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Brighton Cruise in Conference League as Monaco Win, Ajax Lose

Brighton & Hove Albion v Kauno Zalgiris - The American Express Community Stadium, Brighton, Britain - October 15, 2026 Brighton and Hove Albion's Georginio Rutter celebrates after the match. (Reuters)
Brighton & Hove Albion v Kauno Zalgiris - The American Express Community Stadium, Brighton, Britain - October 15, 2026 Brighton and Hove Albion's Georginio Rutter celebrates after the match. (Reuters)
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Brighton Cruise in Conference League as Monaco Win, Ajax Lose

Brighton & Hove Albion v Kauno Zalgiris - The American Express Community Stadium, Brighton, Britain - October 15, 2026 Brighton and Hove Albion's Georginio Rutter celebrates after the match. (Reuters)
Brighton & Hove Albion v Kauno Zalgiris - The American Express Community Stadium, Brighton, Britain - October 15, 2026 Brighton and Hove Albion's Georginio Rutter celebrates after the match. (Reuters)

Brighton coasted to a 4-0 win over Lithuanian opponents Kauno Zalgiris to launch their UEFA Conference League bid Thursday, while Ligue 1 leaders Monaco earned a 2-1 victory at CSKA Sofia.

Georginio Rutter slotted in a cutback from Ibrahim Osman as Brighton took the lead late in the first half at the Amex, with the goal awarded after a VAR review as the Ghanaian just managed to keep the ball in play.

Rutter turned provider for Jack Hinshelwood as Brighton struck again on the stroke of half-time before the Frenchman netted his second of the night on 53 minutes.

Matt O'Riley headed in his first goal in over a year to complete the rout and the Seagulls extended their winning run in all competitions to five matches.

"I'm very happy to have two goals today, but more importantly is the three points. We are very happy to start the competition like this, we have a good side, we are in good shape at the moment, so we have to keep going," Rutter told TNT Sports.

Only Barcelona and Bayern Munich have scored more than Brighton's 29 goals among clubs in Europe's biggest leagues this season.

"It's not every time one player. We are a good team, everybody scores and everybody assists so I think the atmosphere of the team at the moment is very good," said Rutter.

Brighton beat Norwegian side Tromso 4-0 in the play-off round in August to reach the league phase. Their only past taste of European football came when they reached the last 16 of the 2023-24 Europa League.

However, they are viewed as favorites in the Conference League and will seek to become the third English winner in as many years after Chelsea and Crystal Palace. West Ham also lifted the trophy in 2023.

In-form striker Paris Brunner scored for the seventh time in eight games as Monaco won in Bulgaria.

The Germany Under-21 international fired Filipe Luis's team into an early lead and Ansu Fati added a second before half-time. CSKA pulled one back through Dutchman Joel Zwarts.

Four-time European champions Ajax slid to a 2-1 loss at Hajduk Split, while Atalanta eased to a 3-1 victory over Pafos.

Former Liverpool star Mohamed Salah was on target in Trabzonspor's 4-2 win away to Finland's KuPS Kuopio.

Freiburg, last season's Europa League runners-up and surprise Bundesliga pacesetters this term, continued their fine form with a 3-2 win over Czech side Jablonec, while Hearts drew 1-1 with Danish outfit Nordsjaelland.

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Sports

Man United Troubles Deepen with Player Outbursts After Poor Start to Season

Manchester United players observe a moment of silence for late mother of Atletico Madrid's Koke before the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Manchester United in Madrid, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP)
Manchester United players observe a moment of silence for late mother of Atletico Madrid's Koke before the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Manchester United in Madrid, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP)
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Man United Troubles Deepen with Player Outbursts After Poor Start to Season

Manchester United players observe a moment of silence for late mother of Atletico Madrid's Koke before the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Manchester United in Madrid, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP)
Manchester United players observe a moment of silence for late mother of Atletico Madrid's Koke before the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Manchester United in Madrid, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP)

A player revolt was about the last thing Manchester United needed in another troubled start to a season.

Lisandro Martinez's outburst following Tuesday's Champions League defeat against Atletico Madrid added more unwanted focus on the club as manager Michael Carrick attempted to turn its ailing campaign around.

