IN UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Real Madrid star Federico Valverde has scored a superb stoppage-time winner as Real Madrid avoided an upset at AEK Athens to maintain their one hundred percent record in this season’s Champions League.
Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham scored a goal each for Real Madrid, while Aboubakary Koita and Stavros Pilios scored a goal each for AEK Athens.
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Liverpool’s one hundred percent record in the Champions League ended by a remarkable comeback from Dirk Kuyt’s Fenerbahce.
Alexander Isak came off the bench to restore Liverpool’s lead midway through the second half after former Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood cancelled out Trey Nyoni’s opener.
However, two goals in quick succession from Englishman Archie Brown and Vedat Muriqi gave Fenerbahce a stunning victory inside a raucous stadium.
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Crystal Palace have lost their appeal against Jean-Philippe Mateta’s red card in the defeat by Tottenham on Saturday.
The striker was shown a straight red by referee Michael Oliver for a late challenge on Micky van de Ven when the game was still goalless, after just thirteen minutes.
Oliver originally gave a yellow card but it was upgraded after a video assistant referee review.
The France forward will now miss three matches, Sunday’s fixture at Liverpool, the trip to Coventry on 21st November and a home game against Hull on 29th November.
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West Ham United have confirmed the appointment of former midfielder Scott Parker as their new head coach on a two-and-a-half-year contract.
The 46-year-old replaces Nuno Espirito Santo, who was sacked after the club’s disappointing start to the Championship season.
Parker previously led Fulham, Bournemouth and Burnley to promotion from the Championship, but has been out of work since leaving the Clarets in April after their relegation from the Premier League.
He will take charge of the team for the first time on Wednesday when West Ham travel to Cardiff City in the Championship.
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IN NIGERIA
A brace from Awawu Bashiru and a strike from Queen Joseph earned Nigeria’s Flamingos a three-one win against Brazil to reach the final of the 2026 FIFA Under-seventeen women’s World Cup in Morocco.
The Flamingos are now the first African team to qualify for the final of the Under-seventeen women’s World Cup.
Nigeria’s best ever finish before now was third place in India 2022 when they lost to Colombia on penalties in the semi and beat Germany on penalties to claim the bronze.
Victory over Brazil means the Flamingos will now face Japan in the final on Saturday, 7th October.
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Flamingos star Awawu Bashiru has produced an outstanding individual performance, scoring a brilliant second-half brace to earn the Player of the Match award.
The Nigerian youngster proved to be a constant thorn in the side of the South American defense throughout the encounter.
Operating at the heart of every dangerous attacking move launched by the Flamingos, Bashiru’s relentless movement and sharp decision-making kept Brazil’s backline under relentless pressure.
Bashiru’s brilliance paid off in the 71st minute when she netted Nigeria’s second goal to break the deadlock.
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The Confederation of African Football, has announced the nominees for the 2026 Men’s Player of the Year award, with Nigerian internationals Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman notably missing from the 10-man shortlist.
The omission of both players comes despite their impressive contributions to Nigeria’s campaign at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON in Morocco, where the Super Eagles finished third.
Meanwhile, Senegal and Morocco dominate the nominations, with three players each making the shortlist.
Senegal’s nominees are Sadio Mané, Ismaïla Sarr and Pape Gueye, while Morocco’s representatives are Achraf Hakimi, Brahim Díaz and Ismaël Saibari.
The remaining nominees are Ivory Coast’s Amad Diallo, Democratic Republic of Congo’s Yoane Wissa, Ghana’s Antoine Semenyo and South Africa’s Teboho Mokoena.
The awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on Monday, 7th December, 2026, in Lagos, Nigeria.
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Nigeria international Samuel Chukwueze has successfully undergone surgery to repair a ruptured tendon in his left hip, AC Milan have confirmed.
The Serie A club announced on Wednesday that the operation took place in London and was performed by Professor Ernest Schilders, with Dr. Stefano Mazzoni in attendance.
The 27-year-old winger is expected to remain sidelined until the end of the year, ruling him out of Nigeria’s upcoming 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double-header against Tanzania’s Taifa Stars.
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Former Super Eagles striker Victor Anichebe is reportedly on the verge of completing a takeover of EFL League One club Bromley as he prepares to make his first major move into football club ownership.
The former Everton forward is leading a wealthy African consortium currently in advanced negotiations to acquire the Ravens.
Anichebe is reported to be holding talks with Bromley owner Robin Stanton-Gleaves, with both parties working towards finalising an agreement.
The proposed takeover comes at a difficult period for Bromley, who have struggled to adjust to life in League One despite enjoying a remarkable rise through the English football pyramid.
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OTHER LEAGUES
AC Milan head coach Ruben Amorim has urged his squad to find consistency ahead of their Thursday UEFA Europa League encounter with Ferencváros.
Addressing the media before the fixture, Amorim stressed that establishing a steady level of performance is vital if Milan are to fulfill their continental ambitions.
The manager acknowledged that his side currently possesses a dangerous volatility depending on their mental approach to each match.
Highlighting the narrow margins in modern football, Amorim warned that thorough match preparation by opposition coaches leaves zero margin for complacency.
