Cristiano Ronaldo and Al Nassr responded to their first defeat of the season in style, beating Abha 2-1 at Al Awwal Park to move level with Al Hilal and Al Qadsiah at the top of the Saudi Pro League standings after six rounds. Ronaldo broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute, rising above his marker […] Cristiano Ronaldo and Al Nassr responded to their first defeat of the season in style, beating Abha 2-1 at Al Awwal Park to move level with Al Hilal and Al Qadsiah at the top of the Saudi Pro League standings after six rounds. Ronaldo broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute, rising above his marker to meet an Angelo corner and powering a header that struck the post before crossing the line, a goal that took his career tally to 979 and kept alive his pursuit of the 1,000-goal milestone. Abdullah Al-Hamdan doubled Al Nassr’s lead in the 58th minute with a right-footed finish into the top corner, capping a dominant display from a home side missing Joao Felix through suspension and Kingsley Coman through injury. Abha refused to fold, and Nabil Fekir gave the visitors hope in the 75th minute, stepping up to a free kick from the left flank and catching goalkeeper Bento off guard by shooting directly on target rather than delivering a cross. Ver esta publicación en Instagram Una publicación compartida por Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano) The result lifted Ange Postecoglou’s side level on 15 points with Al Hilal and Al Qadsiah heading into the next round, keeping Al Nassr firmly in the title conversation despite the earlier stumble. Ronaldo climbs into the Saudi Pro League’s scoring picture Ronaldo’s header moved him further up a crowded Golden Boot chase, though Ivan Toney remains well clear at the top. Despite Al Ahli’s 3-2 defeat to Al Qadsiah on Tuesday, Toney scored a brace in the loss, stretching his tally to eight goals and keeping him as the outright leader of the scoring charts. Behind him, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, George Ilenikhena and Iker Kortajarena are tied for second with 4 goals apiece, while Ronaldo’s strike against Abha lifted him into a much larger group tied on 3, that includes Ruben Neves, Tijjani Reijnders, Alexandre Lacazette, Angelo, Darwin Nunez, and Moussa Dembele, among others.
It was the time and place for Alexis Mac Allister to do his talking on the pitch and the disgruntled Liverpool midfielder delivered on cue. “Very sad” over Liverpool’s refusal to offer him a new contract, while Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch were getting theirs, Mac Allister made Anfield very happy with a match-winning display against Atlético Madrid.The Argentina international, one of five World Cup finalists involved in an absorbing, delicately-poised contest, vented his frustrations in the best possible and most professional way – from behind an immaculate 20-yard strike into Jan Oblak’s goal rather than a microphone. Mac Allister believes he is playing for a new deal this season and promised to give “100% to my last day” at the pre-match press conference. He was true to his word to extend Atlético’s winless sequence against English opposition in the Champions League league phase to 11 matches. Continue reading...
