Lionel Messi has been ruled out of Barcelona's game against Real Betis on Sunday after suffering a setback in his return from a calf injury.

Messi originally sustained the knock earlier this month and missed Barca's tour of the United States and their 1-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao in the league last Friday.

He returned to full training earlier this week and was expected to be in the squad for Betis' visit this weekend, but felt some discomfort when training on Friday. Barca then took the decision for the Argentina forward to train alone on Saturday.

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Coach Ernesto Valverde has said he will not take unnecessary risks by rushing Messi back, despite the fact that Barca are already missing Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele due to injuries.

"We can't take a step back with his recovery," Valverde said in a news conference. "If Messi is not 100 percent, he will not play."

Messi has not played a competitive game since Argentina beat Chile in the third-place playoff at the Copa America in July.

Suarez and Dembele, meanwhile, were both injured in Barca's surprise opening day defeat at San Mames last Friday. The Uruguay striker will be out until after September's international break and Dembele is set to be sidelined for five weeks.

Dembele angered the club by not revealing the extent of his pain after last Friday's game, with the severity of his injury only being established at training on Monday.

Sporting director Eric Abidal met with the France forward's agent on Friday to translate Barca's disappointment in the player, whose professionalism away from the pitch also threw up questions last year.

Valverde refused to be drawn on events, saying that "a big deal" is made of everything Dembele does and that he would not comment on the issue.

Antoine Griezmann, therefore, is the only fit forward in the first team. B team attackers Carles Perez and Ansu Fati have been training with the squad this week and could feature against Betis after included in Valverde's 18-man squad.

Barca's shortage in attack shows why they are still attempting to bring Neymar back to the club, with a third and possibly final offer expected to be made to Paris Saint-Germain in the coming days.

"Neymar's a PSG player and we have to focus on Sunday's game, which we're obliged to win after losing our opener," Valverde said.

"It's not something which affects us. If we were affected by all the rumours out there, we wouldn't be able to play.

"We're used to it and you have to be able to deal with these things."

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp praised his side's intensity as they took control at the top of the Premier League with their third consecutive win of the campaign in Saturday's 3-1 victory over Arsenal.

After wins over Norwich City and Southampton, the European champions, who were league runners-up last term, needed to step up their game for the visit of Unai Emery's Gunners who were also unbeaten -- and that is exactly what they did.

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"It was a brilliant game from my side so early in the season. It was outstanding. It was a performance full of power, energy, greed and passion, which I think you need to have against a team like Arsenal," said Klopp.

"We are still really early in the season and throwing such energy on the pitch is exceptional. The work rate of the whole team was exceptional. Tactical discipline was exceptional apart from maybe 10-15 minutes," he said.

Although Liverpool eased off in the latter stages and allowed Arsenal to score a consolation goal, Klopp was still well satisfied with what he witnessed.

"For 80 minutes we were completely in charge of the game. We are not Disneyland, we do not need to excite everyone in every second," said the German.

Mohamed Salah was the decisive figure -- turning David Luiz to gain a penalty which he blasted home in the 49th minute and then beating Arsenal's former Chelsea defender out wide before scoring an outstanding solo goal.

"The decision about the penalty I think was absolutely obvious. Mo's third goal was absolutely amazing, but the pedigree of the boys is sensational. Our identity is intensity, and we showed that today," said Klopp, who also had praise for his two Brazilians on the field.

"Roberto Firmino what a player he is, unbelievable. I am really happy with the performance. I did not see a bad player tonight or a player that played under his level. Fabinho played sensational," he said.

Liverpool have a five-point advantage over champions Manchester City, who pipped them to the title by a solitary point last season.

City play their third match of the league campaign at Bournemouth on Sunday.

LIVERPOOL, England -- The clock struck 57 minutes and for Arsenal, already 2-0 down against Liverpool, the nadir was still to come.

Mohamed Salah received possession on the right flank and beat David Luiz with such ruthlessness that social media was awash with obituaries for the defender's career. The Egyptian forward sped goalward, with Nacho Monreal's presence proving to be no impediment either, before planting the surest of finishes into the bottom left corner of Bernd Leno's goal.

The home side had a third goal through a piece of wondrous football, and despite Unai Emery's side following a different tactical script on this latest visit to Liverpool's red side, their all-too-familiar inferiority on this ground had been extended: this 3-1 reverse means that Arsenal have conceded 25 times in the last seven league games at Anfield, of which they have drawn two and lost five.

"We are the champions, champions of Europe" had been the opening chant from the home support after kickoff and what followed on an atypically sunny Merseyside evening served as a reminder of how wide the gulf is between these two sides, something a late Lucas Torreira consolation strike could not disguise.

