CONCORD, N.C. – It turned out to be a very good weekend for the entire Elliott family.

Not only did Chase Elliott score his third Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but his Hall of Fame father Bill Elliott also picked up a victory of his own on Saturday.

The elder Elliott was in action Saturday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, where he drove a 1965 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster owned by Ray Evernham to the overall and American-class victories in the Sasco Sports International/American Challenge sprint race as part of the HSR Fall Classic.

The 1988 NASCAR Cup Series champion then traveled north to Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he got to watch his son win for the first time at the Concord, N.C., facility.

“I wanted to go over there and see it,” the younger Elliott said about his father’s race. “I’ve never made a lap at Road Atlanta. It looks like a really cool place. Definitely neat, not something you would necessarily think would happen. That’s kind of a tough thing to do for sure. But definitely pretty cool and hopefully we can share some more weekends like that moving on.”

– The race winner had no problem taking the blame for the near catastrophic crash on lap 65 that almost ended his hopes of winning Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400.

“I’m not sure you could do something more stupid than that,” Elliott said of the incident. “If there ever is a notebook of things not to do, that should be number one in that book.”

– Playoff contender Denny Hamlin was not pleased with his day Sunday, saying his team simply missed the setup on his No. 11 Toyota Camry after being forced to a backup car as the result of a crash in practice earlier in the weekend.

“Just missed it overall. Having a backup car and having to go to the back and then through that wreck that happened in turn one we got caught in, had to go to the back again,” Hamlin said. “We just couldn’t ever make it back towards the front. Just not enough passing zones. You can’t really get the flow going at this race track, so it’s just kind of – you just wait on the wrecks, you try to avoid them and get the best finish you can.”

– Hendrick Motorsports turned in a strong performance Sunday afternoon on the ROVAL, with all four drivers finishing inside the top-10.

In addition to Elliott and Alex Bowman’s one-two finish, William Byron finished sixth after leading 23 laps from the pole. Jimmie Johnson also survived an accident in turn one during an early restart to finish ninth.

– Kyle Larson’s shot at winning was erased when he was penalized for performance service outside of his pit box, which resulted in a one-lap penalty. The stage one winner managed to get back on the lead lap, but he was never able to get back to the front and finished 13th.

“I felt like Chase (Elliott) was probably the fastest, but I felt like myself and William (Byron) were probably the next best,” Larson said. “We won the first stage and during that pit stop, I didn’t wait on them to pull tape and kind of drug the crew member out of the pit box. So, I got a penalty there, a pretty stiff one. I had to lose a lap, but I got the lucky dog. I thought we were going to be OK and there at the end. We actually had a slow green-flag stop because we had some damage and they couldn’t get the right front out. We ended up 13th, but I felt like we could have easily been in the top-three. Just disappointed that we don’t have the finish to show for how good our car was.”

– Joey Logano was asked if he had any more confidence about racing on the ROVAL after competing on the track twice.

“Confident about what? That we’re all gonna crash? Yes. It’s a mess,” Logano said.

SPEED SPORT has been reporting on and covering motorsports happenings from all over the world for 85 years, so we thought it would be fun to take a look back in the archives to see what happened 10, 25 and 50 years ago each week.

So check out what SPEED SPORT was covering 10, 25 and 50 years ago this week in Looking Back!

Sept. 30, 2009 (10 Years Ago): Mother Nature wrecked havoc on the running of the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, forcing the event to be stopped late in the afternoon as torrential rains flooded the track. The Peugeot tandem of Stephane Sarrazin and Franck Montagny were the leaders at the time the red flag was displayed. Finally, at 8 p.m., American Le Mans Series officials made the call to cancel the remainder of the event and declared the Peugeot team as the winners.

Other Happenings: Rising IndyCar star Danica Patrick signed an exclusive contract with Andretti Green Racing according to team and industry sources; Dave Darland added another chapter to his USAC 4-Crown nationals history with a Silver Crown win at Eldora. Jerry Coons Jr. (Sprints) and Brad Sweet (Midgets) were also winners; Jimmie Johnson put together a dominant performance to win the AAA 400 at Dover Int’l Speedway.

Sept. 28, 1994 (25 Years Ago): Rusty Wallace prevailed in a battle of black cars, beating Dale Earnhardt to the checkered flag by three car lengths to win the Goody’s 500 NASCAR Winston Cup Series event at Martinsville Speedway. Wallace dominated the race, leading 369 of 500 laps, but still had to beat Earnhardt to the checkers. Despite the win, Wallace continued to lose the war to Earnhardt in the battle for the title. Earnhardt maintained a 217-point lead over Wallace in the title hunt.

