With Andy Farrell set to name his Ireland squad for next month's four Test matches on Wednesday, Stockdale is expected to be included for games against New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji and Australia.

Whether he can displace Leinster's James Lowe on the left wing for what would be a first cap since before the last World Cup will be another matter.

Either way, Stockdale feels he has done all he can to put himself in the frame.

He said: "Whether I play or not - obviously I want to, dont get me wrong - but it doesnt really matter to a certain degree as Im doing what I can out on the pitch at the moment.

"I feel like Im doing everything I can to warrant getting an opportunity.

"If it doesnt come, it doesnt come, but Im feeling good."

Indeed, perhaps the only way he could be preparing for Ireland camp in a better frame of mind would be if he was coming in off a career hat-trick.

Between his first and second scores against Ospreys on Friday, he had dotted down once more only to have the try chalked off by the television match official for a forward pass after both the conversion and restart.

"I was a bit unhappy, to say the least," he said.

"It seems a bit crazy to me to hit the conversion and hit the restart and then get brought back for the TMO.

"Where does it end? Is it going to be at a point where we're 15 minutes later and someone says, 'oh, that try you scored earlier doesn't count any more'.

"I don't know. Fair enough if it's forward, but it needs to be called earlier."

Inter Milan suffered another injury setback during their Serie A match against AS Roma on Sunday, both Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Francesco Acerbi were forced off with muscular injuries in the first half.

Despite the early exits of two starting players, Inter managed to secure a 1-0 victory thanks to a goal from Lautaro Martínez.

Less than 12 minutes into the match, Çalhanoğlu requested to be substituted due to discomfort in his left thigh. Fifteen minutes later, Acerbi was also forced off with a similar injury.

"Calhanoglu wasn't in great shape over the last two days, so with the other two available I would've rested him this evening. He is generous and tried to put in the effort, but he felt the adductor pain and stopped before it got worse," Inter coach Simone Inzaghi told DAZN.

The win moved the Nerazzurri within two points of league leaders Napoli.

Inzaghi praised his captain, Martinez, who bagged his 133rd goal for Inter across all competitions, for matching the club's all-time scoring record for a foreign player, which was previously held by Hungarian Istvan Nyers since the 1950s.

"He just has to keep doing what he has done with Inter and Argentina. I think he is one of the five best players in the world. He deserves all of this success," Inzaghi said.

The match was the first of seven in 21 days in an intense period for Inter, which will also play more games than almost any other club this season. As well as the Italian league, Inter is involved in the Champions League, the Italian Cup and Italian Super Cup, and has qualified for the newly expanded Club World Cup.

"We have to live with the constant stress of so many games that the players are struggling to handle ... we need to safeguard their health," Inter Milan president Giuseppe Marotta said before Sunday's match.

"It is not an easy situation ... but we need to sit around a table and recognize that the fixture list has to be cut back."

Information from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said the reception given to Gavi gave him goosebumps as the midfielder returned from an 11-month injury layoff during Sunday's 5-1 win over Sevilla in LaLiga.

Gavi has not played since tearing his ACL while playing for Spain last November but came off the bench for the final 10 minutes against Sevilla at the Olympic Stadium.

The 20-year-old replaced Pedri, taking the captain's armband in the process, and he was given a an incredible ovation on his return to action from the Barça supporters.

"I am happy for this result and especially for Gavi," Flick said in a news conference. "It's really amazing when you see atmosphere in the stadium and the fans. It was goosebumps, unbelievable, and I like this."

Any doubts about whether Gavi's intense playing style would be affected by his injury were quickly dispelled as he bounced into challenges immediately.

"The intensity he gave in the match when he came in was good," Flick added. "But it's normal, it's his way to play. Sometimes it's OK to be more calmer, but it's not his style of play."

Gavi said he was delighted to be back, thanked his teammates and the fans for their support and said his time out has helped him to appreciate how fortunate he is.

"I have been dreaming about this for many months and I am grateful to my teammates who made the process easier for me," he told reporters.

"The hardest thing is not playing, watching from the outside. It's frustrating, it's tough. You have to enjoy every moment and [time out] allows you to value the things you have. I feel fortunate to be back.

"I missed playing football the most, this is my life, it is what I have always done. When all the fans and your teammates like you and give you that reception, you feel very lucky."

Two Robert Lewandowski goals -- his 11th and 12 in LaLiga this season -- sandwiched a Pedri strike as Barça blew Sevilla away in the first half to make it nine wins from 10 in the league, keeping them three points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table.

