Football: the main stories of 06.09.2026

Xabi Alonso has lost his first match as Chelsea head coach, and it came against the champions. Chelsea flew out of the blocks at the Emirates, Jorrel Hato prominent, but Kai Havertz levelled before the break and Martin Ødegaard settled it for a 2-1 win, the same scoreline as last season's meeting; Riccardo Calafiori had an earlier equaliser ruled out by VAR, and the Premier League confirmed why Gabriel escaped a red card. Chelsea, who spent £349m in the summer window, finished the afternoon with two right-backs alongside each other in midfield. Gary Neville called the back three "all over the place" on Sky, while adding that Alonso's side can still finish second or third. Three wins had preceded this one; the margins in the title race now look narrower than the outlay suggested.

Burnley have signed the striker who won Leicester the title in 2016: Jamie Vardy, 39, has joined until the end of the season after a year at Cremonese in Serie A. Fifa confirmed that Gianni Infantino will stand again in March, a fourth term sought while Uefa leads calls for his resignation over the sell-off plan. Fiorentina, meanwhile, dismissed Fabio Grosso after four matches — three Serie A defeats, 1-9 on aggregate, bottom of the table.

• Everton 2-2 Manchester United: Ainsley Maitland-Niles equalised in stoppage time on his return to English football, United having led twice; the defending remains the argument.
• Barcelona won 5-0 at Mestalla, Lamine Yamal and Fermín with two apiece; Raphinha leads La Liga on 6 goals; Eric García broke his nose again in a collision with Rodri.
• Dinamo Moscow beat Spartak 2-1 in the derby after Konstantin Tyukavin was sent off in the 72nd minute.
• Juventus 1-1 Milan, Federico Gatti scoring in the 92nd; Athletic Bilbao beat Atlético 3-0, all three after the interval.
• Federico Dimarco, named Serie A's best player at the Gran Galà on Saturday, left the Napoli match in the 62nd minute with a knee sprain and is a doubt for Tuesday's visit to Real Madrid; Michael Oliver referees it.
• Telstar goalkeeper Ronald Koeman Jr scored twice from the spot in the Netherlands.
• Augsburg came from 1-0 down to beat Eintracht Frankfurt and go top of the Bundesliga; Mainz ran riot at Hamburg, winning 5-0.
• Paris FC won 3-2 at Marseille, Sinayoko with a hat-trick; Hearts beat Dundee 2-1 through a stoppage-time goal for a fourth straight win.
• Spartak's bid for Guadalajara midfielder Roberto Alvarado was rejected; sporting director Francis Cagigao declined to discuss it.
• José Mourinho pointed to the data after Real Madrid's defeat at Betis, with Dean Huijsen among the few to emerge well.
• One outlet reports that Fortuna Sittard coach Danny Buijs has barred Mohamed Ihattaren from speaking to the press for the time being.