Picture by David Rake Championship West Ham United (0) 1 Bowen 70 Queen's Park Rangers (1) 1 Madsen pen 18 A brilliant double save from Pierce Charles in the dying moments secured QPR a point in a very watchable Friday night mash-up between east and west. Jarrod Bowen. having scored to cancel out a first-half penalty from Nicolas Madsen, had the chance to win it from the spot in the 90th minute after the Hammers had won a penalty from the Irons skipper's floated cross in from

Exclusive by Alessandro Schiavone Iceland international and former Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and Swansea City attacking midfielder Gylfi Sigurðsson has spoken exclusively to Capital Football London after his country's 3-0 win over Luxembourg in the Nations League. Still playing for Víkingur Reykjavík and in the national team at the age of 37, Sigurdsson made 318 Premier League appearances, scoring 67 goals and setting up another 51. Ahead of Tottenham's trip to Manchester U

By Alessandro Schiavone at Stade de Luxembourg Arsenal face a daunting task on Saturday when Leeds United visit the Emirates Stadium after the three-week international break. That is because, unlike Arsenal, Daniel Farke’s men have yet to lose a game in the Premier League this season after five outings. Add to that the return of fit-again midfielder Ilia Gruev and it’s easy to see why Mikel Arteta’s side will have to play to their strengths to make it six consecutive Premier

Did the Lions roar? Nations League England (2) 3 Coufal og 27, Kane 40, 57 Czech Republic (0) 0 In a nutshell: This was skipper Harry Kane's night once more. He scored twice while earning a record-equalling 125th cap - bringing him level with Peter Shilton. He was looking to add to the 89 goals he has as the country's most outstanding international marksman and is now on 91.. He did not immediately strike oil but was responsible for the opening goal when his low cross from th

By Alessandro Schiavone in Liège Nations League Matchday 3 Belgium 3-0 Turkey Wikimedia Commons Vincenzo Montella is in hot water after Belgium inflicted a 3-0 defeat on his beleaguered Turkey in the Nations League yesterday evening. Fulham star Timothy Castagne’s Belgium ran riot thanks to a pair of De Bruyne stunners and a Romelu Lukaku tap-in. KDB’s first was the spitting image of the one he scored in a famous title decider against Arsenal in April 2023 with Man City. He d

By Alessandro Schiavone at Stade Roi Baudoin, Brussels Nations League Matchday 2 Belgium 0-1 France Goal: Olise 88' Defender Maxence Lacroix has started four games for Chelsea this season and has had to watch on as the opposition scored a staggering 10 times. Remarkably, he has been a crucial cog in France keeping back-to-back clean sheets against Turkey and Belgium in the Nations League in the past four days. Newspaper L’Équipe, something of a footballing Bible in France, de

KK rightly adorns tonight's programme cover Nations League England (2) 2 Gordon 36, Kane 40 Spain (1) 3 Yamal 2, Baena 60, Oyarzabal 74 In a nutshell: A dithering Marc Guehi paid the price for turning back towards goal with Lamine Yamal at his heels. The teenager robbed him and raced in to beat James Trafford with a shot that went in off a post. But two goals in four minutes gave England a half-time lead. A lightning breakaway saw Jude Bellingham feed his La Liga counterpart

Early pressure on the Sutton goal at Gander Green Lane : Picture by @CapitalFootball National League Sutton United (0) 3 Njoku 72, Carter 79, Babalola 90+3 Forest Green Rovers (1) 3 Clarke 10, Ewing 48 Sass s/o 52 McAllister 73 An injury time equaliser capped a fine recovery from 3-1 down for Sutton against a 10-man Forest Green in a game rich in entertainment. The game was a fine advert for the National League and was the right outcome in a match that saw both sides contribu

By Alessandro Schiavone at Gtech Community Premier League Matchday 5 Brentford 3-0 Chelsea Both midfielders. Both born in the early 80's. But there were miles between the footballers Keith Andrews and Xabi Alonso. In every sense of the word. What Andrews could not provide in grace and flair, he made up for in spirit, grit and tenacity. Bite and spite. He was all thunder and fire. Meanwhile Xabi Alonso was the type of footballer who ran the business without having to get out o

Brighton & Hove Albion (2) 3 v Arsenal (0) 0 Premier League Matchweek 5 Talking Points By Kaz Mochlinski at the Amex Community Stadium There is nothing which Mikel Arteta has done this season that was as impressive as his reaction to Arsenal’s first defeat of the new campaign with a painful 3-0 loss away to Brighton & Hove Albion. The Arsenal manager’s balanced response - acknowledging mistakes, admitting disappointment, crediting the opposition, and looking ahead to improvem

Both pics by Wikimedia Common Exclusive by Alessandro Schiavone at Elland Road, Leeds Walter Benítez admitted that his hopes of ever becoming Argentina’s No.1 goalkeeper are slim due to the presence of Emiliano Martínez. The 34-year-old’s Blues career may not have got off to the best of starts after shipping 10 goals in just four Premier League fixtures. But the man from Mar del Plata has won one World Cup and two Copa América titles with La Selección. He also kept his countr

Brentford (0) 3 v Chelsea (0) 0 Premier League Matchweek 5 Talking Points By Kaz Mochlinski at the Brentford Community Stadium “Everything was disappointing” admitted a very chastened Xabi Alonso after his Chelsea team were badly beaten by Brentford, crumbling completely as they conceded three goals in the second half. It was by a long way the lowest point so far for Chelsea’s new manager, sending the side spiralling down the table with two wins, two defeats and a draw from h

