Barcelona’s win over Real Betis

◆2 sources

Barcelona beat Real Betis 5-2 in La Liga after Lamine Yamal opened the scoring with a curled shot. Betis equalised through Valentín Gómez, before Rodri restored Barcelona’s lead with his first goal for the club. A goal by Betis’ Giovani Lo Celso was disallowed for handball in the buildup. Gabriel Jesus made it 3-1, but Abde Ezzalzouli replied immediately for Betis.

Betis midfielder Facundo Bernal was sent off after headbutting Yamal. Barcelona then extended their lead through Eric García and Dani Olmo. Frenkie de Jong was included in the matchday squad for the first time this season after a knee injury but did not play. Barcelona remain perfect after nine league matches, with 27 points and a goal difference of 39 scored and nine conceded.

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Barcelona's win over Getafe

3 sources

Barcelona beat Getafe 3-0 at home in La Liga and remained without dropping points after eight matches. A single report said Anthony Gordon scored his first goal for Barcelona. Frenkie de Jong was not in the match squad after returning to training this week following a long-term knee injury.

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Netherlands beat Serbia in Nations League match

11 sources

The Netherlands beat Serbia 2-1 in Eindhoven in the Nations League, ending Xavi Hernández’s first international window as national coach unbeaten. Joshua Zirkzee scored the winning goal after coming on as a substitute. The result was the Netherlands’ second win over Serbia in a week and leaves the team on eight points from four matches; Germany and Greece drew 0-0 in the other match. Captain Virgil van Dijk played his 100th international, becoming the 11th Dutch player to reach that mark, and was honoured after the match. Denzel Dumfries made his 80th appearance. Teun Koopmeiners started alongside Van Dijk in central defence, while goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen made several saves, according to a single report. Xavi said the team had struggled to impose its possession-based approach but had shown a desire to win.

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Frenkie de Jong returns to Barcelona squad

5 sources

Frenkie de Jong returned to FC Barcelona’s group training after months out with a knee injury. He was not included in the squad for the Champions League match against Galatasaray because he was not yet fit enough. Barcelona have now included the 29-year-old Dutch midfielder in their squad for Saturday’s match against Real Betis. Coach Hansi Flick said De Jong is training well and is ready to play minutes; he is also considering using him as a central defender rather than in his usual midfield role.

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Premier League matches involving Manchester City and Liverpool

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Manchester City was scheduled to host Ipswich Town in the Premier League, while Liverpool was due to play away at Brentford. The Manchester City match was described as the club’s first Premier League home game since it was found guilty of serious financial-rule violations. A later live report also listed Liverpool’s match at Brentford among the day’s fixtures and mentioned Real Betis against FC Barcelona, where Frenkie de Jong could possibly feature.