Ross Barkley shines as England beat Estonia in Euro 2016 qualifying

There is only one small thing that can be held against Ross Barkley after his contribution to England’s latest win and it is that Estonia were obliging opponents for a man desperate to show it is time he is turned into a mandatory first-team pick. All the same, Barkley must have done enough here to make it difficult in the extreme for Roy Hodgson to leave him out. It was his finest night in England’s colours and when Barkley plays with this freedom and exuberance it is easy to see why Hodgson sees flashes of Paul Gascoigne in the Everton player.

Barkley was outstanding, thrilling an impressively large Wembley crowd, and the pass to set up Theo Walcott for England’s first goal – a diagonal 15-yard nutmeg through a congested penalty area – was of that rare variety when it felt like the pot of superlatives might run dry. Suffice to say it was an extraordinary piece of individual brilliance, taking out five defenders with one piece of vision and high skill. Not everything Barkley tried came off but he can be forgiven the odd lapse when he is capable of conjuring up these moments of brilliance and it was exhilarating to see the way he took his chance, as if absolutely determined to show he deserved to be in this team

Twice in the second half he came close to scoring a spectacular goal, on each occasion evading two defenders with that wonderful balance and body movement, before leaving the pitch late on for Dele Alli to make his senior debut. By then England had scored a second goal, created by the substitute Jamie Vardy and turned in by Raheem Sterling, and Hodgson’s team have now won all nine of their qualifiers. They are the only team in the entire process with an immaculate record and a 10th is likely when they wrap everything up in Lithuania on Monday.

Hodgson’s plan in Vilnius is to play a more experimental side, featuring Jack Butland in goal and Jonjo Shelvey in midfield with Phil Jones and Phil Jagielka returning in defence, and five players – Wayne Rooney, James Milner, Michael Carrick, Gary Cahill and Joe Hart – returning to their clubs. Barkley was deployed here in a withdrawn, slightly left-sided position rather than the more advanced No 10 role where he has excelled for Everton this season and Hodgson said that would continue.

Barkley’s involvement always give England a more exciting feel and his contribution was also a reminder that a perfectly executed pass can be every bit as beautiful as a shot into the top corner or a mazy, dribbling run through the opposition defence. It is difficult to remember a more exquisitely delivered nutmeg, or certainly one that doubles up as a defence-splitting through-ball, and perhaps the most impressive part was that when he spotted the chance to go between Karol Mets’s legs it was more than just one-upmanship that compelled him to find the gap.

Barkley played the ball with equal measures of speed and accuracy and suddenly Walcott was six yards from goal with time to control the pass and side-foot his shot inside the far post. It was a wonderful goal and Hodgson, one imagines, will forgive Barkley for the stray pass across midfield earlier in the match, giving the ball straight to an Estonian attacker. Barkley will always be a risk-taker but amid all the acclaim he does need to be aware that, against a better team, that form of carelessness could have left his team in danger.

England had been laboured for much of the first half and there was a slow feel to the game once the home team could not make the most of their early superiority. Perhaps that was just inevitable given that England had qualified for the tournament, chosen their Euro 2016 hotel and arranged most of their warm-up matches while there were still three qualifying games to go. It did, however, make it a prosaic spectacle at times for a crowd that could not even get enthused enough to arrange a proper Mexican wave.

Walcott did at least show signs that he wanted to make something happen, including an early volley that brought a flying save from the goalkeeper, Mihkel Aksalu, and a deflected shot into the side-netting after Adam Lallana’s flick. Overall, though, it was an undistinguished first-half performance and there were even fleeting moments when Estonia abandoned their ultra-cautious approach to break forward. It would be an exaggeration to say Hart’s goal was seriously threatened but it did take an improvised flick from Chris Smalling to turn Konstantin Vassiljev’s left-wing cross behind for a corner.

Estonia quickly settled back into conservatism during the second half, creating little of note and making it difficult to assess the performance of England’s defence. Hodgson’s team were in complete control despite holding only a one-goal lead and Barkley, as Hodgson said, was “strutting his stuff”. One driving run through midfield took the 21-year-old from the centre circle all the way into the penalty area before he was halted. A left-foot shot flashed just wide, then a right-footed effort drew another save from Aksalu.

