IN ENGLAND
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Chelsea star, Danny Welbeck has scored on his debut as Enzo Fernandez was left out of Chelsea’s two-nil win over Luton Town in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
The 35-year-old summer signing from Brighton headed home from close range early in the first half, before Hakeem Odoffin later diverted an attempted clearance from Estevao Willian’s shot into his own net.
Welbeck later saw a header saved, while Keeley was at full stretch to push Reece James’ free-kick around the post during a busy opening twenty minutes.
Chelsea secured the win in Xabi Alonso’s first competitive home game in charge.
Chelsea will next face Premier League rivals Leeds United at Stamford Bridge during the week commencing 7th September.
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Fulham star, Rodrigo Muniz has scored his first goal in over a year to help Fulham see off AFC Wimbledon and set up a Carabao Cup third-round tie against London rivals West Ham.
The Cottagers took the lead through Emile Smith Rowe before Brazil striker Muniz added the second and summer signing Gonzalo Garcia claimed a third in stoppage time as they earned a first win under new manager Alvaro Arbeloa.
Fulham made ten changes from Monday’s Premier League defeat by Chelsea but they were still too much for their League One opponents, who have yet to win a game inside ninety minutes so far this season.
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Brighton has secured a return to European football for the first time in three years by putting four goals past Norwegian side Tromso to claim a Conference League place.
After last week’s frustrating goalless first leg, the Seagulls set the tone for the evening with three first‑half goals from Charalampos Kostoulas, Maxim de Cuyper and Mats Wieffer.
Oliver Boscagli’s strike in the 86th minute put the seal on a resounding Seagulls win, after his earlier effort had been ruled out for offside.
Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler called it a “do or die” game before kick-off, and will be delighted with a second four-nil win in the space of five days, after their Premier League opening victory over Aston Villa.
Brighton will discover their league‑phase opponents when the Conference League draw is made in Monaco on Friday.
The Seagulls’ next match is a trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on Sunday.
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European champions Paris Saint-Germain will face Premier League duo Manchester City and Aston Villa and five-time winners Barcelona in the league phase of this season’s Champions League.
The back-to-back Champions League winners will welcome Barcelona to Parc des Princes, while they were also handed trips to Villa Park and Manchester in the draw for the league phase.
Premier League champions Arsenal, meanwhile, will host 15-time winners Real Madrid at Emirates Stadium, and have also been handed a trip to Bayern Munich.
Mikel Arteta’s men, who were beaten by PSG on penalties in the final last season, will face Borussia Dortmund, Real Betis, Lille, Napoli, Azerbaijan champions Sabah and Slavia Prague as well.
Enzo Maresca’s City will welcome PSG to Etihad Stadium and travel to Barcelona and face Napoli, with Sporting, Porto, RB Leipzig, AEK Athens and Lens their other opponents.
Europa League winners Villa, will host PSG and Dortmund and travel to Barcelona and Galatasaray.
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Meanwhile, Manchester United, returning after a two-year hiatus, will meet Bayern, Atletico Madrid, Roma, Sporting, Leipzig, Villarreal, Sabah and Como.
Liverpool, meanwhile, host Atletico, Porto, Villarreal and Lens while visiting Inter Milan, Brugge, Fenerbahce and LASK.
The first league-phase matches will be played on Tuesday, 8th September and the last round of games will take place on 27th January 2027, with the exact schedule to be released on Saturday.
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Argentina midfielder, Exequiel Palacios has become the first World Cup winner to sign for Ipswich Town after joining from Bayer Leverkusen.
Palacios left the Bundesliga club for an undisclosed fee and has signed a four-year contract with the Premier League newcomers.
He was part of the Argentina side that both won the World Cup in 2022 and reached the final this summer while he also won the Copa America twice with his country.
Palacios, Ipswich’s 11th signing of the transfer window, started Argentina’s three-one win against World Cup debutants Jordan in the group stage in his only appearance at the 2026 tournament.
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Tottenham has signed Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush on loan until the end of the season, with an obligation to make the deal permanent for sixty million pounds next summer.
