Lionel Messi inspired Inter Miami to their first ever MLS Cup title on Saturday, playing a leading role in a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps in Florida.
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Argentina superstar Messi provided assists for two goals and helped create another to spark wild celebrations before a rapturous home crowd at the Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
Liverpool’s latest sorry collapse to draw 3-3 at struggling Leeds on Saturday shone the spotlight on manager Arne Slot’s inability to summon a response from a side that was crowned Premier League champions just months ago.
Failure to hold onto a 2-0 and 3-2 lead at Elland Road means the Reds have won just two of their last 10 league games to tumble down to eighth in the table and realistically end their hopes of defending the title well before Christmas.
A £450 million ($600 million) summer spend in the transfer window was designed to herald in a new era of dominance at Anfield.
Instead, Slot’s squad has been unbalanced by a summer of major change and the impact of the tragic death of forward Diogo Jota in a car accident in July.
Over £200 million was splashed out on Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz for the return of just one Premier League goal between them so far, while full-backs Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong have failed to replicate the outstanding performances of Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold in recent years.
It was the one major signing Liverpool failed to get over the line that could turn out to be the most impactful in their season.
England centre-back Marc Guehi appeared on his way to Anfield from Crystal Palace on deadline day until the deal collapsed.
As Guehi has enjoyed a stellar season for club and country, Ibrahima Konate’s woeful form has been fundamental to Liverpool’s decline.
Hugo Ekitike – the one new signing to so far deliver on his potential – had put Slot’s side in a commanding position with a quickfire double at the start of the second half.
Yet, Konate gifted Leeds a route back into the game with a needless lunge on Willy Gnonto as the ball was running out to concede a penalty.
Within seconds, Liverpool’s comfortable cushion was wiped out as, roared on by a vociferous home crowd, Leeds build on their momentum to equalise through Anton Stach.
“Konate’s decision for the penalty was just unbelievable,” said former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp.
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Game-changing errors
“Liverpool were cruising, everything was calm, and he decides to run out and commit one of the more reckless decisions to get Leeds back in the game.”
Slot’s options have not been aided by a serious knee injury suffered by Italian centre-back Giovanni Leoni on his debut in September.
But his decision to keep faith with Konate despite repeated game-changing errors is becoming a stick to beat the Dutchman with.
At the other end of the field, Slot has not shied away from a major call.
The difficulties of new arrivals adjusting to the demands at Anfield has been exacerbated by a loss of form for Liverpool’s two titans of the past decade in Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah.
Both signed highly-lucrative two-year contracts at the end of last season after their roles in delivering a 20th English top-flight title.
But for the third consecutive game Salah was left on the bench and was not even introduced as a substitute.
After next weekend’s clash at home to Brighton, the Egyptian will depart for up to a month for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Slot defended his decision not to call on Salah due to the fact Liverpool had a lead to protect rather than chasing a goal in the closing stages.
The former Feyenoord boss will have to find a solution to his side’s slump without Salah in the coming weeks.
But doubts now linger over both the future of the Liverpool boss and the club’s third highest goalscorer of all time heading into 2026.
Liverpool suffered another embarrassing capitulation to ramp up the pressure on manager Arne Slot as Leeds twice hit back to salvage a thrilling 3-3 draw on Saturday.
The Reds led 2-0 and 3-2 thanks to Hugo Ekitike’s quickfire double and Dominik Szoboszlai’s strike but still failed to see the game out as they failed to win for the eighth time in their last 10 league games.
Slot’s faith in Ibrahima Konate will again by questioned after the French centre-back conceded a penalty that began the Leeds fightback.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s spot-kick and Anton Stach levelled before Szoboszlai quickly restored Liverpool’s lead.
But deep into stoppage time, Liverpool failed to deal with a corner and Ao Tanaka was unmarked at the back post to blast in.
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A point leaves Liverpool languishing in eighth in the table and showing no signs of arresting an alarming slide since they clinched a record-equalling 20th title last season.
Slot showed his faith in Ekitike as he was preferred to record signing Alexander Isak up front, with Mohamed Salah also left on the bench for the third consecutive game.
