International Football Thread

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African players in Europe: Burkina Faso stars on target​

AFP

Ouattara struck in added time to seal a 3-1 victory for Brentford over Burnley

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Spain aim to turn 'suffering' to success in Nations League final second leg​

AFP
They would need to step up if they are to lift their third international trophy

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Real Madrid title hopes dented at Girona in third straight draw​

AFP

Ounahi gave Girona the lead before half-time, but Mbappe equalised from the penalty spot

 

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'Arsenal deserve to be clear - but who's best placed to challenge?'​

All the teams chasing Arsenal have got things they need to work on - for Chelsea, their lack of discipline is something that has to change if they are going to challenge for the title.

Moises Caicedo's dismissal in Sunday's 1-1 draw against the Gunners was the fourth time in 13 Premier League games that a Chelsea player has been sent off this season.

One of those red cards, for Malo Gusto against Forest, came so late it did not affect the outcome but against Manchester United, Brighton and now Arsenal, they have been a man down for a significant part of each match.

They have taken only one point from a possible nine in those games, and of course the red card had an impact on each result.

 

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Man City are conceding too many chances​

Aston Villa are probably in the best form out of the teams behind Arsenal in the chasing pack. Unai Emery's side have been brilliant recently and are on a really good run.

But from last season's top five, it's only the Gunners who have found any consistency - the other four teams have been up and down - particularly Liverpool and Newcastle, but including Chelsea too.

It's the same story with Manchester City, who are now in second place but still look shaky in defence and are giving up far too many chances.

 

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Arsenal extend Premier League lead, Chelsea beaten at Leeds​

Merino and Saka shine as Gunners march toward their first league title in 22 years

AFP
December 04, 2025

Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka were on target as Arsenal kept the initiative in the Premier League title race with a routine 2-0 win over Brentford. Photo: AFP

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LONDON: Arsenal edged out Brentford 2-0 to restore their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League on Wednesday as Chelsea slumped to a 3-1 defeat at struggling Leeds.

Liverpool needed a late Nordi Mukiele own-goal to avoid another damaging defeat at home in a 1-1 draw with Sunderland, while Aston Villa climbed up to third after a 4-3 victory at Brighton.

Arsenal failed to hit top form at the Emirates Stadium but did enough to take another step towards a first league title in 22 years thanks to goals from Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka.

Merino maintained his place up front despite Viktor Gyokeres' return to fitness and rewarded Arteta with another vital goal.

The Spaniard was picked out perfectly by Ben White's cross and powered in his 11th goal of the season for club and country.

"It's unbelievable what he has done again today," said Arteta. "The goal is magnificent. The movement, the quality, the finish, how he times it... It's phenomenal."

 

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Villa fightback

A late equaliser did little to lift the gloom around Anfield as Liverpool sit eighth.

The champions were hoping to have turned a corner with a much-needed 2-0 victory at West Ham on Sunday.

However, it was the same old story for Arne Slot's men as the combination of defensive errors and a lack of attacking fluency cost them another two points.

Sunderland took the lead on 67 minutes when Chemsdine Talbi pounced on a sloppy pass by Virgil van Dijk to fire in from outside the box.

Florian Wirtz thought he had finally opened his Liverpool account after a £100 million move from Bayer Leverkusen to salvage a point, but his strike took a wicked deflection and was eventually credited as a Mukiele own-goal.

Sunderland should still have registered their first Anfield win since 1983 when Wilson Isidor raced clear in stoppage time but was denied by a goal-line clearance by Federico Chiesa.

Villa produced a stunning fightback to secure an eighth win in nine league games.

Jan Paul van Hecke and a Pau Torres own-goal put Brighton 2-0 up inside 30 minutes.

Ollie Watkins had scored just once in 19 previous appearances this season but turned the game around with a quickfire double before the break.

Amadou Onana completed the comeback with a back-post header from Matty Cash's corner before Donyell Malen made it 4-2.

Centre-back Van Hecke curled in his second of the night to set up a tense finale, but Brighton succumbed to their first home defeat of the season.

