Football essentials, 18 October: Brighton put five past Crystal Palace, Marseille breathe at last, PSG lose Nuno Mendes

The day closed on a thrashing: five goals of a gap at the Amex, and a Crystal Palace side dealt with inside ten minutes. Behind that, Marseille finally strung two wins together, and Paris counted its walking wounded two days before Barcelona come to the Parc. Here are the seven stories of this Sunday.

Brighton 5-0: the thrashing, the Gómez lob, Pierre Sage’s shame

Three goals between the fourth and the tenth minute, Diego Gómez’s lob from the halfway line among them: Brighton crushed Crystal Palace 5-0, a first win over the rivals since February 2024, and the Seagulls now sit second in the Premier League. Pierre Sage did not look away: “My one feeling is shame”, the Palace manager said after the defeat. Our account of the Gómez lob, and the match page.

Leeds 1-1 Manchester United: six games, still nothing

Mbeumo had put United in front (35th), Calvert-Lewin levelled (51st), and the draw held: a sixth match without a win, United’s worst start to a league season since 1986. “It doesn’t look great”, Michael Carrick admitted, while Antonio Conte has told the club he is ready to take over if the manager is sacked. Our piece on the United bench, and the match page.

Angers 2-5: Marseille breathe at last

Rao-Lisoa’s scrambled opener (14th) had set Angers on their way; Marseille then took the game over. Himad Abdelli (37th) and Nouhoum Kamissoko (43rd) turned it around before half-time, Gouiri scored straight after his saved penalty (60th), Paixão added a fifth (85th). Twenty-one Marseille shots, a second win on the bounce: Bruno Genesio’s side can finally breathe after a botched start. The match page.

PSG v Barcelona: both wings clipped

Taken off injured at Strasbourg on Saturday (a 3-1 win), Nuno Mendes will miss Tuesday night’s tie: the left-back is out for several weeks, and Akliouche, hurt on his left ankle in the same match, remains a doubt. Barcelona will travel without either of their right-backs, Koundé and García. Carried by Lamine Yamal, they put five past Betis on Saturday. Our two injury alerts, and our preview of the tie.

Bournemouth 2-0: the Rose era has its first league win

Tavernier from a header (6th), a red card for Danso (17th), Evanilson just after the break (48th): Bournemouth beat Sunderland 2-0 for the Rose era’s first league win, and climb out of the relegation zone. Down to ten inside the first half-hour, Sunderland did not win a corner until the 44th minute. The match page.

Maza’s Bayer bring Freiburg back down

In the Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen handed Freiburg a first defeat of the season, on the back of an Ibrahim Maza masterclass: outside of the boot, drag-back, nutmeg. Freiburg had been unbeaten.

Ander Herrera plays for free at Zaragoza

Ander Herrera has found a club where the salary no longer matters: at Real Zaragoza, in the Spanish third tier, the midfielder plays for free. “I don’t need the money any more”, he explained.