Sports, in brief

Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 at Camp Nou on Sunday, with Kylian Mbappe scoring both goals. [1][2]

Barcelona had won all nine of their games in La Liga, Spain's top league, and a win would have put them nine points clear of Real. [3][4]

Instead Barcelona lead on 27 points and Real are third on 24, after ten games each. [1][2]

Mbappe's first goal, in the 41st minute, came when a clearance by Barcelona's Gerard Martin hit him and went in. [1][3]

Raphinha drew Barcelona level in the 61st minute, his 13th league goal in ten games. [3]

With three minutes left, Barcelona substitute Gabriel Jesus lost the ball, and Real substitute Eduardo Camavinga ran clear and set up Mbappe to score into an empty net. [1][5]

Barcelona had more than 60% of the ball, and Real had 37.6%. [6][7][8]

Barcelona's midfielder Pedri said they lost the ball 'stupidly' and let in a second goal from a counter-attack they knew Real could hit. [9]

It was Mbappe's 100th goal for Real Madrid, in his 116th game for the club. [6][5]

Jose Mourinho, back as Real's coach 13 years after his first spell, has now gone six games against Barcelona without a defeat. [4][10]

Real were without their goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who had flu, and his stand-in Andriy Lunin made a fine save from a Barcelona header. [11][12]

Barcelona's coach Hansi Flick blamed tired legs, after a 4-2 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday ended a run of 11 straight wins. [9]

Why it matters. Barcelona still lead, but with four defenders injured and two defeats in five days, the next test is whether their tired squad can keep pressing without leaving the gaps Real used. [9]

Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes won the United States Grand Prix in Austin, his ninth win of the season. [24][25][26] He started first, stopped only once for new tyres, and beat Ferrari's Charles Leclerc by 13 seconds. [24][27] Antonelli, 20, now leads his teammate George Russell by 123 points and Lewis Hamilton by 124. [28] He becomes champion at next weekend's race in Mexico City unless Russell or Hamilton wins it. [29] He needs to be 100 points clear after that race. [24]

Why it matters. He would be the youngest champion in Formula One's history and the first Italian since Alberto Ascari in 1953. [25] Even if Russell wins in Mexico, ninth place would be enough for Antonelli, or tenth if Hamilton wins. [28]

Kyle Larson won the NASCAR stock-car race at Talladega, Alabama, coming from 11th place to first on the last lap. [18] He beat his teammate William Byron by 0.041 seconds. [30] Larson now leads the Chase, NASCAR's end-of-season playoff, by 73 points with two races left. [31] The most a driver can gain on another in one race is 75 points. [31]

Why it matters. Larson can win the title at Martinsville next weekend. [31] His closest rival, Christopher Bell, lost 69 points in one day after crashing on pit road and taking a penalty. [31]

Joey Logano's car flew into the air and landed on its roof with five laps left at Talladega, and the race was stopped. [32] Logano lost control after another car pushed him from behind, and 15 cars crashed. [32] Safety crews took several minutes to turn his car back over, and he climbed out to cheers. [32] Riley Herbst hit the inside wall at almost full speed and left with a soft cast on his hand. [32]

Why it matters. Logano is one of the 16 drivers who started the Chase, and he said he got a push in the wrong spot. [33][32] Herbst had already missed a race in August with a concussion from an earlier crash. [32]

Manchester United lost 3-0 at home to Bournemouth, their sixth defeat in 12 games. [22] United have won one of eight games in the Premier League, England's top football league, and sit 16th. [34] The club's bosses held crisis talks, and the Guardian reports they expect to sack Michael Carrick. [22] Eddie Howe, who is out of work, is the first choice of United's director of football. [22] He would be cheaper to hire than Aston Villa's coach Unai Emery, for whom Villa would want about 20m pounds. [22]

Why it matters. United are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and must tell it first, so no sacking can be announced until the market opens on Monday. [22] Fans also sang against the owners, the Glazer family, whose 2005 takeover was paid for with loans that have left the club more than 1.15bn pounds in debt. [35]

Carrick left his captain, Bruno Fernandes, on the bench against Bournemouth. [36] Fernandes had blamed Carrick's tactics after a 4-1 defeat at Como, an Italian club, in the Champions League on Wednesday. [36] Carrick called it a football decision. [36] It was only the sixth time Fernandes had been left out of a Premier League game, and United had won one of their last ten league games without him. [36]

Why it matters. Fans booed Fernandes as he walked off after the game, while they cheered Carrick. [22] The Guardian's Will Unwin wrote that Carrick will probably pay the price for a gamble that did not work, but should not be the only one blamed. [37]

The Seattle Seahawks beat the Kansas City Chiefs 20-3, the Chiefs' first defeat of the season in the NFL, the top US league for American football. [38][39][40] Kenneth Walker, named best player of last season's Super Bowl while with Seattle, joined the Chiefs this summer. [39] He had been averaging 133 yards a game. [41] Against his old team he gained 36 yards from 14 runs. [41] Three points equals the Chiefs' lowest score in any game Patrick Mahomes has started. [38]

Why it matters. Seattle's coach Mike Macdonald said his defence had to tackle Walker in waves of players. [41] Seattle's defenders had practised against Walker for the last two years, so they knew how he runs. [38]

The Atlanta Falcons beat the San Francisco 49ers 29-20, and scored 13 points after four San Francisco turnovers, which is when a team loses the ball. [39] The 49ers had won their first six games. [14] Their running back Christian McCaffrey, 30, said his leg 'just died' on him, but he came back after half-time. [42] The Minnesota Vikings beat the Indianapolis Colts 16-10 and are now the only unbeaten team, at 6-0. [39][14]

Why it matters. Minnesota's defence has let in about 10 points a game since the first week. [14] In the next four weeks they visit Detroit, Green Bay and San Francisco, which will test it. [14]

The New York Giants beat the Houston Texans 27-21 in overtime. [39] JJ McCarthy started at quarterback after the coach, John Harbaugh, dropped Jameis Winston. [39] McCarthy, traded from Minnesota, completed 20 of 28 passes for 252 yards. [43][39] Cam Skattebo ran for 124 yards, a week after the coaches gave him no runs at all following a costly fumble. [43][39] His 42-yard run set up the winning touchdown. [43]

Why it matters. Skattebo was flagged for lowering his helmet into a tackler, and he is the only attacking player penalised for it all season. [44] He said he will keep running the same way. [44]

The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New Orleans Saints 16-10 at the Stade de France, near Paris. [39] It was the first regular-season NFL game played in France. [39] A crowd of 78,488 watched, and the game went ahead without trouble after a week of talk about unrest in France. [45] It was the sixth of nine NFL games abroad this season. [45] The Saints ran for only 18 yards. [46]

Why it matters. The Steelers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers said the league and players once discussed a week of 16 games abroad. [47] He said the plan died when the owners pushed for a 17th game for the extra money. [47]

The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens 35-13 after trailing 13-0 at half-time. [39] Baltimore kept the ball for 22 minutes 40 seconds of the first half, and Cincinnati for 7:40. [48] Joe Burrow then threw four touchdown passes in the second half. [39] Baltimore have now lost a second-half lead of ten points or more for the tenth time since 2022. [39]

Why it matters. Baltimore played a third game without Lamar Jackson, who has an ankle injury and no new contract. [49] His five-year, 260m-dollar deal made him the NFL's highest-paid player in 2023, and it now ranks 12th by yearly pay. [49]

Jake Bates kicked a 22-yard field goal as time ran out to give the Detroit Lions a 20-17 win over the Green Bay Packers. [39] Green Bay's rookie kicker Trey Smack missed from 26 and 35 yards. [50] He has missed seven kicks this season, more than anyone in the league. [50] His coach, Matt LaFleur, said Smack is still his kicker. [50]

Why it matters. Green Bay dropped to last in their four-team division. [39] Their safety Xavier McKinney criticised the referees in strong words after several big calls went against Green Bay. [51]

The Denver Broncos won 30-16 in Arizona. [39] Their quarterback Bo Nix ran 62 yards for a touchdown, the longest touchdown run by a quarterback in the team's history. [52] He also threw a 52-yard touchdown pass. [53] He is the fifth player ever with touchdowns of 50 yards or more by both running and passing in one game. [53] Denver had the ball for less time, 26:42 against 33:18. [53]

Why it matters. Nix had struggled this season, and his coach Sean Payton said the team never doubted him. [53] Arizona have now lost ten home games in a row. [39]

