World Cup News

Manchester City will welcome Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium this Sunday as they look to secure a good result at home in the Premier League. The Mancunian giants managed to earn an impressive 3-0 win away at Chelsea recently, so they would be eager to keep their good form going this weekend. Pep Guardiola will […] The post Haaland To Spearhead Guardiola’s Attack | 4-2-3-1 Manchester City Predicted Lineup Vs Arsenal appeared first on The 4th Official - A view from the sideline.

Manchester City forward Erling Haaland says he is not feeling the pressure ahead of a potential title decider with Arsenal on Sunday because his side have "nothing to lose" after playing catch-up for most of the season.

► Subscribe to Sky Sports Premier League: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSkySportsPL ► Watch Sky Sports: https://bit.ly/BuySkySports Erling Haaland discusses the title race ahead of a massive game for Manchester City against Arsenal. 00:00 Title race 02:24 Rivalry with Arsenal 03:48 Playing against Saliba & Gabriel 04:22 Importance of Sunday's game vs Arsenal 05:22 Personal development 06:30 Pep Guardiola 07:43 Bernardo Silva 08:57 Looking forward to Arsenal game #premierleague #manchestercity #erlinghaaland ► Premier League highlights: https://bit.ly/PLHighlights2526 ► MNF, FNF, SNF & Super Sunday analysis: https://bit.ly/SkyMatchAnalysis ► Gary Neville Podcast: https://bit.ly/GaryNevillePodcast ► Saturday Social: https://bit.ly/SkySaturdaySocial ► Buy this season’s shirts: https://bit.ly/SkySportsShop More from Sky Sports on YouTube: ► Sky Sports: http://bit.ly/SkySportsSub ► Sky Sports Boxing: http://bit.ly/SSBoxingSub ► Sky Sports Cricket: http://bit.ly/SubscribeSkyCricket ► Sky Sports Darts: https://bit.ly/SubSkySportsDarts ► Sky Sports Football: http://bit.ly/SSFootballSub ► Sky Sports F1: http://bit.ly/SubscribeSkyF1 ► Sky Sports Golf: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSkySportsGolf ► Sky Sports News: http://bit.ly/SkySportsNewsSub ► Sky Sports Retro: http://bit.ly/SkySportsRetroSub ► Sky Sports WSL: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSkySportsWSL ► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SkySportsFootball ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skysportsfootball ► TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@skysportsfootball ► X: https://x.com/SkySportsPL ► Website: https://www.skysports.com ► To enquire about licensing Sky Sports content, you can find out more here: https://www.skysports.com/more-sports/news/31754/11434270/license-sky-sports-footage

The Norwegian has discussed how the battle with Arsenal will be decided ahead of Sunday’s game at the Etihad

Erling Haaland has not attempted to play down the significance of Sunday’s match between Manchester City and Arsenal

Manchester City duo Erling Haaland and Pep Guardiola have been speaking about Arsenal ahead of the match on Sunday.

Erling Haaland believes Sunday's clash between Manchester City and Arsenal will be "like a final".

Erling Haaland relishing Gabriel Magalhães 'challenge' as Man City face Arsenal espn.in

► Subscribe to Sky Sports Premier League: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSkySportsPL ► Watch Sky Sports: https://bit.ly/BuySkySports Erling Haaland says Man City’s Super Sunday showdown with Arsenal will be one of the biggest and best games of the Premier League season. #erlinghaaland #mancity #arsenal #supersunday #premierleague ► Premier League highlights: https://bit.ly/PLHighlights2526 ► MNF, FNF, SNF & Super Sunday analysis: https://bit.ly/SkyMatchAnalysis ► Gary Neville Podcast: https://bit.ly/GaryNevillePodcast ► Saturday Social: https://bit.ly/SkySaturdaySocial ► Buy this season’s shirts: https://bit.ly/SkySportsShop More from Sky Sports on YouTube: ► Sky Sports: http://bit.ly/SkySportsSub ► Sky Sports Boxing: http://bit.ly/SSBoxingSub ► Sky Sports Cricket: http://bit.ly/SubscribeSkyCricket ► Sky Sports Darts: https://bit.ly/SubSkySportsDarts ► Sky Sports Football: http://bit.ly/SSFootballSub ► Sky Sports F1: http://bit.ly/SubscribeSkyF1 ► Sky Sports Golf: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSkySportsGolf ► Sky Sports News: http://bit.ly/SkySportsNewsSub ► Sky Sports Retro: http://bit.ly/SkySportsRetroSub ► Sky Sports WSL: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSkySportsWSL ► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SkySportsFootball ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skysportsfootball ► TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@skysportsfootball ► X: https://x.com/SkySportsPL ► Website: https://www.skysports.com ► To enquire about licensing Sky Sports content, you can find out more here: https://www.skysports.com/more-sports/news/31754/11434270/license-sky-sports-footage

Manchester City welcome table-topping Arsenal to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon with the result of the game likely to decide the destination of this season’s Premier League title

Erling Haaland has been criticised for his lack of contribution outside of scoring goals but new team-mate Antoine Semenyo has leapt to his defence

Chelsea will entertain Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday as they hope to secure maximum points at home in the Premier League. The Blues suffered a dismal 3-0 loss away at Manchester City recently, so they would be eager to secure a positive result this weekend. Liam Rosenior will set his men up in […] The post Fernandez To Start, Estevao On The Bench | 4-2-3-1 Chelsea Predicted Lineup Vs Manchester United appeared first on The 4th Official - A view from the sideline.

