Arguably the greatest comeback of all, this one is so iconic that it has its very own title in France and Spain – La Remontada (The Comeback).
PSG were clinical at home, winning 4-0, but the Nou Camp sensed something special when Luis Suarez scored after just three minutes in the second leg.
Barcelona were two goals to the good at the break courtesy of a Layvin Kurzawa own goal, but still trailed by two goals on aggregate.
Lionel Messi scored a penalty soon after the restart but Edinson Cavani hit back to silence the home faithful, although it wasn’t the pendulum-swinging moment PSG hoped for.
Barcelona, now trailing 5-3, needed three goals in fewer than 30 minutes to achieve a miracle. Neymar scored a free-kick in the 88th minute to offer further hope, before the Brazilian stroked home a 91st-minute penalty to level the tie at 5-5 on aggregate.
But PSG were still heading through on away goals.
Then, with 20 seconds of added time remaining, La Remontada came to fruition when Sergi Roberto turned home Neymar’s chipped pass, with Barcelona becoming the only team in history to overturn a four-goal Champions League deficit.
De Miguel had been at Tenerife for just over a season, having joined in the summer of 2025 from Castellon. The striker helped the team gain promotion to the second division.
The Spanish forward began his career with Leganes at youth level in the Madrid suburbs, playing for a string of teams, including Unionistas de Salamanca, before signing for Castellon in 2023.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said at a news conference the incident was “heartbreaking”.
“To see a colleague lose his life in such a manner, it’s beyond any words that I can put today,” said the Spanish coach.
Other sports stars, including retired Spanish tennis icon Rafael Nadal, Argentine great Lionel Messi, and Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo also left messages on Instagram.
“There are no words. My condolences and lots of strength to all his family and friends,” wrote Inter Miami forward Messi.
Nadal expressed a “terrible sadness” at De Miguel’s passing “from the bottom of my heart”.
“A tragedy. No words,” Ronaldo wrote.
“Lots of strength to the family. May he rest in peace.”
Former Barcelona defender Gerard Pique, who co-owns Andorra, said: “I am sorry with all my soul. Rest in peace, Jesus.”
De Miguel’s Tenerife team-mates also paid tribute on social media.
Midfielder Juanjo Sanchez said: “You let me into your heart, and you earned a place in mine, as we shared moments of laughter every single day and took walks barefoot after our training sessions.
“I cannot let this moment pass without highlighting what a wonderful person you are. You never had an unkind word or a sour expression for anyone, and you always displayed exemplary conduct, despite all the challenges you faced.
“You will always be with me, my friend.”
Striker Enric Gallego described De Miguel as “one of the best people” he has met, in an emotional statement.
“Thank you for everything we experienced together – for your camaraderie, your character, your humanity and the exemplary attitude you always showed,” he said.
“I feel very fortunate to have shared a locker room with you. I’m going to miss you so much.”
Forward Fran Sabina said: “There is no explanation or words that make sense of something like this.
“You were an important person in my life.
“We were lucky enough to share unforgettable moments, laughter, stories and experiences that today become memories that I will cherish forever in my heart.
“Thank you my friend. Thank you for every moment lived, for every shared experience, for the laughter, for your affection and, most of all, for this sincere friendship that we had.
“The appreciation we had was mutual. And that’s something neither time nor your absence can ever change.”
While United’s victory was certainly well received, it will not mask wider issues.
‘Green and gold’ protests against the ownership took place before kick-off and during a first-half when the home side were abysmal.
Chants against the Glazer family, minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and director of football Jason Wilcox will not stop just because of this victory, no matter how thrilling.
The sober assessment should also recall United came from behind to beat Atalanta 3-2 at Old Trafford during Solskjaer’s time. They lost 5-0 at home to Liverpool four days later. Within a month, the Norwegian had been sacked.
In October 2018, Jose Mourinho was on the brink of dismissal before a Premier League encounter with Newcastle. United trailed 2-0 after 10 minutes but fought back to win. Mourinho lasted 13 more games.
No-one can know how much time Carrick has bought himself with this victory.
“I don’t have a crystal ball to know what happens next,” he told Amazon Prime. “We move on to the weekend. We’ve got a really important game here against Aston Villa, which we need to prepare for.”
Chief executive Omar Berrada and Wilcox certainly looked much happier at the final whistle than they had done midway through the first half.
Suddenly United look like they can qualify for the next phase of the Champions League. For the first time since September, Carrick’s players are enjoying the winning feeling.
But it will mean little unless they can maintain the momentum against Villa, who were getting beaten heavily by Barcelona as Old Trafford was in tumult.
Asked if he will sleep better thanks to the win, Carrick was honest enough to admit that would not be the case.
“Genuinely, no. I don’t. Really, I don’t,” he said. “Whether that’s right or wrong, or normal or not, I don’t know, but I didn’t feel relief. It was more I was genuinely pleased for the players.
“I know how much they care, I know what they’re giving. Sometimes it looks like that, sometimes it doesn’t, sometimes we play well, sometimes we haven’t, and I understand that.
“But I could feel their willingness to do well, and so for them to have to dig really deep, and to see everybody having that feeling that we all crave, that’s why we’re all here.”
Barca were without Andreas Christensen, Eric García and Xavi Espart, leaving them fragile in defence, with 20-year-old midfielder Brian Farinas making his Champions League debut and just second start at right-back.
The hosts had not kept a Champions League clean sheet in 18 games, a run stretching back to April 2025, and there was real fear from seasoned Barca watchers that Villa would exploit their weakness.
