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UEFA Champions League·3–1

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In the shadow of the Alps, a boat ride from George Clooney’s villa, Manchester United’s torrid season plunged into chaos and infighting just 11 games in. Michael Carrick’s status as United manager is now precarious because witnessed here by Lake Como was a humiliation of the three-time European champions by Cesc Fàbregas’s competition debutants. At the end about 200 of United’s 700 travelling fans remained. Carrick walked over to say sorry, raising his hands three or four times in supplication. But, markedly, he ignored his players, the manager later admitting to “anger” at what was witnessed. He was then embroiled in a wrangle with his captain after Bruno Fernandes stated “the staff” decided on a tactic not to press. Carrick’s riposte, deep in the stadium at the post-game media conference, was pithy. “We actually half-pressed man-to-man the second half and then conceded a goal from that,” he said. And so, after Lisandro Martínez called out Jason Wilcox last week following the 2-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid (for the director of football’s recruitment; the defender later apologised), we now have the spectacle of the manager and his captain at loggerheads. Whether the 45-year-old will be in place for the visit of Bournemouth on Sunday is the searing question because Carrick was unable to rouse his players when 1-0 down at half‑time after a dire start, and if he has a tactical plan this is a mystery. Carrick brushed away questions about quitting and fearing for his job, but the executive will surely discuss this. The manner of the defeat will be top of the agenda because by 57 minutes this was over: Como were 3-0 ahead, and Nico Paz had destroyed Carrick’s men with a scintillating display featuring two goals and the assist for Tasos Douvikas’s strike. When the Italian side attacked and defended it was as a unit drilled supremely by Fàbregas. Carrick, on this and the evidence of only two wins all term, is a coach struggling to match this. Como’s supremacy in the most famous victory of their 119 years came with only 62 total Champions League appearances by their players to United’s 242. Or, more simply, this was the Italians’ men against United’s boys at a sold-out Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, where the visitors went down to a club whose tagline is “the most beautiful football in the most beautiful location”. For United, though, this was an ugly night in Lombardy. Disaster struck two minutes in. Carrick’s men snoozed, allowing a Paz curler from the right to beat Senne Lammens. This was a whole 60 seconds longer than Atlético were kept out, as United became the first English team to concede inside two minutes in consecutive major European matches. The opener came moments after Diogo Dalot spurned a simple opening to dizzy the hosts, so here was United, in microcosm, at each end of the pitch: a basic lack of quality. Mason Mount lined up alongside Andrey Santos in a midfield that had Matheus Cunha, Youri Tielemans and Bryan Mbeumo ahead, with Fernandes a false-ish 9. As Como hogged possession throughout, any United foray needed to threaten Jean Butez’s goal: Mbeumo’s corner from the right patently did not when failing to clear a first defender. After a near 24-hour deluge the rain finally stopped but Como’s blue wave continued relentlessly. United’s press was piecemeal, as Fernandes identified, maybe involving one or two, but never a group act. At the interval, Carrick had to earn his corn. In missing nine players because of injury, suspension or illness, there was mitigation. Matthijs de Ligt, partnering Harry Maguire in central defence, being thrown straight in for a first appearance in 325 days after a serious back injury illustrated Carrick’s straitened resources. Carrick’s move was to take off Cunha and Santos for Carlos Baleba and Amad Diallo in a reshuffle that took Tielemans into central midfield, Fernandes to No 10, and Mbeumo leading the line. The net result: Como’s second. Paz enjoyed a universe of time to thread in Douvikas, and he powered past Lammens. This was a mere four minutes into the second half and thoughts turned to the clock ticking on Carrick’s tenure, before Como scored twice more. First came Paz’s second, the Argentinian skating along the right and beating Lammens for 3-0. Then, on 76 minutes, Como waltzed through for a fourth time. Up rose Jacobo Ramón to head in Kaiki Bruno’s cross from the left and United’s disintegration was complete – Joshua Zirkzee’s stoppage-time goal not even a consolation. By the end Carrick seemed as broken as his team. Even if Carrick survives until Sunday, who knows how much longer he will remain after Bournemouth’s visit. He was let down in the summer market but at this club the manager usually pays, not the hierarchy.

UEFA Champions League·4–1

Matthijs de Ligt comes in for Manchester United, making his first appearance since November last year, as Michael Carrick makes four changes. Como make three changes, with Trevoh Chalobah missing out. Como: Butez; Yan Couto, Ramon, Kempf, Valle; Milla, Perrone; Da Cunha, Paz, Baturina; Douvikas. Subs: Ginelli, Sanchez, Caqueret, Dossena, Kaiki Bruno, Ricci, Smolcic, Liberali. Manchester United: Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, De Ligt, Mazraoui; Andrey Santos, Tielemans; Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes, Mount; Mbeumo. Subs: Darlow, Heaton, Zirkzee, Diallo, Baleba, Thompson, Lacey, J Fletcher, T Fletcher, Amass, Kamason, Armer. Referee: Sven Jablonski (Germany).

