CHELSEA maintained their 100 per cent start to their Conference League campaign with a 4-1 win at Panathinaikos.

Joao Felix turned in the opening goal of an emotional night in Athens midway through the first half.

Mykhailo Mudryk headed in from close range after the break – before another for Felix, who then won a penalty converted by Christopher Nkunku.

However, Chelsea did not head back with a clean sheet as ex-Manchester United man Facundo Pellistri grabbed a consolation.

Here’s how SunSport’s Joshua Jones rated Enzo Maresca’s men…

Filip Jorgensen – 7

Made a fine flying save inside the opening two minutes, flying across to prevent a nightmare start.

Had to deal with a laser being shone in his face – will be disappointed not to get a clean sheet.

Axel Disasi – 5

Gave away the early free-kick that almost resulted in a shock early lead for the hosts.

Dragged slightly out of position before Panathinaikos’ goal then got booked for cynical tug in injury time – but made big block from resulting free-kick.

Benoit Badiashile – 5

Will have plenty of sterner tests this season – but would have been desperate not to concede.

Was the man who should have been picking up Pellistri at the back post when Disasi came central.

Renato Veiga – 6

Played as the left-sided centre-back and looked pretty relaxed about his evening’s work – understandably so.

Except for when he almost scored a comedic own goal but the ball looped just wide of the post.

Marc Cucurella – 6

Enjoying his role as the left-back who is given orders to help out in attack – leaving a back three behind when in possession.

Routine stuff for the Spaniard – although critics may say he was out of position in build-up to Pellistri goal.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – 7

Former Leicester man showed plenty of energy – just as he promises to do in every appearance.

Played a neat long pass to Felix in the build-up to the opening goal.

Enzo Fernandez – 6

Back in the starting XI after his surprise exclusion against Liverpool, and given the captain’s armband.

Had a glorious chance to make it 2-0 but ran on to his shot but it was rising and tipped over to make sure.

Pedro Neto – 7

A constant livewire and delivered an inch-perfect cross for Mudryk’s goal.

May well get the nod against Newcastle ahead of Jadon Sancho and/or Noni Madueke.

Christopher Nkunku – 7

Despite the home fans’ best attempts with their lasers, the forward made no mistake from the penalty spot in his only notable contribution.

Cool as you like from 12 yards, firing low into the bottom corner.

Mykhailo Mudryk – 9

Left his team-mates frustrated when he went solo and blasted off target but made amends minutes later with a lovely sliding pass for Felix.

Then turned from assist provider to goalscorer with his header at the back post, just about nodding it in, and the smile said it all.

Went back to setting up, though, as he teed up Felix again.

Joao Felix – 8

Scored the opening goal – and did so in style with a lovely, cushioned header to flick the ball on then getting in the six-yard box to deftly turn home.

Got Chelsea’s third thanks to a fortunate deflection then won the penalty.

SUBS

Tyrique George (for Neto, 61 mins) – 7

Stung the palms with a late effort and looked very bright when he came on.

Marc Guiu (for Nkunku, 61 mins) – 5

Spent half an hour up top but was largely anonymous.

Cesare Casadei (for Fernandez, 71 mins) – 5

Extra minutes in midfield as Fernandez’s legs saved for Newcastle on Sunday.

Carney Chukwuemeka (for Dewsbury-Hall, 77 mins) – 5

Got the final stages but game all over by then.

ABU DHABI – Geoff Neal stepped into the cage Saturday at UFC 308 and left with a win, but felt like he didn’t even fight.

In his welterweight prelim, Neal (16-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) defeated former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos (32-17 MMA, 21-15 UFC) by first-round TKO due to knee injury. Neal was only hit twice.

“RDA is a legend, and I wish there would’ve been more a fight – especially because I wanted a bonus, too,” Neal told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “I wish it was a little bit more. But it is what it is. Hopefully he heals up and comes back. It sucks to see a legend go out like that. … My leg is a little sore, but I want to get back in there. I’m trying to get back in there by December or January or February. I’m right back in the lab after this.”

Neal, 34, snapped a two-fight skid with the win. His ascent up the ladder toward gold has restarted. Given the fact he’s the last person to beat current champion Belal Muhammad, a narrative is there that has not previously been. Neal defeated Muhammad by unanimous decision in January 2019.

Could that expedite his journey to the top? Maybe, admits Neal, though he thinks he’ll reach the end location regardless of the duration it takes to get there.

“Honestly, I feel like I’m going to get there no matter what,” Neal said. “But I think it will go quicker if Belal does keep the belt.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

Australia’s men and women booked Pacific Cup final places by beating New Zealand in a double-header in Christchurch.

Zac Lomax scored two tries for the Kangaroos in a 22-10 win over an understrength New Zealand at Apollo Projects Stadium, their first meeting since the Kiwis’ 30-0 triumph in last year’s final.

In the women’s match, the Jillaroos became the first team to prevent the Kiwi Ferns from scoring, a fine try by full-back Tamika Upton the highlight of a 14-0 victory.

Australia’s men and women are guaranteed to finish top of their three-team groups and will contest the finals on 10 November against the runners-up.

