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Manchester City midfielder Rodri has been sent off for grabbing an opponent around the neck in a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest that extended the defending champions’ perfect start to their Premier League title defense

Manchester City had Rodri sent off as they extended their winning start in the Premier League with an unnecessarily complicated 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest. The champions looked to be cruising to victory after early goals from Phil Foden and Erling Haaland put them in complete control at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. The mood changed dramatically early in the second half when Rodri was dismissed for violent conduct after raising his hands towards the neck of Morgan Gibbs-White. The game became fractious and City lost some of their discipline before manager Pep Guardiola switched to a defensive shape to secure the three points. It was City’s sixth win in succession at the start of their latest title defence but the price of Rodri’s indiscretion is yet to be seen. The influential Spaniard now faces a three-game ban which will include a trip to Arsenal next month. That City made such hard work of victory was extraordinary given their dominant and untroubled start. Julian Alvarez had already forced a good save from Matt Turner from a free-kick when they pieced together a remarkable 46-pass move that led to the opening goal inside seven minutes. The hosts built patiently before Rodri caught out the Forest defence with a superb crossfield ball to pick out Kyle Walker’s run into the box. The England full-back’s touch was equally brilliant as he laid off to Foden with a cushioned volley. Foden then did the rest with a clinical strike. City doubled their lead seven minutes later, this time after a Matheus Nunes run down the right. The Portuguese reached the byline and then centred perfectly for Haaland, scorer of a hat-trick in the corresponding fixture last season, to head home from close range. In spite of some rumblings about the high volume of chances the Norwegian had missed in his previous two games, it was his eighth goal in nine appearances. Forest’s first serious attack ended when Taiwo Awoniyi was tripped on the edge of the area by Manuel Akanji. Both the Swiss and Guardiola – for his protestations – were booked but Gibbs-White’s free-kick came to nothing. Alvarez twice went close to adding to City’s lead before the break as he forced another save from Turner before being denied by a good block from Willy Boly. City’s control temporarily evaporated within minutes of the restart when Rodri got involved in a tussle with Gibbs-White by the corner flag. The pair came face to face as the situation escalated and, amid the pushing and shoving, Rodri placed his hands close to Gibbs-White’s neck. The Forest midfielder ended up on the ground and referee Anthony Taylor showed the red card in Rodri’s direction. City were unsettled and moments later Ederson and Awoniyi were booked after clashing in the area. Guardiola settled his side by sacrificing Jeremy Doku and Alvarez for Kalvin Phillips and Nathan Ake. Forest battled on but did not look like scoring until Anthony Elanga and Boly tested Ederson in injury time. Haaland could have added a third for City but volleyed over after a good run by Ake. There were further scuffles in the closing minutes with Jack Grealish – returning from injury as a late substitute – involved but City saw it out. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Luton off the mark after come-from-behind draw against 10-man Wolves Harvey Elliott hails team spirit after Liverpool’s new look midfield impresses Will Jacks and Sam Hain shine as England post 334 against Ireland

Rafael Leão appears back to his devastating best and the AC Milan forward helped the Rossoneri bounce back from a disappointing week with a 1-0 win over Hellas Verona in Serie A

Harry Kane bagged a hat-trick as Bayern Munich maintained their unbeaten run in the Bundesliga after hammering Bochum 7-0. The hosts ran riot with the England captain scoring just minutes after Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s opener and goals from Matthijs de Ligt and Leroy Sane gave them a 4-0 lead at half-time. Their dominance continued after the break as Kane scored from the spot and assisted Mathys Tel before earning his first hat-trick for Bayern with minutes to go. Kane’s excellent start with Bayern means he has now scored seven goals in five league matches as the defending Bundesliga champions sit top of the table. The hosts threatened early as Manuel Riemann saved from Choupo-Moting in the first minute, but the forward made no mistake the second time after Kingsley Coman squared the ball to him for an easy tap-in just four minutes into the match. Kane doubled their lead in the 13th minute with a neat finish into the bottom corner and soon had a chance to earn his second but blasted the ball over the bar. Sven Ulreich was called into action to make a diving save from Christopher Antwi-Adjei, but Bayern quickly had their third in the 29th minute after Joshua Kimmich’s corner found De Ligt, who thumped a header into the corner. Another great chance saw Kane thread the ball through to Choupo-Moting, who was denied by Riemann, but the England captain then hit a great pass for Sane, who burst down the centre of the pitch to tuck the ball into the far bottom corner seven minutes before half-time. Riemann made two crucial saves late in the first half to deny Kane and Coman in quick succession, but the goals kept flowing for Bayern after the break. Ivan Ordets conceded a penalty after handling the ball in the box and Kane earned his brace in the 54th minute with a low spot-kick beating Riemann. Coman kept the pressure on, going close a few minutes later with a curling effort clipping the post and Frans Kratzig smashed an effort towards goal forcing Riemann to tip the ball over the bar, but Bayern extended their lead in the 81st minute when Kane found Tel who fired the ball into the far corner. The former Tottenham man then earned his hat-trick with two minutes of normal time left, getting on the end of a ball from Sane to slot the ball in at the near post. PA Read More Harry Kane happy with Bayern Munich start in Europe – Thursday’s sporting social Classy Kane and brilliant Bellingham – England duo making waves in Europe Bruno Fernandes tells Andre Onana to stop blaming himself for Man Utd defeat Devastated Andre Onana takes responsibility for Man Utd’s defeat in Munich Football transfer news: Tottenham have first refusal when Harry Kane leaves Bayern How Harry Kane unshackled Bayern Munich with a classic move from his Tottenham days