Substitute Pablo Torre added two more after the break, with Sevilla's late consolation coming from Stanis Idumbo, as the Catalan side scored five at the start of a week that will see them face Bayern Munich and Madrid.

"For us every match is important," Flick added when asked about the meeting his former side in the Champions League on Wednesday and the first Clásico of the season on Saturday.

"It's not only what seems [to be] the big, big clubs, also this Sevilla [game, it's] also very important after the international break, to come back with a victory and this was today really good. The players did it well."

As well as Gavi, Fermín López also returned from injury against Sevilla, while Frenkie de Jong and Dani Olmo were both fit enough to be named on the bench after recent fitness issues.

Flick insisted they will all be ready if needed against Bayern and Madrid.

"They are ready, they will be ready," he said. "This is for me, our job is to prepare well for the next match.

"Getafe, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid... it doesn't matter. The team will give 100% every match, every minute, they will be ready.

"We also thought that Frenkie would start [against Sevilla], but he felt a little bit of discomfort on Friday so we decided yesterday that he just trains separately, today was much better but to start was not an option."

Another topsy-turvy weekend of football is in the books and some of Europe's top clubs are beginning to look ominous.

Liverpool and Manchester City both eked out important, closely fought wins to steal a march on title-rivals Arsenal in the Premier League, while Real Madrid and Barcelona both ensured that they head into next week's Clasico (Saturday, 3 p.m. ET; stream live on ESPN+) off the back of victories.

In Serie A, Antonio Conte's Napoli beat Empoli 1-0 to stay two points clear of Inter Milan at the top of the league, while in Germany it's Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig going stride-for-stride at the Bundesliga summit.

Yvan Neyou, Tim Kleindienst and John Stones all scored goal of the month contenders, but it was Harry Kane's hat trick in Bavaria that really stood out.

What else did you miss around Europe this weekend? ESPN's Julien Laurens, Sam Marsden and Constantin Eckner recap all the action.

---

Premier League

Top takeaway: Arsenal suffer nightmare weekend

There couldn't have been a more nightmarish weekend possible for Arsenal. While title rivals Manchester City and Liverpool both won, at Wolverhampton Wanderers and against Chelsea, respectively, the Gunners lost their first game of the season in all competitions at Bournemouth.

William Saliba was sent off after just 30 minutes, the north Londoners' third red card in eight league games this season, and he will miss Liverpool's trip to the capital next weekend.

Without the injured Bukayo Saka, Mikel Arteta's team never found their usual rhythm with the ball, while Bournemouth's efficient press put the visitors under a lot of pressure. Despite conceding two goals after the break, Arsenal still had their chances to return to London with something to show for their efforts, Gabriel Martinelli letting slip a particularly enticing opportunity with the match still scoreless.

After that defeat, Arsenal are now three points behind City and four behind Liverpool. Absolutely everything went against the Gunners this weekend.

Best match: Southampton 2, Leicester 3

For a clash between two promoted sides, we got an absolute treat on Saturday. Between them, Southampton and Leicester City had only won once this season in 10 combined Premier League games, the Foxes getting the best of Bournemouth two weeks ago, so both teams knew how massive this encounter was. The Foxes were 2-0 down inside a half hour, they trailed by the same margin at the hour mark, and completed the 3-2 comeback win in the eighth minute of second-half stoppage time. It will undoubtedly be a turning point in their season.

Best goal: Stones vs. Wolves

It wasn't the most beautiful of the weekend, but Stones' winner for Manchester City at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday deserves our award for best goal because it sealed a massive victory. After being the hero who earned the champions a late point against Arsenal last month, Stones gave his team three more in the final minute at Molineux on Sunday, a result Pep Guardiola's team needed to take advantage of the Gunners' slip-up on Saturday and to keep pace with Liverpool.

JOHN STONES WINS IT IN THE FINAL SECONDS FOR MANCHESTER CITY. INCREDIBLE. pic.twitter.com/JsO025yDeF

NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) October 20, 2024

MVP of the weekend: Mohamed Salah

The big game of the weekend between Liverpool and Chelsea didn't disappoint on Sunday, despite a slow start, and there was room for only one hero: Salah. The Egypt international, whose form has been a bit inconsistent lately, scored and provided a wonderful assist for Curtis Jones in the Reds' massive 2-1 win. The 32-year-old forward has now five goals and five assists in eight Premier League matches this season so far. -- Julien Laurens

---

LaLiga

Top takeaway: Barça's future shining brightly

Barcelona and Real Madrid both won ahead of the season's first Clásico; but while Madrid made hard work of beating Celta Vigo -- more on that in a moment -- Barça recorded a confidence-boosting 5-1 win over Sevilla. There were two more goals for the league's top scorer, Robert Lewandowski, making it 12 in 10 matches, and there were encouraging performances from this season's star man Raphinha and midfielder Pedri.