During a spectacular Champions League night against Feyenoord, the teenage star combined goals, assists, and another piece of club history as Barcelona made a statement on the European stage. Lamine Yamal is already collecting Barcelona milestones at a remarkable rate, and his latest achievement inevitably brings Lionel Messi into the conversation. During a spectacular Champions League night against Feyenoord, the teenage star combined goals, assists, and another piece of club history as Barcelona made a statement on the European stage. Barcelona opened its 2026-27 UEFA Champions League campaign with a 5-1 demolition of Feyenoord at the Camp Nou, maintaining its perfect start to the season. Raphinha scored twice, Karim Adeyemi added his first European goal for the club, while Yamal and substitute Gabriel Jesus also found the net. Raphinha needed only three minutes to open the scoring after receiving Yamal’s pass and cutting inside two defenders. Adeyemi then doubled the advantage in the 22nd minute before Raphinha struck again shortly after halftime, leaving Feyenoord with an almost impossible task. Yamal eventually took over the spotlight, scoring Barca’s fourth in the 77th minute with a clever direct free-kick. Sem Steijn pulled one back for Feyenoord five minutes later, but Jesus restored the Blaugrana’s four-goal advantage in the 85th minute by converting Yamal’s cross. Yamal makes history with the Barcelona armband The night carried a milestone that had nothing to do with the Champions League record books. After Raphinha was substituted, he handed the captain’s armband to Yamal, making the teenager the youngest player in Barcelona history to captain the club. Yamal had already been included in Barcelona’s leadership group for the 2026-27 campaign. Raphinha serves as first-choice captain, Pedri is second captain, while Eric Garcia, Frenkie de Jong and Yamal make up the remainder of the group following a squad vote. 🚨 BEST ANGLE OF YAMAL’S FREE KICK 🎯🌟Lamine Yamal with a stunning goal as Barcelona beat Feyenoord 5-1 in their opening Champions League game 🔥 pic.twitter.com/0JxjWSUrfI— Sports on Predict (@SportsOnPredict) September 9, 2026 The moment was particularly symbolic because Yamal is still only 19. He has gone from teenage prospect to one of Barcelona’s most important attacking players and now has a place in the club’s captaincy history as well. How long did Messi wait to score as Barcelona captain? That makes Messi’s own timeline especially fascinating. Lionel Messi was 25 years old when he first started an official La Liga match as Barcelona captain, doing so against Celta Vigo on March 30, 2013, when regular captains including Carles Puyol and Xavi Hernandez were unavailable. Messi scored in the 72nd minute of Barcelona’s match against Celta Vigo, although there is an important technical detail surrounding the moment. Andrés Iniesta had come onto the pitch and taken the armband before Messi’s goal, meaning the Argentine started the match as captain but was no longer wearing it when he found the net. Luis Suarez of Barcelona puts the captain’s arm band on Lionel Messi of Barcelona According to Barcelona’s official data, Messi had actually worn the captain’s armband for the first time much earlier, in a preseason friendly against Dundee United on July 27, 2008. He was 21 years and 33 days old at the time and marked his first captaincy appearance with a hat-trick in a 5-1 victory. Messi later became Barcelona’s permanent captain ahead of the 2018-19 season, following Iniesta’s departure. His first goal after becoming the club’s official captain came in the Joan Gamper Trophy against Boca Juniors on August 15, 2018, when he scored in a 3-0 victory.
Lamine Yamal broke Kylian Mbappe's Champions League record for most goal involvements by a teenager during Barcelona's 5-1 rout of Feyenoord. Lamine Yamal has once again rewritten the Champions League history books. The Barcelona winger set a new benchmark for teenage production in the competition during Barcelona’s 5-1 rout of Feyenoord on Wednesday, moving past a mark previously set by Kylian Mbappe. According to OptaJoe, Yamal had already moved to 21 goal involvements in the Champions League with his assist for Raphinha’s opener, the outright most by a teenager in the competition’s history, one ahead of the previous record of 20 held by Mbappe. He then padded that tally further before full time, first with his own free-kick goal and later with a second assist, this one for Gabriel Jesus, finishing the night with 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 goal involvements in the competition. At 19 years old, Yamal continues to accumulate individual records at a pace few players in the tournament’s history have matched, having also become the third-youngest player ever to score a free kick in Champions League history. 🔵🔴©️ Lamine Yamal wears Barcelona’s captain armband at 19 years old… and scores on free kick.First goal as Barcelona captain. Fifth goal of the season for Lamine in five games. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/9eVXJK8G5K— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 9, 2026 Yamal becomes Barcelona’s youngest-ever captain Yamal added another layer to his historic night by wearing the captain’s armband for the first time in an official match, becoming the youngest player ever to captain Barcelona at 19 years and 58 days old, breaking a record held by Bojan Krkic, who led the team in a 2010 Copa del Rey match at 20 years and 56 days old. The armband wasn’t planned to start the game: first captain Raphinha wore it before being substituted in the 71st minute, while second-in-line Pedri had already been withdrawn in the 63rd, and with Eric Garcia suspended and Frenkie de Jong injured, the responsibility fell to Yamal, the club’s fifth captain option this season.
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