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Now then, which one of you hipsters decided to put Porto 0-1 PSV on? Oh dear. This was another night of Bigger Cup at its Bigliest self, comebacks everywhere, 40 goals in nine games, six of those in a best-v-best clash as Paris Saint-Germain rallied late against Barcelona. Even in defeat, Lamine Yamal found space to decorate the room with a ludicrous toe-poke equaliser, and there was a wholesome tale in Italy as Scott McTominay scored twice for Napoli in their 4-3 win against Bodø/Glimt. These were his first strikes since returning from heart surgery, taking his tally at the club to 29 goals in 86 appearances. No wonder Erik ten Hag was peeved with his bosses at Manchester United for shipping the midfielder off to Naples. But even after all that, Football Daily feels hollow, as it does for most of Bigger Cup’s group stage. The absence of jeopardy in the 36-team table remains a sore point, as PSG magnificently demonstrated during their back-to-back title-winning campaigns. In 2024-25 they finished 15th, taking seven points from their first six games; in the old days this meant a third-place finish in your group and a humiliating retreat to Big Vase. In 2025-26 Luis Enrique’s side settled for 11th and, once again, embraced their punishment of an extra knockout round. To be fair, this season they look as if they want to put their feet up in February, sitting pretty at the top with three wins from three. Liverpool, too, would have been OK without a special night at home, having won their first two games, but try telling that to the Kop. They got the thrills of coming back from two goals down to beat Villarreal, under-the-pump Florian Wirtz hit the winner, and Rio Ngumoha received plenty of love. The visitors got the full Anfield experience, with Villarreal’s manager, Iñigo Pérez, confessing: “We weren’t able to handle the emotion.” Having said all that, try telling Michael Carrick that the match in Como doesn’t really matter, that it’s perfectly fine if his United side make it two wins in 11 games this season. Cesc Fàbregas’s side are the opposition, which should make you feel really, really old. The boy who infamously flung some pizza in an Old Trafford melee, splattering Sir Alex Ferguson, is enjoying himself on the touchline. All grown up, he could make life seriously messy for another Manchester United manager. Join Simon Burnton from 5.45pm BST for Como 6-4 Manchester United in Bigger Cup, while Scott Murray will be all over Bayern Munich 5-3 Arsenal and Sarah Rendell will be on hand for a clockwatch covering the night’s other goalfests. “Before ‌every game I asked God ‌to let me leave the pitch healthy. But it was in vain. Not much time has passed, yet one thought keeps circling in my head: ‘why me?’ I never held anything back. I think I prepared for this game better than I ever had before. I thought I was ready for everything – but not for this. I know I have to come back stronger for my people, who are ‌always by my side. I won’t let you down – I promise I won’t waste a single moment.” – Khvicha Kvaratskhelia vows to recover stronger after it was confirmed that the winger will have surgery following an ACL injury sustained during the 4-2 victory over Barcelona. Ousmane Dembélé and Marquinhos also suffered thigh tears that will keep them out for a few weeks. double quotation markOne has to admire the courage of Erik ten Hag, speaking out on Man United’s ‘toxic culture’ [yesterday’s Football Daily, full email edition]. I broke out in a cold sweat reading about how they ‘give power to the players’. The stuff of nightmares, really” – Rowan Sweeney. double quotation markRoberto De Zerbi wants Spurs to be a family (yesterday’s Football Daily)? And he thinks playing for or with a family will avoid relegation? Well, I have this uncle. He’s called Weird Uncle Fiver (now there’s a throwback – Football Daily Ed), and he loves to [snip – Football Daily lawyers, and time-travelling pedants]” – Mike Wilner. If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day goes to … Mike Wilner. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here . This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

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Teenager produced man-of-the-match performance against Villarreal and has learned from Salah, says Reds captain The shot sailed wide of Peter Gulacsi’s top corner and into the Kop, affording Villarreal much-needed respite at 4-2, but for Andoni Iraola it was a standout moment in a scintillating Champions League display from Rio Ngumoha. To a coach that called for versatility from all of his wingers this summer, here was a significant step forward among many from the 18-year-old at Anfield. There were questions over how Ngumoha would adapt to playing on the right even before Liverpool increased the likelihood by signing Bradley Barcola for £123m from Paris Saint-Germain. On his fifth start under Iraola on Tuesday, which his side ultimately won 4-3, Liverpool witnessed an answer: quickly, incisively and confidently. The teenager’s willingness to cut inside from the right and shoot from distance with the left foot captured Iraola’s imagination as much as the devastating run that created Alexis Mac Allister’s second goal of the game. “I’m happy with his attitude because he’s eager to improve the things that we think he needs to improve,” said the Liverpool head coach after the comeback win against their Spanish opponents. “He has played a lot on the right lately. He’s feeling so comfortable now that he’s even adding some shots with the left. He hasn’t scored but he’s getting there, and if he can add these small things to his game it will put him in an even better position.” Ngumoha’s 71st-minute attempt was reminiscent of Mohamed Salah in its intent, if not in execution. The Liverpool great’s final season at Anfield may have been the exception to the exceptional in terms of his own contribution but, as an education to a gifted and hungry young winger, it was not wasted. As Virgil van Dijk noted that “a few senior players” have taken Ngumoha under their wing: “I would say Cody [Gakpo] is definitely part of that. Everyone is chipping in but for him to work with Mo last year was obviously massive. Mo was one of the best wingers at the club and experienced everything so why not soak in all the information and show it on the pitch and show your own qualities? I think he has shown it this season but there is still much more to come. He’s pretty electric at times and he showed it again. He was a complete threat constantly and their defender had a tough time.” The Salah comparison was not the only throwback for Liverpool against Villarreal. It was a flawed performance with Van Dijk’s early mistake, Iraola’s initial formation and Liverpool’s lethargy on the ball all punished by Iñigo Pérez’s slick side. “It was a terrible start,” conceded the Liverpool captain. “I think the saying is you fight an uphill battle and as a defender it is pretty difficult to come back from it. I tried but it was a bad day at the office personally but we do it together with 11 players. We turned it around and that’s the main thing.” The rousing recovery, the relentless high press, Iraola’s bold changes and the character required to overturn a 2-0 deficit all carried echoes of the Jürgen Klopp era. Given that was where Liverpool wished to return when replacing Arne Slot with the Basque coach this summer, Iraola’s 11th game in charge showed development is not confined only to Ngumoha. Van Dijk said: “If you look at it from that perspective, it is like that. We train a lot, tactically as well, but because there are so many games you learn playing games and this was a test in that sense because Villarreal were good on the ball. They also rotated a lot so you have to find moments when you can press them and when you can win the ball high. “Is this squad used to that [pressing style] because I don’t think many players have been part of that? What the manager wants us to do is something which resonates with Liverpool and it is down to us to show it in each and every game. It’s not easy, it’s demanding, but if you want to win games and win games in the Liverpool way then we have to do it. The first half was obviously not good at all and the second half was solid and we turned it around and that’s a good sign. Now we have to get ready for Brighton, a super team, which is coming.”