The 27-year-old Egypt international will join former City team-mate Savio at Spurs, after the Brazilian moved to north London for an initial fee of seventy-five million pounds.
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Aston Villa has completed the signing of former Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka on a free transfer.
The Germany international was available after leaving Bayern in the summer after eight years at the club.
Villa lost their opening Premier League fixture four-nil at Brighton and want boost their midfield options with Amadou Onana out until next year with a knee injury he suffered with Belgium at the World Cup.
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Chelsea has agreed a seven point five million pound fee to sign Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
The Argentina international, is set to undergo a medical in London and strengthen the goalkeeping group at Stamford Bridge.
It follows concerns over the performances of Robert Sanchez, particularly in the wake of Monday’s three-two win over Fulham.
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Swansea City has signed Sunderland defender Jenson Seelt on loan for the remainder of the season.
The Dutch centre-back, has played 21 times for Sunderland since joining the Black Cats from PSV Eindhoven in 2023 and spent the first half of last season on loan at Bundesliga club Wolfsburg.
Seelt’s arrival comes despite the fact that Swansea have been boosted by news that Ben Cabango’s heel injury is not serious.
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Liverpool is closing in on the signing of Bradley Barcola from Paris St-Germain for a fee that could rise to one hundred and twenty million pounds.
Sources indicated that talks have progressed in the past forty-eight hours and a full agreement is now close for the France forward.
PSG had valued the 23-year-old at one hundred and forty-five million pounds, but Liverpool are poised to agree a package that will be worth a minimum of just over one hundred million pounds and could rise to one hundred and twenty million pounds based on significant individual and team success.
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Former Liverpool and England player turned pundit Jamie Carragher faces being declared bankrupt over an unpaid tax bill, said to be in the region of seven hundred thousand pounds and eight hundred thousand pounds.
The ‘bankruptcy petition’ filed by lawyers representing HM Revenue and Customs was first reported by City AM.
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IN NIGERIA
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President Bola Tinubu has directed a comprehensive reform of Nigerian football to overcome repeated failures to qualify for major regional, continental and world tournaments.
A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the reform must respond to a longstanding need to strengthen governance, administration, stakeholder representation, development pathways, domestic competitions and accountability across Nigerian football.
He noted that while other sports had recorded meaningful progress since the reset of the sports sector under the re-established National Sports Commission, football has continued to struggle because of structural weaknesses within the system.
President Tinubu stressed that Nigerian football must begin to match the country’s exceptional talent, passion and resources with stronger institutions and sustained performance.
Tinubu directed the Chairman of the National Sports Commission to work with the NFF Secretariat and relevant football stakeholders to ensure continuity in essential football administration and facilitate a broad, consultative reform process.
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The National Sports Commission, NSC, has endorsed Dr. Emmanuel Ikpeme to oversee the Nigeria Football Federation ,NFF, Secretariat as interim General Secretary following Thursday’s resignation of key officials of the federation.
Ikpeme, who until now served as Deputy General Secretary, takes over after the resignation of NFF President Ibrahim Gusau, General Secretary Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, and members of the Executive Committee.
Dr. Ademola Olajire, previously the NFF’s Director of Media and Communications, has also been appointed interim Deputy General Secretary.
The NSC further announced the suspension of all processes connected with the NFF Elective Congress, which had been scheduled to take place on 27th September.
As part of the restructuring, chairmen, appointed directors and chief executive officers of the Nigeria Premier Football League, Nigeria National League, Nigeria Women Football League and Nationwide League One have been directed to hand over the administration of their respective leagues to their Chief Operating Officers.
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Former Nigeria defender, Kadiri Ikhana, has declared that the mass resignation of the Ibrahim Gusau-led Board of the Nigeria Football Federation is a clear acceptance of failure on the part of the football governing body.
Ikhana also said the Gusau-led board’s four-year tenure should be properly probed, emphasising that, for purposes of accountability, the board should be made to render a proper account of its four-year stewardship.
The 2003 CAF Coach of the Year further said Gusau and his colleagues’ departure should not be a cause for worry regarding possible FIFA sanctions, stressing that this is because the members voluntarily tendered their resignations after perhaps realising that they had failed in their duties.
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Edo Queens has secured a place in the semi-finals of the WAFU B Women’s Champions League after recording a three-one victory over ASEC Mimosas on Thursday night.
The Nigerian champions made a bright start to the encounter and were rewarded in the 23rd minute when Oluwakemi Adegbuyi opened the scoring.
Doosuur Atume doubled Edo Queens’ advantage two minutes before the break, giving Kennedy Boboye’s side a comfortable lead heading into half-time.
The Benin City club have now won their opening two matches in the competition, having thrashed AS Garde Nationale of Niger Republic seven-nil in their first group fixture.
They sit top of Group B with six points and have already secured their place in the semi-finals.
Boboye’s side will round off their group-stage campaign against Ghanaian outfit Ampem Darkoa Ladies on Sunday.
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Super Eagles star, Tolu Arokodare has scored twice as Ajax defeated Sion five-three in the second leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League playoff tie.
The Dutch giants progressed to the group phase with a ninety-five aggregate victory.
Arokodare, who was handed his first competitive start for Ajax, netted his side’s third goal in first-half stoppage time.
The striker grabbed his second goal of the encounter six minutes after the restart, with Ouazane once again providing the assist.
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Super Eagles star, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru is expected to spend between fifteen and twenty days on the sidelines after sustaining an injury during Lazio’s Serie A clash with Bologna.
The Nigeria international picked up the injury in the encounter at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara on 24th August and was replaced by Davide Frattesi in the 54th minute.
Dele-Bashiru suffered a first-degree flexor strain and is expected to miss Lazio’s next three league fixtures against Genoa, Udinese and AC Milan.
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OTHER LEAGUES
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Barcelona star, Raphinha has continued his strong start to the season as he helped Barcelona make it two wins from two in La Liga with two-nil victory over Athletic Club at Spotify Camp Nou.
The Brazil winger scored a wonderful goal his third of the campaign when he rounded Athletic goalkeeper Unai Simon before Fermin Lopez secured the victory with eight minutes to go.
Rodri also made his debut for Barcelona following his move from Manchester City as a second-half substitute.
Barcelona started on top at home as they looked to build on an opening victory against Elche.
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Rangers will not play European football again this season after a wretched performance in a humbling Conference League play-off defeat on penalties against Czech Republic side Jablonec.
Derek McInnes’ side actually led early in the shootout, only for Findlay Curtis and James Penrice to miss their final two penalties.
It leaves them without European football beyond August for the first time since the two-one aggregate defeat by Luxembourg’s Progres Niederkorn in the Europa League first qualifying round in 2017.
Rangers manager Derek McInnes said he take full responsibility for Rangers’ embarrassing Conference League exit at the hands of Jablonec.
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Motherwell’s Conference League journey is over after a rampant Freiburg side overwhelmed them four-one in Germany in their play-off second leg.
Trailing last season’s Europa League finalists three-one on aggregate, Alfred Johansson’s men had an almighty task to qualify for the league phase, after coming through two rounds of qualifiers to reach this stage.
Winger Derry Scherhant burst in behind to latch onto a smart through ball, opened up his body, and curled it past the onrushing Alex Paulsen.
In the next six minutes, Freiburg scored two headers from inswinging corners, first through striker Igor Matanovic, followed by Cyriaque Irie glancing in.
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Paris Saint-Germain manager, Luis Enrique has disclosed that a full squad of twenty-three players is essential to win trophies rather than relying on just a starting eleven.
Following a two-all draw with Stade Rennais where new signing Ferran Torres came off the bench to score twice, the coach noted that players returning from heavy international schedules or the World Cup, such as Ousmane Dembélé, will receive planned recovery time.
The Spanish boss made it clear that past achievements do not guarantee a spot, demanding high readiness and daily effort from every member of the Paris Saint-Germain roster during the Ligue 1 and European campaigns.
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Uefa is preparing criminal legal proceedings against Fifa president Gianni Infantino over the now scrapped plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup and its other competitions to private investors.
