Man City 3-0 Brentford: Haaland, Doku & Marmoush net to keep title race alive

Manchester City moved two points behind Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table and boosted their goal difference as three second-half goals clinched a 3-0 win over Brentford.

2025/2026 Premier League

3 - 0

Doku (60')

Haaland (75')

Omar Marmoush (90'+2')

Match Report 

Jeremy Doku, whose double salvaged a 3-3 draw with Everton on Monday, produced an almost identical curling finish to break the deadlock in the 60th minute before Haaland backheeled a close-range second then set up the third for Omar Marmoush.

The victory keeps the pressure on Arsenal ahead of their game against West Ham at the London Stadium on Super Sunday, and means they are only one goal behind the Gunners for goal difference.

Brentford were aggrieved by several refereeing decisions that went against them, the first of which saw Matheus Nunes cleared by VAR after a last-man challenge on Kevin Schade which sent the Brentford forward tumbling to the ground.

Later in a tense first half, a prone Bernardo Silva was only booked for hitting out at the leg of Brentford defender Nathan Collins with his arm. Brentford had a penalty appeal turned down in the second half after another coming together between Nunes and Schade.

Man City XI: Ake, Bernardo Silva, Donnarumma, Haaland, Guehi, Reijnders, Antoine Semenyo, Matheus Nunes, Cherki, Doku, Nico O'Reilly

Subs: Kovacic, Stones, Ruben Dias, Foden, Omar Marmoush, Rayan Aït-Nouri, Nico González, James Trafford, Savinho

Brentford XI: Kristoffer Ajer, Kelleher, Mathias Jensen, Mikkel Damsgaard, Aaron Hickey, Keane Lewis-Potter, Nathan Collins, Kevin Schade, Igor Thiago, Yegor Yarmolyuk, Michael Kayode

Subs: Henderson, J. Dasilva, Janelt, Nelson, Ethan Pinnock, Hákon Valdimarsson, Van den Berg, Dango Ouattara, Kaye Furo

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Man Utd 3-2 Liverpool: Mainoo decides Old Trafford thriller as MU seal top-5 spot, Cunha & Sesko net

Kobbie Mainoo scored the winner as Manchester United beat Liverpool 3-2 at Old Trafford to secure Champions League qualification for next season. 

2025/2026 Premier League

3 - 2

Matheus Cunha (6')

Benjamin Sesko (14')

Mainoo (77')

Szoboszlai (47')

Gakpo (56')

Match Report

Following Bournemouth's 3-0 win over Crystal Palace earlier on Sunday, the Red Devils needed one point to be certain of finishing in the Premier League's top five.

It looked as though they would take all three comfortably after a lightning start had them 2-0 up inside 14 minutes. Matheus Cunha's strike deflected in off Alexis Mac Allister, then Freddie Woodman was unfortunate to see the ball bounce in off Benjamin Sesko after he got a hand to Bruno Fernandes' header across goal.

Fernandes passed up a good chance to put United 3-0 up before half-time, but Michael Carrick's team then lost control of the contest within 11 minutes of the restart. 

Dominik Szoboszlai intercepted Amad Diallo's loose pass and carried the ball from deep before finishing across Senne Lammens, who then gifted Liverpool their equaliser.

Mac Allister latched onto the goalkeeper's loose pass and found Szoboszlai, who immediately teed up Cody Gakpo for a first-time finish.

Lammens atoned by preventing an own goal from Luke Shaw, and United made the most of that reprieve when Mac Allister's weak clearance fell to Mainoo in the 77th minute.

The midfielder, who signed a new five-year contract at Old Trafford earlier this week, confidently placed a first-time effort into the bottom-left corner, as United guaranteed their place among Europe's elite for next season.

Liverpool still need a maximum of four points to join them in clinching a top-five finish, with Chelsea, Aston Villa and Brentford their final three opponents.

Carrick has won eight of his nine home Premier League games as United manager (L1), including his previous interim spell in 2021. 

He is only the sixth manager – and the first from England – to win eight or more of his first nine home matches in the competition, and the first since Antonio Conte with Chelsea in 2016-17 (also 8/9).

After 14 minutes, it was the earliest they had ever gone 2-0 up in a Premier League match against Liverpool (previous fastest was 18 minutes, in September 1999). It was also the earliest the Reds had been 2-0 down in any Premier League game since February 2023 against Wolves (12 minutes).

Arne Slot's team fought back to 2-2 and, at one point, United's remarkable run of not losing a home league game when leading at half-time (which now stands at 399 matches) was under threat.

