European Super Football

There will be another summer of change at Spurs Ange Postecoglou has been dismissed as Tottenham manager just 16 days after guiding the club to Europa League glory. Author | Greg S Spurs secured their first major trophy in 17 years with a 1-0 win over Manchester United in Bilbao, but the triumph came at the end of a dismal domestic campaign. Despite their European success, Tottenham endured their worst Premier League season to date, finishing 17th after losing 22 of their 38 matches. The Australian had said to fans that "season three is better than season two" as they gathered together  at a victory parade to mark that Europa League triumph. READ MORE | Tottenham news and stories READ MORE | Could this impact Tottenham's transfer plans Despite that, the 59-year-old’s spell in north London came to an end exactly two years after Tottenham confirmed his arrival from Celtic on a four-year deal. Spurs said Postecoglou would be remembered for delivering “one of the club’s g...

Spain 5 - 4 France Spain edged a breathless nine-goal contest against France to book their place in the Nations League final, with 17-year-old Lamine Yamal stealing the spotlight in Stuttgart. Author | Jack L Stadium | MHPArena The Barcelona prodigy struck twice in a dazzling performance as Spain raced into a commanding 5-1 lead. Yamal, already being tipped as a Ballon d’Or contender, won and converted a penalty, before adding a smart finish to cap a stunning attacking display.RE Goals from Nico Williams and Mikel Merino had put Spain 2-0 up before Yamal's spot-kick, while Pedri added a fourth after a slick move involving Williams. Kylian Mbappé responded for France from the penalty spot after Pedro Porro was penalised. READ MORE |  Portugal reach Nations League final Yamal’s second seemed to have killed the game, but France mounted a remarkable late comeback. Substitute Rayan Cherki announced himself on debut with a spectacular volley from the edge of the box, before a Dani Vi...

Russell Martin to Rangers has been confirmed The former Scotland international, 39, has signed a three-year deal as part of the first wave of appointments in a new chapter at Ibrox. Author | Mark Lee Rangers v Celtic during the 2024/2025 season A US-based consortium fronted by Andrew Cavenagh, and including the investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers, finalised its takeover of Rangers last week. Martin, who previously managed Southampton and Swansea City and had a brief spell as a player at Ibrox, is understood to have been the preferred candidate to take the club forward. He achieved a promotion with Southampton in 2024 but was sacked this season after the Saints struggled for form in the Premier League.  Rangers ended last season without silverware under Philippe Clement, who was succeeded on an interim basis by Barry Ferguson. READ MORE | Latest Rangers news and stories   READ MORE | News from across Scotland  They trailed far behind Celtic in the Premiership, l...

Germany 1 - 2 Portugal  Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 137th international goal as Portugal came from behind to beat Germany and book their place in the Nations League final. Author | Ed Stadium | Allianz Arena The 40-year-old forward turned in Nuno Mendes’ low cross in the 68th minute to seal a dramatic 2–1 win in Munich, setting up a final against either France or Spain. Ronaldo’s winner came just moments after Francisco Conceição had drawn Portugal level, cancelling out Florian Wirtz’s opener for the hosts early in the second half. Portugal, who lifted the inaugural Nations League title in 2019, looked in trouble after falling behind to Wirtz’s well-taken goal. The Bayer Leverkusen midfielder, on the verge of a £109m move to Liverpool, finished smartly after running onto a lofted pass from Joshua Kimmich, who was making his 100th international appearance. READ MORE | Nations League news and stories READ MORE | News from across Germany The Portuguese bench reacted angrily to th...

What next for Michael Carrick? Middlesbrough have parted company with the former Manchester United midfielder after two and a half years at the helm. Author | Kieran M The former England international, 43, was appointed in October 2022, taking on his first permanent managerial role. He led Boro to the Championship play-offs in his debut season, but the club failed to reach the top six in the following two campaigns. Carrick’s coaching staff, including Jonathan Woodgate and his brother Graeme Carrick, have also left the Riverside Stadium. READ MORE | Latest Middlesbrough news and stories Boro remained in contention for a play-off spot for much of the 2024–25 campaign but faltered in the closing stages, managing just one win from their final six matches. A final-day defeat at Coventry consigned them to a 10th-place finish. Carrick’s departure means that 17 of last season’s 24 Championship clubs have changed manager since the start of the campaign. Carrick failed to build on a success...

What next for Jadon Sancho? Chelsea have decided against signing Jadon Sancho on a permanent deal, choosing instead to pay a £5 million penalty to send the winger back to Manchester United. Author | Lauren W Sancho joined Chelsea on loan last summer following a breakdown in his relationship with then-United manager Erik ten Hag.  Although the 25-year-old had shown flashes of form, the Blues and the player’s representatives failed to agree terms over a long-term contract, with Sancho expected to take a pay cut from his current £300,000-a-week deal at Old Trafford. READ MORE | Chelsea news and stories READ MORE | Latest transfer news and rumours Chelsea had not paid a loan fee for the England international and had only covered half of his wages during the season. The loan agreement included a clause obliging Chelsea to buy Sancho for around £25 million if they finished above 14th in the Premier League. Having comfortably achieved that, the club will now instead pay to withdraw f...

A pivotal summer begins for Manchester United Manchester United enter the summer on the back of a bruising Europa League final defeat and one of their worst-ever Premier League campaigns.  Author | Liam C Under new head coach Rúben Amorim, the club faces a defining transfer window, one that could shape their trajectory for the next few years. Maybe even the next decade. Amorim has not shied away from speaking plainly about the scale of the task ahead. United are in urgent need of a reset, and this time, they cannot afford missteps. If the Portuguese coach is to succeed with his preferred 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 formation, the club must fully support him in the market. So where should they begin? Signing Matheus Cunha would be a strong statement of intent. The Brazilian forward was Wolverhampton Wanderers’ standout performer last season, combining work rate with end product. More importantly, he could help solve United’s long-standing attacking problems. United have struggled for goals a...

Oldham Athletic 3 - 2 Southend United James Norwood and Kian Harratt struck in quick succession during extra time to secure a remarkable 3–2 victory for Oldham Athletic over Southend United in the National League Promotion Final at Wembley. Author | Alex W Stadium | Wembley Stadium Leon Chambers-Parillon had earlier come off the bench to put Southend 2–1 ahead with a close-range header, only for Norwood to round the goalkeeper and equalise in the 110th minute. Just two minutes later, Harratt's curling cross evaded everyone and nestled inside the far post, completing one of the most dramatic turnarounds ever witnessed in a promotion final at the national stadium. Southend had taken the lead inside five minutes when Oldham defender Manny Monthe inadvertently turned the ball into his own net. But the centre-back made amends after the break, winning a penalty from which Joe Garner drew the Latics level. READ MORE |  Cup heartbreak for Oldham against Orient In front of more than 52...

A closer look at this season's Champions League and its new format Paris Saint-Germain have secured their first Champions League title, bringing to a close a season marked by the most dramatic revamp of the competition in more than 30 years. Author | Peter Grainger Inter Milan fans in the Champions League semi-final Since the introduction of the group stage in 1991–92, the tournament had largely followed a familiar pattern: teams placed in groups of four, facing each other home and away before progressing to a knockout stage. This season broke from tradition. Under the new format, 36 teams took part in a single league phase. Each club played eight matches against eight different opponents, four at home and four away. The league phase concluded at the end of January, followed by the usual knockout rounds. But the question remains: did it work? PSG will say it did. The French champions lifted the trophy in Munich despite finishing 15th in the league phase and having to come throu...