The Argentina defender called out United's hierarchy over its offseason recruitment, with director of football Jason Wilcox the apparent target of his criticism.

In January, Ruben Amorim had a fallout with Wilcox which swiftly led to the manager being fired after just 14 months in the job.

Martinez's comments have put United's leadership in the spotlight again and have broken the sense of calm at Old Trafford that Carrick had overseen since succeeding Amorim.

They suggest an underlying unrest in the face of another season that looks in danger of going badly wrong. Forward Amad Diallo also posted an expletive on social media following defeat in Madrid, describing it a “disgrace.”

Martinez issued an apology on social media on Thursday after a meeting with Carrick and what he called “the club's leadership.”

“It was a very positive conversation, where we were able to exchange views and speak openly about what happened after Tuesday’s game,” Martinez wrote. “Everyone knows that I am a passionate person and that I live football with great intensity. The frustration of the defeat led me to express how I felt at a time and place that perhaps were not the right ones, and for that I want to apologize.”

It is already 13 years since United last won the Premier League title and, six games into the season, it is languishing 13th in the standings, 12 points adrift of leader Manchester City.

United have only one league win, against promoted Ipswich, and two overall, the other one against Azerbaijani team Sabah in the Champions League.

The club also crashed out of the English League Cup at the first stage.

There have been boos from fans, most recently following the home draw against winless Tottenham on Saturday.

“I’m not happy with the amount of points we’ve had so far, for sure," Carrick said. "You know, I’m not hiding that. There’s no hiding from that.

“I understand the reaction at times. It hurts a lot. It’s not nice to go through. Sometimes you have to go through it."

There is no suggestion Carrick's position is in danger after he became United's seventh permanent manager since club great Alex Ferguson retired following that title win in 2013.

But he is facing familiar problems that were seen under predecessors Amorim, Erik ten Hag, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho, who all endured poor runs before losing their jobs.

Six points from six games represents United's worst start in the Premier League era, and on Sunday comes a clash with fierce rival Leeds at Elland Road, coincidentally the setting for Amorim's final game.

Key matchups

The trip to Leeds is another daunting assignment for United in what is usually a hostile atmosphere.

City can extend its 100% start to the season when it hosts Ipswich. Defending champion Arsenal travels to Nottingham Forest.

Players to watch

Bradley Barcola is up and running at Liverpool after scoring a hat trick in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Then, of course, there is Martinez. Will Carrick stick with the defender after his outburst or drop him?

Out of action

Liverpool's Ryan Gravenberch is suspended after being sent off against City, while Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak missed the last two games with injuries.

Luke Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo missed United's defeat to Atletico.

Arsenal will be without Piero Hincapie for several weeks, according to manager Mikel Arteta, after he picked up an injury in training. Martin Zubimendi is also a doubt following a separate training injury.

Sports

Dispersed Olympic Games to Become Increasingly Common, Says USOPC CEO Hirshland

The upcoming LA28 Games are also expected to be spread out. (AFP via Getty Images)
The upcoming LA28 Games are also expected to be spread out. (AFP via Getty Images)
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Dispersed Olympic Games to Become Increasingly Common, Says USOPC CEO Hirshland

The upcoming LA28 Games are also expected to be spread out. (AFP via Getty Images)
The upcoming LA28 Games are also expected to be spread out. (AFP via Getty Images)

Geographically ‌dispersed Games are well on their way to becoming the norm, USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland said on Thursday, as the growing scale of the Olympics complicates infrastructure plans for hosts.

IOC officials hailed the most recent Milano Cortina Games as a success, despite early concerns over the first spread-out Winter Olympics that had venues scattered over 22,000 kilometers.

The upcoming LA28 Games are also expected to be spread out, with softball and canoe slalom set ‌to take place ‌in Oklahoma City and soccer to ‌be ⁠in several metropolitan ⁠areas: New York City; Columbus, Ohio; Nashville, Tennessee; St. Louis; San Jose, California; and San Diego.

"The disbursement of the Games themselves is evolving. And a lot of that is because the scale of the Games has gotten so big and significant that the infrastructure required to ⁠host is very hard to find in ‌a single place," said Hirshland, ‌who was speaking from the Columbia University Sports Management Conference.