Having begun the season with back-to-back wins, Arsenal arrived with confidence and a plan to starve Liverpool of space centrally. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola once remarked that Jurgen Klopp's men "especially like to attack from inside, through the middle. I don't think there is another team in the world attacking in this way with so many players capable of launching moves in an instant" and Emery wanted to stifle that strength with a narrow midfield.

Klopp admitted later that he "didn't expect the system they played," and the tactic encouraged Liverpool to use the twin threat of full-backs Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold on the flanks, with the visitors backing themselves to deal with crosses and fire the ball quickly upfield to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe, isolating them against Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip.

It was partly successful for 40 minutes, with Arsenal coping with aerial bombardment and sustained pressure. But while the best chances for the north Londoners came via their front men, they were created by Liverpool's mistakes. The standout statistic of the first half was that Klopp's charges made 128 passes in the attacking third, while Arsenal only managed 18.

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Liverpool's superiority would eventually be reflected on the scoreboard, beginning when Joel Matip headed in Alexander-Arnold's corner four minutes before half-time. During a 10-minute spell after the interval, Salah got the better of Luiz twice -- first winning a penalty as the centre-back tugged on his shirt, then leaving him in his shadow for his second and Liverpool's third -- to leave Arsenal on the canvas.

"I think now we have reduced the difference with Liverpool over the 90 minutes," Emery said post-match. "We've reduced the difference from last year (Arsenal lost 5-1 at Anfield in December 2018), but at the moment it's not enough."

That last line summed up matters succinctly. Arsenal were not so awful as they have been here -- they were organised, they had a blueprint and they created chances in the first half -- but that was nevertheless not enough against the champions of Europe.

Gloucestershire 189 for 4 (Klinger 74, Hammond 56) beat Somerset 164 (Babar 44, Smith 3-19) by 25 runs

Michael Klinger marked probably his last innings at the Bristol County Ground with a match-winning 74 to lead Gloucestershire to a vital 25-run Vitality Blast win over arch-rivals Somerset.

The home side posted 189 for 4 after losing the toss in front of an 8000 crowd, Klinger leading the way with eight fours and a six in his 52-ball innings, while Miles Hammond hit 56 from 43 deliveries. Max Waller was the pick of the Somerset attack, bowling his four overs for 25 runs. In reply, Somerset could manage only 164 all out, Babar Azam contributing 44. Tom Smith claimed 3 for 19 and Graeme van Buuren 2 for 27.

The victory strengthened Gloucestershire's hopes of reaching the quarter-finals, while leaving west country neighbours with much to do over their last three group matches.

Fresh from receiving a presentation from club officials to mark his seven years of service before the game, Klinger quickly gave Gloucestershire's innings momentum, hitting three fours from successive balls in the second over, sent down by Jerome Taylor. Soon opening partner Hammond was joining in as 54 came from the six overs of Powerplay. By the halfway point in their innings, the hosts were well placed at 84 without loss.

Hammond reached a 39-ball half-century and hit the first six of the game off Roelof van der Merwe before being caught at wide long-on in the same over, the 13th, with the total on 105.

Klinger went to his fifty off 38 balls and the 15th over, bowled by van der Merwe, saw James Bracey smack two sixes in succession. He perished for 20, but Jack Taylor ensured Gloucestershire of a meaningful score with 23 off 10 balls.

Klinger departed to a standing ovation in the final over, raising his bat to all sides of the ground as he walked off.

Somerset's reply had reached 20 in the third over when Tom Banton was caught at long-on off David Payne, having just hit the left-arm seamer for six. By the end of the Powerplay the visitors had 59 on the board, Babar and Hildreth scoring quickly with classical strokeplay. Barbar played a textbook 29-ball innings, featuring six fours, before being beaten by a turning delivery from Smith in the tenth over and stumped by Bracey. At halfway Somerset were 91 for 2.

Smith struck again to remove Eddie Byrom off a skyer in the 12th over and when Hildreth was brilliantly stumped by Bracey off a leg-side wide from van Buuren a Somerset slump set in. Craig Overton fell to a big shot off van Buuren and Tom Abell to a reverse sweep off Smith, who finished four accurate overs to a rousing ovation from home fans.

With five overs left, Somerset required 59. Tom Lammonby hit sixes off van Buuren and Andrew Tye to keep his side's hopes alive, finding a lively partner in van der Merwe, who contributed a breezy 17 before falling to Ryan Higgins, leaving 29 needed from 13 balls. But tt proved too much as Tye claimed two wickets in the 19th over and Ryan Higgins wrapped things up with the third ball of the last.

