Neuer's howler handed them the lead after just eight seconds.

Having received the ball straight from kick-off, Neuer chipped it directly into the path of Augsburg's Robin Fellhauer, who ran it into the empty net.

The Bundesliga later confirmed the exact timing of the goal at 8.4 seconds, beating the previous record of nine seconds held jointly by Kevin Volland and Karim Bellarabi.

Bayern remained shellshocked for much of the first half and were lucky not to go 2-0 down when Juma Bah missed a sitter on 36 minutes.

Bayern found the net shortly after the break when Augsburg keeper Finn Dahmen fumbled a brilliant volley from Luis Diaz, but the goal was ruled out for an offside in the build-up.

Ismael Saibari broke Augsburg's resistance a few minutes later, slotting the ball home after an elegant assist from Harry Kane.

Yet the hosts struck back quickly, thanks in part to another off-color moment from Neuer.

After Augsburg unlocked the defense with a long ball forward, Neuer parried Calvin Brackelmann's shot straight at Rodrigo Ribeiro, who smashed the ball under the bar to restore the lead.

Both Diaz and Serge Gnabry had goals ruled out for offside before Kane set up Nathaniel Brown for Bayern's second equalizer ten minutes from time.

There was also drama elsewhere, as Bayer Leverkusen grabbed a rollercoaster 4-3 win in Mainz while Hamburg snatched a late 3-2 win away at Hoffenheim.

Robert Andrich gave Leverkusen the lead with a superb volley after just five minutes, before Patrik Schick doubled the lead with a smart finish four minutes later.

Anthony Caci dragged Mainz back into the game, scoring twice to level the scores before half time.

Second-half goals from Jarell Quansah and Moussa Diaby put Leverkusen back in control, before Benedict Hollerbach grabbed a late third for Mainz.

Yussuf Poulsen bundled in an early opener for Hamburg, before Fisnik Asllani jabbed home an equally scrappy equalizer for Hoffenheim.

Bambase Conte put Hoffenheim in the lead with a brilliant shot from outside the area early in the second half, but a red card for his team mate Bernardo swung the game back into Hamburg's favor.

The visitors had one late equalizer ruled out by VAR before Terem Moffi equalized with an 83rd minute header and Miro Muheim grabbed a stoppage-time winner.

In Saturday's other games, goals from Jeff Chabot and Chris Fuehrich sealed a comfortable 2-0 win for Stuttgart at Paderborn, while Livan Burcu struck late to hand Union Berlin a nervy 1-0 win at home to Elversberg.

Sports

Russian Teen Andreeva Breezes Into China Open Final

Mirra Andreeva, of Russia, returns a ball to Nikola Bartunkova, of the Czech Republic during the semifinals of the women's singles match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Mirra Andreeva, of Russia, returns a ball to Nikola Bartunkova, of the Czech Republic during the semifinals of the women's singles match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
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Russian Teen Andreeva Breezes Into China Open Final

Mirra Andreeva, of Russia, returns a ball to Nikola Bartunkova, of the Czech Republic during the semifinals of the women's singles match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Mirra Andreeva, of Russia, returns a ball to Nikola Bartunkova, of the Czech Republic during the semifinals of the women's singles match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Mirra Andreeva breezed into the China Open final on Saturday, brushing aside Nikola Bartunkova 6-2, 6-2, and will play either home hope Zheng Qinwen or Belgium's Elise Mertens for the title.

"I wanted to play aggressive today," said the 19-year-old Russian, ranked five in the world.

Andreeva raced into a 4-0 lead in the first set in Beijing as 34th-ranked Bartunkova double-faulted twice before giving away the fourth game, AFP reported.

The 20-year-old Czech made 20 unforced errors across the 74-minute match and was outplayed by the French Open champion, who sent down 27 winners.

Bartunkova saved the first match point but Andreeva triumphed on the second without much more fuss.

"She's a very tricky opponent to play against... she sometimes manages to hit rockets out of nowhere," Andreeva said.

"I tried to be brave no matter what," she said, adding that she calmed some nerves by playing the card game Uno with her coach before the semi-final.

At four Andreeva is the highest-seeded player left in the tournament after a run of upsets saw the departures of Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff.