Soccer

Nottingham Forest secured a 1-1 draw against Liverpool at the City Ground, cementing their status as this season’s surprise team in the Premier League. Chris Wood opened the scoring for the home side in the 8th minute with his 13th goal of the season. However, Diogo Jota leveled the match in the 66th minute, just 22 seconds after coming off the bench. Liverpool created several clear chances, including a Mohamed Salah shot cleared off the line in the 88th minute, but Arne Slot’s men lacked precision in front of goal, leaving their fans with a bittersweet result. Liverpool leads the table with 47 points, six ahead of Nottingham, who now await the Arsenal vs. Tottenham result to determine if they stay second or drop to third. You might also like: Brentford secured a last-minute draw against Manchester City   Cover image: X(@LFC)

Brentford earned a dramatic 2-2 draw against Manchester City at the Gtech Community Stadium during Matchday 21 of the Premier League. Phil Foden gave the visitors the lead with a brace, scoring in the 66th minute with a powerful strike and again in the 77th after a rebound from the goalkeeper. However, Yoane Wissa cut the deficit in the 82nd minute with a brilliant play inside the box, and Christian Norgaard sealed the draw in stoppage time with a header that beat the keeper. City remain in seventh place with 35 points, while Brentford climbed to 28 points, temporarily sitting in tenth.   You might also like: United beat Arsenal in penalties in the FA Cup Cover image: X(@BrentfordFC)

Chelsea and Manchester City will be looking to continue scoring points, Fulham will be looking to climb up the table and Liverpool and Nottingham Forest will go head to head in a match between two Premier League contenders. After a round of FA Cup, the Premier League teams return to action in the English top flight today, where we will have very interesting games of teams that seek to remain in the top positions in England. Chelsea and City seek to assert their greatness Starting at 1:30 p.m., Mexico Central Time, Chelsea, currently fourth in the table, will have a difficult task when they face Bournemouth, a team that is in seventh place, two points away from being able to climb to fifth place. Although Chelsea has its home advantage, they will have to be very wary of their opponents, as Bournemouth knows very well what it is like to face a big team in England this season, having wins against Arsenal, Tottenham and the two Manchester teams, having only two defeats, against Liverpool and Chelsea in the first half of the Premier League, so we can expect a very interesting game to watch at Stamford Bridge. At the same time, Manchester City will visit Brentford, a team that occupies the middle of the table and that City needs to win to continue its recovery from the bad streak at the end of the year that made them fall to the places outside European competition, so the “Cityzens” will have to repeat what they did in the first game of this season against the “Bees”, when they won 2-1. Another game at 1:30 p.m. is Fulham vs. West Ham, where the “Cottagers” will be looking for points to try to get to the edge of the European places, since with their current ninth place, they have the possibility of reaching the seventh position. Meanwhile, the “Hammers” are closer to the relegation places than to fight to get into the first places, so they cannot let points go either. Liverpool vs Forest, the highlight of the day But, although these first three matches attract attention, the most interesting clash of the day will be at 2:00 p.m., Central Mexican time, when Liverpool, the leader of the competition, visits Nottingham Forest, third in the competition, with the same points as Arsenal, but with a lower goal difference. Nottingham are having an excellent season, being on a par with the English giants and showing great soccer in their matches, where, in addition, Forest have handed Liverpool their only defeat so far this season, when on September 14 last year, they beat the Reds by the minimum; since then, Liverpool have not lost again in the league. This is a direct confrontation between two contenders to win the Premier League, where victory is fundamental for both, making this game the must-see of the day.

Manchester United achieved an agonizing victory over Arsenal in the third round of the FA Cup. In a game where the “Gunners” suffocated the “Red Devils”, the United team, who were away, managed to take the lead at 52′, with a goal by Bruno Fernandes. But the game got even more complicated for United when Diogo Dalot was sent off at 61′, and two minutes later, Gabriel Magalhaes tied the game. With the score at 1-1, the match had to go to extra time, where both teams had opportunities to settle the match, but were unable to score the winning goal, so penalties were inevitable. There, in the penalty shootout, the goalkeeper Altay Bayindir of Manchester became the hero, because after having already saved a penalty in regular time, Bayindir saved the second shot by Kai Havetz, the other goalkeepers of both teams scored effectively, so the penalty saved by the goalkeeper directly influenced the victory of his team. You may be interested in: A round full of goals in the FA Cup Cover image: X (@ManUtd)

