Lyon joined Marseille at the top of the French top flight after a Karim Benzema special earned the champions a 1-0 win against Saint Etienne.

Real Madrid and Barcelona both slipped to opening day defeats on Sunday as underdogs Deportivo La Coruna and Numancia took the headlines.

Jimmy Bullard is the surprise call-up to Fabio Capello's England squad for qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia on 6 and 10 September.

Jimmy Bullard is the surprise call-up to Fabio Capello's England squad for qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia on 6 and 10 September.

Pep Guardiola's first match in charge of Barcelona didn't go as planned with the title hopefuls falling to an embarassing 1-0 defeat to Numancia.

Mamadou Niang of Olympique Marseille has been left out of coach Lamine Ndiaye's squad for a qualifier with Algeria.

Mamadou Niang of Olympique Marseille has been left out of coach Lamine Ndiaye's squad for a qualifier with Algeria.

Italy coach Marcello Lippi recalled captain Fabio Cannavaro and striker Luca Toni on Sunday for their qualifiers against Cyprus and Georgia.

Juande Ramos has admitted Dimitar Berbatov could still be a Tottenham player when the transfer window shuts on Monday.

Ronaldinho sparkled on his debut but could not prevent AC Milan slumping to a dismal 2-1 home defeat to Serie A newboys Bologna at the San Siro.