It was not until the 85th minute, however that England made certain of the victory. Harry Kane, who worked hard in place of the injured Rooney without having one of his better games, flicked on a long goal-kick, Vardy was given the benefit of the doubt after nudging Taijo Teniste to the ground and, running in from the left, squared the ball for Sterling to score from close range.

Lionel Messi scores twice against Levante to keep Barcelona perfect

Lionel Messi celebrates scoring from the penalty spot in Barcelona’s 4-1 win over Levante. Photograph: Susana Vera/Reuters

Lionel Messi scored one penalty and missed another as his double helped Barcelona sweep aside Levante in the second half in a 4-1 victory that maintained their perfect La Liga start.

Last season’s treble winners lead the standings with 12 points ahead of three teams, including arch-rivals Real Madrid, on 10.

The defender Marc Bartra showed composure to open the scoring by converting a Messi cross after 50 minutes with Barça having been frustrated in the first half by a well-organised Levante side.

After the game opened up Neymar finished clinically after 55 minutes and won a penalty on the hour which was converted by Messi.

At the other end, the Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen flapped at a cross that allowed Victor Casadesús to slot home after 65 minutes.

Messi blazed a second penalty over the bar after he was fouled but the Argentine did score again with a drive from the edge of the area a minute from time.

Graziano Pellè leads Italy nearer Euro 2016 with winner against Malta

Italy needed 69 minutes to break down a stubborn, tenacious Malta before Graziano Pellè struck to give them a 1-0 win in their Euro 2016 qualifier.

Graziano Pellè celebrates after scoring in the Euro 2016 qualifier against Malta. Photograph: Giampiero Sposito/Reuters

Italy, without a win in their previous four matches, struggled to find a way through a massed Maltese defence in front of a sparse crowd at the Artemio Franchi stadium.

The win took them top of Group H, with 15 points from seven games, one more than Croatia, who drew 0-0 in Azerbaijan earlier and who were docked a point this summer, pending an appeal.

Pellè, who scored the only goal when Italy won by the same score in Malta earlier in the group, was in the thick of the action for Italy as he had a shot deflected over the crossbar and headed over from a corner early on.

Malta, bottom of the group with one point, nearly took a sensational lead just before the half-hour when Alfred Effiong curled a shot just wide of Gianluigi Buffon’s far post.

As Italy continued to press forward, Pellè headed wide from an Andrea Pirlo free-kick and then the Malta goalkeeper Andrew Hogg did well to parry away Andrea Bertolacci’s deflected shot. Eder had Italy’s best first-half effort when his low effort went just wide of the post after a run from midfield.

Malta continued to defend tenaciously after half-time and Italy struggled to create openings, despite their overwhelming dominance.

Manolo Gabbiadini was agonisingly close to the breakthrough when he curled a 20-yard effort against the crossbar in the 59th minute and Malta finally capitulated 10 minutes later. Antonio Candreva sent over a cross from the right, Hogg was distracted by Marco Parolo at the near post and Pellè forced the ball in from close range.

Even after the goal, Malta continued to defend doggedly and Hogg did well turn away an awkward shot by Parolo.

Manchester United make move to sign Sadio Mané from Southampton

Manchester United have made a surprise inquiry for Southampton’s Sadio Mané, with Louis van Gaal wanting the 23-year-old to strengthen his forward line.

United had proposed to buy Pedro from Barcelona but the deal broke down, with Van Gaal instructing Ed Woodward, the executive vice-chairman, to ask Saints about Mané. Pedro is now set to join Chelsea.

Sadio Mané, the subject of Manchester United interest. Photograph: James Marsh/BPI/Rex Shutterstock

The west London club came close to signing Pedro in January and continued to pursue the forward at the start of the summer window before it seemed Pedro had decided he preferred United.

While United insist that it was Van Gaal who decided against triggering Pedro’s £21.2m release clause, as reported by the Guardian last Friday, the 28-year-old had reservations regarding Van Gaal’s managerial style. Pedro is good friends with Víctor Valdés, with whom the Dutchman has fallen out.

Last season Mané caught the eye by scoring the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history, doing so in the 6-1 defeat of Aston Villa in May. The Senegalese scored 10 goals for Saints after arriving from Red Bull Salzburg on transfer deadline day last September.

Ronald Koeman, the Southampton coach, sanctioned an £11.8m fee for Mané so United can be expected to have made an intial bid in the region of £15m for him. Mané has 22 Senegal caps and played at the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea in January.

