European Super Football

Newcastle United 3 - 0 Benfica Harvey Barnes and Anthony Gordon inspired Newcastle United to a convincing Champions League win over José Mourinho’s Benfica. Author |  Anthony Gates Stadium |  St James' Park Pre match atmosphere Gordon, left unmarked at the far post, gave Newcastle the lead in the first half, calmly steering Jacob Murphy’s cross beyond goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin. It was his fourth goal in just three Champions League outings and provided the platform for Eddie Howe’s side to press on after the interval. Barnes extended the advantage with a superb breakaway goal after Nick Pope launched a remarkable 65-yard throw down the right. Antonio Silva misjudged the bounce, allowing Barnes to sprint through and finish off the inside of the post. The winger added his second late on, linking neatly with Gordon before slotting through Trubin’s legs to complete the victory. Gordon celebrates Benfica had their chances earlier in the contest, with Dodi Lukebakio twice going ...

Portugal 1 - 0 Republic of Ireland Rúben Neves' stoppage-time header shattered Republic of Ireland’s resistance and sealed a dramatic World Cup qualifying victory for Portugal. Author | Lee Francis Stadium | Estádio José Alvalade View from the stands Neves climbed superbly to meet Francisco Trincão’s cross and glance it beyond Caoimhín Kelleher, rescuing Portugal and sparing Ronaldo’s embarrassment following his missed spot-kick. Ronaldo had seen his penalty saved by Kelleher 15 minutes from time after Dara O’Shea was penalised for handball when blocking Trincão’s goalbound effort. Before that and for much of the evening, it appeared that Ireland would hold firm and leave the Estádio da Luz with a hard-earned point, but Neves’ late intervention condemned them to a second successive defeat, following last month’s surprise loss to Armenia in Yerevan. Ronaldo has penalty saved A 2-0 victory for Hungary over Armenia in Group F’s other match leaves them five points behind leaders Portu...

Celtic 2 - 0 Braga Celtic suffered further European disappointment as goals in each half and a controversial disallowed equaliser earned Braga victory in what was a chaotic encounter. Author |  Sean M Stadium |  Celtic Park Kick-off Kasper Schmeichel had an error-strewn game in goal and failed to keep out Ricardo Horta 's early long-range effort, which stunned the Celtic Park crowd into silence. The Dane then did well to keep out a late shot but was helpless when the ball bounced off Gabri Martinez in a botched clearance and rebounded into the net to seal all the points. After their Champions League qualification failure against Kairat Almaty , and an opening Europa League draw with Red Star Belgrade , this continued Celtic's disappointing start to their European campaign. In fact, so sharp has been the drop-off since last season, that Brendan Rodgers ' side may struggle to qualify for the latter stages of the Europa League unless they can find their way again, and q...

Napoli 2 - 1 Sporting Rasmus Højlund scored twice to seal a win for Napoli where there were a number of familiar names facing off. Author | Paul L Stadium | Stadio Diego Armando Maradona On loan from Manchester United, the Denmark striker struck in each half, with Kevin De Bruyne supplying both assists as the pair combined to decisive effect against determined opposition. Luis Suárez pulled one back from the penalty spot to give Sporting hope and the visitors pressed for an equaliser in a frantic finale, but Napoli held firm to take the points. ⏹️ Full time! #NapoliSportingCP 2-1 💙 #ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/uD8KRXbWve — Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli) October 1, 2025 A closer look at what happened Sporting made a lively start as Geovany Quenda and Iván Fresneda combined to deliver a dangerous cross, but Napoli’s defence cleared with Fotis Ioannidis poised to pounce. Napoli had lost just once in their previous 17 home fixtures in the Champions League and they soon a...

Chelsea 1 - 0 Benfica  A much-needed win for Chelsea as they picked up their first points of their Champions League campaign. Author |  Lauren W Stadium | Stamford Bridge  View from the stands José Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge ended in disappointment as Chelsea edged past his new club Benfica with a narrow Champions League win sealed by Richard Rios ’ first-half own goal.  The affection from the home crowd was evident, with Mourinho serenaded throughout and responding with waves to both ends of the ground, but the evening turned on a moment of misfortune when the Colombian midfielder diverted Alejandro Garnacho ’s driven cross beyond his own goalkeeper, Anatoliy Trubin . Chelsea, however, did little to convince despite the victory. Garnacho spurned chances on his second start and teenage substitute Estevão Willian forced only a late save from Trubin, while João Pedro ’s stoppage-time dismissal for a second booking made it three red cards in four matches ...