With a great performance by Barcelona’s star players, Los Culés beat Real Madrid 5-2 in the final of the Spanish Super Cup to win their 15th title in this competition. We have the new champion of the Spanish Super Cup, Barcelona beat Real Madrid 5-2 to win the first trophy of the year and the first Clasico of this 2025. In a match where the Blaugranas’ stars stood out to win their fifteenth Supercopa title. Madrid got off to a winning start The match at the King Abdullah Sports City had a start that led to speculation of a very different result than the final one, as just 5 minutes into the game, Kylian Mbappé took the ball in midfield and went on a run, faced the central defense and with a bicycle kick got rid of his marker to enter the box and take a shot that beat Wojciech Szczesny’s save and scored the 1-0 for Madrid, who were playing at home in Saudi Arabia. Barcelona responded with goals Los Blancos’ lead did not last long, as at 22′, Barcelona set up a very good triangulation that started with Jules Koundé, who with a long pass set up Robert Lewandowski, who assisted Lamine Yamal with a filtered pass, Yamal finished the play like the greats, cutting back to the center and giving a pass to the net, as his shot was precise, without much power, to the lower left corner of Thiabaut Courtois’ goal. In the 36th minute, Barça let go of the reins and went on the attack, and in a disputed ball in the air, Gavi jumped to connect with his head, but Camavinga did not see the Spanish player and ended up kicking him in the thigh, inside the area, so the play had to be reviewed in the VAR and subsequently a penalty was scored for Lewandowski to convert the 1-2 and start the scoring. Three minutes later, at 39′, Ronald Araújo headed a clearance in midfield and Koundé took the ball in three-quarters of the field and from there, sent a very good cross into the area, where Raphinha arrived to connect with a strong header, low to the right of the goal, to score the 1-3. Before the end of the first half, at 45+9, Real Madrid lost a ball in attack and Lamine Yamal started a counterattack that passed through the feet of Raphinha thanks to a filtered pass from Yamal, the Brazilian managed to assist Alejandro Balde who arrived at his back to finally enter the area and shot against the exit of Courtois, who could do little before the good definition of the winger, who put the 1-4. At the start of the second half, at 48′, Marc Casadó projected the ball forward, where Raphinha arrived from the left flank at speed, the striker closed towards the center and entering the area, with a cut back to the outside of his marker and took the shot that put things 1-5 on the board. A red card was not enough for Madrid At 56′, it seemed that a glimmer of hope shone for the Galacticos, as in a run at speed that Mbappé was making, Szczesny came out of his area to try to cost the play, but the Frenchman advanced the ball and the goalkeeper only contacted with Kylian’s foot and after reviewing it in the VAR, the Barcelona goalkeeper was sent off. Just after the free kick, Rodrygo took a powerful shot to the goalkeeper’s post, now being Iñaki Peña; the force of the shot made the contact that Peña made with his goalkeeper useless, as the shot ended up inside the net, making the score 2-5. Despite the absence of a player, Real Madrid could no longer score another goal to try a miracle, although they had a great chance to score the third goal, but Iñaki prevented this with a great save from a shot by Mbappé.

Bayern Munich suffered more than they should have in their visit to Borussia Park, where they faced Mönchengladbach, because although they had all the statistics of the match in their favor, finishing with 23 shots, 10 of them on target, over the five shots of their rivals (none on goal), they could only manage to secure their victory with a penalty goal scored by Harry Kane in a good way at 68′. Thus, this fair victory, but ultimately a win, gave them 3 valuable points that put them back within four points of Bayer Leverkusen, who are second with 35 points, while Bayern remain as absolute leaders with 39 points. Cover image: X (@FCBayern)

The third round of the FA Cup had some notable goals: Leicester beat QPR 6-2, Liverpool 4-0 at Accrington, Chelsea 5-0 at Morecambe, and Manchester City swept aside Salford 8-0 to advance comfortably. Saturday’s FA Cup third round matchday on January 11 saw Premier League teams thrash their English lower league counterparts. Leicester beat QPR Starting with Leicester City, the “Foxes” beat Queens Park Rangers, a team from England’s second division, 6-2, with James Justin scoring a brace and Stephy Mivididi, Facundo Buonanotte, Jamie Vardy and Wout Faes scoring one goal each. Liverpool and Chelsea had no problems On the other hand, Liverpool defeated Accrington from England’s fourth division 4-0, with goals from Diogo Jota, a great goal from Trent Alexander-Arnold, a goal from Jayden Danns and Federico Chiesa’s first goal as a “Red”. Also, the Stamford Bridge team crushed their English fourth division counterparts, Morecambe, by a score of 5-0, where Tosin Adarabioyo and Joe Felix shone in the game, both for scoring a brace, the remaining goal was scored by Christopher Nkunku. Manchester City scored eight goals Moving on to the most scandalous goal, Manchester City unleashed their fury on Salford, a team also from England’s fourth division, as the match ended with a scandalous 8-0 victory for the “Citizens”. The goals were scored by Jérémy Doku with a brace, Divin Mubama, Nico O’Reilly, Jack Grealish and a hat-trick by James McAtee. Thus, the Premiership teams fulfilled their task and advanced to the next round of the FA Cup.

