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Rogers twice impressive against ManUnited: Aston Villa wins tenth game in a row

Jeffrey Gooding
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Rogers twice impressive against ManUnited: Aston Villa wins tenth game in a row

Manchester United must be annoyed that they lost to Aston Villa—the Villans celebrated their tenth competitive win in a row. At least one son of a legend made his Premier League debut for the Red Devils.

Three big chances in just eight minutes – ManUnited’s away game at Villa Park got off to a flying start. Although Unai Emery’s team was playing at home and had won all of its last nine competitive games, it played relatively one-dimensionally on quick counterattacks. United keeper Lammens then had to make a double save (7th minute), before Maatsen’s shot from the resulting corner narrowly missed the far post (8th minute).

The Red Devils, for whom Cunha had knocked early with a curling shot (3rd minute), were more active. Even without their Africa Cup of Nations players Mbeumo, Amad, and Mazraoui, the visitors had more of the play and presented a more polished build-up, but creative play still proved difficult. Fernandes’ cross from the halfway line found its way to Sesko, who failed to beat the quick-reacting Martinez in a one-on-one situation (22′).

United respond quickly

Towards the end of the first half, United became more and more dominant in their defensive play, with the in-form Rogers suddenly firing the ball into the top corner (45′). However, a high ball won by Dorgu allowed Cunha to score a deserved equalizer before the break (45’+3).

Manchester captain Fernandes remained in the dressing room, injured, as had been apparent at the end of the first half. Nevertheless, the Red Devils continued to be the more active team, who were slightly better and also closer to scoring. But that didn’t matter to Rogers, who once again curled another shot into the far corner from the left-hand side of the box to make it 2-1 to Villa (57′).

Cunha misses – Legend’s son Fletcher makes his debut

Rogers’ individual brilliance made the difference, although Villa could also rely on a largely stable defense. United were often forced to take long-range shots, which Martinez was able to deal with when necessary. One exception was a silky cross from Dorgu, which Cunha was unable to convert from five yards out – a huge chance (67′).

Time was running out, but Villa’s defense remained solid. Amorim made a virtue of necessity, bringing on several youngsters and helping 18-year-old Jack Fletcher, son of United legend Darren Fletcher, make his Premier League debut.

But even that didn’t make a difference in the end, as the last big chance failed to materialize. United thus slips to 7th place, while Villa secures its third place in typical fashion with its tenth competitive win in a row. Leaders Arsenal are only three points away.

Wirtz literally outstanding – Slot explains curious Frimpong transfer

Jason Maverick
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Wirtz literally outstanding – Slot explains curious Frimpong transfer

Liverpool FC has taken another step out of its crisis, and even Florian Wirtz can breathe a sigh of relief. However, Arne Slot was not only concerned about Alexander Isak’s injury during the 2-1 win against Tottenham.

Somehow, it was fitting for Florian Wirtz’s bumpy season so far. In his 16th appearance on Saturday, he recorded his first Premier League scoring point, but he was unable to celebrate it. Goal scorer Alexander Isak, who was tackled by Micky van den Ven as he took his shot, was so badly injured that the goal celebration had to be canceled. Instead, the record signing, who had only come on at half-time for the injured Conor Bradley, lay on the pitch in pain and eventually limped off the field supported by the coaching staff.

So did Liverpool FC pay dearly for their 2-1 away win at Tottenham Hotspur? Coach Arne Slot had “no news” at his post-match press conference, but he suspected the worst. “When a player doesn’t even try to come back onto the field, it’s usually not a good sign.”

Slot finds Liverpool’s loss of control “unbelievable”

Slot was nevertheless pleased with the goal, which came after Wirtz Isak had made perfect use of a ball won by his teammates. “Good finish, good pass,” praised the coach, knowing that the assist provider in particular had waited a long time for this moment, but had also worked hard for it. 104 touches with a pass completion rate of 91 percent – the second highest after Curtis Jones (116) – showed how well the former Leverkusen player was integrated. The Liverpool fans voted him their “Man of the Match” afterwards. However, in the final stages, even Wirtz was unable to bring the necessary calm to his team. When Spurs, down to ten men (red card for Xavi, 33′), suddenly reduced the deficit to 1-2 (Richarlison, 83′), the champions found themselves in trouble and were no less shaky when Tottenham captain Cristian Romero was shown a second yellow card (90’+3).

