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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.

Real Madrid cruised to a 2-0 victory over Osasuna on matchday six and Rodrygo Goes made an instant impact coming off the bench in the second half.

Snapshot

It truly was a great game played by the whole Real Madrid squad.

Zinedine Zidane decided to reshuffle his Galactico deck and give a chance to some other, less prominent players in the process. Still, his squad was a good blend of youth and experience but the youngsters were the ones who completely took over the show on Wednesday night.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Two Brazilians, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, rattled the net of Los Blancos’ guests at the Santiago Bernabeu and propelled Real Madrid to a new victory and a beautiful view from the top of the table in La Liga.

But it was actually the latter Brazilian, Rodrygo, who managed to catch everyone’s eye despite getting just a cameo appearance in front of the home crowd.

One for the future

It took Rodrygo only 20 minutes played on the pitches of Santiago Bernabeu to start the comparisons with the Brazilian Ronaldo.

He came on in the 70th minute and just 93 seconds into his 2019/20 campaign debut for the Galacticos, the 18-year-old prodigy managed to tally a goal to his name. Not only was this extremely impressive but he also became the fastest player to score his first La Liga goal for Real Madrid since Ronaldo did it back in 2002.

The legendary forward needed 62 seconds to do that but Rodrygo was definitely pretty close.

Apart from that goal, he also registered two shots, two dribbles and 87.5% passing accuracy on the night, making his cameo appearance more than just a successful one.

Of course, the comparisons with one of the all-time greats is rather flattering but it will be important for Zidane to approach this situation carefully and not rush things unnecessarily.

Now he knows what Rodrygo is capable of and if these early signs are any indication at all, there’s a bright future ahead of him at the club as well.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Southampton travel to Fratton Park to take on Portsmouth on Tuesday in what promises to be a highly-charged derby meeting.

With the Saints a Premier League team and their opponents currently play in League One, it could be assumed that there would be a gulf in quality.

However, anything can happen in football, especially under the lights in what will be the first meeting between these bitter south coast rivals since 2012.

And there are two players in particular who could be the architects of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side’s downfall.

Let’s take a look at two players the Saints must keep an eye on in the Carabao Cup tie…

Marcus Harness

The 23-year-old forward has been in decent form so far this season, with two goals and an assist to his name in League One – Harness has also netted in the Carabao Cup.

Pompey’s No.19 takes 1.4 shots per game and makes 1.2 key passes per 90 in the third tier, while he also records an impressive two dribbles per game.

You can tell Harness causes opposition defenders some problems seeing as he gets fouled 1.6 times on average per game as well.

A tricky customer, the Saints will have to be wary of his threat.

Ronan Curtis

The Republic of Ireland international, like Harness, also has two League One goals to his name so far this term, and the similarities with his teammate continue as Curtis is also fouled 1.6 times on average per game.

What is most eye-catching about the 23-year-old’s season so far, however, is the sheer amount of shots he takes.

Curtis records a whopping 4.1 shots per game in League One, suggesting that he isn’t afraid to pull the trigger and test the goalkeeper.

As only two of his strikes have gone in, he arguably hasn’t made the most of his opportunities, but you can’t win the raffle without buying a ticket – and any pressure on the Southampton goal will give a huge boost to Pompey.

A daring attacking player, Curtis could prove a thorn in the Saints’ side on Tuesday.

Celtic supporters are less than happy with ex-Parkhead striker Charlie Nicholas after his prediction that Celtic will lose in Rennes, and his accusation that the Hoops get “scared” playing away from home in Europe.

Admittedly, Celtic’s history of away results in the past has been less than impressive – they lost four and won only two of their eight European games last season – but their form this term has been much improved with their Champions League qualifier results showing a 3-1 away win at Sarajevo, a 2-0 away win at Nomme Kalju FC and a 1-1 draw away to Cluj.

Watch Celtic Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Celtic then dropped into the Europa League after their exit to Cluj and recorded an impressive 4-1 away victory at AIK.

Celtic have been free scoring this season, netting an impressive 18 times in five top flight games, and with their defence holding strong, conceding only thrice in the league, the Hoops fans have every right to believe a result could be on the cards going into the first Europa League group fixture on Thursday.

