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TBILISI, Georgia — Lionel Messi scored twice and set up the winning goal as Barcelona started the season in dramatic style by beating Sevilla 5-4 after extra time to lift the UEFA Super Cup on Tuesday.

The action-packed, all-Spanish match was won when Pedro, linked by British media with a move to Manchester United, scored from close range after a shot by Messi rebounded in the 115th minute.

In the final seconds of extra time, Sevilla defender Adil Rami had a golden chance to send the match to penalties, but missed an open goal from close range.

Earlier, Sevilla had battled back from 4-1 down to 4-4 as Barcelona's fitness was tested in its first competitive match of the season — Europe's curtain-raiser between the winners of the Champions League and the second-tier Europa League.

After a busy pre-season with games in the United States, Italy and Spain, Barcelona's dominance evaporated midway through the second half.

"I thought we were much better, much stronger," Messi said of the first hour of the match. "We had the ball for the first 60 minutes, we had opportunities, we scored. And then we seemed to have relaxed, we let them have the ball, we withdrew a bit.

"It got pretty tough when we looked like we were winning hands down, but fortunately we didn't have to go to penalties."

Calling the match "spectacular" for Barcelona's supporters, coach Luis Enrique suggested his team had taken too many risks while leading.

"We'd practically closed the match, but it's very difficult to secure this," he said. "When you're winning 4-1, the rival has got nothing to lose. What we do need is to analyse what happened at that point and the risks that they took."

Luis Enrique refused to discuss whether Pedro's winning goal could make it more likely for him to stay with the club.

His Sevilla counterpart Unai Emery said he was "very proud" of his team, which has been rebuilt over the summer after its Europa League win.

"If there's one thing we want to make this team, it's competitive. We want this team to really go for victory whatever the circumstances," he said. "We stood up to the best team in the world."

On a warm summer night, Barcelona was without injured left-back Jordi Alba and star striker Neymar, who is ill with mumps, while various absences for Sevilla meant that midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak dropped into the centre-back role.

European champion Barcelona went behind three minutes into the game when Ever Banega scored from a free-kick from the edge of the penalty area.

Messi curled two direct free-kicks past Sevilla goalkeeper Beto in the seventh and 16th minutes and was a constant threat in attack with throughout the first half, though he made less of a mark after the break.

Barcelona's third came shortly before half-time when Luis Suarez pounced on the rebound after his shot was parried by Beto and crossed for Rafinha to score.

Suarez grabbed a goal in the 52nd minute following a poor pass by Sevilla defender Benoit Tremoulinas. The French left-back gave the ball away to Sergio Busquets, who played in Suarez to apply a calm finish. However, it was cancelled out almost immediately when the unmarked Jose Antonio Reyes ran in at the far post to steer home a cross by Vitolo.

Vitolo was again in the thick of the action a-quarter-of-an-hour later as he tried to reach a cross from Tremoulinas but was fouled by Jeremy Mathieu, playing at left-back for the injured Alba. The resulting penalty was hit hard and left by Kevin Gameiro.

Sevilla pulled level when debutant Yevhen Konoplyanka slotted in from close range off a low pass from Ciro Immobile in the 81st minute.

Having won the Spanish league and cup titles, along with the Champions League, lifting the Super Cup keeps Barcelona on track to win six trophies in a calendar year, a feat the club last achieved under Pep Guardiola in 2009.

Next up is the Spanish Super Cup against Atheltic Bilbao on Friday and Monday, before the Club World Cup in December.

BERLIN — Bayern Munich have set their sights on a record fourth consecutive Bundesliga title when the league gets under way this week, with VfL Wolfsburg ready to resume last season's hunt.

Few doubt the Bavarians, already considered by most Bundesliga coaches as the overwhelming title favourites, can do it.

Coach Pep Guardiola, in his third season in charge, will be looking to set more records after two dominant Bundesliga campaigns.

"No team has ever won the Bundesliga four times in a row," he said. "It is going to be tough but that is our goal."