But Mainoo's first Premier League goal in 718 days (versus Newcastle United in May 2024) clinched the victory, sealing United's first Premier League double over Liverpool since 2015-16.

Man Utd XI: Casemiro, Maguire, Luke Shaw, Bruno Fernandes, Dalot, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Senne Lammens, Benjamin Sesko, Mainoo, Ayden Heaven

Subs: Mount, Mazraoui, Altay Bayındır, Ugarte, Malacia, Zirkzee, Amad Diallo Traore, Yoro, Patrick Dorgu

Liverpool XI: Van Dijk, Robertson, Freddie Woodman, Konate, Gakpo, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones, Gravenberch, Jeremie Frimpong, Wirtz

Subs: Joe Gomez, Chiesa, Milos Kerkez, Ármin Pécsi, Trey Nyoni, Kieran Morrison, Rio Ngumoha, Will Wright, Mor Talla Ndiaye

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Inter 2-0 Parma: Nerazzurri clinch Serie A title with three rounds to spare, Thuram & Mkhitaryan net

Inter Milan have won the Serie A title for the 21st time, reclaiming the Scudetto with a 2-0 win over Parma at San Siro and ending the Crociati’s four-match unbeaten run in the process.

2025/2026 Serie A

2 - 0

Thuram (45'+1')

Mkhitaryan (80')

Match Report

Napoli’s goalless draw yesterday meant a point would be enough, but Inter weren’t making it easy for themselves early on, giving Enrico Del Prato a free header from close range, though had he found the target, the home side may have been spared by the offside flag. Four minutes later, it was Inter’s turn to go close with a headed chance – Denzel Dumfries nodding wide when cutting in to meet Nicolò Barella’s ball. Despite confirming their safety in the previous round, Parma weren’t on the beach just yet, and 20 minutes in Mateo Pellegrino was wasteful with a rushed volley when he had time to take a touch.

The Nerazzurri were millimetres away from breaking the deadlock midway through the half when Barella linked up superbly with Petar Sučić and Pio Esposito before firing against the underside of the bar, and Zion Suzuki scrambled the ball clear before anyone in black & blue could pounce on the rebound. Parma had kept clean sheets in their previous two games, and they were almost halfway to an unlikely third in succession, until first-half added time, when they were unlocked by a simple Piotr Zieliński through ball to Marcus Thuram, who set himself before guiding home his sixth goal in the last five league games to put Inter ahead at HT.

The floodgates failed to open for the home side early in the second half, though against a side to have scored 25 times all season, one goal was quickly looking to be enough for Cristian Chivu’s side, for whom Sučić’s blocked effort was the only shot at either end before the hour mark. Federico Dimarco was Inter’s driving force as the final quarter of the match began, twice getting free down the left and sending dangerous low balls into the box, but one was just behind Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and the other blasted over by Dumfries.

Substitute Lautaro Martínez finally produced the first shot on target of the half when he collected Barella’s cutback but sent it straight at Suzuki in the 78th minute, but not only did the second arrive just two minutes later, but it killed the game and secured the title. This time Martínez was the provider, sending a low cross over from the right for the sliding Mkhitaryan to tap in. It’s five wins in six for Inter and 11 home matches unbeaten, but a second scudetto in three years is the only thing that matters for Il Biscione. The offside flag denied Nesta Elphege a consolation for Carlos Cuesta’s side who suffered just a second away defeat in seven, and are now 10 H2H matches without a win.

Inter XI: Sommer, Zielinski, Dimarco, Barella, Akanji, Thuram, Dumfries, Bastoni, Yann Bisseck, Petar Sučić, Pio Esposito

Subs: Darmian, Mkhitaryan, De Vrij, Acerbi, Calhanoglu, Di Gennaro, Lautaro, Frattesi, Josep Martínez, Carlos Augusto, Luis Henrique, Andy Diouf, Ange-Yoan Bonny, Matteo Cocchi, Mattia Mosconi

Parma XI: Strefezza, Hans Nicolussi Caviglia, Emanuele Valeri, Zion Suzuki, Enrico Delprato, Bernabe, Abdoulaye Ndiaye, Mandela Keita, Alessandro Circati, Mateo Pellegrino, Mariano Troilo

Subs: Nahuel Estévez, Pontus Almqvist, Lautaro Valenti, Gaetano Oristanio, Oliver Sørensen, Filippo Rinaldi, Jacob Ondrejka, Edoardo Corvi, Franco Carboni, Nesta Elphege, Christian Ordóñez, Sascha Britschgi

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Espanyol 0-2 Real Madrid: Vini Jr nets double as Bellingham and Gonzalo Garcia assist

 Vinícius Júnior's second-half double earned Real Madrid a 2-0 win at RCD Espanyol to delay Barcelona’s title celebrations, as Los Blancos kept a first clean sheet in LaLiga since February 8. 

