European Super Football

Bolton Wanderers 0 - 2 Oxford United  Josh Murphy's double helped his Oxford United side stun Bolton Wanderers in the League One play-off final at Wembley. In what was a cagey first half, Oxford took the lead on the 30 minute mark. Josh Murphy curled a deflected strike home from the edge of the box. Murphy had only 11 minutes to wait for his next goal. This came via a Ruben Rodriguez pass that carved Bolton open, as he slotted the ball in at Nathan Baxter's near post. Oxford United finished the game in dreamland. For Bolton Wanderers, it's another season in League One. The scenes at the end of the match displayed those contrasting emotions.   Exciting future plans for Oxford United Joshua Murphy. Immortal. pic.twitter.com/C4k61SPybm — Oxford United FC (@OUFCOfficial) May 18, 2024 With plans for a new stadium on the horizon, Oxford will be hoping that promotion to the Championship with the backing of over 30,000 supporters at Wembley is a reason to be optimistic ...

Oxford United 2 - 0 Norwich City Oxford United marked their return to the Championship after more than two decades with a well-earned 2-0 victory over Norwich City. Striker Mark Harris, a key player for Oxford, scored their first goal in the second tier this century. He capitalised on a mistake by Norwich captain Grant Hanley, skilfully cutting inside Shane Duffy and slotting the ball through Angus Gunn’s legs. Cameron Brannagan doubled the lead just before the hour mark with a beautifully curled shot from the edge of the box, following a precise cross from Sam Long. Norwich's best opportunity came late in the game, but Jack Stacey’s shot was bravely blocked by Oxford’s left-back, Joe Bennett, capping a tough first match for new City manager Johannes Hoff Thorup. EFL: 2024/2025 (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) More Oxford United news and stories Oxford fans created a fantastic atmosphere. Thorup’s day got off to a bad start when winger Jonathan Rowe withdrew from the squad ...

Oxford United 3 - 2 Cardiff City Gary Rowett made an ideal start as Oxford United manager, guiding his side to a crucial 3-2 victory over relegation rivals Cardiff City at the Kassam Stadium.  Author - Peter Grainger This dramatic Boxing Day clash saw former Cardiff players Mark Harris and Ciaron Brown haunt their old club, as Oxford moved out of the Championship relegation zone while deepening Cardiff's survival woes. A closer look at what happened The match began tentatively, with both sides showing the nerves of a relegation six-pointer. Cardiff looked the more dominant early on, with Chris Willock’s deflected shot hitting the crossbar and Yakou Meite failing to capitalise on the rebound. Yet despite enjoying more possession, the visitors lacked the cutting edge to break through. Oxford punished Cardiff’s inefficiency when their first real chance of the game fell to Mark Harris. The former Bluebird latched onto Przemyslaw Placheta’s precise cross and slotted home from clo...

Oxford United 2 - 6 Middlesbrough Middlesbrough smashed six goals in an away league match for the first time in 64 years, thrashing struggling Oxford United in a dominant display. Emmanuel Latte Lath stole the show with a hat-trick, supported by two goals from the outstanding Finn Azaz and a stunning strike from substitute Tommy Conway. The emphatic victory propelled Boro into the Championship play-off spots, securing their third consecutive win. Author - Peter Grainger from GMCR Football Greg Leigh and Dane Scarlett provided some consolation for Oxford, but the home side’s dismal form continues, with just one win in their last 11 games. The defeat sees them slip to 18th, perilously close to the relegation zone, while Middlesbrough surge into fifth place. The match began tentatively, with both sides cautious in the opening 10 minutes. Boro soon found their rhythm, though, as Azaz teed up Latte Lath for a quick counter-attack, only for United goalkeeper Jamie Cumming to produce a supe...

Exeter City 3 - 1 Oxford United League One side Exeter City made history by reaching the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time in 44 years, defeating a heavily rotated Oxford United from the Championship. Author - Thomas J Oxford struck first, with Dane Scarlett threading a sharp pass into the six-yard box for Matt Phillips, who finished neatly with his left foot. However, the U's couldn’t hold onto their advantage as Demetri Mitchell turned the game around with two goals before half-time, putting Exeter in control. Vincent Harper added a third for the Grecians with a precise low strike, before Oxford’s afternoon worsened when substitute Tyler Goodrham was shown a red card for elbowing Jake Richards in the face. Oxford had started brightly, with Louie Sibley—one of eight changes from their last match against Preston—forcing a save from Exeter keeper Joe Whitworth in the opening minute. The visitors then capitalised on an Exeter corner to break away on the counter....

Coventry City 3 - 2 Oxford United Coventry City's striker Haji Wright secured the Sky Blues' first three Championship points of the season with a dramatic 96th-minute winner against newly promoted Oxford United. Oxford, who had won both of their opening league and cup fixtures, twice came from behind, leaving them hopeful of extending their unbeaten start to the season. After Wright’s initial headed goal, Oxford responded swiftly with an equaliser from Ciaron Brown. When Milan van Ewijk restored Coventry’s lead before half-time, Mark Harris brought Oxford level again with a close-range finish in the 55th minute. However, the match took a final twist when Wright, making his first start following an injury-disrupted pre-season, capitalised on Will Vaulks' misplaced backpass. He rounded the goalkeeper to secure Coventry's first home win since early April. A closer look at what happened Coventry initially took the lead when Van Ewijk and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto combined bril...

