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Eddie Howe admits defeat at Brighton is a warning Newcastle cannot allow their Champions League adventure to distract from the “ruthless” Premier League. The Magpies are back in the group stage of European football’s premier competition for the first time in 20 years and travelled to the Amex Stadium having been drawn to face heavyweights AC Milan, Paris St Germain and Borussia Dortmund. But anticipation of those upcoming fixtures was swiftly tempered by a third successive top-flight loss as a hat-trick from 18-year-old Evan Ferguson earned the Seagulls a 3-1 success. Manager Howe, whose side were beaten 2-1 at home by 10-man Liverpool last weekend following a 1-0 defeat at Manchester City, accepts responsibility for the mini slump but insists he will not over-react. “It’s never been lost on me how difficult the Premier League is,” he said. “I know how tough a league it is, it’s ruthless, so if you get your focus swayed, you’re going to have big problems – I don’t think our focus has been. “We’ve tried to very much concentrate on our next match, that will always be our focus and we’re determined to be successful in the league this year and win as many games as possible. “But we know the demands placed upon us are going to be extreme so this is a warning, I think, that we can’t be swayed and the Premier League is a very tough division. “We’ve lost three in a row and we have to take responsibility for that. It’s important that I don’t over-react.” Newcastle had the better of the early chances on the south coast but fell behind to Ferguson’s 27th-minute opener following defensive errors. The Republic of Ireland striker doubled his tally with a stunning long-range effort before becoming only the fourth teenager to register a Premier League treble thanks to an effort which deflected in off Fabian Schar. Howe, who revealed sidelined midfielder Joe Willock will be out for a further six weeks after his hamstring issue was compounded by a fresh Achilles problem, is itching for a swift return to action going into a two-week international break. “I’d like a game pretty quickly, if I could,” said Howe, whose team host Brentford on September 17. “We have some great games to come and we’re looking forward to that challenge. “I think the challenge to me is to lift everybody and keep our confidence levels because we are a very good team and we have to always have that in the back of our minds as we go into the next two weeks. “The lads are very disappointed. Collectively we’ve got an outstanding group of individuals, great mentalities and we know what we’ve got to do.” Ferguson’s first senior hat-trick, which was followed by Callum Wilson’s consolation, was the third in the Premier League on Saturday after trebles for Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Tottenham forward Son Heung-min. “It’s a good day,” he told Brighton’s website. “It’s an unbelievable feeling. “It’s not bad company to be in; Haaland’s record last season (52 City goals in all competitions) and Son’s been doing it for a number of years, so it’s good company to be in.” Ahead of kick-off, the Seagulls paraded 20-year Spain forward Ansu Fati following his deadline-day loan switch from Barcelona. “He’s going to be great for the squad, especially as competition,” said Ferguson. “It’s tough up that area of the pitch and he’s going to be another one chucked in there and I reckon he’ll be very good for it.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live On this day in 2006: Andre Agassi makes emotional retirement from tennis Thomas Frank salutes ‘fantastic’ Brentford as they grab late equaliser Jack Draper is the last Brit left standing at the US Open

Ange Postecoglou believes Brennan Johnson can take a step up after completing a £45million move to Tottenham before Friday’s transfer deadline. Spurs have reinvested some of the money received from Bayern Munich for Harry Kane on the 22-year-old Wales international, who scored eight goals and provided three assists to help Nottingham Forest avoid relegation last season. Johnson was not registered in time to feature in Saturday’s 5-2 thrashing of Burnley at Turf Moor, but his arrival should add another dimension to a Tottenham side who were inspired by Son Heung-min’s hat-trick and could have scored even more in an exciting attacking display. “He’s just another exciting young player. He’s a real threat in the front third, he’s different from what we’ve already got, he’s young and ambitious,” Postecoglou said. “It’s no secret that’s the model for me. “It’s just as much about the person as well as the footballer, and looking at him he’s going to fit in really well with this group. He’s ambitious and hungry and wants to take his game to the next level. “The technical and the physical attributes he has, he should fit in really well.” Johnson was the ninth signing of a busy window for Tottenham, who spent more than £200million to reshape the squad in Postecoglou’s style. But the Australian said it was just the start and that there is more work that he wants to do in the market in future windows. “When you look at the team we have now, we virtually changed half the starting line up, the way we train, the way we coach,” he said. “The rebuild was never going to be one window.” Spurs had fallen behind to an early Lyle Foster strike at Burnley but Son levelled in the 16th minute and they ruthlessly punished defensive mistakes from the hosts as Cristian Romero got a second in first-half stoppage time and James Maddison added a third early in the second half. Son then scored twice in four minutes just after the hour to complete his hat-trick before Spurs took their foot off the pedal, with Josh Brownhill getting a stoppage-time consolation for the Clarets. The defeat means Burnley have suffered three consecutive home defeats to begin life back in the top flight, conceding 11 goals in losses to Manchester City, Aston Villa and Spurs. Vincent Kompany will now use the international break to pick the bones out of what has gone wrong for his side, but remains bullish that their methods will come good. “During my career I’ve not just been a good leader or captain because of the good times,” the four-time Premier League winner said. “It is easy to be a good captain or leader then, it is at these times I feel most confident in what you need to do to get better. You need to analyse what needs to get better and decide what the next step is. “We will do everything we can to avoid defeat but it is at these moments you learn most about your team’s character.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Issy Wong working with England bowling coach Matt Mason in bid to return to form Eddie Howe admits Brighton defeat is a warning to Newcastle On this day in 2006: Andre Agassi makes emotional retirement from tennis