Joe Root wasn't just battling to save this match. And he wasn't just battling to save his side's hopes in the Ashes. He was, perhaps, battling to save his captaincy.

Few England captains survive two Ashes series defeats to lead their side into a third. Archie MacLaren did so, but that was more than a century ago and he had been replaced in between series. Archie didn't have Twitter to deal with, either.

But it wasn't just defeat that threatened Root. It was the thought that captaincy may be getting the better of him. England had been a bit of a shambles at the end of day two and the start of day three. Root himself had put down a relatively straightforward catch at slip - Marnus Labuschagne was on 14 at the time; it may yet prove a crucial moment - they had conceded over-throws and started to snipe at one another in the field. Increasingly it was looking hard to sustain the belief that Root was the man to drive this side forward.

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More than that, Root's primary problem was the diminishing returns from his own bat. In a side as parched for runs as England, any drop of output from their best batsman cannot be accommodated. Going into this innings, Root was averaging 18.85 in Test cricket this summer having suffered consecutive ducks in his previous two innings. Overall, he averaged 52.88 when not captain and 40.41 when captain. The evidence was starting to suggest he had been worn down by the burden of the role. The whispers were growing that, for his own good as much as the team's, it might be necessary to make a change.

That would be a nightmare for England's team management. There are few obvious alternatives for the role - Ben Stokes, perhaps, or, maybe Stuart Broad for the rest of the summer - and it would spell defeat in England's rebuilding efforts of the last few years. But, tough though the decision might have been, it was increasingly looking as if it might appear necessary.

Moments after Root came to the crease, England subsided to 15 for 2 requiring 344 more for victory. It looked a hopeless task. No England side has ever made such a total to win a Test and there's not much about this side - the team that have lost 10 wickets in a single session four times in the last three years - to suggest they will be the ones to change history.

But, at last, they found some resistance. Not swashbuckling, counterattacking, blistering resistance. The more substantial kind. The kind that is prepared to wait and leave and take blows to the body. The kind that reminds us that batting isn't just about eye-catching shots, but tight defence and well-judged leaves. It's about hours of careful accumulation.

Root was beaten at times. Josh Hazlewood, in particular, bowled beautifully and might, with a slice of luck, have won the battle. But while England pushed and prodded at deliveries in the first innings, here Root defended with bat in front of his eyes, played the line and refused to be lured into jabbing at the ball as it left him. His first three boundaries were all the result of soft hands combatting well directed deliveries and guided - sometimes with more than a hint of edge about them - to third man.

As his innings progressed, there were one or two more expansive shots. When Nathan Lyon over-pitched, for example, Root leaned into a cover driven boundary that registered his half-century from 120-balls. The next delivery, Lyon dropped short and Root turned him to fine leg for four more. And when Lyon removed his slip, Root responded with a reverse-sweep for another boundary.

But he had earned the right to those strokes. He had seen off the bowlers at their freshest and the ball at its hardest. He had forced them into third and fourth spells and, for perhaps the first time this series, exposed the limitations of Australia's three-man pace attack. This is how Test batting used to look.

One of the more remarkable moments in Root's innings came when he had scored 59. It earned no applause and will probably not feature on any highlights package. But his ability to keep out one delivery from Hazlewood - a ball that jagged in and kept horribly low - was remarkable; a testament to the batsman's hand-eye coordination and the manner in which he was keeping his eye on the ball.

It was, for the most part, good old-fashioned Test batting. There was none of this nonsense about needing to be positive or putting the pressure back on the bowler by hitting them for boundaries. Instead it was about the importance of remaining compact, the importance of wearing bowlers down and the importance of selling his wicket for the highest price possible. It was, in short, the innings of a leader.

He received admirable support from Joe Denly. There have been times in this series - really quite long times, not least in this game - when Denly has looked some way short of the standard required to sustain success at this level. Even in this innings, there were times when his most productive shot was the leave; so late was he on some leaves, that the ball flashed away off the face of the withdrawing bat to the boundary.

But there should be no doubting his toughness or determination. The Australian bowlers gave him a wonderfully sustained examination against the short-ball and, while he rarely looked anything other than hugely uncomfortable, he never took a backward step and he never gave it away. Eventually, he too produced a cut, a clip and a drive or two that suggested this attack could, in time, be overcome. He earned this half-century through bravery, bruises and bloody-mindedness.