In the first half Matty Cash, Gomes and Johan Manzambi, twice, made Barca sweat as the visitors created chances without taking them.
German Leon Goretzka hit the post in the second half but by then the game was done after Raphinha’s strikes.
Lamine Yamal, Anthony Gordon and Joao Cancelo went close to adding to Barca’s tally, but Emery remained philosophical.
“The test was definitely not in the level we want to achieve but there are a lot of things to learn, a lot of experience for the players and us,” he said. “It is giving me a lot of information to analyse and compete at this level.
“Overall, we are competing fantastically in the Champions League, although playing the match we played we have work to do to get to this level [of Barcelona].
“We were sometimes achieving it and close to scoring goals but we must be ruthless in the attacking third, 3-0 is maybe more than we deserved, but we accept the defeat.”
It was still a reminder of how far Villa have come under Emery, who took over when they were three points above the Premier League relegation zone.
A Champions League night against Barcelona in the Nou Camp was fanciful when the Spaniard walked in the door from Villarreal.
Since then, he has delivered the Europa League title and two Champions League campaigns and this defeat in Spain will be another key marker in Villa’s journey with him as they now prepare to visit Manchester United next on Sunday.
“Barcelona made the right decisions at the right times and scored really good goals,” captain John McGinn told TNT Sports.
“The manager spoke about being clinical at important moments in the game. When you come here, 50-50s sometimes don’t go your way. They also leave players up the pitch so if you lose the ball they can be away.
“I think we are competitive against teams at this level, we have shown that whether it is Bayern Munich or PSG. It was a huge learning curve for us and I am sure it will stand us in good stead for the future.”
Bruno Fernandes says Manchester United’s players “don’t need to save anyone’s job” after their improbable comeback win against Roma in the Champions League.
The Red Devils produced a remarkable second-half fightback to come from 2-0 down to win 3-2 and end a run of nine games without a victory.
Restored to the team for the Premier League defeat by Chelsea, the 32-year-old’s penalty on 58 minutes sparked an incredible revival to ease some of the pressure on Carrick.
But when asked if the result would save his job, United captain Fernandes told Amazon Prime: “We don’t need to save anyone’s job.”
He continued: “The club needed that win, the players needed that win. We have been working so hard to get out of this situation all together.
“It’s been tough, there’s been a lot of speculation in the media. A lot of lies around many things that have happened between me and the manager, that we have cleared the air, then after that the manager took the decision to put me on the bench because I’m not performing.
“Everyone thought that was a punishment for the words that I had. If it was, it was right. The manager is the one who makes the decisions.
“It doesn’t change the belief I have of the manager and the staff and every player in this club. It doesn’t change my aim to win every game that I have ahead of me.”
Austin Reaves described it as “fun.” Luka Doncic called the Lakers’ effortless-looking offense as “flowing.” And this is still the early stages of development for a team that brought in nine new players.
Through eight games, the Lakers have the most dynamic offense in the NBA. Led by Doncic, the Lakers are second in scoring with 122.5 points per game and first in offensive rating with 121.9 points per 100 possessions. The starting lineup of Doncic, Reaves, Walker Kessler, Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle has a league-best 135.5 offensive rating among five-man groups that have played at least 40 minutes together entering Wednesday’s game at Sacramento.
“Everything’s as expected,” guard Quentin Grimes said Monday after the Lakers hung 138 points in a 21-point win over the Miami Heat. “Winning, everybody’s getting involved, everybody’s making the right play, getting a lot of assists.”
The Lakers (6-2) had 39 assists against the Heat, the most during JJ Redick’s head-coaching tenure. Doncic is on a historic scoring binge; he is the first Laker since Kobe Bryant in 2007 to have five consecutive games of 35 or more points. While putting up a seemingly ho-hum 42 points against Miami, he also had a season-high 13 assists.
“It’s a really good offense that we’re playing right now,” Redick said. “And a lot of that, of course, is Doncic and what he’s able to do and bend the defense.”
Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer at 38.3 points per game, does his damage early. He typically plays all 12 minutes of the opening quarter and leads the league with 15 points a game in the first quarter. Once he gets his shot going, teams send double teams to force the ball out of his hands. That’s when Doncic can be particularly dangerous.
Doncic has always been lauded for his superior court vision. But the Lakers are still learning to see the same picture. The Lakers had 14 turnovers, including 11 from Doncic and Reaves, during a preseason game against the Denver Nuggets, who were aggressively trapping the Lakers’ ballhandlers. The Lakers threw away a 25-point second-quarter lead on Oct. 30 when the Golden State Warriors ratcheted up the ball pressure.
Doncic’s five turnovers a game are the second most in the league, and Reaves is third with 4.6 turnovers per game.
Some players are new to being on a team with guards who get blitzed nearly every play, Reaves said. It requires players to not only be comfortable making decisions to pass, drive or shoot, but they have to choose quickly. A moment’s hesitation gives away the four-on-three advantage created by the double-team.
Redick praised Grimes’ ability to keep advantages by driving decisively. Forward Sandro Mamukelashvili is also great at it, Redick said, as is guard Collin Sexton, who knows no speed other than full. The Lakers have also finished their advantages with Thybulle and Williams making27 of 58 (46.6%) three-point attempts combined.
“That’s the beauty of our team,” Williams said. “You could put different guys at different spots and everyone’s able to make a play. All our guys are just dynamic and versatile. And everyone just wants to make the right play. No one wants to only shoot, there’s no egos. And that’s the fun part about it, you know? We all love to see each other succeed.”
