European Super Football

Chelsea 0 - 1 Aston Villa Chelsea's rough start to the Premier League season continued as Aston Villa heaped more misery on them with a victory at Stamford Bridge. In a tight game, Ollie Watkins managed to score a decisive goal from an extremely challenging angle, slipping the ball between the legs of Chelsea's goalkeeper, Robert Sanchez. This came after Malo Gusto received a red card for a dangerous tackle, leaving Chelsea with only 10 players on the field. The Villa was boss was delighted with the win and performance to go with it. Footage from  Aston Villa Football Club - YouTube Mauricio Pochettino's team had several opportunities to score before Gusto's dismissal, but as has been the story for much of their season, they couldn't convert any of them into goals. Despite notable efforts from Nicolas Jackson and Raheem Sterling, who were thwarted by excellent saves from Villa's goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez, and a missed chance from Enzo Fernandez. On th...

England 0 - 0 Nigeria England won 4-2 on penalties Despite a red card from Lauren James, England made it to the quarterfinals of the Women's World Cup. Georgia Stanway fired wide with the opening penalty but Nigeria missed their next two efforts and the European champions secured their spot in the last eight when Chloe Kelly smashed in the winning kick. After losing possession, James stamped on Michelle Alozie's back in the 87th minute and was rightfully shown a red card by the video assistant referee (VAR). England were given an almighty scare but face Colombia or Jamaica next on Saturday. England stumble over the line but ultimately succeed England stumbled to the end of normal time lacking the fluidity they showed in abundance in the impressive display against China and held on to seal the deal in a shootout. Only 24 hours earlier, back-to-back champions the USA were knocked out of the competition, and England were forced to show resilience to overcome arguably the most ...

 China 1 - 6 England England won their group and qualified for the last 16 of the Women's World Cup as Lauren James delivered a sensational performance. The world was watching and will be concerned about England's display. It was a performance worthy of their status as European champions, and James once again starred with two goals and three assists. The 13,497 people in attendance on Friday were treated to a masterclass from Chelsea's James, who scored the match-winner against Denmark. Women's World Cup: England start with a win (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) More football news from across England James was on fire throughout this match. She helped England get off to the perfect start when she teed up Alessia Russo for the opener, and later slipped the ball through to Lauren Hemp to place it into the bottom corner. The game was largely one-way traffic as England dominated and overwhelmed. James struck first time and into the corner to make it 3-0 before a further...

 It's time to explore another football icon. This time, it will be our first female player with Alex Scott. Alexandra Scott MBE is an English sports presenter, pundit, and former professional footballer. Known mainly as 'Alex Scott', she mostly played as a right-back for Arsenal. Scott made 140 appearances for the England national team and represented Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics. More Women's Football news can be found here Becoming an Arsenal legend At club level, Scott has had three separate spells with Arsenal, punctuated with a season at Birmingham City in 2004–05 and three years in the American Women's Professional Soccer with Boston Breakers.  Scott was a key figure in Arsenal's historic "Quadruple" season in which they won every trophy they were involved in. In fact, they are the only team in the history of English football, across the men's and women's game, to win four major competitions in the same season. This list ...

 England 2 - 1 Colombia As they came from behind against a dangerous Colombia side, England set up a  Women's World Cup semi-final with co-hosts Australia. Despite not playing their best football in the tournament, the European champions showed a much more rounded performance in Sydney in front of a hostile crowd. After goalkeeper Mary Earps had been beaten by a quick-thinking lob in the first half, the Lionesses capitalised on two slices of luck after being composed in defence and hard-working in attack. After Colombia goalkeeper Catalina Perez spilled a routine gather in the six-yard area under pressure from Alessia Russo, Lauren Hemp poked in the equalizer just seven minutes after Leicy Santos had caught out Earps. Russo, who had only scored once in four World Cup matches before Saturday's quarter-final, worked tirelessly out of possession, pounced on a kind deflection to score England's second goal. As Colombia's attacking line-up included Real Madrid's tee...