Other Happenings: Page Jones was seriously injured in a sprint car crash during Eldora Speedway’s 4-Crown Nationals; Jack Hewitt (Silver Crown) Kevin Doty (Sprints) Steve Knepper (Midgets) and Freddie Smith (Late Models) were all winners in the 4-Crown Nationals; Jac Haudenschild snapped a drought dating back to 1992 with a World of Outlaws win at Knoxville Raceway; Scott Bloomquist locked up the Hav-A-Tampa Championship.

Oct. 1, 1969 (50 Years Ago): Richard Petty earned his third-straight Old Dominion 500 victory at Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway. Petty spun on the 17th lap and that sent him to the pits for fresh tires and dropped him two laps off the pace. It took him the entire race, but Petty eventually got back on the lead lap and put himself back in contention when a fan tossed a beer can onto the track, resulting in a caution flag with 36 laps left. He took the lead with 17 miles left in the race, leading the rest of the way. The win pushed him above the $100,000 winnings mark.

Other Happenings: Al Unser emerged from the shadow of his brother Bobby to win the Golden State 100-mile USAC National Championship race at the old California State fairgrounds in Sacramento; Independent driver Whitey Gerken won the USAC Stock Car race at Tri-County Speedway in Ohio aboard a Chevelle; Nolan Swift dominated the 200-lap Pocono Int’l Raceway National Open Championship; Stan Poloski outran a stellar field of modified stock car racers to win the rain-delayed Lebanon Valley 200 at Lebanon Valley Speedway.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It’s that time of year again.

With 11 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championships and three IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races in the books and just one more – Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Saturday, Oct. 12 – still to go, championship scenarios are on the minds of everybody. And there’s still much in play.

In the Daytona Prototype international class, there’s a 12-point margin separating leaders Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya in the No. 6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 with 274 points from the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R squad of Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani (262 points). Cameron and Montoya picked up their third victory of the season last Sunday in the Monterey SportsCar Championship Powered by McLaren, while Nasr and Derani battled to a third-place finish.

Montoya and Cameron – who will share the No. 6 with 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud – can clinch the DPi championship outright with a result of eighth or better at Motul Petit Le Mans. If Nasr and the No. 31 team are to repeat as champions – and make Derani a first-time champion – it will need a win and a result of ninth or worse from the No. 6 team.

The Whelen Cadillac will have Eric Curran, with whom Nasr co-drove to the 2018 WeatherTech Championship title, back in the cockpit for the endurance race. Curran and Nasr also won the Michelin Endurance Cup last year – the fifth in a row for Action Express Racing – and they’re also in the mix for the 2019 title.

Nasr, Derani and Curran, who won the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts, are currently in second place but by only two points. Jordan Taylor and Renger van der Zande, in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R, lead the competition and won the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona.

There are still three Michelin Endurance Cup scoring segments to go at Motul Petit Le Mans – after four and eight hours as well as the finish – with a maximum of 15 points and a minimum of six points available for all starters. As a result, there are still many permutations that would give either the No. 10 or No. 31 teams the 2019 title.

Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen winners Jonathan Bomarito, Harry Tincknell and Olivier Pla also are in mathematical contention for the Michelin Endurance Cup in the No. 55 Mazda Team Joest RT-24P, but they’ll need to sweep the maximum 15 points available across the three segments. They’ll also need the No. 10 to be outside the top three in all three segments and the No. 31 team to score fewer than nine points for the No. 55 to become Michelin Endurance Cup champions.

As far as DPi manufacturers are concerned, Acura needs only to score points at Motul Petit Le Mans to wrap up the WeatherTech Championship title. In the Michelin Endurance Cup race, Cadillac is currently in the driver’s seat with a six-point lead, 41-35, over Acura, the only other team mathematically eligible to win.

In the GT Le Mans class, it’ll be an intra-squad battle for the WeatherTech Championship title among the pair of Coca-Cola-liveried Porsche 911 RSRs from the Porsche GT Team. Leading the way is the No. 912 duo of Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor with a 12-point advantage, 304-292, over their No. 911 teammates Nick Tandy and Patrick Pilet.

The No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R pairing of Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen, also are still mathematically eligible for their third consecutive WeatherTech Championship GTLM title. However, they’ll be eliminated as soon as the No. 912 rolls off the grid at Motul Petit Le Mans.

That sets up a similar scenario to the DPi title race. The No. 912, with Bamber, Vanthoor and Mathieu Jaminet at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, would clinch the title outright with a seventh-place class result or better at Motul Petit Le Mans.