Williams missed three games because of a sore left foot but returned Monday with nine points, two rebounds and two assists off the bench. When Jake LaRavia jumped into the starting lineup, the Lakers were just as effective offensively as their first-choice lineup. When Doncic, Reaves, Kessler, Thybulle and LaRavia are together, the Lakers’ 144.3 points per 100 possessions ranks first among lineups that have played at least 30 minutes.
Heat forward Giannis Antetokounmpo reaches through the hoop to block a reverse dunk by Lakers center Walker Kessler on Monday night.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
But numbers don’t normalize until about 250 minutes, Redick believes.
“I think there’s always room for improvement,” he said Monday.
The Lakers have the most room for improvement on the defensive side. Their defensive rating of 114 points allowed per 100 possessions is tied with the Clippers for 20th in the NBA. They still rank 28th in rebounding, despite three consecutive double-doubles from Kessler, who responded after Redick challenged the center to be a larger rebounding presence.
“This team can become a great team,” Redick said before Monday’s win over the Heat. “That requires patience, that requires a lot of coaching and teaching and buy-in, and so that whole process takes time.”
Manchester City defender Rayan Ait-Nouri is a surprise target for Manchester United, Crystal Palace could turn to England assistant boss Anthony Barry if they sack Pierre Sage, Barcelona are keen on Arsenal centre-back Piero Hincapie.
England assistant manager Anthony Barry has emerged as a candidate to replace Pierre Sage if the Frenchman is sacked by Crystal Palace. (Mirror), external
Bayern Munich are continuing to monitor Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard while uncertainty surrounds the 27-year-old Norway midfielder’s next contract with the Gunners. (Caughtoffside), external
Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi, 27, is prepared to consider leaving Arsenal during the winter transfer window. (Team Talk), external
Manchester United and Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes, 32, will not be offered an escape route out of Old Trafford by Saudi Pro-League club Al-Hilal even though they were close to signing him at the start of the season. (Talksport), external
Tottenham will not sanction the sale of Swedish midfielder Lucas Bergvall amid interest from Barcelona and Napoli in the 20-year-old. (Football Insider), external
Minnesota United’s 26-year-old forward Kelvin Yeboah, nephew of Leeds and Ghana hero Tony, is on the radar of a number of Premier League clubs with Everton, Crystal Palace and Sunderlandall in the market for a striker. (Talksport), external
Rachel Apa, a former Division I field hockey player and first-time marathon runner, died Sunday after she collapsed while participating in the New York City Marathon. She was 24.
Apa experienced a “medical incident” during the race, according to marathon organizers New York Road Runners, and a bystander administered CPR until medical staff arrived. Staff continued with CPR and also used a defibrillator in their efforts to revive her. EMS transported Apa to Mount Sinai Medical Center, where doctors tried to save her life for more than six hours, her father, Steve Apa, told the New York Times.
“We are deeply saddened by Rachel’s passing following running in Sunday’s race,” the Road Runners said in a statement. “Our thoughts and sincere sympathies are with her family, friends, and the entire running community.”
According to multiple media outlets, the family was told by doctors that Apa had died of rhabdomyolysis — “a rare condition in which muscle cells break down and release a substance into the blood that can lead to kidney failure,” according to the Mayo Clinic. Marathon runners are listed as people that could be affected by the condition.
The Office of Chief Medical Examiner in New York did not immediately respond to an inquiry for this article.
Apa spent four years with the Bucknell University field hockey team before graduating in 2024 with a degree in business administration. She made 42 starts in 63 overall games, compiling 40 points on 17 goals and six assists.
A product manager at TE Connectivity who was pursuing an MBA at Charleston Southern University in South Carolina, Apa decided earlier this year to run the New York City Marathon as part of the Parkinson’s Champions team.
“My grandfather was my role model growing up,” she wrote on the team’s fundraising page. “He taught me to stay active, push my limits, and embrace challenges, shaping my love for sports and movement. Later in life, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and I watched as the disease slowly took away the freedom to move that he once loved so much. He passed away in 2022, but the lessons he taught me continue to drive me forward.”
The fundraiser garnered more than $21,000 in donations, far surpassing Apa’s stated goal of $4,000.
Her father, Steve Apa, told the New York Times she had been training for the marathon for months.
“It’s unfathomable,” he said of his daughter’s death. “Perfect health, perfect shape, 24 years old.”
He told multiple media outlets that his daughter was accompanied to the race by her mother and some friends, while he stayed home in Lewisberry, Pa., and tracked her progress on an app, texting with her along the way.
Several miles into the race, Steve Apa told NBC News, his daughter texted “I feel amazing” and “I’ve never felt this good.”
Soon after, at around the 14-mile mark, Apa’s mother shot a video of her daughter smiling and waving as she ran by.
A few miles later, Steve Apa told the outlets, he started receiving texts from his daughter that said things like “ugh” and “ow.” He stopped hearing from her around mile 20 or 21 but could see on the app that she was still running, until her progress stopped at mile 24.
According to the New York Police Department, police officers assigned to the marathon “observed a 24-year-old female experiencing a medical episode near mile marker 24” at around 1:40 p.m. “EMS responded and transported the female to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition,” NYPD said in an email.
Apa’s mother rushed to the location and was told by an EMS worker that her daughter had been taken away in an ambulance, Steve Apa told NBC News. Michelle Apa received a ride to the hospital in another ambulance.
