Midfielder Paul Pogba says he has been unaffected by having the Manchester United vice-captaincy stripped from him by manager Jose Mourinho – who he said he plays for with “happiness”.

The France World Cup winner, 25, fell out of favour at Old Trafford last season and had his role as deputy taken away in late September.

“If he takes the armband away, it doesn’t change anything,” said Pogba.

“I just want to play, perform and give my best. It didn’t affect me.”

The Frenchman took over the captaincy for opening two games of the current Premier League season in the absence of the injured Antonio Valencia, but in September was told by Mourinho he would not skipper the club again.

Despite taking that action, the Portuguese boss has repeatedly said this season that his relationship with the player – signed in 2016 for a then world-record £89m – is not been damaged.

“The press says we have a terrible relationship,” said Mourinho, who spoke prior to Pogba’s arrival for the pre-match news conference for Wednesday’s Champions League match at Juventus.

“Paul some weeks ago said we had a typical coach-player relationship, I think we have a good relationship. I would classify it as a good relationship between a coach and a football player.”

Then it was Pogba’s turn to be asked about the relationship, after Mourinho had departed the conference.

The midfielder said: “Manager and player. I do as he tells me to do. I enjoy it. I do it with happiness.”

Asked about whether he was happy at Old Trafford, Pogba said: “Yes, I’m happy to wear the shirt, playing for this team. On the pitch, always with a smile.”

‘There was no hint of warmth in what either said about the other’

John Murray, BBC Radio 5 live commentator in Turin

A buzz went around the conference room here in the stadium when word came through that Pogba was the player who would be talking to the media.

However, consistent with Manchester United’s ‘matchday minus one’ policy, Mourinho and Pogba held their briefings separately; first manager and then player. It would have been intriguing to see them sitting next to one another, but naturally both were asked about their relationship.

Mourinho said it was good, coach to player. Pogba said likewise from his point of view and that, effectively, he does what he’s told.

The conclusion to draw was that they work together in a professional manner, but there was no hint of warmth in what either man said about the other.

Spanish champions Barcelona reached the Champions League knockout phase with two games to spare, despite being held by a spirited Inter Milan in a dramatic finish at the San Siro.

Barcelona, without the injured Lionel Messi, took a late lead when substitute Malcom scored moments after coming on.

But Inter levelled when Mauro Icardi was given time to turn in the Barca box and blast in from close range.

Inter remain second in Group B, three points ahead of Tottenham.

With Inter and Tottenham still to meet again, it means one of these sides will drop points and therefore only one can to overhaul Barcelona.

Barcelona show why they are among the favourites

When the Champions League group stage draw was made in the summer, many eyes were immediately drawn to a group which was generally considered as one of the toughest in the competition.

Barcelona, however, have made relatively light work of it.

The Spanish champions are considered one of the favourites for the tournament – although second behind Manchester City with many bookmakers – but have not progressed past the quarter-final stage since winning in 2015.

And they knew a victory in the San Siro would seal their place in the knockout stage as group winners for a 12th season in a row.

Without Messi, who travelled to Italy following an arm injury but was ultimately not risked, the visitors controlled an engrossing game against an Inter side which had won nine of their previous 10 games.

Luis Suarez was the chief threat, firing a fierce shot over the bar in the first half, then seeing a close-range effort disallowed after the break because the ball had gone out play before Ivan Rakitic crossed.

However, their reward came when Malcom whipped into the bottom left corner from 20 yards for his first Barcelona goal since arriving from Bordeaux last summer.

That looked set to give manager Ernesto Valverde the opportunity to rest some players in the final two games against PSV Eindhoven and Tottenham if he wished – until Icardi’s late intervention.

Inter prove they can compete with the best

Inter’s only defeat in their recent run came in last month’s reverse fixture in the Nou Camp and, before the rematch, manager Luciano Spalletti urged his players to show they could compete against opponents of “the highest level”.

While Barcelona dominated possession and territory, Inter were far from outclassed and their resolve was rewarded when Icardi blasted in his only chance of the night.

The Argentine striker, who played in the Barcelona youth ranks, was able to turn away from Sergi Roberto in the penalty area and fire in through the legs of keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

While it mattered little to Barcelona in terms of their qualification, the equaliser could prove to have huge significance for the hosts as they now know a draw against Tottenham at Wembley on 28 November will see them reach the last 16 for the first time since 2012.

