Lionel Messi scored a screamer and won his first trophy in North American soccer as Inter Miami beat Nashville on penalties (10-9) after their final...

West Ham made heavy weather of the opening match of their latest European adventure as they had to come from behind to beat Serbian minnows Backa Topola 3-1. Headers from £38million summer signing Mohammed Kudus and substitute Tomas Soucek, both from James Ward-Prowse corners, got the Hammers’ Europa League campaign off to a winning start on a stormy Stratford night. East London was hit by torrential rain before kick-off with water cascading through the roof onto the concourses at London Stadium. The floodgates failed to open on the pitch in the first half, however, despite West Ham being in the rare position of dominating possession on the soggy surface. The Hammers had 78 per cent possession, which was the exact opposite of their stats during the recent smash-and-grab win at Brighton. But boss David Moyes got a taste of his own medicine when Angelo Ogbonna’s mistake gifted TSC, making their debut in the group stages of a European competition, a shock lead after half-time. Until then it had been one-way traffic after Ward-Prowse had an early free-kick deflected inches over the crossbar. Danny Ings, making his first start of the season, saw his swerving effort punched away by Serbian keeper Nikola Simic, who also denied Thilo Kehrer after Aaron Cresswell’s low cross found him at the far post. Lucas Paqueta’s drive then forced another unorthodox save from Simic and when Pablo Fornals lifted the loose ball back into the box, Kudus planted his header over the top. But for all West Ham’s dominance there was still a hairy moment when a corner from Petar Stanic was flicked on by Sasa Jovanovic and bounced right across the six-yard box. The underdogs were enthusiastically cheered from the pitch at half-time by the 75-or-so Serbian fans who had made the 2,000km journey. And those away supporters were in dreamland two minutes into the second half after Ogbonna dawdled on the halfway line, allowing Stanic to nick the ball, race clear and fire past Lukasz Fabianski. But the Hammers, whose last European outing was their triumphant Europa Conference League final win over Fiorentina in June, hit back in the 66th minute, albeit in fortunate fashion as Said Benrahma’s cross was turned in at the far post by TSC defender Nemanja Petrovic. The lively Kudus did get his goal four minutes later and Soucek headed in the third from another Ward-Prowse delivery – giving the former Southampton midfielder a fifth assist of the season – to finally ease West Ham nerves. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Marcus Smith backed to shine at full-back as England tackle unfancied Chile Unai Emery urges Aston Villa to adapt quickly to demands of European football Jurgen Klopp plays down value of 50th European win after Liverpool beat LASK

UFC 294 takes place this weekend, as a stacked card culminates in two major fights, both of which came together on less than two weeks’ notice. In the original main event of UFC 294, Islam Makhachev was due to defend the lightweight title in a rematch with Charles Oliveira, but the latter suffered a severe cut over his eye, leading him to be replaced by Alexander Volkanovski. In February, Makhachev narrowly outpointed Volkanovski, who reigns as featherweight champion, and fans had hoped to see a rematch someday – not realising how soon it would in fact transpire. In the co-main event, meanwhile, Kamaru Usman replaces the injured Paulo Costa on short notice, facing rising star Khamzat Chimaev in a huge match-up. Usman lost the welterweight title last year after a dominant reign, and now he makes his middleweight debut against one of the fiercest prospects in MMA. Here’s all you need to know. We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. When is UFC 294? UFC 294 takes place on Saturday 21 October at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The prelims are set to begin at 3pm BST (7am PT, 9am CT, 10am ET), with the main card following at 7pm BST (11am PT, 1pm CT, 2pm ET). How can I watch it? The card will air live on TNT Sports in the UK, with the broadcaster’s app and website also streaming the fights. In the US, ESPN+ will stream the action live, as will the UFC’s Fight Pass. If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch the event, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help and includes deals on VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are and also with the terms of their service provider. Odds Makhachev – 4/9; Volkanovski – 9/5 Chimaev – 2/5; Usman – 2/1 Full odds via Betway. •Get all the latest UFC betting sites’ offers Full card (subject to change) Main card Islam Makhachev (C) vs Alexander Volkanovski 2 (lightweight title) Khamzat Chimaev vs Kamaru Usman (middleweight) Magomed Ankalaev vs Johnny Walker (light-heavyweight) Ikram Aliskerov vs Warlley Alves (middleweight) Said Nurmagomedov vs Muin Gafurov (bantamweight) Prelims Tim Elliot vs Muhammad Mokaev (flyweight) Nathaniel Wood vs Muhammad Naimov (featherweight) Mohammad Yahya vs Trevor Peek (lightweight) Javid Basharat vs Victor Henry (bantamweight) Abu Azaitar vs Sedriques Dumas (middleweight) Mike Breeden vs Anshul Jubli (lightweight) Viktoriia Dudakova vs Jinh Yu Frey (women’s strawweight) Shara Magomedov vs Bruno Silva (middleweight) Read More Alexander Volkanovski’s gamble shows the best and worst of the UFC Alexander Volkanovski admits it’s ‘crazy’ to fight Islam Makhachev on short notice Conor McGregor won’t face sexual assault charges, lawyer says What time does UFC 294 start tonight? How to watch UFC 294 online and on TV tonight Islam Makhachev demands two words from Alexander Volkanovski ahead of UFC 294