Apa was declared dead at around 9:40 p.m., Steve Apa told the New York Times.
According to the Road Runners, the last time a New York City Marathon participant suffered a medical incident during the race and later died at a hospital was 2024.
If the City Section was seeking publicity, it’s going to get it for including two winless football teams in its playoff pairings released on Saturday.
Gardena (0-10) is the No. 16 seed in Division II. Westchester (0-10) is No. 6 seed in Division III.
“That’s pretty bad,” Hamilton coach Elijah Asante said of two winless teams making the playoffs.
In fact, the City Section was only following rules adopted by its football coaches directing that teams be placed in brackets by strictly following where they are rated in computer rankings. Because Gardena came from the powerful Marine League and Westchester was in the Western League, an 0-10 record didn’t prevent them from being included based on strength of schedule.
Rick Prizant, the athletic director at Birmingham and a member of the section’s executive committee, said, “We shouldn’t penalize teams that happen to be in tough leagues and play a difficult nonleague schedule. If they are rated high enough by the computer to qualify for the playoffs they shouldn’t be punished.”
Eagle Rock coach Andy Moran, who’s chairman of the football advisory committee, said there was no scenario for winless teams “to come out of here.”
Look for the coaches to add a new proposal to prevent such a scenario in the future.
He confirmed after last month’s Old Trafford defeat that he had “given his word” to owner Simon Moran to stay on for next season.
“It’s a real honour to extend my time at the Wire, and I’m excited to continue leading this club forwards,” he told the club website., external
“I love what we’re doing and believe we’re not far away from achieving what we are all chasing.”
Warrington finished third in Burgess’ first season in charge before slumping to eighth in 2025.
However, with the experienced Steve McNamara brought in as assistant, they bounced back well last season to finish third again and reach a first Grand Final since 2018.
McNamara has since left to take over at Hull FC.
“Sam is a vital part of what this club is building. His trust and passion for youth development have allowed some of our most talented pathway products to thrive in a first-grade environment,” director of rugby Gary Chambers added.
“To reach three major finals in three years shows how close we are to achieving what we all want.”
Doncic leads the league in scoring with 37.7 points per game for the Lakers, and Antetokounmpo is fifth at 28.2 for the Miami Heat.
But this matchup didn’t quite live up to the hype after Doncic continued his early season dominance in the Lakers’ 138-117 win.
Doncic was masterful, producing 42 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds. He was 14 for 24 from the field and six for 15 from three-point range.
“Feels good. Like I said, obviously when we win, it feels way better,” Doncic said. “And that’s the only important stuff. But obviously it feels good. You know, when you win by [21] against a team like Miami, it’s really awesome, especially on a back-to-back.”
Antetokounmpo finished with 30 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, but he also had seven turnovers as he battled tight defensive coverage.
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Clippers lose sixth in a row
Scottie Barnes scored 15 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, Immanuel Quickley had 27 and the Toronto Raptors rallied for a 125-118 win over the skidding Clippers on Monday night.
Toronto trailed by 13 going into the final period, but Barnes hit a turnaround jumper with 2:08 remaining to give the Raptors their first lead as part of a 12-1 run.
RJ Barrett scored 26 for Toronto. Barnes also finished with 15 rebounds and eight assists.
Kobe Sanders had a career-high 26 points for the Clippers, who have dropped six straight games since winning their season opener Oct. 21 against Sacramento.
Trent Perry scored 21 points for No. 22 UCLA, which opened the season Monday night by overcoming a career-best 38 points from Arizona’s Ivan Kharchenkov to defeat the No. 5 Wildcats 84-75 in a matchup of former Pac-12 Conference rivals.
Kharchenkov, who also had 10 rebounds, topped his previous best of 20 against Denver last Nov. 24. Derek Dixon added 18 points for the Wildcats.
Jaylen Petty and Eric Dailey Jr. each scored 13 points for the Bruins.
In the first meeting between the two schools, the Bruins made 10 of 15 shots in the third quarter and held the Mountain Hawks to three of 13, stretching a 32-27 halftime lead to 55-36.
KK Bransford added 10 points for UCLA, which returns five players but had six taken in the WNBA draft — five in the first round. The Bruins will raise their championship banner on Nov. 15 at the end of their five-game homestand.
Adonis Ratliff scored 25 points in his collegiate debut, Alijah Arenas had 21 points and a career-high eight rebounds, and No. 21 USC beat visiting Milwaukee 95-63 to open the season Monday night.
Darius Ratliff, Adonis’ twin brother, added 14 points and five blocks in his debut for the Trojans. Rodney Rice had 15 points and nine assists in his first game since a season-ending shoulder injury last year, and KJ Lewis added 10 points.
USC (1-0) shot 56.9% from the field, including 12 of 22 from three-point range, and never trailed en route to its third straight season-opening win under coach Eric Musselman.
JuJu Watkins scored 21 points in her return after missing last season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, freshman Saniyah Hall added 22 in her collegiate debut and No. 3 USC defeated Nevada Las Vegas 100-68 on Monday.
Jazzy Davidson led all scorers with 23 points on 10-for-11 shooting for the Trojans. Hall added seven rebounds and seven assists.
Kennedy Smith contributed 12 points and Sitaya Fagan had 11 for USC, giving the Trojans five scorers in double figures. Watkins added five rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes.
