Racing needed a stoppage-time winner from Mauricio Affonso to maintain their Uruguayan Primera Division lead on Sunday.

Affonso struck in the 92nd minute at Rampla Juniors as Racing came from behind to seal a 2-1 Apertura win in Montevideo.

The win kept Racing one point ahead of Nacional, who had veteran Alvaro Recoba score from a corner in their 2-0 home success against an out-of-form Wanderers.

Rampla Juniors took the lead in unusual circumstances as Bruno Barreto a third-minute substitute for Maximiliano Arias netted the opener.

Barreto s 12th-minute strike was cancelled out by Juan Pablo Rodriguez just before the half-hour mark but it looked like both sides would have to settle for a point.

And that would have represented a great result for a …

Brazil president Lula added on social media: I had the privilege that younger Brazilians didn t have: I saw Pele play, live, at Pacaembu and Morumbi.

Play? No. I saw Pele give a show. Because when he got the ball he always did something special, which often ended up in a goal.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) also paid tribute.

We mark the passing of the legendary Pele, known to many as the king of the beautiful game , NASA posted. This image of a spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor shows the colours of Brazil.

We mark the passing of the legendary Pelé, known to many as the king of the beautiful game. This image of a spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor shows the colors of Brazil.

— NASA (@NASA)

…

Xavi refused to blame referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz after Barcelona s 1-1 draw with Espanyol but acknowledged the feisty Catalan derby totally got out of control.

The Blaugrana were forced to settle for a point on their return to action following the World Cup despite a dominant display at Camp Nou, where Joselu s penalty cancelled out a header from Marcos Alonso.

The contest descended into chaos as Lahoz, who was in charge of Argentina s fiery World Cup quarter-final clash with the Netherlands this month, prolifically handed out cards during the bruising final exchanges.

Jordi Alba was dismissed for two bookable offences on his 300th LaLiga appearance for the Barca, while Vinicius Souza after, and Leandro Cabrera was fortunate to stay on the field having appeared…

Yohan Cabaye is flattered by links with a move to Marseille but is focused on helping Crystal Palace s Premier League survival bid.

Cabaye joined Palace from Paris Saint-Germain as a club-record signing in 2015 and started Saturday s 4-0 thumping at home to Sunderland, which left them two points adrift of safety.

The midfielder played under Marseille boss Rudi Garcia at Lille, winning the Ligue 1 and Coupe de France double in 2010-11.

While Cabaye is honoured to hear about reported interest from Marseille, he insists Palace are his sole point of attention.

It s flattering, because Marseille are one of the biggest French clubs. But I have my life in London, my club, and I m focused on that, he told L Equipe Enquete.

I have a great respect for…

Bolivia took advantage of Lionel Messi s four-match ban and compounded Argentina s misery with a 2-0 win in Tuesday s World Cup qualifying clash in La Paz.

Messi was initially named in head coach Edgardo Bauza s line-up on Monday, but a suspension imposed by FIFA on the day of the game after the captain insulted a match official in last week s victory over Chile ruled him out of contention.

It proved a huge blow for an already much-depleted Argentina, whose absences included the banned Nicolas Otamendi, Lucas Biglia, Javier Mascherano and Gonzalo Higuain

The visitors never got going at an altitude of 3,600 metres and Bolivia deservedly took the lead in the 31st minute when Facundo Roncaglia s poor marking was capitalised upon by Juan Carlos Arce, who steered a …

Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri talked up his club s push for a treble ahead of Saturday s home clash with Empoli.

Such is Juve s dominance as they bid for a fourth successive title they are 14 points ahead of the second-placed Roma with 10 matches to go that Allegri can afford to dream of what would be a historic start to his Turin tenure.

His appointment was seen as a surprise following Antonio Conte s decision to join Italy, but Allegri has won the fans over with an excellent campaign.

A tremendous win at Borussia Dortmund saw them reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, where they will play Monaco, but they do trail Fiorentina 2-1 after one leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final.

We deserved a night like that [in Dortmund] after all the hard…

According to Daily Telegraph, the potential arrival of Maurizio Sarri as s new manager could trigger a move for this summer. The report suggests that if the Italian boss, who spent three years with Napoli, does indeed jump over to English football, then he ll immediately move towards trying to bring Mertens with him.

The 31-year-old is currently over in Russia where he is one of the featured members of Belgium s supposed golden generation who kicked off their World Cup campaign with a convincing 3-0 victory over Panama, with Mertens scoring the opener. He has been on the books at Stadio San Paolo since 2013 when he moved to Napoli from PSV Eindhoven, and in that time he s been able to establish himself as one of the club s most important players.

While this whole dea…

Gareth Bale will miss Real Madrid s Clasico clash with Barcelona as well as Wednesday s game at Liverpool, Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed.

The Wales winger had already been ruled out of his club s UEFA Champions League match at Anfield due to a hip injury.

And coach Ancelotti has subsequently revealed that Bale will not recover in time to face Barca on Saturday, although the Italian believes Real have the talent to overcome the absence of their world-record signing.

Gareth Bale is out of the Liverpool and Barcelona clashes, Ancelotti said. We have a very competitive squad with a lot of quality to cover Bale s absence.

It [the Liverpool game] will be a very good game between two great sides, and we will try to win it.

The meeting with Brendan Ro…

Fit-again pair Fran Kirby and Keira Walsh have returned to the England squad for this month’s Nations League double-header against Belgium but there is no recall for Beth Mead.

Chelsea’s Kirby has not been involved since sustaining a knee injury in February, while Barcelona’s Walsh is back after missing the matches against Scotland and the Netherlands in September because of a calf issue.

Mead is not included despite on Sunday making her first appearance for Arsenal since her knee injury last November, coming off the bench and setting up the winner in a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa.

Your October squad is here!

— Lionesses (@Lionesses)

Mead’s club-mate Lotte Wubben-Moy is also back, after withdrawing from the September squad with an in…

Being a global superstar like Neymar means you are never far from the headlines and Paris Saint-Germain s audacious move for the Brazil star has thrust him even more into the limelight.

It was a training-ground bust-up with new Barcelona team-mate Nelson Semedo that set the internet and social media abuzz on Friday, though, and has only exacerbated rumours that the silky forward is France bound.

But, in fairness, Neymar is not the first player to engage in a scuffle with a team-mate and below we assess six other instances of skirmishes on the training ground.

Robinho Thomas Gravesen

Remember when Gravesen played for Real Madrid? That was bizarre…but Robinho felt the full force of the great Dane during a pre-season training camp in Austria leading to an …