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He presented several arguments after Portugal walkout Inquiry chose to halve, then halve again his punishment Cristiano Ronaldo successfully fought to reduce his punishment for walking out on a Portugal training camp, after publicly saying his sanction should be imposed “without mitigating circumstances”. Ronaldo said in a lengthy statement on social media after he left the camp in Denmark last month that he should be punished as the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) saw fit and that his role as captain constituted “an aggravating factor”. However, during the disciplinary council’s inquiry the 41-year-old put forward several arguments for cutting his punishment, including his clean disciplinary record in recent seasons and his services to football. Ronaldo received a 30-day suspension and €255 (£215) fine, and the document accompanying the ruling reveals he presented three arguments in mitigation: his disciplinary record this season and in the previous three seasons, his services to football including recognition for sporting merit, and his contribution to establishing the facts of the case. To support these arguments, Ronaldo listed the club titles he has won and his achievements with the national team: the 2016 European Championship and two Nations League titles. His individual awards were also highlighted, including the fact that the Al-Nassr forward has won the Ballon d’Or five times. Beyond his achievements on the pitch, he mentioned the honours he had received from senior state officials. The decision-makers accepted Ronaldo’s arguments concerning his achievements and services to the country, using them to halve his suspension and fine. The punishment was then halved again because Ronaldo had accepted responsibility for his actions. Ronaldo’s suspension will be served in a period during which there are no international matches. It is unclear whether he intends to return to the national team – or whether the coach, Jorge Jesus, will select him again. The account of events provides a clearer picture of the circumstances surrounding Ronaldo’s departure from the training camp. After head coach Jesus held a press conference in which he reiterated that he was in charge of the team and that no player would influence his selection decisions, Ronaldo requested a vehicle from the FPF and set off for Copenhagen airport. During the journey, he called the Portuguese federation’s president, Pedro Proença, and told him he was “not in the right frame of mind” to remain with the team. “The defendant [Ronaldo] did not inform or provide prior justification to the federation or the men’s national team officials regarding his intention to leave the stadium and the training camp,” the ruling states. It says that between 30 September and 4 October, Ronaldo missed more than 30 team activities, including travel, training sessions and meals. The federation says that Ronaldo’s promise on social media, after leaving the training camp, to tell his fans “the whole truth” brought further negative attention to the incident: “Given his prominence as a public figure on a global scale, the defendant could not have been unaware that his conduct, in the circumstances in which it occurred, would be subject to intense media scrutiny, as indeed it was.” Ronaldo was therefore “expected to exercise particular caution in choosing the timing and manner in which he expressed his dissatisfaction with the manager’s decisions and conduct”. Instead, the player “further fuelled speculation and public curiosity by posting on Instagram on the very day he left Copenhagen, announcing that, ‘in due course’, he would tell ‘all Portuguese people the truth about the reasons that led to his departure from the men’s senior national team’,” the inquiry concluded. Portugal are scheduled to play Denmark again in their next game on 14 November in Braga.

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The Swede’s team are second in the NWSL and hope to create special memories at their Snapdragon Stadium “I love the ocean,” Jonas Eidevall says, and he references walks along the beach at Del Mar. “People are very relaxed, life is lived at a slower pace here. I’m a very simple person. I like to read a book, go to the gym and spend time with my wife and kids, that’s sort of all I need.” The former Arsenal head coach is reveling in a calmer world as the head coach of San Diego Wave but it is not merely the beaches that are lowering his stress levels; his team are on a five-game winning streak in the NWSL and sit second in the NWSL, one point off top spot, with two matches to go before the playoffs. Winning feels good and the club are targeting silverware, as he tells the Guardian: “It would mean everything. There are no guarantees in the playoffs, but the exciting part is saying: ‘We can also go all the way’ – that’s a possibility for us and we need to believe.” Success did not originally look destined, when the Swede took charge 21 months ago, at a time when San Diego Wave were enduring something of an exodus of senior players; the United States defender Abby Dahlkemper’s sale to Bay FC in August 2024 and Alex Morgan’s retirement a month later were followed by the USA forward Jaedyn Shaw’s departing for North Carolina Courage and her international teammate Naomi Girma joining Chelsea in January 2025. A reconstruction was needed. That is why, on a video call that winter, when Eidevall spoke to his players for the first time after taking charge, he began by quoting a proverb: if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together. “My ideas are not worth anything if we don’t believe and buy into them altogether,” he says. “We focused everything on just building connections as human beings.” Detailed tactical discussions were initially kept to a minimum. They spent – as he recalls – around four weeks of their six-week pre-season focusing entirely on passing out from the back, to develop their style. Fast forward to the present day and it has paid off, with the Wave defenders Kristen McNabb and Kennedy Wesley being the division’s top two players for passes completed this season. More notable, though, has been the development of young players, such as the 18-year-olds Melanie Barcenas and Kimmi Ascanio. “From 2024, when the club was not performing well on the pitch and it led to a complete rebuild, we had to find an edge, finding players that could fit into the way we wanted to play,” Eidevall says. “Back then [it] was a bit different to many other teams in the league, because the NWSL was seen as being dominated by athleticism and transitional play, which obviously then requires really fast players and maybe didn’t put a premium on technical supremacy.” He adds that the club therefore eyed players who are “really, really good technically. We had some young, talented players already – that has given us a really good advantage because we’ve been able to develop players in a salary cap league. That’s huge, because if you only buy readymade players, you will run out of salary cap space pretty quickly.” It is not just the salary cap that differs in the NWSL, compared to Eidevall’s previous jobs at Arsenal and Rosengård. The broad competitiveness of the American league means that, despite being second in the table, San Diego have lost almost as many games this season as Eidevall’s Arsenal across three English campaigns, and he says: “This was new for me. [In] European leagues the top teams very rarely go two games in a row without winning. Here, even the team that wins the league might go through spells where they don’t pick up points, so the way you handle those moments becomes very important. “Training [here] is also a challenge – sometimes it’s very hard to get 22 players because you have a limited roster size. The moment you start to have injuries … there’s no real second-team academy system like we have in Europe, where you can always have the numbers that you want. Here you might not, here you would like to do something 11 v 11, but you have 18 players and you just have to be creative with how you coach.” Trying to play entertaining football has been a target in a campaign during which they have already set new club records for regular-season wins and goals scored. They have done it with the second-highest average possession share in the division, more shots on target than any other team and while facing by far the fewest shots on target. “That’s the most pleasing part, results through an identity rather than getting results the other way around,” Eidevall says. “The identity we have is to allow the players to be creative.” We are speaking around two years after Eidevall resigned as Arsenal’s head coach on 15 October 2024, following a disappointing start to that season. In his three full campaigns at the helm in north London he had won two League Cups, reached a Champions League semi-final and secured a second-placed top-flight finish in 2022 – but was unable to win the WSL. Reflecting on what he learned from that spell, he says: “We had a lot of fluidity with how our wide players could play in Arsenal, which at times created too few central options. So, how do we get better central connections? How do we get more players central on the pitch? That was a long-term reflection on my time at Arsenal. And that’s also led to some tactical changes that we’ve done here with San Diego.” There is an aspect of his Arsenal tenure that he is determined to take inspiration from at San Diego, with his team having secured a home playoff quarter-final at their 35,000-seater Snapdragon Stadium. The 43-year-old fondly remembers the first sellout crowd for a women’s match at Arsenal’s 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium, for their Champions League semi-final against Wolfsburg in 2023: “We want to sell out Snapdragon Stadium and in order to do so we need to do exactly what we were doing at Arsenal – we need to create special experiences at the stadium,” he says. “That is what’s going to draw people into there. Yes, play exciting football, but we also need to play games that mean a lot to be there. The ripple effect of that, that’s so big.”