England 1 - 0 Denmark Six minutes into her first World Cup start, Lauren James announced herself on the global stage with a stunning strike from the edge of the box. An apparent injury to Barcelona midfielder Walsh dampened what was a positive, attacking performance from the Lionesses after a scrappy 1-0 win over Haiti. Previous match report:  England start with a win (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Walsh went down under little contact and immediately gestured to the dugout that she was in pain. Over 40,000 people were in attendance in Sydney. A Sydney Football Stadium dominated by Lionesses fans was flattened by the sight of England's most crucial player injured. Despite England's deserved half-time lead, Denmark capitalised on this change of mood and created a chance for former Chelsea striker Pernille Harder, which she scuffed wide. Throughout, James showed she is more than deserving of a regular starting position with England, showing the creativity and unpredictabilit...

 Sweden 0 - 0 USA (Sweden won 5-4 on penalties) USA are out of the Women's World Cup as they were stunned by Sweden on penalties in Melbourne. You can watch the highlights of the match in the YouTube video below.  Highlights: Sweden knock USA out after penalty shootout | Fifa Women's World Cup 2023 - YouTube The USA side dominated two hours of football but they were denied by a fantastic and inspired goalkeeping performance from Zecira Musovic as the match finished 0-0. The drama only increased in the shootout. Three USA players missed, including their footballing icon Megan Rapinoe on her last appearance on the world stage, before Sweden won in remarkable circumstances. USA keeper Alyssa Naeher appeared to have saved Lina Hurtig's effort at the second attempt, having pushed the initial effort up before clawing it out. After checking and consulting with VAR, referee Stephanie Frappart awarded the goal and sparked wild Sweden celebrations. 🌟 Our #SpotlightofTheDay sh...

 Australia 1 - 3 England On a historic evening in Sydney, England spoiled co-hosts Australia's party by reaching the Women's World Cup final for the first time. A sell-out crowd at Stadium Australia was silenced by the Lionesses' 3-1 victory, making them the first English football team to reach a senior final since 1966. More news from the tournament can be found here: Latest Women's World Cup 2023 news and stories With this win, England, crowned European champions on home soil for the first time last year, showed their superiority and know-how against a team of Australia spurred on by a nation inspired by the Matildas' success after two sensational years under Sarina Wiegman. In this match, Ella Toone set the tone for England with this stunning strike. This made England fans start to dream. However, there was still a lot of time in the match.  📐 @EllaToone99 set the tone for England with a beautiful strike. @Xero | #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/Jf3CwOsEuB — FIFA W...

 Where will Ewan Ferguson be playing his football next season? Tottenham are among the Premier League sides interested in signing the Brighton sensation. Some reports have also indicated that Man United are also in the hunt to sign the 18-year-old this summer. Chelsea are also monitoring Ferguson’s situation as he continues to gain admirers in the Premier League.  Shining on the big stage The video below shows his recent goal for Brighton in the FA Cup against Grimsby. His side face Manchester United in the next round. Will he shine against The Red Devils at Wembley. Roberto De Zerbi’s side are also in the race for European qualification this season. The Seagulls are level on points with sixth-place Liverpool with a game in hand on the Anfield side.  Premier League news (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) The striker signed his first professional contract with the Seagulls on his 18th birthday in October 2022. At this point, he became Brighton’s fifth youngest-ever p...

FC Copenhagen 1 - 2 Chelsea Chelsea took a significant step towards the Europa Conference League quarter-finals with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Copenhagen in Denmark. Author - Lauren W Stadium - Parken Enzo Maresca’s side were uninspiring in the first half, failing to register a shot on target, but they burst into life immediately after the break. Marc Cucurella, introduced at half-time for the injured Malo Gusto, made an instant impact by surging down the left and cutting the ball back for captain Reece James, who lashed a superb low drive into the bottom corner from 30 yards out. Copenhagen came agonisingly close to an equaliser moments later when Viktor Claesson’s angled strike cannoned off the inside of the post and fell kindly into the hands of relieved Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. The Blues made their hosts pay for that missed opportunity in the 65th minute. Cucurella, once again influential, won possession high up the pitch before Christopher Nkunku played in T...