The Spaniard may still be missing the Champions League title with Bayern but he is the undisputed king of the Bundesliga, having led his team to the title virtually unopposed in the two previous seasons.

He will be fielding a somewhat changed team with fans missing their talismanic midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, who joined Manchester United and winger Franck Ribery still nursing a months-long injury.

The Frenchman will miss the start of the season, including the opener against Hamburg SV on Friday, but Guardiola has his replacement ready.

Newcomer Douglas Costa has so far been impressive down the left wing, where Ribery has ruled for years, with the Brazilian's pace, skills and speed opening up defences.

Costa, who joined from Shakhtar Donetsk, Chile international Arturo Vidal and talented 20-year-old midfielder Joshua Kimmich are Guardiola's big transfers but with a squad already brimming with talent and experience, he hopes it is even stronger than last season.

"Normally Bayern will this season be again the measure of all things," said VfL Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking. "They are just too far ahead with their potential."

Wolfsburg, second last season, are seen as the strongest rivals to the title, especially after signing forward Max Kruse from Borussia Moenchengladbach, but they must hold on to Belgium international Kevin De Bruyne as offers pour in.

The attacking midfielder, their key player in last season's second place finish and German Cup victory, is being courted by Manchester City with sports director Klaus Allofs saying his "head is being turned" by the offers.

Thomas Tuchel has the unenviable task of succeeding title-winning coach Juergen Klopp on the Borussia Dortmund bench and must rebuild a competitive team after last season's implosion.

The 2011 and 2012 German champions look to be on track after a 6-0 aggregate win over Austria's Wolfsberger AC in the Europa League and a comfortable German Cup first round win last week.

Borussia Moenchengladbach, third last season, are also in fine form in the pre-season and with a string of transfers, including Swiss striker Josip Drmic, boosting the squad, they also eye their maiden Champions League season with confidence.

LONDON — It is, of course, much too early to try to read something into the first round of matches in a Premier League season that has another 37 games and more than eight months to run.

But it's just too tempting.

Especially as some of the surprises in an entertaining start will clearly have an impact on the coming weekend's action — at least for Chelsea and Arsenal.

The Blues now face one of their toughest games of the season — at Manchester City — without goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, following the Belgian's rash decision to clatter into Bafetimbi Gomis during its 2-2 home draw with Swansea.

New signing Asmir Begovic, whose first touch was to pick the ball out of the Chelsea net after Gomis had converted the resulting penalty, should make his full debut for the champions at Etihad Stadium.

And it promises to be a tight game. Though Chelsea lacked the rhythm that will come as the season progresses, Jose Mourinho's side still showed plenty of power and attacking intent against Swansea — particularly whenever Willian or Eden Hazard were on the ball.

With a nervous Manchester United needing an own goal by Kyle Walker to beat Tottenham, Manchester City were by far the most convincing of English football's Big Four with their 3-0 win at West Bromwich Albion.

When players like Yaya Toure, who scored twice at the Hawthorns, and David Silva are on the kind of form they showed Monday night, the 2012 and 2014 champions are an astonishingly good side.

Add the £49 million ($76 million) paid to Liverpool for Raheem Sterling and the goalscoring talent of Sergio Aguero, and it's not difficult to see the potential for a third league trophy in five seasons.

Or of an early title claim when Chelsea coming visiting on Sunday.

Given Courtois' automatic suspension, Chelsea fans will have left Stamford Bridge on Saturday with even longer faces and even bigger regrets after Petr Cech was allowed to move to Arsenal.

About 24 hours later, those opinions may have been revised with the 33-year-old's calamitous league debut for his new club.

For a man who makes very few mistakes in a season, two blunders after less than an hour is certainly a worrying start, and was enough to consign Arsene Wenger's side to an embarrassing 2-0 home defeat to West Ham.

While trying to explain what he acknowledged were two very cheap goals, Wenger pointed to West Ham being further advanced in their preparation for the season. After all, Slaven Bilic's side had already played three rounds of Europa League football.