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City behaved much like other top clubs but their rule-breaking deserves to be punished. The Bundesliga, where members have a controlling stake, can show the way forward Do we have to reassess Manchester City now? In my columns, I have repeatedly engaged with this club and its key figures. Looking back at what I have written over the years, I believe it remains beyond question that the team have achieved greatness. I always loved watching them: they were a true unit on the pitch, a finely tuned orchestra. I would also write all over again that the conductor, Pep Guardiola, masters his craft like few others. I could recognise his teams even if they were wearing the wrong shirts and the game was broadcast in black and white – by the passes, the distances between the players and the intelligence of their interplay. It is no wonder Guardiola inspires others to become managers; look at Vincent Kompany, Mikel Arteta, Enzo Maresca, and perhaps some time Ilkay Gündogan and Rodri. As a player and a columnist, I never had an issue with Manchester City. Precisely because, for many years, the club avoided buying the most obvious superstars. Guardiola said it himself: the most valuable of the valuable do not go to a club like City, who aren’t even the biggest football brand in their own home town. Many became world stars in Manchester. Kevin De Bruyne had been discarded by Chelsea, Rodri’s true class was overlooked in Madrid for a long time, Gündogan’s career was on the brink after injuries, and most recently Gianluigi Donnarumma was no longer wanted in Paris. In Germany, City signed players from Hamburg, Frankfurt and Wolfsburg. Erling Haaland in 2022 was the first player they targeted who was also pursued by Bayern Munich. City did not operate like Paris Saint-Germain did in the era before Luis Enrique. From the outside, City fundamentally did not do much differently from the other 10 or so top European clubs. But what are achievements on the pitch worth if they are accompanied by rule-breaking? The club has been found guilty of breaching the Premier League’s financial regulations between 2009 and 2018. It allegedly invested almost €1bn more than allowed and declared. The league leaders face potential forced relegation or having titles stripped. City continue to deny wrongdoing and are appealing against the decision. It is right for the Premier League to crack down on unfair competition. I also appreciate that Germany is holding on to the 50+1 rule, which the federal cartel office recently upheld. It ensures that the majority of voting rights must remain with the parent club – the non-profit section of a professional club. The exceptions that have applied to Leverkusen and Wolfsburg are under review. The bedrock of our football culture is 50+1. This rule exists only in Germany, yet it speaks to a spirit that fits perfectly with the European sports model: 50+1 maintains a balance; on the one hand it allows for investment, on the other it guarantees participation. It strengthens the rights of members and fans. Perhaps it is because of this rule that the average attendance in Germany is higher than anywhere else in the world. What is the ultimate purpose of football? It is a business, but its infrastructure is still developed by the general public. That is how I have always understood sport. Even as a professional, it was clear to me that my privileged life was made possible by many people working on a voluntary basis. Through my role as tournament director of the European Championship, these political connections have become even clearer to me. The stadium and football clubs can remain the final places where people gather and society debates its issues only if the elite and the grassroots stay connected, and the public is involved in the process. Football must not be detached from its roots, as was the case with Manchester City. This becomes possible when rules are enforced by an institution. Ideally, not by a commercial entity but by a non-profit one such as Uefa. In business, as in politics, I am observing a shift in mindset. Today, it is deemed necessary to invest in non-profit institutions. More and more companies realise that football allows for a genuine exchange with the population – that it provides the perfect vehicle to set up corporate social responsibility projects. This is what is needed in these politically turbulent times. In our fragmented world, political parties, churches and the media have lost credibility. In sport, however, people still come together. It is a tool to foster social cohesion. Therefore, I consider 50+1 to be a distinct competitive advantage for the Bundesliga. I also welcome the fact that rules mean something in another case. Uefa is standing firm against Gianni Infantino, who recently wanted to privatise the World Cup and its profits. Along with his friend Donald Trump, he was seen by many as breaking the normal rules when Folarin Balogun’s suspension was lifted. The outcry from the global football community was loud, and it is possible that the Fifa president will fall. When behaviour like that in Manchester and at Fifa is punished, it is a good thing. Football must prevent questionable ideas from distancing it even further from its grassroots. Only then can it drive engagement in civil society, and only then can it strengthen Europe. Philipp Lahm’s column was produced in partnership with Oliver Fritsch at the German online magazine Die Zeit.

