European Super Football

It has been an interesting return to the Premier League for Coventry City  After losing their opening four matches without scoring, a run that led many to write Coventry off, the Sky Blues are beginning to find their feet. Author | Peter Grainger They could climb to 11th in the Premier League with victory at Everton on Friday, as Frank Lampard returns to the club he managed for a year from January 2022. A win would take Coventry to 12 points, level with eighth-placed Bournemouth, with their first season back in the Premier League in a quarter of a century now a quarter complete. Just Middlesbrough (1996-97), Burnley (2009-10) and Cardiff (2013-14) have been relegated from the Premier League after taking 12 points from 10 games. History is on Coventry's side as last season's Championship winners look to prove the doubters wrong. Some positive signs throughout the season Despite Coventry's difficult start to the season, with defeats against Arsenal, Hull, Manchester City and ...

Club Brugge 2 - 3 Aston Villa Aston Villa breathed fresh life into their season with a narrow Champions League victory over Club Brugge. Author | Peter Grainger  Stadium | Jan Breydelstadion Villa try to build an attack First-half goals from John McGinn, Emi Buendia and Nicolas Jackson secured a hard-fought win for the Premier League side in Belgium. Hugo Vetlesen had briefly brought the hosts level after McGinn's opener, but Buendia and Jackson, with his first goal for the club, restored Villa's advantage. Nicolo Tresoldi's 61st-minute penalty, awarded after Aaron Wan-Bissaka's handball, set up a nervy final 29 minutes for the visitors, with Tresoldi later striking the post. Villa held on for a result they will hope can provide a platform to build on after three successive league games without scoring, with Unai Emery still working to integrate 10 new signings. View from the away end The Europa League winners have lost six members of the starting XI from their triumph...

PSG 2 - 1 Aston Villa  Paris St-Germain retained the Super Cup with a narrow victory over a spirited Aston Villa to make it back-to-back triumphs in the competition. Author | Peter Grainger  Stadium | Red Bull Arena Salzburg Desire Doue's 62nd-minute winner, after a VAR check for offside, settled the contest in Salzburg and secured another trophy for the Champions League holders. PSG had taken the lead in the 20th minute when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia thumped a fine finish into the net, but Villa hit back through Brian Madjo just before half-time. A new hero for Villa The 17-year-old striker marked his competitive debut in memorable fashion, becoming the youngest player to score in the Super Cup when he volleyed John McGinn's cross in at the back post. Madjo had already passed up two good opportunities, shooting wide before heading over, but made no mistake with his third chance to cap an eight-month battle to be allowed to play. The England Under-17 international joined Villa fro...

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 ...

It's been an amazing journey for Aston Villa and their fans Wednesday, 20 May 2026 - a date for the ages for anyone with an affinity for the club Author | Peter Grainger Around 20,000 fans flocked from Birmingham and across the globe, descending on Istanbul to witness a historical night for the club, as European glory was brought back to B6 for the first time since 1982. Emotions in Turkey, and among those watching from afar, were a mixture of euphoria and relief - fans finally had a tangible reason to celebrate after many years and several decades of waiting. Watch | Villa trophy parade posted by ITV News A look at the player who's experienced so much for the club There could scarcely be a more fitting figurehead for Aston Villa’s resurgence than captain John McGinn. Now an established international and one of the Premier League’s most respected captains, McGinn arrived at Villa Park aged 23 in a £3m move sanctioned by Steve Bruce, at a time when the club were still fighting t...