Manchester City hope £49m Raheem Sterling can sprinkle some stardust

Manchester City required a signing with the wow factor and £49m Raheem Sterling fits the bill. Photograph: Andrew Yates/Reuters

Does the name Rolando Bianchi ring any bells? Even distant ones? In all honesty the help of a search engine was required to jog this old brain about the kind of summer purchase that dominated the thoughts of Manchester City’s movers and shakers prior to the Abu Dhabi United Group takeover.

Rewind to 2007, the age of Sven-Göran Eriksson, Thaksin Shinawatra and a curious and half-baked first attempt at an internationally owned City revamp. The club blew about £40m on a range of players that summer, the most expensive of whom was Bianchi, a 6ft 2in striker who joined from Reggina for £8.8m. He scored on his debut as it happened but optimism soon fizzled out. By January he was so unsettled he was allowed to leave and he returned to Italy to pick up a modest career.

Recalling the tale of Bianchi brings context as City part with £49m to welcome their prime summer target, Raheem Sterling. The fact that their bartering with Liverpool scaled such expensive peaks reflects how remarkably difficult it is for any club – even one with huge financial backing – to recruit what could be defined as A-list talent.

Sterling may turn out to be worth every single one of the many pennies required for Liverpool to release the 20-year-old, and, equally, supposedly surer things than he have turned out to be very costly failed experiments. But it does feel as if part of the package was that City required a signing with wow factor this summer – something to turn heads, create new energy, attract a spotlight.

Considering how City are obviously regarded as major players in the transfer game, having spent about £500m on fees during the years the club has been bankrolled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, they have not bought too many players classified as established A-listers at the time of purchase.

The best examples of players in that bracket – coveted across Europe’s elite, the kind of name which adds stature to a club and is a barometer for excellence and ambition – are Yaya Touré and Carlos Tevez in 2009, and Sergio Agüero in 2011. Robinho, Vincent Kompany, David Silva and Mario Balotelli were all signings who also caught the imagination on a grand scale in the early years of the City renaissance, even if not all of them worked out.

These were players who enabled the City reinvention to gain an injection of high-calibre credibility. But interestingly, none of the signings since Agüero arrived four years ago have had A-list impact.

Last season’s major purchases, Fernando, Eliaquim Mangala and, as of last January, Wilfried Bony have not yet pulled up trees. Two or three seasons ago Stevan Jovetic, Javi García, Matija Nastasic and Jack Rodwell arrived with optimism but found it difficult to blossom at the Etihad. Álvaro Negredo came, had a stunning spell, dipped and went. Jesús Navas is wonderful only in gossamer flashes and has not lived up to the billing that he could become one of the great wingers of his time.

While the financial fair play sanctions City received last summer had an effect, it is still curious that the club’s ability to attract major talent, a touch of galáctico gloss, in the first half of the Sheikh Mansour era has not been matched in the second half.

Buying top-echelon players, even for rich clubs, is just not that easy and one of the reasons for that – not that the game would care to admit it – is that the pool of outstanding talent looks worryingly parched around the edges. Consider how the other most jaw dropping of transfers so far to improve the Premier League’s top four teams are Bastian Schweinsteiger (almost 31 years old) and Petr Cech (33), with the intrigue of what Sterling and Memphis Depay can do offering the hope of youthful dazzle.

One can debate until deadline day whether the heavyweight bucks are appropriate for a player in Sterling’s developmental stage – part of his attraction is the feeling that there could be so much more to come – but there is not much arguing with market forces.

Marquee signings, of course, are not always what they are cracked up to be. When Manchester United spent nearly £60m on Ángel Di María a year ago, they were obviously hoping for more than a fitful season where delightful moments were mixed with underwhelming drifting. Even if it turns out to be a season of adjustment, it was not easy for club or player to confront difficulties when that kind of price tag turns a dark cloud into a thunderstorm.

With transfer figures as volatile as they are, football is full of such awkwardness. Arsenal’s first year with Mesut Özil was tricky. The experience of the former Chelsea striker Fernando Torres seldom shook off that perplexing air. It seems incomprehensible that Tottenham spent £26m on Roberto Soldado. These, remember, all arrived in their mid-20s with a bit of life experience behind them.

For City Sterling may not be the finished article but they are gambling that, if and when he is, he will possess that aura, that sprinkling of stardust, that hovers around the very best.