Mary Earps says she never meant to “intentionally hurt” anyone as she hit back at Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor’s claims that she showed a lack of “respect” to Hannah Hampton following her comments about the goalkeeper. The former England shot-stopper took to social media to defend herself after she was also accused of disrespecting Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman.
Nashville managed to withstand the power of Inter Miami and Lionel Messi, earning a 2-1 victory on Saturday night to force a decisive third game in their MLS playoff first-round series. They took advantage of their home crowd and a strong start to contain Las Garzas, who came close to equalizing late in the match through their Argentine captain.
Nashville started strong and held on to an early lead to beat Inter Miami in game two of their first round MLS playoff series, 2-1, on Saturday night. Lionel Messi scored the only goal for Miami, who threatened late but were unable to find a stoppage time equalizer, and could now face a second straight opening round elimination after taking a 1-0 lead.
Former Premier League striker Alan Shearer has backed Arsenal to end their 22-year wait for a Premier League title this season, claiming that he cannot see a weakness within Mikel Arteta's side after the Gunners extended their lead at the top with victory at Burnley. Their ninth successive victory and seventh successive clean sheet in all competitions has only furthered the belief amongst many that this is the best chance Arsenal have had to end their hunt for title glory.
Marcus Rashford is backing himself to revive his form at Barcelona as the forward shared a pointed message on his 28th birthday. Rashford’s fall from grace at Manchester United was disheartening for the Red Devils' faithful. Once the poster boy of Erik ten Hag’s resurgent 2022–23 campaign, when he racked up an astonishing 42 goal involvements in 56 appearances, the following seasons painted a starkly different picture.
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal has confirmed his breakup with Nicki Nicole as he insisted that the couple has "merely parted ways". Just a few weeks ago, the Argentine singer and the Barcelona starlet had become inseparable, with their romance making frequent appearances on Instagram and TikTok. However, love between the couple seems to have fizzled out, with the Spaniard confirming that they are not together anymore.
Liverpool ended their torrid losing streak as Mohamed Salah scored his 250th goal for the club and Ryan Gravenberch netted on his return from injury in a comfortable 2-0 win over Aston Villa at Anfield. The Reds were well worth the three points but had a slice of luck to thank as Emiliano Martinez presented Salah with an open goal to break the deadlock, before Gravenberch's deflected strike sealed the points for a Arne Slot's dominant side.
Real Madrid turned in a complete performance against a poor Valencia side, with Kylian Mbappe grabbing two and Jude Bellingham finding form in Saturday's 4-0 romp at Santiago Bernabeu. Los Blancos did most of their damage in the first half, and were able to overcome a missed penalty from Vinicius Jr to seal a comfortable win.
Thomas Frank claimed he isn't worried about Xavi Simons' form or confidence despite double-substituting him during Tottenham's 1-0 defeat at home to Chelsea on Saturday evening. Spurs mustered only three shots, one of which was on target, throughout over 90 minutes of football and were loudly booed off at full-time by an anxious home crowd.
Cristiano Jr followed in his father Cristiano Ronaldo's footsteps by scoring his first-ever goal for Portugal U16s with a clinical finish in the coastal Turkish city of Antalya. The 15-year-old son of one of football’s greatest icons opened the scoring in Portugal’s 3-0 triumph over Wales.
Lionel Messi has expressed his strong desire to compete in the 2026 World Cup with Argentina next summer, saying it would be "wonderful" to get the chance to defend his nation's title of World Champions and play in the tournament for the sixth time in his glittering career. But the Inter Miami superstar explained that he wants to feel good about himself physically if he is to take part, so that he can "contribute and be important" for Lionel Scaloni's side.
Cristiano Ronaldo once again proved why he remains football’s ultimate clutch performer, dragging Al-Nassr from the brink of frustration to a hard-fought 2-1 win over Al-Feiha on Saturday night. After being knocked out by Al-Ettihad from the King's Cup, their weekend could have been spoiled, but their Portuguese talisman decided otherwise. They are now leading the domestic standings after getting off to a perfect start with seven wins from seven matches, and on Saturday evening, the men in yellow once again showed why they are more determined than ever to be crowned as Saudi champions during their comeback victory.
Bayern Munich continued their record-breaking start to the season as the Bundesliga leaders swept aside Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 at the Allianz Arena to secure a 15th straight victory of the new season. With Harry Kane named amongst the substitutes, Nicolas Jackson stepped up to score his first Bundesliga goal. Serge Gnabry also scored for Vincent Kompany's side, while Loic Bade put through his own net to secure the result before half-time.
Chelsea climbed back into the Premier League's top four with a deserved 1-0 win away at Tottenham on Saturday. The Blues were head and shoulders above their London rivals, and though Joao Pedro scored the game's only goal, the disparity between the two teams was clear for all to see, with Spurs registering just three shots in total and one on target.
