European Super Football

Lyon 2 - 2 Manchester United A stoppage-time equaliser from Lyon has left Manchester United’s Europa League quarter-final delicately poised at the halfway point. Author - Olivia T Stadiun - Groupama Stadium United fell behind after 25 minutes when Thiago Almada’s wide free-kick evaded a strong enough touch from André Onana, whose uncertain handling continues to draw scrutiny. But just before the break, United drew level through Leny Yoro. The 18-year-old notched his first goal for the club, reacting sharply to Manuel Ugarte’s volley and steering it into the bottom corner. The visitors looked to have snatched a late winner when Joshua Zirkzee, introduced from the bench, guided a looping header past the goalkeeper from Bruno Fernandes’ cross in the 88th minute. However, with virtually the last kick of the game, Onana fumbled a shot from Georges Mikautadze, allowing Rayan Cherki to tap in and spark celebrations in the Lyon end. READ MORE:  UEFA Europa League and Conference Le...

Barcelona 4 - 0 Borussia Dortmund Raphinha matched Lionel Messi’s long-standing club record for goal involvements in a single Champions League season as Barcelona dismantled Borussia Dortmund to seize control of their quarter-final tie. Author - Paul Woods Stadium - Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys The Brazilian winger was instrumental throughout, scoring once and providing two assists to bring his tally to 19 goal involvements in this season’s competition, equalling the mark set by Messi during the 2011–12 campaign. Barcelona took a deserved lead midway through the first half, with Raphinha on hand to finish from close range after Pau Cubarsí’s effort squirmed past goalkeeper Gregor Kobel. The 27-year-old’s 12th goal in Europe this season came after a chaotic set-piece that began with Karim Adeyemi conceding a free-kick for pulling Jules Koundé’s hair. Robert Lewandowski extended Barça’s advantage early in the second half, converting Raphinha’s header from a yard out after a sweeping...

PSG 3 - 1 Aston Villa Paris Saint-Germain overturned a first-half deficit with three exceptional goals to see off Aston Villa in an entertaining first leg at the Parc des Princes.  Author - James L Stadium - Parc des Princes . Morgan Rogers gave the visitors a surprise lead, but second-half finishes from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Nuno Mendes, along with a first-half equaliser from Désiré Doué, gave the Ligue 1 champions a deserved victory. A closer look at what happened in Paris Having wrapped up the French title at the weekend, PSG looked sharp from the off. Ousmane Dembélé returned to the starting line-up and quickly tested Emiliano Martínez with a powerful early effort. Villa, to their credit, weathered the early storm and nearly fell behind when Vitinha curled narrowly over from the edge of the area. Then came the opener, and it was the Premier League side who struck first with a goal very much against the run of play. John McGinn won the ball deep in his own half and...

Peterborough United 1 - 2 Birmingham City  Birmingham City have secured an immediate return to the Championship, wrapping up promotion from League One with six matches still to play following a hard-fought win away at Peterborough. Author - Craig H Stadium - London Road Alfie May gave the visitors the lead, nodding in from a fine Taylor Gardner-Hickman cross, only for Kwame Poku to level the score just three minutes later with a powerful strike from the edge of the box after a corner wasn't properly cleared. Gardner-Hickman had the final word before the break, drilling home what proved to be the winner after latching onto Marc Leonard’s pass and finishing smartly beneath Posh keeper Nicholas Bilokapic. It was a result that confirmed the Blues' dominance of the division. Relegated last season and bolstered by significant investment, Birmingham have set the pace throughout the campaign under new manager Chris Davies, who is enjoying a remarkable debut year in the dugout. READ...

Derby County 0 - 0 Burnley Burnley relinquished top spot in a drab draw against an ever improving but still relegation-threatened Derby County. Author - Josh T Stadium - Pride Park The Clarets, now second in the table on goal difference after Leeds United's victory against Middlesbrough, started well and went close twice through the outstanding Zian Flemming. But the Rams, who move onto 42 points and remain out of the relegation zone, were resolute in defence and grew in confidence as the visitors faded. Jerry Yates nearly broke the deadlock. His shot was brilliantly saved by Burnley keeper James Trafford. Burnley knew they were definitely in a tense battle at this stage.  A tense and disjointed second period saw very little goalmouth action. Matt Clarke almost won it for the Rams in the second of eight minutes of added time, but he could not leap high enough to nod the ball home from two yards. READ MORE: The race to the Premier League and the fight to avoid relegation to Leag...

