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Bruno Fernandes was left stunned as Marcus Rashford scored a screamer against Newcastle. The English forward delivered a Champions League masterclass in Barcelona colours, leaving even his Manchester United teammates in awe. The on-loan forward silenced St James’ Park with two goals of pure class as the Spanish champions edged the Magpies in a dramatic European opener.

Barcelona’s return to their spiritual home has been pushed back yet again, with the club confirming that their Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain on October 1 will take place at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Montjuic. The Camp Nou, which has been undergoing a massive €1.5 billion facelift since June 2023, remains off-limits. Hopes of reopening in time for the new campaign have collapsed, leaving the Catalan giants scrambling for alternative venues.

Newcastle United promised so much on their return to the Champions League but Marcus Rashford's moments of magic secured Barcelona a hard-fought 2-1 win. Eddie Howe's team got their tactics spot on for the majority of the contest but the Catalan outfit had that extra bit of quality, despite Anthony Gordon's late consolation strike.

The South Korea captain has brought attacking quality to LAFC, as well as a willingness to be a face for the league

More than a year after FIFA initially sided with Dani Alves, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned that decision and ruled in favor of Pumas UNAM. The Mexican side had pursued the case since May 2024, demanding $5 million in penalties plus reimbursement of $1.125 million in image rights payments.

Marcus Rashford has belatedly arrived at Barcelona - and all it took was a return to England to spark the Manchester United misfit into life, with the forward netting a breathtaking brace in the Blaugrana's 2-1 win over Newcastle at St. James' Park.

Manchester City opened their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 win over 10-man Napoli on Thursday. Despite dominating the ball in the early stages, the visitors quickly became content to sit in a low block, soaking up City pressure before looking to hit on the counter. After a long range effort from Tijani Reijnders stung the gloves of Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, Gianluigi Donnarumma was called into action to stop a Sam Beukema header from a Napoli corner.

The United States, Mexico and Canada - the three 2026 World Cup hosts - had mixed fortunes in the latest FIFA men’s world rankings, the first update since July. The USMNT slipped one spot to 16th following a loss to South Korea and a win over Japan. Mexico dropped to 14th, while Canada climbed to 26th after back-to-back victories.

Barcelona are reportedly keeping tabs on Dusan Vlahovic ahead of his contract expiry as the Catalan side eye him as Robert Lewandowski's potential successor. The Blaugrana are desperate to find a long-term replacement for their Polish goal machine, whose deal runs out next summer, and the Serbian sharpshooter has become an option.

GOAL looks at the possible candidates who could replace Nasreddine Nabi if the Tunisian mentor is indeed on his way out of Kaizer Chiefs. In what could be the most sensational twist in recent South African football memory, reports are swirling that Kaizer Chiefs have parted ways with head coach Nasreddine Nabi and not for reasons you'd expect.

Austin FC and Nashville SC each booked their first U.S. Open Cup Final appearances on a dramatic semifinal night. In St. Paul, CJ Fodrey’s 120th-minute strike gave Austin a 2-1 extra-time win over Minnesota United, while in Nashville, Sam Surridge fired a hat trick to lead the Boys in Gold past Philadelphia Union 3-1 at GEODIS Park.

The world football governing body has charged South Africa in a development that could decide matters in Group C of the bid to qualify for the quadrennial global competition. That leaves the men at Nasrec preparing a legal battle to defend the work that has been done by Hugo Broos and his men so far in this campaign to go to the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Bournemouth's renovation of the Vitality Stadium will start before the end of the 2025/26 season, with plans to to almost double their home ground's capacity waiting for final planning permission. The proposed work will see a complete renovation of the South Stand and the filling in of all four corners of the stadium, adding 9,000 extra seats to the 11,379 capacity venue.

Strasbourg president Marc Keller has come out swinging after furious supporters turned on him and club captain Emanuel Emegha in the wake of the striker’s confirmed transfer to Chelsea. The fallout reached boiling point when fan groups unfurled hostile banners aimed at both men, sparking a fiery response from Keller during an emergency press conference on Thursday.

Elisabeth Terland was at her clinical best on Thursday night to fire Manchester United into the Women's Champions League proper for the first time, her hat-trick haunting former side Brann and giving the Red Devils a 3-0 win which rendered last week's 1-0 loss in Bergen meaningless.