Thomas Frank credited his “fantastic” Brentford side after Bryan Mbeumo’s late equaliser against Bournemouth earned a 2-2 draw in the Premier League. Mbeumo’s fourth of the season cancelled out goals from Dominic Solanke and David Brooks after Mathias Jensen took the lead for Brentford in the first half. And Frank praised his team’s second-half display which saw them extend their unbeaten start to the season. “First half we were good but second half we were fantastic,” Frank said. “I think we ran over Bournemouth in the second half and we created chance after chance. “I would love to have 10 points (Brentford have six) and I think we could easily say we deserve to have more, but it’s up to others to discuss if we should have eight or 10. “I think we had a chance to win all three draws at home (Tottenham, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth), the Tottenham and Crystal Palace games were tight but it was clear we should have won them and we have to keep going.” Cherries boss Andoni Iraola admitted Brentford’s late goal hurt as his side searched for their first win of the season. And the Spaniard revealed his side rued a series of mistakes which led to Mbeumo’s goal. “The worst thing for us is the way we concede the goal,” Iraola added. “It comes from our own goal-kick and we made two or three mistakes because we were probably not at our best but we have have to know how to finish the games because we had run a lot and (played) good stretches of football. “To lose it in this way hurts. “In set-pieces they have very good players and we needed maximum help in the duels and the crosses we received in the last minutes but it didn’t work as we conceded the second goal. Iraola highlighted that Bournemouth suffered out of possession in the lead up to the final goal. He said: “The game was a little bit territorial and the advantage was very important because we were suffering when they were playing in our half and they had set-pieces like corners, free-kicks. “Whenever the game was in their half I think we were playing better, we were more in control of the situation and so at the end they had nothing to lose and put more bodies up front and closed with three defenders. “We tried to defend the long balls, crosses and throw ins better because sometimes you have to suffer to win the games and be compact.”

Labor Day weekend means a few extra days of college football, but who is playing on the Sunday slate for Week 1 of CFB action?

Michigan State must regret giving Mel Tucker such a massive contract. His buyout is prohibitive even as he struggles to beat lesser opposition.

Shedeur Sanders completely amazed in his FBS debut against number 17-ranked TCU.

After beating the TCU Horned Frogs, what can the Colorado Buffaloes do to move the program forward and suprass expectations for the 2023 season?

Gareth Southgate believes England can benefit from Harry Kane’s move to Germany – especially if his captain goes on to lift the first silverware of his career at Bayern Munich. Kane, 30, swapped boyhood club Tottenham for the Allianz Arena in a deal that could be worth £100million. He had been linked with a move away from Spurs for the past few summers, including while heading into tournaments as England skipper. Now Kane’s future has been sorted, during a year where England were not relying on his goals, Southgate is pleased to see him hit the ground running at Bayern. “I definitely think from a selfish England perspective it’s good that his future’s settled now for the next few years,” the England manager said. “I think potentially that can be a distraction for players. But also it’s good for him that he’s got to go and perform at a new club now. He’s been at one club for so long. “To have a change means you’ve got to impress new team-mates, new staff, new fans and also there’s the life experience of having the breadth of adjusting to a new country. I think there’s a lot of positives there.” I’m not sure that he’s going to become a better player but there might be other aspects of the mentality that this move will help him with Gareth Southgate As England and Tottenham’s all-time leading goalscorer, Kane has already hit three goals in his first two Bundesliga appearances and will be aiming to win trophies this season to break his duck. He lost two League Cup finals and the 2019 Champions League final at Tottenham but, with Bayern having won the last 11 Bundesliga titles, Kane could finally get his hands on a winners’ medal. “I’m sure for his own belief that would be brilliant,” Southgate added. “I’m not sure that he’s going to become a better player but there might be other aspects of the mentality that this move will help him with. “They’re probably the bits that as you get older are the only bits you can improve upon. “I think the Bundesliga is a bit different to some of the other leagues we’ve talked about, a bit more transitional. “There is an intensity to that. We’ll have all the data on that from training sessions and matches, so we’re able to track that really closely. “I think the big difference for Harry this year will be that there’s going to be a lot of games where they’re very dominant and in the opposition third of the pitch, so I think there will be a lot more play for him in penalty box I suspect than he had in the last couple of seasons.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Erik ten Hag tips Rasmus Hojlund to have ‘very good impact’ at Manchester United Rob Page will not be ‘influenced by negativity’ ahead of critical Wales period Mikel Arteta hails Eddie Nketiah’s fight to play for England after first call-up

Mikel Arteta praised Eddie Nketiah’s fight to be in the picture to play for England after the Arsenal striker earned his first senior call-up. Nketiah made the cut in Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine and a friendly in Scotland. The 24-year-old is England’s all-time record goalscorer at under-21 level but has yet to be given his chance in the senior ranks. But that opportunity could come in the next couple of weeks and Arteta believes it would be just reward for the efforts of the Arsenal forward. “I’m so pleased. If someone deserves to be in the England squad, that’s him,” he said. “An academy player that had some moments when his pathway wasn’t very clear and he had to fight. “I love his mentality, his work rate, how much he loves the game and how hard he’s fought to be recognised at that level. In this country, to play there is phenomenal.” Nketiah had gone 14 games without a goal for the Gunners before breaking the deadlock in their Premier League opening-day win over Nottingham Forest. He also came off the bench to score in the 2-2 draw with Fulham last weekend and will be pushing for a recall when Manchester United visit the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. “There are a lot of things that he has improved, first of all his decision-making, especially in certain phases in ball possession,” added Arteta. “I think his aggression without the ball is intensive, the way he reacts to that. I think physically when you look at him, he is very different. “I just had a picture of him, one of him when he was playing in (the academy) Hale End and to now and he is a different player and he’s worked so hard to achieve that. “What I like the most is his mentality and this keeps evolving, because he’s never going to be satisfied. Never. And that’s the way he is.” It’s the pinnacle of recognition for a player that represents England Eddie Nketiah Nketiah, who hit an unrivalled 16 goals in 17 under-21 caps, feels he has now reached the top of the international football mountain. “Obviously coming through the ranks as an academy boy and the youth groups at England, it’s a nice feeling to get that natural progression to go to the seniors,” he told arsenal.com. “It’s the pinnacle of recognition for a player that represents England, so I’m really happy to be there and looking forward to meeting up with the boys.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Rob Page will not be ‘influenced by negativity’ ahead of critical Wales period Getafe boss eager to help Mason Greenwood ‘recover professional status’ in Spain Dan Evans pushes Carlos Alcaraz to limit in entertaining showdown in New York

Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes made a huge statement by upsetting No. 17 TCU in Forth Worth. The Buffs are coming, baby!