Benfica 2 - 3 Qarabag Qarabag staged a remarkable comeback in Lisbon to become the first Azerbaijani side to win a match in the Champions League proper. Author | Ed Stadium | Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica Making their first appearance in Europe’s elite competition in eight years, Gurban Gurbanov’s team fell two goals behind inside 16 minutes after strikes from Enzo Barrenechea and Vangelis Pavlidis put Benfica firmly in control. Leandro Andrade reduced the deficit on the half-hour with a fine finish before Kady Borges went close, clipping the post. Three minutes after the restart, the visitors stunned the Estadio da Luz when Marko Jankovic split the defence with a precise pass and Camilo Duran, on his Champions League debut, found the far corner. READ MORE |  Juventus and Dortmund play out a classic in Turin READ MORE |  Mbappe penalties rescue Real Madrid The decisive moment came five minutes from time. Substitute Oleksii Kashchuk collected the ball with his back to g...

Football never really went away over the summer, but it's well and truly back! The Club World Cup only concluded on 13 July in the United States, but Europe's major domestic competitions are already preparing to get under way again. Author | Jamie P The Dutch Eredivisie kicks off on 8 August, with the Premier League returning a week later. By the end of the month, the Portuguese Primeira Liga , Spain’s La Liga , France’s Ligue 1 , Germany’s Bundesliga and Italy’s Serie A will all be back in full swing. Here is a look at some of the key talking points ahead of the new season from across the different leagues Eredivisie PSV are tipped to lead the way after bolstering an already strong squad with the signing of Ruben van Bommel , son of former international Mark. They looked confident in a recent pre-season win over Athletic Bilbao . Ajax will also attract plenty of attention under new head coach John Heitinga . The former Liverpool assistant has brought goalkeeper Vítězs...

Portugal 2 - 2 Spain (Portugal won 5-3 on penalties) A dramatic night in Munich has two of the favourites for next year's World Cup faced off.  Author | Jack L Stadium | Allianz Arena Portugal defeated Spain in a dramatic penalty shootout to secure their second UEFA Nations League title, following a pulsating 2-2 draw in Munich. Cristiano Ronaldo levelled the scores in the second half after a back-and-forth contest that saw both sides squander leads. Although substituted before extra time, the Portugal captain was overcome with emotion on the sidelines after Ruben Neves struck the decisive penalty and Diogo Costa saved from Álvaro Morata. Spain, the 2023 champions, took the lead midway through the first half when Martín Zubimendi pounced on a loose ball to finish from close range. But Portugal responded quickly as Nuno Mendes drilled a powerful shot past Unai Simón to equalise just five minutes later. La Roja regained the advantage before the break through Mikel Oyarzabal, whos...

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...

Barcelona 3 - 1 Benfica (Barcelona won 4-1 on aggregate) Lamine Yamal stole the show once again as Barcelona booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals with a composed victory over Benfica. Author - Jamie P Stadium - Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys The teenager produced a moment of brilliance to set up Raphinha for the opener before outdoing himself with a stunning strike to restore Barcelona’s lead on the night and extend their aggregate advantage to 3-1. Nicolás Otamendi’s towering header had briefly given Benfica hope after cancelling out Raphinha’s opener, but Yamal’s magic proved decisive. Raphinha then sealed the win with a clinical finish into the bottom corner. There was a moment of confusion over the Brazilian’s second goal, as it appeared play had been pulled back for an Otamendi foul on the edge of the area. But after a VAR review, the goal was given and Otamendi’s yellow card was rescinded. Barca v Benfica highlights from TNT Sports youtu.be/jlshweWf...