 Aston Villa 4 - 0 Nottingham Forest (Aston Villa won 4-1 on aggregate) A memorable night for Villa as they progress to their first European final since winning the European Cup in the 1980s. Author |  Jay Dean Stadium |  Villa Park The home side swept aside Nottingham Forest to reach the Europa League final and move within touching distance of ending a 30-year wait for major silverware. A late double from John McGinn, added to an Emi Buendia penalty and an early strike from Ollie Watkins, completed Villa’s comeback after last week’s 1-0 first-leg defeat. The hosts will face SC Freiburg in the final in Istanbul on 20 May after the Bundesliga side edged past Braga 4-3 on aggregate.  Watch | Pre match vibes at Villa Park Villa manager Unai Emery is pursuing a fifth Europa League crown, having built a formidable reputation in the competition before arriving at Villa Park. Success would deliver the club’s first major trophy since the 1996 League Cup and secure q...

Blackburn Rovers 1 - 1 Coventry City  A memorable night in the history of Coventry City Author | Peter Grainger Stadium | Ewood Park Bobby Thomas struck six minutes from time at Ewood Park to earn Coventry City a point at Blackburn and confirm their return to the Premier League after a 25-year absence, sparking scenes of celebration among the travelling support. The defender etched his name into Sky Blues folklore, rising to head home in front of the away end and set off jubilant scenes. His name rang around the ground as Coventry completed a journey that had once taken them as far down as League Two, with Frank Lampard guiding them back to the top flight. Thomas’s late intervention was harsh on Blackburn, who had led through Ryoya Morishita and were good value for it before the Championship leaders responded with the goal that secured the point required for promotion. For Rovers, the draw moved them five points clear of the relegation zone, albeit having played two games more th...

Go Ahead Eagles 2 - 1 Aston Villa Emiliano Buendia missed a second-half penalty as Aston Villa slumped to a defeat against a spirited Go Ahead Eagles side. Author | Peter Grainger  Stadium | De Adelaarshorst The result leaves Villa seventh in the table, while the Dutch club rise to tenth, also on six points, ahead of Thursday evening’s later fixtures. Evann Guessand’s early finish looked to have set Unai Emery’s side on course to maintain their perfect record in the competition. But the hosts equalised just before half-time when Mathis Suray’s deflected shot beat Emiliano Martinez, before Mats Deijl put them ahead just after the hour with a neat lift over the Villa goalkeeper. Buendia then fired over from the spot late on after Dean James was penalised for handball, sparking wild celebrations inside the compact De Adelaarshorst stadium. It was a famous victory for the Eredivisie side, who qualified for Europe by winning the Dutch Cup last season, their first major trophy i...

"Champions League Varane..." Raphaël Varane is a former French professional footballer who played as a centre-back for Real Madrid, Manchester United and the France national side. Author | Peter Grainger   The start of his career Varane began his career at French club Lens, starting with their youth team. Ahead of the 2010–11 season, he began training with the senior squad and appeared on the bench in several league games. He made his professional debut in 2010 at just 17 years old.  Becoming an iconic defender at Real Madrid After one season as a professional, he joined Real Madrid, where he spent ten years, from 2011 to 2021, winning eighteen trophies. These included three La Liga titles, a Copa del Rey, four UEFA Champions League titles , and four FIFA Club World Cups.  Known for his pace, composure, and partnership with Sergio Ramos , many fans believe that he was instrumental in Madrid’s successes. It would be very hard to argue with them.  One of...

Aston Villa made their first move of transfer deadline day with the signing of Victor Lindelöf. The Sweden captain arrives on a free transfer after leaving Manchester United at the end of last season.  Author | Peter Grainger Unai Emery had been keen to address a shortage of cover at centre-back and right-back, and the 30-year-old’s versatility across the back line is expected to prove valuable over the course of the campaign. Lindelof is Villa’s fourth signing of the 2025 summer transfer window, after Zepiqueno Redmond from PSV Eindhoven , Marco Bizot from Brest and Evann Guessand from Nice . A closer look at the defender's career so far Lindelöf began his career in his homeland with Västerås SK, making his senior debut in October 2009. Two years later he agreed a move to Benfica, where he initially featured for the club’s youth and B teams. He made his first-team breakthrough in September 2013 and went on to win three Primeira Liga titles in Lisbon, while continuing to g...

A closer look at what happened on a dramatic night of Champions League play-off action There were some shocks on the night. Let's have a closer look... Author | Peter Grainger Sturm Graz 2-1 Bodø/Glimt (aggregate 2-6) Bodø/Glimt secured their first appearance in the competition proper despite defeat in Klagenfurt . The Norwegian champions extended their 5-0 first-leg advantage 15 minutes in with Mathias Jørgensen 's neat finish.  Sturm Graz responded on the half-hour when Seedy Jatta nodded in from close range, and the hosts struck the woodwork through Jon Gorenc Stanković and William Bøving before substitute Tim Oermann completed a consolation second-leg win. Did you know that Bodø/Glimt are the first Norwegian side to reach the Champions League group stage since Rosenborg in 2007/08? Pafos 1-1 Red Star Belgrade (aggregate: 3-2) A brilliant late equaliser from Jajá secured qualification for Pafos in their debut Champions League campaign. The visitors levelled t...

Another exciting addition to the squad at the Vitality Stadium Bournemouth have completed the signing of winger Amine Adli from Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth up to £25.1m. Author | Peter Grainger  This transfer has now been completed. Is this a good move for player and club? [image or embed] — Super News Affiliate ( @eurosuperfootball.bsky.social ) 21 August 2025 at 16:44 The 25-year-old Morocco international becomes the Cherries’ seventh arrival of the summer after agreeing a five-year contract. A versatile attacker, Adli is most often deployed on the left but has also operated centrally and on the right. He made 143 appearances for Leverkusen, contributing 10 goals and 12 assists across 42 games last season as Xabi Alonso’s side secured a Bundesliga and German Cup double. Where will he fit in? A closer look at his time in the Bundesliga Adli is most comfortable on the left wing but can also operate as an attacking midfielder, either centrally or drifting inside from th...

It's time to explore another legendary footballer.  Sergio Ramos is a Spanish professional footballer renowned as one of the greatest defenders ever.  Author | Peter Grainger Known for his tackling prowess, aerial strength, leadership, and an impressive goalscoring record for a defender, he netted over 100 goals for Real Madrid. During his sixteen seasons at Real Madrid, he won multiple UEFA Champions League titles, as well as two UEFA European Championships and the 2010 FIFA World Cup with the Spanish national team. An overview of his club career Ramos was born in Seville and developed his skills in Sevilla ’s youth academy. After two seasons with Sevilla's senior team, he made a high-profile move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2005. He became an integral part of the squad, winning 22 major honours, including five La Liga titles and four Champions League titles. Ramos was pivotal to each of those Champions League triumphs, earning a spot in the Team of the Season each ti...

Let's take a closer look at the career or Lionel Messi.  The Argentian player is widely regarded as one of the greatest players ever. How did his career develop? What were his best moments? Keep reading for the story of a football legend. Author | Peter Grainger Quick summary Messi has won seven Ballon d'Or awards and six European Golden Shoes. In 2020, he was named to the Ballon d'Or Dream Team. Until leaving the club in 2021, he had spent his entire professional career with Barcelona.  With the Spanish giants,  he won a club-record 35 trophies. This included ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles and four Champions Leagues. He is known for being a prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker. Records He holds the records for most goals in La Liga, a La Liga and European league season, most hat-tricks in La Liga and the Champions League, and most assists in La Liga, an individual La Liga season and the Copa América. He also holds the record for most internationa...

PSG 4 - 0 Real Madrid Paris St-Germain cruised into the Fifa Club World Cup final with a commanding win over Real Madrid, setting up a showdown with Chelsea on Sunday. Author | Peter Grainger Stadium | MetLife Stadium The semi-final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey was effectively settled within the opening 25 minutes, as the European champions tore through a surprisingly fragile Madrid side. Fabian Ruiz opened the scoring in the sixth minute after Raul Asencio failed to clear under pressure, with the referee allowing play to continue despite Thibaut Courtois bringing down Ousmane Dembele moments earlier. Dembele, a constant menace, doubled the lead soon after when he pounced on a miscued clearance from Antonio Rudiger and calmly slotted past Courtois. READ MORE |  Club World Cup news and stories The third arrived before the half-hour mark, Ruiz finishing neatly after an intricate exchange between Achraf Hakimi and Dembele carved open the defence. Real, without the injured...

Belgium 0 - 1 Italy Arianna Caruso's fantastic strike gave Italy victory over Belgium in their first match of Euro 2025. Author | Peter Grainger  Stadium | Stade de Tourbillon The first half offered little in the way of clear chances, though Belgium’s Tessa Wullaert came close after turning smartly in the box, only to fire into the side-netting. But with the interval approaching, Caruso latched onto a defence-splitting pass from Lucia Di Guglielmo and calmly guided her finish into the top corner. Italy threatened to extend their lead after the break in Sion. Captain Cristiana Girelli saw her audacious back-heel saved by Lisa Lichtfus, while Michela Cambiaghi squandered a golden chance when clean through on goal. READ MORE | Switzerland 1 - 2 Norway READ MORE | Latest Euro 2025 news, match reports and more The result hands Andrea Soncin’s side a valuable three points in what looks a demanding group that also features world champions Spain, who face Portugal later on Thursda...

Fluminense 2 - 0 Inter Milan Fluminense stunned Inter Milan with a 2-0 victory to book their place in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup.  Author | Peter Grainger  Stadium | Bank of America Stadium The Brazilian side will now face Al-Hilal, the side who knocked out Manchester City. German Cano opened the scoring for the Brazilian side with a stooping header inside three minutes, before substitute Hercules curled in a second from the edge of the box against the run of play during a nervy final 25 minutes. Inter had their chances to level before the second goal. Lautaro Martinez struck the post late on and Federico Dimarco went close with two free-kicks and a tight-angled effort from close range. But the best opportunity fell to Dutch defender Stefan de Vrij after Martinez’s clever knockdown. After the match, Fluminense captain Thiago Silva told the media that he was “very proud of my team and teammates” for beating a big European side and in extremely hot conditions ...

Norway 3 - 0 Italy Italy’s 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign began in dismal fashion as they were swept aside 3-0 by a vibrant Norway in Oslo, all three goals coming before half-time in a chastening opening to Group I. Author | Peter Grainger Stadium | Ullevaal Stadion With several key players unavailable through injury, including Moise Kean, Alessandro Buongiorno and Giorgio Scalvini, and Francesco Acerbi declining a call-up, Luciano Spalletti handed a debut to Verona defender Diego Coppola and recalled Davide Zappacosta for his first appearance since 2018. Norway, already with two wins in the group, took full advantage of Italy’s sluggish start. Alessandro Bastoni gave the ball away with a misplaced cross-field pass, allowing Antonio Nusa to thread a clever ball through for Alexander Sorloth, who beat Gianluigi Donnarumma with a low finish. READ MORE |  World Cup 2026 Qualifying news and stories READ MORE | News from across Italy Nusa made it two with a brilliant indivi...

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...

Let's look at a disastrous season Southampton were relegated back to the Championship Author | Peter Grainger   After winning the promotion play-offs in May, head coach Russell Martin struggled to put together a team that could compete in the Premier League.  Martin was ultimately sacked as Southampton dropped to the bottom of the league in December. This announcement came just a few hours after the team lost 5–0 to Tottenham Hotspur on 15 December 2024. Ivan Jurić replaced him on an 18-month contract on 20 December. On 6 April 2025, Southampton were relegated to the Championship following a 3–1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. They were relegated after 31 games, breaking Derby County's 2007–08 and Huddersfield Town's 2018–19 record for the earliest relegation in Premier League history. The next day, Southampton announced that Ivan Jurić had left his role as manager by mutual consent. Simon Rusk then took interim charge for the last seven games of the season. Match reports ...