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Borussia Dortmund’s first Champions League victory came on Wednesday against Athletic Bilbao 4-1 at home, with Serice Guirassy scoring one goal and adding another.

Before the half-hour mark, Karim Adeyemi gave Daniel Svensson the opener, and Carney Chukwuemeka added Dortmund’s second, his first goal since moving to Chelsea in the summer.

After drawing at Juventus in a fiery 4-4 draw, Dortmund promised more stability, but they instead invited Bilbao, who gave Gorka Guruzeta a goal with a defensive mix-up on the hour.

With nine minutes left, Dortmund appeared shaky, but Guirassy eased their nerves by giving a Marcel Sabitzer shot to restore their two-goal lead.

In stoppage time, the hosts added a fourth before Julian Brandt wrapped up the contest.

We scored a few more goals than we needed, but we still managed to get there happy,” Brandt said.

Bilbao, making their first Champions League appearance since 2014-15 and just their third overall, lacked Nico Williams’ originality.

The Spain winger had only scored twice in those five games and was unable to play.

Coach Niko Kovac kept his pre-game promise to rotate the side and increase the number of minutes given to his bench players despite a season that has already started well.

Jobe Bellingham made his full debut in the starting lineup while Chukwuemeka made his debut for the first time since August.

Bellingham struggled to find his passing range, but Dortmund’s lack of fluidity was immediately apparent.

Despite the errors, Kovac praised the English midfielder. He did well, he said. He was quick, determined, and able to fend off the odds.

I don’t want to think so negatively about anything. He’s only 20 years old, so there may not have been many positives. He has a lot of potential.

Dortmund’s opener was scored by Adeyemi, who was in excellent form, who blazed down the right flank before slamming a pass across the face of goal for Svensson to fire home.

Dortmund’s decision-making was poor, despite the goal’s sputtering. In his first game of the season, Niklas Suele chose to score a long-range effort rather than pass it to Guirassy inside the box.

On the 50th minute, Chukwuemeka doubled Dortmund’s lead by shooting in from the near post after being pushed into space by Guirassy.

Dortmund had a routine win in mind, but they instead made a poor defensive error to draw Bilbao back. Guruzeta scored effortlessly from the penalty spot after Suele failed to clear a ball in the box.

Dortmund, who had a hard time breaking free of their own half, were in fear after scoring the goal.

Guirassy would put the hosts back on track again, deflecting Sabitzer’s shot into the goal for his sixth goal in seven games this season, but Bilbao had a few half-chances to equalize and a goal was ruled out for offside.

At the death, Brandt gave the scoreline more gloss.

An Erling Haaland double on Wednesday did not enough to earn Pep Guardiola’s side a 2-2 draw in the Champions League, so Eric Dier’s late penalty gave Monaco a 2-2 draw with Manchester City.

The Norwegian striker added 11 goals in eight games overall to his season total for the season with two goals in the first half for City, either side of a Jordan Teze stunner.

The 2023 European champions had the opportunity to leave the principality with a second victory in the league phase of the season, but a 90th-minute spot-kick denied them.

After a protracted VAR check, Spanish referee Jesus Gil Manzano eventually pointed to the spot after Nico Gonzalez was fouled inside the area by a Monaco free-kick.

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As Monaco won the Champions League title defense with a penalty kick and City moved onto four points after defeating Napoli last time out, Dier stepped up to send Gianluigi Donnarumma the wrong way.

Haaland now has 52 career Champions League appearances, including 52 with the 2-0 defeat to the Italian champions, after a half-century of goals in Europe’s elite club competition.

The Norwegian made it a quarter of an hour before the game’s final score of 5-1 Premier League victory over Burnley last Saturday.

After Josko Gvardiol tipped a ball over the top of the Monaco defense, Haaland escaped the attention of his marker before lobging the ball over Philipp Koehn’s home goal.

The teams’ first meeting since a memorable last-16 tie in 2017, which the principality side won on away goals after the score came in at 6-6 on aggregate.

Bernardo Silva, who was also wearing City’s captain’s armband this time, was also in that Monaco team.

Krepin Diatta cut the ball back for Teze in the 18th minute before firing a brilliant right-foot shot past Donnarumma from 20 meters high into the net.

Paul Pogba, a former Manchester United midfielder, is currently training with Monaco and hoping to make his Monaco debut once the season is over.

Without him, they struggled to contain the visitors, with City retaking the lead just before the break when Haaland headed in a cross from Nico O’Reilly.

As a result of Gabriel Martinelli’s outstanding Champions League debut, the Brazilian forward led Arsenal to a 2-0 victory against Olympiakos on Wednesday.

Arsenal defeated Athletic Bilbao 2-0 to keep their 100 percent league record in place after sealing victory at Athletic Bilbao in their Champions League opener.

In the closing moments, Bukayo Saka scored the points and Martinelli scored in the opening period.

Although the north Londoners struggled to perform at their best, they did manage to record a seventh win out of nine games this year.

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In their final 13 matches, Mikel Arteta’s men have recorded their 10th clean sheet, improving their impressive home record in the Champions League.

As part of their bid to close the two-point deficit with Premier League leaders Liverpool, the Gunners will play again on Saturday against West Ham.

Arteta, who faced Jose Luis Mendilibar, one of his childhood coaches, took a welcome trip down memory lane with Olympiakos.

Arteta, age 14, was a youth athlete for the Athletic Bilbao program under Mendilibar, who is now the Olympiakos’ coach.

Arteta continues to use the lessons he learned from his football education in Spain to benefit his mentor at Arsenal.

As a result of Martin Odegaard’s return to the starting lineup following a shoulder injury, England trio Saka, Declan Rice, and Eberechi Eze were all called off by Arteta.

Sublime Odegaard &nbsp

Arsenal should have taken the lead within 90 seconds thanks to Arteta’s squad rotation, which had the desired effect.

Myles Lewis-Skelly ran unchallenged across the unmarked Martinelli, who fired wide from six yards in the direction of the Olympiakos penalty area.

In the 12th minute, Martinelli made amends for his error.

A pin-point pass from Odegaard to Viktor Gyokeres cut through the Olympiakos defense.

Gyokeres snipped his marker away and fired a fierce strike that could have saved Martinelli from close range.

Odegaard’s importance to the Gunners was highlighted by the sublime ball that launched the comeback in a 2-1 win over Newcastle on Sunday.

Arsenal deserved more for a lively start than Martinelli’s third goal this season, but they were fortunate to hold on for good.

For a volley that forced a superb save from David Raya, former Wolves winger Daniel Podence eluded the Arsenal rearguard.

Gyokeres was being prepped for a more dangerous raid by Odegaard, but the striker’s shot went over.

After the break, Leandro Trossard, who had a chance to double the lead, was denied by the Olympiakos keeper who had pushed him in from close range.

Olympiakos were only denied an equalizer by a tight offside decision that ruled out Chiquinho’s finish despite only scoring once in their previous six Champions League matches.

In stoppage time, Saka came off the bench to add a flattering gloss to the scoreline before Tzolakis made a brilliant double save to stop Odegaard.

Saka was found by Odegaard for a powerful shot that should have been îndreptated at Tzolakis, who made it squirm through his legs into the net.

Newcastle won their first Champions League game 4-0 away at Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise on Wednesday thanks to Anthony Gordon’s two penalties.

On a comfortable night for Eddie Howe’s men, Nick Woltemade slotted in Sandro Tonali’s shot to give Newcastle the lead in Brussels before Gordon converted twice from the spot.

Newcastle successfully bounced back from a stinging Premier League defeat suffered by Arsenal on Sunday and from Barcelona’s opening European defeat two weeks prior.

Woltemade and Anthony Elanga, Newcastle’s most expensive summer signings, made their first appearance together with Gordon as they prepared to move past the club’s agonizing transfer from Liverpool to Newcastle.

With a touch on Tonali’s volley to wrong-foot home goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen, Woltemade scored his third goal since joining the Stuttgart club for a club-record $69 million ($92 million) fee to give Newcastle the lead on 17 minutes.

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At Anderlecht’s stadium, Union’s temporary home as their own does not adhere to UEFA standards. Shortly before half-time, Elanga scored a penalty after he was clattered by Fedde Leysen, and Gordon tucks it away to double Newcastle’s lead.

