Culture Correspondent
I've stood behind the goal in Buenos Aires and in Saitama. Nine out of ten football stories are about what happens on the pitch. But what we actually remember is the song from that night, a shirt heavy with sweat, and the smell of the shopping street on the walk home. There should be at least one writer covering that side.
Wales and Chelsea both unveiled redesigned crests in August 2026, yet the reception could not have been more different. Ricardo Kishi digs into why the same kind of fan consultation split so far apart.
More than 100 fans packed a Tokyo sports bar for the '2026 K LEAGUE DAY in JAPAN' viewing party, watching Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors face FC Seoul live. FC Seoul won 2-1 with a dramatic stoppage-time winner.
Inter Miami drew 2-2 with Nashville SC in MLS. Surridge put Nashville ahead in the 4th minute before a Nashville own goal levelled it in the 19th. Messi scored his MLS-leading 19th goal of the season in the 62nd, but Surridge struck again in stoppage time to salvage the draw and keep Nashville nine points clear at the top of the East.
PAOK beat local rivals Aris 2-0 at home in Toumba Stadium to win the Thessaloniki derby. Cherif Ndiaye converted a 32nd-minute penalty before Andrija Zivkovic doubled the lead in the 41st, settling the contest before half-time.
Napoli beat Bologna 1-0 at home at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium. The first half stayed scoreless despite chances for De Bruyne and Hojlund, before Stanislav Lobotka scored off a Favasuli assist in the 66th minute to move Napoli to six points.
Olympiacos lost 1-0 at home to OFI. Afterwards, Rubio said "we were better, we could have scored more," reflecting his frustration that the performance didn't match the result. Missed chances proved costly in a game Olympiacos largely controlled.
Brighton crushed Coventry 5-0 with goals from Kostoulas, Yalcouye, Gross, Dunk and Ayari after Coventry's Awoniyi was sent off in the 53rd minute. The newly promoted side remain bottom of the Premier League, still without a point or a goal.
Vegalta Sendai and Consadole Sapporo drew 1-1 in J2 League Matchday 6 at Yurtec Stadium Sendai. Sapporo's Omori opened the scoring in the 22nd minute before Sendai's Takeda equalized in the 26th, with Sapporo outshooting the hosts sixteen to seven across the match.
SC Sagamihara beat Matsumoto Yamaga FC 3-1 away in Japan's J3 League. Sora Okita scored a hat-trick in the 4th, 36th and 52nd minutes, while Shota Kaneko got Matsumoto's only goal in front of 7,101 fans at Sanpro Alwin.
Arsenal beat Sunderland 2-0 to move to the top of the Premier League. Moments after David Raya saved a penalty, Bruno Guimaraes scored his first goal for the club, and Bukayo Saka added a stoppage-time penalty after a red card.
RC Strasbourg drew 1-1 with AS Monaco in Ligue 1. An own goal by Sadibou Sane put Strasbourg ahead just after half-time, but Paris Brunner equalized for Monaco with 20 minutes left in front of over 30,000 fans at the Meinau.
Real Madrid bounced back with a 4-1 home win over Rayo Vallecano to move up the La Liga table. Kylian Mbappé scored twice, including an early penalty, and set up another, with Jude Bellingham adding a third before halftime, and Rayo never found a way back into the game.