The No. 911 squad of Pilet, Tandy and Frederic Makowiecki could steal the championship from their teammates if they win Motul Petit Le Mans – which they did last year – and the No. 912 finishes eighth.

As far as the Michelin Endurance Cup is concerned, the No. 911 team has a six-point lead over a tie for second between the No. 912 and No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT co-drivers Richard Westbrook and Ryan Briscoe. But there are still five teams and three manufacturers – Porsche, Chevrolet and Ford – mathematically in the hunt.

The races for both the WeatherTech Championship and Michelin Endurance Cup are straightforward in LMP2. The No. 52 PR1-Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA team and full-season driver Matt McMurry only need to compete in the race at Motul Petit Le Mans to wrap up the WeatherTech Championship title.

The script is flipped in Michelin Endurance Cup, where the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA and co-drivers Cameron Cassels and Kyle Masson will clinch that title as soon as the car leaves the starting grid.

The circumstances are similar in the race for the WeatherTech Championship GT Daytona championship. No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 co-drivers Mario Farnbacher and Trent Hindman have a 32-point lead, 264-232, over No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R driver Zacharie Robichon – who won the inaugural WeatherTech Sprint Cup championship last weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

That means the No. 86 team and its co-drivers only will need to compete in Motul Petit Le Mans and they’re 2019 WeatherTech Championship GTD champions.

On the other hand, the battle for the Michelin Endurance Cup is still wide open in GTD, with no less than seven teams and 27 drivers mathematically in contention along with all eight manufacturers. No. 33 Riley Motorsports – Team AMG co-drivers Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Felipe Fraga lead the way in their Mercedes-AMG GT3 by three points, 29-26, over the No. 63 WeatherTech Ferrari 488 GT3 shared by Scuderia Corsa co-drivers Cooper MacNeil, Toni Vilander and Jeff Westphal.

Mercedes-AMG also has a two-point lead, 29-27, over Ferrari in the Michelin Endurance Cup GTD standings with three others – Acura, Audi and Lamborghini – just one point back in third.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta announced Monday that IMSA President Scott Atherton has been named Grand Marshal for next week’s 22nd annual Motul Petit Le Mans.

Atherton recently announced his plans to retire at the end of this year, ending a professional motorsports career that has spanned nearly 35 years.

Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta’s 10-hour endurance race takes the green flag on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 12:05 p.m. EDT. The 12th round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will also mark the end of IMSA’s 50th Anniversary season.

The 50th Anniversary celebration has centered around four cornerstones – “Drivers and Teams,” “Tracks,” “Manufacturers” and “Fans.” The Motul Petit Le Mans event features a celebration of the fans and what they have meant to IMSA throughout its 50 years.

“Scott has been an instrumental partner in the growth of the Motul Petit Le Mans and the ongoing development of Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, including the new Michelin Tower,” MRRA President and General Manager Geoff Lee said. “We are excited to have him serve as this year’s Grand Marshal as we thank him for all that he has done for both this iconic race and IMSA.”

Atherton served as President and CEO of Panoz Motor Sports Group for many years. He then co-led the American Le Mans Series through the merger with the Grand American Road Racing Ass’n under the IMSA banner in 2014, before assuming his current role.

Yamaha Motor Europe has confirmed that Alex Lowes will not return to the team following the conclusion of the FIM Superbike World Championship season in Qatar.

Lowes has been an integral part of Yamaha’s World Superbike program since the Japanese manufacturer returned to the premier production racing series in 2016. In a partnership that has spanned four seasons, Lowes and Yamaha have completed 106 races, with Lowes landing on the podium 15 times.

The 29-year-old also earned his first World Superbike victory last season, earning a thrilling victory at the Brno Circuit in the Czech Republic. He was also a part of winning three 8 Hours of Suzuka for Yamaha.

“I would like to start by saying thank you to Alex, not just for the success we have enjoyed together in WorldSBK and at Suzuka, but also for his commitment to Yamaha and our Superbike project, which he has been an integral part of from the beginning,” said Eric de Seynes, president, Yamaha Motor Europe. “It was a difficult decision not to continue with Alex in the same role for the 2020 season but it was also our sincere hope that he would remain within the Yamaha family. We knew there was a risk and, unfortunately, that risk has turned out to be real and Alex will not be on a Yamaha next season. Working with Alex these past four years has been a real pleasure for me and on behalf of both Yamaha and myself I wish Alex every success for the future.”

The NHL could be on the way to its version of "Are You Ready For Some Football?"

