FEATURES

There was no shortage of stars on show as the Lionesses took to the pitch for Tuesday's clash with an Australia side boasting plenty of household names of their own. Be it the likes of Lucy Bronze, Ella Toone, Beth Mead and Alessia Russo in the home colours, or Sam Kerr, Caitlin Foord, Ellie Carpenter and Steph Catley representing the visitors, there was top-class talent all over the park. And yet, it was a relatively unknown 21-year-old by the name of Lucia Kendall who stole the show.

Casemiro and Ruben Amorim have a few things in common. The Manchester United coach and midfielder share a common language; they have both played in the Portuguese top-flight, for Porto and Benfica, respectively; and they both been written off completely by Jamie Carragher live on Sky Sports. But the next time they see the former Liverpool defender, they can look him in the eye and tell him he was completely wrong.

It was one-way traffic for Emma Hayes, who started a young lineup that was determined to dominate from start to finish

This was an easy 6-0 victory for the USWNT, a near-perfect performance to end an imperfect, but hopeful, camp

Liverpool slumped to another damaging, dismal defeat as Arne Slot’s side were dumped out of the Carabao Cup, beaten 3-0 by Crystal Palace while finishing the match with 10 players on a dire night at Anfield. Slot made sweeping changes to the team which was defeated by Brentford, with one eye on the clash with Aston Villa this weekend, but the fringe players and academy hopefuls were thoroughly outclassed by Oliver Glasner's side.

Chelsea returned to winning ways on Wednesday, but they made hard work of their victory at Wolves. Goals from Andrey Santos, Tyrique George, Estevao Willian and Jamie Gittens saw the Blues claim a narrow 4-3 win in the Midlands to book their place in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.

Rayan Cherki showed his class to inspire Manchester City to a come-from-behind 3-1 win at Swansea as Pep Guardiola's side booked their place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. The French playmaker was City's top performer in an underwhelming display overall against the Championship side, who took the lead through a spectacular goal from Goncalo Franco.

Arsenal booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup with a 2-0 victory at home to Brighton on Wednesday. Second-half goals from Ethan Nwaneri and Bukayo Saka saw Mikel Arteta's men into the next round, with several young players impressing for the Gunners after weathering an early Seagulls storm.

Mic'd Up: The former Canadian national team player backed Vancouver for MLS success, but says Miami might have found a groove

England's first camp since their second successive European Championship triumph was certainly a little up and down. Marred by injuries going into the window, with there already three notable absentees before Sarina Wiegman's squad was announced and four withdrawals after it was revealed, the Lionesses then suffered a 2-1 defeat to Brazil in their first game post-Euros, despite playing for over an hour against 10 players, but were able to bounce back on Tuesday against Australia, who also had a player sent off very early on in a rather strange couple of games.

While much of the early-season crisis talk has centred on Manchester United and Liverpool, Chelsea have quietly slipped below their biggest Premier League rivals, finding themselves ninth after nine games. Consistently inconsistent, Saturday's shock home defeat to Sunderland has left them at a crossroads, with plenty of issues to address if they are to avoid their season drifting into mediocrity.

Seven MLS teams are searching for a new coach, and more jobs could open after the playoffs - GOAL ranks the openings

Wagner managed five different clubs over 15 years before settling into an academy position, and found new energy in new role

England delivered the homecoming performance the fans wanted on Tuesday night, bouncing back from Saturday's disappointing defeat to Brazil in a much more convincing 3-0 win over Australia as their parading of the European Championship trophy continued around the country. This was the second installment of the Lionesses' 'homecoming series' which will see this summer's silverware hit four different locations before the end of the year, and it produced a performance much more fitting of their status of European champions as goals from Aggie Beever-Jones, Lucy Bronze and Georgia Stanway downed a Matildas team that was reduced to 10 players inside the first 20 minutes.

GOAL looks inside the numbers, tactics and trends for key U.S. internationals in Europe early in the season

Moultie's brace in a 3-1 victory over Portugal showed just how potent the still just 20-year-old can be for the USWNT

It's been a drama-filled week for MLS, with playoff madness, coaching changes and debate over MVP and other league awards

The USWNT reversed fortunes with a win over Portugal, and now look to close out the October window with momentum

'Give Erling Haaland the ball and he will score' had proved to be a pretty effective tactic for Manchester City over the previous two months, but Aston Villa have exposed its flaws. They found a way to blunt the Norwegian's edges on Sunday, ending Haaland's run of scoring in 12 matches in a row for club and country while also becoming the first team to keep a clean sheet against Pep Guardiola's side in nine games.

"The aim has to be winning the Premier League. I know people will be questioning me for saying it after last season, but it has to be that," Luke Shaw said to Sky Sports during Manchester United's pre-season tour of America. "We all have to have the same beliefs and ambitions, and that family feeling together, and we’ll strive for the same thing." That was not just a questionable declaration; it was borderline delusional after the worst campaign in the club's entire history.

LAFC has been energized by Son, but clever transfer window additions could make the difference in MLS postseason

GOAL US unpacks the main weekend storylines from the Premier League, La Liga and other top competitions in The Euro XI

GOAL sat down with the U.S. goalkeeper to discuss his eventful year, MLS playoffs and why he rejects complacency

GOAL US writers discuss FIFPRO World 11 nominees, with plenty of obvious selections shortlisted, but some big names missing

It's fair to say England's homecoming didn't go to plan on Saturday. Returning to action for the first time since winning the European Championship this past summer, the Lionesses were 2-0 down just 18 minutes into their meeting with Brazil, and despite the visitors going down to 10 players not long after scoring that second, England could not make their numerical advantage count in a disappointing 2-1 defeat. What will have made the loss even more frustrating for some, though, was that it came amid a lack of experimentation from Sarina Wiegman.

GOAL runs the rule over the British players earning a living away from their homeland, with plenty more stars deciding to leave their home comforts in search of a better footballing life elsewhere. The Premier League is still obviously one of the world's most entertaining divisions and the Championship can prove fantastic for development, but there are more options out there.

We're two months into the season now, and it feels like things are starting to take shape around Europe. Some title races are looking like they will be closer than others, with some surprise contenders in the mix, while other presumed challengers are beginning to struggle, casting doubt on the futures of their managers and star players.

It's been a few months, but Jude Bellingham is back. After a delayed start to his season and an international break packed full of questions regarding where - and remarkably, if - he fits into England's World Cup plans, the Real Madrid man has showed in Sunday's Clasico that he remains the man for the biggest of occasions.

It wasn't a perfect performance, but it was a perfect response as Hayes challenged her team to bounce back vs Portugal