Before Union enjoyed their best season, Elanga, a Swedish international, immediately tested Scherpen. Moments after Anan Khalaili steered just wide for the Belgian champions, Nick Pope made a good save from Adem Zorgane and Ousseynou Niang.

After a VAR review of a handball by Kamiel Van de Perre, Newcastle were given a second penalty, and Gordon delivered a second-half clinical spot kick just in time.

One of the most entertaining and well-known players on the ATP tour, French tennis player Gael Monfils, announced on Wednesday that he will retire at the end of the year.

The former world number six, 39, has played on the ATP tour since making his Open de Moselle debut in October 2004.

He said on social media that he would like to let everyone know that the year ahead will be his final year as a professional tennis player.

I’m very happy that I chose to retire at the end of the 2026 tennis season, despite the fact that this sport means the world to me.

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Monfils has won 13 ATP titles throughout his distinguished career, but he has never won a Masters 1000 title, having lost three finals at the Paris Indoors in 2009 and 2010, and at Monte Carlo in 2016.

He is currently ranked 53 in the world, making two Grand Slam semi-finals: at Roland Garros in 2008 and at the US Open in 2016.

He claimed that while I did well, I never won a Grand Slam in my career.

“Believe me when I tell you, I don’t regret anything,” I yell.

And he continued, “I’ve had the opportunity to play alongside some of the greatest names in the history of our sport: (Roger) Federer, (Rafael) Nadal), Novak Djokovic, and (Andy) Murray.

His imminent retirement follows Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet, and Gilles Simon, three other Frenchmen of his generation, who he described as “my three musketeers and best friends for life.”

Monfils was not a member of the team in 2017 when France defeated Belgium to win the title, but he participated in the 2010 and 2014 Davis Cup finals, which France lost to Serbia and Federer’s Switzerland, respectively.

Monfils, who was born in Paris on September 1, 1986, is renowned for his athleticism and court slam.

Segun Odegbami, a former Nigerian international, believes that the 2026 World Cup will give Africa a voice on the global stage.

In a speech on the “Role of Sports in Global Geo-Politics,” Odegbami asserted that sports had the power to neutralize the geopolitical games of the superpowers and win Africa the support needed for negotiations in a new world order.

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“To ensure that Africa will have a voice at the 2026 World Cup, it is very important for the Super Eagles to qualify.” So, over to you, Victor Osimhen, Lookman Ademola, Troost William-Ekong, Tolu Arokodare, Simon Moses, Ola Aina, Tobi Amusan, Anthony Joshua, Ese Brume, and the others, the former football player said.

According to him, African athletes have established themselves as a leader in international competitions by putting money into the over $2 trillion global sports economy. &nbsp,

Therefore, he urged African countries to speak out against injustice and equality in global sports.

“Africa must also emerge as a unique superpower,” Odegbami remarked.

Will anyone ever question what sports have to do with geopolitics if that were to happen? or whether the country’s economic gains won’t have an impact on the fish market’s local prices.

If necessary, Africa, led by Nigeria, must be prepared to revisit the resolute geopolitical alliance of 1976 and declare that we must all celebrate the liberties and equality of all people at the World Cup.

In this envisioned new world order, he continued, “The continent must rise with one voice and in one accord to confront such injustice at the table of civilisations.”

Odegbami retired from international football in 1981 after making 47 appearances between 1976 and 1981.

The winger, known as “Mathematical,” was well-known for his brilliant play and precise crosses.

Nigeria’s hopes for a 2026 World Cup were thwarted by the Super Eagles’ failure to secure maximum points on September 9, 2025 against South Africa in Bloemfontein.

Following a sanction against Bafana Bafana for fielding an ineligible player against Lesotho, Nigeria is now four points ahead of Benin Republic and three points ahead of South Africa with two remaining matches to play.

The South Africans, who had previously led Group C, were awarded three points and three goals.

READ MORE: FIFA Sanctions South Africa For Fielding Ineligible Player In World Cup Qualifier

In the action from FIFA, Rwanda leads the group with 14 points, while Bafana Bafana is second with 14 points and second behind Benin Republic.