Malcom is the new Tello… – the stats

• Malcom is the first player to score on his Champions League debut for Barcelona since Cristian Tello, who netted a brace against Bayer Leverkusen in March 2012.
• Inter are unbeaten in their four home games against Barcelona in the Champions League, winning one and drawing three of those fixtures.
• Barcelona have only lost one of their previous 15 games in the Champions League, winning nine and drawing five.
• However, four of the six games they failed to win in this run came against Italian opposition.
• Inter Milan played out just their second draw in their last 21 Champions League games, winning 10 and losing nine, with their previous one coming against Trabzonspor in November 2011.
• Each of Inter’s three goals at the San Siro in the Champions League this season have been scored in the 85th minute or later, with Mauro Icardi netting two of those.

You didn’t think Beyoncé was going to be silent on Election Day, now did you?

Mere hours before the polls closed on Tuesday afternoon (November 6), Bey broke out a groovy Instagram video to endorse Texas Democrat Beto O’Rourke for Senate. In the clip, she strikes a series of poses while wearing a “Beto for Senate” cap — the same one LeBron James rocked last month.

Beyoncé accompanied her fashionable post with a heartfelt note: “I’m feeling grateful for everyone before me who fought so hard to give us all the right to have a voice. We can’t voice our frustrations and complain about what’s wrong without voting and exercising our power to make it right. We need you. We all need each other, because when we are truly united we are unstoppable. Sending you all love and positivity on this happy voting day!”

The Houston-born superstar capped her post by reminding her 119 million followers, “Every vote counts. Every race matters. Everywhere.”

For his part, O’Rourke, who’s running against Republican incumbent Ted Cruz in a crucial race, responded to Beyoncé with a short and sweet tweet.

Beyoncé joins a growing list of celebs — like Demi Lovato, Shawn Mendes, and Taylor Swift — who are using their star power to encourage fans to vote in Tuesday’s midterm elections. Consider this your latest reminder!

England women’s head coach Phil Neville says he cannot understand why Wayne Rooney should not make a farewell appearance for England against the United States later this month.

Neville adds that Rooney is “one of England’s greatest ever goal scorers” who is “worth celebrating and respecting.”

READ MORE: Rooney will not start in England farewell

Juice WRLD, MTV’s Push artist for the month of November, may be young, but he still knows what it’s like to hang with the modern hip-hop establishment. The 19-year-old rapper is fresh off a joint release with Future called WRLD On Drugs, which also features appearances by Lil Wayne, Young Thug, and Nicki Minaj. But his style is more varied than his résumé might suggest.

A few months ago, Juice sat down with MTV News for a game of This Or That, where he also made clear his love for Fall Out Boy, too, and specifically shouted out the song “I Slept With Someone in Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me” as a highlight. “That song is really, really, really, really hard to me, and the rest of [2005’s From Under the Cork Tree] had the same kinda vibe to it,” he said.

He shared the same love for Kanye West’s seminal 2008 album 808s & Heartbreak (“The songs made me sad … I don’t know why, you know?”) in a new interview with MTV where the young artist also shed some light on his creative process and how the song “Lean Wit Me” came together.

“I freestyle everything,” Juice said. “I come in there kinda just blind. If I write now, I feel like I overthink, and the stuff sounds way better when it’s off instinct ’cause it’s more natural. It’s not forced. Sometimes I just go in and the first thing comes out of my mouth is what’s on the song.”

For “Lean Wit Me,” what ended up on the song is, at times, pretty dark: “Will I die tonight? I don’t know, is it over? / Lookin’ for my next high, I’m lookin’ for closure.” But that kind of self-introspection just puts in him league with his musical ancestors like Kanye and Fall Out Boy.

And if Juice’s method of creation is a bit different from that of the Fall Out Boy dudes, at least he can know that emotionally, his, songs like those on Cork Tree, came from a place of feeling disconnected, too. “I think, especially in America, that people don’t realize it’s OK to feel down and sad sometimes,” bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz told The Independent in 2006. “It is part of the cycle of feeling OK. If you never feel sad, how do you know if you are OK?”