In the eleven minutes of added time, “I think they had 95 percent of the ball,” Slot marveled. “Whenever we had it, we kicked it away or threw it away. It was unbelievable that we didn’t manage to hold onto it longer. It looked like we were nine and they were eleven, it was attack after attack after attack.”

After Isak, Frimpong also substituted in and out

In the midst of this chaos, Slot not only substituted Wirtz, but also Jeremie Frimpong, who had only come on for Isak after an hour and was celebrating his comeback after around two months out with injury. The reason: when his compatriot was bleeding from the lip, he preferred to take him off the field because he would not have been allowed to return to the game immediately after receiving treatment on the pitch. “I didn’t want to be a man down for 30 seconds,” Slot explained, which said everything about Liverpool’s frantic finish.

Because this was not penalized, the Reds are level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea over Christmas and seem to have turned the momentum back in their favor with their third competitive win in a row. “I said it last week: the players are getting better, the team is getting better,” Slot said with relief. “It wasn’t perfect today, but I can see them developing in a direction that I like.”

The chances of following up after the holidays are not bad: With Wolverhampton (H, December 27), Leeds (H, January 1), and Fulham (A, January 4), there are now three supposedly easy tasks ahead before the summit meeting at Arsenal FC on January 8.

Renato Veiga’s mistake: Barcelona wins at Villarreal

Sports Of The Day
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Renato Veiga’s mistake: Barcelona wins at Villarreal

Barcelona won the top match in La Liga 2-0 at Villarreal. However, the Catalans made many mistakes in the first half and were lucky not to concede a goal. Barca also benefited from Renato Veiga’s mistake.

Barcelona did not play well away from home in the first half and made a lot of mistakes defensively. However, Pepé (2nd minute) and Ayoze (7th and 9th minutes) were unable to capitalize on this in the opening minutes. And that would come back to haunt Villarreal, because after a foul by Santi on Raphinha in the penalty area, the visitors were awarded a penalty. The Brazilian took the penalty himself and converted it confidently (12′). Raphinha almost added another when his long-range shot hit the crossbar (16′).

Villarreal leaves a lot to be desired – Renato Veiga’s slip-up

Otherwise, the Catalans were lucky not to concede a goal in the first 45 minutes, as the home side simply failed to capitalize on the mistakes in Barca’s defense. In the 17th minute, the ball ended up in the visitors’ net, but Koundé’s own goal was disallowed due to Moleiro being offside. The “Yellow Submarine” struggled to convert their chances in the first half: Buchanan’s direct shot went wide to the left, Pepé hit the crossbar from a suspected offside position (34′), and Buchanan again failed to capitalize on Balde’s mistake, failing to beat Garcia from close range (37′).

It wasn’t the home side’s first half, and shortly before the break, things got even worse for Villarreal: Renato Veiga made a completely unnecessary tackle from behind on Lamine Yamal at the halfway line and was rightly shown a red card (39′). This meant that the hosts had to start their comeback with one man down.

Lamine Yamal increases the lead

The second half had far less to offer than the first. Villarreal struggled with a man down, while Barcelona were too confident on the ball. Chances were few and far between, partly because the Catalans were not playing with the utmost determination up front. Nevertheless, the 2-0 came when Lamine Yamal scored with a header (63′).

The “Yellow Submarine” even had a chance to bring some excitement to the game, but substitute Mikautadze failed to beat Barca keeper Garcia when he found himself alone in front of goal (76′). So in the end, it remained 2-0 for Barcelona. Villarreal will be annoyed because they could have gotten more out of the game based on their chances in the first half, and the red card was completely unnecessary.