The league is announcing a two-year partnership with Green Day that includes an opening song for NBC Sports' "Wednesday Night Hockey." The song, "Ready, Fire, Aim" isn't custom-made for the NHL and will be on Green Day's next album, though it's likely a matter of time until Green Day or another band follows what Hank Williams Jr. and later Carrie Underwood did for the NFL.

These rock icons are taking it to the ice.

We're excited for @rockhall inductee @greenday to be the sound of Wednesday Night Hockey! #NHLGreenDay pic.twitter.com/FfDbbj0XEO

— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) September 30, 2019

"That I think will probably be the evolution," NHL chief content officer and executive vice president Steve Mayer said. "If you look at our season and how many times this thing is going to be on, it'll become an anthem. The song, we're using slap shots, it's about scoring and speed -- 'Fire, Ready, Aim' -- I think people will start associating this."

Green Day's open will debut Oct. 9. The band will also perform at the All-Star Game in St. Louis in late January, and new singles from its album will be released on "Wednesday Night Hockey."

"We're going to try some bold thing," Mayer said. "The performance that we're talking about at All-Star will be epic."

Green Day songs will be incorporated into arena mixes around the NHL and provide the soundtrack for much of the season on NBC Sports Network and NBC. Fourteen of the band's upcoming tour stops will come in NHL markets, including Seattle, which will join the league in 2021.

"Green Day, just the energy, how they have this great history but they keep on sort of reinventing themselves, they just work for us," Mayer said. "Their music is going to be part of a lot of what we're doing."

Here's a look at what's happening in professional golf this week, and how you can watch it:

PGA Tour

Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

Thursday-Sunday, TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas, NV

Course specs: Par 72, 7,243 yards

Purse: $7 million

Defending champion: Bryson DeChambeau

Notables in the field: Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Matthew Wolff, Akshay Bhatia

Tee times: TBD

TV schedule: Thursday-Friday, 4-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 5-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)

PGA Tour Live: Thursday-Friday, 9:45 a.m.-8 p.m. ET (Featured Groups)

European Tour

Mutuactivos Open de España

Thursday-Sunday, Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Course specs: Par 71, 7,112 yards

Purse: $1.64 million

Defending champion: Jon Rahm

Notables in the field: Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Justin Harding, Haotong Li, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Jose Maria Olazabal

Tee times: TBD

TV schedule: Thursday-Friday, 6-8 a.m. ET; 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 7:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Sunday, 7-11:30 a.m. (Golf Channel)

LPGA

Volunteers of America Classic​​​​​​​

Thursday-Sunday, Old American Golf Club, Frisco, TX

Course specs: Par 71, 6,475 yards

Purse: $1.3 million

Defending champion: Sung Hyun Park

Notables in the field: Sung Hyun Park, Brittany Altomare, Bronte Law, Jeongeun Lee6, Ally McDonald, Paula Creamer, Inbee Park, Maria Fassi, Morgan Pressel, Hannah Green

Tee times: TBD

TV schedule: Thursday-Friday, 1-4 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1:30-5 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)

Another busy weekend in Europe means it's time for another bumper edition of Monday Musings. Gab Marcotti is here to recap the big stories around soccer.

Jump to: Derby draw suits Atletico, Real | Will Liverpool's luck run out? | Barca still lacking minus Messi | Man City's Bernardo mess | Alexis is Inter's hero and villain | Neymar PSG's hero again | Leipzig's Bundesliga slip | Don't stress about Pulisic | Juve, Sarri show their talent | Bayern winning without Muller | Promising signs for Spurs | Milan look awful | Sociedad stumble vs. Sevilla | Dortmund in decline? | Famalicao are no fairytale | And finally... Bas Dost

Derby draw suits Atletico, Real just fine

Surprised that the Madrid derby finished scoreless with not much in the way of excitement, save for the Jan Oblak super-fans who got to see him make some superb stops?

Don't be. These two clubs have had seriously bumpy starts to the season, both in terms of results and performances. Teams tend not to start playing brilliantly overnight. What's more, when they're trying to put a rough patch behind them, they tend to err on the side of caution.

Hunter: Trippier stands out in tense derby
- Real ratings: Ramos 7/10, Hazard 4/10

Going into the game, Atletico had won just once since Sept. 1 and that was against Mallorca, who had taken one point from their previous 12. They needed a late, late comeback to avoid defeat at home against Juventus in the Champions League. Diego Simeone was shuffling personnel and formations to make things click and, perhaps, to steer this team away from the "Cholismo" of yesteryear, the spit-and-gravel grind that had taken them this far.