For the men, that will be New Zealand or Tonga, who meet on Saturday.

The women will take on New Zealand or Papua New Guinea, who play on 3 November.

Ilia Topuria likely has a familiar foe awaiting him for his second title defense.

After becoming the first person to knock out Max Holloway in a stunning performance to cap off UFC 308 on Saturday, the reigning UFC featherweight champion came face-to-face with the man he beat to win the belt. Alexander Volkanovski made his way into the cage following Topuria’s win and the former opponents shared a few kind words for each other in anticipation of an expected rematch.

While UFC CEO Dana White typically doesn’t like to play matchmaker on the same night of an event, he says it’s almost certain that Volkanovski gets the chance to run it back with Topuria next.

“Listen, Volkanovski’s one of those guys, we’re not going to say no to Volkanovski,” White said at the UFC 308 post-fight press conference. “He’s been that guy for us. Any time we needed him. He was on this run like [Israel] Adesanya, like Alex [Pereira] is on right now, when things don’t go our way, and you’ve got to call a guy, Volkanovski’s always been that guy. He really was.

“I don’t think anybody’s in this room going ‘oh this is ridiculous or crazy’ and who wouldn’t want to see it again?”

Volkanovski hasn’t fought since he suffered a knockout loss to Topuria back in February in the fight that cost him the featherweight title. That actually served as his second consecutive knockout loss after Volkanovski fell to UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in similar fashion after he accepted a short-notice fight with hopes of winning a second title.

Instead, Volkanovski ate a brutal head kick in the first round that ended his night. Four months later, Topuria dished out the same result. Afterwards, Volkanovski was told he could get a rematch when he was ready to compete again and it appears the UFC is following through on that promise.

There’s no timeline when the fight might happen, although Volkanovski was pushing to return at the upcoming UFC 312 card scheduled for Australia in February. Prior to his win on Saturday, Topuria shot down any hope that he would defend his title in enemy territory so it remains to be seen when or where the rematch against Volkanovski happens.

With a perfect 16-0 record that now includes wins over two of the greatest featherweights of all time in Volkanovski and Holloway, Topuria is already entering rarified area when it comes to his career. A second win over Volkanovski would separate Topuria even further from his peers at 145 pounds.

“We were just talking in the back. As you start to clip off legend after legend after legend, you eventually become a legend,” White said about Topuria. “Both guys looked great tonight. Max came in with the right game plan. I think the early calf kicks added up and took their toll later in the fight. Those things are so devastating when people throw them the right way. He couldn’t have fought a better fight.

“[Topuria] took some big shots himself. Has the chin, kept coming forward, incredible performance by both guys. But Topuria did something that nobody’s ever done before.”

“We definitely believe the goal can give us some momentum – 2-1 compared to 2-0 is a big difference and it could be a very important goal.

“I am glad to have been the one to put it away and hopefully we can put a few more away in Cardiff on Tuesday.”

Morgan said Wales’ players were frustrated with a performance that Wilkinson described as the “worst” in her time as Wales boss.

“It’s obviously disappointing for us as a team, we felt prepared coming in and we didn’t get the result that we wanted,” she said.

“Slovakia were aggressive and we knew they were. Maybe we didn’t react to what they were doing and challenge them enough and compete at their level.

“We will review the game, watch it individually and show where we need to be better and hopefully we can put it right on Tuesday, which I know that we can.”

George Russell has suggested he would be in favour of Mercedes compromising the rest of this Formula 1 season to gain an advantage into 2025 as the team deals with the fallout of several high-profile crashes.

Mercedes’ repair costs have been mounting up of late after Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Monza practice crash, the Austin shunt sustained by Russell in qualifying, and his latest prang in Mexico’s FP2 session.

This led Toto Wolff to tell Sky Germany of his fear that Mercedes would struggle against the budget cap with further crashes.

Given the situation, Russell said he would be happy to stick with his current car specification – now running Miami-spec parts after his crash – to save cash for next season.

“There’s no concerns with budget cap because we’ve always got a bit of margin and you’re always weighing up what you put into this season versus what you put into next season,” Russell said after securing fifth on the grid for the Mexican GP.

“We may have to compromise over the rest of this season, which to be honest I’d probably be in favour of because we’re not fighting for a championship.

“I’d be more than happy staying on the old floor if that gives us a better chance into next year.

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

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“But I think we’ll be able to repair the floor from Austin. I think that’s the plan. It wasn’t as bad as we initially expected and that should be out in Brazil.”

Russell was surprised that he was able to qualify fifth with older components and that the team was taken aback by its pace from FP1 before the Briton’s incident during the second Friday session.

Recounting the FP2 incident, he explained: “The last two years, I’ve been using that kerb every lap. In FP1, I did four laps using the kerb, and there was no problem and then suddenly I hit it and it was like I was a kangaroo.

“That was really disappointing. For the last two weeks, I’ve put so much pressure on the team now with the lack of spares and it’s been pretty unnecessary.

“But we don’t really know why it’s happening. It’s not through sort of overdriving. It’s just the car bites.”