Chelsea recovered to win a Premier League match from two goals down for the first time in their history as Enzo Fernandez's strike in stoppage time broke West Ham hearts in a dramatic 3-2 victory for the hosts at Stamford Bridge. The Blues recovered from a woeful opening 45 minutes to cancel out Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville's first-half strikes and hand manager Liam Rosenior a sixth win from his opening seven games in charge.
Arsenal ended their run of three Premier League games without a win with a dominant 4-0 win at Leeds United to move seven points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table, silencing those critics who have suggested their title hopes were about to collapse. The visitors suffered a major blow in the warm-up when they lost star man Bukayo Saka to injury, with Noni Madueke being drafted in off the bench to replace him, but it was the former Chelsea man who proved to be the difference in the first half as Mikel Arteta's superb squad again began to flex its muscle.
Arne Slot complained about the "noise" around Anfield ahead of Wednesday night's Champions League clash with Qarabag - and one could understand why. As well as being distracting, some of it has been disrespectful. Indeed, Slot had even been asked a question about Xabi Alonso, the favourite to replace him as Liverpool boss, in his pre-match press conference.
The last time Bruno Fernandes faced Fulham the whole football world was laughing at him. The Manchester United captain skied his penalty in the 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage in August and partly blamed the miss on referee Chris Kavanagh bumping into him. He explained: "As a penalty-taker, you have your own routines. It upset me because the referee didn't apologise."
Dayne St. Clair was named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year after a career-best season for Minnesota United, yet surprised many when he left the club that drafted him to suit up for Inter Miami. But he has no regrets.
Another transfer window and another highly-rated prospect is on their way to Chelsea. The club's youth policy has struck again, with the west Londoners landing 17-year-old full-back Yisa Alao from financially troubled Sheffield Wednesday. Despite his very limited experience at senior level, the teenager provoked a transfer tug-of-war between three Premier League giants, but it is the Blues who have emerged victorious.
When the Women's Super League fixtures for the 2025-26 season were released, this Sunday's clash between Manchester City and Chelsea was pinpointed as a big one. That feeling only intensified through the first few weeks of the campaign, as the two teams in blue marked themselves out as the best in the division, winning 12 of their first 14 games combined to sit in the two spots at the top of the table. However, what has transpired in the last three months has made this weekend's meeting feel much less decisive.
Michael Carrick used to look up to Roy Keane. When he was a youth teamer at West Ham, Carrick would analyse the way the Manchester United captain walked out of the dressing room at Upton Park. The first time he faced Keane on the pitch, Carrick watched him ‘clatter’ his team-mate Joe Cole. And yet he was never intimidated by him. And maybe that is why Keane is waging a war of words with United's interim boss.
"There’s still questions about the mental strength of the team. I think there was a lack of aggression. Too many players failed to deliver," Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira said on Sky Sports after watching his former side suffer a 3-2 defeat at home to Manchester United last weekend. "It was a must-win game. They needed to send a message to the rest of the teams in the league."
Emma Hayes’ January camp offered clarity. With the SheBelieves Cup approaching, GOAL breaks down whose stock rose - and who slipped - as the USWNT’s core comes into focus.
So there we have it! After a mammoth 144 games that included plenty of goals and drama, the curtain has been drawn on the league phase of the 2025-26 Champions League. Arsenal finished top of the table with a perfect record, while Manchester City secured automatic qualification to the round of 16 by the skin of their teeth. But three historic European giants have been eliminated already, in the form of Napoli, Marseille and Ajax.
The Champions League league phase drew to a predictably chaotic conclusion on Wednesday, with all of the matchday eight fixtures kicking-off at the same time. The net result was numerous positional changes over the course of 90-plus minutes of madness, though the highlight was undoubtedly Anatoliy Trubin scoring a last-second header to keep Benfica in the competition.
Barcelona booked their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with a 4-1 over Copenhagen on Wednesday. While Hansi Flick's side would eventually run out comfortable winners thanks to second-half goals from Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Marcus Rashford, they suffered through a frustrating opening 45 minutes after they went behind to a fourth0minute goal from teenager Viktor Dadason.
An improbable Anatoliy Trubin header in second-half stoppage time capped off a remarkable 4-2 win for Benfica over a listless Real Madrid on Wednesday. Los Blancos had no answers for the Portuguese side and were thoroughly beaten on the road, meaning Alvaro Arbeloa's side will now face a play-off to secure a place in the Champions League last-16.
Joe Willock's powerful header on the stroke of half-time cancelled out Vitinha's opener as nothing could separate Newcastle and Paris-Saint Germain in a 1-1 draw on Wednesday. The result suited neither side as the Premier League outfit and their French counterparts dropped out of the top eight and into the play-off round in the Champions League.
Erling Haaland remembered what it was like to score a non-penalty as Manchester City overcame Galatasaray 2-0 to make it into the last 16 of the Champions League, albeit only by a hair's breath. Haaland missed a clear chance but soon made amends by netting with an ice-cool dink in the first half, scoring for the first time in 10 matches from open play.
Kai Havertz marked his first start in almost a year with a goal and an assist as Arsenal made it eight wins from eight in the Champions League with a 3-2 success over Kairat Almaty to seal their spot as league phase winners. Havertz, whose last start came 357 days ago, showed the Gunners exactly what they had been missing when he set up Viktor Gyokeres for an early opener before adding a second himself with a fine run and finish after Jorginho had equalised for the visitors from the penalty spot.
Joao Pedro scored two stunning goals as Chelsea beat Napoli 3-2 to seal their progress into the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday. The striker netted one brilliant long-range strike, as well as a cool finish while one-on-one, to add to Enzo Fernandez's early penalty as the Blues won a topsy-turvy encounter against former boss Antonio Conte.
Liverpool may be struggling in the Premier League but they're a very different side in the Champions League, as they underlined on Wednesday by storming straight into the last 16 of the competition by hammering Qarabag 6-0 at Anfield. With the Reds' defensive injury crisis having worsened in Saturday's shocking defeat at Bournemouth, the last thing head coach Arne Slot needed was Jeremie Frimpong hobbling off with what looked like his third hamstring injury of the season after just two minutes of play on Merseyside.
Tottenham put their Premier League struggles to one side again as they beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 on Wednesday, booking their spot in the last 16 of the Champions League. Spurs are in danger of being dragged into a relegation battle domestically but have secured an automatic place in the knockout stages of Europe's premier club competition.
Arsenal thumped African Champions League holders AS FAR Rabat 6-0 in the semi-final of the inaugural Women's Champions Cup on Wednesday after a dominant performance that was capped by two goals from England striker Alessia Russo. The Gunners will now head into Sunday's final, at the Emirates Stadium, against Brazilian side Corinthians.
Paul Pogba could line up against his former club Juventus on Wednesday night for the first time since parting ways with the Italian giants under the cloud of a doping ban in 2024. If he's fit, that is, with his highly-anticipated comeback at Monaco - after more than two years out of competitive action - being hampered by niggling injuries. As his former employers come to town, Pogba finds himself at another crossroads.
Juventus supporters inevitably revelled in getting one over on former boss Antonio Conte on Sunday night, as the Bianconeri swept Napoli aside in Turin. "Antonio Conte, jump with us!" the home fans began chanting in the dying minutes of their team's 3-0 win over the reigning Serie A champions. Unsurprisingly, Conte was in no mood to join in, as his injury-ravaged side suffered a devastating defeat that saw the Partenopei fall to fourth in the table.