GM football fans. It’s Monday, Oct. 6 - UEFA is reportedly in talks to merge with the Super League, the Philadelphia Union have won the 2025 MLS Supporters' Shield, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY RESULTS
Premier League: Everton 2-1 Crystal Palace. Jack Grealish scored a 93rd-minute winner as Everton came from behind to end Crystal Palace's club-record 19-match unbeaten run. Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool. Arne Slot has lost three games in a row in all competitions for the first time in his managerial career. Arsenal 2-0 West Ham. Mikel Arteta picked up his 177th win as Arsenal manager in his 300th game; only Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, and Kenny Dalglish have won more of their first 300 in charge of a top-flight English club. See the Premier League table here.
Leeds 1-2 Spurs | Man Utd 2-0 Sunderland | Villa 2-1 Burnley | Newcastle 2-0 Forest | Wolves 1-1 Brighton | Brentford 0-1 Man City
More results…
La Liga: Sevilla 4-1 Barcelona | Real Madrid 3-1 Villarreal (Table)
Serie A: Fiorentina 1-2 Roma | Juventus 0-0 AC Milan | Inter 4-1 Cremonese (Table)
Bundesliga: Eintracht Frankfurt 0-3 Bayern Munich | Dortmund 1-1 Leipzig (Table)
Liga MX: Queretaro 3-2 Puebla | Leon 2-4 Toluca | Tigres 1-1 Cruz Azul | America 3-0 Santos Laguna (Table)
TOP TALKING POINTS
Super League Re-Emerges
UEFA and the Super League are in talks to merge and create a new competition, according to multiple reports in Spain, though no official statements have been made. The Super League, which proposed a controversial breakaway competition in 2021, has submitted its final proposal to Uefa, and seven meetings have reportedly been held so far. Real Madrid and Barcelona are said to have been involved in discussions and are supportive of the proposal.
Keeping the ‘Champions League’ name, the tournament would feature 36 teams, divided into two groups according to the Uefa coefficient ranking. The top 18 would face each other, while those ranked 19 to 36 would compete separately, aiming for greater competitive balance. If approved by Uefa, the new format would begin in 2027, aligning with the next commercial cycle.
As part of the plan, the competition would include a free global streaming platform called UNIFY, featuring both ad-supported and premium options to keep costs low for fans.
New WC26 Ball
Adidas has unveiled its official match ball for next summer’s World Cup, claiming it will enable faster offside decisions and help identify handball offences. Named Trionda—meaning three waves—the ball features red, green, and blue to represent the three host nations: the United States, Mexico, and Canada. See the ball here.
The ball contains a sensor that transmits real-time data to Fifa’s VAR system. Combined with player-tracking data and AI, it helps officials make faster offside and handball decisions by pinpointing the exact moment of contact. While Adidas says the design offers “optimal in-flight stability,” World Cup balls have faced criticism in recent tournaments for inconsistent flight paths.
There have now been 23 official World Cup match-ball designs since the first tournament in 1930, with Adidas taking over in 1970, debuting the Telstar ball in Mexico. Dive deeper into the history of World Cup balls here.
Philadelphia Take Supporters’ Shield
The Philadelphia Union have won the 2025 MLS Supporters' Shield, awarded to the team with the highest regular season points, following their 1-0 win over New York City FC. Philadelphia are one of 17 clubs in MLS’s 30 seasons to win the shield, and they also lifted it in 2020.
Anything less than a win would’ve left it down to the final day, with Inter Miami, FC Cincinnati, the Vancouver Whitecaps, and LAFC still in contention. It’s the Union’s first silverware under coach Bradley Carnell, who has led the team to a 20-7-6 record, which leads the Eastern Conference table and ensures home-field advantage in the play-offs.
In related news, San Diego FC set a new expansion season points record of 60 points with their 4-2 win at Houston Dynamo. The newcomers surpassed the previous record of 57 points, which was set by LAFC in 2018.
POLL
Ahead of the second international break, do you think Arsenal are favourites to win the Premier League?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Harry Kane became the first Bundesliga player in history to score 11 league goals after six matches in Bayern Munich’s 3-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt; Luis Diaz scored two (More)
> Kylian Mbappe suffered a mild ankle injury in Real Madrid’s 3-1 win over Villarreal (More) | Marcus Rashford scored and was chosen as MVP in Barcelona’s 4-1 loss to Sevilla (More)
> Ipswich beat Norwich in the East Anglian derby for the first time in 16 years (More) | Wrexham and Birmingham City played out a 1-1 draw (Highlights)
> Milan's new soccer stadium, due to replace the historic San Siro ground, will be ready in time for the start of the 2030-2031 Serie A season, says AC Milan’s chairman (More)
Americas
> Lionel Messi becomes just the second player in MLS history to reach at least 40 combined goal contributions in a regular-season campaign (More) | Miami honour Sergio Busquets following the midfielder announcing that he will retire at the end of the 2025 MLS season (More); see all MLS results (More)
> The owners of San Diego Wave FC are suing Jill Ellis, the team’s former president, alleging she lied about her intentions to stay with the club during their purchase negotiations (More)
> Toluca retain top position in the Liga MX following their 4-2 away win at Leon (Results); Monterrey could match Toluca in their fixture against Club Tijuana, which concludes shortly after publication (Live Result)
> Hartford Athletic won the USL Cup with a 1-0 victory over Sacramento Republic (Highlights) | See all USL Championship regular season results (More)
Rest of the World
> The Women's Africa Cup of Nations finals will expand from 12 to 16 teams starting from the 2026 edition (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Friday’s Poll: Bayer Leverkusen's president said the Premier League is becoming the No.1 product in Europe, above the Champions League. Do you agree?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (65%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope (34%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (1%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 J.M: “With the Champions League becoming somewhat diluted with the additional teams and the very low-stakes matches of the league phase, it has probably lost a bit of pull (at least until the latter stages), whereas the Premier League is very competitive throughout the league and has a huge number of incredibly talented players, even in the ‘weaker’ teams.”
👍 D.W: “The Premier League is a more competitive league than the Champions League and the games are more exciting to watch, consequently more people watch the Prem and the money generated is extraordinary, if not obscene. However, generally, I believe the last 8 of the UCL has the most talented players.”
🙅♂️ J.L: “Although the play in the EPL has been fantastic so far, I cannot see it being more popular across Europe than the Champions League. The early rounds of UCL play can be one-sided. Once the knock-out rounds begin, there is nothing better.”
EXTRA TIME
Patrick Kluivert’s three sons scored in three consecutive days.
Taylor Swift sings about Real Madrid contracts in a new track.
Jamie Redknapp awkwardly apologises to Alan Sugar.
Visualising how quickly players make decisions.
Who is the MVP on all 18 UWCL teams?
A fan’s angle of Kane’s insane finish. (video)
GAME FACE ON
Question: Which club links Alejandro Garnacho, Toby Alderweireld, and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink?
Scroll below for the answer.
ON TODAY
EFL League Two
Harrogate Town vs. Crewe Alexandra (20:00)
*All times in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.
Answer
Atletico Madrid.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
It was like the ref had a brand new yellow card and wanted to see if it worked.
