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Returning Leao Boosts Milan's Champions League Mission Impossible Attempt

Rafael Leao starred in AC Milan's win over Paris Saint-Germain. GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP/File
Rafael Leao starred in AC Milan's win over Paris Saint-Germain. GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP/File
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Returning Leao Boosts Milan's Champions League Mission Impossible Attempt

Rafael Leao starred in AC Milan's win over Paris Saint-Germain. GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP/File
Rafael Leao starred in AC Milan's win over Paris Saint-Germain. GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP/File

Rafael Leao returns for AC Milan's last desperate attempt to reach the Champions League knockouts, the seven-time European champions staring at early elimination ahead of their final Group F match at Newcastle on Wednesday.
Portugal attacker Leao has been out of action for the past month with a hamstring injury but Milan are confident their winger will be ready to start at St James' Park and repeat his mesmerizing display against Paris Saint-Germain from a month ago, AFP said.
The 24-year-old is Milan's undoubted star man, the player who when on form is capable of turning a match in his side's favor but whose performances have been erratic in a troubled season for the Italian outfit.
Milan will need the version of Leao which tore PSG to bits if they are to have any chance of progressing to the last 16 as a painful home loss to Borussia Dortmund in their most recent group fixture left qualification out of their hands.
Leao has scored four times and set up three more this season but has been criticized for lackluster performances, his equalizer in the 2-1 home win over PSG his first goal in the best part of two months.
"Criticism spurs me on, keep talking because I'll reply on the pitch," said Leao after the PSG win, which was the last time he found the net as he picked up his hamstring knock a few days later at Lecce.
After the Dortmund defeat which left Milan bottom of the group, Yacine Adli said his team had a "two-to-three percent chance of qualifying", and making it to the next round is indeed a tall order.
Milan must beat Newcastle, not an impossible task judging by the 4-1 thumping Eddie Howe's team took at Tottenham on Sunday, but also need group leaders Dortmund to beat PSG who are two points ahead of Milan in second spot.
A 3-0 thrashing in Paris in October means that Milan have to finish on more points than PSG otherwise it's relegation to the Europa League or -- if they don't win in England -- elimination from all continental competition.
Pioli at risk?
And the team is already at a low ebb after Saturday's last-gasp defeat at Atalanta which left Milan nine points behind Serie A leaders Inter Milan and fans calling for coach Stefano Pioli's head.
Pioli has good relations with the club hierarchy and American owners RedBird, and he has a lot of credit in the bank after leading Milan back to the top echelons of the game.
The 2022 Serie A title and last season's run to the semi-finals of the Champions League have been the high points of the post-Silvio Berlusconi era.
He also gets on well with returning idol Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was key alongside Pioli to re-establishing Milan as a big player.
Ibrahimovic, who called time on his playing career in June, has been brought in as a "senior advisor" by RedBird with a wide mandate which has been met with confusion from fans and pundits alike and led to suspicion that Pioli's job is at risk.
"When he returned to Milan as a player, he was in the dressing room and had an impact there," said Fabio Capello, a four-time Serie A winner with Milan in the 1990s.
"We don't know if he's allowed in the dressing room or if he's allowed to give Pioli hand, nor do we know whether bringing him in will weaken Pioli's authority."
With just three wins from 10 matches since the October international break, Pioli's authority has already been questioned by fans, and he hasn't been helped by a raft of injuries.
Milan are so short in defense that France's buccaneering left-back Theo Hernandez will again have to fill in at center-back alongside Fikayo Tomori, further placing the onus on Leao to be the miracle worker.

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Sports

Who’s Singing Now? Maresca Wants Man City to Drown Out Noise

Manchester City's players celebrate on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield in Liverpool, northwest England on October 11, 2026. (AFP)
Manchester City's players celebrate on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield in Liverpool, northwest England on October 11, 2026. (AFP)
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Who’s Singing Now? Maresca Wants Man City to Drown Out Noise

Manchester City's players celebrate on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield in Liverpool, northwest England on October 11, 2026. (AFP)
Manchester City's players celebrate on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield in Liverpool, northwest England on October 11, 2026. (AFP)

Manchester City have spent the last two ‌weeks surrounded by a lot of noise. On Sunday at Anfield, City boss Enzo Maresca told his players the best way to drown it out was by making even more of their own.