 

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Salah tirade adds to Slot's troubles during Liverpool slump​

AFP

Forward benched at Leeds for third consecutive match

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Messi dazzles as Miami beat Vancouver to win MLS title​

AFP

De Paul and Allende strike from Messi’s assist to defeat Vancouver 3–1

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FIFA ️ 2026

 

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View attachment 164299
FIFA ️ 2026

Group of death H or I

 

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Palace beat Fulham to move up to fourth​

They secured an away 2-1 victory

REUTERS
December 08, 2025

Photo: REUTERS

BRIGHTON: Crystal Palace left it late to secure a 2-1 victory away at Fulham and move up to fourth in the Premier League on Sunday while Brighton & Hove Albion were held to a 1-1 draw at home by West Ham United.

Skipper Marc Guehi scored a late winner in the London derby to move Palace up to 26 points with their fifth away win of the season to sit a point above Chelsea in fifth. Fulham remain in 15th.

"It is good (to be in the top four), we keep our feet on the ground, it is only one win against a really good side and we now focus on the next game," Guehi said.

"It was a tough game, Fulham are a very good side who create a lot of chances with the rotation they have out wide, so it was important we stayed in the game and stay together.

"It is credit to the whole team, not me, as when everyone does their job it is easy."
Palace took the lead after Adam Wharton found Eddie Nketiah in the box and the striker produced a smart finish to beat goalkeeper Bernd Leno for his second league goal of the season.

 

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Two sent off for Real in Celta defeat​

The Los Blancos suffered a 2-0 defeat at home

AFP
December 08, 2025

Stunned: Celta Vigo's Swedish attacker Williot Swedberg scores his team's second goal in the win over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. Photo: AFP

MADRID: Real Madrid crashed to a damaging 2-0 home defeat by Celta Vigo on Sunday in La Liga, finishing the game with nine men after red cards for Fran Garcia and Alvaro Carreras.

Williot Swedberg struck twice in the second half for Celta, with Madrid's second league defeat of the season leaving rivals Barcelona four points clear at the top of La Liga.
Xabi Alonso's side, second, also lost defender Eder Militao to injury on a difficult night in the Spanish capital.

Madrid were playing their first match at home following six on the road across all competitions after hosting an NFL match at the Bernabeu, coinciding with a poor run of form, having now won just one of their last five league games.

"(This was) tremendous... we read the game very well, we had some luck in the chances that we had, but we did well," Celta striker Borja Iglesias told Movistar.

"With the team they have and their quality, it's hard to equal them, but we read it well, we had the ball, we played in their half, we played a great game."

With a juicy Champions League clash against Manchester City and Erling Haaland approaching on Wednesday, Alonso chose to rest centre-back Antonio Rudiger, starting with Carreras in the heart of defence.

 

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Salah's omission from Inter game is a consequence of his actions, says Becker​

He was not included in the 19-man squad for the UCL clash

REUTERS
December 09, 2025

Photo: REUTERS


MILAN: Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah's omission from Tuesday's Champions League game at Inter Milan is a consequence of his reaction to being left out of the side, teammate Alisson Becker said on Monday.

Salah, 33, was not included in the 19-man squad for the Inter clash after he said in a hard-hitting interview following Saturday's match with Leeds United that he had been "thrown under the bus" by the club.

"Salah not being available is just a consequence of what he did and he is smart enough to know that. I didn't speak to Mo about that," the Brazilian goalkeeper told reporters.

"We share good moments, happy moments so that creates a bond. We will have a conversation, but that is personal."

Salah, who has scored 250 goals, won two Premier League titles and a Champions League in eight years with Liverpool, was left on the bench in last month's 2-0 win at West Ham United.

He came on in the 1-1 home draw with Sunderland but was again an unused substitute at Leeds.

Ahead of the Inter fixture, Liverpool manager Arne Slot said he had no clue whether Salah had played his last game for the club, while Becker expressed hope for the Egyptian forward's return.

"I hope he plays again for the club. That's a personal situation between Mo and the club," he said.

 

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Arsenal remain unbeaten in UCL​

The registered a comfortable 3-0 victory over Club Brugge

AFP
December 11, 2025

PERFECT: Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli celebrates scoring their third goal with Arsenal's Noni Madueke. Photo: REUTERS

BRUGES: Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli scored wonder goals as Arsenal outclassed Club Brugge 3-0 on Wednesday to make it six wins out of six in the Champions League, virtually guaranteeing automatic qualification to the last 16.

Former Chelsea winger Madueke unleashed a thunderbolt from distance to give the table-topping Gunners a deserved first-half lead and headed in from point-blank range at the start of the second half.