Katie McCabe inspired Republic of Ireland to a comfortable 3-0 win over Northern Ireland in their opening Nations League match at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. The Arsenal midfielder had a hand in all three goals as the Republic began life under interim manager Eileen Gleeson in style. Kyra Carusa had Ireland’s best chance when her low header from a McCabe corner was well saved by Shannon Turner in the Northern Ireland goal. But the hosts moved ahead on the half-hour when another McCabe set-piece was only partially cleared, falling to Lucy Quinn whose shot was deflected and flashed into the bottom corner. Northern Ireland were fortunate to reach half-time just one behind as Quinn came close again from a similar effort, Carusa was off target with a header, and another Quinn effort was cleared off the line by Sarah McFadden. Republic keeper Courtney Brosnan was called into action early in the second half to deny Marissa Callaghan as Northern Ireland threatened to wrestle their way back into the match. But their good work was undone after 70 minutes when Turner raced out of her goal to try to reach a McCabe through pass, only for a mix-up with defender Rebecca Holloway allowing Carusa to direct the ball into an empty net. The visitors wilted and the Republic wrapped up an impressive win five minutes from time when Lily Agg, recently on as a substitute, rose highest to direct home a McCabe set-piece off the underside of the bar. Read More What is the Women’s Nations League and how does Olympics qualification work? England find another blueprint for success to beat Scotland in inaugural Women’s Nations League clash

Francis Ngannou admitted he has held on to “a little bit of hope” that the possibility of a fight with Jon Jones could materialise. Ngannou is due to meet Tyson Fury in the boxing ring on 28 October, in a big money fight due to take place in Saudi Arabia. Fury is the favourite heading into the clash, but Ngannou has reportedly been working with experts, including former boxer Mike Tyson to try and fing a way to land a knockout blow to the English boxer. The highly-anticipated bout is schedule for 10 rounds and is a fully professional affair, although Fury’s WBC heavyweight title will not be competed for. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion also signed an MMA contract with the PFL this calendar year, but many hope he will takes on Jones. “I don’t know. Maybe he’ll be a special fight, a special belt or something?” Ngannou said regarding a potential fight with Jones on the Joe Rogan Experience. “Maybe not like a UFC belt. To be honest, I don’t worry about the title. The title is not what I worry about. “I worry about that fight, that challenge. I wouldn’t care if it was a fight without a title. In my [mind], I don’t need a UFC title. That fight is bigger than a title. The fight is bigger than a title.” Ngannou added: “Deep inside me, I still have a little bit of hope (about a Jones fight), even though I know it’s gonna be hard. But, you never know.” Fury has not competed so far this calendar year, and his last bout was when he defended the WBC belt in December 2022 against Derek Chisora. While Ngannou has never taken part in a professional boxing match, but has 20 professional MMA fights to his name, including a win to claim the UFC heavyweight title in January 2022. Read More What is an exhibition fight and how is it different to a professional bout? Tyson Fury ‘tried to pay’ to halt Netflix filming of At Home With The Furys Tyson Fury explains why he will ‘probably’ fight Jon Jones instead of Oleksandr Usyk next

The opening ceremony of the Asian Games in China offered all the staples of a major international sports event

England will face Chile in the Rugby World Cup this afternoon at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille. Steve Borthwick’s side will be hoping to record a third victory after last weekend’s scrappy bonus-point win against Japan and their opening defeat of Argentina. Owen Farrell returns from his red-card ban alongside 12 other changes, including Marcus Smith at full back, as England aim to give squad members who have featured less so far a good run out. England currently sit top of Pool D with nine points after their first two wins and a win would all but secure a quarter-final place. Los Condores lost their first two matches in what is their first Rugby World Cup and currently sit 22nd in the world rankings compared to England’s sixth. They are currently at the bottom of Pool D with zero points. Follow all of the action here live from Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Plus get the latest Rugby World Cup odds here and tips on England vs Chile here. Read More Marcus Smith backed to shine at full-back as England tackle unfancied Chile Owen Farrell recalls emotional roller-coaster ride of exile from England team

The Rugby World Cup knockout stage has started early for Australia

The 2023/24 Premier League season is under way and you can follow every game and every goal right here with The Independent. This year sees Manchester City try to defend their crown and claim a historic fourth title in succession. Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City, who also won the Champions League and FA Cup last season, will have to see off Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and the rest to claim an unprecedented sixth league title in seven years. Meanwhile Luton Town are making their first appearance in the Premier League, having risen from non-league in an incredible decade of progress. They followed Championship winners Burnley and second-placed Sheffield United in earning promotion to the top flight. Follow the latest action from the Premier League below.

Georgia denied Portugal a first-ever win at the Rugby World Cup by scoring a 78th-minute try to snatch an 18-18 draw

The 2023/24 Premier League season is under way and you can follow every game and every goal right here with The Independent. This year sees Manchester City try to defend their crown and claim a historic fourth title in succession. Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City, who also won the Champions League and FA Cup last season, will have to see off Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and the rest to claim an unprecedented sixth league title in seven years. Meanwhile Luton Town are making their first appearance in the Premier League, having risen from non-league in an incredible decade of progress. They followed Championship winners Burnley and second-placed Sheffield United in earning promotion to the top flight. Follow the latest action from the Premier League below.