The ‌2030 Games in the French Alps are expected to ‌follow the Milano Cortina model, with venues in Nice and the Alpine regions. New York state this year formed an exploratory committee to host the 2042 Winter Games, with the ‌duties to be shared between the five boroughs and Lake Placid.

By comparison, the centralized ⁠plan for ⁠Utah 2034's venues will serve as a "rare exception," said Hirshland.

"It is likely that the LA 2028 Games will be the largest summer Games ever," she said.

"My guess is that the summer Games thereon after will probably be smaller than what we're going to see in LA. And a lot of that is infrastructure demand, cost demand, and to some degree there is a point at which even the logistics get so cumbersome that you can't continue to grow unless you really rethink the way you do it."

Sports

Sensational Cisse Powers Milan to Victory as Leverkusen Thump Lech Poznan

AC Milan's Alphadjo Cisse (L) celebrates with Davide Bartesaghi of AC Milan after scoring the 2-0 lead during the UEFA Europa League match-day 2 between FC Salzburg and AC Milan, Austria, 15 October 2026. (EPA)
AC Milan's Alphadjo Cisse (L) celebrates with Davide Bartesaghi of AC Milan after scoring the 2-0 lead during the UEFA Europa League match-day 2 between FC Salzburg and AC Milan, Austria, 15 October 2026. (EPA)
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Sensational Cisse Powers Milan to Victory as Leverkusen Thump Lech Poznan

AC Milan's Alphadjo Cisse (L) celebrates with Davide Bartesaghi of AC Milan after scoring the 2-0 lead during the UEFA Europa League match-day 2 between FC Salzburg and AC Milan, Austria, 15 October 2026. (EPA)
AC Milan's Alphadjo Cisse (L) celebrates with Davide Bartesaghi of AC Milan after scoring the 2-0 lead during the UEFA Europa League match-day 2 between FC Salzburg and AC Milan, Austria, 15 October 2026. (EPA)

Teenager Alphadjo Cisse became the youngest ‌Italian to score a hat-trick in European club competition as he helped AC Milan to a thumping 4-0 victory over Austrian hosts RB Salzburg in the Europa League on Thursday.

Cisse's treble is also the first by a Milan player in a continental fixture since Filippo Inzaghi 24 years ago as the Italians overcame an opening-round home loss to Benfica to claim an emphatic away win, despite finishing the game with 10 men.

The 19-year-old scored all his goals inside 49 minutes to underline the faith shown in him by coach Ruben Amorim.

"He owes me nothing," Amorim said. "He deserves the playing time he's getting because of what he's doing. He knows how to ‌be explosive. ‌He has a lot of heart, but he can still ‌improve ⁠in training and ⁠in matches.

"Tonight he deserves all the praise, but there are things he needs to work on, and he has enormous potential."

Milan lost Filippo Terracciano to a straight red card late in the game for a professional foul.

Bayer Leverkusen made it two wins from two as they thumped Lech Poznan 4-0 in Poland with a pair of Patrik Schick penalties helping them along the way.

Olympique Lyonnais edged Crystal Palace 3-2 ⁠in a battle between two clubs who were previously both ‌controlled by American businessman John Textor.

Both teams qualified ‌for the competition last season, but Palace were demoted to the Conference League as a ‌result of Textor’s shareholding, which was perhaps a blessing in disguise as they ‌went on to win that competition.

Pavel Sulc scored Lyon’s third goal to put them 3-1 up, but Palace battled back as Daichi Kamada’s goal eight minutes from the end set up a nervous finish for the home side.

The Brazilian pair of Evanilson and Rayan ‌were among the goals as Bournemouth eased to a 3-0 home win over Sturm Graz of Austria in their first-ever ⁠home European tie, ⁠while Sunderland came from behind to secure a 2-1 win at Portuguese side Torreense with Noah Sadiki netting the winner in the 93rd minute.

The English duo are two of 10 teams with a full haul of six points from the opening two rounds.

Benfica thumped Scottish side Celtic 4-1 with Jhon Duran scoring a brace, while Randal Kolo Muani netted a late winner as Juventus edged Celta Vigo 2-1 in Spain to top the standings.

Olympique de Marseille’s poor start to their European campaign continued as they remain pointless following a 1-0 home loss to Olympiacos Piraeus.