One listen of “Lean Wit Me” and you start thinking maybe Juice can get behind that sentiment, too. Watch Juice WRLD’s performance of “Lean Wit Me” above.

Harry Kane inspired a dramatic late comeback by Tottenham to keep their Champions League hopes alive with victory over PSV Eindhoven at Wembley.

Spurs were on the way out with 12 minutes left as they trailed to Luuk de Jong’s towering header, powered past goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, in for suspended Hugo Lloris, after 61 seconds.

Tottenham were then frustrated by a superb display from PSV keeper Jeroen Zoet, who kept them at bay with a mixture of brilliance and good fortune, utilising all parts of his body to make a succession of crucial saves.

And then, with time running out and Spurs on the brink of elimination at the group stage, Kane, as so often before, came to their rescue, leaving their fate in their own hands but with tough tasks to come in their final two games at home to Inter Milan and away to Barcelona.

Kane brought the disgruntled home fans alive with a low shot that finally broke the defiant resistance of Zoet – then fashioned a victory that looked unlikely for such a long time when his close-range header was deflected past Zoet by substitute Trent Sainsbury with one minute left.

Kane the hero once again

Spurs may still be outsiders to make progress from Group B – but it is thanks to their captain fantastic Kane that they are still in a position to navigate a route through to the knockout phase of the Champions League.

This was a tough, attritional night for Spurs, who were nowhere near their best and confronted by opponents in the Dutch champions who got exactly what they wanted with that early goal and set about protecting it as if their lives depended on it.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side were off colour and even the hugely popular manager felt the fury of the home gallery when his decision to substitute the dangerous Lucas Moura with Erik Lamela was greeted by loud jeering around Wembley.

It was approaching crisis time for Spurs as PSV held out but once again it was Kane who was their man of the moment, shrugging off what had been a sluggish personal performance up to that point to ensure he was the architect of what may yet prove to be a crucial win.

Kane was the predator in the box for the first and then produced the header that took that vital deflection off Sainsbury to end what had been a night of frustration in sheer elation. It also ended PSV’s hopes of qualification.

A word of praise, too, for keeper Gazzaniga, given the vote over Michel Vorm in Lloris’s absence. He produced crucial saves when needed and certainly played his part in keeping Spurs in the hunt for a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Spurs must improve to survive

Spurs and their fans greeted the final whistle with a mixture of elation and relief as they fashioned a turnaround that was starting to look increasingly unlikely to revive their fading Champions League aspirations.

Pochettino and his players must know, however, that they simply must move their game on to another level if they are to get the results they need at home to Inter Milan and then that most daunting of tasks, away to Barcelona, to go through into the knockout stage.

This was a victory that was a tribute to persistence rather than high quality in a Wembley atmosphere subdued by the struggles, for much of the time, of the home team and the swathes of empty red seats in a crowd of 46,588 that was down on the night’s capacity of 51,000 and meant barely half the seating was used.

Wembley has been a somewhat eerie place for Spurs in their last two games, against Manchester City in the Premier League and for this game but their difficulties in the Champions League have been very much of their own making.

Late goals away to Inter and PSV cast aside winning positions that would have made their lives so much easier.

The good news for Pochettino and Spurs is that they are still in with a fighting chance but Wembley must be a cauldron against Inter and they simply to have to find other gears if they are to make the most of this late reprieve.

Wembley pitch not perfect

Wembley’s playing surface – such a talking point for the home defeat by Manchester City – at least looked better. The pitch did not appear as cut up and the NFL markings, visible when they played City just a day after the Jacksonville Jaguars v Philadelphia Eagles clash, had been removed.

This was not, however, a game that flowed and the battle-hardened PSV coach Mark van Bommel demonstrated a colourful command of English to describe its condition in very straightforward terms.

Van Bommel said his players were complaining after training at Wembley, although the pain of this late defeat may have coloured his view.

Spurs will not be complaining – but they will hope it is soon back in peak condition, especially for the pivotal last home Champions League group game against Inter Milan.

Demi Lovato is back on Instagram, and she has a message. 

The singer was hospitalized in July for a drug overdose, and has been taking a break from social media ever since. But she made a triumphant return on Tuesday with a stunning photo of her casting her ballot. 