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Kvaratskhelia to undergo surgery on right knee Paris St Germain’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ⁠will undergo surgery after rupturing the anterior cruciate ⁠ligament in ⁠his ​right knee in the Champions League win over ⁠Barcelona. Kvaratskhelia twisted ⁠the knee during PSG’s 4-2 ​victory on ‌Tuesday and was ‌helped off the pitch just ‌before the hour, with the Georgian winger unable to put any weight on his right leg. Kvaratskhelia landed awkwardly after sprinting back to make a tackle on Xavi Espart and looked in severe pain as he clutched his right knee. He played a leading role in helping PSG to back-to-back Champions League titles and is one of the contenders for the Ballon d’Or, which will be awarded on Monday. Ousmane Dembélé had earlier been forced off with a thigh injury and the defender Marquinhos was substituted with a similar injury. PSG ⁠said both players would have treatment ​for the next ​few weeks. The PSG coach, Luis Enrique, used Dembélé sparingly in the French league last season and has rested him twice in Ligue 1 this campaign. The France forward, who scored six goals at the World Cup, struggled with injuries last season and had been beset by leg muscle injuries at his previous club, Barcelona. In the 2024-25 Dembélé played 50 games in a season for the first time in his career and his performances earned him the men’s Ballon d’Or. Barcelona have made a complaint to Uefa over a “chainsaw massacre” banner displayed on Tuesday. The banner carried the slogan “Massacre, Parisien style” and depicted a masked man in a PSG shirt cutting through a Barcelona crest with a chainsaw, with pyrotechnics giving the effect of sparks flying as the saw made contact. Sources close to the Catalan club said the content of the banner, and some offensive chants from the stands, were reported to Uefa’s match delegate.

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Jonathan Bukabakwa gets extra five-year ban from Fifa DRC’s FA ordered to improve education and compliance A coach in the Democratic Republic of the Congo who was banned from football for 20 years by Fifa for sexual abuse of a minor has had his ban extended by five years to 2048 by the world governing body. Jonathan Bukabakwa, known as Messi, has also been ordered to pay an additional fine of $15,000 (£11,200) after the Guardian revealed he had continued to work with young players despite his suspension. The Congolese Association Football Federation (Fecofa) and Racing Club Baki, where Bukabakwa was coaching, have been fined $50,000 each by Fifa’s ethics committee for failing to comply with its decision to ban him for 20 years in 2023. Fecofa has also been instructed to introduce a “comprehensive education, compliance and monitoring programme for its officials, affiliated clubs and registered members” to try to ensure there is no repeat. “The Congo DR Football Association, the club Racing Club Baki (formerly known as Esperanto FC), and the coach Jonathan Bukabakwa were found responsible for failing to comply with the decision rendered by the Fifa ethics committee on 18 October 2023,” said a Fifa statement. Bukabakwa, who previously coached youth teams in the Limpopo and Malabo regions, was convicted of sexually abusing minors by authorities in the DRC and was released from prison last year. A Guardian investigation in August revealed there was video footage of him coaching young players at Esperanto in the Limete district of the capital, Kinshasa. Local sources confirmed he had regularly been seen taking charge of players on a school field. Bukabakwa did not deny continuing to coach young players but claimed he had not been informed of his Fifa ban. He said he had not been questioned or received any communication from the governing body. He has denied the allegations against him. The case has raised further questions about safeguarding in Congolese football and the ability of authorities to ensure that suspended individuals do not continue participating in the sport. Bukabakwa was provisionally suspended by Fecofa in November 2022 after media reports of alleged widespread sexual abuse in the DRC. Several other coaches were provisionally suspended at the time, although investigations into some of those other cases did not establish sufficient evidence for further action by Fecofa or Fifa. Véron Mosengo-Omba, elected as Fecofa’s president in May, has promised to look into the previous cases once he has re-established a disciplinary committee. Fecofa was under a Fifa-appointed normalisation committee from 2023 until his election. “We will make sure that no one who is behaving like this will be involved in football in this country,” he said.