The wait is over, today we will have the first “Clasico” of Spain that will decide nothing more and nothing less than the champion of the Supercopa de España, the first trophy of the year that Real Madrid and Barcelona can win. The match will be played at the King Abdullah Sport City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, at 1 p.m. CET. It should be noted that both Carlo Ancelotti and Hansi Flick will have their best players for this match, highlighting on the part of Barcelona that Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor will be available for the German coach’s choice, this after resolving the problem that the club had with their registrations. Also, superstitions come into play, as since 2011, no Spanish Super Cup champion has repeated its epic, so Real Madrid, reigning champions, will have to go against that unwritten rule and try to achieve what justly Barcelona was able to do 14 years ago, when they were crowned champions for the third consecutive time in the Super Cup. Cover image: X (@FCBarcelona)

Aston Villa came from 0-1 down to win 2-1 in the FA Cup against West Ham. The goals of the “Villans” were scored by Onana and Rogers. In the third round of the FA Cup, Aston Villa came from behind against Wets Ham in just five minutes, thus, in a duel between two Premier League teams, the “Villans” reaffirmed their good moment, while the West Ham team continues to sink in bad results. West Ham took the lead The game at Villa Park started very well for the “Hammers”, having a chance to score a goal, and this was achieved after only 9 minutes of play, when West Ham started a play from their own half of the field, until they set up Crysencio Summerville on the right flank, who crossed to the penalty spot, where Lucas Paquetá ended up shooting with his left foot to the near post, leaving the goalkeeper on the turf, on his way to the right post. For the rest of the first half, West Ham kept attacking, looking for a second goal that could not materialize. In the second half, Aston Villa came from behind In the second half, Aston Villa went forward, trying to tie the game with an insistent attack that put the Hammers’ lower half in trouble. But it was not until the 71st minute when Amadou Onana pushed the ball into the back of the net from a corner kick that originated a shot stopped by the goalkeeper and a rebound on the leg of a defender, where Onana stretched his leg to tie the game. Five minutes later, at 76′, the home team put together a good attacking play that ended with Ollie Watkins’ overflow into the area, who crossed to Morgan Rogers, who anticipated the defense and got his right foot out to connect with the ball and put it in the direction of the goal, to turn the game around and finally win 2-1. It should be noted that, in this match, Aston Villa wore a commemorative uniform, with a retro style, leaving the traditional wine and blue and sky blue to wear an all-black shirt.

With a brace from Patrick Schick and a goal from Nathan Tella, Bayer Leverkusen triumphed over Borussia Dortmund in a thrilling 3-2 encounter. Jamie Gittens’ strike and Serhou Guirassy’s penalty for Dortmund weren’t enough to prevent the visitors from taking all three points. This win moves Leverkusen temporarily within a single point of Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich, with 35 points. However, Bayern still has a game in hand, leaving the title race wide open. A Frenetic Start Fans at Signal Iduna Park barely had time to settle before Leverkusen struck their first goal—just 25 seconds into the match. The ball reached Dortmund’s defensive corner, where a clearance landed at three-quarters of the pitch. Edmond Tapsoba headed the ball back forward, and Robert Andrich flicked it to Nathan Tella. Without hesitation, Tella unleashed a first-time rocket that flew into the near post, beating the goalkeeper’s dive. Just seven minutes later, Leverkusen doubled their lead. Tapsoba delivered a long pass down the left flank to Piero Hincapié, who carried the ball to the end line and delivered a cross into the box. Patrick Schick slid in at the far post to connect and send the ball into the net, making it 2-0. Dortmund responded swiftly, finding the net four minutes later in the 12th minute. Yan Couto gained possession near the right sideline, dribbled toward the edge of the box, and delivered a cross that deflected off a defender. The ball bounced to the far post, where Jamie Gittens volleyed it home to bring the score to 2-1. Leverkusen struck again in the 19th minute. A fluid buildup from their own half culminated in Jeremie Frimpong sending a precise cross from the right side of the box. Schick, in a near replica of his first goal but from the opposite side, slid in to meet the ball and scored his second of the match, restoring Leverkusen’s two-goal cushion at 3-1. A Late Penalty Couldn’t Save Dortmund In the second half, Dortmund was awarded a penalty in the 75th minute. Julien Duranville broke into the box with a deft chip over two defenders, drawing a foul as Leverkusen’s defenders leaned into him. After a VAR review, the referee pointed to the spot. Serhou Guirassy stepped up in the 79th minute and confidently converted the penalty, narrowing the gap to 3-2. Unfortunately for the home side, Dortmund couldn’t muster another goal in the closing stages, and Leverkusen held on for the win.