According to a report, an application has been made by European football’s governing body requesting access to evidence and documents for use in proceedings in Switzerland against the embattled president himself, who Uefa accuses of criminal mismanagement.
Uefa also said it was considering pursuing criminal action against other Fifa officials.
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OTHER SPORTS
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In Tennis, Carlos Alcaraz will start his US Open title defence against Russia’s Roman Safiullin in the first serious examination of his fitness following a long-term wrist injury.
Second seed Alcaraz, who won the men’s title in New York last year, has not played a competitive singles match for more than four months because of inflammation in his playing right wrist.
Despite his lack of action, the 23-year-old Spaniard is still considered by many as the favourite to triumph again particularly because his great rival Jannik Sinner is not playing due to a knee injury.
The pair may have been a cut above the rest of the tour for the past two seasons, but Alcaraz coming back from a prolonged absence with such a delicate injury and beating the rest of the field – even though he is a generational talent – would be remarkable.
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In Formula one, Ukraine has lodged a formal complaint with the ethics committee of motorsport’s governing body the FIA following the decision to lift the ban on Russian competitors in international events.
The Ukrainian Automobile Federation has requested an urgent investigation into its Russian counterpart, the RAF.
The ban on individuals from Russia and Belarus competing in international motorsport events had been in place since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The move was approved by the FIA world council, to which sources have stated it was proposed by FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem.
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In Cricket, Jamie Smith and Jordan Cox battled difficult conditions and an improved Pakistan performance to take England to a competitive total on the opening day of the second Test.
In the damp and gloom at Lord’s, Smith made 61 and Cox 55 to take England to 248-9 on a first day that was delayed by rain and curtailed by bad light.
The value of the hosts’ score will only be revealed in time. The Lord’s pitch is much better than the poor surface used for England’s win against New Zealand in June, while more rain is forecast for the next three days.
England were boosted by a late cameo of 34 not out from Gus Atkinson, while Pakistan were led by four wickets from Muhammad Abbas and three from Mohammad Ali.
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In Rugby, Ospreys have made former Wallabies wing Marika Koroibete their fourth Australian signing of the summer.
The 34-year-old will spend 2026-27 playing for the Swansea-based side in the United Rugby Championship.
Koroibete, who won the last of his 63 Australia caps against New Zealand in September 2024, arrives after five seasons with Panasonic Wild Knights in Japan.
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In Cycling, Tadej Pogacar has recovered from a brief off-road excursion to outsprint Enric Mas and claim his third victory at this year’s Vuelta a Espana, but he was made to fight all the way to the line by the Spaniard on stage six.
After attacking on the final climb and rapidly establishing a handsome lead it looked as though the defending world champion would romp away to a trademark solo victory.
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In Athletics, European champion Audrey Werro came tantalisingly close to downing the oldest outdoor world record in athletics, finishing a little more than four tenths of a second off Jarmila Kratochvilova’s eight hundred metres mark of one minute 53.28 seconds, set 43 years ago.
Roared on by a 25,000-strong capacity crowd at the Zurich Diamond League, the Swiss hit the final 100m almost in stride with the infield pacing lights which had been set for a world record.
However Werro, straining hard against the clock, could not quite find the finishing pace she needed, clocking 1:53.70.
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SOCCER ACTION CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND
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TODAY’S FIXTURES
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IN ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Crystal Palace vs Manchester City
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IN ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
ON SATURDAY
Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest
Bournemouth vs Everton
Coventry City vs Hull City
Tottenham vs Newcastle United
ON SUNDAY
Chelsea vs Brighton
Leeds United vs Brentford
Sunderland vs Fulham
Manchester United vs Ipswich Town
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IN SPANISH LEAGUE
ON SATURDAY
Levante vs Real Betis
Real Sociedad vs Espanyol
Sevilla vs Atletico Madrid
ON SUNDAY
Real Madrid vs Málaga
Valencia vs Deportivo de A Coruña
Celta Vigo vs Athletic
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
You have got to get up every morning with determination if you are going to go to bed with satisfaction…words from George Lorimer.
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