Stoke City 1 - 1 Luton Town Millenic Alli came off the bench to salvage a precious point for Luton Town with a dramatic injury-time equaliser at Stoke City, breathing fresh life into their Championship survival hopes. Author - Thomas J Lewis Baker had earlier looked to have secured all three points for Stoke when his deflected free-kick beat Thomas Kaminski in the 74th minute, but Luton refused to go quietly. Alli found space at the far post in the first minute of stoppage time and fired home, extending the Hatters’ unbeaten run to five matches. Matt Bloomfield’s side remain in trouble, two points from safety with just five games to play, and four behind Mark Robins’ Stoke, who sit 20th. The first half was largely forgettable, with Sam Gallagher’s header and a volley from Theo Aasgaard offering the only real moments of note. The tempo picked up after the break, sparked by a hefty challenge from Carlton Morris on Stoke defender Ashley Phillips which riled the home crowd and added so...

It's time to explore another football icon  Paul Ince is a former English footballer and manager, who was most recently manager of Reading.  Author - Jack L Ince played professionally from 1986 to 2007, starting his career with West Ham United and later representing Manchester United, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Swindon Town and Macclesfield Town in England, as well as Inter Milan in Italy.  Source | Inter Milan YouTube An interesting fact With a combined total of 271 league appearances for the two, Ince is one of the few players, especially in the Premier League era, to have represented both of arch rivals Liverpool and Manchester United . A closer look at his career Ince spent the majority of his playing career at the highest level; after breaking through with his boyhood club West Ham United in the Second Division. He joined Manchester United in 1989, where he won the Premier League twice, the  FA Cup  twice and the Footb...

Arsenal 3 - 0 Real Madrid Declan Rice lit up the Emirates with two superb free-kicks as Arsenal cruised to a 3–0 victory over Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final. Author - DJ Stadium - Emirates Stadium Rice had never scored from a free-kick in his career before this match, delivered two moments of brilliance in the second half to put Mikel Arteta’s side in firm control of the tie. Ahead of kick-off, Arteta had called on the home support to arrive early and generate a big-game atmosphere. The fans responded, and so did the players, as Arsenal made an energetic start and put Madrid under early pressure with a series of threatening crosses. It wasn’t until the 20th minute that the visitors created anything of note, with Vinícius Júnior curling a shot narrowly wide. After the break, Arsenal turned their dominance into goals. The breakthrough came in the 58th minute, when Rice bent a free-kick around the wall and beyond Thibaut Courtois to open the scori...

Bayern Munich 1 - 2 Inter Milan Inter Milan secured a crucial 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Allianz Arena. Author - Matt F Stadium - Allianz Arena The German side dominated the early stages, with England captain Harry Kane striking the post in the first half. However, it was Inter who broke the deadlock in the 38th minute. Marcus Thuram displayed exceptional skill to flick the ball into the path of Lautaro Martínez, who finished emphatically into the roof of the net with the outside of his boot. Bayern responded in the 85th minute through veteran forward Thomas Müller, who announced last week that he will leave the club this summer after a 25-year association. Müller converted from close range following a low cross from Konrad Laimer. Inter had the final say just three minutes later. A swift counter-attack culminated in Carlos Augusto delivering a precise cross, which substitute Davide Frattesi turned in from close ra...

Birmingham City 6 - 2 Barnsley Alfie May inspired runaway leaders Birmingham to a huge win against Barnsley at St Andrew's. Author - Peter Grainger Stadium - St Andrew's Mael De Gevigney was given a red in just the third minute after a coming-together with Keshi Anderson. This would prove to be an almost pivotal moment.  Former Fulham player Jay Stansfield fired Blues ahead from the penalty spot in the 32nd minute after Keshi Anderson was taken out by Kieren Flavell. Despite having one less player, Davis Keillor-Dunn headed Barnsley level in the 35th minute after a near-post cross was headed back across the box. A quickfire brace from May at the start of the second half had Blues 3-1 up by the 55th minute. Surely, there wasn't going to be more drama.  Barnsley still tried to make a game of it They pulled one back through Stephen Humphrys, whose effort at the near post snuck past Allsop. They couldn't get back into the game could they?  The answer was no, they co...

Arsenal v Real Madrid Preview Los Blancos will make their first-ever competitive appearance at the Emirates Stadium. Author - DJ While the 15-time winners have beaten 111 teams in the competition’s history, Arsenal are not one of them courtesy of their famous last-16 success in the only previous meaningful meetings between the teams back in 2006. While Arteta's looking to reach the final four for just a third time, Madrid’s love affair with the competition sees them looking to make that a reality for the fifth consecutive season.  Real Madrid head into the first leg knowing that no team has beaten Arsenal in North London in 10 Champions League games since their return to the competition last season. An extension of that run would put them in a superb place before a visit to the Spanish capital eight days later. Who remembers this match from 2006? Source | Arsenal YouTube A closer look at how Real Madrid are doing Not since the 2003-04 season have Real Madrid been knocked out ...