Chelsea 0 - 2 Barcelona Barcelona won 2-1 on aggregate  Chelsea's hopes of making it to the Women's Champions League final in manager Emma Hayes' final season at the club were crushed with a defeat by Barcelona at a sold-out Stamford Bridge.  Despite leading 1-0 from the semi-final first leg, Chelsea was unable to hold onto their advantage as holders Barca turned the tide in their favour. Referee Iuliana Demetrescu made two crucial decisions that went against the Blues.  Firstly, she issued a second booking to Chelsea defender Kadeisha Buchanan within four minutes, leaving the hosts with only 10 players on the field just before the hour mark.  A history of women's football (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Secondly, she awarded a penalty to Barcelona for a contentious foul on Aitana Bonmati, which Fridolina Rolfo converted. Bonmati had earlier cancelled out Chelsea's aggregate lead with a deflected strike off Buchanan, and her dramatic fall in the box under conta...

Southampton 1 - 5 Chelsea Jadon Sancho opened his Chelsea account as the Blues took full advantage of Southampton's mistakes to secure what proved to be a commanding victory. Author - Lauren W Sancho rounded off the scoring after goals from Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku, Noni Madueke, and Cole Palmer had already put Chelsea firmly in the driving seat. The home side briefly levelled at 1-1 through Joe Aribo but their capacity to self-destruct was underlined again. Not long after falling 3-1 down, captain Jack Stephens was sent off or pulling Marc Cucurella's hair. Views from the away end Some analysis from me: "I would ultimately describe that as a competent performance overall, but the defence still needs improvement. Some of our player give the ball away too often, and they were caught out by Southampton multiple times early in the match. To 'dominate' the Premier League, we need a settled team with our best players consistently on the pitch." Lewis W a...

There will be some international football this summer Let's look ahead to UEFA Women's Euro 2022 The 2022 UEFA European Women's Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2022, will be the 13th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organised by UEFA for the women's national teams of Europe. It will be the second edition since the number of teams increased to 16.  𝗛𝗔𝗟𝗙 𝗔 𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧𝗦 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗗 🎟️ 🎉 Record-breaking sales 🎉 More than double #WEURO2017 🎉 Purchasers across 99 countries Don't miss out - get yours now! 👇 #WEURO2022 — UEFA Women's EURO 2022 (@WEURO2022) July 1, 2022 The final tournament will be hosted by England and was originally scheduled to take place from 7 July to 1 August 2021. England last hosted the tournament in 2005. The  Netherlands will be the defending champions, and Northern Ireland will participate in a UEFA Women's Eu...

Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 3 Bayern Munich Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane received a warm welcome back at his former club Tottenham Hotspur, where fans gave him a standing ovation as Bayern edged out Spurs 3-2 in a pre-season friendly. Returning to his old stomping ground for the first time since leaving for Bayern in a £86.4 million deal last summer, Kane came on as a late substitute. The England captain was met with applause both when he entered the pitch and later, when he took a solo lap of honour after the match. Alongside Eric Dier, who joined Bayern from Tottenham in January, the pair were honoured by Spurs before kick-off, receiving gifts in recognition of their contributions to the club. Premier League: Summer 2024 news and stories (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Before the game, Tottenham also introduced their new signings (Dominic Solanke, Archie Gray, and Lucas Bergvall) to the home crowd. Once the match began, Dejan Kulusevski gave Spurs the lead, but Bayern responded wi...

Leicester City 1 - 2 Chelsea Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez fired Chelsea to an impressive away victory over Leicester City. Author - Lauren W Jackson, 23, continued his red-hot form, netting his fifth goal in four consecutive away games. He showed great strength to outmuscle Wout Faes and latch onto a long ball, with Enzo Fernandez providing the decisive pass. Jackson coolly finished in the 15th minute to give Chelsea the lead. Fernandez then doubled the advantage, heading home from close range after Leicester keeper Mads Hermansen parried Jackson's initial effort. Leicester managed a consolation deep into stoppage time when Jordan Ayew converted a 95th-minute penalty following Romeo Lavia's foul on Bobby de Cordova-Reid in the box. Premier League news and stories: 2024/2025 season Chelsea dominated on a dreary afternoon at the King Power Stadium, controlling over 66% of possession and dictating the tempo from start to finish. For Leicester, it was a tough return to Pr...

