Goals from Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos helped Paris Saint-Germain secure a much-needed 2-0 victory against Nice in Ligue 1 on Saturday.

Messi struck 26 minutes in at Allianz Riviera, before he supplied the cross from a corner for Ramos second-half header.

Victory was a first in three games for Christophe Galtier s side after back-to-back defeats, although they were indebted to goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma as much as Messi.

Nice peppered the PSG goal either side of half-time, only to come away empty-handed against their former coach, suffering their first defeat under Didier Digard.

LEO

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English)

PSG had started the brighter, knowing a victory was required to restore a six-point cushion to second-placed …

Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde has no doubt that Xavi has the potential to take the top job at Camp Nou in the future.

Xavi confirmed on Thursday he will retire from playing at the end of the season and move into coaching, having left Barca at the end of the treble-winning 2014-15 campaign to join Al Sadd in the Qatar Stars League.

One of the most decorated players in football history, Xavi won 19 major honours during a 17-year stay with Barca, including eight LaLiga crowns and a remarkable four Champions League titles.

And Valverde, who looks well placed to guide the club to the treble in only his second season in charge, paid tribute to the retiring great in a media conference on Friday.

 Ernesto Valverde: Xavi is one of the best players in the …

Inter Milan defender Benjamin Pavard faces a spell on the sidelines after suffering a dislocated kneecap.

The 27-year-old was forced off in the first half of Inter’s 2-1 Serie A win at Atalanta on Saturday.

“Benjamin Pavard underwent a medical examination at the Humanitas Institute in Rozzano this morning,” the Serie A leaders said in a statement on Monday.

Fitness update on Benjamin Pavard.

— Inter (@Inter_en)

“The tests ascertain that he has suffered a dislocated kneecap.

“The French defender will need to wear a knee brace for 3/4 weeks before starting his rehabilitation process.”

World Cup winner Pavard joined Inter from Bayern Munich at the end of August and has made nine appearances for the Nerazzurri.

…

Real Madrid cruised into the knockout stages of the Champions League with a 3-0 win over Braga.

After overcoming an early scare when Alvaro Djalo missed a penalty for the visitors, the 14-time European champions took the lead through Brahim Diaz in the 27th minute and then seized control early in the second half as Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo added to the score line.

A fourth win out of four in Group C, and ninth straight game at home without defeat in the Champions League, saw Real book their place in the last-16 with two games to spare.

With the hosts needing only a point to be sure of progression, Carlo Ancelotti took the opportunity to rest a number of regulars.

Jude Bellingham was on the bench after suffering a blow to the shoulder at the weekend, wh…

Thomas Tuchel is hoping Marco Reus can build on his double against Tottenham when Borussia Dortmund welcome Mainz to Signal Iduna Park in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Reus was in impressive form as Dortmund dismantled Tottenham in the Europa League on Thursday, securing a 3-0 first-leg advantage in their last-16 tie and extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to 12 matches.

The 26-year-old added to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang s opener by slamming past Hugo Lloris from close range, before adding his second with a composed finish at the end of a brilliant team move.

Injuries have once again blighted Reus season, but Tuchel who coached Mainz from 2009 to 2014 believes his fitness is steadily improving and wants more of the same as Dortmund look to make it 10 …

Barcelona, Manchester City and Bayern Munich were all big winners on matchday one of the Champions League.

However, further tests are to come in their second fixtures, with Bayern heading to Atletico Madrid in a particularly tasty face-off Atleti having beaten the German champions in last season s semi-finals.

Elsewhere, Celtic take on Pep Guardiola and City for the first time, while Rostov make their home debut in Group D.

Using Opta data, we take a look at the best stats ahead of Tuesday s eight group-stage matches.

LUDOGORETS v PSG

This is the first competitive meeting between Ludogorets and PSG.
It’s also the first meeting between a Bulgarian and French club in the Champions League (since 1992/93).
Ludogorets have only recor…

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola confirmed Kalvin Phillips is to undergo shoulder surgery but remains hopeful the midfielder could return to action ahead of England s World Cup campaign.

Phillips, a key member of Gareth Southgate s side that reached the Euro 2020 final on home turf last year, made a £42million move to City from Leeds United during the close season.

But fitness issues have restricted the 26-year-old to only three cameos off the bench for the reigning Premier League champions, with Phillips entirely absent for Saturday s 3-0 win over Wolves.

Now the defensive midfielder, named by England for this month s final pre-World Cup games in the Nations League against Italy and Germany, looks likely to require an operation to deal with a persistent s…

Ange Postecoglou saluted fantastic Mikey Moore, after the teenager struck a late winner in Tottenham s J-League World Challenge clash with Vissel Kobe.

The 16-year-old was the hero with his 88th-minute strike sealing a 3-2 victory at the Japan National Stadium in what was Spurs first match in their preseason tour of the Far East.

Academy graduate Moore became Tottenham s youngest Premier League player when, aged 16 years and 277 days, he made his senior debut against Manchester City in the penultimate game of last season.

And Postecoglou insists the England youth international, who has scored 10 goals in 12 appearances at under-17 level, is deserving of his first-team opportunities.

Mikey has been fantastic since we brought him in, he told reporters duri…

With his contract set to expire at the end of this season, Kylian Mbappe is reportedly going to sign a two-year extension with Paris Saint-Germain.

Mbappe, 23, has established himself as one of the world s premier players, with 24 goals and 16 assists in his 32 Ligue 1 fixtures this season, and six goals with six assists in eight Champions League games.

In his four seasons since arriving in Paris in 2018, he has won three Ligue 1 titles with one runners-up finish, but has never won the Champions League. A disappointing exit in the first knockout stage this campaign was supposed to push the young star out the door, but that may not be the case.

TOP STORY – MBAPPE ON THE BRINK OF PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN EXTENSION

Mbappe has been strongly linked wit…

Pep Guardiola insists he is not frustrated with Manchester City s failure to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham last year.

The England striker appeared eager to leave north London for the Etihad Stadium, but City were unable to persuade Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to cash in on his star performer.

It looked as though not recruiting a new centre-forward could scupper City s plans this season after they lost to Leicester City in the Community Shield and Spurs in the Premier League back in August, in a match Kane sat out amid the uncertainty over his future.

Yet City have since embarked on an imperious run of form, winning 20 and losing just one of their subsequent league games to open up a nine-point gap at the top of the table.

Kane, meanwhile, has scored just …