St Johnstone 1 - 0 Celtic St Johnstone pulled off a surprise victory over Celtic, denying the reigning champions the chance to wrap up the Scottish Premiership title in front of their home support next weekend. Author - Sean M Stadium - McDiarmid Park Brendan Rodgers’ side knew that a win at McDiarmid Park would have set up the opportunity to clinch a fourth consecutive league crown when they host Kilmarnock on Saturday. But an early thumping header from Daniels Balodis, following a well-delivered free-kick by Graham Carey, gave the hosts a crucial lead. That goal, combined with a resilient defensive display, saw the league’s bottom side move to within five points of Dundee. Celtic could still secure the title next weekend if they beat Kilmarnock and Rangers drop points away to Aberdeen on Sunday. However, Balodis’ first goal for the club has, for now at least, postponed any plans of celebrating on home turf. The early breakthrough seemed to energise the Perth side. While Celti...

Manchester United 0 - 0 Manchester City Manchester United and Manchester City played out a drab goalless draw at Old Trafford, a result that served as a stark reminder that both clubs are in need of a reset come summer. Author - Olivia T Stadium - Old Trafford City carved out the better of the rare clear-cut chances, with Omar Marmoush twice testing André Onana. The Egyptian forward, however, was unable to find a way past the United goalkeeper on either occasion. United, for their part, fashioned a handful of half-chances but never truly looked like breaking the deadlock. There was early promise when Alejandro Garnacho was brought down on the edge of the City area by Rúben Dias, yet the pattern that followed was all too familiar. For all their effort, Rúben Amorim’s side often appeared short on belief in the final third. Their closest moment came with 13 minutes remaining, when substitute Joshua Zirkzee directed a Patrick Dorgu cross goalwards, only for Ederson to beat the effort a...

Aston Villa 2 - 1 Nottingham Forest Aston Villa boosted their hopes of Champions League qualification with a nervy 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest, surviving a spirited second-half comeback in an open and entertaining contest. Author - Kieran M Stadium - Villa Park Villa looked to be cruising after a blistering start at Villa Park. Morgan Rogers opened the scoring with a cool finish following a well-timed run, and just two minutes later Donyell Malen doubled the lead by steering home Ian Maatsen’s cross from close range. With less than 15 minutes played, Unai Emery’s side appeared in full control. To their credit, Forest recovered their composure after a disastrous opening and gradually worked their way back into the match. Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi both went close before the break as the visitors began to ask questions of the Villa defence. Forest’s improved tempo continued into the second half and they were rewarded when substitute Jota Silva turned smartly inside the ...

Ipswich Town 1 - 2 Wolves Wolves moved a step closer to securing their Premier League status with a hard-fought 2-1 comeback win over Ipswich Town at Portman Road, leaving the hosts in serious danger of relegation to the Championship. Author - Marcus  Stadium - Portman Road Second-half goals from Jørgen Strand Larsen and Pablo Sarabia overturned Liam Delap’s early opener, deepening the troubles for Kieran McKenna’s side . Ipswich remain third from bottom and now sit 12 points from safety with just seven matches left to play. Victory for Wolves, who have now won three league games in a row, means they are almost certain to avoid the drop with 21 points still available. Ipswich made a promising start and went ahead after 16 minutes. Liam Delap scored his 12th goal of the season , reacting quickly to finish from Dara O'Shea’s knockdown inside the box. The goal gave Ipswich early momentum, but their composure soon faded. Goalkeeper Alex Palmer nearly handed Wolves a gift when he mi...

Everton 1 - 1 Arsenal Arsenal's already slim hopes of lifting the Premier League trophy took a significant hit as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park. Author - Sarah W Stadium - Goodison Park The draw leaves leaders Liverpool needing just 11 points from their final eight fixtures – beginning with Fulham on Sunday – to clinch the championship. The opening half-hour was scrappy and disjointed, offering little in the way of rhythm or quality. But it was Arsenal who struck first on 34 minutes, with Leandro Trossard finishing smartly on the counter following a precise ball from Raheem Sterling – the game's first shot on target. Trossard nearly doubled his tally just before the break, but his close-range effort was clawed away by Jordan Pickford, with Declan Rice’s follow-up blocked in the crowded box. READ MORE:  Premier League: 2024/2025 season Everton responded almost immediately after the restart. A clumsy challenge from Myles Lewis-Skelly on Jack Harrison earned th...