Leeds had been buoyed by their impressive 3-1 win over Chelsea in midweek that dispelled doubts over Daniel Farke’s future and another valuable point edges them three points clear of the relegation zone.
Curtis Jones came closest to breaking the deadlock in a goalless first half with a curling effort that came back off the crossbar.
Leeds were architects of their own downfall early in the second period as Ekitike pounced on a loose pass by Joe Rodon to calmly slot past Lucas Perri.
The former Eintracht Frankfurt forward then threw himself at Conor Bradley’s low cross and got fortunate as Perri’s attempted clearance rebounded in off Ekitike.
Ekitike has been the only one of Liverpool’s big money signings during a near £450 million spent in the transfer window to so far deliver on his potential.
The Frenchman now has eight goals for the Reds despite seeing his game time impacted since Isak’s return to fitness.
Yet, Leeds were handed a lifeline by shoddy defending at the other end.
Konate’s woeful form has been a recurring feature of Liverpool’s decline this season.
He needlessly dived in to bring down Willy Gnonto on the by-line and Leeds were eventually awarded a penalty after a VAR review 17 minutes from time.
Calvert-Lewin smashed home the spot-kick and within seconds Leeds were level.
Stach was afforded far too much room inside the Liverpool penalty area before wrong-footing Alisson Becker with a powerful drive into the top corner.
However, Leeds got ahead of themselves in the pursuit of a winner as the visitors hit straight back when Szoboszlai latched onto Alexis Mac Allister’s clever dummy to slot into the far corner.
The Indoor Sports Hall of the National Institute of Sports, Surulere, Lagos, erupted in celebration as the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) teams — Safety Shooters and Safety Babes — were crowned champions of the Ardova Handball Premier League 2025, capping off a thrilling season witnessed by board members of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN) and top executives of Ardova PLC.
The curtain came down on months of intense competition that began with the first phase in Benin City before the concluding phase in Lagos.
Speaking during the finale, the Executive Chairman of Ardova PLC, Abdulwasiu Sowami, represented by the Deputy Managing Director, . Abiola Babatunde-Ojo, described the league as “delightful to watch” and reaffirmed the company’s commitment to the development of handball in Nigeria.
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Safety Shooters Claim First Men’s Title in Five Years
It was a historic outing for Safety Shooters as they clinched the men’s championship for the first time since 2020, closing the season at the top of the table with 57 points from 20 matches.
They ended their campaign in emphatic style with a 43–32 (20–10) victory over COAS Shooters on the final day — a result that crowned a dominant season featuring:
18 wins
1 draw
1 loss
Goal difference: +214 (638 scored, 424 conceded)
Rima Strikers, their biggest rivals through the season, finished second with 52 points after a narrow 27–26 loss to Correction Boys.
COAS Shooters secured third place with 51 points, despite falling to Safety Shooters on the final day.
Other men’s final-day results:
De Defenders 31–23 Osun United
Niger United 27–28 Tojemarine Academy
Benue Buffaloes 10–00 Adamawa Warriors (walkover)
Safety Babes Make Unprecedented History With Fifth Straight Women’s Title
In the women’s category, Safety Babes delivered yet another masterclass, securing their fifth consecutive championship with a 27–24 (11–14) comeback victory over second-placed Rima Queens.
After trailing at halftime, the defending champions displayed exceptional grit and tactical discipline to overturn the deficit and seal their sixth overall premier league title.
Their season stats underline their dominance:
13 wins from 14 matches
40 points
Goal difference: +128 (486 scored, 358 conceded)
Rima Queens finished second with 31 points, while Omo Ogiefo Academy claimed third place with 32 points after an impressive campaign.
Women’s final-day result:
Rima Queens 24–27 Safety Babes
HFN, Ardova PLC Pledge Continued Partnership
The league’s closing ceremony celebrated not only the champions but also the growth of Nigerian handball.
HFN President, Jibril Ojih (FNSQ), praised Ardova PLC for its longstanding support and appealed for an extended partnership — a request Ardova executives committed to uphold.