Wenger was factually correct. But whether taking on the likes of Birkirkara from the Maltese Premier League and Astra Giurgiu of Romania counts as preparation for facing one of the best sides in Europe is a moot point.

More important is the fact that Sunday's defeat already puts Arsenal under an unwelcome degree of pressure ahead of this weekend's game against Crystal Palace.

Arsenal had a good domestic season in 2014-15, finishing third in the league and winning a second consecutive FA Cup. The major disappointment came from a poor start — with just two wins from the opening eight league games — that effectively dashed any realistic hopes of winning the title.

So Sunday turned into precisely the kind of nightmare that Arsenal had been determined to avoid. And the extent to which they are already playing mind games can be gauged from the comments made afterward by defender Per Mertesacker.

Looked at dispassionately, losing the first of 38 games means nothing.

Yet Mertesacker went so far as to describe Sunday's upset as "a massive loss", adding that "to start with a game like that is not good, but to bounce back is even more important now."

It's a far cry from the relative optimism that Louis van Gaal's new-look United should be taking to Aston Villa in the first of the season's Friday night fixtures.

With four new signings in the starting lineup and a fifth — Bastian Schweinsteiger — coming on in the second half, United should have looked pretty disjointed in the middle and vulnerable at the back against Tottenham.

Neither was the case.

It may not have been a slick performance, and there was more sideways passing than is usually welcomed by the Old Trafford faithful, but United looked a very sharp unit at times.

Right back Matteo Darmian and defensive midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin both made promising debuts, although it's open to question whether Wayne Rooney is best used as a target man, rather than as a marauding No. 10.

Signing another striker, and resolving the future of goalkeeper and Real Madrid target David De Gea, would certainly do United no harm in the days ahead.

And Aston Villa probably won't either, for that matter.

LONDON — Yaya Toure rekindled memories of the blockbusting performances that helped Manchester City win two Premier League titles in three seasons, scoring twice in an impressive 3-0 victory at West Bromwich Albion on Monday.

When on song the imposing Toure is one of the most dominant players in European football but those games were few and far between as City finished well adrift in second place last season.

Manuel Pellegrini's side needed to make a statement of intent in their league opener and did so with the long-striding central midfielder Toure leaving the West Brom players floundering in his wake on numerous occasions with powerful runs and incisive passing.

His first goal had an element of fortune, with a double deflection, but a sublime second saw Toure scythe through midfield, exchange passes with compatriot Wilfried Bony, and fire into the top corner.

"I think we saw the Yaya of one season ago, not like last season when he had so many problems," City Manager Manuel Pellegrini told Sky Sports.

"I like attacking football. I like to see good players playing in a technical way so I think the first 30 minutes we did really well."

With Toure, 32, dominating midfield, Spanish maestro David Silva had the freedom to float undetected between the ranks of West Brom defenders and he was able to pick holes in the hosts' defence at will in another effortless display.

"David, especially in the first half, had a brilliant performance," Pellegrini said.

Captain Vincent Kompany added a third and the Belgian said he was keen to banish memories of a poor season on a personal and team level and send a message to those who were discounting City as credible title challengers.

"I think for us we have something to prove as last season was below what we are used to," Kompany said. "This is a team with a lot of intent.

"Obviously there is a lot of favourite teams now and we're not part of it I've heard. It's something that gives us extra motivation.

"We came out here today knowing we had a point to prove. As a team we all have to improve this season."

GENEVA — FIFA cannot make credible changes in the last months of Sepp Blatter's leadership of the scandal-hit body, former presidential candidate HRH Prince Ali said Monday.

Prince Ali also cast doubt on the worth of FIFA's in-house reforms task force which is supported by Michel Platini, his former ally and now front-runner to succeed Blatter in the February 26 election.

"I don't think anybody will take any decisions that are credible in the current situation," Prince Ali told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday.

