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The centre-back could not see a way forward at Leeds so moved to France. Now he’s preparing for the biggest game of his life against Juventus “Leaving England is such a scary, scary decision,” says Charlie Cresswell. It is a decision that he never thought he would make. His father Richard made a career as a journeyman footballer in England; his brother Alfie was coming through Leeds’ academy; Charlie was already on the fringes of the Yorkshire club’s first team when the opportunity to join Toulouse arose in 2024. “That was the biggest decision I made in football,” he says. “I’ve been a Leeds fan since I was eight. I’d been at the club since I was 10 but, looking back, I was 20 years old with no games, and I needed to get out and go play,” says Cresswell, now at Rennes and preparing to face Juventus in the Europa League. He insists that proving a point to his formative club is not his intention, even if it is a natural by-product of his rise. “I think of it like I’m here doing my job, working as hard as I can, making a career for myself,” he says. A loan spell at Millwall didn’t provide an opening for Cresswell, who would make just 14 appearances for Leeds’ senior side. He wanted more. Opportunities arose in England. He chose France. Attracting attention from Toulouse – the Brighton of French football, commended for their data-led approach – is always a good sign. The defender was a mainstay. From a possible 68 games in Ligue 1, he started 57 times for Carles Martínez Novell across two seasons before getting his move to Rennes last summer. “I had options to go back to England,” he says. Brighton had been linked with the former England youth international. The decision to stay in France was made after a discussion with his partner. Whereas Toulouse have lived in the comfort of midtable in recent seasons, expectations are higher at Rennes, who aim for the Champions League places. “There’s that expectation to win games,” says the centre-back. “That was important for the next step. At this moment in my career, being 24, it’s about keeping building to get where you want to get to. I was picking the right place where I can grow again and keep improving. And the next step for me was to play in Europe and especially to have that expectation to win because, with where I want to go, I’m going to need to build that know-how of how to win games under pressure.” From his time at Leeds, Cresswell knows Raphinha, Joe Rodon and Glen Kamara, all of whom played at Roazhon Park, as well as Djed Spence, a former England Under-21 teammate, who spent time on loan at Rennes from Tottenham. He didn’t need any of them to put in a good word. “It’s a club that sells itself,” he says. Rennes are unbeaten in the Europa League this season (one win, one draw). How far can they go? “No limits, there are no limits. It would be stupid to put limits on ourselves. Why not? We can say that we can win it.” A trip to Juventus awaits on Thursday. It is no exaggeration to say that this is the biggest game of his career. Despite excelling in Ligue 1, and in particular against PSG earlier this season, he can forge a reputation on the European stage and perhaps force his way into the England conversation. That’s the idea. “I’ve always said ever since I was a kid, it’s my biggest, biggest dream to play for my country. All I can do is carry on working,” says Cresswell, who can look to the likes of Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen) and Trevoh Chalobah (Como) as inspiration. “It gives you hope. It gives you motivation that, if you’re doing well abroad and in Europe, they’ll give you a look, and they’ll give you a chance,” says Cresswell, who was a two-time European champion with the Under-21s. Angel Gomes was given his England debut while he was a Lille player; Ethan Nwaneri also trained with the England squad over the summer despite a difficult loan spell at Marseille last season. Ligue 1 has garnered a reputation as a league where young players develop, and Cresswell says that he feels like he’s “come on leaps and bounds as a player” since moving to France. “And I feel like I’ve got so much more to improve on, which is exciting,” he adds. Cresswell is being pushed in training by Esteban Lepaul in particular. The Rennes forward was the top scorer in Ligue 1 last season; he is top of the goal charts this time around, too, and recently earned his first France caps. “I call him the Jamie Vardy of France,” jokes Cresswell, a reference to Lepaul’s career path from dropping out of Lyon’s academy to working his way back to the top via amateur football during his mid-twenties. “He’s always ready for that chance. I see it in training as well. He hits the ball so hard; he’s a killer in front of goal,” says Cresswell. With Lepaul banging in the goals, could Rennes mount a title challenge? It’s at this point that Cresswell gets a little philosophical. “I don’t really think about where we’ll finish. I think about what’s going to happen at the weekend and how we need to go about doing our best against the next game, and then the next game. It’s always the next. It’s never about looking at where I’m going to be in 10 months or at the end of the season, because that’s not the fun bit. “The fun bit is the journey and the fun bit is the training every single day and the enjoyment of the matches, seeing the fans, being around it all. People get carried up so much in the destination rather than enjoying the journey” Cresswell doesn’t make that mistake. He may one day move back to England but that doesn’t even cross his mind: “I’m not rushing back at all. I’m not looking at it as ‘I’m here to go back.’ No, I’m here to work and I’m here to win.” Paris Saint-Germain once again had to call in the cavalry against Strasbourg. Unlike against Le Mans a week prior, Ousmane Dembélé was in the squad, although he did not start. He was joined on the bench by Achraf Hakimi, Désiré Doué, Vitinha and Nuno Mendes. And once again, the A-team was called into action. When they came on a week earlier, PSG had been drawing against Le Mans; against Strasbourg, Les Parisiens were trailing. Despite missing a penalty, a well-rested Dembélé proved the difference, setting up Illia Zabarnyi’s equaliser before scoring the goal that completed the comeback and put PSG ahead in the 85th minute. Doué added a third in injury time. Brest, Marseille, Le Mans and Strasbourg have all pushed PSG, foiling Luis Enrique’s squad management plans – not that it mattered against Manchester City. Barcelona could prove a sterner test this week. The game of the weekend was in the capital. Paris FC beat fellow European contenders Rennes in a seven-goal thriller at the Stade Jean Bouin. Esteban Lepaul’s three penalties – the last of which came in the 88th minute – looked to have salvaged a point for the Breton club. However, Lassine Sinayoko, who had put Paris FC ahead 12 minutes earlier, earned and converted an injury-time penalty. Liam Rosenior’s excellent start to life in Paris continues. They are one of the five clubs with 14 points at the top of the table. This is an article by Get French Football News

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A goal against PSG is proof on the scoresheet of what can be seen on the teamsheet: At long last, Reyna is getting consistent minutes. For an entire four-year cycle, to write about Gio Reyna was to write about his potential – especially the nagging feeling that it was going unfulfilled. Once hyped as possibly the greatest prospect in US men’s history, a series of injuries kept him from simply taking the field, much less making his mark on it. Since his emergent 2020-21 season, when he logged nearly 2,000 Bundesliga minutes running alongside Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, and Jadon Sancho, Reyna finished each of the ensuing five seasons without even cresting 630 league minutes. “Rotational” became a generous descriptor for his role at Nottingham Forest on loan, and then last season with Borussia Mönchengladbach. Still, Gregg Berhalter and Mauricio Pochettino kept involving Reyna with the US squad based on that pesky potential – betting that, on his day, he still had the raw talent to do what few compatriots could. This year, those days are finally coming with regularity. Since faring well in a contributor’s role at the World Cup, Reyna has moved to France with Strasbourg, and he’s remained first-choice in a youthful squad whose average age of 21.6 more closely resembles a postgrad program than a Ligue 1 roster. Coupled with his newfound status as a two-time World Cup selection, Reyna appears more comfortable as a budding leader than the would-be wunderkind with an unfortunately lengthy injury ledger. Life’s simpler that way. “Keep showing up every day, training, recovering,” Reyna said of his current focus when speaking with reporters during the most recent US window. “[I’m] doing everything I need to prepare mentally and physically for every training and game. I feel good, though, and I’m feeling more confident every time I step on the pitch.” The only player to start in all four friendlies during the September/October international window, Reyna was understandably rotated out of Strasbourg’s first lineup upon his return to France before being restored for Saturday’s visit from Paris Saint-Germain. It ended as most Ligue 1 matches involving PSG do, with the two-time defending European champions doing just enough to claim all three points. But before PSG’s three goals, there was an opening strike from Reyna. Beginning with his attacking-half regain from a bad pass by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Reyna collected the ball and worked a one-two before dribbling into the box. With Lucas Digne in tow, Reyna drifted toward the center before slotting a well-placed shot between a befuddled Filip Jörgensen and his near post. A run to the supporters. A knee slide. A casual salute. At last, Reyna is more relevant for his exploits as a player rather than as a concept – but the reason why goes far beyond that goal. For the first time in his career, Reyna has managed to start eight consecutive games for club and country, with the streak only ending as he was rotated following the window. A month shy of turning 24, his body is finally letting him lean into the promise he’s shown since he first turned heads as part of the New York City FC academy. It doesn’t hurt that he harbors less pressure to carry the team than he previously has. Much like Christian Pulisic, the bombastic arrival of Cavan Sullivan and a host of other young players have eased the pressure of the spotlight, and Reyna can once again act as a veteran voice. To start the window, Justin Ellis said he especially looked up to Reyna during his own academy days in Orlando. Shortly afterward, Ellis opened his US scoring account off of a looping free-kick from Reyna. At last, the US is developing enough players who appear to boast potential to play in Europe’s big five that no individual is seen as the make-or-break piece. Still in the first half of his 20s, there’s plenty of time left for Reyna to put forth a fine career, away from the dueling shadows of his father, Claudio, and the initial idea of what he could be during his Dortmund heyday. At long last in a comfortable position at Strasbourg, he’s beginning to write his own story.

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Bayer Leverkusen come from behind to beat Freiburg Noah Cadiou’s second-half penalty for Lorient prevented Monaco returning to the top of Ligue 1 as they fell to a 1-0 defeat in Brittany on Sunday. Monaco are one of four teams level on points at the top of the table as they were joined by Paris FC , who edged Rennes 4-3 thanks to Lassine Sinayoko’s injury-time penalty. Rennes dropped to fifth, a point behind, despite forward Estéban Lepaul’s hat-trick of penalties in Paris. That left champions Paris Saint-Germain, who beat Strasbourg 3-1 on Saturday, top on goals scored ahead of their cross-town rivals and Lille, with Monaco just behind on goal difference. Lyon have a chance to overtake PSG when they host Nice later on Sunday. Marseille picked up a much-needed win as they thumped Angers 5-2 to pull away from the relegation zone. Le Havre remain rooted to the foot of the table as Cameroon forward Danny Namaso’s double helped Auxerre come away from Normandy with a 3-1 victory. Ibrahim Maza and Patrik Schick combined to score two goals as Bayer Leverkusen came from behind to beat in-form Freiburg 2-1 in the Bundesliga on Sunday. After a shock defeat to promoted Elversberg in the season opener, Leverkusen have now picked up 13 of a possible 18 points and sit fourth, level with third-placed Freiburg – who host Bayern Munich next weekend – on points. Rock bottom Borussia Mönchengladbach are still searching for a first point of the season after losing 2-1 at home against fellow strugglers Hoffenheim . Hoffenheim’s Bambasé Conté opened the scoring with his second goal in two games since a surprise call-up to the Germany squad in October. Wael Mohya levelled for the hosts just after the break but Alexander Prass put Hoffenheim back in front shortly afterwards as the visitors, who host Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday, won just their second game of the season. Cesc Fàbregas’s Como ended their three-game winless streak in Serie A on Sunday with a 3-1 victory at lowly Fiorentina . First-half goals by Mattia Liberali and Nico Paz put the visitors in charge, before Marin Pongracic halved the deficit shortly before the interval. Anastasios Douvikas netted early in the second period to put to bed any hope of a Fiorentina comeback and keep the hosts locked in the relegation zone on four points. Milan leapfrogged Como into fourth as they survived a second-half comeback from Atalanta to win 3-2. Goals from Gonçalo Ramos, Adrien Rabiot and Mario Gila put Milan 3-0 ahead after 58 minutes before Atalanta rallied through Gianluca Gaetano and Nikola Krstovic. Lazio travel to Juventus later on Sunday where a win would take the Romans level on 19 points with Inter at the top of the table. Earlier, Lecce won 3-0 at Udinese , with Kialonda Gaspar, Konan N’Dri and Jamil Siebert all finding the net. An early penalty from Ante Budimir and a late Asier Osambela goal from earned Osasuna a 2-0 win against Racing Santander in La Liga while Celta Vigo won 2-1 at home against Alavés . Later on Sunday, Real Madrid host Sevilla , needing a win to narrow the nine-point advantage held by Barcelona.