It was going to take a moment of supreme quality, or abject stupidity, to settle this otherwise drab affair and thankfully it was the former as Southampton's record signing secured their second home win of the season.

West Brom boss Tony Pulis insists Jonny Evans was unfazed by the uncertainty surrounding his future and urged the defender to fight for his place.

On the road to Russia, where booby traps have to be dodged, a steady head like Darren Randolph admits Ireland have to be pleased with how they’ve negotiated the first half of the journey.

Ahead of Barcelona’s ‘mission impossible’ in Wednesday night’s Champions League last 16 second-leg tie against Paris Saint Germain, there was a consensus around the Camp Nou that any hopes of overturning the 4-0 first leg deficit rested on the shoulders of one man.

Anyone who thought Poland were a one-man team may have to change their tune after watching them against Northern Ireland yesterday.

Defending Copa del Rey champions Barcelona became the first team to retain the trophy since 1998 as they defeated Sevilla 2-0 after extra time in the final.

Liverpool may boast a proud record in Europe but it is their opponents, Sevilla, who enter the history books tonight.

Barcelona secured a comfortable 4-1 win over nine-man Espanyol in the first leg of their Copa del Rey round-of-16 clash at the Nou Camp last night.

After the euphoria of the defeat of Germany, Irish football was brought crashing back down to the earth in Warsaw, as Poland booked their place at the Euro 2016 finals leaving Martin O’Neill’s men to try to seek entry to France through the back door of the play-offs, the draw for which will take place on Sunday.

A ‘Super Sunday’ for Irish sport ended up with Ireland gate-crashing Poland’s party.

Three days on from the 76th anniversary of Germany invading Poland, a movement of sorts has occurred in the opposite direction for tonight’s top-of-the-table Group D tie in Frankfurt (7.45pm).

Manager Arsene Wenger accepts Arsenal will feel a little smaller following defeat in their opening game against West Ham and says the response can define their season.

With just three points separating the four contenders in Group D it would be a nice boost for Ireland if Georgia could get a result in Warsaw on Saturday. Nice, but unlikely.

Dnipro 2 Sevilla 3: Colombian hitman Carlos Bacca claimed a double as Sevilla made Europa League history by seeing off Dnipro to win the competition for a record fourth time.

Republic of Ireland 1 Poland 1

EURO 2016 GROUP D QUALIFIER:

Kick-off for Friday’s European qualifier between Georgia and Poland in Tbilisi is 9pm, one hour and a quarter later than the match in Glasgow.

Poland 2 Scotland 2