Late, late drama was the order of a hugely entertaining weekend in the Premier League. Arsenal snatched all three points at Newcastle thanks to Gabriel's 96th-minute header, while former Gunner Eddie Nketiah also struck at the death to hand Liverpool their first defeat of the season and continue Crystal Palace's incredible start.
GOAL runs the rule over the British players earning a living away from their homeland, with plenty more stars deciding to leave the comforts of Great Britain in search of a better footballing life elsewhere. The Premier League is still obviously one of the world's most entertaining divisions and the Championship can prove fantastic for development, but there are more options out there.
Liverpool weren't the only European team to lose their 100 percent record this weekend. Over in Italy, Napoli slipped to second in the Serie A table after being beaten 2-1 by a Christian Pulisici-inspired AC Milan at San Siro.
Arsenal stole a massive comeback victory deep in stoppage time at St James' Park as Gabriel rose highest to head home a 96th minute winner and close the gap on leaders Liverpool, in a massive statement early on in this season's title race. The home side had led through a Nick Woltemade header with Gabriel at fault for the goal but the Gunners fought back, substitute Mikel Merino guiding home a fantastic header before Gabriel powered home the winner.
No Chelsea player had ever scored in the Blues' first four games of a Women's Super League campaign - until Aggie Beever-Jones did exactly that on Sunday to set the defending champions on their way to a dominant 4-0 win that was certainly eventful. With records broken, plenty of goals scored and a stunning red card for Ines Belloumou, for pulling the hair of United States star Alyssa Thompson, those in attendance certainly got their money's worth when it came to action - though it was the kind which only the away end could really enjoy.
Midfield is certainly not one of England's best-stocked positions but Laura Blindkilde Brown continues to show that she could be a fantastic option for Sarina Wiegman as a new international cycle nears, with her putting in another excellent performance for Manchester City in Sunday's 4-1 win over London City Lionesses. It was a tricky game at times for the hosts but goals from Blindkilde Brown, Vivianne Miedema and a Bunny Shaw double allowed them to secure a third successive Women's Super League win for the first time since last November.
Manchester United climbed to the top of the Women's Super League table with a 2-0 victory over Liverpool on Sunday afternoon. The Red Devils did all of the damage in what was a dominant first-half performance as a wonderful strike from Hinata Miyazawa and a cool finish from Ella Toone maintained their side’s unbeaten start to the new league season.
Ruben Amorim claimed after Manchester United's defeat at Brentford that he is never worried about losing his job and that is just as well because, sooner or later, he is going to get his marching orders at Old Trafford. The results speak for themselves. His team have lost 17 of their 33 Premier League matches while winning just nine times. If you want to find a United coach with a worse win percentage in the league, you have to go back to before the Second World War.
Inter Miami let a first-half lead slip and were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against Toronto FC, a result that dealt a significant blow to their Supporters’ Shield ambitions. Javier Mascherano’s side looked tired as the match wore on, and though they left Canada with a point, the dropped opportunity highlighted their struggle to finish strong.
Atletico Madrid hammered Real Madrid on Saturday in the first derby of the season, with some calamitous defending from Los Blancos leading to a comprehensive 5-2 win from their city rivals. Julian Alvarez stole the show from Kylian Mbappe by scoring twice for Diego Simeone's side, while Antoine Griezmann added a fifth in stoppage time to complete the rout.
Liverpool suffered their first defeat of the season as they slipped to a 2-1 loss at the hands of Crystal Palace, who now stand alone as the only undefeated side in the Premier League this season. Arne Slot’s Reds were second best for the majority of the match as Ismaila Sarr and Eddie Nketiah proved to be the difference makers at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon.
Chelsea capitulated in the second half against Brighton as Trevoh Chalobah was sent off and the visitors struck three times to claim a shock 3-1 win. Enzo Fernandez had given the Blues the lead but Danny Welbeck scored twice, with Maxim De Cuyper also on target, as the Blues fell apart and lost more ground in their quest to challenge at the Premier League's summit.
Never write off Erling Haaland. Even when he hasn't scored after 90 minutes. The Norwegian looked like he was having a quiet game as Manchester City laboured to victory over Burnley but he came alive right at the end, signing off with two goals as well as an assist. Before the striker's stoppage-time blitz, City were grateful to two own goals from Maxime Esteve and one from Matheus Nunes, set up by Haaland.
Bruno Fernandes missed a penalty and Harry Maguire had a day to forget as Manchester United sank to a worrying 3-1 defeat at Brentford which leaves Ruben Amorim's reputation further in tatters. The Red Devils were hoping to make the most of a bad start by Brentford and record back-to-back wins in the Premier League for the first time under their coach but it all went horribly wrong and piled more pressure on their beleaguered manager.
Arsenal passed up the chance to go top of the Women’s Super League table as they fell to a late equaliser to draw 1-1 with Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Frida Maanum scored her third league goal of 2025-26 as the Gunners looked destined to climb to the summit, but substitute Lucy Parker netted late on to secure a deserved point for the visitors.
In another world, James Trafford would be making an emotional and triumphant return on Saturday to Manchester City with Burnley as the Clarets' shot-stopping extraordinaire. But instead he will be watching his former side take on City from the bench, watching the recently crowned Yashin trophy winner Gianluigi Donnarumma keep goal instead.
A Spanish publication reported last week that Real Madrid want to sign Ryan Gravenberch, which would make sense, in fairness. Toni Kroos is still sorely missed at the Santiago Bernabeu after retiring after Euro 2024, as doubts persist over the likes of Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga to fill the void left behind by the genius German.
Kylian Mbappe was hiding in the background while Xabi Alonso soliloquised. It was just after the opening game of the Champions League group phase. Mbappe had pieced together a remarkable Blancos rescue act, scoring twice to overturn a 1-0 deficit (and he might have had one or two more.) Alonso was singing his praises. He hailed Mbappe's "incredible impact", and promised that they were "just getting started.” And then, as he realised Mbappe was in the room - just out of the shot - he tailed off.
Arne Slot knew full well that the first question of his post-match press conference after Tuesday night's Carabao Cup win over Southampton would be about Hugo Ekitike - but he wasn't happy about it.
Tottenham have made no secret of their desire to become a top-tier destination for the world's best young talent. "You can try to sell a vision to someone, but if there's tangible physical evidence of it… Anyone who has watched us since I've joined will have seen the aspirations we have to be the kind of team we want to be. That's not just me saying it, we're actually doing it," said former head coach Ange Postecoglou when he was calling the shots in N17.
For a player so crucial to Manchester City’s most glorious period ever, the manner of Kyle Walker's departure was bizarre to say the least. Pep Guardiola had let the cat out of the bag that the then-captain wanted to leave the club on loan for AC Milan at the end of a press conference after City had hammered Salford City in the FA Cup in early January.
Last time Manchester City fans saw Grace Clinton in action, she was wearing the red of their biggest rivals and kickstarting a Manchester United comeback that allowed the Red Devils to secure Champions League football at their expense. They'll have had much more favourable feelings towards the England international last Friday, then, as she re-introduced herself to those who suffered in the away end at Old Trafford back in May by netting a goal for the other side of the city, one which put them 4-0 up at Tottenham.
Super sub Robert Lewandowski saved goalkeeper Joan Garcia's blushes as Barcelona came from behind to beat a spirited Real Oviedo 3-1 on Thursday in La Liga. The 37-year-old is not getting any younger but he showed once again that his class is undeniable with a clinical finish against the struggling side. Garcia made a mistake he will want to forget quickly but the Poland star saved the day.