Real Madrid had beaten Osasuna, who hadn't won since opening week, and gutted a win at Sevilla, but they had also been humiliated away to Paris Saint-Germain. They had conceded in their first five outings of the 2019-20 campaign. Somewhere in the back of their minds was the seven goals they had conceded in the International Champions Cup over the summer.

Most of all, this was a game in which the benefits of victory were far outweighed by the damage of defeat.

Zinedine Zidane, who had talked up the need for "intensity" after the 3-0 debacle in Paris, opted for Federico Valverde's 21-year-old Uruguayan "garra" ("grit") instead of the silkier James Rodriguez or the quality of a fit-again Luka Modric. Simeone again dropped Thomas Lemar and put his eggs in the Vitolo basket, but again his team felt like a Hummer at a Formula One race: a big engine trying to do something it's not really cut out to do. And despite his tinkering -- Koke seemed to play three or four different positions at different times -- Atletico never quite came together.

And so, you hoped for the stars to conjure something out of nothing. But Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale, perhaps mindful of Zidane's death stare after Paris, mostly ferreted away defensively and Joao Felix had an off night on the opposite front.

Real could still have won it and would have if not for the superhuman between the sticks by Oblak. They didn't create much but when they did, it was wiped away by the Slovenian eraser. You can slice off two of your fingers and you still won't be able to count on one hand the number of keepers better than Oblak right now.

The weird thing is that both teams have more points than they did at the same stage last season. Real are joint-first, just like last year (and that was still in the Julen Lopetegui era, lest we forget). And Atletico are joint-second, up from fourth last year. It suggests that while the neutrals may have been disappointed, this was probably a point gained -- rather than two points lost -- for both teams.

How long will Liverpool's luck last?

We've talked before about Liverpool's maturity this season, about how they don't need to be at their best to win, about how they limit unnecessary risks, picking their spots for when to dial up the intensity. Seven straight league wins to start the season, and an incredible 16 straight going back to last year, tell their own story. But you wonder if there aren't warning signs there.

Miller: Liverpool get away with it

Saturday's 1-0 victory at Sheffield United was lucky -- something the ESPN Luck Index continues to track -- and came about thanks to an individual error by opposing keeper Dean Henderson. And while both Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah carved out a couple of chances, they certainly weren't the overwhelming attacking force we've seen in the past. In fact, they weren't the previous week against Chelsea, either.

Credit must go to Sheffield United, sure, but you also wonder if there aren't some warning lights flashing on Jurgen Klopp's dashboard. And when you consider what's ahead, including a heavy fixture list in December/January made more complicated by the Club World Cup in Qatar, you wonder if maybe they could use an extra body to come off the bench up front. The drop-off -- not just in quality, but perhaps more importantly in style -- between the three starters and the likes of Divock Origi, Xherdan Shaqiri, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Rhian Brewster and whomever else you care to name is pretty stark.

Barca still look disjointed without Messi

By the time October rolls around (Tuesday), Lionel Messi will have played just 122 minutes from the start of the season. The last time he had featured so sparingly at the start of a campaign, Barca went on to win the Champions League. So if you're superstitious (and a bit dim), his various injuries are no big deal. Of course, that was back in 2005-06, when Messi was 19, Frank Rijkaard was in charge and Pep Guardiola was still playing (for Dorados in Liga MX).

- Barca ratings: Ter Stegen 9/10

If Ernesto Valverde's plan was to use the Messi hiatus to give his side an identity and maybe even offer a glimpse into a Messi-less future, then matters are somewhat worrying. There were few bright spots in the 2-0 win at Getafe other than a couple prodigious Marc-Andre ter Stegen saves and a neat assist for Luis Suarez, a lot of energy from Arthur and plenty of running from Carles Perez.

This team is still nowhere near where it needs to be and it can't all be down to Messi (and Jordi Alba) being out.

Man City mishandle Bernardo Silva mess

Such is Manchester City's current form that Pep Guardiola could leave out Sergio Aguero, Bernardo Silva and David Silva (in addition to the long-injured Aymeric Laporte, John Stones and Leroy Sane) and still come away with a 3-1 win at Everton.

By some metrics, it wasn't the most comfortable performance -- the eight shots on target conceded were the most ever since Guardiola arrived at City -- but equally what strikes you is how players can come into the side and change games without needing to bed in, Riyad Mahrez being a case in point here.

Less impressive was the way this was handled.

There was never any need to personalize this and make it about Bernardo Silva's character ("an exceptional person," according to Guardiola.) All you had to do is realize that what may not be seen as an ugly racist stereotype in one context ("Conguitos" are freely available for sale in Portugal and Spain) may actually be deeply offensive to others elsewhere. And since tweeted images instantly go global, there were many who were understandably offended.