City did just that with a defiant 3-0 victory over Liverpool that preserved their perfect Premier League start for a three-point lead atop the table.

In their first game since an independent commission found the club guilty of 114 breaches of the league's financial rules, City were met by deafening boos and angry chants but left Anfield with their own supporters providing the soundtrack.

It was exactly the response Maresca had demanded from his players.

"We need to learn how to deal with the outside noise because of the situation, and the noise will be always there," Maresca said. "But at the same time, we need to try to ‌make our noise, ‌and that is win games, like we have done today, because at ‌the ⁠end of the ⁠game, our fans, they were singing, so the noise was from us, not from Liverpool."

The Italian knows the hostility is unlikely to disappear, with Sunday's reception at Anfield a sign of what awaits City on their travels as they await the outcome of their appeal against the financial-rule verdict.

"I think (at) all the away games there's going to be noise," said Maresca, who wrapped his coaching staff in a huge hug at the final whistle before he and the players made a beeline for the away fans section ⁠to celebrate.

"That's why I'm saying that we need to learn how ‌to deal with noise, but at the same time we ‌need to make our noise. Our noise is: who is singing at the end? This has to be our ‌target in this moment."

City's response on the pitch matched one of defiance off it. The ‌club's chief executive Ferran Soriano and director of football Hugo Viana travelled with the team to Anfield, a show of unity ahead of one of the most daunting fixtures on the calendar even in less turbulent times.

"We were all together," Maresca said. "I think for the importance of the game, Liverpool away, Anfield away, it's a ‌good idea from the club to be all together, the togetherness that in this moment we need."

The manager said the players had found the ⁠last fortnight difficult, but ⁠praised the way they had shut out the turmoil and concentrated on football.

City struggled in the first half but took full control after Liverpool's Ryan Gravenberch was shown a red card in the 62nd minute, with Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki scoring.

"It was not easy for the players after the last two weeks," he said. "I think they dealt with all the situation very well.

"In this moment, all the organization needs this kind of win like today," he added. "It's good for us coaching staff. It's good for the players. It's good for the fans. It's good for the organization."

City have denied all wrongdoing and have appealed the decision. As for what comes next in their legal battle, Maresca was just as direct.

"I'm here to try to prepare for the games and win games," he said. "I've said many times: hopefully, I can speak about this situation when we win the appeal."

For now, City's answer to the hostility: not to quieten the racket, but to drown it out with the sounds of victory.

Sports

Real Betis Beat Osasuna to Go Third in LaLiga

Real Betis' Isco (L) celebrates after he scored his second goal during the Spanish LaLiga soccer match between Real Betis and Osasuna in Seville, Spain, 11 October 2026. (EPA)
Real Betis' Isco (L) celebrates after he scored his second goal during the Spanish LaLiga soccer match between Real Betis and Osasuna in Seville, Spain, 11 October 2026. (EPA)
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Real Betis Beat Osasuna to Go Third in LaLiga

Real Betis' Isco (L) celebrates after he scored his second goal during the Spanish LaLiga soccer match between Real Betis and Osasuna in Seville, Spain, 11 October 2026. (EPA)
Real Betis' Isco (L) celebrates after he scored his second goal during the Spanish LaLiga soccer match between Real Betis and Osasuna in Seville, Spain, 11 October 2026. (EPA)

Real Betis ‌playmaker Isco netted a goal in each half as his side breezed to a 5-2 home win over Osasuna on Sunday that lifts them to third place in LaLiga, five points behind leaders Barcelona and one ahead of Real Madrid.

Isco fired home from the penalty spot in the 10th minute to open the scoring, and Abde Ezzalzouli added a second before the break after Betis won the ball high up the pitch and countered quickly.

Betis looked to be set for a comfortable afternoon when Diego Llorente added a third three ‌minutes after ‌halftime, but two quick goals for the visitors ‌from ⁠Ante Budimir and ⁠Raul Garcia reduced the deficit to 3-2 in the 56th minute.