Sporting 1 - 1 Bologna Sporting CP scraped through to the Champions League knockout stages with a 1-1 draw at home against Bologna, who had already been eliminated. Author - Peter Grainger The Portuguese league leaders had endured a tough run in Europe, losing three consecutive matches after winning three of their first four. All three defeats came following the departure of manager Rúben Amorim to Manchester United. Bologna nearly took an early lead when Sam Beukema’s header struck the bar from a corner. However, they didn’t have to wait long, as Tommaso Pobega turned in Beukema’s flicked header to put the Italian side in front. Click here to discover more Champions League news and stories from European Super Football . Sporting pressed for an equaliser in the second half and eventually found one when Conrad Harder slotted home João Simões’ cut-back from close range. With results elsewhere going in their favour, a draw was enough to see Sporting through to the play-off round, wher...

Benfica 4 - 5 Barcelona Barcelona overcame two separate two-goal deficits to secure a breathtaking victory over Benfica. Author - Peter Grainger The match at Estádio da Luz started disastrously for the visitors as Greek forward Vangelis Pavlidis netted a stunning 30-minute hat-trick. The first came from a well-placed cross by full-back Álvaro Carreras, while two further goals were gifted by errors from Barcelona's Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny. Robert Lewandowski, however, kept Barca in contention with a first-half penalty after Alejandro Balde was fouled. Barcelona fought back after the break, with Raphinha and Lewandowski scoring either side of an unfortunate Ronald Araújo own goal to leave the score at 4-3. But the drama was far from over. Eric García equalised with a late header, and just when it seemed the game would end in a draw, Raphinha capitalised on a rapid counter-attack in the 96th minute. The Brazilian slotted past Anatoliy Trubin, leaving the home fans stun...

It's time to for another sliding doors moment in football  We travel back to 2004. Manchester United face Porto in the last-16 of the Champions League.  Author - Liam C What actually happened? A ontroversial offside call against Paul Scholes became a pivotal moment in European football history. The disallowed goal cost United a place in the quarter-finals, while Porto, managed by the up and coming manager José Mourinho, went on to win the competition and launch Mourinho into the managerial elite. But what if Scholes hadn’t been ruled offside? How might this alternative scenario have changed the landscape of world and European football? Scholes wasn’t offside: United progress Had the linesman not flagged Scholes for offside, Manchester United would have progressed to the next round of the Champions League. Scholes' goal was legitimate, and had it stood, United would have won the tie on aggregate, knocking out Porto and ending their European dreams. With the Red Devils movin...

Scotland 0 - 0 Portugal Author - Sean M Scotland put on a determined defensive performance to hold Portugal to a 0-0 draw, earning their first point in the Nations League A campaign. Scott McTominay had a golden opportunity early on but missed, and from there, the Scots saw little of the ball as Portugal pressed hard for a breakthrough. Cristiano Ronaldo, making his 200th international appearance, was left frustrated in his pursuit of a 134th goal for Portugal, as Scotland’s goalkeeper Craig Gordon and his defence stood their ground. While the result means Steve Clarke’s team have now won just one of their last 16 matches, they avoided the unwanted record of becoming the first Scotland side to lose five consecutive games. A more detailed look at what happened in Glasgow After a tough time at the Euros and a difficult Nations League campaign so far , Scotland needed to lift the Hampden crowd, and they nearly did just that within the first four minutes. Ben Doak made a surging run do...

Porto 3 - 3 Manchester United Harry Maguire salvaged a dramatic draw for a 10-man Manchester United side, who had thrown away a two-goal lead and seen Bruno Fernandes sent off in their Europa League clash against Porto. Maguire's injury-time header could be a lifeline for under-pressure manager Erik ten Hag, with the team just seconds from suffering their fourth defeat in ten games at the start of the season. In the first of five added minutes, Maguire leapt to meet Christian Eriksen's corner and expertly nodded the ball into the bottom corner, securing a crucial point. A closer look at what happened Marcus Rashford put United ahead in the seventh minute, cutting in from the left and skillfully beating two defenders before his low shot slipped past Porto’s goalkeeper Diogo Costa at the near post. Rasmus Hojlund, making his first start of the season, added a second after 20 minutes, finishing off a swift United counter-attack to give them firm control. Porto weren’t done yet...