It's frankly irrelevant whether Benjamin Mendy is his buddy or not or whether or not he was offended. This wasn't a private joke between the two; this was chucked out there in public. Simply own it, say that you were not aware of the racist connotations, apologize to those who were offended and move on. And, perhaps, maybe take the opportunity to educate yourself about what that image stands for and why it's upsetting to so many.

Nobody believes there was any malice behind his tweet. So why drag this out?

Sanchez the hero and villain for Inter

Alexis Sanchez had quite the afternoon on his first start for Inter in Serie A. He looked bright and sharp early on, scored Inter's second in the 3-1 away win over Sampdoria and then got himself sent off in the most foolish way at the start of the second half... with a second yellow for diving. Evidently he forgot all about the all-seeing eye in the sky that is VAR.

Instead of 2-0 up and able to manage the game, Inter found themselves on the back foot (all the more so when Samp pulled one back). It's the sort of situation that infuriates Antonio Conte (and would likely cause his hair to fall out, if that were possible).

We'll get a better sense of where Conte's Inter stand this week after they face Barcelona in the Champions League midweek and Juventus next weekend.

Neymar comes to PSG's rescue again

Him again. Neymar's second-half goal gave Paris Saint-Germain their third 1-0 win in their last four Ligue 1 outings, each with a late score from the Brazilian.

The good news? Kylian Mbappe is back (though looking a tad rusty) and it was a bounce back after the midweek defeat. The not-so-good news? PSG looked a bit sluggish against an opponent that defended with numbers and intensity, at least until Mbappe came on with half an hour to go.

Neymar compared his relationship with PSG fans -- many still boo him after he tried to engineer a move away in the summer -- to that with a girlfriend: "When there is a problem, everyone stays in their corner... but with lots of love and hugs, everything will return to normal."

That's one way to put it, but let's remind ourselves about how it's nothing like a relationship with a girlfriend. The "problem" in question was generated by the "boyfriend" (Neymar) trying to dump his "girlfriend" (PSG), only staying because the other potential "girlfriend" (Barcelona) couldn't afford (or didn't want) to pay to get him out of the relationship. The "boyfriend" has made no guarantees that he won't try to leave again at the next opportunity. Oh, and perhaps most importantly, the "boyfriend" is being paid (handsomely) to be with the "girlfriend."

So yeah, it's really nothing like a romantic relationship.

RB Leipzig let Bundesliga lead slip

Leipzig lost their place at the top of the Bundesliga with a painful 3-1 home defeat to David Wagner's Schalke. Any Leipzig defeat will, understandably, generate plenty of schadenfreude but I wouldn't write them off just yet. This game would have taken a very different turn if Marcel Sabitzer and Emil Forsberg had converted their early chances.

More of a concern is how, having gone behind, Leipzig were so imprecise in their movement in the final third and how easily Schalke picked them off.

Let's not panic about Pulisic

Another week, another non-appearance from Christian Pulisic, this time in Chelsea's 2-0 home win over Brighton. I know some are scratching their heads over the fact that you would spend some $70 million on a player and then not play him in a real game (sorry, EFL Cup, nobody cares) for a month. But let's just remind ourselves that Pulisic only turned 21 this month and that last year he was slowed by injuries and started just nine of 34 Bundesliga games for Borussia Dortmund.

Carlisle: Time to worry about Pulisic?

While we're at it, let's also note that the guys ahead of him include a veteran Brazilian international (Willian), another veteran who won a World Cup (Pedro) and a guy who manager Frank Lampard groomed all of last season at Derby (Mason Mount). Plus Callum Hudson-Odoi, who is very young but is a homegrown fan favorite. Not to mention the fact that he was poor in his last outing (against Sheffield United) and when Chelsea play three at the back, there's no natural position for him.

Chelsea view Pulisic as a long-term project, not as a finished article who will have an instant impact. Players who have gone on to achieve far more than Pulisic might ever dream of weren't guaranteed starters at his age. Give him time, let him continue fighting for his place and, most of all, let him grow into the best player he can be.

Sarri, Juve finally show what they're capable of

We finally have a Maurizo Sarri sighting... as in the sighting of a Maurizio Sarri team. For the first time in this campaign, Juventus looked like what their manager might wish them to look like. SPAL aren't great -- most of all, they're an open footballing side who can easily get "out-footballed" by better opponents -- but if not for some huge saves by Etrit Berisha, it could easily have been five or six rather than the two they scored.