It may sound counterintuitive, but Mikel Arteta might, before what is arguably the biggest Arsenal match in 20 years, need to adopt some things from a team that just lost 4-0 to our opponents. There’s often a tactical tweak or a surprise selection when Pep Guardiola heads into a big game. Last month’s League Cup […] The post Tactics Column: Lessons for Arsenal against Man City’s 4-2-4 appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has paid tribute to his teammate Bernardo Silva, after he confirmed he would be leaving the Etihad Stadium at the end of the season. The emotional announcement came on Thursday, with Silva taking to social media to confirm his nine-year tenure in Manchester will conclude this summer. The 31-year-old Portuguese […]

Do you know how far back the EPL goes? The Premier League, as it exists today, only started in 1992. In the three decades since, it has produced some of the most remarkable individual and team performances in football history. But, for interest’s sake, here’s a deep dive into the history of the EPL for… The post EPL Records and History first appeared on Breaking The Lines.

Erling Haaland has hailed team-mate Bernardo Silva as the "smartest player I have ever played with" as Manchester City confirmed the skipper's departure from the Etihad this summer.

Erling Haaland may be top of the goalscoring charts but his overall grade as a centre-forward is bettered by three Premier League strikers…

Argentine youth developer Facundo Alvanezzi discusses his 11 years at FC Basel, his role in shaping stars like Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri, and why fostering "hunger" and embracing mistakes is the secret to producing elite talent. Alongside the technological leaps of the 21st century, soccer has evolved through the implementation of new instruments and methodologies embraced by clubs across all levels of the game. Yet technology alone does not always translate into better players or better human beings. World Soccer Talk had the opportunity to sit down with Argentine youth developer Facundo Alvanezzi, who spent 11 years at Swiss club FC Basel between 2008 and 2019. Having trained in South America and studied the methods of some of Europe’s most renowned clubs, including FC Barcelona, AC Milan and Bayern Munich, Alvanezzi applied his knowledge to help produce elite talents such as Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri and Fabian Schär, among others. A former professional player in Argentina who also played in Italy, Alvanezzi began his coaching career at Aldosivi before departing for Basel in 2008. Moving from scheduled training sessions with limited soccer balls, “compensated by the amount of talent,” to an environment where every youth team trained on a heated pitch, had balls for every player, full kits and access to psychologists, nutritionists and other health professionals represented a dramatic shift in perspective. FC Basel and a commitment to youth development Already proficient in Italian from his playing days, Alvanezzi still had to immerse himself in the cultural and linguistic demands of his new environment, all in service of what he considers the cornerstone of his work: communication. In a single training session, he might move between Italian, French, and German while coordinating multiple groups of young players across state-of-the-art facilities designed to maximize their development. FC Basel’s U-14 squad. “A club like Basel worked with all 14 or 15 age groups all at the same time. The First Division had its own separate pitch. But for everything related to the youth levels from U21 down, everyone had their own respective pitch. Even the littlest ones, the 5 and 6-year-olds, had their own synthetic fields with dimensions suited for 5 or 6-year-olds. Just to give you an idea—no time was wasted there. In other words, time is utilized in a way that enriches you instead of being a deficit that hinders the development of future players.“ Alvanezzi then put into context the remarkable achievement of a small nation punching well above its weight. “You can’t forget that Switzerland has a population of between 6 and 7 million inhabitants, so the emerging talent back then was very scarce. They did an extraordinary market study so that today they have 17, 18, 19, and 20-year-olds—which didn’t happen before—playing and qualified for the next World Cup in the US, Mexico, and Canada. So, basically, everything related to infrastructure and planning… whether you like it or not, having that entire grid set up allowed me—as someone passionate about football who loves being on the pitch—to work peacefully. I knew I had my designated pitch to work with the U15s, the U16s, the U17s,” he added. The role of a youth developer and the cultivation of talent A fluent Spanish speaker, Alvanezzi describes himself as a “formador de juveniles,” a youth developer rather than a coach, drawing a sharp distinction between the two roles: “The developer (formador) teaches and builds; they earn very little, if anything at all. In terms of titles—U14s, U15s, the Reserves… I don’t care about those. The coach (entrenador) is there to train, to play, to compete, to get points, to win a domestic league, a Libertadores, a Euros, a Champions League, or a World Cup. They are two completely different things. That’s why there aren’t many coaches developing players, and there aren’t many developers coaching elite teams.“ Another key principle in his approach is trusting the creative instincts of young players rather than issuing directives, recognizing that the youth phase is when information can have the most profound impact. He pairs this with a cosmopolitan perspective while never abandoning his own core beliefs. Facundo Alvanezzi on the touchline. “In other words: at no point do I impose. I don’t impose knowledge, authority, or didactics—nothing. I seduce. Those are two completely different things. And I try to seduce through knowledge. Because when you have knowledge, you can ‘disarm’ the player; when you explain the how, the when, the where, and the why. Of course, when I go somewhere else, I adapt, but I cannot renounce my genes.“ When he arrived in Switzerland, Alvanezzi found himself surrounded by cutting-edge technology, GPS tracking and gym equipment, yet he remains committed to the idea of developing players “with a ball.” “In player development, I adapted to the systems, but with my own imprint. I carry the Argentine imprint everywhere. It’s this: I watch a player—how he walks—a 5-year-old, a 10, 15, or 20-year-old. I watch him walk. I throw him a ball. I watch him make a couple of touches—juggling in the air, a change of direction. And right then, I realize what that footballer might be capable of. Or not,” he explained. The value of mistakes in youth development Elite clubs increasingly measure the success of their youth teams by silverware, mirroring the pressure placed on the first team. But for Alvanezzi, perfection is not the goal. Forcing young players into rigid systems, he argues, sends them to the first team with significant blind spots, and he views the ability to make mistakes as one of the most valuable learning tools available. “Here are players I can ask to play a football of possession and position. And then there are footballers to whom I have to say, ‘You: control the ball, don’t carry it, and pass it to a teammate.’ Meanwhile, for another player—because I go against the establishment and the system—,” Alvanezzi said. “I believe one of the virtues I have in this vocation of developing players is that I value the error. From the error, I create the virtue of the success. In the context of teaching, I don’t criticize the player; I seduce him. ‘But what if I struggle, I lose the ball, it’s hard for me, and they score on us?’ And what’s the problem? I don’t want my trophies and medals hanging in my house. What good are they to me? If, in the end, I didn’t get any player to move up to the First Division. If I didn’t develop a single player for the first team,” he added. Alvanezzi, who says he has not a single medal or trophy displayed in his home, considers the players he has helped reach the elite level to be his true honors: “Now, my ‘medals’ are an average of 45 to 50 players who reached the top level. Especially at Basel. We had a coach like Thorsten Fink, who helped us a lot and used to play for Bayern Munich. He helped us bring up kids at 16 or 17 years old. I had the pleasure of training players like Yann Sommer, Granit Xhaka, Shaqiri, Breel Embolo, Noah Okafor, Fabian Schär , Eray Cömert, Neftali Manzambi, Raoul Petretta, Cedric Itten—an immense number of players. Those are the medals one gets to hang up.“ He then stressed that the developer’s job demands patience and an embrace of the mistake. “They need to learn to play with the right foot, with the left foot, and have a lot of contact with the ball. When I arrived at Basel and asked for—for example, the squads there are 18 players—I asked for no less than one ball per player. At first, they just looked at me. ‘Why one ball per player?’ Because, what did I achieve over the years? That in an hour and a half, the players went from an average of 200 touches in a standard session… once I integrated the technical and game-based training, that multiplied to 1,400 daily touches with the ball. The more touches you have, the more you polish the errors.“ In an environment dominated by innovation, Alvanezzi believes the fundamentals are often left behind, and his street soccer mentality changed the culture at Basel. “In Europe, ‘soccer practice’ (11v11) doesn’t exist. From Monday to Friday, it’s all small-sided games. Everything. So when I got to Basel, imagine the resistance from the other coaches. They told me, ‘No, Facundo, you’re crazy. The players will get injured; we don’t do that here; everything is small-sided.’ “And I told them, ‘The 11v11 is the symptom for Saturday or Sunday; it’s how you know which player you can count on and which one you can’t. You might think you can count on someone, but on a full pitch, it becomes too big for them, and they become completely disorganized. We need a parameter.’ Well, I implemented it at Basel until it became their own ‘modus operandi’ that on Thursdays, we did the 11v11 practice. The teams started improving exponentially because they were finally playing football not in a 20×20 or 30×30 space, but in 100×65—which is where real football is played,” he added. ‘Hunger’: the defining trait of the players who made it Among the many stars Alvanezzi has helped develop, a common thread runs through the backstories of those who reached the highest level: adversity. Both Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka were born and raised in a disintegrating Yugoslavia amid violence before finding asylum in Switzerland. Breel Embolo‘s path was similar, leaving Cameroon with his family before settling in France and eventually Switzerland. That contrast between their upbringing and those of more comfortable peers is precisely what Alvanezzi calls “hunger,” the spark that gave them a decisive edge. “From an early age, when you watch them train—unlike the vast majority of Swiss youth developers who never experienced need—these were kids of struggle. They are born, raised, and developed out of hardship. So, the only possibility they had to emerge—unlike other great Swiss talents I had at Basel who didn’t make it—they weren’t going to make it because they lacked that ‘hunger.’ That potentiality of saying, ‘Through soccer, I am going to help my family; I am going to emerge; I am going to be somebody.‘” Alvanezzi then reflected on the social realities that shaped Xhaka, Shaqiri and Embolo. “They lacked even the most basic conditions in an elite, first-world country. They were segregated because they weren’t Swiss. They are three starters for the Swiss national team who have played in World Cups, but Breel is from Cameroon, and the other two are Kosovar. When society wasn’t integrating them, but they were useful to the national team football-wise, they nationalized them.“ Alvanezzi with Neftali Manzambi, Breel Embolo, and Charles Pickel. He then illustrated how that hunger translates into a measurable competitive advantage. “Genetically, all of that plays in their favor, 80 or 90% more than the well-off Swiss player… That “plus” works in your favor. While they came to training on foot or by tram, the vast majority of players of Swiss origin came every day with their fathers in a different car—a Mercedes-Benz, a Porsche… That factor of having nothing missing ends up working against you. Since you have everything, what am I going to be ambitious about? Playing in a World Cup? I’m not interested. Reaching the first team? If I make it, I make it, and if I don’t, I still have everything,” he stated. A memorable trip to South Africa In 2010, following the World Cup in South Africa, Alvanezzi traveled to the country for fifteen days representing the Swiss U15 national team with Basel at the Danone Nations Cup, competing against teams from Japan, Argentina, China, England, Italy and others. What left the deepest impression on him, however, was not the competition itself but the cultural awakening it triggered among his Swiss players and the youth developers around them. “They didn’t know what it was like for a kid not to have a cell phone, or to walk around barefoot. They couldn’t understand why colored people sat at one table and white people at another because of the legacy of apartheid. All the Swiss kids traveled with the latest cell phones. They would leave half of their plates full of food. And 50 meters away, at the fence in a gated area of the complex, local kids would come to beg for food,” he recalled. FC Basel youth squad in 2010 Danone Cup. “Along with several other Latino coaches, I would gather the leftover food and give it to them. It reached the point where FIFA was going to fine me, because they said I wasn’t allowed to feed the people. And I told them: ‘Why not? It’s the most important thing; they’re hungry. The only one who understood it on that trip was Breel Embolo,” Alvanezzi added. Talent, mentality and the cohesion of a group One of the most enduring debates in sports is whether the right mentality can outshine raw talent through sheer hard work, or whether that notion is simply wishful thinking. For Alvanezzi, the two qualities are not in competition but are complementary, with every player on a team assigned a specific purpose that allows both to coexist. Using the contrasting examples of Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki, one a physical force of nature, the other a pure embodiment of technical brilliance, he illustrates how different profiles can coexist within the same system “They are complementary and different at the same time. You can link this to the aspect of mental construction. Mentality is also something you develop. If I convince you that in three years you have to improve your heading or your left foot, and you end up doing it in a match to stop a counter-attack… that is mentality,” Alvanezzi stated. “When you see