European Super Football

It's going wrong at Manchester United again For the third successive year, United have publicly and financially backed a manager over the summer, only for results to fall short of expectations. Author | Olivia T Ruben Amorim lasted until January, but the shock League Cup defeat by League Two Grimsby last August and the dismal performance at Brentford less than a month later eroded his safety net. When he subsequently challenged the influence of United's hierarchy, the club's decision-makers had little room to manoeuvre. United had extensively considered alternatives, including Thomas Tuchel and Roberto de Zerbi, in the summer of 2024 before opting to retain Erik ten Hag. The Dutchman was dismissed in October. Now the focus is on Carrick. There were dissenting voices when he was appointed permanently in May, but most supporters felt that 12 wins in 17 games as interim manager and a return to the Champions League after a two-year absence had earned the 45-year-old former Unit...

Manchester City 2 - 4 PSG The French and European champions with a performance that proved they're the best team in the world Author | Macca Stadium | Etihad Stadium City were brought back down to earth by a masterclass from Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain at the Etihad Stadium. The 2023 Champions League winners, watched by former manager Pep Guardiola on his return to the club, were playing their first home match since being found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules. Amid an atmosphere of defiance among City's supporters, PSG stunned Enzo Maresca's side by racing into a three-goal lead before half-time. Desire Doue opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a low shot past City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, before delivering a perfect cross for Ousmane Dembele to head home the second two minutes later. Footage from TNT Sports, click image to watch highlights from Manchester   PSG were cutting City apart, with Vitinha adding a third after 32 m...

A comfortable win for Manchester United on their return to the Champions League  Here's out their players rated in a comfortable 4-0 over Sabah from Azerbaijan Author | Olivia T Stadium | Old Trafford Senne Lammens: Not the busiest of nights for the Belgian, who dealt comfortably with everything required of him. 6 Noussair Mazraoui: Got forward regularly, with an early shot blocked before another effort found the side netting. Was fortunate to escape punishment when he failed to spot Joy-Lance Mickels dropping towards the far post, where the Sabah player was left with a clear header in the first half. 6 Leny Yoro: A big season awaits the young Frenchman, who needs to find the consistency that has so far been missing during his United career. Had limited opportunity to shine but made no real errors. 7 Lisandro Martinez: Led United's defence and helped guide Yoro through the game. Marked his return to the scoresheet by pouncing on a loose ball after the Sabah defence hesitated. 7...

Napoli 0 - 1 Arsenal Martin Odegaard's excellent start to the season continued as the Arsenal captain came to his side's rescue against Napoli in Naples. Author | DJ Stadium  |  Stadio Diego Armando Maradona The Gunners ere guilty of wasteful finishing and appeared destined for a frustrating draw in their first Champions League game since agonisingly losing last season's final. However, Odegaard had Arsenal's 1,500 travelling supporters celebrating with a fine finish from outside the box, the captain's fourth goal in five games, including the Community Shield. Piero Hincapié dropped to his knees after the final whistle and thumped the ground with his hands in relief at the result. Arsenal won all eight group phase games on their way to last season's final, and they are up and running after a fine win in Italy. A closer analysis of what happened in Naples Mikel Arteta's side had missed three great chances to punish last season's Serie A runners-up befor...

Celtic 3 - 0 LASK Celtic took a giant step towards the league phase of the Champions League as two stunning Camilo Duran strikes gave a commanding first-leg play-off lead. Author | Sean M Stadium | Celtic Park Duran hit fabulous efforts either side of half-time after a wonderful finish from Benjamin Nygren set the Scottish champions on their way. A closer analysis of what happened Pre match atmosphere The Champions League is all about big players producing big moments, and the goals from Nygren and Duran were of the very highest order. Duran already looks like an inspired signing. His pace, skill, finishing and willingness to work make him a player who appears perfectly at home on the biggest stage. The Colombian scored five goals in the Champions League last season for Qarabag and, if Celtic can finish the job against LASK, he looks capable of becoming a key weapon. Watch | Reaction from Celtic's star player on the night. Video from the club's YouTube channel. Celtic looked vu...

Hearts 0 - 2 Sturm Graz (Sturm Graz won 6-0 on aggregate) Hearts endured another painful night against Sturm Graz as their first Champions League campaign in two decades came to a swift and sobering end. Author | Peter Grainger  Stadium | Tynecastle Two second-half goals condemned Wouter Vrancken’s side to a 6-0 aggregate defeat against the slick Austrians in the second qualifying round, their heaviest loss over two legs in European competition. Hearts now drop into the Europa League third qualifying round, where they will face either St Gallen or Benfica. The two sides meet in the second leg on Thursday, with St Gallen holding a 2-1 advantage. It was a comfortable night for the Austrian side With Sturm already four goals ahead from the first meeting, Seedy Jatta appeared to extinguish any lingering hopes of a Hearts revival after 25 minutes in Edinburgh. The forward was left unmarked in the six-yard box and tapped beyond Alexander Schwolow, only for the effort to be ruled out for ...

Sturm Graz 4 - 0 Hearts Wouter Vrancken's reign as Hearts head coach began in the worst fashion as his side slumped to a damaging defeat in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier. Author | Ben A Stadium | Stadion Graz-Liebenau After missing out on the Scottish title in the closing moments of last season, the Edinburgh club were making their first appearance in the competition since 2006, but the occasion quickly unravelled. Sturm Graz took the lead after just four minutes when Jon Gorenc Stankovic rose highest to head home from a long throw. Hearts responded positively for a spell, however. Pierre Landry Kabore and Alexandros Kyziridis both squandered excellent opportunities, moments that proved increasingly costly as the match wore on. Watch | Highlights from Premier Sports Early in the second half, Sturm doubled their advantage from a corner as defender Jeyland Mitchell was left unmarked to tap home after poor defending at the set-piece. Three soon became four as Heart...