The best news of the matchday was the return from injury of Gavi, 349 days since he last played for Barcelona. His emergence to warm up got the loudest cheer of the night at Montjuic, and he was handed the captain's armband as he took to the field.

The overriding sensation, as Barça celebrated Pablo Torre's second goal in the 88th minute, was just how young this team are. Torre, Pedri, Gavi, Alejandro Balde, Marc Casadó and Fermín López are all in their early-20s. Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí are just 17.. Barcelona's future is bright; but before getting too carried away, let's see how they get on against Madrid next weekend.

Best match: Celta 1, Madrid 2

Real Madrid's 2-1 win over Celta Vigo had everything: a noisy atmosphere at a rain-soaked Balaidos, three outstanding goals from Mbappé, Williot Swedberg and Vinícius Júnior, an age-defying cameo from Luka Modric -- who created the winning goal just three minutes after coming on as a substitute -- and an agonising, added-time miss from Celta's Anastasios Douvikas. Madrid won the game, but Celta showed their new team, full of homegrown talent, can compete with the best.

Best goal: Neyou vs. Atlético

Both Mbappé's long-distance curler and Swedberg's intricate team move for Celta -- which came after four first-time touches -- deserve a mention, but let's go for Yvan Neyou's first LaLiga goal, which put Leganés 1-0 up at Atlético Madrid on Sunday. Atlético fought back to win 3-1, but that shouldn't undo the joy of Neyou's first-half rocket past Jan Oblak into the top corner.

MVP of the weekend: Iñaki Williams

Williams needed just two minutes, and four touches, to stake his claim for performance of the weekend in Spain. His first goal in Athletic Club's 4-1 victory over Espanyol at San Mamés was a masterclass in economy of movement, turning and finishing before the defence had time to react. Seconds later, he had another, thrashing the ball past goalkeeper Joan García from an angle. Younger brother Nico Willians gets all the headlines, but Iñaki has never looked better. -- Alex Kirkland

---

Bundesliga

Top takeaway: Title race is tight but Bayern are back

Bayern Munich were in a bit of a slump before the international break, going winless in their previous three games following an impressive start into the season, but any doubts were put to rest on Saturday thanks to a 4-0 win over VfB Stuttgart. The visitors, managed by former Bayern reserve team coach Sebastian Hoeness, wanted to make a statement at Allianz Arena, but instead Bayern steamrolled Stuttgart in the second half, with Kane scoring a hat trick.

Those who have accused Kane of failing to show up in big games may look at the opponent and see more evidence to support their theory, but Stuttgart were last season's runners-up. Nevertheless, the England international may just be happy to have his name on the score sheet again having gone goalless in his three previous games.

Bayern are sitting at the top of the Bundesliga table, with RB Leipzig in second place. These two teams, and potentially defending champions Bayer Leverkusen, seem to have the overall quality to compete for the German championship this season. While the arrival of manager Vincent Kompany has been a breath of fresh air for Bayern, and the record champions have every chance of reclaiming their throne, they won't escape from their rivals in the title race anytime soon.

Best match: Gladbach 3, Heidenheim 2

Borussia Monchengladbach continue to have a rollercoaster of a campaign, and their 3-2 win over Heidenheim on Saturday was the embodiment of that. The game at Borussia-Park turned into an exciting back-and-forth, with Gladbach emerging as the winners thanks to two goals by Tim Kleindienst in the second half. No matter the three goals or the three points, head coach Gerardo Seoane still hasn't managed to create the necessary defensive stability to lead Gladbach in the upper third of the table.

Best goal: Kleindienst vs. Heidenheim

Kleindienst's first goal in Gladbach's narrow win over Heidenheim was one of the highlights of the matchday. The 29-year-old, who recently made his first appearance for Germany, converted a cross from Alassane Pléa with a beautiful and equally difficult back-heel strike, giving Gladbach the lead over his former team.

