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CITY’S INJURY WOES WORSEN BY AGUERO’S RETURN TO THE SIDELINES.

Pep Guardiola fears this season could come down to the survival of the fittest after Sergio Aguero dealt Manchester City a fresh injury blow.

Aguero, City’s record goalscorer, could be out for another month after suffering a muscular injury in Saturday’s game at West Ham.

The Argentinian was playing just his third match since recovering from the knee operation he had in June.

City had been trying to ease him back into action but he encountered a problem in the first half of the 1-1 draw at the London Stadium and was withdrawn at the interval.

With Gabriel Jesus also sidelined, the 32-year-old’s latest setback leaves City without a frontline striker for Tuesday’s Champions League Group C clash at Marseille.

To compound matters, Fernandinho, Benjamin Mendy and Nathan Ake also miss out at the Stade Velodrome while Aymeric Laporte and Kevin De Bruyne have only just returned to fitness in a difficult start to the season.

Manager Guardiola recognises, however, City are not the only club to struggle due to the nature of this season’s pandemic-affected calendar.

Guardiola said: “We are not an exception compared to the other teams in Europe. We’re on the same schedule. Now it is recovery, preparation, recovery and preparation, recovery and preparation.

“We don’t have time to practise much. Everyone got the statistics in the Premier League, we have 47 per cent more muscular injuries than the same period last season. It’s not just about City, it’s about everyone.

“If the people can reflect on this and the guys to protect the players it will be good for the future, if we don’t it will increase. Now we have to protect the players as best as possible. The strongest ones will survive, the others will fall down.”

With hindsight, Guardiola admits it may have been wise to bring in another striker over the summer but the club spent the bulk of their transfer budget on defensive pair Ruben Dias and Ake.

Guardiola said: “We considered it, we thought about it another type of striker but we could not.

“If you decide to buy a striker, it has to be a striker in the league of Gabriel and Sergio, but we cannot afford it. That is the reality.”

“It depends on the injury,” Guardiola said. “When it is minimum it will be 10-15 days. If it is longer it will be three weeks to a month. I don’t know.”

While City’s form in the Premier League has been mixed, they began in the Champions League with a 3-1 win over Porto. Victory over a Marseille side beaten in their opener by Olympiacos could see them establish an early position of strength in the group.

The French side are managed by Andre Villas-Boas, the former Chelsea and Tottenham boss.

Guardiola said: “He is an experienced manager, he knows perfectly the Premier League.

“He’s a young manager who’s had success and he is doing a good job here in Marseille.”

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BRIGHTON 1-1 WESTBROM: LATE GRANT STRIKE EARNS WESTBROM DRAW.

Karlan Grant earned his side their first away point of the season with his maiden goal for the club as West Bromwich Albion battled out a 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion.

Graham Potter’s side looked more threatening early on. Neal Maupay converted Adam Lallana’s cross only for his effort to be ruled out for offside, before Leandro Trossard’s shot was saved.

Five minutes before half-time Tariq Lamptey caused problems in the West Brom area and Branislav Ivanovic’s attempted clearance struck Jake Livermore before rebounding into the net.

The Baggies pushed for an equaliser after the break, Matheus Pereira shooting wide and then striking a post, and on 83 minutes Grant lashed in a fine finish to level.

Brighton stay 16th with five points, two ahead of West Brom, who lie a place further back.

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BURNLEY 0-1 SPURS: HARRY KANE’S EIGHT ASSIST AND SON’S EIGHT GOAL OF THE SEASON SEAL VICTORY FOR MOU’S SIDE.

Son Heung-min’s late header sent Tottenham Hotspur up to fifth place in the Premier League after a 1-0 away success at Burnley.

The match sparked into life late in the second half after Harry Kane cleared a header from Burnley’s James Tarkowski off the line.

Son passed up one clear chance before Harry Kane flicked on a corner to the South Korean, who dived headlong to break the deadlock on 76 minutes.

Earlier in a close contest Ashley Barnes’ 20th-minute effort was ruled out for offside and in the second half Josh Brownhill shot just wide for the hosts before Tarkowski headed over.

Kane intervened to keep out a second Tarkowski header before Son struck the winner for a league-leading eighth goal of the season.

Spurs move up to fifth place with 11 points, two off the lead, while Burnley lie 18th.

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SOTON 2-0 EVERTON: SAINTS HANDS TOFFEES FIRST LEAGUE DEFEAT.