From Gary Klein: Rams edge rusher Myles Garrett, who has been on injured reserve since undergoing knee surgery after the season opener, will practice this week, coach Sean McVay said Monday.
The Rams will open the 21-day window for Garrett to return to the roster, but McVay said the Rams would proceed cautiously before determining when Garrett will play in a game.
The Rams (4-4) play the Washington Commanders (2-4-1) on Sunday in Landover, Md.
“I want to be careful to even set any sort of expectations,” McVay said during a videoconference with reporters. “I think just taking it a day at a time is going to be the best way that we can approach it.
But keeping the Dodgers, right? “No matter what,” Walter told the California Post last week.
Wait a second, though. In August, Walter’s TWG Global holding company issued a statement that was definitive in two specific aspects: the Dodgers were “not being sold” and his company was “not considering exiting its stake in the Cadillac Formula 1 team.”
So I reached out to Walter’s company and to his personal spokesman, asking how to reconcile the definitive statement denying interest in a Formula One sale with the news of a possible sale and, in light of that development, whether the denials of interest in a Dodgers sale should remain credible.
No one at the company emailed me back, and the spokesman declined to comment.
From Bill Dwyre: Come to find out, as we approach the season of plump turkey legs and similar Santa Clauses, all is not well at ESPN. Turns out Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are having a hissy fit.
Will sports broadcasting ever be the same? As the late Chick Hearn would say, “Oh me, oh my.”
Buck and Aikman have broadcast various pro football games together for 25 years. They are Abbott and Costello, but not anywhere near as funny. You tune in just to wait for Joe to say, “I’m Joe Buck and this is Hall of Famer Troy Aikman.”
Kind of gives you goose bumps.
According to various reports, Joe went out and negotiated a new contract without telling Troy. Divorce lawyers are now circling the wagons.
The reports have Joe getting $108 million for six years so that Joe can tell us that one of the teams on the field needs to establish a run game. Golly.
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Welcome back to The Times’ Lakers newsletter, where, no, we did not get a Luka Doncic bobblehead.
Fans and even some Lakers players walked away with the coveted statuettes after the Lakers’ win over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. Sandro Mamukelashvili said he would display his in his office next to bobbleheads of former teammates Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobli.
With Doncic eavesdropping on his postgame interview Sunday, Jarred Vanderbilt said he didn’t need a bobblehead.
“I don’t want to see no more Luka,” Vanderbilt said minutes after Doncic walked out of the locker room.
If the beginning of the season is any indication, we’ll all be seeing more Luka.
All things Lakers, all the time.
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Luka’s scoring magic
When half-court isn’t hard enough, Luka Doncic goes for the full-court heave. When a traditional three-pointer is a bore, he’ll try a one-handed, underhand three instead. Doncic keeps pushing the ball higher and higher on trick shots that are approaching the rafters before they ultimately drop softly through the net. And with Doncic, they almost always do.
“He’s done it so many times now,” Lakers forward Matisse Thybulle said of Doncic’s array of trick shots, “that [you] just kind of chalk it up to that’s just Luka.”
Doncic is not only just up to his old scoring tricks, he’s made them even better. After leading the league in scoring last year, Doncic is averaging 38.3 points per game through the first two weeks. And that’s despite what he deemed a “terrible” start while he was still trying to find his offensive rhythm.
“We live on a spaceship and we’re going at the speed of light at all times when he’s on the court,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said Sunday after Doncic scored 45 points with six assists in a “supernova” performance that still felt “normal” enough to get overshadowed by his 15 defensive rebounds and five steals.
In his last five games, Doncic is averaging 43.4 points and 8.6 assists on 53.2% shooting from the field and 44.7% from three. His five consecutive games with 35 or more points matches the longest such streak for a Lakers player since Kobe Bryant averaged 53.6 points across a five-game heater in March 2007.
The Lakers (6-2) celebrated the Slovenian superstar’s scoring prowess Sunday with a bobblehead giveaway. The miniature statue showed Doncic shooting a one-legged fadeaway jumper, one of his classic shots.
Doncic’s jump shot has become his calling card while turning into one of the league’s most dangerous scorers. Beginning in the 2023-24 season when Doncic won his first scoring title, at least 35.3% of his field-goal attempts each year have been from three. He never attempted more than 33.2% of his shots from beyond the arc during an NBA season prior to that year. The uptick in attempts has closed the gap between how many points he’s scoring from two compared to points off three-pointers, and this season, the hot-shooting Doncic is scoring more on threes than twos. Through his first six games, Doncic scored 66 points on twos and 105 on threes. His 5.8 made threes and 13.5 three-point attempts per game both lead the league. In the small sample size, he’s shooting a career-best 43.2% from three.
(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)
For those who have known Doncic through different phases of his career, watching this dominant scorer emerge feels like watching a Pokémon evolve.
“He just polished a lot of his offensive weapons, let’s say,” Doncic’s longtime Spanish agent Quique Villalobos said. “If you ask me what is different from Luka in Europe than Luka in the NBA, Luka in the NBA is scoring much more.”
The 18-year-old Doncic won EuroLeague MVP averaging 16 points, 4.3 assists and 4.8 rebounds. Even considering that EuroLeague games are 40 minutes compared to the NBA’s 48, Doncic’s 22.2 points per 36 minutes during his final EuroLeague season is still less than his NBA rookie rate of 23.7 points per 36 minutes.