 QPR 2 - 0 Oxford United Sam Field bagged his first league goals of the season as Queens Park Rangers extended their unbeaten streak with a victory over Oxford United, whose poor run of form showed no signs of letting up. Author - Thomas J Field opened the scoring in the 53rd minute, firing in from close range, and doubled the lead 16 minutes later with a composed finish from 18 yards to secure three vital points for Martí Cifuentes’ side. The 26-year-old was the standout performer in a match otherwise lacking in quality, particularly during a lacklustre first half between two teams battling to steer clear of the relegation zone. The win marked QPR’s third victory in an unbeaten five-game run, while Oxford’s struggles deepened, leaving them with just one win in their last 14 matches. The opening exchanges in west London were high on energy but low on goalmouth action. Oxford’s Idris El Mizouni had the first notable effort in the 22nd minute, but his deflected strike from 20 y...

Despite not as much money being spent, it was still a busy transfer deadline day across Europe. Premier League transfers It was certainly fairly quiet in the Premier League. Despite appearing to need new signings, Manchester United didn't bring a single player in. Most of the money was spent by teams near the other end of the table. Matz Sels [Strasbourg - Nottingham Forest] £5m Enes Unal [Getafe - Bournemouth] Loan Lorenz Assignon [Rennes - Burnley] Loan Caylan Vickers [Reading - Brighton] Undisclosed Joe Gauci [Adelaide United - Aston Villa] Undisclosed Mason Holgate [Everton - Sheffield United] Loan Click here to find more Premier League news and stories Maxime Esteve [Montpellier - Burnley] Loan Adam Wharton [Blackburn Rovers - Crystal Palace] £18m, potentially rising to £22m Lino Sousa [Arsenal - Aston Villa] Undisclosed Morgan Rogers [Middlesbrough - Aston Villa] £8m, potentially rising to £15m Rodrigo Ribeiro [Sporting Lisbon - Nottingham Forest] Loan Armando Broja [Chel...

A cult hero is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as... a writer, musician, artist, or other public figure who is greatly admired by a relatively small audience or is influential despite limited commercial success. Diego Forlan is definitely a cult hero in the football world.  Forlan signs for Manchester United Forlán was signed for Manchester United by Sir Alex Ferguson for just under seven million pounds back in January 2002. He made his debut on 29 January as a 76th-minute substitute for Ole Gunnar Solskjær in a 4–0 away win at Bolton Wanderers.  He made his first start in 4–0 home victory over Tottenham Hotspur on 6 March. Forlán made 13 Premier League and five UEFA Champions League appearances in the 2001–02 season but did not score. Becoming a cult hero During a two month period in the 2002/2003 season, Forlan became a legend in the eyes of many Manchester United fans. On 1 December, he scored his first brace for the club with goals in the 64th and 67th minute of an away...

Brentford 0 - 1 Plymouth Argyle  Morgan Whittaker scored a dramatic late winner as Plymouth Argyle, bottom of the Championship, stunned Premier League side Brentford to progress in the FA Cup. Author - Ajay  The third-round clash remained goalless until the 82nd minute when Whittaker cut in from the right and drilled a precise left-footed shot past Hakon Valdimarsson to seal the Pilgrims' unlikely victory. Miron Muslic, appointed on Friday to replace Wayne Rooney , watched from the stands as Plymouth delivered a resolute performance, restricting Brentford to very few chances. Fabio Carvalho tested Argyle keeper Conor Hazard twice in the opening 15 minutes, but those were the only shots on target from Thomas Frank's side. Even with star forwards Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa brought on from the bench to break the deadlock, it was Plymouth who found the decisive goal. Brentford nearly forced a late equaliser, but Wissa’s close-range header went wide, and Plymouth held firm d...

Craig Bellamy is the new Wales manager The 44-year-old succeeds former team-mate Robert Page, who was sacked in June. Cardiff-born Bellamy won 78 Wales caps and captained the side between 2007-2010. He takes up the role having left Burnley, where he had been acting head coach before Scott Parker's appointment last week. Parker was keen to work with the Welshman, but Bellamy leaves Burnley with the blessings of everyone at the club. Bellamy, back in the day, with a certain Gareth Bale stood behind him.  Reports from across Wales and beyond had suggested that Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, Georgia boss Willy Sagnol and surprise contender Des Buckingham, the Oxford United manager, were all spoken to. However, it has now been confirmed that Bellamy was the Football Association of Wales first choice. Bellamy is said to have impressed during discussions - and will now get the chance to lead the side in qualification for the 2026 World Cup. His first game as Wales manager will be a N...

What next for an English football legend? Head coach Wayne Rooney has parted ways with Championship strugglers Plymouth Argyle by mutual consent. Author - Peter Grainger The video below shows Rooney’s reaction after a recent defeat against Norwich City. The 39-year-old former England captain managed only four league victories while suffering 13 defeats in 23 Championship matches since taking charge of the Pilgrims in May. His departure leaves the club rooted to the bottom of the table. Rooney arrived at Home Park just four months after being sacked by Birmingham City, where his short 83-day tenure saw nine defeats in 15 games. Sunday's 2-0 loss to Oxford United , which extended Plymouth's winless run to nine matches, was met with boos from the crowd. It marked their sixth defeat in that run, which began in early November. Under Rooney’s leadership, Plymouth have struggled at both ends of the pitch. They’ve scored the joint-fewest goals in the Championship and conceded mor...