Playing Juan Cuadrado and Blaise Matuidi as full-backs, lining up Aaron Ramsey in the hole and, once again, putting his faith in the "Dybaldo" partnership are exactly why Sarri was brought in: as a guy who can find creative solutions and produce attacking football. It shows he has the self-belief to pursue his ideas (and yep, sometimes he'll get it wrong).

That's a good sign for Juve. No point having Sarri if he's going to go out there and try to be an off-brand Max Allegri.

Is Bayern's good form bad news for Muller?

Bayern sprung back up to the top of the Bundesliga with a 3-2 win over Paderborn. It's still not entirely clear what Niko Kovac's long-term view of his lineup is, but it looks as if it's bound to include Philippe Coutinho in the hole. Based on his performance -- he scored one, set up another and generally opened up play with ease -- it makes sense, but it also means that the light is dimming for Thomas Muller.

For the third straight game, Muller was stuck on the bench and it seems evident that Kovac can't accommodate both him and Coutinho. That's a big statement for Kovac to make, too: While Muller has been on the slide in many ways, he's still a Bayern stalwart, born, bred and buttered at the Sabenerstrasse. Never the most technically gifted player, Muller reached his heights thanks to his athleticism and intelligence; but athleticism tends to decline north of 30. He can, however, reinvent himself as an impact sub or possibly as the alternative to Robert Lewandowski up front. Either way, you can't imagine him disappearing from view this early.

Promising signs that Spurs can pull it together

If Tottenham are to be what many (including yours truly) thought they would be, namely the third force in the Premier League after Liverpool and Manchester City, they need more performances like Saturday's against Southampton. Coming after a hard-fought (and frankly harsh) defeat at Leicester and getting knocked out of the League Cup (which is probably a blessing in disguise and ought to be entirely irrelevant but instead adds fuel to the fire), it was important for their stars to turn up and be counted. Harry Kane, Tanguy Ndombele and others did just that.

There's still an elephant in the room -- the contractual situation of Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Christian Eriksen -- and it's frankly grotesque that it has reached this point. But if Mauricio Pochettino can keep the focus on the fact that there's a common goal for all, even in less than ideal circumstances, this team can hit last year's heights and maybe even go further.

Another awful weekend for Milan

Fiorentina's 3-1 walloping of Milan at the San Siro was more one-sided than it appeared. Federico Chiesa missed a penalty, Franck Ribery scored a "worldie" and Gaetano Castrovili continued to shine. But obviously, the focus is on the rossoneri, who are just one point above the relegation zone.

Milan's Ultras voiced their displeasure by leaving early (and missing Rafael Leao's late consolation wonder-goal). You can understand their frustration. Marco Giampaolo, whose team had shown progress in midweek, looked to have gone backwards again. He has plenty of square pegs in round holes but he also has guys who, right now, would look out of their depth in any formation, from Krzysztof Piatek to Hakan Calhanoglou to Suso.

The club say they're keeping faith with Giampaolo. The best thing he could do at this stage is show a bit of courage and perhaps play guys on merit rather than reputation and transfer fee. And when he does, conjure up a scheme that actually works for what he has.

Real Sociedad stumble vs. Sevilla

It didn't happen. Real Sociedad did not climb back to the top of La Liga after 17 seasons (back in the Reynald Denoueix days). Or, rather, they were top for 14 minutes, from the moment Mikel Oyarzabal gave them the lead right up to Sevilla's equalizer. Sevilla went on to win 3-2, showing plenty of fight after their midweek loss to Eibar.

But while imperfect, the performance ought to be a reminder that La Real aren't going away any time soon. In Mikel Merino, Martin Odegaard and Mikel Oyarzabal, they have three of the better young players in Europe and on their day they can match anyone for intensity. As for Sevilla, it's still a work in progress for Julen Lopetegui, but they're still just two points off the top of the table.

Next week, Sevilla visit the Camp Nou. The last time he was there, on the Real Madrid bench, he got thumped, 5-1, and got fired shortly thereafter. He won't be lacking for motivation.

Dortmund might not be title contenders after all

Like many, I had this as Borussia Dortmund's year and like many, I'm not sure what to think after they dropped another two points, this time in a 2-2 draw against Werder Bremen. The numbers say it's one win in five, though that's a bit misleading because the victory was a convincing one over Bayer Leverkusen and they deserved more from their draw against Barcelona.

But the Bremen performance might have been their worst one yet. They were sloppy at the back and some of the youngsters (Jadon Sancho) looked rattled. Most of all, after Bremen's equaliser, they seemed to simply wilt away. Time for Professor Lucien Favre to earn his bacon.

Famalicao's story is no fairytale

FC Famalicao, newly promoted to the Portuguese top flight and with crowds of around 5000, sit atop the Primeira Liga. Impressive? Sure. Heartwarming Cinderella story? Not so much.

It's not just the fact that the club have a billionaire backer (Israeli magnate Idan Ofer, who also owns just over a third of Atletico Madrid), it's also the way they've been built up in no time flat (19 summer signings) with the help of superagent Jorge Mendes, who stocked the club with his clients and players from "Mendes-friendly" clubs (Wolves, Atletico, Valencia, etc).

Mendes is just doing his job, of course (and doing it well), but it does take some of the gloss off.

And finally...

Bas Dost scored in Eintracht Frankfurt's 2-1 away victory at Union Berlin, a win that leaves them ninth in the table. He has two goals in four Bundesliga appearances this season.

This concludes this installment of #BasDostWatch.

Ajinkya Rahane is a relieved man, having broken a sequence of 17 Tests without a Test hundred. On the tour of the Caribbean, Rahane made 81 and 102 in the first Test in Antigua to mark his return to form.

This shut down all talk of his Test berth being under the scanner, something Virat Kohli firmly brushed aside prior to the series when he labelled Rahane as the "most sorted guy."

Between his 132 against Sri Lanka in August 2017 and the series in the West Indies in August, Rahane had averaged below nine other Indian batsmen who have played at least ten innings in that period.

"The question of when I'm going to get that hundred is now over. I'm feeling relieved," Rahane said at a press conference in Visakhapatnam ahead of the first Test against South Africa. "I believe that each and every match and series teaches you so much.

"When I was first selected for the Indian team, I had to wait for almost two years and 17 Test matches before making my debut. And here again, had to wait for 17 Test matches to score a hundred."

Prior to the series, Rahane had a mixed county season with Hampshire, scoring 307 runs in 13 innings, stats that were fueled by one century - 119 - and one half-century.

"When I was playing for Hampshire, I was thinking about my debut, how my mindset was positive and I was enjoying cricket," Rahane said. :During these 17 Test matches [when] I was batting well but not getting hundreds, I was thinking about the century and it was going away from me.

"So when I went in to bat in the West Indies, I told myself that I'm not going to think about the three-figure mark, and I'm going to enjoy batting. Batting according to the team's demand was my priority. And yes, I batted when the team needed it, and that elusive hundred also came through."

Australia's Test captain, Tim Paine, has given a strong indication that David Warner is inked in to open the batting against Pakistan at the Gabba in November despite his horror Ashes series where he reached double figures just twice and bagged three consecutive ducks.

Warner made 95 runs in 10 innings, with 61 of those coming in the first innings at Headingley, as he was dominated by Stuart Broad who removed him seven times in the series. It was Warner's first Test series after his one-year ban and while his World Cup return had been profitable he found it much harder against the red ball.

However, in an Ashes where Warner was not the only opener to struggle, his past Test record of 21 centuries and a formidable return on home soil - where he averages 59.64 - looks set to count for a lot, although Paine does not have an official voice in selection.

"I think he is," Paine told 7News when asked if Warner is assured of his spot for the start of the Test season in late November. "I think he's got enough credits in the bank.

"We know how good a player he is. Opening the batting in England can be really difficult, particularly if you're a left-hander and Stuart Broad's bowling at you.

"That was a difficult period for David [but] the way he was around our group as a senior player was outstanding. It's easy to do that when you're going well but to have him still upbeat and still pushing others to get better when he was going through a rough patch himself was great to see."

Warner could play in three of the four rounds of Sheffield Shield matches for New South Wales before the opening Test against Pakistan - the other takes place at the same time as the T20Is which Warner is likely to be part of - and while a return to form would quieten any debate, a series of low scores could leave the selectors a tricky decision.

Neither Marcus Harris nor Cameron Bancroft secured their spots during the Ashes but they do not have the weighty Test record to fall back on that Warner does. Joe Burns was considered very unlucky not to make the Ashes squad having scored 180 in his most recent outing, against Sri Lanka in February, before suffering post-viral fatigue syndrome which curtailed a spell with Lancashire that could have primed him for the Ashes.

There are probably two batting spots up for grabs ahead of the first Test of the summer with one middle-order vacancy to fill presuming that Matthew Wade retains his spot after making two centuries in the Ashes. Usman Khawaja and Travis Head were both dropped in England and will need strong starts to the season while the likes of Kurtis Patterson, Will Pucovski, Peter Handscomb and Mitchell Marsh, who impressed with the ball in the final Ashes Test, will be aiming to stake a claim.