"I think that the important thing is that you need an overall change in leadership," said the prince, who described Platini as "not good for FIFA" when the UEFA president launched his campaign two weeks ago. "The entire football world would like to see a change."

Still, Prince Ali has not committed to making a second bid to be president and enact that change.

"Right now I'm talking to our national associations, listening to their opinions," said the prince, who got votes from 73 of FIFA's 209 member federations when Blatter won re-election in May.

Within four days, Blatter announced he would leave office under pressure from dual American and Swiss federal investigations of corruption that finally drove World Cup sponsors to demand a change of culture at FIFA.

Prince Ali could outline campaign plans on September 7 as a keynote speaker at the Soccerex conference in Manchester, England.

"It's a place where I will obviously want to present my ideas for what I think is best for the organisation," said the prince, who served as Asia's FIFA vice president for four years until May.

September shapes as busy for FIFA politics though the deadline for presidential contenders to file nomination papers is not until October 26.

On September 15-16, UEFA members who mostly supported Prince Ali against Blatter will meet in Malta and can expect to hear details of their president Platini's manifesto for FIFA.

Prince Ali declined to comment on possibly stepping on Platini's turf during that two-day session. It is one of few scheduled meetings where large numbers of FIFA voters will gather before the election congress in Zurich.

On September 24-25, Blatter will chair an executive committee meeting in Zurich where FIFA has promised "concrete and comprehensive reform proposals" from the task force whose 11-member line-up is yet to be announced.

FIFA has asked former IOC director general Francois Carrard to lead a team of officials put forward by the six confederations.

"We need to have a real and independent task force," Prince Ali said.

BARCELONA — Barcelona will be missing the lethal touch of Neymar in attack for the UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla on Tuesday, but they can still call on an unsettled Pedro to provide reliable backup.

Pedro has been strongly linked with a move to Manchester United and the news that Neymar will be out for an expected two weeks with the mumps is exactly why the Catalan club are loathe to allow the homegrown talent to leave Camp Nou.

He had limited chances though in the second half of last season with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar all remaining largely injury free on the way to hitting a Spanish record 122 goals among them as Barca won the treble.

Neymar's pace and trickery which he showed to good effect with a goal and his overall performance in last week's Gamper Trophy win over Roma will be missed against Europa League champions Sevilla, but coach Luis Enrique values Pedro for his dependability when given a chance.

Ex-Sevilla midfielder Ivan Rakitic is also looking sharp, hitting a 27 metres drive into the top corner against Roma, and he pointed out the strength of the team as a whole.

"Everyone knows the importance that Leo and Neymar have but the other players are as well. It is important that we have confidence and show what we can do," Rakitic told reporters.

"I am a big fan of Sevilla but not in this match. I am now at this club and I will give my best for it and the fans here."

It is a big season for Rakitic who will look to consolidate his position in midfield which he took over from Barca legend Xavi.

While Xavi was more of a midfield organiser, the Croat prefers to get up and down the pitch.

"The team is playing differently and when you get into positions to shoot you need to take them," said Rakitic.

"It is part of my play and I like to look for openings. When I score it obviously gives me more confidence.

"We are looking forward to the Sevilla game. We are working hard to be ready for the game and to start the season the best way."

LONDON — Two mistakes by new goalkeeper Petr Cech sent a much-hyped Arsenal side crashing to a 2-0 defeat at home to West Ham, while Liverpool's start to the new Premier League season ended with a late 1-0 win at Stoke on Sunday.

Cech arrived from Chelsea with a reputation for keeping clean sheets, but a header from Cheikhou Kouyate in the 43rd minute and a low shot by Mauro Zarate in the 57th minute unexpectedly beat the 33-year-old keeper.

There was little goalmouth action at Stoke until Liverpool's Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho scored with a ferocious shot from 25 metres in the 86th minute.

The points were shared at St James' Park, where a Newcastle side under new coach Steve McClaren drew 2-2 with Southampton in the day's other game.