James Ward-Prowse and Che Adams scored first-half goals as Southampton ended Premier League leaders Everton’s unbeaten start to the season with a 2-0 win.

Danny Ings set up both goals. The first came in the 27th minute when he played a one-two with Ward-Prowse, who drove into the far-left corner from inside the area.

Eight minutes later, Ings crossed from the left to the far post, where Adams fired low into the net.

Gylfi Sigurdsson had thumped the bar from 20 yards before Southampton took the lead but the Toffees were second best.

Their hopes of a comeback were dashed when Lucas Digne was shown a straight red card for a foul on Kyle Walker-Peters in the 72nd minute.

Everton stay top on goal difference from Liverpool while the win moves Southampton from 13th to fifth.

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LIVERPOOL 2-1 SHEFFIELD UTD: JOTA HEADER SEALS LIVERPOOL COMEBACK WIN.

Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota were on target as Liverpool came from behind to beat Sheffield United at Anfield.

Reds full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold almost scored from a free-kick inside his own half early on before Sander Berge’s 13th-minute penalty gave the visitors a lead for the first time this season.

The visitors threatened to extend their lead through Oli McBurnie, who fired wide, and Ben Osborn, who was thwarted by the returning Alisson.

But on 41 minutes Liverpool rallied, Firmino reacting quickest to score after Aaron Ramsdale had saved Sadio Mane’s header.

Substitutes David McGoldrick and Oliver Burke both fired wide in the final 15 minutes as the Blades searched in vain for an equaliser.

A first victory in three matches lifts Jurgen Klopp’s team to second place, behind leaders Everton on goal difference.

Sheffield United have one point from their six matches.

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MENDY DENIES UNITED AS CHELSEA FORCE RED DEVILS TO BARREN DRAW.

Edouard Mendy produced a spectacular save to deny Marcus Rashford scoring a stoppage-time winner for Manchester United as they shared a goalless draw with Chelsea.

The Chelsea goalkeeper, who had thwarted the United striker when one-on-one with an outstretched leg in the first half, went full length to parry away Rashford’s curling strike.

Mendy had also turned behind Juan Mata’s curled effort in a first half of few chances.

United substitute Edinson Cavani almost scored with his first Premier League touch just before the hour, but his flick found the side-netting.

United are still searching for their first home win of the season and stay 15th with seven points.

A fourth match unbeaten leaves Chelsea sixth on nine points.

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FULHAM 1-2 CRYSTAL PALACE: ZAHA STARS, EAGLES MOVE TO 5TH ON THE LOG AS FULHAM MISERY START LINGERS.

Wilfried Zaha’s fifth goal in six matches helped Crystal Palace to a 2-1 win over 10-man Fulham.

Palace took the lead against the run of play at Craven Cottage with a first Premier League goal from Jairo Riedewald, who finished Zaha’s clever pass on eight minutes.

After twice going close for Fulham, Ademola Lookman struck a post on 26 minutes and Aleksandar Mitrovic couldn’t convert the rebound.

Palace doubled their lead on 64 minutes when Zaha slid in Michy Batshuayi’s cross at the far post.

Fulham’s hopes of a late recovery were hit by a red card for substitute Aboubakar Kamara for a bad foul on 88 minutes after a VAR review.

Deep into stoppage time, Tom Cairney’s long-range strike gave Fulham a first home goal of the season.

Palace rise to fifth with 10 points, while Fulham remain bottom on just one point.

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LEWANDOWSKI HIT HATRICK AS BAYERN PUTS UNREPLIED FIVE PAST FRANKFURT.

Incredible Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick, taking his tally to 10 goals in five Bundesliga games, as the defending champions thumped hapless Eintracht Frankfurt 5-0 on Saturday.

The prolific Poland forward fired Bayern in front after 10 minutes when he was given too much space by the Eintracht defence and headed the second from a corner before the half hour.

He completed his hat-trick in the 61th minute from Douglas Costa’s pass before substitutes Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala added two more goals, with Sane’s in particular a sensational strike.

Bayern moved into second place with 12 points from five games, one behind RB Leipzig who beat Hertha Berlin 2-1. Eintracht, unbeaten in their first four games, have eight points.

The Bundesliga champions’ victory was marred by an injury to Alphonso Davies, who limped off the pitch with an ankle injury just three minutes into the match.

Eintracht were unbeaten in their opening four games but that record never looked likely to remain intact after they gave Lewandowski far too much room and he scored almost nonchalantly in the 10th minute.