 Will Declan Rice be on the move this summer? It is expected that West Ham United will demand £100 million for midfielder Declan Rice this summer as they attempt to fight off interest from several Premier League rivals. The East London club would prefer to keep Rice, but there is an acknowledgement his situation is reaching a critical. He effectively has two years remaining on his contract at the London Stadium. Latest Premier League news:  Premier League news (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United , Newcastle United and Liverpool are monitoring developments. It will be interesting to see which of those clubs make an offer for the England midfielder in the summer.  Rice celebrating a goal for West Ham: Credit -  Football Pictures | Flickr One of the current favourites to sign Rice are Chelsea. They've had a long-held interest in the player, but this will depend on the identity of their new manager and how quickly they can t...

More transfer news from Old Trafford and Goodison Park Everton have turned down a second offer from Manchester United, this time around £45m, for their defender Jarrad Branthwaite . Last month, the Toffees also rejected a £35m bid from United for the 22-year-old England international. It's believed that United's revised offer included potential additional payments if certain targets were achieved. This still falls short of Everton's valuation. Branthwaite has shone as a left-sided central defender at Goodison Park, playing a crucial role in helping the Merseyside club avoid relegation last season despite two points deductions for breaching financial loss rules. United are eager to bolster their central defence options and have been in talks over Bayern Munich's Matthijs de Ligt , who is currently representing the Netherlands at Euro 2024. With Raphael Varane having left the club, there has been no confirmation yet of a new one-year deal for veteran Northern Ireland ...

 Udinese 1 - 2 Inter Milan Inter Milan extended their lead to 14 points at the top of Serie A after a 2-1 victory against Udinese at Stadio Friuli. Substitute Davide Frattesi scored in the 95th minute after Lautaro Martinez's strike hit the post from close range. Lazar Samardzic had previously opened the scoring late in the first half, capitalising on a defensive mix-up by Yann Sommer and Denzel Dumfries. Hakan Calhanoglu scored from the penalty spot. This opportunity arrived after Marcus Thuram was fouled by goalkeeper Maduka Okoye. More news from across Italy Inter Milan's end to the season will be covered on European Super Football The league leaders thought they had scored in the 48th minute through Carlos Augusto but the goal was ruled out for offside. Simone Inzaghi's side secured the win with a second goal in stoppage time. This victory was probably too close, even though they dominated most of the match with 77% possession and 23 shots. Udinese remain 15th in S...

 Chelsea 3 - 2 Newcastle United Cole Palmer played a pivotal role as Chelsea secured a victory against Newcastle in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge. Palmer made his mark in the 57th minute, skillfully controlling the ball before driving a powerful shot past goalkeeper Martin Dubravka. The Blues took an early lead when Sven Botman's clearance was intercepted by Palmer, whose shot was expertly directed into the bottom corner by Nicolas Jackson for his second goal in as many league games. Newcastle found a glimmer of hope just before halftime with Aleksander Isak's strong shot from the edge of the area, but Palmer quickly restored Chelsea's lead. Premier League news and stories: 2023/2024 More Chelsea news and match reports  A late substitute, Mykhailo Mudryk, capitalized on a mistake from teammate Conor Gallagher, evading the Newcastle defence to score from a tight angle. Jacob Murphy's late goal provided a tense finale, but Mauricio Pochettino's team held...

 Chelsea officially have a new manager.  They have confirmed that Mauricio Pochettino will become their head coach from the beginning of the 2023/24 season.  The Argentinian will begin his new role on 1 July 2023 on a two-year contract, with the option of an additional year. Their recent Interim boss Frank Lampard took Chelsea to 12th in the Premier League - their lowest finish since the 1995/1996 season. The blues finished the Premier League   with a 1-1 draw against 4th placed Newcastle United .  In a statement on the Chelsea website, Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, Chelsea’s co-sporting directors, said: "Mauricio’s experience, standards of excellence, leadership qualities and character will serve Chelsea Football Club well as we move forward. " You can read more from the Chelsea website here:  Mauricio Pochettino to become Chelsea head coach | News | Official Site | Chelsea Football Club (chelseafc.com) Let's explore what some Chelse...