Arsenal toiled in the sunshine at Emirates Stadium, dominating possession but lacking ideas against a West Ham side that have been playing competitive pre-season football in the Europa League under new manager Slaven Bilic.

"We were not convincing offensively, nor defensively," Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger told Sky Sports. "I knew before the game it would be a tricky game, that West Ham could be more advanced in their preparation than us.

"But you feel guilty, because if you cannot win the game — don't lose it. I believe that just before halftime and just after halftime we gave very, very cheap goals away and then we made it even more difficult for ourselves."

Tipped to be title challengers this season after winning two consecutive FA Cups and beating champion Chelsea 1-0 in the Community Shield a week ago, Arsenal's league opener was a reality check.

"We have to keep our focus," Wenger said. "It's just the start of the season. I'm convinced that we will respond well to that accident."

Blame for those accidents is bound to rest on Cech, after he rushed out to clear a free kick but his gloves arrived second to Kouyate's head. Arsenal's marquee signing for a reported fee of about £11 million ($17.3 million) was then wrong-footed by Zarate's shot from outside the area.

"Any championship is never a motorway," Wenger said. "It's always [about] responding well to accidents. Today we have been hurt mentally and it's a good opportunity to show we respond."

Bilic had no doubts about the impact of Sunday's victory.

"It's a great start for us," the former West Ham defender said. "Not only because of the three points, but it's three points against a team that are one of the main contenders for the title this year and that had done really well in the pre-season.

"And if you to add that, that it's a London derby and in the last five years we lost all the games home or away against them, that makes it even bigger."

Liverpool also faced a big game of sorts, taking on a Stoke side that had humiliated the Reds in their final game of last season — inflicting a 6-1 defeat on Brendan Rodgers' team.

The tables were turned on Sunday by Coutinho's moment of magic, when the Brazilian took possession and shrugged off a challenge before unleashing a booming shot that grazed the tips of Jack Butland's gloves on its way in.

McClaren, meanwhile, had to settle for a point in a game where both sides had the lead for a while.

Goals from Papiss Cisse and new signing Gini Wijnaldum put Newcastle in command after Graziano Pelle's 24th-minute opener for the visitors.

But substitute Shane Long rose to power home a cross from the Dusan Tadic with 11 minutes to go to secure a point.

The first round of matches concludes on Monday night, when Manchester City travel to West Bromwich Albion.

NOTTINGHAM — England's comprehensive Ashes victory over Australia was built on a purposeful and well-drilled team that combined the perfect blend of youth and experience.

Series draws against West Indies and New Zealand showed glimpses of promise, but also worrying inconsistencies which suggested stalwarts like Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott, Matt Prior and Kevin Pietersen had not been adequately replaced.

The vibrant cricket that won back the Ashes, however, proved that the new team has come of age.

Alastair Cook adopted a more aggressive approach as captain, James Anderson and Stuart Broad led the pace attack, while Joe Root and Ben Stokes provided the youthful energy to deliver at key moments of the series.

Although he did not make a century in the first four Tests, Cook is back to his best at the top of the order, a calming presence for the players around him.

Anderson produced an inspired spell at Edgbaston, taking advantage of favourable conditions to complete figures of 6-47 which set up an eight-wicket win.

England's leading wicket-taker was ruled out of the fourth test with a side injury but Broad assumed responsibility, bowling an inspired spell on the first morning at Trent Bridge to complete career-best figures of 8-15 and skittle the Australians for 60.

Root, 24, confirmed himself to be a batsman of the highest class.

His composed 134 set up the first Test victory in Cardiff and it was the Yorkshire right-hander who capitalised on Broad's heroics with a fluent innings of 130 to lay the platform for the series-clinching win.

Stokes, who batted superbly in the first Test against New Zealand, was subdued against Australia before springing to life with the ball at the perfect moment on the second afternoon at Trent Bridge.

Chris Rogers and David Warner were compiling a patient opening partnership that could have dragged Australia back into the match when the firebrand all-rounder put his hand up.