Different rules also help NBA players stuff box scores. The NBA court is bigger (94 feet by 50 feet compared to 91.86 feet by 49.21 feet in Europe) allowing more space to move. Doncic knows he can take advantage of the NBA’s defensive three-seconds violation by timing his attacks when the center leaves the paint. Doncic’s pacing remains one of his sharpest scoring weapons.
“I would say his patience,” Lakers guard Collin Sexton said of what makes Doncic such a prolific scorer. “And really not be able to be sped up at times. When you’re not able to be sped up, you’re able to control the game at your speed and do what you want to, no matter what the defense is doing.”
Doncic moves at a slow pace, but is creating loud moments. He is becoming ubiquitous around Crypto.com Arena. The full-page ad he bought in The Times for the season opener was blown up to more than six feet tall and displayed on the concourse at a recent game. Lakers girls wore his No. 77 jersey during a performance on his bobblehead night. And the sight of him hitting a contested step-back jumper will live in the nightmares of defenders all season.
New rules are a flop
As gracefully as a 40-year-old can manage, Al Horford attempted to spin across the lane. The Golden State Warriors’ center stepped on Vanderbilt’s foot and the Lakers’ forward fell backward. Vanderbilt looked at referees in disbelief when he was called for a flop.
The NBA’s new flopping emphasis has been a headache for players and coaches as they struggle to understand how referees will interpret the rules. While offensive players are often chastised for flopping in an attempt to get free throws, every clip in the NBA’s four-minute video about flopping focused on defensive players. During the video shown to players and coaches, the NBA’s head of referee development and training Monty McCutchen emphasizes moments where the defenders’ reactions are “theatrical and excessive” and are “in a manner inconsistent with the contact.”
When asked about the new emphasis from referees, Redick echoed sentiments shared by Minnesota coach Chris Finch last week, saying the NBA’s focus on defensive flopping doesn’t align with what the goal should be.
“We all recognized the fans want the offensive players to stop flopping, and all of our flopping fouls have been defensive,” Redick told reporters in San Francisco. “The reality for the officials [is] each crew is so different and what they interpret is so different.”
Flopping is one of the NBA’s four points of emphasis this season. It may conflict with another area of focus, which involves cracking down on offensive players forcefully using their off-arm to create separation. Offensive players get a win with the emphasis on defensive flopping while the defense is supposed to get the advantage if referees are legislating off-arm push-offs out of the game.
The two sides are then left asking for different things on the same play such as the Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski pleading for the foul while Austin Reaves motioned for a flop with his arms extended and palms up after the two collided on an in-bounds play last Friday.
Neither player got what they asked for.
On tap
Wednesday at Kings (1-6), 7 p.m. PST
The Kings finally won a game, taking down Dallas for their first win of the year Monday. Rookie guard Darius Acuff Jr. isn’t shy in his first NBA games: he is second in the NBA in field goal attempts per game with 23.6. He is averaging 26.1 points per game.
Friday vs. Trail Blazers (5-1), 7 p.m. PST
The Lakers lost to the Trail Blazers last week but Portland is already a different team. Ja Morant will be out for at least most of November after he suffered a grade 2 hamstring injury on Oct. 29. The dynamic guard will be out for four to six weeks.
Sunday at Pistons (6-1), 3 p.m. PST
The Pistons have impressive early season wins over Boston and Philadelphia despite an injury to center Jalen Duren. The center who was at the center of an offseason contract feud was sidelined for at least two weeks with a hamstring injury, the team announced Oct. 25.
Monday at Atlanta (4-4), 4 p.m. PST
Forward Jalen Johnson is backing up his first career All-Star selection and a third-team All-NBA honor by leading the Hawks with 18.1 points, nine rebounds and 7.9 assists this season.
Favorite thing I ate this week
Lime and cilantro marinated bean salad.
(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)
I somehow got into the bean evangelist corner of the internet and now I’m a believer. I’ve been on the fibermaxxing routine with meal-prepped bean salads, including this cilantro lime find from Pinterest. The dressing is sweet, savory (from a tablespoon of miso paste), tangy and herby and it all came together in 20 minutes. It would have been even faster if I didn’t accidentally spill an entire bowl of marinated red onions on the floor during assembly.
The new head of English rugby league has backed a call for Prime Minister Andy Burnham to approve a £30m five-year community funding plan for the sport.
Former England international Jon Wilkin has appealed directly to Burnham and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, both rugby league fans, to pledge government money to a rugby league-based social impact project.
Ian Nolan, the new chief executive of the Rugby Football League, has supported Wilkin’s plea, issued on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Rugby League show on Monday.
That initiative is designed to help create sporting, educational and employment opportunities in Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, and is being led by the Australian Rugby League Commission – the country’s rugby league governing body.
Wilkin has argued that a similar plan for the north of England would benefit deprived communities.
He said: “Australia has recognised rugby league’s potential as a vehicle for social change, committing hundreds of millions to developing communities, especially across the Pacific. Why shouldn’t Britain show the same ambition for the north?
“The infrastructure already exists, the clubs, the foundations, the school and community relationships are already well established. What’s missing is a coordinated strategy and meaningful government investment.
“The ask would be simple: For the government to establish a £30m five-year Northern Rugby League social impact partnership, bringing together the RFL, professional clubs, community foundations, local authorities and government departments.
“The programme would target disadvantaged northern communities.”
Nolan, a former Manchester United executive who took up his role with the RFL on 1 October, suggested the social benefits of such an initiative would be felt more quickly because rugby league clubs are already established in their communities.
