Roméo Lavia may finally be up and running at Chelsea as his promising start to the season continues.
The Belgium international has started both of the Blues' Premier League matches so far against Fulham and now Brighton.
With less than five minutes gone on the clock at Stamford Bridge, Lavia capitalised on a mishap at the back from the Seagulls and finally scored his first goal in a Chelsea shirt.
The 22-year-old joined the club from Southampton back in the summer of 2023, but seasons of torrid injuries have severely hampered his progress in West London.
But, he appears to have earned the trust of new head coach Xabi Alonso and he's already repaid him with a crucial goal.

#lavia #Chelsea #Belgium

Just a few days after learning its list of opponents for the Champions League league phase, Bayern Munich now knows its schedule as well.
Fans will probably want to circle a few particular dates — October 21st vs. ******* nal, November 3rd vs. Atlético Madrid, and January 20th vs. ******* nal. Here is the schedule (all start times listed in local time):
Matchday 1: FC Bayern vs. FK Bodø/Glimt – September 10, 2026, 9 p.m.
Matchday 2: Viking Stavanger vs. FC Bayern – October 13, 2026, 9 p.m.
Matchday 3: FC Bayern vs. ******* nal – October 21, 2026, 9 p.m.
Matchday 4: Atlético Madrid vs. FC Bayern – November 3, 2026, 9 p.m.
Matchday 5: OSC Lille vs. FC Bayern – November 25, 2026, 9 p.m.
Matchday 6: FC Bayern vs. Slavia Prague – December 8, 2026, 9 p.m.
Matchday 7: Manchester United vs. FC Bayern – January 20, 2027, 9 p.m.
Matchday 8: FC Bayern vs. Real Betis – January 27, 2027, 9 p.m.
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#bayern #tico

Bayern Munich's Champions League league phase opponents were revealed in Thursday's draw — and players and fans alike are reacting positively. It is an entertaining slate of games in store, from a chance for payback against **** nal as well as a matchup against last season's darlings from Norway, Bodø/Glimt.
Bayern forward Serge Gnabry broke down the draw and singled out one of the two LaLiga teams in the lineup as one he was personally anticipating.
"We're hoping for another strong league phase in the Champions League. I'm really looking forward to the game in Madrid against Atlético," Gnabry shared in comments captured by iMiaSanMia. "We played **** nal last season, and that will be another very good and interesting match at home for us. Bodø/Glimt were the surprise package of the competition last year. Manchester United are on the rise, so that will be a great matchup in a fantastic stadium.
"Real Betis, Slavia Prague, and Lille are also very good footballing sides who performed well last season. There are some exciting and thrilling games ahead, and we're really looking forward to them."
For now, the Bavarians have a Bundesliga opener to look forward to against VfB Stuttgart.

#last #bayern #glimt #we 're

The Champions League draw is another reminder that Aston Villa are back among the elite - but also how much change there has been.
Europa League winners Villa, returning to the competition after a season away, will host defending champions Paris St-Germain and Borussia Dortmund.
Trips to Barcelona and Galatasaray add an extra sparkle while Unai Emery's side also face Club Brugge, Fenerbahce, Viking and Slavia Prague.
PSG's visit will naturally evoke the memories of the 2025 quarter-final when Villa so nearly upset the eventual winners with a memorable comeback.
Although it will be a very different Aston Villa side which will face the defending champions, with Emi Martinez's move to Chelsea and Ollie Watkins' switch to Al-Hilal due to go through before the deadline.

#villa #side

European champions Paris St-Germain will face Premier League duo Manchester City and Aston Villa as well as five-time winners Barcelona in the league phase of this season's Champions League.
The back-to-back Champions League winners will welcome Barca to Parc des Princes, while they were also handed trips to Villa Park and Manchester in the draw for the league phase.
Premier League champions ******* nal, meanwhile, will host 15-time winners Real Madrid at Emirates Stadium, and have also been handed a trip to Bayern Munich.
Mikel Arteta's men, who were beaten by PSG on penalties in the final last season, will face Borussia Dortmund, Real Betis, Lille, Napoli, Azerbaijan champions Sabah and Slavia Prague as well.
Enzo Maresca's City will welcome PSG to Etihad Stadium and travel to Barcelona, where they will have a reunion with Spanish World Cup-winner Rodri, who moved to the Nou Camp in a £65m deal this summer.