Now there will be a few days’ break. Villarreal will resume action in the new year on Saturday (6:30 p.m.) January 3, at Elche. Barcelona will face Espanyol in the derby on the same day in the evening (9 p.m.).

First victory in 16 Serie A games: Florence shows signs of life with a 5-1 win

Lesley Summerville
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First victory in 16 Serie A games: Florence shows signs of life with a 5-1 win

AC Florence, bottom of the Serie A table, finally achieved the long-awaited breakthrough on Sunday: the 5-1 win—the Viola’s first ever—was helped along by a player from Düsseldorf.

Without Gosens, who is still out with a thigh injury, Florence is stumbling through the Serie A season. The Viola had not won a single game in their first 15 matches, but thanks to six draws, they were “only” eight points behind safety at the bottom of the table before the match day.

Against tenth-placed Udinese on Sunday, the first three points of the season, which is anything but young, were up for grabs. In Gosens’ absence, another German actually played a key role: in the seventh minute, Udinese’s Düsseldorf-born keeper Okoye finally came out of his goal, played the ball with his hand and then cleared striker Kean. A red card was the result.

With a man advantage, the Viola increasingly stamped their authority on the game. However, it took a set piece to break the deadlock: Fagioli flicked the ball on from a central position in front of the penalty area and Mandragora thundered it into the net – leaving Okoye’s replacement Sava with little chance (21′).

Double strike before the break

Shortly before the break, Florence sealed the deal with a double strike: first, Gudmundsson scored with a spectacular left-footed shot into the top right corner, then Ndour coolly headed in Fagioli’s assist to make it 3-0 (42nd, 45+5). Any hopes of a comeback for the visitors were dashed by Kean: Parisi, who had set up the second goal, thundered the ball against the right post, leaving the Italian Fiorentina striker with the simple task of tapping it in (56′).

Solet made the score look a little better with a dream curling shot into the far corner (66′), but almost immediately Kean completed his brace and restored the four-goal lead with a powerful right-footed shot into the near corner (68′).

In the final quarter of an hour, Udinese, down to ten men, were unable to reduce the deficit again. However, Fiorentina’s first Serie A win of the season was already in the bag. With nine points now, the Viola are looking forward to next Saturday’s crucial relegation battle with Parma Calcio.

Bayern wins Game 1 after Herbert’s dismissal with record BBL attendance against Bonn

Jason Maverick
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Bayern wins Game 1 after Herbert’s dismissal with record BBL attendance against Bonn

FC Bayern Munich confidently won its first game after Gordon Herbert’s dismissal. In Cologne, the German champions prevailed 83-55 against Telekom Baskets Bonn. With nearly 19,000 fans in attendance, a new Bundesliga record was set.

18,713 spectators wanted to see the duel between Bonn and Bayern at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, breaking the 25-year-old Bundesliga record. At that time, 18,506 fans attended the mother of all games between Bonn and Alba Berlin. Back then, the Baskets lost, and a quarter of a century later, history repeated itself.

Bayern didn’t set the world alight in their first game after Gordon Herbert’s dismissal (Mihajlo Micic took over responsibility), but they were never in danger of losing the game. Munich’s top scorers were Isiaha Mike (22 points), Justinian Jessup (13, 6 rebounds) and Andreas Obst (12, 5/9 FG), while Tylan Birts (12) scored the most points for Bonn.

The game in Cologne started a good 16 minutes late because the shot clock wasn’t working (mobile clocks were placed on the boards) and then the court had to be cleared after a big confetti show. Bayern was unfazed by this and looked focused right away, especially on defense. In the first ten minutes, Bonn only sank one shot (1/15 FG) and trailed 9:23.

Bonn sets new attendance record

Bayern’s offense was not particularly impressive (40 percent over the game), but they once again controlled the boards and collected numerous second chances. But Bonn recovered a little, with Birts and former national player Patrick Heckmann (8) being the driving forces. However, Bayern always had an answer when in doubt, including two three-pointers from Obst. So the score was 27:40 at halftime.

