It was a huge upset, right? Right? Whether you find it maddening or irresistible, MLS's fine margins remain a key part of the league. Even against the best of the best, like last year's Miami team that set a single-season points record, struggling teams still have a chance to win thanks to closely controlled roster rules designed to maintain parity.
As Barcelona continue to battle a wave of injuries that has decimated Hansi Flick's first-team squad, the one silver lining emerging from this crisis is the renewed involvement of La Masia talents. The club's academy, long celebrated for producing world-class players, is once again stepping up to fill the void left by injured stars. Pedri's latest setback, which is expected to keep him sidelined for six to seven weeks, has forced Flick to rethink his midfield options.
England felt like such a safe space for me. It was usual to have a team review after a big tournament and after the Euros in 2022 we came together in the Club England meeting room at St George's Park, the team's headquarters. The emotional security that I felt within England was bolstered by the culture and values that had underpinned and contributed to our success.
Mike Maignan was persuaded to stay during the summer transfer window, and now appears to be back to his best. La Gazzetta dello Sport begin an analysis on Maignan with of the most impressive stats of the season: the French goalkeeper went from first to last in Serie A for defensive interventions outside the box. In 2024-25, he made 71, and for context Sommer at Inter made 17.
Until he was 19 years old, Maik Taylor had never played a game in goal. Until he was 24, he had not been a professional footballer, but a lance corporal in the British Army. Until he was 27, when he appeared for their under-21 side as an overage player, he had never even set foot in Northern Ireland. Yet, when all was said and done, with assistance from the likes of Ray Clemence, Graeme Souness
But 11-year-old Ena didn't want to listen. When the goalkeeper at her youth club Duisburg couldn't play, she made the surprising announcement that she wanted to step in as cover. "I think I saved almost everything, including the decisive penalty," she recalls. Her coach then knew she had a new goalkeeper, and her dad probably groaned, but his objections had to take a back seat.
The 2025 Yashin Trophy has been awarded to Gianluigi Donnarumma. The Italian is in the running for the Ballon d'Or vote in his own right but following a stunning Treble-winning campaign with Paris Saint-Germain, he has been awarded with the Yashin Trophy, which is given to the best goalkeeper in the world. Donnarumma capped off his summer with a move to Manchester City, yesterday starring for the Sky Blues with a dominant performance in goal in a 1-1 draw with Arsenal.
Manchester United's slow start to the season has increased the pressure on head coach Ruben Amorim, who has won only 25.8% of his Premier League games in charge. The Reds have just two victories from their past 13 top-flight matches and produced another lacklustre display in Sunday's 3-0 loss to neighbours Manchester City. Despite the growing external unease around Amorim, not helped by the derby defeat, senior officials remain fully supportive of the Portuguese. And club sources insist that on most statistics United are performing better than last season despite sitting in 14th place, after their poorest start to a league campaign since 1992-93 with four points from the opening four games.