MVP of the weekend: Harry Kane

If you score three goals in the marquee game of the weekend, you have undoubtedly earned the MVP award. Kane is still an elite striker, even if he does not always have the anticipated presence in games. For years, Bayern relied on Lewandowski to sink defences, and now they're counting on Kane to do the same on a constant basis. -- Constantin Eckner

---

What else you missed this weekend

Resurgent Napoli lead Serie A under Conte

Napoli's 1-0 win at Empoli means Antonio Conte's team are still top of the Serie A table, with nearest rivals Inter Milan two points behind them thanks to their own tight, 1-0 victory over AS Roma at the Stadio Olimpico. In fact, there was no change at all in the upper echelons of the table, with all top-six teams recording victories, the most emphatic being Fiorentina's 6-0 thrashing of Lecce.

Napoli and Inter were both under pressure to deliver after Juventus, in third, had edged past Lazio a day earlier. A win for Napoli was by no means guaranteed, given that Juve and the Viola had both already dropped points at Empoli this season. Conte wasn't happy with his team, calling them "spectators" in Sunday's first half, but things improved after the break, when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's penalty was decisive.

Napoli finished a huge 41 points behind champions Inter last season. Under Conte, they're now resurgent league leaders. -- Kirkland

Cologne staring down another year in second tier

Cologne hope to only stay for one year in the 2. Bundesliga, but just like Schalke and Hertha Berlin the year before, they must realise that going up against the steadily evolving competition in that league can pose a serious challenge for any big-name club. The three-time German champions, who have been significantly hurt by a transfer ban imposed by FIFA, which will end on Jan. 1, and are managed by former New York Red Bulls boss Gerhard Struber, lost 5-1 at Darmstadt on Friday.

Cologne are now 10th in the 18-team table. Given their defensive shortcomings, the decision makers in the Rhine metropolis may need to accept reality and either make a splash in the January transfer market or begin planning for at least another year in Germany's second division, which has become the home of so many of football's fallen giants. -- Eckner

In the first ODI, West Indies didn't just get another dry surface, the weather in Pallekele also conspired against them. Having won the toss and batted first, the rains coming through in the 39th over of the West Indies innings could barely have affected them worse.

Not only did the interruption last long enough to ensure that Sri Lanka's bowlers - who had had dry conditions to operate in before the weather arrived - did not have to bowl with a wet ball. It also meant West Indies had to contend with a slippery ball right through the second innings - something Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka noted as a factor in his team's victory in the post-match presentation.

After the game, Nishan Madushka, who hit 69 off 54 balls on ODI debut, and was part of a match-winning 137-run partnership with Asalanka, reiterated this.

"Their bowlers were really good, but because of the rain around, I think they had trouble gripping the ball," he said. "There was less turn on the wicket too, to be honest. But they still bowled well. "

In fact, when West Indies still had the new balls (they use one ball at either end in ODIs) and they had not yet become especially damp, their bowlers had dominated. Sri Lanka lost three wickets inside the first seven overs, before Madushka and Asalanka produced their big fourth-wicket stand.

During that partnership, the batters repeatedly hit the balls over the boundary and into areas of the ground and drainage areas that were waterlogged, thereby substantially changing the condition of the ball. In fact, West Indies' bowlers brought this to the umpires' attention at least twice, but were not successful in having the balls changed for drier ones.

Part of Sri Lanka's strategy at 45 for 3 may have been to hang around until bowling became significantly more difficult. "What Charith aiya said was to take the game as deep as possible - to start with dragging the game to 20 or 25 overs, before we reassess," Madushka said. "I think that positive mindset affected me positively as well, and helped me perform."

With the two remaining ODIs also to be played in Pallekele, a notoriously wet venue, conditions may continue to play a significant role in the outcome. So far this tour, from West Indies' perspective, they are the side that has been at a substantial disadvantage.

The IPL franchises have been allowed to retain up to six players ahead of the mega auction before the 2025 season, of which a maximum of five can be capped internationals. While the IPL has set minimum deductions from the auction purse for each player retained - INR 18 crore for the first player, INR 14 crore for the second, INR 11 crore for the third, INR 18 crore for the fourth, and INR 14 crore for the fifth - the franchises are free to pay more than those amounts to their retained players. For example, Sunrisers Hyderabad are set to retain Heinrich Klaasen for INR 23 crore, Pat Cummins for INR 18 crore, and Abhishek Sharma for INR 14 crore.

PITTSBURGH -- As the offense trudged off the field following its third consecutive three-and-out early in the second quarter Monday night, loud boos rained down from a listless Acrisure Stadium crowd. And if there was any doubt about the primary target of the vocal frustration, the chants for Justin Fields made it abundantly clear: Russell Wilson's subpar play and inaccuracy was at the heart of the crowd's discontent.