Bayern were now less focused, especially on offense, but were able to rely on their individual class. The best example was Spencer Dinwiddie (11, 2/7), who first dribbled a hole in the floor, then hit a step-back three-pointer and also drew a foul against Heckmann. The lead settled at around 15 points.

And so the game petered out a little in the final quarter, with Bonn proving too harmless to cause Bayern any more trouble, and in the end it was a very clear victory. The win consolidates Munich’s lead in the Bundesliga, while Bonn slips to ninth place. Bayern will face Hapoel Tel Aviv in the EuroLeague on Tuesday, followed by an away game in Frankfurt on Boxing Day. Bonn will play at bottom-of-the-table Heidelberg a day later.

FM26 under pressure: Player numbers plummet despite updates

Sotd Editor
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FM26 under pressure: Player numbers plummet despite updates

The launch of Football Manager 26 was promising in terms of player numbers. However, 45 days later, the mood has shifted—a historic negative development in the FM series.

It has been a turbulent year for Sports Interactive. First came the cancellation of Football Manager 2025, then a period of quiet crisis with limited communication. It was only with the announcement of Football Manager 26 that things seemed to be looking up again. But the hype did not last long.

Bugs, a controversial user interface, and a lack of depth in content led to massive criticism early on. Instead of a successful start to a new era, many quickly concluded that the release had been more of a “fiasco.”

Player numbers on Steam almost halved

Even at the end of the year, there are no really positive signs, despite several updates. A look at the player numbers on Steam paints a sobering picture: on the first day after the release, 84,909 users were still playing FM26. 45 days later, there were only 48,587 active players.

The slump between the 13th and 25th day after release is particularly serious: during this period, the number of players fell from 76,850 to 55,013.

This is a new development for Sports Interactive. Since data collection began with Football Manager 2008, no other game in the series has had such a weak start. By comparison, the figures for FM24 remained largely stable for months. While there were 84,209 players at release, the curve even rose to 89,478 in January before falling to 78,169 in February – a level that remained until around August 2024.

With the cancellation of FM25, player numbers actually rose again. FM23 also showed a similar, overall stable development between its release and September 2023.

Developer plans lifeline for 2026

Sports Interactive now wants to take countermeasures for 2026 and throw out a lifeline. The navigation and user interface are to be further revised. In addition, pass cards, an improved international management module, and possibly new game modes are planned. According to the developers, no details can be given about the latter at this time. However, they want to provide information in a timely manner.

Not only is the game itself set to improve, but so are the numbers. In addition to the decline in active players, Football Manager 26 is currently among the 20 worst-rated games on Steam. This is another warning sign for a series that has been considered the benchmark for the genre for years.

“It was mentally very tough”: Joan Mir on his “all or nothing” season

Andrew Jackson
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“It was mentally very tough”: Joan Mir on his “all or nothing” season

Many retirements, but two podium finishes – Joan Mir looks back on a mixed MotoGP season in 2025 – He criticizes the lack of consistency

The 2025 MotoGP season, Joan Mir’s third as a Honda factory rider, can best be described as “all or nothing.” The 2020 MotoGP world champion often crashed while in a promising position. Sometimes it was his own fault, but often it wasn’t.

He crashed a total of 22 times. However, this only put him in fifth place in the crash statistics. Mir only finished nine of the 22 Grands Prix. Six of those were in the top 10. The highlights were third places in Motegi and Sepang.

“This season was very tough mentally,” the Spaniard looks back, “but it was also a season in which I learned a lot because I tried to cope with the frustration as best I could. I think that makes me mentally very strong for the future.”

“These are the seasons from which you learn for the future how to deal with such situations. Hopefully, everything will fall into place this season, and next season we’ll be able to have a consistent season.“

”Because this last part of the season was very good in terms of performance, but we lacked consistency.” For Honda, results in the top 6 became increasingly achievable on their own. Qualifying for Q2 also became more regular.

Mir finished the season in 15th place in the World Championship, behind his teammates Johann Zarco and Luca Marini, but in terms of performance, Mir was often the fastest Honda rider in the fall.

