Cristiano Ronaldo made World Cup history as Portugal opened their campaign in Qatar with a 3-2 win over Ghana.

Cristiano Ronaldo made World Cup history two days after severing ties with Manchester United as Portugal opened their campaign in Qatar with a 3-2 win over Ghana.
Ronaldo, who is a free agent after his acrimonious Old Trafford break-up, became the first player to score in five World Cup final tournaments when he tucked away Portugal's first from the penalty spot.
Andre Ayew's equaliser briefly looked like it would spoil Portugal's party, but a quickfire double from Joao Felix and substitute Rafael Leao gave them a two-goal advantage.
Osman Bukari halved it with an 89th-minute header but Portugal held on through nine minutes of injury time to seize the initiative in Group H, where Uruguay and South Korea earlier played out a goalless draw.
The erstwhile Manchester United number seven was the first to get the crowd on their feet in the 10th minute, racing onto an Otavio pass after Mohammed Kudus was caught in possession.
However, the ball just ran away from him and goalkeeper Lawrence Ati won a 50-50 foot race to block Ronaldo.
The 2016 European champions were dominating possession and pressing Ghana high up the pitch whenever the ball was lost, but it was a scrappy encounter.
Openings were few and far between, and Atletico Madrid forward Felix summed up the lack of a quality as he leant back and lifted a left-foot shot high over the top in the 28th minute.
Ronaldo had the ball in the net after half an hour but the goal was disallowed for his shove on Ghana defender Alexander Djiku.
Portugal were still on top territorially and as the half came to a close, Otavio was off target with a shot after Joao Cancelo spotted his run from left to right across the box.
Ghana enlivened a slow start to the second period as Kudus broke from deep, got away from Ruben Neves and drilled a low left-foot shot just wide of Diogo Costa's goal.
Alidu Seidu was given a stern word and a yellow card by American referee Ismail Elfath after he flicked his head towards Felix.
The goal Portugal and Ronaldo craved arrived in the 65th minute, after the referee judged that Ghana's Southampton defender Mohammed Salisu had tripped the 37-year-old superstar in the box.
Almost every fan in the Portuguese end behind the goal had their smartphones poised as Ronaldo stepped up and made World Cup history, with Ati guessing the right way but not getting close to the ball.
Ghana responded positively though and equalised in the 73rd minute.
Kudus stung Costa's palms with a thumping left-foot shot and seconds later broke clear on the left side of the area. Danilo Pereira got in a tangle trying to clear his low cross and it fell to Ayew, who swept home from close range.
However, Portugal were gifted the chance to restore their lead when Baba Rahman allowed Bruno Fernandes' through-ball to reach Felix, who advanced on goal before clipping the ball beyond Ati.
The game appeared to have been put to bed when Fernandes burst forward again from deep, this time picking out substitute Leao to his left who rolled an angled shot home.
Ronaldo raced clear in search of his second and Portugal's fourth but this time Ati denied him.
Bukari's header made the final moments more tricky, but Portugal held out despite a late moment of madness from goalkeeper Costa, who almost cost his side dear when he failed to spot Inaki Williams lurking behind him.

Ronaldo scores to made World Cup history as Portugal beat Ghana

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Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea's owners must look past their disappointment and back him to implement the plan he was hired to draw up.

Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea's owners must look past their disappointment and back him to implement the plan he was hired to draw up in order to lift the club out of their slump.
Defeat to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Sunday means the team have taken an average of 0.85 points per game over the last 35 matches, three short of a full league season.
Over a single campaign they would have won 32 points, a tally that would have seen them relegated in every Premier League season since the league became 38 games in 1995, and would have left them bottom of the table in five of them.
That run goes back to October 19 last year when the team, then managed by Graham Potter, drew 0-0 away at Brentford.
Pochettino is the fourth manager to have led the side in that period, with Potter having been removed on April 2 and Frank Lampard taking over until the end of the campaign, with a single game in charge for caretaker boss Bruno Saltor.
Despite the turnover of coaches, the Blues have won only six times in the league in the 11 months since, drawing 12, giving them a return of 30 points from 35 games.
The squad assembled by co-owner Todd Boehly's Clearlake Capital consortium at a cost of more than £1billion over the last 16 months are currently 14th in the table after six games and have not scored in 285 minutes of play.
Pochettino encouraged supporters to keep faith and focus on the quality of recent performances rather than the club's relegation form over the last year.
"It's about learning, it's about the process," he said after Ollie Watkins' second-half goal for Villa condemned his side to their third loss of the season.
"We are a young team (in) a process that they need to learn all together. It's difficult to talk about positives because when you lose it's difficult, but we need to talk about positive things.
"No doubt that with time the team is going to perform, but of course now we cannot hide the situation. It's a situation that disappoints all the fans, the club, us and the players.
"They (the owners) are disappointed, they arrive to the club and (were) so excited to build some project. Of course they feel disappointed, but at the same time they need to support the plan."
If there was a bright spot for Chelsea it was the return of striker Armando Broja after nine months out with an ACL injury.
The Albania international came off the bench in the second half and headed wide in the closing minutes as the team sought an equaliser.
"It was good to see Broja after nine, 10 months," said Pochettino. "Again I think to have the possibility to have different options is good for the team. But he needs to build his confidence also."
Watkins' goal was his first in the league this season and the striker admitted it was a weight off his shoulders.
"The first one is always hard to get," Watkins told VillaTV.
"I'm delighted to get off the mark now.
"It's a bit of a relief, really, because the more the games go by, there's a lot of talk and pressure.
"But I just try and block that out and I back myself in front of goal no matter what anyone says.
"I'm looking forward to the games coming up now and plenty more goals for the season."

Mauricio Pochettino urges Chelsea owners to support his revival plan

Liverpool defender Kostas Tsimikas has signed a new long-term contract with the club.

Liverpool defender Kostas Tsimikas has signed a new long-term contract with the club.
Tsimikas joined Liverpool from Olympiacos on a five-year contract in 2020 and the terms of the 27-year-old's new deal have not been disclosed.
The Greece left-back told Liverpool's official website: "I feel very glad to be here to extend my contract. I feel like all the sacrifices I did and other things, the work I put in, everything pays off.
"But this keeps me fully motivated for the rest. As I've said in many, many interviews, this team has many, many things to achieve all together and I wanted to be from the first minute a part of it."
Tsimikas has made 63 appearances and provided 12 assists since joining Liverpool for a fee of around £11.7million.
He has made one Premier League appearance this season, off the bench against Bournemouth in August, and started in last week's Europa League win against LASK in Austria.

Kostas Tsimikas signs contract extension with Liverpool

Ange Postecoglou hailed Tottenham's bravery at Arsenal, but expressed his bemusement at the handball rule in the 2-2 draw.

Ange Postecoglou hailed Tottenham's bravery at Arsenal, but expressed his bemusement at the handball rule and joked "armless defenders" will be required after Cristian Romero gave away a penalty in the 2-2 draw.
Spurs grabbed a share of the north London derby spoils after captain Son Heung-min struck either side of half-time.
An own-goal from Romero in the 26th minute broke the deadlock at the Emirates, with the Argentina defender deflecting Bukayo Saka's shot beyond team-mate Guglielmo Vicario.
Son fired home before half-time from James Maddison's cross, but Arsenal made the perfect start following the restart when Romero was penalised for handball after he blocked Ben White's shot from close proximity.
Saka rolled home the 54th-minute spot-kick but 108 seconds later Tottenham were level when Maddison won possession from Jorginho and played in Son, who netted his 150th Spurs goal.
"It's not about being happy with the result, for me it was about the performance," Postecoglou said.
"You can get a result here, a draw, and like I said before you can walk away knowing that ‘you know what, we escaped', but I don't have that feeling now.
"I think we went toe-to-toe with a top team and at times I thought we really asserted our dominance on the game. At times they did but that's what happens when you face top sides.
"Even if we had lost today, and I don't like losing, but for me to keep pushing these guys, they need to feel that out there that what we talk about and work on, they can see it come to fruition and when it does against a top team, being brave with our approach, that's the key thing. For me I'm pleased."
Postecoglou was less enthusiastic about the decision to award a penalty for Romero's close-range block on White and likened it to the handball given against Wolves' Joao Gomes at Luton on Saturday.
He added: "I've got no idea about the handball rule. I really don't. I saw the one yesterday at Wolves and it just seems if it hits your hand it's a penalty and then other times if it hits your hand, it isn't a penalty.
"I've got no idea. It is the one rule in the game I just don't understand.
"Unless we start developing armless defenders I don't know how you are supposed to block things and be in a natural position.
"It is what it is. You kind of hope these things even themselves out over the course of a year but I don't understand the handball rule.
"I think any clarity would be good because I have got no idea."
Opposite number Mikel Arteta was disappointed Arsenal failed to make it three wins in a row over their rivals.
A key moment occurred after Romero's own-goal when Gabriel Jesus won back possession from Maddison inside the area, but his 14-yard effort was blazed over the crossbar.
Arteta said: "We are very disappointed not to earn the three points, that's for sure, and especially when you go in front twice in the game and have the opportunity to win it.
"We had control of the game, could have made it 2-0 with Gabi and then you concede the goal and you have to bounce back. We did and scored the goal but it's a shame that within a minute you concede the other one.
"I think that affected the team emotionally quite a lot and we lacked some composure to make more passes in the final third."
Arteta also leapt to the defence of Jorginho, who was introduced at half-time in place of the injured Declan Rice, after the ex-Chelsea midfielder was robbed of possession by Maddison for Tottenham's second goal.
"What happened is I love him and we love him," the Arsenal boss insisted.
"Errors are part of football. They're allowed to make errors because they play and we don't play. We are all with him."

