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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.

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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.

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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

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'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.

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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.

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Jude Bellingham had a hand in both goals, and Kylian Mbappe continued his excellent run of form as Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 in the first Clasico of the season. It was hardly a legendary iteration of this famous fixture, but two first-half goals from Los Blancos were enough to see off the short-handed Blaugrana.

Barcelona fell five points behind Real Madrid at the top of La Liga as they slid to a 2-1 defeat in Sunday's Clasico. Goals from Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham proved the difference for Los Blancos as Lamine Yamal failed to produce much of note at the other end for the injury-hit Blaugrana.

Eberechi Eze's first-half strike proved the difference as Arsenal beat Crystal Palace 1-0 on Sunday. Eze's goal was his first of the season as the Gunners downed the England international's former employers on home turf to go four points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

Manchester City remain level on points with arch-rivals Manchester United and six adrift of Premier League leaders Arsenal after suffering a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa on Sunday. Pep Guardiola’s side headed to the West Midlands unbeaten across their last nine fixtures in all competitions, but a solitary strike from Matty Cash proved to be the difference in a match that saw Erling Haaland draw a blank for just the second time this season.

As Marcus Rashford prepares to face Real Madrid as Barcelona's most productive player this season, fresh from scoring two classy goals against Olympiacos in the Champions League, it is worth remembering that the striker was mocked in some quarters for having the audacity to think he could even play for the Blaugrana after two disappointing seasons, let alone rip it up for them.

Liverpool suffered another damaging defeat, soundly beaten 3-2 by Brentford on a woeful night for boss Arne Slot at the Gtech Stadium. Once again defensive frailties were exposed and key players failed to perform for the champions, the defeat means the Reds have slipped four points behind league leaders Arsenal in sixth place and have played a game more.

Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha paid off sizeable chunks of their big transfer fees with spectacular displays as Manchester United beat Brighton & Hove Albion 4-2 to record three consecutive Premier League wins for the first time in 20 months. Cunha netted his first for the club to open the scoring while Mbeumo struck twice, his last goal seeing off the growing threat of a Brighton comeback.