Nicholas disagrees, and that has not been popular amongst the Celtic faithful.

The reaction on Facebook wasn’t great …

Twitter was equally vocal in its condemnation …

Some of the criticism was a little bizarre … but still funny!

Some were so angry there weren’t even prepared to be charitable … even when Nicholas himself had been!

Celtic fans are fiercely protective of their club and they clearly feel that Nicholas, an ex-player, should be more supportive.

It’s not criticism that bothers most Celtic fans but the way it is delivered, in what appears to be total negativity.

These kind of comments are just a taste of the overall strength of feeling about these particular remarks.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

Napoli’s start to the season is likely to cause some worry for Liverpool and that is mainly due to the attacking prowess they have displayed so far.

Not only do Carlo Ancelotti’s side keep hold of the ball, with an average of 57% possession in Serie A, but they use it to great effect, allowing the likes of Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne to wreak havoc in and around the final third.

From their three Serie A games, that duo have a combined total of five goals and three assists, so it is some task to keep them quiet, and it is almost certain to be a big test of Joel Matip.

The Cameroon international has performed well this season, and his displays appear to have earned him a permanent place alongside Virgil van Dijk, which looked in doubt after Joe Gomez started the first Premier League game against Norwich.

Matip will likely start once again on Tuesday, although there could be a temptation for Jurgen Klopp to rest some players with Chelsea coming up, and with Napoli operating a 4-3-3 formation it is likely Mertens will choose the 28-year-old to exploit, rather than van Dijk.

Mertens has made a name for himself in recent years as a prolific goalscorer, but the fact he has been dispossessed, on average, less than once a match, could also create problems for Matip, whose average of 4.8 aerial duels won per game suggest he’s better suited to a contest in the air.

According to WhoScored, the centre-back has averaged four clearances per game in the Premier League. That shows he is improving, as he achieved 3.5 per league match last year, and that makes him better suited to teams like Napoli and high calibre opponents such as Mertens.

The Belgian fits the poacher mould. He doesn’t offer too much in terms of building attacks – he has averaged 21 passes per game in the league – but comes alive in the final third.

Mertens has the ability to finish difficult chances whilst 1.7 key passes per game displays his ability to create for his teammates, and Matip can’t afford him the time to pick out Insigne or Jose Callejon, as he is often accurate.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It won’t be plain sailing for the 32-year-old, either. In 26 starts last season Matip helped the Reds keep 12 clean sheets and he will look to hassle and harry Mertens at every opportunity, whether he is on the ball or before he gets a chance to receive a pass, as evidenced by his tackling and interception statistics.

Importantly, he uses his physical attributes to his advantage without penalising the opponent. He has only made, on average, 0.8 fouls per game, and such a record is invaluable against a team like Napoli, as players like Mertens and Fernando Llorente are capable of scoring from set-pieces, either directly or indirectly.

If Matip succeeds in keeping Mertens quiet it will go a long way in Liverpool keeping a clean sheet, and if they manage that they should be able to nick a win due to their attacking quality.

[ad_pod ]It’s rare for a transfer that happened over 30 years ago to be a point of discussion, but someone dug up Gary Lineker’s Q&A with FourFourTwo from 2015 and thus people have been speaking about the fact that he never moved to Manchester United, despite their interest.The Match of the Day presenter spoke very candidly in the Q&A about the fact United wanted to sign him in 1989.Watch Everton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

This raised further questions about the Red Devils wanting to sign the former England international further back in 1985. Fortunately, Lineker was more than happy to answer.

Lineker set the record straight on United’s interest in him in 1985. He said that he wasn’t interested in moving to Old Trafford due to the fact Everton were a dominant force in English football back in the 80s.

His words are likely to sting a number of United supporters as he called them ‘very average’ in his tweet. However, it will likely please a number of Everton supporters to know that they were the preferred destination ahead of one of the world’s biggest clubs.

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Juventus, Inter and Napoli are strongly represented in the best Serie A squad from 2017-18, but who else is included in EA Sports' panel?

• EA Sports
  

  Samir Handanovic – Inter

  88 > 95

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• EA Sports
  

  Kalidou Koulibaly – Napoli

  84 > 94

• EA Sports
  

  Milan Skriniar – Inter

  80 > 92

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• EA Sports
  

  Medhi Benatia – Juventus

  85 > 94

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Four games into the new Championship season and Marcelo Bielsa could finally be about to make some changes to his starting XI.