“I am so grateful to be home to vote,” she captioned the photo. “One vote can make a difference, so make sure your voice is heard! Now go out and #VOTE!!!!”

Fans were super supportive.

So forget the gossip — go out and vote.

Demi Lovato fans, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Not only is the 25-year-old reportedly out of rehab — something we learned over the weekend when she was spotted out and about in L.A. — but she’s also back on social media looking happy, healthy, and very patriotic.

On Tuesday (November 6), Lovato posted her first Instagram pic since July, the same month she entered rehab after suffering an overdose. She made her grand return with one timely and encouraging message: go vote!

“I am so grateful to be home in time to vote!” Lovato captioned a pic of her smiling while casting her vote in the midterm elections. “One vote can make a difference, so make sure your voice is heard!”

Within an hour of posting the poll-happy pic, Lovato’s post racked up a whopping 2.5 million likes, with fans flooding the comments to express how happy they are to see her back. Lovato had said in July that she was taking time “to heal and focus on my sobriety and road to recovery,” and the singer’s “grateful” new message is a promising sign that she’s making strides.

Now listen to Demi and go cast those ballots, people!

England manager Phil Neville has “banned” captain Steph Houghton from playing against Austria on Thursday so she can earn her 100th cap at home three days later against Sweden.

Neville said he wanted the occasion to be a “celebration” of her international career on home soil in Rotherham.

“Steph won’t be involved on Thursday. She wants to play but we told her no,” said Neville.

Striker Fran Kirby and midfielder Keira Walsh miss out through injury.

“I wanted to make Sunday a special day because she [Houghton] has earned it,” said Neville. “She deserves it so she will be rested and it can be a celebration of her England international career.

“She actually doesn’t want it to be about her because she is so humble and she wanted to make her 100th cap in Austria. But we have almost banned her from playing. It is very doubtful she will even be on the bench.”

Barcelona winger Toni Duggan will captain the side in Houghton’s absence, while Chelsea’s Karen Carney and Manchester City’s Mel Lawley replace injured duo Kirby and Walsh.

Kirby, who has been nominated for Fifa’s Ballon d’Or award, scored in England’s 1-0 win over Brazil and the 1-1 draw with Australia last month.

Since making her debut in 2005, forward Carney has earned 134 caps.

Midfielder Lawley broke into the England team just over a year ago and will be hoping to add to her nine caps.

Neville has three new faces in his squad for the friendlies, including former United States Under-23 forward Chioma Ubogagu, who is on loan at Brisbane Roar from Orlando Pride.

Manchester City forward Georgia Stanway and goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck have also made the squad for the first time.

‘She doesn’t realise the respect she has’

Duggan, signed by Barcelona from Manchester City in July 2017, became the first English player to join the Catalan club since Gary Lineker’s move to the Nou Camp in 1986.

The forward has 58 caps, the latest of them in the 1-1 friendly draw with Australia in October, and is expected to be an integral part of Neville’s World Cup squad this summer.

The 27-year-old will captain England for the first time against Austria on Thursday and Neville says she is yet to “realise the kind of respect she has” among her team-mates.

“It is a challenge for Toni,” said Neville. “When I first saw her, I saw an experienced player with great knowledge and underneath it all, a great leader.

“I felt as if this was the right moment to say well done. To captain your team is an honour. I wanted to send a message to her that she is one of the most important members of my team and the look in her eyes was a special moment. She is really looking forward to it.

“She doesn’t know what to do and doesn’t know her responsibilities but I told her just to wing it.”

Special moment between Neville siblings

Neville linked up with sister Tracey to combine his training camp this week with her Commonwealth gold medal-winning netball squad.

The Lionesses’ boss described it as a “proud moment” when he spoke in front of his sister and revealed both teams played football, netball and tennis together and “didn’t want to leave”.

The idea was discussed over lunch but Neville admitted he originally agreed only “to pacify Tracey” and was “worried” about how both teams would act when they came together.

“We have both been on similar paths,” said Neville. “What I wanted was for them to tell us their journey and how they became the best netball team in the Commonwealth.

“The power in the room, the confidence and the leadership was incredible. The players didn’t want to leave each other. They were dancing and singing. The spirit between them both and the respect… two of the best sports team in the country were in the room and it was a special moment to share that with my sister.