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Real Madrid is confident of winning the race to sign Manchester United forward JJ Gabriel after reaching a verbal agreement with the teenager.
The 16-year-old is registered at United, but has not been back to the club since walking out in September.
Gabriel, who played against Atletico Madrid on United’s pre-season tour, had been expected to become the club’s youngest debutant in September’s Carabao Cup tie against Brighton.
His availability alerted clubs around Europe, including Barcelona and Paris St-Germain, but Real now expect to sign the youngster in January.
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Tennis great Rafael Nadal is set to join the board of Spanish football giants Real Madrid.
Nadal won 22 Grand Slam titles, two Olympic gold medals and helped Spain claim five Davis Cups before retiring in 2024.
Real’s members will be asked to approve the 40-year-old’s appointment to the board at a meeting later this month.
In a statement announcing the move, the club said Nadal was one of the greatest legends in the history of sport and one of the most admired and recognised Spanish athletes in the world.
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Leeds United star Harry Wilson is back in Wales’ squad for their Nations League matches against Norway and Portugal, while there is a first call-up for young goalkeeper Joe Duncan.
Wilson has been one of Wales’ most influential players in recent years but injuries mean the Leeds United attacking midfielder has not featured for his country since March.
His Leeds team-mate, centre-back Joe Rodon, also returns despite not playing since injuring his hamstring in August.
Cardiff City playmaker Rubin Colwill is recalled but fellow midfielder Jordan James is out after sustaining an injury while playing for Wolves against the Bluebirds last Saturday.
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Former Burnley striker Jay Rodriguez has announced his retirement.
The 37-year-old England international began his career with the Clarets and eventually left his hometown club to join Southampton in 2012.
He made one England appearance in 2013 and subsequently joined West Bromwich Albion before returning to Turf Moor in 2019.
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Andorra centre-back Lautaro Spatz says the team’s goalkeeper Jesus Owono would never intentionally hurt anyone and has been deeply affected by the death of Tenerife forward Jesus de Miguel.
Writing on social media, Spatz said Owono was devastated.
The world of football has paid tribute to De Miguel, a father-of-one who joined Tenerife in summer 2025, with a minute’s silence being held at all European games this week.
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Celtic manager Martin O’Neill has admitted that three straight defeats does not augur brilliantly for Celtic’s chances of progressing in the Europa League but believes his side are still capable of qualifying as they prepare to host Besiktas on Thursday.
The Scottish champions and current Premiership leaders suffered another blow on Sunday with a two-nil defeat away to Falkirk that means they have won just three games in their latest ten games overall.
Manager O’Neill also admits that he does not yet know his best starting XI following a summer of squad changes and injuries.
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OTHER SPORTS
In Tennis, Novak Djokovic is out of the race to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin after a second-round defeat by qualifier Rinky Hijikata at the Paris Masters.
It means Djokovic, has failed to qualify for the event for only the second time in the past twenty seasons when fit.
The Serb likely needed to reach the semi-finals in Paris to qualify, although the draw had appeared to open up for him after two of his rivals for a place fell earlier in the day.
Despite a good start, Djokovic was unable to repel Australian world number 83 Hijikata in a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 defeat.
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In Cricket, Leicestershire’s relegation from Division One of the County Championship has been confirmed after failing in their appeal against a points penalty.
It was during the penultimate match of the season in mid-September that the independent cricket discipline panel handed down an initial 27-point punishment for the poor pitch they produced against Glamorgan a month earlier.
Leicestershire were stripped of all nineteen points earned in the win over Glamorgan and hit with an extra eight-point penalty – as well as a further suspended eight-point deduction and five thousand pounds fine.
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In Rugby, England must improve their discipline given they are the second-best side in the world when they have fifteen players on the pitch, says Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney.
During a miserable Six Nations campaign, England received eight yellow cards and one red across five matches, meaning they played 118 minutes almost a game and a half of rugby at less than a full complement.
They finished the 45-21 defeat by South Africa in July with 13 men after yellow cards for Tommy Freeman and Guy Pepper, while four second-half sin-binnings contributed to Argentina coming close to a successful fightback a fortnight later.
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In Golf, Six-time major winner Rory McIlroy has said those connected to LIV Golf were expressing an ambition to destroy the European Tour at the 2026 Masters, only months before the league filed for bankruptcy protection.
The 37-year-old from Northern Ireland was a vocal opponent of LIV, the controversial Saudi-backed breakaway tour that attracted some of the biggest names in the sport when launched in 2022.
DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings said LIV had a stated aim to destroy the DP World Tour and McIlroy added that the claim was made at the Masters this year, a tournament he won at Augusta National for his second consecutive Green Jacket.
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TODAY’S FIXTURES
IN UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE – LEAGUE STAGE
AC Milan vs Ferencváros
Crystal Palace vs Hoffenheim
Real Sociedad vs Olympique Lyonnais
Sparta Prague vs Bournemouth
AZ Alkmaar vs Juventus
Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Marseille
Benfica vs Lech Poznan
Celta Vigo vs Union Saint-Gilloise
Celtic vs Beşiktas
Sunderland vs Dinamo Zagreb
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
I have never played for a draw in my life…words from Alex Ferguson.
