HAKIM ZIYECH

Missing out on Lionel Messi hasn’t slowed Saudi Arabia’s ambitious recruitment drive as the oil-rich kingdom tries to establish itself as a viable destination for the world’s top players.

Morocco has defied expectations and broken down barriers by becoming the first African country to reach the World Cup semifinals.

The public lobbying to be chosen as a preferred bidder for Chelsea has stepped up as increased offers were being mulled by bankers tasked with selling the English Premier League club for sanctioned owner Roman Abramovich.

Chelsea’s players are managing to maintain their on-field focus amid a troubling period for the club.

Losing 3-1 at Leicester in the FA Cup quarterfinals on Sunday realistically leaves Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with only the Europa League to produce his first trophy as United manager. The other semifinal will pit Man City against Chelsea, which beat Sheffield United 2-0 in Sunday's other quarterfinal. “But the ambition is there to win titles and be competitive.”The FA Cup semifinals next month take place a week before the League Cup final between City and Tottenham. “But in the second half we played some of the best I have seen us play. Tottenham doubled its lead midway through the second half when Kane clinically scored from the penalty spot, having been fouled by Matty Cash.

After his team’s stirring comeback in a 3-1 win at Everton in the Premier League, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer didn’t hold back, either. Edinson Cavani capped the fightback with his first goal for United deep in stoppage time. ZIYECH STARSLike United, Chelsea also fought back from conceding an early goal and ultimately swept aside Sheffield United in a 4-1 win. And like United, Chelsea had a creative playmaker pulling the strings as the catalyst for the recovery. “We played against him in the Champions League last year,” Chelsea manager Frank Lampard said of Ziyech.

(Peter Powell/Pool via AP)On a day uncertainty reigned in England as the nation prepared to go back into lockdown, the Premier League returned to something resembling normality. Three of the teams expected to contend for the title — Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool — all picked up wins in back-to-back fixtures on Saturday. That’s a goal in three straight games for Jota, an offseason signing who is giving an extra edge to Liverpool’s attack. The latest goal Liverpool let in was avoidable, too, with Joe Gomez heading a clearance straight at Pablo Fornals, who drove a finish into the bottom corner in the 10th minute. A well-controlled 1-0 win at Sheffield United saw City return to the top half of the standings and stay five points behind Liverpool, with a game in hand.

Some talking points ahead of the second round of games in the Champions League:NO RONALDO VS. MESSI? The highly anticipated matchup of Cristiano Ronaldo against Lionel Messi likely won’t happen because Ronaldo has the coronavirus. Alvaro Morata replaced Ronaldo against Dynamo Kyiv last week and scored twice in a 2-0 win. Eden Hazard was added to the Madrid squad and could make his season debut after nursing a muscle injury. Diego Simeone's side was thrashed 4-0 by defending champion Bayern Munich and next hosts Salzburg in Group A on Tuesday.

James Rodriguez joined Premier League club Everton on Monday, Sept. 7, 2020 in an attempt to revive a career that faltered at Real Madrid. Now, they are both at Everton, a team without a trophy since 1995 and living in the shadow of neighbour Liverpool, the recently crowned Premier League champion. KAI HAVERTZ (Chelsea)The most expensive signing of the offseason at a fee rising to $92 million, Havertz might also be the most interesting. Havertz is the youngest player to reach 100 Bundesliga appearances and scored 36 goals in four seasons with Bayer Leverkusen in the German league. With Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech making up Chelsea's likely attack, Havertz won't be short of quality around him.

Chelsea's Christian Pulisic celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Chelsea at the Villa Park stadium in Birmingham, England, Sunday, June 21, 2020. (Molly Darlington/Pool via AP)BIRMINGHAM Healthy enough to make his first appearance in nearly six months, Christian Pulisic sparked Chelsea to a comeback victory. Olivier Giroud put Chelsea ahead two minutes later in a 2-1 win over Aston Villa 2-1 on Sunday that strengthened the Blues' hold on fourth place in the Premier League. Giroud scored for the sixth straight league game against Villa. Unfortunately a little bit of quality and fortune favored them," Villa manager Dean Smith said of Chelsea.