“When I stood up to speak and she was looking right at me, it was a proud moment. The evening went really well. We learnt a lot about each other’s company and culture.”

Liverpool suffered a shock in Serbia as two goals from Milan Pavkov gave Red Star Belgrade victory in their Champions League group-stage encounter.

Victory would have taken Liverpool four points clear at the top of Group C but they will be knocked off that spot later on Tuesday, whatever the result between Napoli and Paris St-Germain, who kick off at 20:00 GMT.

Forward Pavkov headed his side into the lead after 21 minutes and fired a powerful effort into the bottom corner to make it 2-0 shortly afterwards.

The hosts dominated the first half and came close through Vujadin Savic and El Fardou Ben Nabouhane before Pavkov’s opening goal.

Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge squandered a great chance from six yards out in the 17th minute.

The Reds had more than 80% of the possession and hit the woodwork twice in the second half but could not score as Red Star recorded their 10th clean sheet in their last 15 home games in Europe.

Qualification under threat

Liverpool were not at the races in Serbia and they were punished for it.

A hard-fought draw against Arsenal at the weekend appeared to take the stuffing out of Jurgen Klopp’s side as they were slow to react to the hosts’ blistering start.

Sloppy passes in midfield and poor choices in attack were taken advantage of – Pavkov’s second goal arrived after Liverpool had given the ball away.

Klopp was short on midfield options, given the injury to Jordan Henderson. Naby Keita was fit enough only for the bench, while Adam Lallana made just his second start in Europe since 2014.

Liverpool improved in the second half as Salah came close on several occasions but Red Star blocked everything in front of goal.

The Reds were favourites to progress from Group C before kick-off but with PSG and Napoli facing off later and the Reds still to play both in their final two games, last year’s finalists may face a nervous wait to see if they qualify for the knock-out stages.

Damage inflicted early

Red Star Belgrade manager Vladan Milojevic spoke about how important this game was for his side before kick-off and hoped home advantage would play a big role.

Liverpool walked out to a sea of red and white and the fans’ pre-arranged display was an intimidating sight.

The hosts seemed fired up by it – winger Marko Marin was shown a yellow card for protesting in the fifth minute.

Klopp also described Red Star’s line-up as “the most offensive” he had seen from them in Europe this season and attack is exactly what they did.

Marin had the first shot on target – a tame one from close range after 10 minutes – and Red Star enjoyed 56% of the possession before Pavkov gave them the lead.

They could have scored earlier in the half when skipper Savic turned and fired over the bar from a corner, before Ben Nabouhane’s powerful shot was palmed away by Liverpool keeper Alisson.

Red Star had scored only one goal in four and a half hours of Champions League football before they netted twice in half an hour against Liverpool.

It was almost a perfect evening for Red Star – who became the first Serbian team to win a Champions League group-stage game – but Filip Stojkovic was visibly frustrated as he was carted off the field with an injury in the second half.

‘We have to deal with it’

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp: “The boys are very disappointed, I’m very disappointed and we have to do better. We have to do better because we can do better, but tonight it is too late.

“They had too many set pieces that’s true and with one of them they scored. Then more or less straight away they score the second one and then the atmosphere was completely different, you could feel it.

“They were on their bikes and we had to deal with the situation. It is not what we wanted and we will go for the other two games 100 per cent. We all have to deal with it now.”

A day to forget for Liverpool – the best of the stats

• Liverpool have lost three consecutive Champions League away games for the first time.
• Pavkov became the first Serbian player to net a brace in the Champions League since Aleksandar Prijovic for Legia Warsaw against Borussia Dortmund in November 2016.
• Red Star Belgrade have won both of their European home matches against Liverpool, also triumphing 2-1 in October 1973 in the first leg of a Last 16 tie in the European Cup.
• Liverpool have lost two of their last three Champions League group games (W1), as many as they suffered in their previous 11 combined (W4, D5, L2).
• And their first shot on target of this match came in the 71st minute. The Reds failed to land a shot on target in their other away game in the competition this season, against Napoli.

Man of the match – Milan Pavkov (Red Star Belgrade)

What’s next?

Liverpool host Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday (12:00 GMT), before returning to Champions League action against Paris St-Germain on 28 November (20:00 GMT).