“When the government normally invest in community hubs and new things to generate something, they tend to be brand new,” he said. “And it’s really difficult then to attract people to go there because it’s a new habit, it’s a new place.
“But rugby clubs are already established in the most deprived towns in the UK. And that’s the difference. People already go there. Families already rely on them for even just moving around.”
BBC Sport has contacted the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for comment.
Bill Bedgood, who coached Giancarlo Stanton of the New York Yankees when he was an All-CIF basketball player at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in 2007, supposedly retired from coaching after the 2023-24 season at Valencia.
So what in the name of short retirements is Bedgood back as head coach at Valencia for this season?
“I think I’m in for life,” he said.
Valencia coach Bill Bedgood wipes away a tear while discussing his decision to step down from coaching duties to be only a dad to his son, Bryce, left, in 2023.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Valencia players couldn’t be happier. Bedgood guided the Vikings to section, regional and state titles in 2023. He’s also on everybody’s list for favorite geometry teacher.
Three Valencia basketball players at Saturday’s Foothill League basketball media day raised their hand when asked if they had taken “Mr. Bedgood” for geometry. All got A’s too.
“Probably my favorite class in high school,” point guard Ali Eldein said.
Eldein insisted he wasn’t saying that to gain more playing time.
Valencia has so much depth this season that the practices are more than competitive. The best player in the Foothill League could be 6-foot-7 senior Steven Irons.
In 2023, after winning the state title with his son, Bryce, on the team, Bedgood wiped away tears after announcing he was going to step down after years of coaching at Bishop Alemany, Notre Dame, Saugus and Valencia.
Now it’s clear he has so much loyalty to Valencia and its students that Bedgood might not be retiring again any time soon.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Angel City and “Ted Lasso” both came to life in the summer of 2020 when the rest of the world was preoccupied with something far more serious, the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Angel City, meanwhile, would play its first NWSL game two years later, by which time “Lasso” and Jason Sudeikis, the title character of the Apple TV series about a fictional Premier League team and its manager, had already won multiple Emmys.
Hollywood is a small town, so it wasn’t long before Sudeikis reached out to Kara Nortman, a venture capitalist who co-founded Angel City in 2020, and asked to talk about women’s soccer.
Angel City co-founders Natalie Portman, left, Kara Nortman and Julie Uhrman speak during the team’s equity summit in Australia during the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
(Hanna Lassen / Getty Images)
“And I was like, ‘You had me at hello,’” Nortman said.
What was supposed to be an hour-long phone call turned into four-hour meeting in person, Nortman said.
“The most fun conversation I’ve had in a long time,” she remembered last month. “It really started as a shared passion and interest in women’s sports and building communities and new leadership models and all the things that ‘Ted Lasso’ is about that are far beyond football.”
What the conversation led to was the foundation for the just-completed fourth season of “Ted Lasso,” which focused on the unique challenges faced by women’s soccer teams and players — challenges Nortman knows only too well as the co-owner of a team. That’s why she was credited as a consultant on the series.
And the collaboration comes at a time when the soccer team and the soccer TV series are both at the top of their game, with “Lasso” drawing record audience numbers this summer and Angel City advancing to this weekend’s NWSL playoff quarterfinals after the most successful season in its history.
“They could have continued writing about the men’s team,” Nortman said. “They chose to write about women’s football.
“I’m super proud that we were part of what helped them really understand how to write a beautiful script that was really representative of a lot of challenges we went through.”
The challenges go beyond just salaries, media attention and funding to things as serious as child care and the rash of ACL injuries in the women’s game and as frustrating as hand-me-down uniforms and locker rooms. In “Ted Lasso,” the women’s team Sudeikis coaches — a man coaching women? That topic is addressed, too — uses a dressing room abandoned by a men’s team, one with urinals but without enough working showers.
Angel City captain Sarah Gorden dribbles the ball in front of Boston Legacy’s Sarah Schupansky at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday.
(Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)
One player nearly misses a game because she can’t find a babysitter, something that really happened to Angel City captain Sarah Gorden. Another player is recognized by a fan while working for a food-delivery company to supplement her tiny soccer salary, something that really happened to English star Lucy Bronze in her early playing days.
For many viewers, the “Ted Lasso” plot lines were their introduction to those real-life issues.
“The vibe of authenticity,” Nortman calls it.
“They got right the ACLs, they got right the locker-room dynamic, they got right the training facility,” she said. “I think they got all those things right.”
Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt, the creative geniuses behind “Ted Lasso,” declined to be interviewed for this story, as did everyone involved with the series. But Sudeikis has long denied the show is about soccer.
“This show is as much about soccer as ‘Rocky’ is about boxing,” said Sudeikis, who described the eponymous title character as a cross between John Wooden and Mister Rogers.
Actors Jason Sudeikis, center, and Tanya Reynolds, right, lead a professional women’s soccer team through authentic challenges during the fourth season of “Ted Lasso.”
(Colin Hutton / Apple TV)
But the series has always had soccer in it. So it was natural that Sudeikis and Hunt, who both have long supported women’s sports, would turn their massive spotlight on women’s soccer and bring attention to the glaring inequalities that had slowed the development of the game.
And Nortman wasn’t the only one from NWSL to join that cause. The “Lasso” season opener, shot largely in Kansas City, Mo., was a paean to that city’s women’s soccer team, the Current, and its stadium, where the team has sold out every game over the last three seasons and is unbeaten in its last 32 matches there. (Angel City opens the playoffs in Kansas City on Saturday.)