Ange Postecoglou praises Tottenham's bravery, questions handball rule

Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp hailed the "massive steps" Darwin Nunez has made this season after his key contribution in the 3-1 win over West Ham.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp hailed the "massive steps" striker Darwin Nunez has made already this season after his key contribution in the 3-1 win over West Ham.
The Uruguay international's fourth goal of the season – which keeps him level with Mohamed Salah, who netted the opening penalty – was pivotal in turning the match the hosts' way after Jarrod Bowen's diving header had restored parity.
Substitute Diogo Jota's late goal made sure of a fifth successive Premier League victory to move the Reds into second place in the table, but it was Nunez's all-round display that particularly caught the eye, his brilliant volley the game's standout moment.
"He has made massive steps in the last few weeks. He is a threat. You all saw the goal, that was probably pretty good, right? That was really strong," Klopp said.
"Incredible. Everybody is looking at me when I talk about the goals but these eyes – I saw it only once – can't wait to see it properly back.
"He was always available. It's super-important for us now that we have a ball player: chip the ball (into him), get it on the chest and play from there.
"That's how we scored the third goal at Wolves, super-important for us. The defensive work he puts in is probably the main difference.
"He always wanted (to do it) but it was less coordinated. Now that looks much better.
"We have found a way to do it around him, Curtis (Jones) and Dom (Dominik Szoboszlai) help a lot, how flexible they are in that way. It's really good, absolutely."
In the end the result was comfortable but for long periods that was not the case as a resilient West Ham always posed a threat and were good at breaking up Liverpool's momentum.
"It was expected. A difficult game; some very good moments in the first half but we were not enough in control to deny them completely.
"I really thought we played good in different phases, lost some balls we shouldn't have lost, but we scored our goal which was a super counter-attack.
"When they scored, I was not completely surprised. We should have defended it better, that's clear. The most important is you stay in the game and that's what we did in the second half.
"We controlled much better and gave them a proper challenge. We really caused them some problems and we scored some super goals."
West Ham manager David Moyes, who has yet to win in 20 career visits to Anfield, was frustrated his side could not hold on for longer at 1-1.
"We did a pretty good job in first half. We created a few chances in the first half," he said.
"We were probably trying to offer them problems and until the penalty I thought we had a really good grasp of the game.
"I thought Liverpool counter-attacked us more than we did to them because we had really good control of the game.
"You might come here and only get three chances and they will get 10 and have to hope they will miss nine and we take two.
"I was disappointed with the second goal. Lots of positives to take but more disappointed with the second and third goal, probably more the third."
Moyes has also dismissed the chances of re-signing former midfielder Jesse Lingard, who trained with the club after leaving Nottingham Forest as a free agent in the summer, with the player now seemingly destined for Saudi Arabia.
"I am quite comfortable, more than relaxed with it," he added. "We like Jesse a lot, I just don't know if we need another player in the position."