Archive October 1, 2025

Conference League: Aberdeen v Shakhtar Donetsk

Venue: Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen Date: Thursday, 2 October Kick-off: 20:00 BST

Cesc Fabregas wheeled away to celebrate a penalty shootout winner that sent Spain into the Euro 2012 final at Portugal’s expense to the symphony of ecstatic football fans in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk.

Two years later, that sound was replaced with bombardment, gunfire and explosions.

Almost 50,000 people inside the impressive Donbas Arena that night, watching stars like Andres Iniesta and Cristiano Ronaldo, would scarcely have believed that one of the most expensive stadiums ever built in Europe would be derelict with weeds growing through pockmarked concrete and shattered glass lying strewn across its pathways so soon afterwards.

Once a symbol of footballing hope, the home of Shakhtar Donetsk has sat abandoned in occupied territory since 2017, structurally damaged by shelling.

Shaktar’s final match in the stadium, which once staged grand Champions League affairs with Barcelona and Real Madrid, was on 2 May 2014, a 3-1 win over Mariupol – a football club that no longer exists from a city that barely exists following the 2022 escalation and full-scale Russian invasion.

And yet football endures in Ukraine, albeit no further east than Kryvyi Rih, which lies about 40 miles from the nearest Russian stronghold in the country, and in front of largely empty arenas.

The reminder of what is happening in the country is never far away with matches occasionally interrupted by air raid alerts, with one of the hotels the Shakhtar squad stayed in last season hit by a missile.

For eastern clubs like Shakhtar, playing in exile for more than a decade has been hugely challenging as they prepare to visit struggling Aberdeen for their Conference League opener on Thursday.

In truth, every game they have played for 10 years has been an away game, with their European ‘home’ ties taking place in the Polish city of Krakow this season, more than 600 miles from the Ukrainian border.

Their continental adventures have given a sense of escapism from what is going on at home.

An example of that reality has been Shakhtar taking part in the Ukrainian Amputee Football Championship, which was launched amid a rising number of men afflicted by the conflict on the frontlines.

It says a lot about the strength of Shakhtar Donetsk that, despite their displacement, they have continued to enjoy success on the pitch.

Although they lost out on the title last season, they have won the Ukrainian championship six times since they were forced out of their home.

The last-ever Uefa Cup winners have also continued to operate well in European competition, regularly reaching the knockout stages of both the Champions League and Europa League.

As has been the case for most of the past two decades, Shakhtar supplement local talent with Brazilian natives, although one of the latter, £14m signing Alisson Santana, will miss the trip to face the Dons after breaking a leg.

Captain and 79-times capped Ukraine centre-back Mykola Matvienko leads from the back, with exciting midfielder Artem Bondarenko a constant threat, having scored 12 goals and assisting with eight more last season.

Eighteen-year-old Brazilian midfielder Isaque, who joined from Fluminense in the summer, is looking to make a breakthrough in their maiden Conference League campaign, having scored his first goal for the club in Sunday’s 4-0 hammering of Rukh Vynnyky.

Compatriots Kaua Elias and Pedrinho are both likely to start, up front and in midfield respectively, at Pittodrie, which could be ominous for Jimmy Thelin’s side, with the latter grabbing a double at the weekend.

It is, to all intents and purposes, a Champions League team and they arrive in the Granite City as one of the favourites to win the competition.

Mary Fowler, a Manchester City player, has agreed to a new contract until 2027.

Since joining City from Montpellier in 2022, the Australia international has made 87 appearances since his previous deal expires the following summer.

The 22-year-old is currently recovering from a knee ligament rupture that is expected to keep her out until the year’s end.

Fowler, who has 64 caps for Australia, said that enjoying my football is a big part of my success. “City has created an environment where I can flourish,” he said.

Therese Sjogran, the director of football for Manchester City, described Mary as “a really significant figure for us both on and off the pitch.”

She has a lot of talent, but the way she has changed since joining City speaks volumes about her attitude and dedication off the pitch.

2025 NFL London games

Wembley Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Dates: 5, 12, and 19 October Kick-offs: 14:30 BST

The NFL roadshow travels to England to extend this year’s record-setting run of international games following a fantastic weekend in Ireland.

Over the next three Sundays, London will host three international matches, with three of them taking place there.

The Pittsburgh Steelers held on for a heartfelt win over the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin’s first regular-season game on Sunday.

The Vikings are the first NFL team to play in two different countries simultaneously across the Irish Sea.

On Sunday, the Vikings’ receiver Justin Jefferson and Browns’ defensive end Myles Garrett take on the Cleveland Browns at Tottenham.

Given that their offensive line has been torn down by injuries, leaving backup quarterback Carson Wentz exposed, the Vikings made a wise threat to a late comeback against the Steelers.

Wentz will start in place of JJ McCarthy, who is out injured, in his third start and will face Myles Garrett, who has already recorded four sacks this year.

Cleveland are 1-3 overall after falling 34-10 to Detroit on Sunday, while Minnesota advanced to the play-offs last season with a 2-2 record.