The synergy helped both sides, with “Lasso” shattering viewership records, trailing only Amazon Prime Video’s “Reacher” as the most-streamed series overall in September, while NWSL’s viewership numbers through the first half of the season jumped 61% on ABC and ESPN. The average season attendance of 11,032 was the second-highest in history.
“Once we knew that Jason and the cast were going to feature a season about women’s soccer and start that season at one of our stadiums with one of our teams, the authenticity with that just lent itself to doing an integration,” said Jennifer Levine, the league’s vice president for public relations and communications.
Kansas City Current fans cheer during the team’s first match at CPKC Stadium in 2024. It is the first stadium built solely for a pro women’s soccer team and was featured in the latest season of “Ted Lasso.”
(Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
“There was a lot of crossover between what they were doing and what we’re doing. So it kind of created a perfect storm for us. Being a part of the cultural conversation as part of ‘Ted Lasso’ will only add to the excitement around the NWSL.”
But will it solve the problems and level the inequities that continue to plague women’s soccer?
“I like to hope it helps,” Levine said. “They have been honest. … I think the writing team and the cast did an incredible job portraying what it’s like to be a women’s footballer.
“Everything that we’re doing at the league with investing in infrastructure and building more purpose-built stadiums and building training facilities, it’s all to improve the experience that viewers are seeing in ‘Ted Lasso.’”
Or as Sudeikis’ character once put it, “doing the right thing is never the wrong thing.”
⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the “Corner of the Galaxy” podcast.
Last week, player Rob Hawkins said England “were not playing to our standards” in their opening 98-18 win over Wales and rated the team five out of 10.
Asked how he would rate England’s showing against the USA, Billington told Premier Sports: “At least a seven. All week, we have been banging on about playing the way we want to play, and the boys really stuck to their principles.
“I’m over the moon for the guys to put on such senior performances.”
Finlay O’Neill was named player of the match as he recorded 38 points, with two tries and 15 conversions.
“It was a good team effort, not just myself,” O’Neill said. “We talked about how we could improve, and I think we did that.
“We need to take the positives – [there are a] few areas to work on but I think we can be very happy with that performance.”
The four semi-finalists have now been set, with the final group games to decide who faces who in the knockouts.
In Pool A, Ireland ensured they will qualify alongside England with a 68-28 victory over Wales.
Ireland, who are ranked third in the world, will face the English in their final group game on Friday in Wollongong (06:00 GMT).
In Pool A, two-time champions France and hosts Australia both booked their passages through while scoring triple figures.
France, who were losing finalists against England in 2022, thrashed New Zealand 120-10.
Australia beat Scotland 104-24, and will play the French on Friday to determine the pool winners.
Scotland, New Zealand, Wales and USA all go into a ranking competition to determine fifth through to eighth place.
Wales will face USA in Pool A on Friday, while Scotland play New Zealand.
Tell bullies to ‘sod off’. That’s the advice IOC President Kirsty Coventry has for young athletes facing bullying. She spoke to Al Jazeera ahead of the Youth Olympics in Senegal, where she reflected on her own experience as a young athlete.
West Ham United have sacked head coach Nuno Espirito Santo after their disappointing start to the Championship season.
The 52-year-old has been in charge since September 2025 and oversaw the Hammers’ relegation from the Premier League last season.
Widely seen as favourites for automatic promotion, the London side are currently eighth in the table, six points behind leaders Middlesbrough.
They have won two of their last six games and have lost back-to-back home matches – a 3-2 loss to Southampton and a 3-1 defeat to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
Assistant head coach Rui Pedro Silva and goalkeeper coach Rui Barbosa have also left the club.
Mark Noble, Steve Potts and Gerard Prenderville will take temporary charge of the side for their Championship trip to Cardiff City on Wednesday night.
“Following a thorough review of the start to the EFL Championship season, the board of directors believe that a change is necessary at this time in order to ensure that the club’s objectives and expectations remain on track,” a West Ham United statement read.
“West Ham United would like to thank Nuno, Rui and Rui for their hard work and commitment during their time at the Club, and wish them all the very best for the future.
“The process of recruiting a new head coach is already under way.”
FIFA Council members may view documents related to Gianni Infantino’s doomed plan, but only in person in Zurich
Published On 3 Nov 20263 Nov 2026
FIFA will release details of President Gianni Infantino’s aborted plan to sell off stakes in future World Cups to private investors, but they will not be shared with the public.
Reports in the British media said members of the FIFA Council, the main decision-making body of football’s world governing body, will be given access to “key documents” related to the proposal, named FIFA Forward Enterprise.
However, they can only view them under “strict protocols to preserve confidentiality”, the reports said. Those include the 37 members of the council having to register for an in-person appointment to view selected paperwork in Zurich, Switzerland, in the next two weeks.
Infantino attends the opening game of the 2026 U-20 Women’s World Cup opening match in Katowice, Poland [File: Beata Zawrzel/AP Photo]
The news came out late on Monday, the deadline European football’s governing body, UEFA, had set for FIFA to release details about the $4.2bn scheme and answer questions about how the proposal came about and who approved it before the plans were dropped in July amid a worldwide backlash.
UEFA set the deadline after a tense council meeting at which Infantino apologised for the proposal but provided no details about how the plan was formed. He asked council members to submit their questions in writing.
UEFA is leading attempts to remove Infantino before or at the FIFA presidential election on March 18 in Rabat, Morocco. Infantino, who was elected in 2016, is seeking a fourth term through 2031.