Premier League referees’ boss Jon Moss apologised to Gary O’Neil and told him Wolves had been denied a “blatant” stoppage-time penalty in their 1-0 Premier League defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, according to the Wolves boss. United’s debutant goalkeeper Andre Onana clattered into Sasa Kalajdzic deep into time added on, but Simon Hooper did not react and VAR Michael Salisbury deemed there was no foul, with an incredulous O’Neil instead booked for his reaction. O’Neil said after the match he though Onana was trying to take Kalajdzic’s head off, and then revealed he had received an immediately apology from Moss. “Having just spoken to Jon Moss, fair enough he came straight out and said it was a blatant penalty and it should have been given,” O’Neil said. “I sometimes feel bad. I’ve spent a lot of my day with him trying to understand the new guidelines and how to not get myself booked which I’ve failed in, but fair play to Jon in coming out. “He said it was clear and obvious and he can’t believe the on-field referee didn’t give it and he can’t believe VAR didn’t intervene. It’s probably made me feel worse to be honest because once you know you’re right you feel worse about leaving with nothing.” United boss Erik ten Hag tried to play down the incident, but he was largely alone in thinking the officials got the decision right. “When VAR looked at it and decided not to give it of course we are pleased,” the Dutchman said. “It’s about the referee and the VAR. I think the two players come together and Andre didn’t interfere with the action from them because first was the touch on the ball and then came Andre.” The controversial decision was not the only thing that left the impression United had been lucky to take three points from their opening Premier League match, with Raphael Varane’s 76th-minute header decisive in a laboured performance from the hosts. With O’Neil only a few days into his tenure, Wolves impressed with their attacking intent. They registered 23 attempts at goal, the most for any visiting team at Old Trafford since Chelsea had 25 in November 2005, another match that ended in a 1-0 win for United. Scoring goals was an all-too-familiar problem for Wolves last term but O’Neil was encouraged by what he saw. “Huge credit to the lads,” O’Neil said. “There’s been some negativity surrounding the place but they’ve committed to what we asked of them and gone toe to toe with a top side at a difficult place to come and they’re disappointed. “For the amount of shots we’ve had and the expected goals, we deserved at least a point… “Bigger picture stuff and where we want to take the group, tonight is a big step four days in. Coming to a place like this it could have gone very differently.” United struggled to find any flow and were second best in the second half until Aaron Wan-Bissaka latched on to a dinked ball from Bruno Fernandes, and lifted the ball over for Varane to nod home. “It was a tough game,” Ten Hag said. “I think we can do much better on the ball. We proved that last season and also in pre-season but the pre-season is not the season and when the league starts opponents are more aggressive. “Our decision-making could have been better and were not aggressive enough from that point of view, but there are a lot of positives to take. We fought for our lives and we survived with three points so well done.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Raphael Varane header earns Manchester United opening victory over Wolves How does Moises Caicedo’s Chelsea transfer compare to previous big-money deals? Majid Haq ‘disgusted and horrified’ following racial abuse while umpiring

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