Cameroon beats Malawi to win Women’s Africa Cup of Nations for the first time

Additions of Guimarães and Tzolis, plus re-emergence of Ødegaard, mean champions start clear favourites after Community Shield win If this was a glimpse of the Premier League’s new order then the rest had better watch out. By the time Martin Ødegaard sat Gianluigi Donnarumma down to make it 3-0 to the champions, the Arsenal party was in full swing. “Can we play you every week?” their supporters gleefully taunted their counterparts in sky blue. Those in red and white who had made the journey to south Wales could barely believe what they were watching, even if winning the Community Shield is unlikely to spark the same kind of celebrations that were seen on the streets of north London in May after ending a 22-year wait to win the title. Having been forced to settle for three successive second-place finishes before finally reaching the summit, this time it was Manchester City’s fans who had to face the reality of being humbled by their closest rivals. As Viktor Gyökeres had put it beforehand: “Against City? In a friendly? We want to win.” That much was clear from the opening whistle at the Principality Stadium...

Champions delight manager by ‘winning the first trophy’ Maresca wants Manchester City signings to arrive soon Mikel Arteta said his Arsenal players demonstrated their hunger to defend the Premier League title in their Community Shield triumph over Manchester City. Arsenal, who ended their 22-year wait last season and are seeking to win back-to-back top-flight titles for the first time since 1934-35, beat City 3-0 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff in Enzo Maresca’s first significant match in charge. Riccardo Calafiori opened the scoring after 24 seconds, the fastest goal in the competition since Bobby Owen’s strike for City in 1968, before Kai Havertz doubled Arsenal’s lead and their captain, Martin Ødegaard, completed the scoring on 48 minutes. The 3-0 defeat represented the joint-heaviest loss for a City manager in their first game in charge, with Harry Newbould the most recent to suffer a three-goal opening defeat – 4-1, also to Arsenal, in 1906. It is also Maresca’s joint-heaviest defeat as a manager in England...

Southampton will have to get used to being barracked as they travel the Championship this autumn, the Spygate team are set to be everyone’s favourite boo-boys in the second tier. Certainly that was the case in Hertfordshire, with Watford fans and players alike beside themselves after a hard-fought victory, decided by two memorable first-half goals. Watford paid tribute to Kenny Jackett before the match, the one-club legend and local boy hailed with two minutes of applause. As everyone clapped, the cameras remained stubbornly focussed on Tonda Eckert in the dugout. The Southampton manager has the potential to become a pantomime villain as this season unspools. Remaining under investigation by the FA for his part in the Spygate affair, and with the prospect of a potentially heavy sanction to follow, Eckert’s fate has cast uncertainty over his side’s prospects this season and given opponents added motivation...