GM football fans. It’s Tuesday, Sept. 23 - The Ballon d’Or winners have been announced, an overview of the MLS Play-off race, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
English League Cup, 3rd Round: Liverpool vs. Southampton, 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET. Liverpool are unbeaten this season, and have scored 14 goals in six matches. Meanwhile, Championship side Southampton have only one win in their last six matches in all competitions, and a loss would make it their fifth consecutive defeat against the Reds. Lincoln City vs. Chelsea, 19:45 BST / 14:45 ET. Despite the disparity in divisions between the clubs, League One’s Lincoln will draw confidence from their home form, having won five and drawn two of their last seven matches. Wolves vs. Everton, 19:45 BST / 14:45 ET. Wolves have lost all five of their opening Premier League fixtures, and were beaten 3-2 by Everton earlier this campaign. However, while Everton have enjoyed a decent start, they have won just one of their last seven away game, though that came against Wolves. See every EFL Cup 3rd Round fixture here.
Results…
TOP TALKING POINTS
Ballon d’Or Winners
Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele, 28, has won the men’s 2025 Ballon d’Or trophy. Dembele edged out Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal, who won the Kopa Trophy for best young player, and was able to attend the ceremony despite PSG playing Marseille, as he is currently injured—PSG lost 1-0. The Frenchman scored 35 goals in 53 appearances in PSG’s treble-winning season, and was named Ligue 1 and Champions League player of the season. See the full men’s list for 2025 here.
Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati, 27, has won the women’s Ballon d’Or for the third consecutive time, becoming the first woman in history to do so. Having also won the 2023 and 2024 awards, Bonmati’s victory extends Barcelona’s dominance, with the club providing the women’s winner for the past five years. See the full women’s list for 2025 here.
England manager Sarina Wiegman was named women's coach of the year, while Hannah Hampton collected the Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper—the first award of its kind for a women’s goalkeeper. Luis Enrique won the men’s coach of the year award after leading PSG to its first Champions League trophy last season, and Gianluigi Donnarumma picked up the men’s Yashin Trophy.
Elsewhere, Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres, formerly of Sporting CP, and Barcelona's Ewa Pajor won the Gerd Muller trophy for most goals in the season.
MLS Play-Off Race
The 2025 MLS Cup Play-offs are a month away, and the top nine teams in each conference will qualify, while the No. 8 seed will play the No. 9 in a one-match Wild Card knockout game. See the remaining fixtures of the season here.
In the Eastern Conference, four teams have already secured their spots: Philadelphia Union, FC Cincinnati, Charlotte FC, and New York City FC. The other five current play-off positions are held by Inter Miami, Orlando City, Nashville SC, Columbus Crew, and Chicago Fire. Several teams have already been mathematically eliminated, but the New York Red Bulls are chasing closely behind the play-off line.
In the Western Conference, five clubs are already through: LAFC, Minnesota United, Vancouver Whitecaps, expansion side San Diego FC, and Seattle Sounders. Austin FC, Portland Timbers, Colorado Rapids, and FC Dallas currently occupy the other play-off places. Houston Dynamo, San Jose Earthquakes, and Real Salt Lake are still within striking distance for a late push.
See how the MLS play-off format works here.
La Liga Causes Internet Shutdown
La Liga is facing criticism after its anti-piracy crackdowns cause widespread internet outages. One report claims the league, which says it has increased anti-piracy takedowns by 142% this year, is inadvertently triggering widespread outages for entirely lawful websites, services, and platforms.
With judicial approval, La Liga can instruct major internet providers to block IP addresses linked to unauthorised streams. The problem is that it often blocks entire IP ranges rather than individual streams, which means thousands of unrelated domains can be affected. As a result, large sections of the internet “go dark” for Spanish users, often during match broadcasts.
Despite legal challenges, there’s no sign that La Liga intends to change its anti-piracy strategy. One report estimates that La Liga clubs lose between €600-€700m annually due to piracy, though La Liga claims to have reduced piracy by 60% last season.
POLL
Does a team need to play attractive football to be considered successful?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Chelsea are monitoring Cole Palmer “day by day” after he was forced off with a groin injury against Manchester United; Enzo Maresca doesn’t think surgery is required (More) | Arsenal’s Noni Madueke could be sidelined for a long spell after suffering a knee injury (More)
> Bernardo Silva has claimed Arsenal were handed an unfair advantage following their 1-1 draw against Manchester City, accusing fixture schedulers of lacking respect and common sense (More)
> A plea bargain deal for former Juventus president Andrea Agnelli with a 20-month suspended sentence in a false accounting trial was granted by a judge (More)
> The Coppa Italia 2nd round runs from September 23 to 25, with Tuesday’s fixtures including Cagliari vs. Frosinone, Udinese vs. Palermo, and AC Milan vs. Lecce (All Fixtures)
Americas
> Boca Juniors squandered a two-goal lead at home against Central Cordoba in the Argentine Primera Division Clausura tournament as the match ended 2-2; Boca Juniors sit third after nine matches (More)
> Cruz Azul lead Liga MX after nine matches and are yet to lose a match in the regular season; Monterrey are one point behind (Table)
Rest of the World
> Kashima Antlers return to the top of the Japanese J.League standings following their 1-0 away win at Urawa Reds (Match Week Recap)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Micah Richards said the Premier League has never been more competitive than it is right now. Do you agree?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (68%)
🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope (30%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (2%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 T.B: “Spot on. I can’t remember the last time there were three or four teams that could genuinely win the title. Not one of the favourites looks like they have really found their rhythm yet, leaving the race wide open. Plus, who finishes where in the top ten is anyone’s guess. Excited to see how it all plays out.”
🙅♂️ J.P.L: “He must mean that more teams have billionaire backing. In other words, there are more teams that can spend at the level of the top teams. That still excludes two-thirds of the league, which isn't exactly a balanced playing field.”
✍️ J.L: “Competitive means anyone can beat anyone on any given day. I don't see that in the Premier League. There are a few teams at the top that can beat anyone. And a few at the bottom who cannot. I think the Premier League has the strongest teams top to bottom compared to other leagues. If Richards is saying the Prem is the most competitive in terms of matching up against other countries, OK. If he means within the league itself, he's wrong.”
EXTRA TIME
The best players who have never won the Ballon d’Or.
… and predicting the 2035 Ballon d’Or winner.
The shortest time a player has been at a club—is 24 hours.
Rooney says video games were key to Utd’s success.
Why Spurs players have unique three-digit numbers on their shirts.
How Pep is following football’s latest trend. (analysis)
GAME FACE ON
Question: What is the common club among the following groups of players:
Rayan Cherki, Bruno Guimaraes, Malo Gusto.
Mohammed Salah, Ivan Rakitic, Xherdan Shaqiri.
Michael Ballack, Javier Hernandez, Kai Havertz.
Scroll below for the answer.
ON TODAY
English League Cup, 3rd Round
Barnsley vs. Brighton (19:45)
Burnley vs. Cardiff City (19:45)
Fulham vs. Cambridge United (19:45)
Lincoln City vs. Chelsea (19:45)
Wigan vs. Wycombe (19:45)
Wolves vs. Everton (19:45)
Wrexham vs. Reading (19:45)
Liverpool vs. Southampton (20:00)
La Liga
Athletic Club vs. Girona (18:00)
Espanyol vs. Valencia (18:00)
Levante vs. Real Madrid (20:30)
Sevilla vs. Villarreal (20:30)
*All times in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.
Answer
Lyon. Basel. Bayer Leverkusen.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
We don't want our players to be monks. We want them to be better football players because a monk doesn't play football at this level.