Rob Page says he will not be “influenced by negativity” with his Wales tenure set to reach a critical juncture. Page has come under increasing pressure after an awful World Cup last autumn when Wales scored only once and finished bottom of their group and a Euro 2024 qualifying campaign that hit the rocks with defeats to Armenia and Turkey in June. Although Wales have lost talismanic captain Gareth Bale and others in recent months, many fans have turned on Page – a national hero just over 12 months ago as the Dragons qualified for their first World Cup since 1958 – and used social media to call for his dismissal. Page signed a four-year deal only 12 months ago and received the public backing of Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney after that miserable June double-header. But Page, who celebrates his 49th birthday on Sunday, is certain to come under intense scrutiny unless Wales revive their Euro 2024 qualification ambitions by beating Group D minnows Latvia in Riga on September 11. “Football is what it is,” said Page, who first has the opportunity to improve a record of one win in 12 games in a Cardiff friendly with Jurgen Klinsmann’s South Korea on Thursday. I can't do things to please other people because you are then riding the rollercoaster of emotions and I'd rather not do that Rob Page “I don’t need people to tell me I’ve done well. I look at myself in the mirror and, as long as I’m doing the the best I can, that’s all I ask for. “I can’t do things to please other people because you are then riding the rollercoaster of emotions and I’d rather not do that. “I played until I was 35 so I understand what social media is, but I don’t read it. I don’t read any articles from ex-players or reporters, because it will inevitably cloud your judgement and then you are going to be influenced by negativity. “I don’t need that in my life. I just want to stay focused on the job we’ve got and that is to get three points in Latvia.” Wales have won only once since beating Ukraine in the 2022 World Cup play-off final, a 1-0 home victory over Latvia in March. Page insists Wales currently find themselves in a similar position to when John Toshack blooded so many youngsters between 2004 and 2010 and gave the likes of Bale, Joe Allen and current captain Aaron Ramsey their international debuts. “This stat of one win in 12 keeps getting thrown at me, which frustrates the life out of me,” he said. “That is on paper. Yes. “But when you strip that away you see the opposition – playing Belgium, Holland and Poland twice because we got promoted from League B to League A in the Nations League and some were played around a World Cup play-off final. “So, let’s have a little bit of common sense with some of the fixtures we were up against and manage expectations. “We’ve lost arguably one of the world’s best players in Gareth Bale, some big characters on the playing side in Chris Gunter and Joe Allen, and now it’s about developing and evolving. “My remit now is to get the next batch of young kids through and it’s not going to happen overnight. Of course we don’t want too many results like Armenia – that is the one that has haunted me. ” Wales trail group leaders Turkey by six points in Euro 2024 qualifying and are three adrift of second-placed Armenia, who have a game in hand on Page’s side. Group favourites Croatia are level on Wales with four points but have played two fewer games and, with a top-two spot appearing improbable, the best the Dragons can seemingly hope for is play-off place through their Nations League status. Page said: “It’s probably the first test I’d have had since I’ve taken over. “Everything’s been rosy – we’ve had success, promotions and qualifications and this is the first time I’ve felt these two months have dragged – but I can’t wait for Sunday (the camp) to come.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Mikel Arteta hails Eddie Nketiah’s fight to play for England after first call-up Getafe boss eager to help Mason Greenwood ‘recover professional status’ in Spain Dan Evans pushes Carlos Alcaraz to limit in entertaining showdown in New York

Erik ten Hag is convinced Rasmus Hojlund has the quality, confidence and bravery to flourish at Manchester United as the summer signing prepares to make his debut. The Old Trafford giants have needed a striker for some time and plumped for potential rather than the proven Harry Kane, who instead left Tottenham for perennial Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich. United signed talented Hojlund at the start of August in a £64million deal that could reach £72million, but a back issue has prevented him featuring in the first three Premier League matches of the season. But Ten Hag says the 20-year-old is fit to make his debut at Arsenal on Sunday, possibly even from the start, and is excited by the Denmark international’s potential. “He didn’t even play games but now in the training sessions, he confirms the impression we had of him when we scouted him,” the United boss said. “We really intensely scouted him. He’s acting very good this week, very good spirit. He’s very motivated, of course, to start, to be in the team. “He can’t wait and I think we did the right thing (waiting for his debut) but, of course, I would have appreciated it if it was from the first game on, but that was not the case. “But now he is fit, we are happy, he will definitely strengthen the squad and give a very good impact on the team.” Boyhood United fan Hojlund began his career at hometown club FC Copenhagen, before spells with Austria side Sturm Graz and Italian team Atalanta. When he is brave and has belief, the rest will come Erik ten Hag on Rasmus Hojlund The 20-year-old scored nine goals in Serie A last season, as well as six in as many appearances for the Denmark national team. “He is brave and that’s enough,” Ten Hag said. “When he is brave and has belief, the rest will come.” Hojlund’s profile, career trajectory and Scandinavian roots have led to some comparisons to Erling Haaland, who United tried to sign in the past and is now firing in goals aplenty at rivals Manchester City. Asked if he can cope with the comparisons to the Norway striker, Ten Hag said: “I think he is a different character in our squad and that makes it really exciting. “I think for the balance in the squad, it’s very good and already we noticed this week when he came in a different spirit is coming up. “He gives that energy, so you see other players get energy from it, so it’s very good. “Just let him settle in, give him time. No player can act from the start. “Of course we expect a huge impact but also he needs time to settle into the team, to settle into the way of play. “The rest will come. I’m very convinced of that.” Hojlund will face former club FC Copenhagen in the Champions League group stage, where United will also take on Galatasaray and face Kane-led Bayern. “I think we have a very interesting draw,” Ten Hag said. “All big teams, but that is normal in Champions League. “We are really looking forward because you get challenged on the highest level.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Rob Page will not be ‘influenced by negativity’ ahead of critical Wales period Mikel Arteta hails Eddie Nketiah’s fight to play for England after first call-up Getafe boss eager to help Mason Greenwood ‘recover professional status’ in Spain