Ahead of their clash against Wigan, he revealed that his entire team would be the same as the one that featured against Nottingham Forest which could have granted the Latics a large advantage.

As it happened, the Whites still went onto win.

However, with a match against Brentford now on the horizon, there are some injury doubts with Liam Cooper, Barry Douglas and Ezgjan Alioski all potentially unavailable.

As a result, Bielsa noted the following:

It led to a host of Leeds fans debating his words, some appearing more concerned than others.

One took issue with the fact that the Argentine was again disclosing his team selection in a press conference as another simply said he does what he wants.

Other supporters had a greater sense of perspective. A further individual claimed that moving Jamie Shackleton and Stuart Dallas into those two roles was a sensible move. It was also claimed that Bielsa knows best.

Shackleton played a period of last season at right-back so should be comfortable with the role. As for Dallas, he featured at left-back in the playoffs against Derby last season, scoring twice.

Here’s some of the discussion.

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Labuschagne makes duck on Glamorgan return as bowlers dominate opening day

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay16-May-2025Bowlers dominated the opening proceedings between Glamorgan and Northamptonshire as 13 wickets fell in a slow-scoring day one at Sophia Gardens.Northants fell from 99 for 1 at lunch to 185 all out including a period of 35 runs for six wickets being shared around by the Glamorgan seamers, Luke Procter was the only batter flying the flag for the visitors, as has been the story all season with 61.Overseas impact Asitha Fernando continued his form as did Andy Gorvin taking three wickets apiece. In reply, a similar story: a steady, watchful start ending with 82 for 3.Marnus Labuschagne made a disappointing return to his two-match stay at the Welsh County in preparation for the World Test Championship final. The Australian fell for a duck from his fellow countryman Harry Conway while Glamorgan’s top run scorer for 2025 – Colin Ingram – is rested.Both sides recorded their first win in the last round of fixtures to make for a tighter Division Two table after five matches than the initial anticipations from April. Glamorgan moved off bottom spot with a win inside two-and-a-half days while Northants, on the high of their bat-first win against Lancashire, decided to insert themselves after winning the toss on a dry, sun-hit pitch in Cardiff.The first session proved Procter’s decision at the toss to be the correct one as the new ball provided little for the Glamorgan all-seam frontline attack. It was a loose start demonstrated by 16 of the first 39 runs coming via four sets of leg-bye boundaries from the Glamorgan openers.Reliable medium-pacer Gorvin provided the only reason to celebrate, sending back Ricardo Vasconcelos after he had passed a personal milestone of 5,000 first-class runs in his short stay. Despite the positives it wasn’t all celebratory for the Northants captain; he was struck in a sensitive area on two occasions, while number three Goerge Bartlett looked unconvincing despite getting through to lunch unscathed.The form wasn’t long-lasting for the visitors as their top-five woes continued shortly after Procter passed 50. Timm van der Gugten led the way with a ball-on-a-string spell, taking his 300th first-class wicket in the process before the rest of the five-strong seam-attack all contributed for themselves with some smart catching in the slip cordon worth an honourable mention.Justin Broad and Calvin Harrison did resist for Northants as Glamorgan shuffled their bowlers but a loose shot on the brink of tea sent Harrison packing and 185 for 8 at tea wasn’t added to in the final session.Zain Ul Hassan backed up his wicket by coming out in stroke-making fashion, taking five boundaries in his stay for 25 before chopping on in a disappointing dismissal. Asa Tribe however went about his work in a much quieter fashion in the opening 46-run partnership. The Jerseyman was bogged down until his eventual dismissal after the tight spells from Ben Sanderson and Procter, who both found lateral movement with the ball.Captain Sam Northeast together with Kiran Carlson, on his birthday, remained not out at the end of play, surviving the final eight overs after a loss of three wickets for two runs, including Labuschagne who fenced low to Justin Broad at third slip for a seven-ball duck.