However, Isco eased their nerves again when he snapped up a loose ball in the box and rifled it home, and Jose Antonio Morante came off the bench in the 90th minute to make his LaLiga debut before scoring deep into stoppage time to leave Betis ⁠on 19 points after eight games.

Earlier on Sunday, ‌Real Sociedad held off a spirited ‌comeback from Deportivo La Coruna to emerge with a 3-2 win at home, ‌while struggling Elche grabbed a much-needed point by holding visitors ‌Celta Vigo to a scoreless draw.

In the evening's late kick-off, second-from-bottom Valencia came back from a goal down to grab a point in a 2-2 draw away to Racing Santander.

Dani Raba got the visitors off to a ‌great start when he latched on to a long ball and kept his cool to cut ⁠inside two ⁠defenders and fire home in the second minute to give his side a 1-0 lead, but Yassir Zabiri levelled in the 32nd minute with a finish low into the bottom corner.

Ivan Martin gave the home side the lead two minutes into the second half but 18-year-old substitute David Otorbi grabbed a point for Valencia with a well-taken finish in the 65th minute.

Valencia are 19th on five points after eight games, one ahead of bottom side Malaga and behind Levante on goal difference. Elche are one point above the drop zone and ahead of Valencia, while 16th-placed Osasuna were among a cluster of eight teams locked on eight points.

Sports

Marseille Snap Losing Skid with Win at Troyes

Marseille's Algerian midfielder #08 Himad Abdelli celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the French L1 football match between ES Troyes AC and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at the Stade de l'Aube in Troyes, central France, on October 11, 2026. (AFP)
Marseille's Algerian midfielder #08 Himad Abdelli celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the French L1 football match between ES Troyes AC and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at the Stade de l'Aube in Troyes, central France, on October 11, 2026. (AFP)
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Marseille Snap Losing Skid with Win at Troyes

Marseille's Algerian midfielder #08 Himad Abdelli celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the French L1 football match between ES Troyes AC and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at the Stade de l'Aube in Troyes, central France, on October 11, 2026. (AFP)
Marseille's Algerian midfielder #08 Himad Abdelli celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the French L1 football match between ES Troyes AC and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at the Stade de l'Aube in Troyes, central France, on October 11, 2026. (AFP)

Marseille ended their four-game losing run in Ligue 1 as Amine Harit and Himad Abdelli scored in a 2-0 win at Troyes on Sunday.

Struggling Marseille began the weekend in the relegation zone after suffering five losses in a row in all competitions, but second-half goals lifted them to 13th place.

Coach Bruno Genesio had stressed the importance of stopping the club's downward spiral ahead of a demanding run of eight matches in 28 days, but Marseille's task was made harder by injury and suspension.

Danish midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg suffered an injury during the international break, while captain Timothy Weah missed the match after being sent off in the loss to Paris Saint-Germain last month.

Harit steered in a cross from Emerson Palmieri shortly after half-time before Abdelli converted a late penalty as Marseille avoided matching their worst losing streak over the last 40 years.

Troyes had gone close to an equalizer just before Abdelli made the points safe for Marseille, but Renaud Ripart's stoppage-time volley crashed against the post.

"Even if we know we can do better and this wasn't our best match, we won this one and sometimes you have to be pragmatic," Genesio told reporters, adding Marseille must now build on the result against Olympiakos in the Europa League and Angers next week.

"We're going to need a positive run. You could see, particularly towards the end of the first half, that we were quite tense and a bit timid in our play. This type of victory can help restore our confidence."

Rennes moved up to third earlier in the day with a 4-1 win over Auxerre, while Nice came from behind to beat Strasbourg 2-1.

Monaco remain unbeaten but missed a chance to open up a larger lead at the top on Saturday as Toulouse came from two goals down to force a 2-2 draw.

Paris Saint-Germain were comfortable 3-1 winners against Le Mans before they look ahead to a tougher test away to Manchester City in the Champions League next week. Luis Enrique's side are three points behind Monaco in Ligue 1.