LATEST TRENDS

Dele Alli's second-half strike prevented a shock at Wembley as Tottenham were made to earn a 1-0 win over Barnsley in the EFL Cup third round. On the back of a frustrating 0-0 home draw against Swansea City, the hosts had to wait until the 65th minute for England star Alli to break the resilience of the second-tier visitors. Mauricio Pochettino retained five of his XI from the weekend as he handed first starts to Fernando Llorente and teenage defender Juan Foyth. And Llorente should have broken the deadlock after half an hour when he headed over from Kieran Trippier's corner, while Liam Lindsay also failed to get a close-range header on target with Barnsley's best chance of the opening period. Chelsea loanee Ike Ugbo regularly threatened as the Tykes grew in confidence after the restart, but the Premier League side's class eventually told when Trippier got away down the right and put the opening goal on a platter for Alli. Pochettino introduced Eric Dier to help ...

Liverpool's EFL Cup campaign came to an early end as second-half goals from Shinji Okazaki and Islam Slimani gave Leicester City a 2-0 win at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday. Substitute Okazki - on in place of the injured Leonardo Ulloa - was in the right place to pick up a loose ball inside the penalty area to break the deadlock in the 65th minute. Strike partner Slimani settled the third-round tie in style 13 minutes later, sending a left-footed drive flashing beyond goalkeeper Danny Ward to get his third goal in the competition this season. The result means Liverpool - beaten finalists in 2016 - are still yet to record a win in September, a worrying four-game rut they will hope to stop on Saturday when the two teams meet again at the same venue in Premier League action.

Real Madrid have equaled the record of scoring in 73 consecutive matches set by Santos in 1963, after Borja Mayoral put them ahead against Real Sociedad. The run began on April 30th, 2016, coincidentally also at Anoeta with Gareth Bale giving Los Blancos a 1-0 victory and since then no defence has been able to hold them at bay. First they bettered the Spanish record that Barcelona had of scoring in 44 straight games and after that they overcame the European best of 61 by Bayern Munich before now equaling the all-time best set by Pele's Santos.

Paulo Dybala marked his 100th Juventus appearance with a sensational hat-trick as the Serie A champions claimed a 3-1 win at Sassuolo. The 23-year-old scored five goals in his first three league games and struck again shortly after the interval to put Juve in control, expertly prodding home from a Juan Cuadrado pass. Matteo Politano hit back two minutes later, scoring from close range after the returning Giorgio Chiellini prevented Claud Adjapong's effort from crossing the line, but a sublime Dybala free-kick made the points safe. Juve climb back above Inter, who are also on 12 points following Saturday's win over Crotone, while Sassuolo remain just a point above bottom-club Benevento.

Ousmane Demeble has been ruled out for up to four months in an injury blow that has rocked Barcelona. Barca have confirmed that the 20-year-old did, as feared by head coach Ernesto Valverde, suffered a torn hamstring in Saturday's 2-1 victory away against Getafe, which was his full La Liga debut. Dembele had to be withdrawn in the first half of his side's dramatic win, leaving the field after sustaining the problem while attempting a back-heel near the corner flag when the match was still goalless. After conducting tests on Sunday, Barca released a statement which read: "The tests have come back following first team player Ousmane Dembele has ruptured the tendon in his femoral bicep in his left thigh. "The player will be operated on by Dr. Sakari Orava in Finland this week. He is expected to be out for between three and a half months and four months." The problem, which is in Dembele's left leg, will see him miss the first half of the season in a huge b...

Wayne Rooney's first return to Old Trafford since leaving Manchester United in the close-season ultimately ended in a 4-0 thumping thanks to three late goals, as Romelu Lukaku scored against former side Everton to heap the pressure on Ronald Koeman. United were poor for much of Sunday's Premier League match, but blew Everton away in the final stages, with Rooney – who previously missed a couple of good chances – powerless to help following his substitution in the 82nd minute. Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Romelu Lukaku and Anthony Martial all netted after Rooney's exit to condemn Everton to a fourth successive defeat in all competitions. Unsurprisingly, most of the pre-match attention was on Rooney and Lukaku, but within four minutes of kick-off Antonio Valencia had successfully made himself the man of the moment with a simply spectacular 20-yard strike. United were poor after the break, however, with their attacks becoming predictable  and slow, while David de Gea twice bai...