Football

 United faced scrutiny after losing three straight matches before ending the run in a 3-1 EFL Cup win at Northampton Town on Wednesday.

Skipper Rooney has faced particular scrutiny over his form, with many pundits questioning whether he remains worthy of a starting berth in Jose Mourinho's line-up with the 30-year-old scoring just once in five Premier League outings.

But England's record goal scorer is paying little attention and says that the criticism aimed at him is nothing new.

 The reigning champions looked set for a shock defeat before Ronaldo stepped up and picked out the top-right corner directly from a set-piece 25 yards out, and Morata secured all three points with a 94th-minute header.

Ronaldo's 350th appearance for Madrid came against the club where he made his debut, and it looked set to be a frustrating one when Bruno Cesar put Sporting ahead two minutes into the second half.

Having upset the odds to claim their first top-flight title last term, Leicester are taking part in the continental competition for the first time in their history.

Wednesday's match away at Club Brugge will also see captain Morgan make his Champions League debut, and the Jamaica international considers it one of the greatest moments of his career.

"To win the Premier League is a great moment but this is definitely alongside it," said the centre-back.

"At the age of 32, to be playing in a competition like this is fantastic and I'm looking forward to it.

A hat-trick from Lionel Messi, plus goals from Neymar, Andres Iniesta and Luis Suarez's double, gave Luis Enrique's side all three points to banish memories of Saturday's shock LaLiga defeat to Alaves.

Messi rifled in an early opener and he combined superbly with Neymar to double Barca's lead after Moussa Dembele had seen a penalty saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

The Gunners reached the final in 2006, when they lost to Barcelona, but have failed to progress beyond the last 16 in the last six seasons.

Wenger, who has entered the last year of his contract at the Emirates Stadium, is under particular pressure to mount a serious challenge for the latter stages as question marks remain over his long-term future.

And, though the 66-year-old says his personal circumstances have no bearing on their aims for this term, he is keen to see his side produce some of their best football against the continent's elite.

The former Barca handball star, who had previously been in charge of the club's football school scheme, has replaced Nacho Mestre as the most senior executive at Camp Nou following a meeting of board members.

Mestre, who is to continue in his role as general director, had requested more time to attend to personal concerns after spending 21 months as CEO.

The Argentine was at fault for Alaves' second goal as his poor clearance allowed Ibai Gomez to restore his side's lead, but Iniesta leapt to the defence of his team-mate. 

"Football is all about success and mistakes. What happened to Mascherano could have happened to anyone," Iniesta told reporters.

"It was one of those games where nothing came off. We didn't do things well and we've paid with a defeat and the loss of three important points.

"Of course this has been a bad performance, but now it's about analysing the causes and correcting the errors.

The England international was hampered by numerous injuries, making just 17 Premier League appearances in his first season with the armband.

Henderson, 26, said his minimal contribution on the field meant he questioned himself as captain.

"I've never felt that I didn't want the captaincy but there were times last season when I was very down because I wasn't playing and I questioned my contribution as captain because of that," he said.

"I couldn't help on the pitch as I wanted to and so Milly [James Milner], as vice-captain, had to take the role on.

World football's governing body initially imposed the punishment in January due to the capital clubs breaching rules in relation to the transfer of minors but suspended them later in the month, pending appeal.

Madrid and Atletico will now be unable to register new players until January 2018, with their respective initial fines of 360,000 Swiss francs and 900,000 Swiss francs remaining.

Contract negotiations are set to be opened with the 29-year-old in the near future, with Messi's current deal set to expire in June 2018.

Bartomeu is understandably keen to tie Barca's star man down to a longer deal, but he conceded the ball will be in Messi's court.

"[Messi] has all the years he wants [with Barcelona]," Bartomeu told ESPN FC.

"Lionel Messi is the best ever to play football in the history of the world and he plays with us.