Superb catch

Three quick wickets before tea and a magnificent catch to dismiss Steve Smith turned the game firmly back England's way.

Other players made cameo contributions to the triumph.

Ian Bell, under pressure for his place and promoted to number three, made two half-centuries at Edgbaston, the second guiding England calmly to a modest victory target of 121.

Moeen Ali proved once again what a useful weapon he is at number eight in the order, a quickfire 38 on Friday, lifting his team after Australia grabbed five early wickets.

Jos Buttler had a disappointing series with the bat but kept wicket well, taking a couple of superb diving catches at key moments and energising the team.

Mark Wood and Steven Finn also contributed with the ball.

Finn bowled a superb spell at Edgbaston to complete figures of 6-79 and confirm his re-emergence as a Test bowler while the livewire Wood claimed three wickets in the second innings at Trent Bridge and had the honour of delivering the ball that sealed the Ashes.

Jonny Bairstow scored a fluent 74 at Trent Bridge after being recalled in place of Gary Ballance, and the only England player to fail to make a significant contribution was opener Adam Lyth.

He endured a difficult series and must be under pressure after failing to get past fifty, although there are few alternatives and he will surely get another chance at The Oval to cement his place as Cook's long-term partner.

AMMAN — Khaled Juma on Friday was crowned champion of the third round of the Jordan National Rally Championship, the final rehearsal before the Jordan Rally in October, after a challenging round with the participation of seven drivers.

With this win Juma topped the standings by 75 points after clocking 1h 02m 06s, followed by Ehab Shurafa with 1h 07m 56s and Basheer Azar in the third place with 1h 12m 10s.

Lina Hadidi clocked 1h 14m 04s and settled in the fourth place.

Juma expressed his happiness of this victory calling it "a challenging one".

"It was a challenging round and the level of competition was great but I managed to pressure myself and win the round and added precious points," he said.

"Now all focus will be heading to the Jordan Rally in October as this is the toughest challenge for me and I have already made some plans for the rally with a training schedule and modifications to the car," he added.

Juma who secured the championship title of the National Rallies stated that “Jordan Rally should be back in the hands of Jordanians.”

"We must gain the confidence back to win the Jordan Rally and hopefully we will," he said.

Jordan Motorsports CEO Othman Naseef hailed the event as “excellent”.

"We have been looking forward to watching this crucial event which ended on a high note. Now all eyes will be focused on the Jordan Rally," he said.

Drivers had to cover a total distance of 207.74km with six special stages (74.94km).

Standings after third round

Khaled Juma      75 points

Amjad Sheikh    36 points

Ehab Shurafa     30 points

Basheer Azar     28 points

Lina Hadidi         22 points

AMMAN — The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Jordan 2016 official match schedule has been confirmed, with the host nation set to feature in the opening match on September 30, 2016, according to a statement from the Local Organising Committee (LOC) on Saturday.

Over the course of 22 days, a total of 16 teams will play 32 matches across four stadiums. The schedule is available on FIFA.com. Amman International Stadium will provide the setting for the opening match, as well as the final match on October 21, 2016, the statement said. 

The LOC said the match schedule was designed to ensure that the national team plays in all host cities — Amman, Irbid and Zarqa — subsequently providing fans across the three governorates and their surrounding areas with the chance to attend and support their national team. 

The LOC also made sure that the opening ceremony, opening game, closing ceremony and final match take place on Fridays, which will encourage audiences of all age groups to participate.

The participating teams will move for each game of the group stage between the designated stadiums, namely Amman International Stadium, King Abdullah II International Stadium in Qweismeh, Al Hassan Stadium in Irbid and Prince Mohammad Stadium in Al Zarqa.

“Football has once again reaffirmed its ability to unite the world and promote a sense of solidarity among nations, and we are confident that Jordanians will emerge as one to support the organisation and execution of a successful tournament at all levels,” LOC Chairman Salah Sabra was quoted in the statement as saying.