Harry Kane came off the bench to score a hat-trick as Bayern Munich thrashed Stuttgart 5-0 on a day of late drama in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Kane struck three times in the second half to crush spirited resistance from Stuttgart, while St. Pauli and Heidenheim both grabbed injury-time goals.
Playing their fifth game in two weeks, Bayern rested several big names in Stuttgart, with Manuel Neuer, Harry Kane and Jonathan Tah all starting on the bench.
Vincent Kompany’s side still started strongly. Nicolas Jackson had an early chance, before Konrad Laimer opened the scoring with a delicate backheel on 11 minutes.
Stuttgart fought back before half-time, and were unlucky not to be level at the break after Nikolas Nartey’s headed equaliser was ruled out for offside after a lengthy VAR check.
Bayern rallied after Kane came off the bench in the second half.
The England striker doubled the lead from the edge of the area and Josip Stanisic whipped in a third 12 minutes from time.
Kane then added a fifth from the penalty spot after a goal-line handball from Lorenz Assignon, before completing his hat-trick with a late tap-in.
The 32-year-old now has 17 goals in the league this season and 28 in all competitions.
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Elsewhere, Christian Eriksen helped Wolfsburg to their first home win in almost a year with a 3-1 victory against Union Berlin.
Wolfsburg had not won at home in 14 games, but stunned Union with two brilliantly worked first-half goals from Patrick Wimmer and Mohamed Amoura.
Eriksen then orchestrated the third after half-time, pouncing on a mistake by Stanley Nsoki to race forward and set up Lovro Majer in the box.
The hosts then weathered a late revival from Union, who pulled a goal back through Nsoki before Leopold Querfeld missed a penalty late on.
Wolfsburg’s win was not the only surprise of the day, as Augsburg snatched a shock 2-0 victory over Leverkusen in their first game since sacking coach Sandro Wagner.
Dimitrios Giannoulis caught the Bayer defence napping early on before Anton Kade doubled the lead with a header later in the first half.
Elsewhere, St. Pauli avoided a tenth defeat in a row with a 1-1 draw at Cologne, while Heidenheim came from behind for the second week in a row as they beat Freiburg 2-1.
Cologne looked set for victory after Said El Mala gave them the lead with a blistering counter-attack just after the break, but English striker Ricky-Jade Jones snatched a late equaliser with St. Pauli’s first shot of the match.
A week after they scored twice in injury time against Union, Heidenheim left it late again against Freiburg.
Patrick Mainka cancelled out Johan Manzambi’s opener in the second half before Stefan Schimmer found the net in the 94th minute to hand the hosts a dramatic victory.
Manchester City beat Sunderland 3-0 to close within two points of Premier League leaders Arsenal.
City took full advantage of Arsenal’s loss to Aston Villa to close the gap at the top with a routine 3-0 win over Sunderland.
On a rare shot-shy day for Erling Haaland, City’s centre-backs lead the way as Ruben Dias blasted into the top corner from distance before Josko Gvardiol headed in a second before half-time.
Phil Foden scored for the fifth time in three games to round off the scoring in the second half.
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Chelsea’s Title Hopes Fading
Chelsea’s title challenge is fading fast after three games without a win.
Cole Palmer’s return to the starting line-up for the first time since September could not inspire the Blues as they were held 0-0 at Bournemouth to sit eight points off the lead in fourth.
Tottenham eased the pressure on Thomas Frank with their first home league win since the opening day of the season, against his former club Brentford.
Spurs were winless in five games in all competitions, but moved back into the top half with a 2-0 win courtesy of first-half goals from Richarlison and Xavi Simons.
Newcastle continued their upward trajectory with a 2-1 win over 10-man Burnley to climb up to 10th.
Bruno Guimaraes opened the scoring directly from a corner before Anthony Gordon added a second from the penalty spot after Lucas Pires saw red for the visitors.
Sean Dyche’s return to Everton as Nottingham Forest boss ended in a 3-0 defeat.
Nikola Milenkovic’s own goal opened the scoring before Thierno Barry’s first Everton goal and a late third from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall lifted the Toffees up to fifth.
Liverpool are aiming to halt their slide down the table later when they travel to Leeds, who beat Chelsea 3-1 in midweek to climb out of the relegation zone.