#champions #premier #city #real

Holders Paris Saint-Germain will host Spanish ***** leholders Barcelona and visit Manchester City among their eight Champions League games this season, while Bayern Munich welcome ***** nal but go to Atlético Madrid and Manchester United in their list of fixtures.
The league phase draw carried out by former stars Thierry Henry and David Villa in Monaco on Thursday also paired record winners Real Madrid with English ***** leholders ***** nal, Italian champions Inter Milan, RB Leipzig and Austrian debutants LASK in some of their eight matches.
The dates and order of the fixtures will be worked out in the coming days for the 36-strong league phase where each team plays a partly random selection of eight games based on seedings and other factors. The first league games will be September 8-10 and the last will be on January 27.
The knock-out stage then ensues, culminating in the final at Atlético's Metropolitano in Madrid on June 5.
Como of Italy have a dream date with twice defending champions PSG as well coach Cesc Fàbregas' former side Barça and United, while fellow tournament newcomers Viking of Norway entertain Bundesliga champions Bayern, who also meet Real Betis, Lille, Slavia Prague and Bodø/Glimt.

#games #real

Arsenal will face Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the league phase of the 2026/27 Champions League.
Mikel Arteta's side have been handed one of the toughest schedules of the five Premier League representatives, with Real Madrid visiting the Emirates Stadium and ****** nal travelling to Bayern Munich.
Arsenal will also host Borussia Dortmund, Lille and Sabah, while travelling to Real Betis, Napoli and Slavia Prague.
Aston Villa face a similarly demanding campaign on their return to the Champions League, with Unai Emery's side travelling to Barcelona and hosting holders Paris Saint-Germain.
Villa will also take on Borussia Dortmund, Club Brugge, Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, Viking and Slavia Prague.

#arsenal #real #dortmund

FC Bayern can look forward to some exciting and high-profile fixtures in the league phase of the 2026/27 Champions League. As revealed by the draw on Thursday evening in Monaco, Germany's record champions will host ***** nal, Sevilla, Bodø/Glimt and Slavia Prague at the Allianz Arena. Away from home, the men from Munich will face Atlético Madrid, Manchester United, Lille and Viking Stavanger. Further information will follow shortly ...
The exact dates and timings will be published by UEFA by Saturday 29 August. Once the exact kick-off times have been confirmed, it will be possible to make match-specific ticket enquiries for FC Bayern's home and away matches.
Matchday 1: 8–10 September 2026
Matchday 2: 13/14 October 2026
Matchday 3: 20/21 October 2026

#october #league #exact #monaco

Arsenal are set to play the likes of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the Champions League's first phase this season, as the Gunners aim to bounce back from their final heartbreak.
In May, ***** nal lost the Champions League final to Paris Saint-Germain after coming up short in a penalty shootout, meaning their wait for a first trophy in the competition goes on.
As they bid to reach a second consecutive final – and third overall – the reigning Premier League winners will this season take on Real Madrid and their Spanish colleagues Real Betis, as well as German duo Bayern and Borussia Dortmund.
Martin Odegaard (left) and Mikel Merino react to their defeat in the 25/26 Champions League final (Getty)
Furthermore, the north London club will face Italy's Napoli, French side Lille, Czech Republic's Slavia Prague, and Azerbaijani debutants Sabah.

#real #madrid

Chelsea's midfield situation is far from closed according to our writer Simon Phillips, who is on the case today.
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If you look at Chelsea's midfield situation from the outside it seems pretty simple now – Enzo Fernandez is staying, and the club have a pretty solid spread of options centrally, between the Argentine, Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Jordan Henderson, Dario Essugo, plus Reece James likely to play there a fair bit.
But the reality, according to our writer Simon Phillips is very different. He says that Chelsea are still looking to sign a midfielder, and could yet sell Enzo and sign two.
He adds that Essugo could also be loaned out in that situation.

#Chelsea #essugo #according

Norwich City winger Matej Jurasek has joined Sparta Prague on a season-long loan.
The 22-year-old returns to the top flight in the Czech Republic just 19 months after he moved to Carrow Road from Slavia Prague.
Sparta Prague will have the option to make the Czech Republic international's move permanent at the end of the season.
Jurasek featured in Norwich's first competitive game of the season, having come off the bench in their Carabao Cup first-round win against League One side MK Dons last week.
It was just his 22nd appearance for the Norfolk club.