Danny Welbeck has been backed for a sensational England recall by Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler in a message to Three Lions manager Thomas Tuchel. It’s been seven long years since the forward last pulled on an England shirt. However, now, against all odds, the veteran striker could be on the verge of an extraordinary comeback, and the Brighton manager certainly believes that the Englishman deserves a shot at international redemption.
Sonia Bompastor has hit back at Mary Earps in defence of Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, after former England star Earps heaped criticism on Hampton's behaviour in her new autobiography 'All In'. Bompastor claimed Hampton is "the class one" when compared with Earps, and questioned the PSG goalkeeper's decision to criticise three-time European Championship winning manager Sarina Wiegman.
Patrick Vieira’s turbulent tenure at Genoa has come to an end as the Serie A club announced that the Arsenal legend has left his role as head coach with immediate effect. The decision comes amid a disastrous start to the campaign as Genoa find themselves rooted to the bottom of the Italian top flight and staring down the relegation barrel.
Club América are among the top contenders to win the Apertura 2025 and reclaim their dominance in Mexican football after losing the Clausura final to Toluca - a result that denied them a historic fourth consecutive title. Brian Rodríguez sent a clear message ahead of the Liguilla: no team wants to cross paths with the most successful club in Mexico.
Manchester United's winning streak is over as the Red Devils were held to a 2-2 draw by Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday. It could have been worse for Ruben Amorim's side, who had Amad Diallo to thank for a stunning volley to level up the scores with less than 10 minutes to play after Forest had scored twice in quick succession to kick-off the second half.
Lamine Yamal seemingly confirmed his plans to buy the €14 million (£12.5m) Barcelona mansion once owned by pop sensation Shakira & Gerard Pique through a social media post. In a now-viral photodump shared with his 14 million followers, the forward was pictured standing with his back to the camera, facing the spectacular modern property and its sparkling swimming pool.
Another game, another set-piece goal and another win for Arsenal as Mikel Arteta's leaders extended their advantage at the top of the Premier League table to seven points with a 2-0 success at Burnley on Saturday. It was another dominant afternoon for the Gunners, who had already seen Bukayo Saka waste a golden opportunity by the time they went in front on 14 minutes through Viktor Gyokeres' close-range finish from Declan Rice's corner.
Wayne Rooney has surprisingly claimed he was faster than Cristiano Ronaldo in Manchester United training. The pair formed one of the Premier League’s deadliest attacking duos, who kept defenders on their toes under Sir Alex Ferguson from 2004 to 2009. Together, they fired United to three league titles and a Champions League crown.
Inter Miami will look to reach the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time in club history when they face Nashville SC Saturday in the second leg of the opening playoff round at Geodis Stadium. The visitors are under pressure to win and close out the series, while the hosts will aim to force a decisive third game.
Aaron Ramsey’s disappointing tenure in Mexico has come to an end. The Welsh midfielder has officially parted ways with Pumas after terminating his contract, following a muscle injury and a personal ordeal involving the loss of his dog during a vacation in Mexico. The Mexico City club has yet to issue an official statement.
Manchester United had held talks with Robert De Zerbi and Thomas Tuchel to replace Erik ten Hag as their head coach last year, before turning to Ruben Amorim for the role. On November 1, 2024, days after Ten Hag's sacking, the United hierarchy confirmed Amorim's arrival at Old Trafford from Sporting CP. After a disappointing start to their 2024-25 season, Ten Hag was shown the door in October.
Aoba Fujino starred with a goal in the first half as Manchester City beat relegation-threatened West Ham 1-0 in a Women's Super League clash on Saturday. The Cityzens would only manage to score once despite being the much superior side on the field, as they missed a series of chances throughout the game. Nevertheless, the win ensured the Manchester club remains within one point of leaders Chelsea at the top of the table.
Chelsea returned to action following the international break with a 2-0 win over London City Lionesses in the Women's Super League on Saturday. Australia internationals Ellie Carpenter and Sam Kerr netted for the Blues, who maintained their one-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the table with a victory over their big-spending opponents that kept their long unbeaten league run under Sonia Bompastor going.
Wayne Rooney has revealed that he came very close to joining Manchester United's Premier League rivals before completing his fateful transfer to Old Trafford from Everton. The forward joined the Red Devils as a prodigious 18-year-old and went on to become a club legend, playing 559 matches and scoring 253 goals, but things could have been very different.
Arne Slot has changed his assessment of Liverpool's squad after he bizarrely claimed that it lacked depth despite the Reds spending more than any English club in the Premier League in the last transfer window. The Merseysiders underwent a major overhaul after winning the Premier League last season but they find themselves in a serious rut in the 2025-26 campaign.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot addressed talk of him losing his job amid the Reds' torrid run of form as pressure cranks up on the Dutch manager. The reigning English champions got off to a flying start in their title defence campaign but are now struggling for form as they have lost six out of their last seven matches across all competitions and are already seven points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal.