GM football fans. It’s Monday, August. 18 - The Premier League urges patience in the landmark Man City case, a goalkeeper matches Peter Shilton’s appearance record, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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Premier League MD1: Leeds United vs. Everton, Monday 18 August, 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET. Everton have a decent record on their recent travels to Elland Road, having gone unbeaten on their past five trips to West Yorkshire, winning two and drawing three–that’s their joint-longest active unbeaten away run to any of the other 19 top-flight teams. In the Premier League, Everton have lost just once in their previous 11 matches against Leeds, while David Moyes has only lost once to Leeds in 10 top-flight matches. See the Premier League table here.

Channels: Sky Sports (UK) | fuboTV (USA) | DAZN (Canada)

Results…

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has urged patience over the landmark legal case involving Manchester City. "It's an independent judiciary essentially," Masters told Sky Sports. "They are then in charge of the process and its timings. They hear the case, they decide the outcome, and we have no influence over it or its timing.”

The eight-time champions were charged with 115 breaches of Premier League regulations in February 2023, with the formal hearing concluding in December last year. A verdict was expected in the second half of last season, but the outcome is yet to be made public. See what City, who deny any wrongdoing, are charged with here.

The number of charges and the severity of the accusations are among the reasons the case has taken as long as it has. Some reports suggest an initial verdict should be expected in October, which will then be met with appeals from either side.

Major private credit firms are exploring a new form of financing, using player transfer fees as collateral, according to Bloomberg. This opens up new ways for clubs to get cash quickly by borrowing against the future payments they are owed from selling a player.

The business model, traditionally the domain of niche sports financiers, is now attracting large firms like Apollo Global Management and Blackstone, as spending on players has soared past $5bn in the current summer window. The volatility of football has meant many banks have stayed away from this type of lending, but big private lenders are now looking for opportunities in the space.

While top teams have easier access to traditional lending—backed by ticket sales, media rights, and global merchandising—using transfers for borrowing is becoming a lifeline for smaller clubs, many of whom are operating at a loss. To put this into context, European clubs reported combined net losses of €1.2bn in 2023.

Fluminense goalkeeper Fabio has matched Peter Shilton’s long-standing record for the most competitive appearances in men’s football. The 44-year-old, who has had a career spanning 27 years, reached 1,390 matches in his team’s 2-1 win over Fortaleza in Brazil’s Serie A. His appearances for Cruzeiro (976) and Fluminense (234) make up the majority of the total.

Shilton, who played between 1966 and 1997, is acknowledged as the record holder for the most competitive games by Guinness World Records. However, the total is disputed by Shilton himself, who argues he played three fewer games at a total of 1387. The discrepancy comes from Guinness's inclusion of 16 unofficial games, which Shilton does not count, and his inclusion of 13 games he played for England’s Under-23s team, which are typically not counted.

The only active player remotely close to catching up with the record is Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 1,283 official appearances to date.

> The National League has approved the takeover of Morecambe by Panjab Warriors, effectively saving the club from collapse (More) | Sunderland have completed the signing of Nordi Mukiele from PSG on a four-year contract in a deal worth £12m (More); see every transfer in Europe’s top five leagues (More)

> Barcelona began its La Liga title defence with a 3-0 win at Mallorca, taking advantage of two first-half red cards (More); see Lamine Yamal’s wonder-goal (Watch)

> Paris FC's first top-flight game in 46 years ended in a 1-0 loss at Angers, despite being reduced to 10 men (More)

> Leicester City winger Jeremy Monga, 16, became the youngest goalscorer in Championship history in his team's 2-1 defeat at Preston North End (More); see all Championship results (More)

> Luis Diaz scored on his debut for Bayern Munich to help them win the German Super Cup 2-1 against VfB Stuttgart (More)

> MLS: Son Heung-Min delivered an assist for LAFC in his debut MLS match as they won 2-0 against New England Revolution (Watch) | Lionel Messi scored and assisted as a substitute to help Inter Miami beat LA Galaxy 3-1; see his goal (Watch) | see all MLS results (More)

> NWSL leaders Kansas City Current drop points in a goalless draw with third-place Orlando Pride; they lead the standings by 11 points (Standings); see all NWSL results (More)

> Liga MX leaders Pachuca lost for the first time this season in a 2-0 defeat to ten-man Club Tijuana; see Liga MX standings (More)

> USL Championship: Louisville City retain top spot in the Eastern Conference following a 4-2 win over Miami FC (More); Western Conference leaders FC Tulsa drop points in a 1-1 draw to Hartford Athletic (More) | See all results (More)

> The Marshall Islands played their first-ever international football match against the US Virgin Islands, and lost the game 4-0 (More)

Friday’s Poll: Where will you be watching the football this weekend?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🏠 At home (72%)

🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🏟️ Stadium (10%)

🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🍻 Pub / Bar (12%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (6%)

Your punditry takes:

Messi’s ridiculous assist for Suarez.

Renders of the UK’s first all-electric stadium.

The Prem’s first corner for goalkeeper timewasting. (video)

… and explaining the little-known rule that disallowed Eze’s goal.

What chance do French clubs have of dethroning PSG?

… and PSG unveil red third-kit inspired by the Total 90 era.

How does the new MOTD work?

Question: Mohamed Salah has scored 10 Premier League Matchday 1 goals, the most in the competition’s history. Four players have scored eight goals. How many can you name? 

Clue: All-English line-up.

Scroll below for the answer.

Premier League

La Liga

DFB Pokal

Coppa Italia

*All times in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.

Answer

Jamie Vardy. Alan Shearer. Wayne Rooney. Frank Lampard.

Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.