Portugal 2 - 1 Scotland Cristiano Ronaldo’s late winner shattered Scottish hopes in Portugal, continuing Steve Clarke’s team's miserable run of form. Video and pictures from the European Super Football YouTube Scotland stunned everyone by taking a surprise lead in the seventh minute with a header from Scott McTominay, and they defended resolutely against Portugal’s 16 shots before half-time. However, another mistake cost them the lead. Angus Gunn failed to stop a long-range effort from Bruno Fernandes after the break, letting the ball slip into the net. Ronaldo, who came on at half-time, struck the post twice before finally breaking through, tapping in a brilliant cross from Nuno Mendes for his 901st career goal. The defeat, coming on the back of a loss to Poland on Thursday, means Scotland have now gone eight competitive games without a win —the worst run in their history—and have won just one of their last 14 matches. Despite this, Clarke might find some hope in how his ...

Benfica 1 - 1 Brentford Bryan Mbeumo was on target as Brentford drew with Benfica.  Mbeumo capitalised on a sloppy back-pass to give Thomas Frank's side an early lead in Lisbon, but the Eagles levelled on 24 minutes when Vangelis Pavlidis poked home Álvaro Carreras’s cross at the front post. Kevin Schade led the line for Brentford with Igor Thiago sidelined by a meniscus injury. The hosts looked to get off to a flying start on the pitch and fashioned the first chance of note in the fifth minute. Brentford took the lead four minutes later. Schade’s ball up the left channel was intercepted by Morato and the defender’s back-pass to goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin was under-hit, which allowed the alert Mbeumo to steal in and finish first time into the bottom corner. Benfica levelled midway through the first half . Aursnes played a short pass into the overlapping Carreras down the left, who took the ball in his stride, advanced to the byline and delivered a low, fizzing cross to the fr...

Portugal 0 - 0 France France win 5-3 on penalties Theo Hernandez scored the decisive penalty for France after Portugal's Joao Felix hit the post in the shootout following a goalless draw, sending Didier Deschamps' team into the Euro 2024 semi-final against Spain. This time, there were no tears from Cristiano Ronaldo,  who had been overcome with emotion during Portugal's last-16 victory over Slovenia.  Despite converting his penalty, the 39-year-old's final Euros campaign ended in defeat. He was left to console his outstanding 41-year-old teammate Pepe at the end. Ronaldo was mostly on the periphery of what turned out to be a cautious match. Both teams had chances to win in the second half. France's Mike Maignan made sharp saves to deny Bruno Fernandes and Vitinha and then smothered Ronaldo's backheel attempt. At the other end, Randal Kolo Muani's shot was blocked by Ruben Dias, and Eduardo Camavinga missed from close range. Substitute Ousmane Dembele hit...

Portugal 0 - 0 Slovenia Portugal won 3-0 on penalties Cristiano Ronaldo's tears turned to joy as Portugal triumphed over Slovenia on penalties to secure a Euro 2024 quarter-final spot against France, despite the 39-year-old missing a crucial penalty in extra time. Ronaldo, who was in tears after Jan Oblak's brilliant save of his penalty in the 105th minute, was consoled by his teammates. Following a gruelling goalless draw, he successfully converted Portugal's first effort in the shootout. Goalkeeper Diogo Costa's saves from Josip Ilicic, Jure Balkovec, and Benjamin Verbic were instrumental in the victory. Costa's heroics paved the way for Bernardo Silva to score the winning penalty after Bruno Fernandes had also found the net. This came after a similarly crucial save from Benjamin Sesko deep into extra time, as Slovenia came heartbreakingly close to a historic upset. Viva Ronaldo As always, Ronaldo took centre stage in this unforgettable match, though his wai...

Georgia 2 - 0 Portugal Georgia made history by reaching their first major tournament knockout stage with a stunning victory over Portugal at Euro 2024. Portugal, having already secured the top spot in the group, were shocked early on when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia drilled a low shot past Diogo Costa just two minutes into the match. The goal came from a swift counter-attack after Georgia overturned possession, setting the tone for the rest of the night. Georgia didn’t dominate possession but made the most of their chances. Georges Mikautadze scored from the penalty spot in the second half, sealing Georgia's unexpected triumph. Georgia were happy to let Portugal control the ball, defending resolutely and closing down space to limit Portugal's opportunities. They waited patiently for counter-attacking chances. Euro 2024 news and stories  Portugal guarantee top spot  While Georgia had few chances, they also prevented Portugal from creating significant threats. The underdogs mainta...