Paris St-Germain’s star, Ousmane Dembele has won the 2025 Ballon d’Or, the award for the best player in the world, for the first time. The 28-year-old France forward netted 35 goals and made 14 assists in 53 matches for PSG last season as they won the treble, including their first Champions League. He was the joint top scorer in Ligue 1, with 21 goals, and named the French top flight and Champions League player of the year. Dembele also helped the French giant to the Club World Cup final where they lost to Chelsea. The foward, who beat Barcelona youngster…
Author: Omoniyi Alade
Gabriel Martinelli came off the bench and scored a stoppage-time equaliser as Arsenal drew with Manchester City in a hard-fought Premier League game. It is the second match in a row that the Brazilian has made an impact off the bench, having provided a goal and assist against Athletic Club in the Champions League in midweek. The Gunners went behind in the ninth minute of the clash when Erling Haaland rolled past David Raya at the end of a devastating City counter-attack. Arsenal pushed for an equaliser for much of the second half and were rewarded with Martinelli’s dinked finish…
In a heated encounter that saw Chelsea and Manchester United both end the first half with 10 men, the Red Devils ran out 2-1 winners at Old Trafford to go 13 consecutive home Premier League (PL) H2Hs against the Blues unbeaten. Under the pouring rain at Old Trafford, Chelsea’s hopes took an early blow just five minutes in, when Robert Sánchez, beaten to Benjamin Šeško’s flick-on, charged off his line and brought down Bryan Mbeumo. The first match in Premier League history to see two or more goals, red cards and substitutions in the first half was settled by goals…
Erling Haaland broke another record by becoming the quickest player to score 50 Champions League goals as Manchester City beat Napoli 2-0 at Etihad. Haaland took only 49 games to reach the milestone, lofting home a header in the second half to set City on their way to three points, as Kevin de Bruyne’s much-anticipated return to Etihad Stadium lasted a disappointing 26 minutes. De Bruyne left City in the summer after a decade at the club and was given a warm welcome back by home supporters, but the joy of returning to a place he calls “home” was short…
Newcastle were punished for a series of missed chances as Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford scored his first goals in Barcelona colours to secure a 2-1 win at St James’ Park. On an occasion befitting of a Champions League opener, Eddie Howe’s side generated better chances and a sustained threat, but it was Rashford – the first Englishman since 1989 to score in Europe for Barcelona – who was decisive. Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes were both guilty of wastefulness, failing to convert any of Anthony Elanga’s numerous deliveries, before ‘motivated’ Rashford stole the show with two strikes – nine…
Jose Mourinho has been confirmed as Bruno Lage’s successor at Benfica, 25 years after the Portuguese first stint at the club. The 62-year-old coach returns to the Estadio da Luz to succeed Bruno Lage, who was sacked after the defeat to Qarabag in the Champions League on Tuesday. He signed a contract to run until the end of the 2026/27 season, with an option for either party to end the deal at the end of the current campaign, Benfica said in a statement. Mourinho had been without a club since being sacked by Fenerbahce after their elimination from the Champions League…
Liverpool delivered another dramatic late twist as they opened their Champions League campaign with a 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid at Anfield. Alexander Isak made his eagerly awaited Liverpool debut but it looked as though Arne Slot’s side would be disappointed as Atletico came from 2-0 down to level, only for Virgil van Dijk to head a stoppage time winner. Mohamed Salah was instrumental as the Premier League champions went 2-0 up inside six minutes. Salah’s free-kick took a decisive deflection off Andrew Robertson to wrong-foot Atletico keeper Jan Oblak after four minutes, before the Egyptian finished off an exchange…
Chelsea felt the force of Harry Kane’s ruthlessness as he scored twice in a 3-1 victory for Bayern Munich in the Champions League. In the Blues first Champions League game since 2022/23, their inexperience at the elite level was exposed by Bayern, who took the lead through a Trevoh Chalobah own-goal before Kane bagged a double. Cole Palmer’s expert finish brought Chelsea back into the game in the first half but their downfall was self inflicted, with Moises Caicedo needlessly fouling Kane for a penalty and Malo Gusto playing a sloppy pass straight into the path of the England striker…
Winger Lamine Yamal is not included in Barcelona’s squad for their Champions League match at Newcastle United on Thursday. The 18-year-old missed his side’s victory against Valencia on Sunday with a groin issue after Barcelona manager Hansi Flick criticised the amount of time Yamal played for Spain during the international break. Yamal played for his country for 79 minutes of a 3-0 win in Bulgaria on 4 September and 73 minutes of a 6-0 victory in Turkey three days later. Barca beat Valencia 6-0 without him and have not included the forward in their squad for their first game of this season’s…
Qarabag delivered a stunning comeback at Benfica to create history and become the first Azerbaijani side to win a Champions League main draw match. Having qualified for Europe’s premier competition for the first time in eight years, Gurban Gurbanov’s side found themselves trailing 2-0 after just 16 minutes following goals from Enzo Barrenechea and Vangelis Pavlidis. The Azerbaijan champions halved the deficit on the half-hour mark through a fine Leandro Andrade finish before team-mate Kady Borges struck the foot of the post. Three minutes after the break, Gurbanov’s side silenced the Estadio da Luz with the leveller. Marko Jankovic’s defence-splitting…