#matej

Brentford are preparing a renewed move for West Ham United's El Hadji Malick Diouf, with a package worth close to £40 million being put together for the 21-year-old Senegal international. Journalist Graeme Bailey broke the news on X, reporting that the Bees are serious and intent on prising him away from East London this summer.
West Ham signed Diouf from Slavia Prague last year for somewhere in the region of £19–22 million. A £40 million offer would effectively double that outlay in barely twelve months. The Hammers are operating in the Championship after last season's relegation, which adds a dictating factor to every contract and transfer conversation at the London Stadium right now.
Diouf contributed five **** ists across 32 Premier League appearances in 2025/26, logging 2,711 minutes despite West Ham's drop. Zero goals, yes, but his underlying numbers told a different story. He averaged 3.62 crosses and 0.23 big chances created per 90 minutes, figures that placed him among the division's elite full-backs. He went to the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Senegal and featured in three matches. Nuno Espírito Santo reportedly views him as a "polished diamond" for the club's Championship promotion push. That's not PR fluff; that's a technical **** sment.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 25: El Hadji Malick Diouf of West Ham United warms up prior to the Premier League match between West Ham United and Everton at London Stadium on April 25, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
Here's the thing: West Ham don't need this money. They've already banked a combined £140 million from selling Crysencio Summerville and Mateus Fernandes this summer. There's zero financial pressure forcing Nuno's hand. Diouf's Championship output would be absurd; a left-back with World Cup minutes and Premier League-level crossing accuracy playing in the second tier is a categorical mismatch in West Ham's favour.

#west

Chelsea have rejected the chance to sign **** nal's Myles Lewis-Skelly, who was offered to the West London club this summer, according to The Telegraph.
The Blues are eyeing midfield reinforcements as they look to bolster their engine room, but it appears they aren't interested in bringing Lewis-Skelly to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea could use an athletic, mobile defensive partner to Moises Caicedo in the double pivot following the departure of Andrey Santos.
Dario Essugo is still getting up to speed after suffering numerous injury setbacks last term. Meanwhile, Romeo Lavia continues his battle to stay fit for a whole season.
Chelsea signed Jordan Henderson, but he is advanced in age, while Valentin Barco might not have the physicality to operate in the centre of the park.

#skelly #west #london #telegraph

It has been a few years since we last faced Juventus on the pitch. We've been on similar paths even if not exactly parallel, with the (once) Italian juggernauts failing to win their national league for six years and counting.
As always fitness, tactics and team chemistry take precedence in a preseason game. But if we can come out on top against a fellow embattled giant, then why not push for it?
Chelsea starting lineup (4-2-3-1):
Sánchez | Palestra, Fofana, Tosin, Hato | Caicedo (c), Nicoll-Jazuli | Quenda, João Pedro, Gittens | Welbeck
Substitutes from: Penders, Sharman-Lowe, Curd, Slonina, Sarr, Subuloye, Anselmino, Acheampong, Diakité, Essugo, Lavia, Walsh, Watson, Kellyman, Satpayev, Kavuma-McQueen, Estêvão, Mudryk, Neto, Jackson, Delap
Juventus starting eleven:
Di Gregorio | Kalulu, Gatti, Kelly, Çelik, Locatelli (c), Douglas Luiz, Cambiaso, Miretti, Boga, Milik

#juventus #starting #palestra #fofana

Xabi Alonso says Romeo Lavia will be available to face Tottenham in Chelsea's next pre-season friendly.
The midfielder did not feature in the win over Western Sydney Wanderers because of a hamstring issue.
But the Belgian is back in contention when the Blues take on their rivals in Australia.
"He's okay for tomorrow," Alonso said.
Chelsea completed the signing of defender Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace earlier this week, and Alonso says the France international can make an immediate difference to his squad.

#wanderers

The final piece of Seton Hall basketball's 2026-27 roster is in place, and it's someone to provide insurance at the point guard position.
Mihailo Petrovic, who was a reserve for Illinois last season, will join the Pirates as their summer workouts already are underway.
Here are three things to know about him.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Petrovic hails from Serbia and represented that country at the international level on its Under-16 and Under-20 squads before making a cameo with the senior national team during qualifying for the 2025 European Championships. Prior to coming to Illinois, he averaged 14.2 points and 7.3 ******* ists in the Adriatic League, a pro-ball league consisting of clubs in the nations that once comprised Yugoslavia.
Petrovic was brought to Illinois as part of a wave of Eastern European imports last offseason by coach Brad Underwood. He was viewed as a possible starter at point guard, but his role diminished as the season went on and Keaton Wagler burst onto the scene as a lead guard superstar. Petrovic wound up averaging 1.6 points and 1.1 ******* ists in 5.7 minutes, shooting 33 percent from the field and just 2-of-10 from 3-point range.