Two hours and 34 unanswered points later, though, the crowd sang along to Biz Markie and Mac Miller as Wilson quarterbacked the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 37-15 win against the New York Jets in prime time, setting a franchise record for passing yards and points scored in a debut along the way.

Wilson finished his injury-delayed regular-season debut with 264 passing yards and three total touchdowns. And after completing just 2 of 6 attempts for 19 yards in the first quarter -- including a 15-yard completion to Darnell Washington on his first attempt -- Wilson completed 14 of 23 attempts for 245 yards in the final three quarters, increasing his completion percentage from 33% in the first frame to 60% in the final three.

"I thought he was excellent," coach Mike Tomlin said. "I thought he got better as the game went on. But I'm not surprised by that. It has been a while since he's played some ball, but I thought he settled in, knocked the rust off and distributed the ball around and played well."

Wilson, of course, heard the boos early in the game, but he said afterward that his steady mentality helped him rebound from a rocky start that saw the Steelers go 0-of-3 on third down in the first quarter as underthrown passes bounced to the turf and others were haphazardly thrown away as the Jets' pass rush closed in.

"I really believe in being neutral, not being too high, not being too low," Wilson said, adding that he followed the advice of his late mental conditioning coach, Trevor Moawad: "Stay the course."

Wilson likened his performance to a baseball player starting 0-for-2 at the plate but said he "felt like I was going to get hot."

"And sure enough, we did," Wilson said. "... You catch the wave, and once you find it, you don't let go. And I think the biggest thing is just knowing who you are, knowing the belief you have in yourself and knowing that also, too, that was my first time back, and I was like, 'OK, I'm starting to feel it again. Here we go.'"

That moment he felt it again, Wilson said, came as he connected with wide receiver George Pickens for the pair's first touchdowns of the season with 27 seconds until halftime.

"Throwing that first touchdown on George was the moment I was like, 'All right, there's going to be a lot more of these,'" Wilson said. "I believe just sometimes it takes that first home run, that first double off the wall, whatever it may be. Obviously, it's October, so I'm talking baseball, but I just think that when you put all the hard work in, and guys are doing the work and at some point it's going to turn in your favor, and it did tonight. We did a great job, and I'm excited by our football team."

Wilson was right. There were more scores to come. He found the end zone two more times, once on a 1-yard sneak and again on a 4-yard throw to wide receiver Van Jefferson for the veteran wide receiver's first score of the season.

"I thought Arthur Smith did a great job letting me cut it loose and guys getting open and guys moving around just making tremendous plays," Wilson said. "I thought he called a great game. He helped me get into a groove. ... He said it may take a second. I never believed that, but it did and then we caught a groove, we believed in it."

Wilson completed 5 of 6 attempts on passes of at least 10 air yards, averaging 24.8 yards per attempt on such throws. Wilson was also 3-of-4 for 92 yards and a touchdown when targeting Pickens on deep throws. After the game, Pickens, who finished with 111 yards on five catches, explained what made their skill sets mesh: "Me locating the ball downfield and Russ' pre-read, seeing what coverage it is before he says hike."

Prior to the game, Tomlin took ownership of the decision to start Wilson over Fields, who went 4-2 in six starts while Wilson worked back from a training camp calf injury. After the win, former NFL wide receiver and Pittsburgh native Brandon Marshall jumped into Tomlin's news conference and asked the head coach if the decision to start Wilson was his "boldest."

"That's why I'm well compensated," Tomlin said.

Wilson downplayed the idea of internal strife in the organization around the quarterback decision.

"We are in a tremendous situation where we are," Wilson said. "I think there's a lot of outside noise that makes it seem like it's a negative thing and this rivalry internal, and it's not, man. We just want to win. That's what we're focused on.

"I got to give Justin Fields credit, man, just all the things that he was able to do, how great he's been playing, man, he inspires me every day. ... He's a tremendous quarterback, he's a franchise quarterback, he's a leader. He's got all the intangibles and whatever I can give to him and show him and just be around him, that's part of my job."

"I think that we're just having fun winning. We're having fun playing ball," he continued. "Coach Tomlin believes in all of us, and he does a tremendous job. And this guy, he's a tremendous football coach, and we trust him, and we know who he is and he's very transparent in everything else with us, too.

"We just love winning. We just love being a part of the process."