Haaland playing with his back to the goal, he looks like an average player; put him facing the goal, and he’s an animal. He hides his deficit in back-to-goal play—and tries to do it as little as possible—but he has an above-average mentality that allows him to fail ten times and try again. Cherki, on the other hand, relies entirely on his talent. He has a different mentality, but he understood that to stay at the elite level, he must not interpret that (reliance on talent) as a fragility,” he added. While Alvanezzi acknowledged that mental strength is partly something “you bring it with you, but you can also incorporate it,” he was equally quick to point out that he has seen players with extraordinary talent but no capacity for hard work, and others with far less natural ability but the psychological resilience to make it to the top. Bridging that gap, he argues, is just as much the developer’s responsibility as any technical instruction. “Mental construction is also developed. If I talk to you and try to seduce and convince you of your errors with respect, you will be more receptive. Today, kids are given 20 hours of leisure time outside of training, and we don’t teach them how to think. But to develop players, you must be emotionally well-constituted and rationally grounded. If you aren’t vocational and emotional, you cannot develop players; you should do something else.“ Beyond individual qualities, Alvanezzi insists that everything must be considered through the lens of the collective, where a single weak link can unravel even the most talented group: “The developer has to work with a clear idea and a common goal. The ‘mind’ of the team, 90% of the time, has to be uniform. If it isn’t uniform, the group disintegrates, no matter how much talent you have.“ “If mentally you are thinking ‘white’ and I am thinking ‘black,’ and we have to play with a red ball, but neither of us wants to yield, it means we aren’t complementary. Individualism and egocentrism generate a very large negative impact. We all row to reach the shore and save ourselves; it can’t be that one rows right and another rows left, leaving us in the high seas until a wave drowns us,” Alvanezzi concluded. Stress: the invisible enemy of athletes As in any high-performance discipline, stress management has become one of the defining challenges in modern soccer, a sport that has seen its fixture calendar grow to near-unsustainable levels. “Players today have an enormous match load. They play 80, 90, 100 matches a year. In my era, that didn’t exist. And that carries an enormous physical, mental, and psychological toll, which is one of the many reasons why footballers get injured. Everything is connected. And if the head isn’t right, the body will never be right,” Alvanezzi stated. Xherdan Shaqiri of Basel (Daniela Porcelli/Getty Images). With stress affecting muscles, tendons and bones alike, conventional metrics like GPS data and weight measurements become meaningless when the mental aspect is ignored, he argues. “A player will always tell you they are at 100%. I liked, and I still like, for the player to train at 50% or 60%. If a kid trains at 100% five days a week and then tries to play at 200% on the weekend, they end up getting hurt. Sooner or later. It’s a universal law.“ These pressures are not confined to the professional game, extending deep into the youth system as well. “Let’s take away the weights, take away the GPS, work more on the mental side, and talk to the footballer. When a footballer tells you they want to stay 60 minutes longer after training… ‘No. Go home. Rest. Eat well. Take a nap. Look after yourself. Read, watch a movie. Relax. Do yoga. Meditate.’ But for all of that, you have to talk, and you have to be prepared,” he stated. Alvanezzi also addressed the lack of preventive awareness he has observed at the youth level: “That’s why I like it when a player comes and tells me: ‘This and that is happening to me.’ ‘Don’t worry. You’re not playing this match; you’re going to train at 50%.’ I’d rather give you two weeks of rest than have it be six months of forced leave due to a ligament tear. Today, there is no prevention because we, the developers, aren’t prepared to prevent; we are competitive, egocentric beings who want to win everything, forgetting that we don’t play anymore.“ U.S. soccer and MLS evolution: the legacy of 1994 Through friends living and working in the United States, and despite acknowledging that his English is far from perfect, Alvanezzi has been able to witness a genuine transformation in the country’s soccer culture, one he traces directly back to the 1994 World Cup, when MLS was widely seen as nothing more than a retirement league. That perception, he says, has been thoroughly dismantled. “Today, football in the US—I’m not saying it competes head-to-head with baseball, basketball, or ice hockey—but it has gained a very prominent position. It’s no coincidence that Lionel Messi, the most emblematic figure in world football today, is playing in MLS. Players who before, as you said, came perhaps for a final retirement to spend their last seasons in a low-caliber competition, find it’s a different world now. It has grown so much that renowned players prefer to come to MLS rather than go to a country in the Middle East or Asia.“ While acknowledging that MLS remains a league in the midst of its evolution, Alvanezzi offered a measured timeline for when it could fully establish itself at the highest level. “The evolution in terms of the training and qualification of the coaches and developers is very good. I have excellent references. Like any expanding football in a developmental stage, I think it will take them another 5 to 10 years to consolidate. It usually takes 10 to 15 years for a major league to stabilize and reach an international competitive level. They are currently in that developmental process from every point of view,” he stated. The influence of Latinos in U.S. soccer Once considered a secondary destination for professional development, the United States has transformed into a country that offers genuine, high-level opportunities for coaches and developers alike. That growth has been driven in part by soccer’s surging popularity, the influence of the Latino community, and high-profile figures like Lionel Messi and David Beckham, who have brought the sport to new audiences across the country. Lionel Messi greets David Beckham, co-owner of Inter Miami CF (Elsa/Getty Images). “There are many Latinos and Argentines working in development at important clubs and academies. It is expanding in a very interesting way. They take the culture they don’t have—they are very pragmatic in that sense. Whatever they lack, they acquire it. Don’t ask me how, but they go after it. If they don’t have a qualified scientist, they go find one in Germany, Norway, or Sweden and bring them to their country to make it evolve. They do exactly the same with soccer.“ For youth coaches specifically, the shift in available resources has been nothing short of transformative. “They start from the foundation: youth development. And because of their immense purchasing power as a nation, they can leverage incredible infrastructure. Being in an academy there—even one not affiliated with a famous MLS club—means having 4, 5, or 6 pitches to train on. They have indoor gyms for “fast football” when the weather is bad. Material in abundance. For a developer like me, who dealt with hardships starting out in Argentina—not in terms of talent, but in terms of equipment and structure—imagine what that solves.“