By Alessandro Schiavone at Elland Road Leeds United 0-0 Crystal Palace Daichi Kamada looked dejected as he left Elland Road with countryman Tomiyasu after the game. And politely declined interview requests from the numerous Japanese reporters in attendance who had come for him, the ex-Arsenal defender and Tanaka. Well, no surprise. He knows what every Crystal Palace supporter is fully aware of too: that he should have won them the game late on. And that bittersweet feeling ar

Contented after sigs of improvement, despite lack of wins : Picture by @YTJourno For plenty of Fulham fans there must have been an air of resignation about the way their team surrendered a famous victory by conceding so late against Man United. It keeps happening at the Cottage, with three of the past four seasons being decided by late United goals to win the game. This Sunday encounter ended in a draw, at least, and the Whites boss seemed pretty sanguine about the outcome. R

Football-on-Thames : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Fulham (0) 1 Martinez og 63 Manchester United (0) 1 Cunha 89 They were so close to ending a 17-year wait for a home win against pesky United. But as in three of the previous four seasons Fulham were left beside themselves with frustration after conceding a late, late goal. At least this time it did not mean defeat, as it usually does, but the Whites really could have done with a first win of the campaign heading into th

Brentford (0) 3 v Chelsea (0) 0 Premier League Matchweek 5 Talking Points By Kaz Mochlinski at the Brentford Community Stadium “I just love watching us play” enthused Keith Andrews, entirely understandably, after Brentford brilliantly beat Chelsea 3-0 to repeat the scoreline of their opening weekend victory over Tottenham Hotspur and remain undefeated this season. Second half goals from Jaiden Anthony, Igor Thiago and Fábio Carvalho made it an unforgettable Friday night for B

A lack of experienced options from the bench ultimately cost Millwall a famous win against bitter foes West Ham in the Docklands derby, Alex Neil has said. The Lions manager says the surrendering of a 2-0 lead to the Hammers in Saturday lunchtime's thrilling 2-2 draw came down to increasing fatigue and an inability to be able to call upon some key injured players to freshen up the play and help protect the lead. There was no Josh Coburn, Casper de Norre, Mihailo Ivanovic or R

pic by Alessandro Schiavone By Alessandro Schiavone at the Amex Stadium, Brighton & Hove Albion Goals: Groß (31'), Kostoulas 45', Andres 57' At 0-0 Brighton fans sang: “Same old Arsenal, always cheating.” By the end of the game it turned to: “Champions of England, you’re having a laugh!” But “Are you Coventry City in disguise?” would have been more appropriate. Or Chelsea, perhaps, as both London giants were played off the park by the same scoreline in less than 24 hours. Or

Photo taken by Schiavone in Amsterdam in 2023 By Alessandro Schiavone at the AMEX Bart Verbruggen has humorously called out his Brighton & Hove Albion teammates after their 3-0 demolition of Arsenal, pointing to some sloppy moments during the game. The Netherlands’ number one pulled off a huge save to deny Kai Havertz in a one-on-one late on, with his side already three goals to the good, but played down suggestions that it was the ‘perfect game. A win against the champions,

Premier League Tottenham Hotspur (0) 2 Gallagher 87, Van Hecke 90 (+7) Aston Villa (1) 3 Manzambi 45 (+3), Jackson 67, Buendia 79 Tottenham have dropped into the bottom-three after a 2-3 home defeat against Aston Villa. And when they finally scored, in the 87th minute, there was hardly anyone left to cheer. The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was more than half empty when substitute Connor Gallagher finally broke the duck for Spurs after nearly 450 minutes of Premier League-footbal

Just your average day at the Den? Not quite : Picture by @YTJourno Championship Millwall (2) 2 Taylor 16, Neghli 45+3 West Ham United (0) 2 Kante 74, Mavraponos 80 Kante s/o 89 Every tackle cheered to the rafters. Every contact a prompt for howls of protest. Every mistake from the opposition greeted with cheers of derision. Welcome to the Den on derby day against the team Lions fans hate more than any other foe. The Hammers were caught in a first-half storm that all-but crush

By Football Reporter at Gtech Community Stadium Aaron Hickey revealed that Igor Thiago didn’t get words of encouragement from his Brentford teammates during his goalless start to the season . That is because the Samba juggernaut’s innate positivity didn’t require any external intervention during a difficult spell. The former Club Brugge hitman had gone seven Premier League games without a goal either side of an underwhelming World Cup with Brazil. And after his tap-in goal in

Friday night frolics : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Brentford (0) 3 Anthony 61, Thiago 83, Carvalho 90 Chelsea (0) 0 It was the one thing that has been missing on the Brentford CV. Now in their sixth season in the top flight - how time flies - they had beaten everyone at the Gtech at some point, including Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City and United. The one exception: Chelsea. Now they have the set. And an unbeaten start to the season after five games into the bargain. Thi

Exclusive by Alessandro Schiavone The son of a Dutch football legend has alerted the Premier League about his desire to move to England next summer. Lyon defender Ruben Kluivert was in talks with Crystal Palace over a potential deal in late August to replace Maxence Lacroix. But the Eagles eventually struck a deal with the Frenchman's new club Chelsea to bring in Axel Disasi on a season-long loan deal after failing to meet the French side's valuation for the Dutchman AND Mal