And then there's Stokes. Forget, for a moment, the fact that he reached stumps having batted 50 balls for 2. That's an admirable demonstration of restraint, for sure. But it pales into insignificance beside his effort with the ball. Had it not been for Stokes' incredible spell - his 24.2 overs, every one of them dripping with pace and hostility, were broken only by night and four balls from Jofra Archer - this Ashes campaign would have been decided already. Not for the first time, his figures - 3 for 56 and 2 not out - provide little insight into the enormity of his commitment and contribution.

Australia remain overwhelming favourites for this match and this series. With the pitch exhibiting signs of uneven bounce and a new ball due after eight overs on the fourth day, Root may consider that his work has hardly begun. It would be little less than a miracle if England pulled this off.

But Root has, at least, shown that he has the character and skill to perform under pressure. And he has shown the leadership qualities to coax performances out of his team. Maybe, just maybe, Root can lead his side through such hardships in the manner in which Allan Border did so when captaining Australia during the defeat of 1985 and 1986-87. Border, after all, then went on to lead his side to success in the next three Ashes series. There were moments, at least, on Saturday when Root suggested he had the skill and the fortitude to do something similar.

A day after former Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason was officially named Washington's starter, sophomore backup Jake Haener has decided to leave the program, the school announced.

Haener played in four games last year and completed nine passes for 107 yards with one touchdown and an interception as Jake Browning's backup.

Although he lost the starting job to Eason, coach Chris Petersen said Friday that he planned to play Haener in the 13th-ranked Huskies' season opener against Eastern Washington on Aug. 31.

"It was awesome," Petersen said of the competition. "Jake Haener and Jacob Eason, obviously two really good quarterbacks. Tight competition, and you take it as long as you can and you've got to make a decision and roll with it. Jake Haener will play in that first game. He should, he deserves it and he will."

With Haener gone, redshirt freshman Jacob Sirmon and true freshman Dylan Morris now will compete for the backup spot behind Eason.

Redshirt freshman Colson Yankoff transferred to UCLA in June but is expected to sit out the 2019 season after Washington didn't support his waiver for immediate eligibility.

Houston Texans starting running back Lamar Miller was taken off the field on a cart during the first quarter of the team's preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday.

On first down, Miller was tackled by Cowboys tackle Maliek Collins, who hit him just above the left knee. Miller grabbed his left leg and was checked out by the medical staff. He was eventually carted off.

Miller has been the Texans' lead back since 2016. In 14 games last season, he ran for 973 yards on 210 carries and scored five touchdowns. Miller is entering the last season of a four-year contract.

Houston traded for running back Duke Johnson earlier in the month but was hoping to feature both backs in their offense. Miller was replaced in the game by Taiwan Jones.

ATLANTA -- Six spectators were injured when lightning struck a tree at East Lake Golf Club on Saturday afternoon during a weather delay at the Tour Championship.

Lightning struck the top of a tree near the 15th green/16th tee and shattered bark all the way to the bottom. The PGA Tour said in a statement that debris from the strike injured four people, who were transported via ambulances to local hospitals along with two others.

According to the PGA Tour, the injuries "do not appear to be life-threatening.''

Play in the third round of the event had been halted at 4:17 p.m. ET due to dangerous weather in the area. Players were taken off the course and many spectators left. There were two lightning strikes that occurred at approximately 4:45 p.m.

Due to the circumstances, the third round was suspended for the day, with play set to resume at 8 a.m. ET on Sunday.

"I think most of us saw what happened yesterday (when there was a weather delay), and we'd adjust accordingly today,'' said Matt Kuchar, who had completed seven holes when play was called. "We trust the Tour to do the right thing. This is an easy one to Monday morning quarterback and we should of and could of, but we didn't.''

Tee times began at 1 p.m. on Saturday despite ominous weather reports for the mid-to-late afternoon. Leaders Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas did not tee off until 3:20 p.m.

"We had a situation where there were pop-up thunderstorms,'' said Mark Russell, the PGA Tour's vice president of rules and competitions. "We have a meteorologist on staff. We can monitor that. And a lot of times we get lucky and we don't get hit with thunderstorms, especially when it's a situation when they're pop-ups like that.

"Now, that's what we were faced with. So, we're going to see if we can deal with that. We can suspend play and get people out of here if that does happen, but a lot of times we're on the positive side, hoping that we can play golf and get lucky and not be in the path of those thunderstorms.''

Asked why tee times were not moved up far earlier in the day to take any luck out of the situation, Russell said: "I think if we did that every time we had a possibility of thunderstorms in the Southeast, we'd do that basically every time we played golf.''