2025/2026 La Liga

0 - 2

Vinicius (55')

Vinicius (66')

Match Report

Espanyol were in the strange position of knowing they could hand the title to city rivals Barça if they took anything from the game, and they could have gone ahead inside three minutes when Roberto Fernández scuffed a shot wide from 15 yards out. The hosts did not look like a team who had failed to win any of their previous 16 matches (D6, L10) as they made a strong start, although they were grateful to see Vinícius’ deflected effort cannon off the post in the eighth minute. That chance signalled a change of momentum as Real took control, before the hosts briefly thought they had been reduced to 10 men when Omar El Hilali received a straight red card for a late challenge on Vinícius in the 25th minute. However, referee Jesús Gil Manzano downgraded it to a booking after consulting the pitchside monitor. 

The home fans’ furious reaction to that decision appeared to spark Espanyol into life, and Tyrhys Dolan blazed a good chance over the crossbar. Federico Valverde then nodded straight at Marko Dmitrović before Brahim Díaz fired over on the turn for Real, while Andriy Lunin made a brilliant save to keep out Leandro Cabrera’s close-range header in first-half stoppage time.

Real had 45 minutes to delay the Barça party, and they made the breakthrough 10 minutes after HT when Vinícius exchanged passes with Gonzalo García in the box, before slotting past Dmitrović. Ramon Terrats almost equalised instantly with an acrobatic effort, but the ball struck a team-mate and looped over the crossbar, before the midfielder curled just wide of Lunin’s far post. Vinícius would not be upstaged, though, and doubled the lead midway through the half when he took Jude Bellingham’s back-heel in his stride and fired into the top corner. It was the Brazilian’s 21st goal of the season across all competitions, and his eighth goal involvement in the past seven games against Espanyol (G5, A3).

Carlos Romero fired straight at Lunin as the hosts searched for a response, but it was in vain as they failed to score for the fourth time in five matches. This hard-fought victory ends Real’s three-game winless run on the road, but they must beat Barcelona at Camp Nou next Sunday to keep their very faint title hopes alive for another week. Meanwhile, Espanyol are still waiting for their first win of 2026 and could find themselves only three points above the bottom three if Sevilla beat Real Sociedad on Monday.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

4' Ruben Sanchez receives a quality pass and releases a rocket of a shot, but his effort goes just wide

8' Vini Jr smashed a shot from the edge of the box, but the ball only crashed against the post

10' Vini Jr is brought down by the defender from behind

14' Mendy is not able to play anymore and Fran Garcia replaces him

22' Yellow Card! Brahim Diaz goes into the book for a previous late challenge

26' Red card awarded to Omar El Hilali is reduced to a yellow following the VAR review!

41' Fran Garcia sends a cross into the box to meet Valverde, but the captain's header is saved

44' Brahim gets to a rebound and unleashes a shot inside the box, but it sails just high

49' Cabrera heads the ball towards the net, but Lunin is alert and denies the effort

50' Yellow Card! Alexander-Arnold booked as he commits a nasty foul by bringing down his opponent

54' Brahim Diaz and Thiago Pitarch go off, Gonzalo Garcia and Mastantuono come on

56' GOAL! Vini Jr waves past the defenders and unleashes a shot into the net! Espanyol 0-1 Real Madrid

66' GOAL! Bellingham provides a back-heel pass to assist Vini Jr score! Espanyol 0-2 Real Madrid

76' Romero's attempt around the edge of the box goes low towards the target, but Lunin makes a save

79' Mastantuono receives a pass and strikes towards the bottom corner, but the keeper denies his effort

81' Vini Jr sprays a wonderful pass out to Gonzalo Garcia, who just sends the ball over the crossbar

Line-ups

Espanyol XI: Rubén Sánchez, Cabrera, Dmitrovic, Calero, Exposito, Ramón Terrats, Tyrhys Dolan, Urko González de Zárate, Omar El Hilali, Roberto Fernández, Carlos Romero