Brazil forward Martinelli then put the result beyond doubt, cutting in from the left and hitting a curling right-footed effort home from just outside the box -- competing with Madueke for goal of the night.

The crushing win leaves injury-hit Arsenal top of the league phase of the Champions League with 18 points, with a top-eight finish all but assured with two games remaining.
Finishing in the top eight means automatic qualification for the last 16, avoiding the need for a risky play-off.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta praised his team's performance, particularly in light of their lengthy list of missing players.

"To play in the Champions League and to win away from home and especially when we have that many players out, it makes the task bigger but I talked to the boys," he told TNT Sports.

"It was about showing how much we wanted it, the resilience and how we prepared and I think there were some great examples, for example Christian Norgaard, which is a player that probably prepares the best out of all of them."

Rare defeat

Premier League leaders Arsenal, who have never been crowned European champions, travelled to Belgium after suffering their first defeat since August at the weekend -- a 2-1 loss at high-flying Aston Villa.

Ivan Leko, back at Brugge for a second spell as manager, was overseeing his first match after the Belgian club sacked Nicky Hayen on Monday.

 

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Man City rally to beat Real Madrid​

Erling Haaland scored a winning penalty in 2-1 victory

AFP
December 11, 2025

UNWANTED RESULT: Real Madrid came up short against Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday to leave coach Xabi Alonso in danger. Photo: AFP


MANCHESTER: Manchester City came from behind to beat Real Madrid 2-1 on Wednesday in the Champions League and leave Xabi Alonso's position as coach of the Spanish giants in grave danger.

Without injured superstar Kylian Mbappe, Madrid took the lead through Rodrygo Goes but Nico O'Reilly and an Erling Haaland penalty sent City in ahead at the break and ultimately secured Pep Guardiola's City the three points.

Spanish media reported in the lead-up to the game that a defeat would seal Alonso's fate as Madrid coach, although his team's performance was creditable, despite the eventual outcome at a frustrated Bernabeu stadium.

The record 15-time Champions League winners have now won just two of their last eight matches across all competitions, and face a battle for a place in the top eight of the league phase table.

"Until the (first) goal we scored, they were much better," admitted Guardiola.
"We've played much better than today (at the Bernabeu) and we didn't win."

Alonso was forced to leave his team's top scorer Mbappe on the bench, saying it would have been "a risk" to use him amid knee discomfort, and started 21-year-old striker Gonzalo Garcia instead.

Madrid knocked out City in last season's Champions League play-off round in February, but Mbappe scored four of their goals in the 6-3 aggregate win.

Fans whistled the team at times during the second half as they struggled to battle back.

"It's normal, Madrid is a very demanding club, with demanding fans, we've been here for years -- we know this can happen if we aren't good," Rodrygo told Movistar.
"It's fair and we have to accept it and try to improve to get out of this situation."

 

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Juventus edge Pafos at home​

AFP

The Old Lady registered their first home win of this season's Champions League

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Dortmund held to 2-2 draw by Bodo​

AFP

The German side sit 10th at the UCL table

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Manchester United await AFCON decisions​

Mbeumo, Mazraoui and Diallo are doubtful for Bournemouth clash

REUTERS
December 13, 2025

Photo: Reuters

MANCHESTER: Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim said on Friday that the club were preparing for multiple scenarios as they wait to find out if Bryan Mbeumo, Noussair Mazraoui and Amad Diallo are available for Monday's Premier League home game against Bournemouth.

The trio are due to join their national teams for the Africa Cup of Nations, which runs from December 21 to January 18. Mbeumo represents Cameroon, Mazraoui plays for Morocco and Diallo is part of Ivory Coast's squad.

The mandatory release date for players competing in the tournament is Monday, leaving United uncertain over whether they can feature before departing.

"We are still in conversations with the national teams, the game's on Monday, they are here, training and we are trying to prepare all scenarios," Amorim told reporters.

"It's frustrating but at the same time nobody knows who is going to play, so it's a good thing. We have players to cope with everything. With a long week you can see a lot of things and work on several stuff to prepare for the situation.

"I don't know if it's going to be the same situation (when each player goes to AFCON). Every national team has their ideas about when they want the players. I expect today or maybe tomorrow to have a decision but we are waiting until the last moment to choose the best team."