Added Tyler Dennis, the tour's vice president and chief of operations: "We have a professional meteorologist that's on site every week on all of our tours. And forecasting the weather, the safety that goes along with it -- that is critical to us. Safety obviously, but just managing what we do out here. I think many of you that follow the Tour around know that just about every day of the year when we're looking at the scheduled play for the next day or the format, we're taking into account all kinds of factors with that. You know, safety, as we're talking about right now, and other things related to the competition.

"And so we have a lot of scenarios throughout the year where we look at it, and there's a very high degree of certainty that there will be storms coming. And there's a lot of other days when we look at it and we see, as it was today -- I believe it was a 50 to 60% chance of storms from 3:00 to 6:00 this afternoon -- and we just have to evaluate it and make our best decision when we make the schedule.

"Obviously when it comes down to suspension of play, we don't leave any room for error there. Safety is a huge priority for us.''

ESPN's Mark Schlabach contributed to this report.

HOUSTON -- James Harden isn't just playing around in pickup games when he launches the one-legged, step-back 3-pointers seen in viral videos shot during open runs this summer.

Harden, the Houston Rockets' superstar who led the NBA in scoring the past two seasons, is searching for ways he can continue to improve and innovate his game.

"I'm always trying to be creative," Harden told ESPN after giving away bicycles to dozens of children at Houston's Tuffly Park as part of his annual charity weekend. "I'm always trying to get better -- at basketball, life, business-wise. I'm always trying to find ways to be impactful. With basketball, you have to be creative. This is my 11th year, and every single year I want to get better. I don't want to stay the same. You've got to find ways to keep growing."

Harden, whose step-back has emerged as arguably the league's most lethal weapon over the past few years, said he doesn't know whether he's yet confident enough in the one-legged variation to use it in games that count. But that goal has been in Harden's mind as he made that shot a focus of his summer work.

"I'm not sure; it's something that I work on," Harden said when asked if he'll use the one-legged, step-back 3 this season. "But you know how Mike [Jordan] has his fadeaway and Dirk [Nowitzki] has his one-leg and [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar] had the sky hook, I want my step-back to be one of those moves that last forever. So when I travel around the world and I see little kids that [say], 'Hey James, I got a step-back!' -- I love to see that.

"It's me being a creator and me being an innovator and paving the way in basketball in my own way, doing it how I want to do it, and that's what it's all about. As a little kid playing in these parks, that's what I imagined, that's what I dreamed of. Now it's coming to reality, so it's pretty cool."

When Harden mentioned playing in the parks, he motioned toward the Tuffly Park basketball court, which was heavily damaged by Hurricane Harvey and will be refurbished with funds from his foundation 3 The Harden Way. It is one of several courts throughout the city that Harden's foundation will pay to refurbish.

"It means everything," said Houston mayor Sylvester Turner, whom Harden reached out to for guidance with his charitable efforts. "When you know you have needs in your city, especially parks that need substantial improvement, and then all of the sudden you get a phone call on your cell from The Beard and then for him to follow through -- man, it's a shot in the arm for these kids. It's a reminder to them that they have not been forgotten and that people care."

The event at Tuffly Park was part of the third annual JH-Town Weekend, which includes a concert, a comedy show and a celebrity softball game to raise money for Harden's foundation, which also has annual events in Houston to help the less fortunate at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

"Since I stepped here day one, they've embraced me," said Harden, a seven-time All-Star entering his eighth season in Houston. "They've opened the door and just showed me so much love that I felt the need to give it back.

"Obviously, I try to do my best to win games and do all that good stuff on the court, bring a championship to the city. That same time that I spend on the court doing what I need to do to prepare for basketball, I feel like that same energy needs to be spent in the community."

NEW YORK -- The first-place Atlanta Braves have signed catcher Francisco Cervelli and immediately plugged him into the starting lineup against the New York Mets.

Cervelli, who has a history of concussions, was recently granted his release by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He gives the National League East leaders a veteran replacement for injured catcher Brian McCann, who is sidelined with a sprained left knee.

The 33-year-old Cervelli joined the Braves on Saturday at Citi Field and was set to bat seventh against Mets right-hander Zack Wheeler. Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said Cervelli will split playing time with Tyler Flowers behind the plate and likely remain with the club when McCann returns because by then rosters will have expanded in September.

Cervelli batted .193 in 34 games for the Pirates this season before getting hurt. He is a .269 career hitter with 36 home runs in 700 major league games.

To make roster room for Cervelli, the Braves optioned catcher Alex Jackson to Triple-A Gwinnett and transferred left-hander Grant Dayton to the 60-day injured list.