Edin Dzeko was six years old when the shells began falling on Sarajevo. For nearly four years his family lived through the longest siege of a capital city in modern warfare, sheltering from snipers, queuing for water, learning which streets could get you killed. The boy who would become the greatest footballer his country has ever produced kicked a ball in stairwells and basements because the open ground outside was a place where people died. Thirty four years later, at the age of forty, that same boy has carried Bosnia and Herzegovina back to a World Cup knockout round, and on 1 July he stands between the host nation and the last sixteen.
Bosnia reached the Round of 32 by finishing third in Group B, behind Switzerland and Canada and ahead of Qatar, and now they meet the United States in the San Francisco Bay Area. For most of the watching world it is a footnote, a small Balkan nation against the co-hosts. For anyone who knows what Dzeko represents, it is something far larger than a fixture.
They call him the Bosnian Diamond, a nickname that has followed Dzeko since his Wolfsburg days when he scored goals at a rate that made Europe’s biggest clubs take notice. Manchester City, Roma and a career total that few strikers of his generation can match followed. Through all of it, the number that means most to him is the one attached to his country. He holds the record for goals scored for Bosnia and Herzegovina, a tally that now sits at 73, more than any man has managed for the nation since it emerged from the wreckage of Yugoslavia as an independent state in 1992.
That timeline is not incidental. Bosnia the country and Dzeko the footballer grew up together. The team he captains did not exist when he was born. It was forged in the same years that tore Sarajevo apart, and its very existence is a statement that the country survived. When Dzeko pulls on the shirt, he is not just leading a squad. He is carrying the proof that a place which the world once watched burn produced something beautiful out of the ruins.
Dzeko turned forty in March. This is, in every meaningful sense, his last World Cup, and it almost did not happen. Bosnia’s only previous appearance at the finals came at Brazil 2014, where Dzeko played in a side that went out in the group stage but announced the country to a global audience. For more than a decade afterwards, the Dragons knocked on the door and found it locked. Qualifying campaigns ended in playoff heartbreak and near misses. The golden generation aged, and the fear grew that Dzeko would retire without a second tournament.

Last month, **** nal reached only the second Champions League final in the club's history and our first in 20 years. While the journey ultimately ended in heartbreak after a penalty shootout defeat to PSG, it was nevertheless a campaign packed with memorable nights and major milestones.
Arsenal began their 2025/26 Champions League campaign in September 2025 away to Athletic Club while sitting top of the Premier League table. In front of almost 50,000 supporters, Mikel Arteta's side secured a comfortable 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard.
A trip to Olympiakos followed in early October, bringing back memories of the Greek side's famous Europa League triumph over **** nal in 2020. This time, however, there was no upset as the Gunners claimed another 2-0 win, with Martinelli and Bukayo Saka finding the net.
Less than three weeks later, **** nal hosted Atletico Madrid at the Emirates Stadium. The Spanish side would later stand between **** nal and a place in the final, but on this occasion Arteta's men were dominant. Viktor Gyokeres scored twice, while Martinelli continued his excellent European form and Gabriel completed a convincing 4-0 victory.
By the halfway stage of the League Phase, **** nal travelled to Slavia Prague, a side they had famously beaten to reach the Europa League semi-finals in 2021. The Gunners produced another professional display, winning 3-0 through a Bukayo Saka penalty and a brace from Mikel Merino.

What is up, people of the internet? So, you may know that the World Cup is just around the corner and we here at BFW are putting together a series of articles about Germany in the build-up to the tournament itself. Teddy is already working on the top 10 goals that Germany has scored in World Cup history, so I proposed an idea that we should relive the best wins that Die Mannschaft has experienced. Which is why I’m here to introduce my top 10 Germany wins at the World Cup.
For this, I’m going to include matches that I know and watched in person (live, on the TV, haven’t got the facilities to watch Germany live in the stadium yet) and I will also rank each match based on how special the match is to me.
From the 1970s onward, West Germany was one of the most powerful footballing nations. It had won the Euros in 1972 followed by the 1974 World Cup but lost out in the final of Euro 1976. From 1980 to 1992, it had been a finalist of both the Euros and the World Cup across multiple editions of each (apart from Euro 1984) but only won Euro 1980, they had lost two World Cup finals to Italy and Argentina and two Euros finals to bitter rivals Netherlands and Denmark (who weren’t even supposed to be in the tournament).
In 1990, the Germans produced strong performances at the World Cup held in Italy. They were undefeated for their entire run and only failed to win once: a draw in the group stage against Colombia in Milan. Otherwise, they beat Yugoslavia and the United Arab Emirates in Group D, then conquered the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, and England on penalties to reach the final.
For defending champs Argentina, they lost their opening game against Cameroon then beat the Soviet Union and then drawing with Romania and advanced to the knockouts by being one of the best third-placed teams in the group stage. La Albiceleste then narrowly beat Brazil in the last 16, before overcoming Yugoslavia and Italy on penalties.