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Plus: the longest kit supply partnerships, more own goals (part II) and consecutive goalless draws Mail us with all of your questions and answers “Harry Kane is now Bayern’s seventh-highest scorer of all time, as well as being Tottenham’s highest scorer. The man he overtook at the top of that list, Jimmy Greaves, is also Chelsea’s seventh-highest scorer of all time. Do any other players feature on two (or more) clubs’ all-time top- 10 scoring charts?” asks Owen Powell. A trawl through the Knowledge archive reminded us that we have previously looked at players who are the record goalscorer for more than one club. This question is slightly different, as we’re focusing on goalscorers who are in the all-time top 10 for the most different clubs. There are dozens of players who appear for two clubs, including Sergio Ag üero (Atlético Madrid and Manchester City), Kenny Dalglish (Celtic and Liverpool), Jimmy Greaves (Chelsea and Tottenham) , Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Inter Miami), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid and Al-Nassr) and Alan Shearer (Blackburn and Newcastle). There’s one more worthy of mention. “ Harry Johnson is all-time top scorer for both Sheffield United and Mansfield,” writes Darren White. “He played for the Blades between 1919 and 1931, scoring 201 league goals. At the age of 32, he left for Mansfield, scoring 104 goals for them over three seasons. He didn’t play for anyone else, so he has the possibly unique record (for someone with more than one club) of being top scorer for every team he represented.” And so to those who are among the top 10 goalscorers for more than two clubs: “ Romário (Vasco da Gama, Flamengo and PSV) and Delio Onnis (Monaco, Tours FC and Gimnasia) feature on at least three clubs’ all time top-10 scoring charts,” writes Dirk Maas. “Onnis also played for Toulon, but I could not find an official source to confirm that Onnis is in their top 10 as well.” Elsewhere, Rhys Shakeshaft suggests Robbie Keane , who is among the top 10 goalscorers for three of his clubs (Tottenham, LA Galaxy, ATK), and André-Pierre Gignac (Marseille, Toulouse, Tigres UANL). And Tom Stuart was among those who nominated John Aldridge (Newport County, Oxford United, Tranmere Rovers). The striker is also the Republic of Ireland’s fourth-highest goalscorer. As well as being Cameroon’s all-time leading goalscorer, Samuel Eto’o is potentially in the top 10 for four clubs: Mallorca, Barcelona, Anzhi Makhachkala and Antalyaspor. “I’m not 100% sure if I can trust the Antalyaspor record,” writes Rhys Shakeshaft, who sent in the answer, “but I’m happy with the other three.” Historical goalscoring data isn’t always 100% reliable, but we think Sam Kerr is among the top 10 leading scorers for five teams: Perth Glory FC, Western New York Flash, Gotham FC, Chicago Red Stars and Chelsea. Even five clubs wouldn’t be a record. “I’ve managed to find one male footballer who, amazingly, is in the top 10 for six different clubs!” writes Ben. “Morocco’s Abderrazak Hamdallah is the all-time top scorer for OC Safi (Morocco), second for El-Jaish (Qatar), fourth for Guangzhou R&F/Guangzhou City (China), fourth for Al-Nassr, seventh for Al-Ittihad and 10 for Al-Shabab (all Saudi Arabia). He’s 35 years old and has just joined Al-Taawoun, so it’s entirely possible he’ll add another club to that list.” “The German national kit is not going to be made by Adidas any more, going to Nike after 70 years. Is this the longest kit supply partnership in history, and what’s the longest current run in club football?” asks Paul Savage. Dirk Maas has unearthed a couple of club sponsorships that have lasted more than 60 years. “Adidas has been Bayern Munich ’s kit sponsor since 1965,” writes Dirk, “but the first time the Adidas trefoil was visible on the shirt was 17 October 1973. HJK (from Helsinki) also started a partnership with Adidas in 1965, one that has continued uninterrupted ever since. The first HJK shirt with the Adidas trefoil I could find was in 1976.” We can’t find anything to beat the 70-year relationship between Germany and Adidas. We think that, when that deal officially ends, the longest partnership in international football will be between Austria and Puma. That goes back to 1977 and includes some memorable kits – most of them for the right reasons. In the Knowledge last week we looked at players who scored more own-goals than goals during their career. A number of you pointed out the omission of Des Walker , a magnificent defender for Nottingham Forest and England in particular, but one who wasn’t renowned for his goalscoring exploits. Walker famously scored only once in more than 800 games, an improbable belter for Forest against Luton in 1992. But he scored at least seven own goals – four for Forest and three for Sheffield Wednesday. The Forest collection included the winner for Spurs in the dramatic 1991 FA Cup final. He also scored at the wrong end when Sheffield United came from 2-0 down to beat Forest in a First Division playoff semi-final in 2003. His other own goals came in the League Cup: against Crystal Palace in January 1992 (a week after he scored against Luton) and Portsmouth in 2003. He also managed at least three own goals during his time at Sheffield Wednesday, against Liverpool (1994-95), Tottenham (1995-96) and Preston (2000-01). That gives him a career balance of -6 goals: an unbecoming legacy for one of England’s greatest central defenders. “After Lahti’s fourth consecutive 0-0 draw last night, does anyone know of a similar run?” tweeted Finnish Football Show back in 2017. This question was made for George Graham, and he hasn’t let us down. His Arsenal team played four league games in October 1993 and drew the lot 0-0. In Arsenal’s defence (or should that be attack?) they did score some goals in cup matches during the month. Still, four consecutive 0-0s in the league is pretty impressive. Surprisingly enough, Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal also managed a quartet of 0-0s in the league during the 2008-09 season – though they also scored and conceded in cup games during that period. Goalless George did it again at Spurs, with four consecutive 0-0 draws in January and February 2001. They were all in the league but as no cup games were played in that period it counts as four consecutive 0-0s in all competitions. Serhiy Rebrov was guilty of appalling statisticide when, in the next league match at Manchester City, he scored the only goal in the 90th minute. Wolves tested the will of season-ticket holders with four consecutive 0-0s at Molineux at the back end of the 2015-16 season. Udinese managed four in a row in the 1982-83 Serie A season, a campaign in which – and you’ll like this – they drew 20 of their 30 games. Como matched that feat in Serie A in 1986-87. That season, they played 30 games, scored 16 goals and conceded 20. Best of all, earlier this year [in 2017 – ed] FC Rostov followed a 6-0 win at Tom Tomsk with five consecutive 0-0 draws in the Russian Premier League, though they were punctuated by a Europa League goalfest at Old Trafford: Rostov lost 1-0. “Burnley have gone a calendar year without a home league win. What is the longest home drought, in the league or in all competitions?” asks our own Niall McVeigh. “Last week, Justin Seven-Seven came on in the 75th minute and then scored in the 77th minute for West Brom Under-21s against Sutton United in the National League Cup. You have probably already guessed my question, but has anyone else ever scored in the same minute as their name?” wonders Peter Skilton. “Since the advent of squad numbers, has any club used every number from 1 to 99? Which British club comes closest to using all 99 one and two-digit numbers?” asks Vasko Wackrill. “With the constant talk of the golden boot and how unstoppable Erling Haaland is for Manchester City, wouldn’t a team be more dangerous if all of the outfield players, including substitutes, scored at least once or perhaps a few times during a season? Have there been any teams in which all of their outfield players have scored at least once in a particular season? If not, which group has had the most players score in a season?” asks Bob Zoellner. “In the third round of the Portuguese Cup, played last weekend, six clubs from the Primeira Liga were eliminated by teams from lower divisions,” begins Cláudio Gameiro. “Is this a record for a European league? And has a national cup final ever been contested by two teams from lower divisions? I’m betting France.” “By my reckoning, Ross County have already scored 81 goals this season: 38 in 10 league games (including beating poor Queen of the South 8-0 and 7-1), 30 in six Challenge Cup group games, 13 in six League Cup games. They may well have scored a century of goals by the end of October! Surely that cannot be bettered. What is the earliest a team has hit a century of goals in a season?” asks Stephen James. Mail us with all of your questions and answers

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The Overlap has gone daily, with Steven Gerrard and Joe Hart among the latest additions to an ever-growing family Viewed in 2026, Nathan Barley, Chris Morris’s 2005 sitcom, shows remarkable prescience about the last two decades of metropolitan life, from smartphone addiction and digital derangement to sheer existential vapidity. When Barley’s character referred to his occupation as “self-facilitating media node”, Morris and co-writer Charlie Brooker were way ahead on the creator economy. What the pair failed to predict was ex-footballers joining the sector in droves. These days, if you are a former footballer without a podcast or YouTube channel, then did you ever really play the game? Setting aside the Gary Lineker Goalhanger empire, manspreading its centrist-dad agenda into issues way beyond guffaws with Micah Richards and Alan Shearer, there is Gary Neville to rule them all. Manchesterism’s second-most influential practitioner has been on heavy manoeuvres. Unlike Lineker’s productions, the Overlap’s output continues to stick largely to football; a rugby podcast was mothballed in February, though its cricket equivalent continues. Having snatched Wayne Rooney from the BBC in the summer for a Manchester United-based two-hander with the YouTuber Mark Goldbridge, last week the Overlap went daily, extending the output to 4pm Monday to Friday. An online launch had Jamie Carragher baiting Goldbridge, real name Brent Di Cesare. The former policeman shunned a “no comment” approach during his interrogation, biting back during an exchange that had Neville choking on his Huel in laughter. Clipped up, the send button pressed, job done. The Overlap has gained a TV family dynamic, a chorus line of familiar characters. Neville and Carragher are mummy and daddy bear, football’s Richard and Judy. Jill Scott is the dotty aunt, Roy Keane the irascible uncle, smirking along with Ian Wright in picking over the latest gossip. It has been highly popular, occasionally agenda-setting, softening Keane’s image, even making a cultish figure of production hand Kiaran Saunders, supplier of biscuits and blueberries. Neville’s empire-building, though, is boundless, his tanks bulldozing into the already packed football podcast space, with newsletters to follow. The Overkill, anyone? The family has been extended. Mondays have Steven Gerrard reviewing the weekend’s action with Becky Ives, this week offering a defence of Florian Wirtz: “Don’t give up on him.” Tuesdays have Kelly Cates and Ashley Young in tandem. Tim Sherwood and Jamie Redknapp are Wednesday’s pairing. Not the first time the Sky mainstays, one-time Tottenham midfield partners, have diversified. In the mid-2000s, they ran Icon, a lifestyle magazine initially only available to professional players. A combination of high-end advertising, onanistic photography and Redknapp’s purring interviews with A-list sportspeople fell flat, even after it became available in airport first-class lounges. Two decades on, such cologne-fragrant exclusivity has been swapped for the ubiquity of Bury’s most famous son piling it high. The quarter-zipped ex-Spurs duo are not alone as 1990s footballers taking the Neville shilling. Mark Crossley and Duncan Ferguson make an unlikely – but promising – pairing. Previously most famous for being the only goalkeeper to save a Matthew Le Tissier penalty, Crossley has made a successful after-dinner speaking career of Brian Clough anecdotes and “young man” impressions. “Big Dunc” completely refused to speak to the media when a player but he was a hit within ITV’s World Cup 2026 coverage. On last week’s edition Ferguson suggested Gianluigi Donnarumma might be over the hill. “He’s 27, actually,” said Crossley before a classic game’s gone discussion of video assistant referees ruining the sacred art of smashing into the opposition at goal-kicks. Just what the listener came for, eating perhaps into the Under The Cosh’s market share of real football man podcasts. Whether Ferguson’s appointment as Glentoran manager breaks up the band is unclear, though management never halted Robbie Savage’s many media ventures. Two further goalkeepers have signed up. Last week’s Friday edition had Joe Hart and Peter Schmeichel entering the Manchester City charges chat. While admitting to mistakenly burying the lead when Lisandro Martínez was willingly dishing the dirt on Manchester United while serving as CBS’s Champions League interviewer in Madrid last Tuesday, Schmeichel gave Hart a far harder ride. “It’s tough to be a Manchester City person,” Hart said. “I love the club … we’re in it together.” Schmeichel stayed insistent on City’s owners: “They’re letting Manchester down, they don’t understand what this place is. They have built a lot of towers and homes and all that but they don’t get this place.” “I’ve worked closely with Khaldoon [al-Mubarak] and he does get this place, that’s my reference point,” said a hesitant Hart. “He’s an incredible person.” More good, strong, clip-up content. The City affair will ask former players to intersect with uncomfortable issues for some while yet. That Neville’s further business interests include building projects running parallel to the Abu Dhabi-funded developments in Manchester is another example. Overlaps have become unavoidable in more ways than one.

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Arsenal have beaten Nottingham Forest, Sunderland and Leeds this season thanks to goals from players off the bench They say that once is an accident, twice is a coincidence and three times is a pattern. After Mikel Arteta’s substitutes proved decisive yet again for Arsenal, we can say with certainty that his ability to change games from his bench is a pattern worth noting. With Arsenal labouring away at Nottingham Forest and the game drifting towards a goalless draw, Noni Madueke – introduced at half-time – won the game for the visitors, shimmying inside and striking a heavily deflected right-footed shot past Matz Sels. It was hardly a glamorous goal but it secured three valuable Premier League points for Arteta’s side. It continued a recent trend. In each of their past three Premier League victories, Arsenal have won the game thanks to winning goals by substitutes. Bruno Guimarães provided the decisive contributions against Sunderland (2-0) and Leeds (2-1), before Madueke repeated the trick against Forest. They are the only goals Arsenal’s substitutes have scored in the league this season. Five teams have scored more goals via their replacements, with Ipswich leading the way on five, but all of Arsenal’s substitute goals have been winners. The record for the most winning goals scored by substitutes for a team in a single Premier League season stands at six. With three in their opening seven games, if Arsenal maintain their current rate, their subs are on track to score more than 16 winning goals. That would obliterate the record. Clearly, that is not going to happen, but it does show how influential Arsenal’s substitutes have been in changing games so far this season. Funnily enough, that record of six winning goals thanks to substitutes is held by Arsenal themselves. They hit that tally under Arteta in 2024-25. And therein lies the real pattern. This phenomenon is not confined to just this season – it is an area in which Arsenal have excelled since Arteta joined the club. Since his appointment in December 2019, Arsenal have scored more winning goals from substitutes than any other team. Over the course of the past two seasons, Arsenal substitutes have registered more goals and assists combined than any other Premier League side. We cannot solely attribute this success to Arteta’s in-game management. When you have been given the resources Arteta has to assemble a squad as deep and strong as Arsenal have, it stands to reason that the players you are able to bring off the bench are players who would probably be starters in most other Premier League teams. Thirteen different Arsenal substitutes have either scored or assisted a goal across this season and last, more than any other side. Having that quality available inevitably increases the likelihood of substitutes making an impact. Arsenal’s approach to matches is also a contributing factor. They are comfortable controlling games without necessarily blowing teams away on the scoresheet. They are often happy to remain patient and lean on their exceptional defensive strength, safe in the knowledge they will eventually produce decisive moments in the opponents’ final third. That approach naturally creates situations in which subs can thrive. A substitute introduced with the game level after an hour has a greater opportunity to score the winning goal than one entering a match that has effectively been settled already. Close victories have been a hallmark of Arsenal under Arteta. Since his appointment, they have won by a one-goal margin 66 times – at least 13 more times than any other manager. Nevertheless, we still have to give Arteta a lot of credit. Squad depth clearly helps, but there is undoubtedly a skill in knowing when to turn to your bench and who to bring on. You might argue that Manchester City are the only side with a squad that can rival Arsenal’s in terms of depth – yet they do not appear highly on the lists above. One noteworthy aspect of Arteta’s management is the speed with which he makes substitutions. He has already made four half-time substitutions in the Premier League this season, a tally exceeded only by Brentford (six) and Aston Villa (five). Guimarães came on at half-time to change the game at Sunderland, and Madueke’s introduction against Forest was the latest example of that proactive approach paying off. Arteta led the league last season for the number of times the first substitute he made in a game came at half-time (11), while on average he made his first sub after 50.2 minutes in games. That made him the second quickest to act, behind only Enzo Maresca at Chelsea (47.9 minutes). Arteta has also not always had such a strong squad. Arsenal’s current depth is the result of years of meticulous squad-building and coaching, a process in which he has played a central role. Perhaps the clearest indication of Arteta’s effectiveness in his use of substitutions comes when comparing him with other managers across Premier League history. Among the 81 managers who have taken charge of at least 100 Premier League matches, his substitutes have scored 12.6% of Arsenal’s goals. That is the seventh-highest proportion in the competition’s history. And, with the possible exception of Unai Emery, the others above Arteta are less comparable in the sense that they have not had the same resources at their disposal. For Arteta to be as high on the list as he is, despite the overall number of goals his teams have scored, shows there is more to this than simply having talented players to call upon. He has developed a knack for knowing how to change the game with his substitutes. Perhaps that could be the ace up Arsenal’s sleeve when it comes to deciding where the Premier League trophy resides in May.

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IFR chair David Kogan insists regulator has power to act City have appealed against Premier League’s charges The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) will have “absolute power” to force Manchester City’s owners to sell if they are ultimately found to have run the club improperly, the watchdog’s chair has said. Manchester City have been found guilty of circumventing Premier League rules by an independent commission, which found they set up “sham” commercial arrangements to inflate revenues or reduce costs by over £900m over a nine-season period. They were also found to have made “concerted efforts” to “stop and frustrate” the Premier League’s investigation into those arrangements. City have lodged an appeal, claiming the verdict “contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe”. David Kogan, the chair of the IFR, told podcast The Rest Is Football it was premature to talk about any action his organisation might take while the appeal was ongoing. Kogan did confirm, though, that the IFR had “absolute power” to force a sale by the club’s ownership, if that was felt to be appropriate. “We have the power to ask an owner to step away from a club if we believe that they run a club in a way that is neither fit, fair or done with propriety,” Kogan said. Asked if an owner could refuse to divest, Kogan replied: “No, no, no. We’ve got absolute power to do so.” On the possibility of the IFR investigating City, Kogan said: “I am not going to get pushed into making any judgement on this until we’ve seen all of those questions being answered. Then we will have to decide whether we’re going to mount our own investigation and come to a conclusion on that and what we’re going to do. And pre-empting that would be a colossal mistake.” Manchester City are majority-owned by Abu Dhabi United Group (Adug), an investment vehicle owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family. Kogan has already pledged to resign if there is any political interference in any investigation the IFR may undertake into City, amid concerns it could create a diplomatic issue between the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Kogan’s comments came amid fresh scrutiny of Manchester City’s finances by the UK’s accounting watchdog. In a letter to the House of Commons business, innovation, science and trade committee, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) confirmed it assumed “regulatory consideration” of the matter on 30 September. The FRC said it was examining the independent commission’s findings and making “preliminary enquiries” to establish whether there were grounds for a formal investigation.

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Midfielder scores for first time since heart surgery Ten-man Atlético hang on for draw against Stuttgart Scott McTominay scored his first two goals of the season to help Napoli beat Bodø/Glimt 4-3 and relieve pressure on the coach, Massimiliano Allegri. McTominay, who also hit a post, missed a month of the season after undergoing a surgical procedure in early September to treat an irregular heartbeat. Matteo Politano’s first-minute opener was cancelled out by Bodø’s Jens Petter Hauge. McTominay restored Napoli’s lead before the break only for Andreas Helmersen to again level for the Norwegian club. The Scotland midfielder struck again on 71 minutes and Odin Bjørtuft’s late own goal secured the result. Bodø still managed an injury-time consolation from Sondre Brunstad Fet. Atlético Madrid held on with 10 men for a 1-1 draw with Stuttgart , foiling the German underdogs’ bid to join Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool at the top of the table on nine points. Julián Alvarez’s goal for Atlético had cancelled out Jamie Leweling’s opener when the midfielder Morten Hjulmand made a reckless sliding tackle from behind on Angelo Stiller, resulting in a red card that left Atlético clinging on. Serhou Guirassy scored twice but Borussia Dortmund wasted plenty more chances in a 2-1 away win over Azerbaijan’s Sabah . It wasn’t the sort of convincing victory the German team were hoping for, after last week’s loss to Bodø/Glimt and draw at Union Berlin which allowed Bayern Munich to take the top spot in the Bundesliga. Pavel Kacor’s leaping volley in the 90th minute earned Slavia Prague a 2-2 draw at Fenerbahce , extending the hosts’ long wait for a Champions League win. The Turkish side had been leading 2-0 early on before a defensive blunder by Mattéo Guendouzi let the Czech team back into the game. PSV won 1-0 against Porto thanks to Guus Til’s 57th-minute winner as the Portuguese side slumped to a third loss. Roma cruised to a 4-0 win over Slovan Bratislava with Mario Hermoso, Nahuel Molina and Niccolò Pisilli on the scoresheet before Donyell Malen added a fourth from the penalty spot.