Subs: Kike, Pere Milla, Charles Pickel, Miguel Rubio, Jofre Carreras, José Salinas, Ángel Fortuño, Antoniu Roca, Clemens Riedel, Alex Almansa, Lluc Castell, Ferran Gómez

Real Madrid XI: Rudiger, F Mendy, Alexander-Arnold, Valverde, Brahim, Lunin, Tchouameni, Vinicius, Bellingham, Dean Huijsen, Thiago Pitarch

Subs: Alaba, Fran García, Camavinga, Álvaro Carreras, David Jiménez, Gonzalo García, Raúl Asencio, César Palacios, Fran González, Sergio Mestre, Franco Mastantuono

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Yamal: To the top, we must climb, I promise Barca'll return to rightful place

 In the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final held in the early hours of this morning, Barcelona defeated Atletico Madrid 2-1, but lost to their opponents 2-3 on aggregate and failed to advance. The day after the match, Yamal posted an update on social media, talking about his feelings.

Yamal wrote: \"We tried our best, but it wasn't enough. This is just part of the journey: reaching the top requires climbing, and we know it's not easy, and our opponents won't make it easy for us.\"

\"But giving up is never an option. We have plenty of reasons to be hopeful and will do our best to fight for it. Every mistake is a lesson, and don't doubt that we will grow from every mistake.\"

\"We are Barcelona, and we will eventually return to where we belong. My parents taught me that a man's word is his bond... I promise we will bring the championship back to Barcelona, Sempre Barça 💙❤️\"

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Real Madrid fume as Mbappe is left bloodied after being struck in Girona draw

Alvaro Arbeloa hit out at a decision not to award Kylian Mbappe a penalty as his Real Madrid side saw their La Liga title hopes suffer another major blow by drawing with Girona.

Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Girona on Friday night, with Federico Valverde's second half opener cancelled out by Thomas Lemar.

The hosts were left furious in the closing stages after claiming Mbappe should have been awarded a last-gasp penalty.

Mbappe had dribbled into the Girona box and was caught by the outstretched arm of defender Vitor Reis.

The French forward went down in the box, but saw his appeals for a spot-kick waved away by the referee and VAR.

Mbappe had been left bloodied in the face by the collision, with the Real Madrid star requiring treatment above his right eye after being hit by Reis' elbow.

It's a penalty here and on the moon,' Arbeloa told reporters post-match.

'It's just another one, another week gone by. It is what it is, and that's that. Neither I nor anyone else understands it.

'When does VAR intervene? It intervenes when it suits them, and when it doesn't, it doesn't.

'You already know my opinion, the facts bear it out.

'It was a clear foul, they called a foul on Kylian that was less than a penalty.

'We've had many problems with the referees. With this one, in Mallorca, it's the same old story.'

The draw further damaged Real Madrid's hopes of chasing down rivals Barcelona in the La Liga title race.

Arbeloa's side are now six points behind Barcelona, but the Catalans have a game in hand.

Barcelona can extend their lead to nine points when they face Espanyol on Saturday afternoon.

Real Madrid's attentions will now shift back to the Champions League, as they bid to overturn a first leg deficit against Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.

Arbeloa's side were beaten 2-1 at home by the German giants in midweek.

The return leg will be played at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.

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Man City 4-0 Liverpool: a thrashing win lifts Man City to FA Cup Semi-Final

 A total destruction to the Reds, and an impeccable win for the Citizens. Haaland completes hat-trick, and Salah, pitifully, missed a penalty in his last game against Man City as a Liverpool player.

Match Report:

Erling Haaland scored a hat trick as Manchester City thrashed Liverpool 4-0 to power into the FA Cup semifinals for a record-extending eighth successive season.

Antoine Semenyo was also on target as City maintained their bid for a second domestic treble with a commanding display at the Etihad Stadium.

It was another dismal afternoon in an underwhelming season for Liverpool, and their frustration was compounded when Mohamed Salah was denied from the penalty spot by James Trafford.

Salah was making his first appearance since announcing he would leave the Reds at the end of the season. This was not the way he wanted to begin his final stretch of games.

The result increased the pressure on Liverpool boss Arne Slot ahead of a daunting Champions League trip to Paris Saint-Germain.

It was always likely to be a tough task against a City team that had already beaten them twice this season and had never lost a home FA Cup tie under Pep Guardiola.

The sides appeared evenly matched early on but once City went ahead there was no looking back, with Haaland the standout as he grabbed his 12th hat trick for the club.