Kylian Mbappe is closing in on the numbers posted by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the UEFA Champions League. Kylian Mbappe’s scoring run during the 2025-26 season with Real Madrid has put him in the conversation with the all-time greats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The French forward scored this Wednesday against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League and now sits sixth on the all-time scoring list with 70 goals. What stands out most about the French forward is how quickly he has climbed the rankings: Mbappe reached that mark at just 27 years and 116 days, surpassing the career totals of other legends such as Thomas Muller, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. That milestone puts Mbappe in direct competition with the two defining stars of this century, Messi and Ronaldo. They remain the top scorers in Champions League history, but Kylian is on track to seriously challenge their records. At the same age Mbappe is now, neither Messi nor Ronaldo had reached 70 goals in the competition. At 27 years and 116 days, the Argentine forward had scored 68 Champions League goals, while the Portuguese star had just 38. IT'S MBAPPE'S TURN! 😱 OH MY GOODNESS, WHAT A MATCH! #UCL pic.twitter.com/g0RYwP92aF — DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) April 15, 2026 In terms of efficiency, Lionel Messi holds the edge. By the time he reached 68 goals, the then-Barcelona player had done so in 88 matches, averaging 0.77 goals per game. Mbappe follows with an average of 0.71, with 70 goals in 98 matches. Cristiano Ronaldo, at that same age, had scored 38 goals in 80 matches, for an average of 0.47. All-time Champions League top scorers: 1- Cristiano Ronaldo – 140 goals 2- Lionel Messi – 129 goals 3- Robert Lewandowski – 109 goals 4- Karim Benzema – 90 goals 5- Raul Gonzalez – 71 goals 6- Kylian Mbappe – 70 goals 7- Thomas Muller – 57 goals 8- Erling Haaland – 57 goals 9- Ruud van Nistelrooy – 57 goals 10- Harry Kane – 51 goals Mbappe makes history in Europe Despite Real Madrid’s elimination against Bayern Munich, Kylian Mbappe still has plenty of reasons to be satisfied with his performances. He is, and very likely will remain, the top scorer in this edition of the UEFA Champions League with 15 goals in 11 matches. Only three players had previously reached that total in a single edition of the tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo holds the all-time record, having done it three times, including the single-season mark of 17 goals. Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema have each reached 15 once. However, this Wednesday the French forward achieved something that not even Ronaldo or Messi managed during their peak years in Europe. Mbappe became the only player in Champions League history to score 10 away goals in a single season — and he did it without even reaching the semifinals of the tournament, underlining his remarkable performance this campaign.