Overall, the field moved closer together in the fall. Marc Marquez’s injury-related absence also played a role in this. The races were more open, with different winners. Mir’s podium finishes sparked euphoria at Honda. “Yes, I think that’s a very good thing. Because today we see different manufacturers fighting for podium places, and that’s good,” says the 28-year-old. “Anything that is unpredictable is not boring and gives the strongest rider a chance on a race weekend.”

“At the same time, the overall level is extremely high. It can happen that you win one race and then, due to a lack of feeling, you don’t even make the top 10 in the next race. That’s something that makes it very difficult to maintain consistency throughout the season.”

“It is precisely this consistency that will play a very big role in terms of the title contenders in the coming season.” Honda wants to consolidate its progress in the final year of the 1,000cc era and make regular appearances on the podium.

Overall, however, Ducati has been in the best position so far. “The reality is that they always have someone on the podium, they always have someone who is fast,” says Mir about the benchmark in the MotoGP field. “That’s the reality.”

“That means they always have someone who can make the difference. It’s more about the lack of consistency I mentioned earlier, which is a little lacking. But the reality is also that it’s very difficult to achieve that consistency at the moment.”

In addition to his new Grand Prix results, Mir collected World Championship points in seven sprints. He finished with a total of 96 points. That’s a significant increase compared to 2023, when he scored only 26 points, and last year, when he scored only 21.

Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari: Expert names his biggest mistake

Jason Maverick
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Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari: Expert names his biggest mistake

Expert Christian Danner talks about Lewis Hamilton’s problems at Ferrari and draws a comparison with Alain Prost, Fernando Alonso, and Sebastian Vettel

Lewis Hamilton has finished his first Formula 1 season for Ferrari without a single podium finish. Although the Brit won the sprint in China in only his second Grand Prix for the Scuderia, he never made it into the top 3 in a main race.

“Lewis had his own immortal status at Mercedes,” explains expert Christian Danner to sport.de, adding: “When he went to Ferrari, he thought that now his greatness, which he undoubtedly has, would come to the fore.”

But Danner believes that the seven-time world champion underestimated the move to Scuderia, explaining: “You can’t establish the processes of an English team in Maranello. It doesn’t work.”

The expert emphasizes: “Alain Prost didn’t manage it, Fernando Alonso didn’t, Sebastian Vettel didn’t, and now Hamilton hasn’t either.” All of the world champions mentioned failed in their attempts to win a title with Ferrari. Hamilton himself had only driven for the England-based teams McLaren and Mercedes since the start of his Formula 1 career in 2007. “He never really got used to the car or the team throughout the whole year,” believes Danner.

Danner criticizes Hamilton’s interviews

The former Formula 1 driver also criticizes Hamilton for “relatively openly expressing his suffering” in various interviews throughout the year. “That’s not very good in these moments, because you have to stay positive,” says the expert.

Hamilton, for example, once described himself as “useless” in the summer, and in further conversations with the press, the record world champion repeatedly hinted at how dissatisfied he was with his performance this year.

In terms of performance, Hamilton was “nowhere near Leclerc’s level,” adds Danner. After all, his teammate Charles Leclerc made it onto the podium seven times and finished the season with 242:156 World Championship points, well ahead of Hamilton.

His former teammate Nico Rosberg recently expressed the assumption that Hamilton would prefer to retire from Formula 1. However, the record world champion himself has made it clear that he intends to fulfill his contract with Ferrari.

After turning 40 and signing a new AMG contract: What are Maro Engel’s big goals?

Jason Maverick
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After turning 40 and signing a new AMG contract: What are Maro Engel’s big goals?

Maro Engel has extended his contract with Mercedes-AMG: What unfinished business does the 40-year-old still want to settle, and where does he see his future?

Just a few weeks ago, Maro Engel extended his contract with Mercedes-AMG. The factory driver, who has impressed with his tremendous consistency over the past two years, finishing third in the drivers’ standings each time, celebrated his 40th birthday this year. Nevertheless, he is not thinking about ending his career.

