Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim, who will take over at Manchester United next week, hailed Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola as the best in the world on Monday.

The defeat dropped City to second spot, two points behind Liverpool who recovered to beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1.

Manchester City suffered their first Premier League loss since December as Bournemouth stunned the champions, while Arsenal were rocked by Newcastle and Liverpool seized top spot on Saturday.

Brazil coach Dorival Junior said that it was an injustice that forward Vinicius Junior did not win the Ballon d’Or this year.

Pep Guardiola says Manchester City face an "emergency" in certain positions as he grapples with a punishing injury list ahead of Saturday's trip to Bournemouth.

Rodri becoming the first Manchester City player to win the Ballon d'Or award for the best player in the world on Monday did come as a surprise to many, and with ample reasons too as he pipped favourite Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid and Brazil to lift the most prestigious individual award in football.

Manchester City's Erling Haaland scored an early goal to take the champions provisionally top of the Premier League with a 1-0 victory over lowly Southampton at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola saluted his Manchester City stars' "incredible" mentality as he insisted his bond with the squad is as strong as ever.

The Norwegian scored twice, including a backheel at shoulder height, as City ran riot against the Czech champions.

Manchester City snatched a controversial 2-1 win at Wolves as John Stones' last-gasp goal was given after a VAR review to send the champions to the top of the Premier League on Sunday.

A tipping point has seemingly been reached in world football’s increasingly hectic schedule, as evidenced by the several high-profile injuries in recent weeks leading up to the latest FIFA window.

Reigning champions City are also involved in a separate independent hearing into the club's alleged breaches of Premier League financial regulations which began in September, with a verdict expected some time before the end of the current season.

Liverpool will head into the international break top of the Premier League after a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace before champions Manchester City and Arsenal both recovered from going behind to claim home wins on Saturday.

Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco named his squad on Friday that will take on Italy and France in the Nations League, with Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne missing out through injury.

Manchester City cruised to their first win in the Champions League this season with Erling Haaland among the goalscorers in a 4-0 thrashing of Slovan Bratislava that did little justice to the visitors' dominance.

Arsenal wanted to provoke Manchester City into a war during last weekend's Premier League clash but the champions are ready for the challenge, City manager Pep Guardiola said on Friday.

Manchester City midfielder Rodri will miss the rest of the season with a serious knee injury, dealing a huge blow to their hopes of winning a fifth straight Premier League title.

The midfielder has been in Spain this week consulting specialists after limping off midway through the first half of the match at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday after a collision with Thomas Partey.

Rodri's absence could mean a more prominent role for Matheus Nunes and the Portugal international blasted in his first goal since joining City for £53 million a year ago.

But for much of Pep Guardiola's time in charge of City, it was Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool who were consistently their title rivals.