International Football Thread

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Senegal stun Morocco to win AFCON title​

Brahim Diaz missed a penalty, as Gueye’s goal sealed the game in extra-time

AFP
January 19, 2026

Senegal players celebrate with the trophy after beating hosts Morocco in the final to win the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time in their history. Photo: AFP

RABAT: Senegal stunned Morocco in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final as Pape Gueye’s goal gave them a 1-0 extra-time win over the hosts at the end of a match marred by disgraceful scenes following a controversial penalty award.

Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco when he stepped up to take the spot-kick in the 24th added minute at the end of normal time.

But Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay of almost 20 minutes that followed the penalty award.

Congolese match referee Jean-Jacques Ndala gave the penalty right at the end of the allotted eight added minutes following a VAR check for a challenge on Diaz in the box by Senegal defender El Hadji Malick Diouf.

Diaz, the rest of the Moroccan team and their bench vehemently protested to the referee to check the images, but the decision to eventually give the spot-kick was met with fury by Senegal and their fans.

As most of their players walked off the pitch, some Senegal supporters in the small section of away fans at the opposite end of the stadium threw chairs and other objects and attempted to get onto the field of play.

They were eventually contained by a large barrier of police and stewards, and their anger turned to delight and disbelief when the penalty was saved.

The Senegal team had initially been riled by the referee’s decision to disallow for a foul a goal they scored in the second added minute when Abdoulaye Seck headed off the post at a corner, and Ismaila Sarr nodded in the rebound.

After Diaz’s penalty miss, however, it felt almost inevitable that a galvanised Senegal would go on to score, and they did so in the fourth minute of extra time to stun the home fans in the crowd of 66,526 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

Sadio Mane won possession in midfield and found Idrissa Gana Gueye, who released his namesake Pape Gueye.

 

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Would Man Utd 2008 really 'batter' Arsenal 2026?​

Manchester United won the Champions League and the Premier League in 2007-08

Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent

Maybe Theo Walcott realised what he had said as soon as the words left his mouth.

Walcott was talking to Wayne Rooney when he appeared to question if the Manchester United team of 2008 could "compete" with the Arsenal side of today.

Asked how they compare, Rooney did not hesitate for a second.

"Yeah, we'd batter them," United's all-time record goalscorer answered.

Of course, you would expect him to say that considering he was part of the United team.

In fairness to Walcott, he did also say the United side of '08 were "probably the best team that I've ever played against".

Rooney and Walcott were working as pundits on Arsenal's 3-1 win at Inter Milan in the Champions League.

It was a result which continued the Gunners' 100% record in the league phase. They are seven points clear at the top of the Premier League and hold a 3-2 advantage over Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.

With a home time against League Out outfit Wigan Athletic in the fourth round of the FA Cup, an unprecedented quadruple is very much alive.

 

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Slot praises Salah return on important night for both​

Salah made his first Liverpool start since the defeat by PSV in November

Aadam Patel
Liverpool reporter, AtStade Velodrome, Marseille
22 January 2026,
Arne Slot has good memories in Marseille. It was here in 2022 when his Feyenoord side held on to secure a place in the Europa Conference League final.

On the eve of this week's game in the bowels of the Stade Velodrome, he was asked about those memories. He was also bizarrely and rudely asked about Xabi Alonso's links to the Liverpool job.

Any noise surrounding the future of the Liverpool boss was quietened by a trademark European away performance from his side, who added Marseille to Eintracht Frankfurt and Inter Milan as the teams they have beaten on their travels this season.

Their unbeaten run of 13 matches (W7 D6) in all competitions may have been uninspiring for the large part but it is the longest ongoing streak of any team from Europe's big five leagues. In itself, credit must be due for that. Liverpool last lost a game in November.

 

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Liverpool on the up as new signings hit form: Slot​

The manager believes the Reds will only get better

Reuters
January 23, 2026

Arne Slot expects Liverpool's new signings to keep improving. Photo: AFP

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool boss Arne Slot believes the Reds will only get better in the years to come as a huge outlay on young talent in the transfer market begins to bear fruit.

Hopes of retaining the Premier League title were high at the start of the season after Liverpool splashed out nearly £450 million ($605 million) on new signings.

But bar some bright moments from Hugo Ekitike, the new faces struggled in the opening months of the season.

Alexander Isak has been beset by injuries since his British transfer record £125 million move from Newcastle and will miss most of the rest of the campaign with a broken leg.

But Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong have recently hit the form that saw them earn a move to Anfield during a 13-game unbeaten run for Slot's men.

"If you look at the age of the signings, they will be better next season and the season after," Slot said at his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday's trip to Bournemouth.

"We've spoken about Florian that he lacked goals and assists in the beginning but he was so close and even now he could almost double it with the chances he's having or giving to his teammates.

"I can only see positives in this team in terms of progress but we have to adapt so many times in the season.

 

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Pisilli's brace propels Roma past Stuttgart​

REUTERS

Aston Villa and Olympique Lyonnais are also through

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Schnitzel-fuelled Kane has Bayern hungry for history​

AFP

They have their sights set on a historic third treble

 

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Augsburg hand Bayern Munich first defeat​

AFP

They ended a 27-match unbeaten league run

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Bournemouth snap Liverpool's unbeaten run​

AFP
Amine Adli scored the 95th-minute winner to snatch a 3-2 victory

 

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Why have English teams dominated as Real & PSG face play-offs?​

Tottenham finished fourth in the Champions League but are 14th in the Premier League

Sam Drury, BBC Sport journalist
Gary Rose, BBC Sport journalist
29 January 2026,

The Premier League is flexing its muscles in Europe as five English teams finished in the top eight of the Champions League to reach the knockouts.

That could become six in the last 16 if Newcastle win their two-legged play-off after they finished 12th in the league phase following a 1-1 draw at defending champions PSG on Wednesday.

Arsenal finished in first place with Liverpool third, Tottenham fourth, Chelsea sixth and Manchester City finishing eighth.

History could be made if Newcastle progress through the play-offs as never before have there been six Premier League teams in the Champions League knockouts.

"That is dominant," said Spurs boss Thomas Frank.

"I think we all said for a few years the Premier League is the best league in the world and I think this is another sign of it."

 

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Financial power and physicality?​

The most obvious starting point is the financial power of the Premier League, which significantly outweighs other leagues.

Six Premier League sides sit inside the top 10 of the Deloitte Football Money League, while 50% of the top 30 come from the English top flight.

TV rights have generated enormous broadcast revenues for Premier League sides, with the income from that source dwarfing those of other countries.

Last summer, Premier League clubs outlaid more than ever before in the transfer window as spending surpassed £3bn.

To highlight just how much financial power Premier League clubs have over elsewhere in Europe, the total spent in the summer window was more than was spent by Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A clubs combined.

 

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More money means clubs can invest in bigger squads, with Arsenal seeing the benefits of spending big to increase their strength in depth as they finished first in the league phase of the Champions League and sit top of the Premier League.

"The biggest single reason that the English clubs have been dominant so far is the financial power of the Premier League," former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock told BBC Sport.

"Also, it is about how competitive they have got by fighting it out and being in and around each other - they have pushed each other on."

Newcastle forward Anthony Gordon also says a more open style of play in Europe has benefited English teams, while the Premier League is "more physical than I've ever known it to be".

"I think in the Champions League, teams are more open. They all try to play. It's less transitional," he added.

 

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Would Man Utd 2008 really 'batter' Arsenal 2026?​

Manchester United won the Champions League and the Premier League in 2007-08

Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent

Maybe Theo Walcott realised what he had said as soon as the words left his mouth.

Walcott was talking to Wayne Rooney when he appeared to question if the Manchester United team of 2008 could "compete" with the Arsenal side of today.

Asked how they compare, Rooney did not hesitate for a second.

"Yeah, we'd batter them," United's all-time record goalscorer answered.

Of course, you would expect him to say that considering he was part of the United team.

In fairness to Walcott, he did also say the United side of '08 were "probably the best team that I've ever played against".

Rooney and Walcott were working as pundits on Arsenal's 3-1 win at Inter Milan in the Champions League.

It was a result which continued the Gunners' 100% record in the league phase. They are seven points clear at the top of the Premier League and hold a 3-2 advantage over Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.

With a home time against League Out outfit Wigan Athletic in the fourth round of the FA Cup, an unprecedented quadruple is very much alive.

Forget 08, the 26 team beat them . This is not a slight on Arsenal but rather an assessment of how football has developed since the "guardiolization" of football.

Today 10 year old kids in junior games are playing out of the back with short passes. The flair and love for the game is coached out of them in return for numerical targets like xG, pass completion rate etc.

Arsenal under Arteta is the embodiment of this change. Own goals, corner goals and set pieces together make up for around half of their total goals scored this season. As an ESPN article put it:

"Arsenal of 2025-26 are on course to become the most set-pieciest, own-goaliest champions in Premier League history."

Should they manage to stay at the top at the end of the season they would in my view be the worst side ever to win the premier league. Arteta now has them forming centipede formations infront of goalkeepers to create chaos during set pieces.



The 26 UTD under Carrick seems to be imitating the football played under Sir Alex. If they managed to beat Arsenal the 08 Utd would have absolutely battered this Arsenal side.

 

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Real Madrid to play Benfica, PSG face Monaco in Champions League play-offs​

AFP
January 30, 2026



Real Madrid’s Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (2nd-L) hugs Benfica’s Ukrainian goalkeeperAnatoliy Trubin (C) at Estadio da Luz in Lisbon on January 28, 2026. — AFP

Real Madrid were handed a quick rematch with Jose Mourinho’s Benfica in the draw for the Champions League play-off round on Friday, while reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) will face domestic rivals Monaco.

Benfica beat Real 4-2 in their final game of the league phase on Wednesday, with a 98th-minute goal by goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin proving decisive in allowing the Portuguese side to snatch the last play-off spot ahead of Marseille, who were eliminated altogether.

The defeat also nudged Madrid out of the top eight places in the league standings, which gives direct access to the last 16, forcing them into this extra round.



Former French football player and UEFA Champions League ambassador Robert Pires holds up the slip of Real Madrid during the 2025-2026 UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off draw at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland on January 30. — AFP

Benfica staged a remarkable recovery to take a play-off place — they finished 24th in the 36-team league phase, the last qualifying spot — by winning three of their last four matches after losing their opening four games.

 

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Summary

Transfer deadline day: Follow the latest deals and reports throughout the day - Done deals so far (Jan 1-16 & Jan 17-Feb 1); the deadline in England is 19:00 GMT

Fulham have rejected an enquiry from Everton for midfielder Harry Wilson

Newcastle United insist midfielder Sandro Tonali is not for sale, after reports suggesting Arsenal are considering a move for him

Liverpool have agreed a £60m deal for Rennes defender Jeremy Jacquet on a five-and-a-half-year deal as he flies in for medical

Wolves accept a reduced offer worth £48m for striker Jorgen Strand Larsen from Crystal Palace which could accelerate Jean-Philippe Mateta's move to AC Milan

 

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