Europe

San Marino won their first ever competitive match by beating Liechtenstein 1-0 in the Nations League on Thursday, 20 years since their only other victory, also against Liechtenstein.

The Nations League D game was hardly a clash of the titans, with San Marino bottom of FIFA's rankings at 210th and Liechtenstein 199th, but Nicko Sensoli's goal in the 53rd minute will make him a national hero.

San Marino's only other success came in their 69th game, a 1-0 win over Liechtenstein in a 2004 friendly.

For the first time since 2003 neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Lionel Messi have been included in the nominees for the men's Ballon d'Or award, which were announced on Wednesday, with England's Jude Bellingham among the 30 players named.

Portugal's Ronaldo, who has won the award five times, also failed to receive a nomination last year, while Messi, who won for a record eighth time in 2023 and has been nominated 16 times, misses out despite Argentina's Copa America win this year.

Messi and Ronaldo not nominated for Ballon d'Or

Manchester United have added on to their negative head-to-head record against Liverpool this decade. This time, Casemiro is getting the blame.

The most anticipated match in the Premier League’s third match day of the season ended in yet another blowout win for Liverpool over Manchester United, with Arne Slot getting the upper hand over Ten Hag in their first matchup with a 3-0 win at their rivals home pitch.

LONDON — Erling Haaland's second successive hat-trick propelled Manchester City to a 3-1 win at West Ham United on Saturday, maintaining the champions' perfect start to the Premier League season.

The Norwegian striker missed an early chance but made no mistake with the second, calmly slotting past Alphonse Areola to put City ahead in the 10th minute after Bernardo Silva dispossessed Lucas Paqueta in midfield.

One mistake is all it takes for Erling Haaland to make his mark.

The Declan Rice red card from Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Brighton on Saturday was one of the more bizarre moments you’ll see in a Premier League game.

Rice received his first yellow card in the 42nd minute for a tough challenge on Joël Veltman. Nothing crazy there.

It was the 25-year-old’s second yellow card that baffled fans everywhere.

In the 49th minute Rice fouled Veltman again deep in Brighton’s territory. The Arsenal man lingered around a little too long and when Veltman tried to take the free kick quickly he ended up cleaning out Rice.

The UEFA Champions League has confirmed the fixtures for the new "league phase" format for the 2024/25 season. The draw marks a significant change from the traditional group stage format, with a shift towards a league phase that includes 36 teams, an increase from the previous 32.

Spoiler: Paris Saint-Germain are not liking the new format.

Confirmed: New UEFA Champions League "league phase" draw fixtures

Pot 1 fixtures:

Napoli have signed Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea, the Serie A club said on Thursday.

Financial details of the transfer were not revealed by either club but British media reported Napoli paid $39.47 million for the 31-year-old.

Lukaku Napoli transfer details

Official, confirmed. Romelu Lukaku signs in as new Napoli player on permanent move from Chelsea.

€30m plus add-ons, 3 year contract.

Chelsea's main aim in the transfer window is to offload players from their squad so the club can balance its books, manager Enzo Maresca said on Tuesday.

Chelsea have been busy in the market since American owner Todd Boehly took over two years ago.

The West London club have spent over $211.50 million on 11 new signings for this season, including winger Pedro Neto, forward Joao Felix, midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen.