The bare facts are bleak: Coventry City are only the second team in Premier League history to lose their first four games of the season ­without scoring a goal. “And yet …” will be the enduring message from Frank ­Lampard to his players. And yet they have caused prob­lems for opposition teams. And yet they have already faced three of the top flight’s European contingent. And yet they are not altogether playing that badly – the Brighton goalkeeper Bart ­Verbruggen being named player of the match can attest to that. But Coventry des­perately need a point, or even a goal, to give their ­confidence a much-needed boost. It does not take long for a promoted club’s relegation fears to turn to reality. Continue reading...

Al-Hilal’s Rúben Neves subjected to chants at Al-Taawoun Neves was close friend of Jota and pallbearer at funeral Cristiano Ronaldo said that fans who appeared to ⁠make chants referencing his former teammate Diogo Jota at Rúben Neves during a Saudi ⁠Pro League ⁠match ​should be banned for life from football stadiums. The chants occurred on Saturday during ⁠a fixture between Al-Taawoun and Neves’s side, Al-Hilal, in Buraydah, Saudi Arabia. Continue reading...

Derek McInnes has endured a much‑scrutinised start to life at Ibrox but the Rangers manager got the old ground bouncing here as his side dominated Celtic in front of an all-blue crowd to decide the first Old Firm encounter of the season. Against a backdrop of bouncing techno from the tannoy, Rangers fans celebrated three memorable goals in a thumping League Cup win. A brace for the captain, Dan Neil, bookended Kevin Kelsy’s second‑half finish to put Martin O’Neill’s side down with relative ease. It also showcased a nascent identity for McInnes’s side, one defined by unbending physical commitment and lots and lots of sprinting. The quality of the football may have been patchy, but the commitment was enough to get the 51,212 home fans at the top of their voices. Continue reading...

Manager Tonda Eckert’s future remains in the balance with the FA yet to decide over a suitable punishment Fifty seconds was all it took for the chant to begin. “You know what you are, you know what you are, cheating bastards, you know what you are,” bellowed the Bristol City fans, starting up a cry heard from every away contingent coming to St Mary’s Stadium this season. The Southampton supporters responded with sarcastic applause, then drowned out the noise with songs of their own. This is what life is now like for Southampton after May’s spying scandal – a saga whose full consequences are still unknown and could have ramifications for the season ahead. The English Football League acted swiftly after photographs emerged of a junior staff member hiding behind a tree to film a Middlesbrough training session, expelling Southampton from the Championship play-offs and deducting four points after the club admitted multiple spying offences, including on Oxford United and Ipswich. The Football Association’s case against Tonda Eckert, the manager, is taking far longer. And patience is wearing thin. Continue reading...

Milan come from behind in 2-2 draw with Lazio Kylian Mbappé strikes twice as Real Madrid cruise Felix Nmecha scored twice and Fábio Silva grabbed another as Borussia Dortmund won 3-0 at home to promoted Paderborn to continue their perfect start in the Bundesliga. Dortmund’s win made it three from three in the league this campaign, their best start in 11 seasons, dating back to Thomas Tuchel’s time. Starting up front alongside Serhou Guirassy for the first time this season, Silva converted a clever pass from the Guinean to give the hosts the lead after five minutes. Guirassy had two goals disallowed for offside in the first half but Dortmund were rarely troubled by the toothless visitors, who are yet to score since returning to the top flight. Continue reading...

‘No wins, no goals scored … it is tough for the players’ Spurs in 17th place after 0-0 draw against Everton Roberto De Zerbi says his Tottenham players continue to lack physical fitness and must “unblock” themselves in psychological terms after they drew their latest Premier League blank in a home 0-0 with Everton . It is now four games in the competition since the start of the season without a goal for Spurs; they sit 17th in the table with two points and were booed off by frustrated fans. De Zerbi gave a number of explanations for Spurs’ slow start, chief among them the injuries that a clutch of players sustained on the long-haul pre-season tour to New Zealand and Australia. He lamented the impact of the World Cup on the return dates of certain players and mentioned how Sávio and Omar Marmoush had signed late in the transfer window. Continue reading...

Leeds manager embraces bravery and is encouraging ambition after leading a remarkable turnaround in fortunes Eleven years have passed since Daniel Farke mounted a magnificent palomino horse and rode round the perimeter of the pitch at Lippstadt, waving farewell to a capacity crowd. It seemed a fun way for the lower-tier German club’s centre-forward turned manager and sporting director to say goodbye. Yet few in the stands knew Farke was scared of horses and hauled himself into the saddle only out of politeness towards his chair, who had arranged this special surprise. “I couldn’t deny him,” he said. “But it cured my fear – it was enjoyable.” Continue reading...

The chants from the away end about winning the league were sung in jest, but Hull continue to show they are here to stay. Sergej Jakirovic’s dogged, intelligent side are third in the Premier League after extending their unbeaten start to four games and can even count themselves unfortunate not to have beaten another of the Big Six after pushing Chelsea to the limit in an absorbing battle at a frustrated Stamford Bridge. Hull were 2-1 up at half-time and they had the chances to snatch the points during the second half. It took two big saves from Emiliano Martínez to prevent an upset, but this was not a good day for the Chelsea goalkeeper or his new teammates. He was one of several at fault when Hull, having dusted themselves down after conceding from Morgan Rogers early on, went ahead through Mohamed Belloumi’s quickfire double. The ease with which Chelsea’s advantage was handed over left the normally calm and considered Xabi Alonso accusing his side of being “soft” without the ball. Continue reading...

This summer there were a couple of significant pieces of the puzzle for Oliver Glasner to put into place at Nottingham Forest. The first was a mobile striker to lead the line and the other was a right wing-back to fit his favoured 3-4-3 system. Enter Liam Delap and Daniel Muñoz, both of whom had a big say in Forest’s first win under Glasner, though the match-winner was one of the old brigade in Igor Jesus. Delap registered his first Forest goal in style, a powerful shot from 25 yards and Muñoz was involved in the slick move that culminated in Igor Jesus reading Morgan Gibbs-White’s exquisite backheel to down Aston Villa, who remain winless in the Premier League. Continue reading...

Álvaro Arbeloa was often the obstacle to Andoni Iraola’s international ambitions back in the days when both were vying for a right-back role with Spain. On his return to Anfield, and under the watchful eye of former manager Rafael Benítez, Arbeloa thwarted Iraola once again to claim his first Premier League point as Fulham head coach against an ineffective Liverpool. Fulham belied their lowly position and run of three league defeats to take a merited point from a Liverpool team that was a pale imitation of the one that beat Atlético Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday. Iraola fielded a front four that cost almost £400m but the most impressive forward on display was the Fulham academy graduate Josh King. The draw was Liverpool’s third in four league games under their new head coach and the seventh in 12 Premier League matches at Anfield in 2026. Progress can be painfully slow at times. Continue reading...

West Ham claimed their first Women’s Super League win of the season with a 2-1 home victory over London City Lionesses. Kelly Gago put the Hammers ahead after 21 minutes, racing between the centre-backs Mapi León and Isa Kardinaal to latch on to Seraina Piubel’s pass from nearly halfway and rounding Elene Lete in the London City goal. Daniëlle van de Donk was denied an equaliser when Constance Picaud-Inconnu saved low, with Alexia Putellas, another of London City’s big-name summer signings, lifting the rebound over the bar under the challenge of Inès Belloumou. Continue reading...

The World Cup and its aftermath made clear that Fifa needs independent oversight by governments and NGOs dedicated to preserving the people’s game The 2026 World Cup was a whirling swirl of scintillating soccer that prompted much-needed conversations about the vitality of diaspora, the fortitude of the underdog, the power of sport. In a world fractured along myriad cultural axes floating in an entertainment system dominated by on-demand content, the tournament provided a moment, perhaps unlike any other event, that brought together people from different backgrounds to simultaneously experience something meaningful. After the tournament concluded, Fifa president Gianni Infantino dropped a political pipebomb into the after-party, proposing to privatize the World Cup by injecting $20bn in private capital, with an assist from JP Morgan and Thrive Capital, the investment vehicle orchestrated by Joshua Kushner, brother to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law. Continue reading...

Premier League’s link-up with the Together Against Suicide campaign is dispersing simple, blunt and essential messaging If you watched US television adverts during the World Cup for any length of time one thing just kept leaping out. I’ve mentioned this before here , but it still seems both jarring and significant. Every third or fourth rotation in that endless daytime scroll, in between the Chicken Megadeth Hyper-Box Family Meal Deal, either side of David Beckham expertly consuming a light beer, is an advert for antidepressants. The format for these is always the same kind of thing: contented, wholesome people throwing frisbees, or strolling through a small-town antiques fair, while a warm, honeyed, reassuring voiceover talks about how horrifying their lives are, with the suggestion that only a lengthy course of Smileothorium can solve this. Continue reading...

English top flight’s forwards are not well represented on the list, reflecting a season of set-piece grapple, but 2026-27 already looks brighter Premier League representation is low when it comes to the 16 attacking players on this year’s Ballon d’Or shortlist . Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland are there but Cole Palmer, one of the nominees in 2025, is out after an injury-hit year and English football’s shift towards physicality and set pieces last season is summed up by none of the forwards from the best team in the country making the cut. The trio giving Arsenal a presence – Gabriel Maghalhães, Declan Rice and William Saliba – are all defensive minded. Arsenal won the league but their forwards are not regarded as elite. Injuries played a part, denying Martin Ødegaard, Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka fluency, but Mikel Arteta’s side were not loved by neutrals. There was respect rather than admiration for their defensive rigour. There was an argument that a lack of ambition after going 1-0 up stopped Arsenal from beating Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final. Continue reading...

England reached World Cup semis yet midfielder did not play a minute. But he is key to Manchester United in derby It was a sight the England press pack became increasingly used to seeing after the team’s World Cup matches over the summer. Kobbie Mainoo was invariably the first to leave the dressing room, walk through the mixed zone – eyes dead ahead, features impassive – and board the bus. It was as if he could not get out of the stadiums quick enough and the further England progressed the more pronounced it started to feel. There was a real gap between Mainoo and the next England player to depart the stadium in the knockout rounds . The Manchester United midfielder is inscrutable, even in the heat of battle. It is part of his enviably unflappable temperament. It was no great leap to imagine what lay behind the mask – tremendous frustration as Thomas Tuchel kept on leaving him out. Continue reading...

Midfielder on rising above the negativity after Everton’s struggles in the transfer window, becoming a leader in the dressing room and a possible England call-up Transfer deadline day may be “exciting for everyone”, as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall puts it, but his experience of that transfer deadline day at Everton hauled him through the same gamut of emotions as every Evertonian. Excitement turned to bewilderment before the conclusion of the window left the midfielder exasperated, but for entirely different reasons to a fanbase left questioning the club’s direction under The Friedkin Group. How, now, is the mood in the squad? It is the obvious place to start after a deadline day that left David Moyes with fewer players than he had at the beginning, one striker and no cover for either full-back position. It also featured the US international striker Folarin Balogun walking out on a £40m transfer minutes after submitting a deal sheet. “Really good to be honest,” Dewsbury-Hall insists. “Definitely not the same mood as what I’ve seen on the outside. There’s a good mentality this year of: ‘We’ll show everyone.’” Everton’s performances so far this season support that view. Continue reading...

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! The use of psychological stratagems and pitchside or locker-room sabotage has long been employed by football managers trying to give their teams an edge over visiting rivals. Whether it’s placing the pegs too high or the seats too low, painting the walls an aggression-lowering shade of pink or deliberately moving the advertising hoardings to prevent long throws, there are apparently no stones conniving coaching staff will leave unturned if they think their team’s chances of winning may be improved by such shenanigans. Almost 40 years ago, Wimbledon’s Crazy Gang famously used to leave visitors to Plough Lane without any hot water, a plan that seemed stunning in its simplicity, until you realise – as Football Daily has just done after nearly 40 years – that footballers generally tend not to shower until after the game is over, rendering their attempt at disruption decidedly redundant. Thankfully Noble Francis has now won a book ( yesterday’s Football Daily letters ) so has something else to do other than writing prize-winning, witty missives. This means the rest of us mere mortals have a chance of winning your letter o’ the day” – Martyn Shapter. This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions . Continue reading...

The numbers from the first round of the league phase point to Italian teams struggling even if Inter impressed in defeat at Real Madrid The 2026-27 Champions League is under way. There are still 126 matches to play until we know which 24 teams will feature in the knockout phase but that doesn’t mean we haven’t learned anything yet. Here are the key data talking points from week one. Continue reading...

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning , Lars Sivertsen and Nedum Onuoha to round up the week’s Champions League action, and look ahead to the weekend’s Premier League fixtures Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts and join the conversation on email . On the podcast today: Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Lars Sivertsen, and Nedum Onuoha to round up the week’s Champions League action. Liverpool defeat Atlético Madrid and Manchester United see off Sabah to complete a perfect week for the Premier League sides in the Champions League. Elsewhere in the competition, Michael Olise stars for Bayern Munich and Cesc Fàbregas’s Como side make an impressive debut. Continue reading...