Lewandowski outjumped his marker to head the second from a corner in the 28th minute and could have completed his hat-trick before half time but sent one effort wide from Leon Goretzka’s pass and then saw another blocked by goalkeeper Kevin Trapp

He made no mistake, however, just after the hour mark, holding off two defenders to slot his effort past Trapp after Douglas Costa threaded the ball to him.

Sane’s fourth in the 74th minute was reminiscent of former Bayern winger Arjen Robben as he raced down the touchline, cut inside and sent a dipping left-foot shot past a stranded Trapp.

Musiala capped the performance by adding the fifth in the 90th minute after a series of rebounds in the penalty area.

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BARCELONA 1-3 REAL MADRID: MODRIC, RAMOS INSPIRE LOS BLANCOS VICTORY AT CAMP NOU.

Real Madrid laid down a marker in the La Liga title race as they won 3-1 at Barcelona in the first Clasico of the season.

Fede Valverde gave Real the dream start with a fifth-minute strike, before Ansu Fati became the youngest ever scorer in this fixture just three minutes later from close range.

But Sergio Ramos converted a 63rd-minute penalty that he won after VAR intervened, before Luka Modric rounded off a deserved victory in the final seconds of normal time with the calmest of finishes.

In an entertaining game, Thibaut Courtois was alert to deny Lionel Messi before half-time but Barca remain 10th and are six.

After a nightmare week for Zinedine Zidane, Real started the clash in the best way possible. Karim Benzema’s through-ball was perfect for Valverde, who took advantage of lackadaisical Barca defending and finished beyond Neto.

But that joy was short-lived as Barca sliced through the Real defence with their first attack. Jordi Alba bent his run perfectly to beat the offside trap and carried the ball into the box, where he squared for Fati who had a simple finish.

Philippe Coutinho and Messi had already tried their luck from range when Messi saw Courtois produce a moment of magic after 24 minutes. The Argentine used deft feet to beat Ramos in the box and fired in a shot to the near post with his right foot. Courtois was alert and threw himself across the goal to push the ball away.

The game was being played at a frantic pace and Real went straight up the other end to create a chance of their own. Benzema saw his low effort pushed away by Neto after Kroos had found him 15 yards out from goal.

It was Barca who looked most likely to take the lead after half-time. Fati dragged a low shot just wide of Courtois’ right-hand post, before Coutinho failed to hit the target with a header at the back post – Fati again the creator for the hosts.

And they were made to pay for those misses on the hour-mark. Ramos theatrically threw himself to the floor in the box as Kroos’ free-kick drifted out for a goal-kick. It looked to be a dive in real time but replays showed Clement Lenglet had pulled his shirt.

After consulting VAR and the screen by the side of the pitch, referee Juan Martinez Munuera changed his decision and pointed to the spot. Ramos made no mistake from the 12 yards.

Despite Barca pressing for an equaliser, it was Real who continued to create the better chances. Toni Kroos saw a Neto double save keep him at bay, while Ramos met a deep cross with a fierce volley which was brilliantly kept out by the foot of the keeper.

Modric made sure of the three points with the calmest of finishes in the final minute of stoppage time. Neto smothered the ball at Vinicius’ feet but it fell to sub Rodrygo, who squared it for Modric. The Croat rounded Neto, before taking his time and finishing between two defenders guarding the line with the outside of his boot.

It was a deserved victory for Real, who put behind their difficulties against Cadiz and Shakhtar Donestk to produce a perfect away display. Barca were bright in spells, but question marks will be asked over Ronald Koeman’s reluctance to make substitutes earlier.

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WESTHAM 1-1 MANCITY: FABIANSKI HEROICS SECURES A POINT FOR THE HAMMERS.

Late saves from Lukasz Fabianski earned West Ham United their first point against Manchester City since 2016 in a 1-1 draw at London Stadium.

West Ham went ahead against the run of play on 18 minutes with a brilliant overhead kick by Michail Antonio from Vladimir Coufal’s cross.

Phil Foden equalised six minutes after replacing Sergio Aguero at half-time, turning smartly to convert Joao Cancelo’s cross.

Kevin De Bruyne also came off the bench as City pushed for a winner, but were denied by Fabianski and resolute West Ham defending.

Arthur Masuaku made a vital 84th-minute block on Riyad Mahrez.

Two minutes later, Fabianski denied Raheem Sterling one-on-one, before tipping Mahrez’s shot on to a post in stoppage time.

West Ham, four matches unbeaten, stay 10th on eight points. City are a place below on goal difference.