But what goals does the Monegasque resident still have for the future? “I would love to win races or championships that I have already won again, but there are also a few that I haven’t won yet,” he smiles. “For example, the DTM title. That is certainly a big goal.”

Engel, who has completed nine DTM years to date – and made his first comeback in the traditional series in 2017 and his second in 2022 – has so far secured one victory in the Class 1 era and one in the GT3 era, but a total of 15 podium places.

Engel, the man for difficult race tracks

The GT3 specialist, who also consistently performs well on the Nordschleife and in the rain, has clearly been on an upward trajectory in the DTM over the past two years.

Speaking of the Nürburgring Nordschleife: Engel won the 24-hour race in 2016 on what is perhaps the most difficult race track in the world, and he also claimed four victories in the GT classic in the urban canyons of Macau. In 2021, he took the GTD victory at the 24-hour race in Daytona, and in 2023, he also claimed the GTD Pro victory in Florida.

Engel also became champion of the former Blancpain Endurance Series in 2018, and in 2024 he repeated his sprint title in the successor series, GT World Challenge Europe. But what else is on his bucket list besides the DTM?

Which classics Engel has a score to settle with

“The 24-hour race at Spa hasn’t worked out yet. It’s similar with the 12-hour race at Bathurst,” he says, with two more classics on his list. “In that respect, we’ll roll up our sleeves and get on with it. The rest is racing and takes place on the track – you don’t always have that in your own hands. But that’s also the beauty of it.”

While other GT3 drivers dream of prototype racing or, like DTM champion Ayhancan Güven, are about to switch to Formula E, where Engel competed from 2016 to 2018, the Mercedes-AMG works driver sees his future clearly in GT3.

“This is my home,” he explains. “I enjoy it immensely, which is the most important thing. That’s why it’s so important to have motivation and goals. That’s the case here, and that’s why I feel so comfortable here.”

Sebastian Vettel as Marko’s successor? “Has too few supporters”

Phil Laffertey
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Sebastian Vettel as Marko’s successor? “Has too few supporters”

Helmut Marko does not believe there is a place for Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull – the four-time champion has “too few supporters” and would “struggle.”

After it was officially announced that Helmut Marko will be leaving Red Bull at the end of the year, speculation that Sebastian Vettel could “succeed” him at the Bulls has increased again.

It is considered likely that Marko’s previous position will not be filled. However, his departure will free up certain areas of responsibility, some of which Vettel could take on, for example.

“I don’t think so,” Marko said in an interview with oe24, explaining: “He doesn’t have enough supporters. Above all, he would struggle with his—let’s say—anti-mobility attitude.”

Vettel has been publicly advocating for sustainability for years and has spoken out in favor of a speed limit on German highways, for example. He has also repeatedly declared himself a Green Party voter. Marko’s statements suggest that Vettel’s views could cause problems for him in a possible role in the Formula 1 environment at Red Bull.
In any case, Marko had already stated in the summer that Vettel was “not an option” for Red Bull.

Even after Marko’s official departure, this has apparently not changed. Vettel himself revealed just a few weeks ago on Sky that talks with Marko about a possible role at Red Bull had “led to nothing.”

Why Helmut Marko will not become a TV expert

Incidentally, the Austrian has no interest in remaining in the public eye for Formula 1 fans next year, for example in a role as a TV expert. “No, I’m not interested in that,” said Marko.

“Otherwise, I’ll end up like Franz Tost, the poor guy who was so badly criticized,” he emphasized. Tost was working as a co-commentator for ORF at this year’s Formula 1 race in Brazil, but subsequently received a lot of criticism on social media for a statement he made.

The ORF later even published an official statement apologizing for Tost’s words. Marko has no desire for similar trouble. “I’m not retired,” the 82-year-old also clarifies.

He emphasizes that he has “enough projects” outside of Formula 1 and announces: “I have no intention of slowing down and becoming stupid.”

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