Wolves have confirmed head coach Vitor Pereira has signed a new three-year contract despite his side being rooted to the bottom of the Premier League. The Portuguese arrived at Molineux last December and guided the club from 19th to 16th and top-flight safety. Although they have lost all four league games this season, he has been rewarded with a new deal.

Cesc Fabregas has been described as "very professional and passionate" by his former Como head coach and ex-Spanish national team-mate Pepe Reina. The former Liverpool custodian spent the 2024-25 season at Como, under the orders of Fabregas. The 38-year-old has become one of the best young managers in the world, helping then newly-promoted Como finish 10th in the Serie A table last season.

The Soweto giants have found themselves in a situation in which they have to revisit the composition of their technical team. That could mean a change in the system of play and other aspects of their game unless the Tunisian's lieutenants continue with the team.

Peter Schmeichel has shared his disappointment at Manchester United's recent acquisition of Senne Lammens. The legendary shot stopper has said he believes the Red Devils should have gone after Aston Villa's Emi Martinez or recent Manchester City signing Gianluigi Donnarumma, rather than the inexperienced Belgian. Schmeichel went as far as to say he had "never heard" of Lammens before the deal.

Mykhailo Mudryk’s career has been thrown into turmoil, but his old club Shakhtar Donetsk have come out swinging in his defence. The Ukrainian winger, slapped with a provisional suspension in December 2024 after testing positive for meldonium, now faces an official doping charge from The FA. Despite the storm, Shakhtar’s sporting director Dario Srna insists the 24-year-old is “completely innocent” and deserves full support.

Jose Mourinho admits it was a "mistake" joining Fenerbahce and that the Turkish team wasn't on his "level". The 62-year-old has come full circle after being sworn in as Benfica's new manager following Bruno Lage's sacking. The Portuguese believes he is a coach who should be managing the biggest teams in the world and Benfica give him that platform.

Feyenoord supremo Dennis te Kloese has held his hands up and confessed, waving goodbye to Arne Slot was the worst decision he could have made. The Dutch coach, who was lured to Anfield last summer to replace Jurgen Klopp, has transformed Liverpool into a machine once again, storming to the Premier League crown last season and starting the new campaign with a flawless record.

Raymond Mdaka will be hoping the absence of his two key players will not be felt and his team will manage without them just as they did when they lifted the 2025 Africa Under-20 Cup of Nations. However, the two's exclusion shows how they have improved to be considered as having grown to be above the youth football tournament.

Spain have reportedly threatened to boycott the 2026 World Cup if Israel qualify. After a United Nations commission of inquiry stated that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza this week, Spanish government officials say they will "assess" the situation if Ran Ben-Shimon's team make it to next year's tournament in North America.

West Ham are reportedly eyeing a deal to appoint Gary O'Neil amid Graham Potter's disastrous start to the season as the Hammers consider an emotional return for their former midfielder. The pressure cooker at West Ham has finally hit full steam. A humiliating 3-0 defeat to Tottenham has left Graham Potter’s reign dangling by a thread, and the board are now seriously weighing up a change in the dugout.

Alisha Lehmann showed off her impressive ball skills while soaking up sun rays by a swimming pool that looks out on Lake Como. The Swiss international swapped Juventus for Como over the summer and now she appears to be enjoying her new surroundings. To hammer home this point, the 26-year-old posted some poolside snaps of her relaxing and showing off her football tricks.

A fresh look at women's football in Football Manager 26 has been unveiled as Sports Interactive revealed the biggest female database in gaming. After years of promises, setbacks, and cancelled editions, the studio has confirmed that from November 4, players can step into the dugout of legendary women’s teams across the globe. This isn’t a token gesture. This is the largest-ever women’s football database in gaming, spanning continents, leagues, and thousands of players.

The tactician has complained saying Downs can only play good football under South African coaches. He also said the current technical bench is not convincing, as they make a lot of mistakes.

Rafael Benitez claims that Newcastle United are "missing" Alexander Isak already following his big-money move to Liverpool. After going on strike and trying to force a St James' Park exit, the Sweden international finally joined the Reds for a British record fee of £125 million ($169m) on transfer deadline day. Now, the Spaniard, who managed both sides, says Isak's departure is a big loss for the Magpies.