The NFL and the NFL Players Association, the players' union, have begun talks on a joint review of the medical care given to Jalen Hurts. [54] The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback is out for the season with blood clots in his lungs. [54] The players' contract with the league lets the union start such a review. [54] Neutral doctors are chosen within 60 days and must report within 60 days after that. [54]

Why it matters. The league's chief medical officer, Allen Sills, has already defended the Eagles. [54] The review could take up to 120 days, so its findings may not come until next year. [54]

Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the 2025 NBA champions, left on a stretcher with a bad left-leg injury. [55][19][56] The NBA is North America's top basketball league. [19] He was knocked off balance going up for a dunk, and his leg was trapped under him as he landed. [19] The Thunder still beat the Los Angeles Clippers 108-101 and are 3-0. [55] Williams missed 49 games last season with injuries. [55]

Why it matters. Williams scored 23.6 points a game in the 2025 finals. [19] Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City's best player, was in tears and said Williams will be back. [55]

The Orlando Magic beat the New York Knicks, who are 0-3 as the defending NBA champions. [57] Orlando won without Paolo Banchero, who will miss at least a month with an ankle injury. [20] Late in the game Jalen Suggs hurt his right knee on a fast break, with nobody touching him. [58] Suggs has missed 62 games in the last two years. [20] Banchero, Suggs and Franz Wagner have played only 25 games together in two seasons. [20]

Why it matters. The Knicks' coach Mike Brown said his players must give more after the slow start. [57] Orlando built its team around those three players, and they are rarely all fit at once. [20]

Luka Doncic scored 52 points as the Los Angeles Lakers came back from 18 points down to beat the Utah Jazz 132-123. [59][60] He reached 3,000 points for the Lakers in 95 games, the fastest in the club's history. [59] George Mikan had done it in 106. [59] The Lakers are 3-0, though the Jazz outrebounded them 51-30. [60]

Why it matters. Doncic also passed his former teammate LeBron James on the Lakers' list of 40-point games. [59] James now plays for the Philadelphia 76ers, on a 3.9m-dollar salary this season. [61]

The WNBA Finals between the Atlanta Dream and the Golden State Valkyries are tied 2-2, so a Game 6 will be played in Atlanta on Thursday. [62][63] But the 17,000-seat State Farm Arena, run by the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, has a Hawks game that night. [63] Unless the league moves something, the Dream will play in the 3,500-seat Gateway Center, the smallest venue in the league. [63][62]

Why it matters. Moving the date needs the league, its TV partner and the Valkyries to agree. [63] The Hawks also play at home on Wednesday, which rules out the day before. [62]

Liverpool beat Brighton 2-0, their first home league win of the season. [64][65] Brighton had won four league games in a row. [64] Alexander Isak scored his sixth goal in six games. [64] Liverpool paid Newcastle a British record 125m pounds for him in August 2025, and he broke his leg in December. [65] Brighton had 64% of the ball and the better chances by one measure, but did not score. [65]

Why it matters. BBC Sport says Isak is finally living up to his fee, after four goals in 22 games last season. [65] It was coach Andoni Iraola's first league win at Anfield in four tries. [65]

Newcastle beat Crystal Palace 2-0 in London, with goals from Will Osula and Harvey Barnes after half-time. [66] Palace have lost five of eight league games and are in the bottom four. [23] Their coach Pierre Sage arrived four months ago on a three-year contract. [23] He replaced Oliver Glasner, who won the FA Cup and a European trophy. [23] Palace lost 5-0 at Brighton a week earlier. [23]

Why it matters. The Telegraph reports that Sean Dyche, a former Burnley and Everton coach, would be the favourite if Sage is sacked. [67] Sage said there is no noise inside the club. [23]

Inter Milan, Italy's champions, beat Fiorentina 2-1 with two goals in stoppage time, the minutes added at the end. [16] Marcus Thuram equalised in the first added minute. [16] Minutes later he was pulled down, and Piotr Zielinski scored the penalty. [16] Inter are level on points with Lazio at the top of Serie A, Italy's top league, and their better goal difference puts them first. [16]

Why it matters. Without the two late goals Inter would have lost their hold on first place. [16] Inter and Lazio now both have 22 points. [68]

Bayern Munich won 3-1 at Freiburg and went back to the top of the Bundesliga, Germany's top league, on goal difference ahead of Borussia Dortmund. [17] Serge Gnabry scored his 100th goal in the league. [68] Michael Olise sealed the win in the fifth minute of stoppage time. [17] It was Bayern's first game since their coach, Vincent Kompany, collapsed at training and went to hospital. [17]

Why it matters. Bayern's sporting director Max Eberl said Kompany will be away for weeks, not days. [17] His assistant Aaron Danks will run the team until he returns. [17]

Pakistan beat England by one wicket in Lahore in a one-day international, a 50-overs-a-side match. [69] Pakistan were 154 for nine, chasing 242. [69] Shadab Khan scored 113 not out, the highest score in these matches by a batter at number eight. [69] He was given out at 97 but a video review found the ball had touched his bat. [70][69] He and Haris Rauf added 89, a record last-wicket stand to win such a match. [69]

Why it matters. Pakistan reached the final of the three-team series, and England are all but out. [71][69] Three days earlier England lost to Sri Lanka, who scored 430 to win. [69]

Australia beat Fiji 36-22 at the Rugby League World Cup in front of 41,108 people in Brisbane. [72] Fiji had lost their last five games against Australia by a combined 246-16. [73] They led 16-12 in the second half. [73] Then a Fiji try was ruled out for blocking, and Australia scored at once at the other end. [73][74] Tom Trbojevic scored three tries for Australia and Semi Valemei three for Fiji. [72]

Why it matters. Australia are through to the semi-finals in top place. [72] Fiji must beat New Zealand on Saturday 31 October to join them. [73]

New Zealand beat Australia 52-49 in Sydney to win the Constellation Cup, a yearly netball series between the two, with a game to spare. [75] Australia led by two goals going into the last quarter. [75] In that quarter Australia gave away 23 penalties to New Zealand's nine. [75] It is only the fourth time Australia have lost the series since it began in 2010. [75]

Why it matters. The last game is in Melbourne on Wednesday. [75] A 4-0 sweep could lift New Zealand above Australia as the world's top-ranked team. [75]

The Montreal Canadiens beat the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in the NHL Heritage Classic, an ice hockey game played outdoors in a football stadium. [76] Jacob Fowler made 33 saves for Montreal. [76] Winnipeg became the second Canadian team to host two outdoor games. [76] It was Winnipeg's first game since they traded their star goalkeeper, Connor Hellebuyck, to the New Jersey Devils on Friday. [76]

Why it matters. Dawson Mercer, the main player Winnipeg got back for Hellebuyck, played 15 minutes. [76] Montreal's coach Martin St. Louis said he fell in love with hockey on outdoor rinks. [77]

Manchester United drew 1-1 with Manchester City in the Women's Super League, England's top women's league. [15] Khadija Shaw scored her 91st league goal, in her 100th game, but Elisabeth Terland equalised late. [15] It ended City's run of league wins, and Chelsea's better goal difference now puts them above City. [15] United are fourth and unbeaten in eight games. [78]

Why it matters. United's new coach Eva Olid started with a style built on keeping the ball, then went back to the team's defending and pressing. [78] City had beaten United 3-0 twice last season. [15]

Harlequins beat Saracens for their first win of the season in the Prem, England's top rugby union league. [79] Marcus Smith scored the first try in his 200th game for the club. [79] Saracens had two players sent off for ten minutes before half-time. [80] The same day England's coach Steve Borthwick named a 36-man squad, recalling Joe Marchant for the first time since 2023. [81]

Why it matters. Quins stay bottom but are one point behind Exeter and Newcastle. [79] The win eases pressure on their coach Jason Gilmore. [80]

Jake Jarman won silver on vault at the world gymnastics championships in Rotterdam. [82] A day earlier he won silver on the floor exercise. [82] He is the first British man to win two individual medals at one world championships. [82] Armenia's Artur Davtyan won gold with 14.850 to Jarman's 14.650. [82] Britain's Abigail Martin, 18, tied for bronze on floor but lost it on the score for how cleanly she performed. [82]

Why it matters. Jarman has five world medals in all. [82] Martin's tie was broken by execution marks, which measure how cleanly a routine is done, not how hard it is. [82]