After the veteran won a four-way quarterback contest to start for the Browns this year, that made veteran Joe Flacco subject to more scrutiny.

Dillon Gabriel was given the go-ahead, and fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders came in third place on the depth chart.

The third round of this year’s draft saw the selection of Gabriel, while Sanders, who was the first overall pick, saw a dramatic decline.

There was speculation that Cleveland would make an early change as a result of the team’s difficult start to the season, and Sanders last week claimed that he was aware of this and that he could do better.

Shedeur would start this season at some point, according to his father Deion, who is a two-time Super Bowl champion and his college coach at Colorado. That was just a few days after that.

After Sunday’s defeat, Stefanski remarked, “There are so many things we need to do better, both quarterback-wise,” but this is not about just one person.

Bo Nix was the Broncos’ starting quarterback the following year, and he might have won the offensive rookie of the year award for a spectacular season under Jayden Daniels.

Denver’s play-offs, for the first time since winning the Super Bowl in 2016, were led by Nix, who matured and maintained composure under coach Sean Payton’s leadership.

The 25-year-old showed no signs of letting go in his 28-3 victory over Cincinnati on Monday, where JK Dobbins, a new running back, did the damage.

The Broncos have cornerback Surtain II as their reigning Defensive Player of the Year while Dobbins has balanced the Denver offense.

They travel to Philadelphia to face a new-look Jets team hoping to end the Aaron Rodgers era and are currently 2-2.

Although they have a new head coach, quarterback, and general manager, little has changed since last year’s 5-12 finish. The Jets are one of three teams without a win in a game heading into week five.

The final London game will take place on October 19 at Wembley, with two teams that are currently 3-1 up against each other.

The Los Angeles Rams are viewed as dark horses this season despite having only three years since Denver’s most recent Super Bowl victory.

Only Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott has thrown for 114 yards, with Puka Nacua (the league’s leading receiver) and Davante Adams (the Jets’ starting quarterback) having the most passing yards.

The Jacksonville Jaguars made a bold move in the draft by trading up and selecting Travis Hunter with the second overall pick despite going 4-13 last year. They also named 34-year-old James Gladstone as their new head coach and head coach.

Hunter focuses on offense and defense, aiming to become the NFL’s first real two-way player since the 1990s and working with Colorado’s former college coach Deion Sanders.

The 22-year-old has yet to deliver on his breakout season, only completing 13 receptions for 118 yards.

Celtic vs. Sporting Braga in the Europa League

Glasgow’s Celtic Park Date: Thursday, October 2 Kick-off: 17:45 BST

Despite a positive start to their Europa League campaign, Braga arrive in Glasgow in somewhat depressed mood, much like Genk did last week against Rangers.

Fans who watched their team lose 1-0 to the Nacional of Madeira on Sunday, dropping to seventh in the Liga Portugal table after five games without winning in one of their home games, were unsatisfied with the matchday one victory over Feyenoord.

Carlos Vicens, the team’s new head coach, who has personally dealt with fan dissatisfaction, most recently the dreaded waving of the white handkerchiefs frequently seen in Iberian stands when hardship strikes, criticizes the players’ attitude.

Vicens’ rise is largely due to his apprenticeship at Manchester City, where he transitioned from a work experience position to his first full-time position coaching the under-12s and 13s before convincing Guardiola to call him in 2021.

Vicens wanted to break into the professional game after four years under the guidance of arguably the best coach in the field today. Braga, who had already parted company with Carlos Carvalhal, called.

A 0-0 draw away to Levski Sofia in his opening game of the Europa League, followed by a stingy victory at home against the Bulgarians, under the new boss, was a start.

However, Braga’s 4-1 overall victory over Cluj and its subsequent 2 3-0 league victories should be positive signs.

The play-off round featured the first signs of a stumble as Celtic drawn away from AVS, their only remaining playoff game of the year, but the result was as comfortable as it could have been against Celtic’s former adversaries, Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar.

The Braga have lost both of their previous four league games at home, drawing the fanfare of the team.

In such a setting, Celtic Park, where they previously lost on their only previous visit to the team in August 2010 while playing Champions League qualifying, were unable to overcome a 3-0 first-leg deficit.

The Champions League team’s third-place finish that year opened the door for their best European campaign, which they won in the Europa League and won the final against Celtic’s Porto, who won the competition in 2003.

Rangers stopped them in the quarter-finals of 2022, putting them in the final on their own. Their best performance since then was in 2022.

With only a goal behind Fenerbahce, who went on to lose to Rangers, last season’s victories over Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hoffenheim, and Lazio proved insufficient to get them to the knockout phase.

It’s unknown whether the squad for this year is any better prepared for success.

Pau Victor, a Spanish striker from Barcelona (approximately £10.5 million), and Mario Dorgeles, a young Ivory Coast midfielder from Nordsjaelland (£9.6 million), both made significant investments, but Dorgeles may miss the game because he hasn’t played in the last five games.