FEATURES

Vinicius Jr returned to form at the right time for Real Madrid, bagging twice as Los Blancos got the job done against Manchester City to secure a spot in the Champions League quarter-finals. Madrid arrived in England defending a 3-0 lead after the first leg, and ensured that there was no 'remontada' at the Etihad Stadium, winning 2-1 win on the night after a rather frantic contest.

Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice fired Arsenal into the Champions League quarter-finals in sensational style with stunning goals as the Gunners saw off a stubborn Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 at Emirates Stadium to seal a 3-1 aggregate victory over the Bundesliga outfit. Eze's thunderous first-half strike sent Mikel Arteta's on their way and Rice put the seal on the victory with an excellent second after the interval to set up a meeting with Sporting CP in the final eight.

Chelsea's Champions League campaign came to an end with a whimper after losing 3-0 to Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their last-16 tie, falling to an 8-2 defeat across 180 minutes of action. The aggregate defeat is the Blues' heaviest in their history of competing in the knockout stages of the European Cup, equalling their 7-1 hammering by Bayern Munich in 2020.

There were a few surprises, along with plenty of injury worries, as Mauricio Pochettino announced a squad that might look close to his World Cup group this June

First day of the league season: Vålerenga’s Gabriel Larsen Rajkovic comes on as a substitute in the closing stages and breaks Ødegaard’s record

In a GOAL exclusive, Timo Werner explains his move to San Jose, his evolving role beyond goals, and why MLS came at the right time.

When Newcastle beat Bayern Munich to the signing of towering Stuttgart frontman Nick Woltemade in August, it was seen as major coup on the back of their qualification for the 2025-26 Champions League. Indeed, Eddie Howe was delighted to see the club-record, £65 million ($88m) deal pushed through late in the summer transfer window, with the German snapped up as a replacement for Liverpool-bound Alexander Isak.

Pep Guardiola is a big fan of Phil Foden, but has recently been playing the 25-year-old far less often at Manchester City. The winger has yet to score a goal in 2026.

With Manchester City trailing Real Madrid 3-0 ahead of the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, you might have assumed Pep Guardiola would spend the day before the game at the Etihad Stadium running through tactical instructions with his squad or delivering motivational messages to help them overhaul this daunting deficit against the kings of European football. You would certainly not have imagined the coach would give his players a day off.

The history of Chelsea Football Club can be split into three separate eras. You have everything that happened before Roman Abramovich's takeover in 2003, everything that happened under the Russian oligarch's control, and everything after he was forced to pass over the keys to the club to the BlueCo-Clearlake consortium in 2022.

This is Legacy, GOAL’s feature and podcast series that counts down to the 2026 World Cup. Each week, we explore the stories and the spirit behind the nations that define the world’s game. Today we dive into how Canada stopped waiting for permission, learned to believe again, and transformed a World Cup dream into a defining moment - with an even bigger stage now waiting for them on home soil.

Following his stellar performance against Manchester City, Federico Valverde has suddenly found himself in the spotlight as never before. The Uruguayan is a worthy successor to Toni Kroos – even if his style of play is quite different.

Week 4 of MLS didn't disappoint as several high-profile signings made their debuts and is Pat Noonan's seat getting hotter at FC Cincinnati?

Portland Hearts of Pine and Vermont Green are two of New England’s most compelling community-built clubs, and their U.S. Open Cup meeting brings a battle of brands to the pitch.

For Muslim soccer players around the world, Ramadan brings unique challenges and deeper meaning as they balance faith, competition and community.

Although the 2026 Winter Olympics are now concluded, watching Bruno Fernandes pull the strings for Manchester United brings to mind the most iconic film ever made about the event, and more specifically, a stirring motivational speech from the late John Candy.

Thomas Tuchel will name his England squad for the March internationals on Friday, with the Three Lions reconvening for the final time before the end of the 2025-26 club season. This, effectively, will be the last chance for those on the fringes of the squad to impress without immediate fear of losing their World Cup place. But it will also be Tuchel's last opportunity to experiment with systems and players he thinks could help win the trophy.

Winners win trophies. That was the simple message that Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor gave her players before Sunday’s League Cup final. It clearly got through, too, because her Blues put on a performance of champions to beat Manchester United and win the first silverware of the season, while sending a message to the rest of England - and Europe - that, despite a disappointing campaign so far, they are still a huge threat.

Manuel Neuer, Jonas Urbig and Sven Ulreich are injured – Leonard Prescott may now step into goal for FC Bayern. Who is the 16-year-old and where does he come from?

An analysis of what happened in the match against Lazio and the views of the Rossoneri players.

Sandro Sabatini discusses the transfer market in the wake of the Rossoneri’s defeat away to Lazio, touching on the Portuguese player’s disrespectful behaviour when he was substituted.

Since Saturday, Max Dowman has been the youngest Premier League goalscorer of all time. The hype surrounding the Arsenal teenager knows no bounds.

Last season, Borussia Dortmund’s second team were relegated from the 3. Liga. The unspoken goal was: immediate promotion! But the reality for BVB II is quite different.

GOAL reviews the major takeaways from Americans playing in Europe, including another goal from the star No. 9.

GOAL reviews top USWNT performances abroad, from Naomi Girma’s injury to Alyssa Thompson’s first League Cup with Chelsea and Heaps, Yohannes lifting the French Cup with Lyon.

Liverpool missed the chance to climb into the Premier League's top four as they were held to a 1-1 draw by struggling Tottenham on Sunday. Dominik Szoboszlai's fourth direct free-kick goal of the season looked set to be the match-winner for Arne Slot's side, but Richarlison popped up in the final minute of normal time to steal a point for Spurs.

Barcelona re-established their healthy lead at the top of La Liga on Sunday afternoon, beating Sevilla 5-2 to move back four points clear of Real Madrid. It was another fruitful outing for Raphinha, who bagged a hat-trick in the win. Two of his strikes came from the penalty spot, with his third a looping deflection that put the game to bed early in the second half.

The Ivorian is Juventus’ best signing: he cost next to nothing, unlike others. A lesson that brings the past to mind

Lauren James' brilliance took centre stage as Chelsea retained the Women's League Cup on Sunday, the England international once again coming back to haunt Manchester United as her goal was backed up by Aggie Beever-Jones' opportunistic finish to give the Blues a 2-0 win and the first piece of silverware of the season. In a tight game of few chances, James' clinical touch looked set to prove decisive before Beever-Jones made sure of the win in the latter stages, rounding off a remarkable effort from a Chelsea side plagued by injuries.