We take a look at the favourites to become new Bournemouth manager with Andoni Iraola to leave at the end of the 2025/26 season. The 43 year old Spaniard, who joined the Cherries back in 2023, and has since guided the club to 12th and 9th in his first full two seasons in the Premier […] The post Favourites to become new Bournemouth manager with Andoni Iraola to leave at the end of season appeared first on Fan Banter.

TO say Dream Team managers are keen on Manchester City players this week is an understatement. At the time of writing, the five most popular recruits for Gameweek 32 are: Rayan Cherki (£4.9m), March Guehi (£4.2m), Nico O'Reilly (£4.4m), Antoine Semenyo (£4.7m) and Erling Haaland (£6.6m). Pep Guardiola's side are scheduled to play twice this...

Sunday, 19 April 2026, is already buzzing with that special, electric atmosphere that heralds a day capable of rewriting the entire history of the current English Premier League season. At the majestic Etihad Stadium — that ultra-modern temple of football — Manchester City will host the fierce Gunners from Arsenal. The headline fixture of the […] The post Man City vs Arsenal 19 April 2026: Etihad thunder, old scars and a title race on a knife edge appeared first on Fan Banter.

ERLING HAALAND aimed a dig at rivals Manchester United as he celebrated Leeds' famous win at Old Trafford. The Whites took a massive step towards survival with a 2-1 win, their first away victory at United since 1981. Noah Okafor bagged a first half brace to leave Daniel Farke's men in dreamland at the interval....

Leeds claimed a stunning victory at Manchester United, easing their relegation fears, and Manchester City star Erling Haaland revelled in the Yorkshire side's victory

Erling Haaland has toasted Leeds' win over Manchester United after the Man City star watched his childhood club earn their first top flight scalp at Old Trafford in 45 years.

A week of swings in FPL with the Wildcard to Bench Boost crowd going against everyone else, and ultimately many did quite similar. But that won't be the case everywhere... Suj and James discuss all the key talking points and games from the weekend as Jarrod Bowen and Igor Thiago rewarded those who held or invested, but there were others with doubles to come who performed well such as Bart Verbruggen and Neco O'Reilly. But O'Reilly may now be out so is it now a case of Marc Guehi versus Rayan Cherki for the third City spot in the double? Can managers dare to take Erling Haaland or Antoine Semenyo on? Coverage of the teams who double, which includes a Bournemouth side who blew the title race back open with a brilliant victory at Arsenal, which means City could be top in 9 days. Plus, why different strategies for 33 may alter the players that are of interest and Tottenham have entered the bottom three. Tomorrow on Planet FPL: Clash of the Correspondents, Bournemouth v Leeds United with Neil Grover & Ed Salinger Today on Patreon: The Patreon QNA (BT+) ,Nico's Corner (AT) & Away Days: Sunderland (AT) The full Planet FPL schedule for this week can be found via this post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/155489999 Want to become a member of our FPL community and support the Podcast? Join us on Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/planetfpl⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow James on Twitter/x: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/PlanetFPLPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Suj on Twitter/x: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/sujanshah⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Clayton on Twitter/x: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/claytsAFC⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow David on Twitter/x: https://x.com/PlanetFPLHunter Follow Nico on Twitter/x: https://twitter.com/nico_semedo Subscribe to our YouTube channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@PlanetFPL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Like us on Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/planetfpl⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/planetfpl⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ #FPL #FantasyPremierLeague #GW32Review Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Manchester City are firmly in the Premier League title race, and one fan is majorly poking fun at leaders Arsenal. City brushed Chelsea aside with a convincing 3-0 win on Sunday in a result that ha…

Arsenal's Premier League title hopes were dealt a major blow on Saturday as Mikel Arteta's side lost 2-1 to Bournemouth.

Chelsea host Manchester City in a Matchday 32 clash during the 2025/2026 Premier League campaign. Here’s everything you need to know, from kickoff details to viewing options on TV and streaming platforms. Here are all of the details of where you can watch Chelsea vs Manchester City on US television and via legal streaming: WHO Chelsea vs Manchester City WHAT English Premier League WHEN 11:30am ET / 8:30am PT • Sunday, April 12, 2026 WHERE DirecTV Stream, Sling, USA Network, Telemundo and Hulu + Live TV STREAM FREE TRIAL Match Overview The stakes couldn’t be higher in the Premier League this weekend, with Chelsea chasing a crucial three points to stay within reach of Liverpool in the race for a Champions League berth, sitting just one point behind on 48. Meanwhile, Manchester City look to keep the pressure on league leaders Arsenal, who hold a nine-point advantage as City sit on 61 with a game in hand. With both sides locked in high-stakes battles, this is a can’t-miss showdown that could shift the title race and the fight for Europe, so be sure to tune in. More details about watching the game on DirecTV Stream With DirecTV Stream, you can watch Chelsea vs Manchester City and tons more games. With the legal streaming service, you can watch the game on your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Fire Stick as well as Google TV, Samsung and Peloton. DirecTV Stream offers a free trial, and often shares with you a variety of different packages to choose from, so you can pick what suits you the best. That also includes packages filled with sports other than soccer including NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and more. DirecTV Stream has 140+ channels of live TV and unlimited DVR. That includes all of the most important soccer-related channels such as NBC, FOX, ESPN, TNT, CBS as well as more niche soccer channels including FOX Deportes, Telemundo, Univision, TUDN and GolTV. If you’re planning to follow more games on this platform, you can check out the full DirecTV Stream soccer schedule to stay up to date with upcoming matches available via the service. SEE MORE: Schedule of Premier League games on US TV and streaming How to watch anywhere with VPN If you’re abroad, you may need to use a virtual private network (VPN) in order to watch games using your usual streaming service. A VPN, such as NordVPN, allows you to establish a secure connection online when streaming. If you are not sure which VPN to use, check out World Soccer Talk’s guide to the best VPNs for streaming soccer. Useful links Courtesy of World Soccer Talk, download a complimentary copy of The Ultimate Soccer TV And Streaming Guide, which features details on where to watch all of the leagues from around the world on US TV and streaming. To find out when soccer games are on, download the free Soccer TV Schedules App which includes listings of all of the live soccer matches available in the United States (available on Apple iOS devices and Android devices).

Big Weekend Preview returns as Rog and Rory Smith look ahead to a pivotal weekend across the Premier League. They start with Arsenal, where a late Kai Havertz winner in Lisbon halts the slide ahead of a tricky test against Bournemouth. Then it’s Tottenham, with Roberto De Zerbi facing his first test as Spurs travel to Sunderland just above the relegation zone. Attention turns to Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea welcome a Manchester City side rounding into form, with Erling Haaland back scoring. Plus, a Tottenham manager blind ranking quiz, and score predictions for the entire weekend. 00:00:00 - Arsenal vs. Bournemouth 00:07:10 - De Zerbi ahead of Sunderland vs. Tottenham 00:16:00 - Tottenham Manager Blind Rankings 00:18:40 - Chelsea vs. Manchester City 00:21:55 - Liverpool vs. Fulham 00:25:48 - Brentford vs. Everton Sign up The Correspondent with Rory Smith here: https://mibcourage.co/4sQnKI2 Watch our interview with Regis Le Bris here: https://mibcourage.co/4t8kkRm Watch the latest episode of The Craft with Jeremy Frimpong: https://mibcourage.co/4c7Ubuk Watch the latest episode of the MiB TV Show with Tommy Fleetwood Saturday on Peacock: https://mibcourage.co/4e86fhV See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welshman sees a clear correlation between his performances and those of Manchester City’s talisman striker

Forget Bruno Fernandes and Declan Rice, there’s another standout contender for the PFA Player of the Year. At least that’s how talkSPORT presenter Adrian Durham feels, arguing the case …

We’re heading into another huge weekend as the season builds towards a thrilling climax. The relegation battle is really starting to heat up, with Tottenham fighting for survival, while Manchester …

The Premier League Golden Boot has been won by some of the greatest forwards in the history of the game, but only a handful have ever reached the truly extraordinary tallies that separate them from the rest. With Premier League top scorer odds regularly attracting attention from fans and bettors alike, here is a look… The post The players who won the Premier League Golden Boot with the most goals first appeared on Breaking The Lines.

Shaun Wright-Phillips said Alejandro Garnacho needs to 'put his ego in check' and be more consistent if he wants to turn around his mixed start to life at Chelsea.

The Atlético Madrid and Argentina striker’s sensational freekick against Barcelona showed that the consummate team player is capable of more Sign up for Jonathan Wilson’s World Cup guide newsletter Julián Alvarez has his detractors, but even they can no longer deny he belongs at the game’s highest levels. Still only 26, the Argentinian striker has an impressive collection of honors: two Premier League titles, a Champions League, a Copa Libertadores, two Copa Américas, a pre-bloat Club World Cup. And oh yeah, the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Champions League, won within in a half-year span. He has been key for many of the teams that won those titles, yet is often cast as a supporting player rather than a star. Those Premier Leagues and the Champions League with Manchester City were more directly (and rightly) credited to Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, and Rodri. When Argentina snapped their international drought with a Copa, a World Cup, and another Copa for good measure, it was framed almost entirely in the context of Lionel Messi’s legacy.

Back-to-back statement wins and big performances have left a big question for Manchester City going into the final stretch of the campaign... Is this the 'click' and are City about to do one of their trademark end-of-season runs? Let's all find out together. To discuss the victory over Liverpool, David Mooney is joined by City fan and presenter Adam Monk and by the Daily Mail's Jack Gaughan. They look at the overall display, plus the latest Erling Haaland hat-trick, and the debate around James Trafford and Gianluigi Donnarumma... Plus they also chat about Bernardo Silva, after Pep Lijnders let the "Bernardo's leaving" cat out of the bag. The Athletic's Chelsea correspondent Liam Twomey joins the show to discuss what's going on at Stamford Bridge, ahead of City's trip there on Sunday. Plus we get to grips with the new Citizens' Trust - City's first supporters' trust, as Loukas Gregory and Katie Wrench, two of the founding members, speak to us about why it's needed. ========== To get more podcasts or to listen without the ads, join our Patreon. It's just £2 per month for all the extra content and you can get a 7-day free trial first: ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/BlueMoonPodcast⁠ And why not gift a Patreon subscription to a friend or family member? More details: ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/BlueMoonPodcast/gift Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

World Cup 2026 will be full of prolific goal-getters but who will win the Golden Boot?

Atletico Madrid have underlined their determination to keep hold of Julian Alvarez amid increasing transfer interest from Arsenal.

The New Zealand striker provides a welcome boost as Forest face crunch games in the league and in Europe Nobody has scored more goals in the Europa League this season than Igor Jesus and yet the overwhelming source of interest surrounding Nottingham Forest on arrival in northern Portugal on Wednesday was another striker. Only Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak outscored Chris Wood in the Premier League last season and the New Zealand frontman has been slowly building fitness and working towards a long-awaited first-team return. All eyes were on Wood at last weekend’s interactive open-training session, staged at the City Ground. He has been ticking off different targets since knee surgery in December and at the end of last month the 34-year-old made a welcome goalscoring comeback 11 minutes into his return to action for Forest under-21s against Newcastle, in modest surroundings at Loughborough University’s stadium in front of a crowd totalling a couple of hundred: students, Forest fans, a few from the north-east.

DREAM TEAM managers who recently replaced Erling Haaland (£6.3m) would have known the risks attached to such a bold move. And these gaffers' worst fear was realised on Saturday when Manchester City's No9 bagged a hat-trick against Liverpool. Arne Slot's side started brightly at the Etihad but momentum changed when Haaland converted a 39th-minute penalty...

Inter Milan hosted AS Roma at the San Siro and successfully protected their Serie A lead following a difficult period. Inter Milan exploited the international break in the best possible way as they have prepared some of their starting players who were absent for a long period and the goal was to make them ready for this decisive […] The post Inter Milan Vs AS Roma [5–2] – Serie A 2025/2026: How Cristian Chivu Tactics Restored Attacking Cohesion At San Siro – Tactical Analysis appeared first on Total Football Analysis.

LIVERPOOL icon Steven Gerrard has hit back at Virgil Van Dijk's admission the Reds "gave up" during their FA Cup defeat to Manchester City. Arne Slot's men were thumped 4-0 in the quarter-final clash with Erling Haaland bagging a hat-trick. Liverpool had started well and actually had more shots than City on the day, but...

If Arsenal want to win the Champions League, they will first have to silence a man generating a volcanic level of noise in the Iberian Peninsula.

Haaland's first hat trick since August 2024 helped send Man City to the FA Cup semifinals in a rout of Liverpool.

Arsenal dressing room leaders must take it upon themselves and end any self-pity from their teammates after defeat at Southampton. That’s the view of Gunners legend Ray Parlour, who believes …

Jimbo, Daniel Storey and Tom Williams reflect on a captivating FA Cup quarter-final weekend. It’s back-to-back defeats for Arsenal, overcome by a sensational Southampton from the Championship on Saturday. With their trophy hopes halved in the last two matches, is this the start of a dramatic collapse for the Gunners? Can the same question be asked of Liverpool, who are thrashed 4-0 by Man City, with Erling Haaland taking home the match ball? The pressure piling on Arne Slot ahead of the Reds’ trip to PSG in the Champions League on Wednesday. West Ham stage an incredible comeback against Leeds but it’s Daniel Farke’s side who progress on penalties to a first FA Cup semi since 1987. Where they will meet Chelsea, who pummel Port Vale 7-0 at Stamford Bridge. It’s also a big weekend in the EFL with Millwall moving into the automatic promotion places in the Championship. What would the Lions bring to the Premier League? Nick Hart from the Achtung Millwall podcast can tell us. Produced by Charlie Jones RUNNING ORDER: • PART 1: West Ham 2-2 Leeds - Leeds win on pens (01:30) • PART 2: Southampton 2-1 Arsenal (11:30) • PART 3a: Man City 4-0 Liverpool (28:00) • PART 3b: Chelsea win 7-0 but let’s talk Enzo (39:00) • PART 4a: Coventry on the verge of promotion (47:00) • PART 4b: Could Millwall go up with Nick Hart? (49:00) • PART 4c: Roy’s return at Bristol City (54:00) • PART 4d: Lincoln almost up to the Championship (56:00) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.