Watched by an unlikely visitor in Sir Alex Ferguson, both teams threatened early with Jérémy Doku and Hugo Ekitike driving wide at either end.

Matheus Nunes fired a shot at Giorgi Mamardashvili, who then launched a quick counter-attack which put Salah through on goal.

The Egyptian looked certain to score but -- perhaps rushed as Abdukodir Khusanov slid in -- screwed his attempt well wide. Ekitike also missed the target.

City had a penalty appeal rejected after Rayan Cherki went down following a challenge from Milos Kerkez.

Guardiola, watching a replay in the stand as he completed a touchline ban, appeared perplexed, but VAR backed the decision.

Michael Oliver did point to the spot, however, when Nico O'Reilly was tripped after turning Virgil van Dijk.

There was little debate and Haaland rammed home from 12 yards for only his second goal in seven outings but his 31st for the campaign.

He doubled his tally for the day in first-half stoppage time after Cherki released Semenyo with a cleverly disguised pass and the Norwegian headed the Ghana international's cross past Mamardashvili.

City upped the tempo further after the break, increasing their lead as Semenyo raced onto another fine pass from Cherki and clipped over Mamardashvili.

With confidence soaring, Semenyo attempted to lob the keeper from the centre circle and his effort only just dipped over.

A fourth goal came before the hour as Haaland completed his treble by crashing in a shot off the crossbar from an O'Reilly cutback.

The City fans lapped it up, breaking out into a Poznan celebration and Cherki attempted some flicks in his own box.

The atmosphere was punctured as Nunes felled Ekitike but lifted again as Trafford punched away Salah's spot-kick.

The game then meandered to its conclusion but not before the odd sight of Cherki, sitting on the bench after being substituted, wearing international teammate Ekitike's shirt.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

0' Sir Alex Fergurson is coming to Etihad stadium

0' Pep Guardiola on watching ManCity vs Liverpool from the stands

2' Doku's shot wide out

5' Konate flicks a header at Trafford from Szoboszlai free-kick delivery

8' Match Event for Man City vs Liverpool

11' Nice link-up between Ekitike and Wirtz ends with a shot wide from the striker

14' Nunez's shot too straight

14' Salah blazes wide after a great ball from Mamardashvili

16' Cherki is tripped by Milos Kerkez inside the penalty area

18' Boos around the Etihad, they want a penalty. Kerkez on Cherki

24' Yellow Card! Gravenberch booked

27' Chance for Hugo Ekitike but he puts it wide

28' Handball from Semenyo but no card

31' A confident start from Mamardashvili on a big afternoon for him

34' Yellow Card! Rodri booked

38' Haaland scores from the spot after Van Dijk's foul! Man City 1-0 Liverpool

44' Pep Guardiola left the seat after penalty

46' Ekitike cannot control the ball well

47' Cherki to Antoine Semenyo to Erling Haaland! Man City 2-0 Liverpool

47' LFC would like a couple of decisions to go their way at start of the second half

49' Cherki's pass finds Semenyo who dinks it! Man City 3-0 Liverpool

51' Salah misses a good chance to pull one back

53' Semenyo's shot over the bar

54' Highlight from Man City vs Liverpool

57' Erling Haaland HAT-TRICK! ! Man City 4-0 Liverpool

58' The oles have come out from the home fans with a third of the game left

64' Penalty Missed! (Mohamed Salah)

66' Silva's shot too straight

67' Mac Allister, Gakpo and Ngumoha all on. Wirtz, Ekitike and Gravenberch off

71' Subs: Phil Foden and Tijjani Reijnders replace Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki

73' Cherki just started putting on Ekitike's shirt whilst sat on the ManCity bench

76' Mac Allister shots saved

77' Sub: Omar Marmoush replaces Erling Haaland (hat-trick)

87' Highlight from Man City vs Liverpool

Line-ups

Man City XI: Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Haaland, Guehi, Antoine Semenyo, Matheus Nunes, James Trafford, Cherki, Doku, Nico O'Reilly, Abdukodir Khusanov

Subs: Kovacic, Ake, Donnarumma, Foden, Omar Marmoush, Reijnders, Rayan Aït-Nouri, Nico González, Savinho

Liverpool XI: Salah, Van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Konate, Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Gravenberch, Hugo Ekitiké, Milos Kerkez, Wirtz

Subs: Robertson, Freddie Woodman, Gakpo, Chiesa, Mac Allister, Jeremie Frimpong, Trey Nyoni, Kieran Morrison, Rio Ngumoha

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