[ad_pod ]Eddie Nketiah fired Leeds United to the top of the Championship with the only goal of the match against Brentford on Wednesday night.The 20-year-old scored on his debut for the club in the EFL Cup against Salford City last week and he is now off the mark in the Championship goal scoring charts as well.Indeed, the assist came from fellow substitute Helder Costa and the 5 ft 9 ace was on hand to convert, ultimately securing all three points for Marcelo Bielsa’s side.It will be very interesting to see how Bielsa uses the on-loan Arsenal forward in the coming weeks as Patrick Bamford has also made a strong start to the campaign.Signing another goal threat was always on the agenda following the departure of Kemar Roofe, though, and it would be fair to say that the Leeds fans have taken to Nketiah in the early stages of his Elland Road career.Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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Her unbeaten half-century capitalises on 105-stand between Suzie Bates and Hollie Armitage

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay11-May-2025An excellent all-round performance from Mady Villiers led Durham to a three-wicket win in their Metro Bank One Day Cup women’s clash with Warwickshire.Durham’s bowlers restricted Warwickshire throughout their innings with regular wickets from the likes of Sophia Turner and Villiers, but a late flurry of runs from half-centurion Charis Pavely helped them to a competitive total of 243 for 9.Durham’s reply got off to a great start, with the brilliant Suzie Bates combining well with skipper Hollie Armitage for a partnership worth 105. However, some quick wickets for Warwickshire unsettled Durham but Villiers’ maiden List A fifty for Durham secured her side a first win since the opening day.Warwickshire won the toss and elected to bat at Banks Homes Riverside, but the visitors were living off scraps in the early stages of the powerplay.The pressure told as the hosts got the breakthrough when Abbey Freeborn edged a Grace Thompson delivery behind to Bess Heath to depart for 5. Durham struck again shortly after through the same combination as Sterre Kalis was caught behind for 8.Davina Perrin relieved some of the early pressure for Warwickshire as she carved back-to-back Sophia Turner deliveries to the boundary, but Villiers made sure she didn’t inflict any more damage as she took an excellent return catch to dismiss the dangerous Perrin for 32.The hosts got their fourth with Katie Levick striking in her first over as Nat Wraith was caught by Villiers after trying to smash one through the legside. Levick then got her second as she got Bethan Ellis caught and bowled for three to leave Warwickshire in trouble.After a serene period, Katie George edged a Sophia Turner delivery behind to Heath, which meant she had to depart for a well-made 42.Arlott then fell to Villiers for 29 after she heaved one towards the legside boundary, but she could only find the hands of Thompson.The excellent Pavely was inventive as she tried to get her side to a competitive total and she produced an impressive ramp shot that went for four.Warwickshire continued their charge as Issy Wong smashed one over the legside boundary and into the stands for six.Pavely then reached her half-century off 63 balls as she dabbed one to the boundary past third for four, but her fantastic knock of 57 finished at the hands of Sophia Turner, who also picked up the wicket of Wong to leave the visitors on 243 for 9.Emma Marlow and Bates were tasked with kicking off Durham’s chase and Bates eased some nerves as she smashed a George ball to the boundary.After a decent start, Durham lost their first wicket with England international Wong getting Marlow caught behind for five, but that brought in-form skipper Armitage to the crease and she found the boundary twice in the space of three balls in a George over.Bates continued to flow at the other end as she played a lovely shot through the covers for four. The New Zealand international Bates then reached her half-century soon after, with the milestone coming from 63 balls.The experienced pair were seemingly in cruise control, but Warwickshire struck back with Arlott getting the big scalp of Armitage for 46 as she cut straight to Perrin at point.That brought Villiers to the crease and she punished Pavely for pitching one too short, whipping it away to the boundary. The visitors got another big wicket as Bates was stumped for 72 after she came down the track to Pavely and completely missed the ball.Durham debutant Mia Rogers then departed to Baker for 11 as she edged behind to Freeborn and Heath followed her as she miscued a sweep shot straight to a fielder, handing Georgia Davis her first wicket of the day.Durham lost another wicket as Arlott bowled Phoebe Turner for four and Villiers responded by thrashing one to the legside boundary, but another wicket fell as Davis ran out Katherine Fraser.Villiers passed fifty and she still had plenty to do, but she was well supported by 17-year-old Thompson, and they guided Durham to the target with 21 balls to spare.