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Michael Owen was left in awe of Darwin Nunez's dinked goal which opened the scoring for Liverpool against Brentford.

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• Owen in awe of Nunez's dinked goal against Brentford
• But advises him to "adapt his way of thinking"
• Liverpool retained top position after win over Brentford

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The former Reds legend described Darwin Nunez's opening strike against Brentford as "insane" as he was left in disbelief by the Uruguayan forward's ability to convert such an outrageous goal. Owen, though, also shared a word of advice for the former Benfica player as he urged him to adapt his way of thinking going forward.

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• WHAT MICHAEL OWEN SAID

  Reacting to Nunez's goal, the former England international took to X where he wrote, "That finish from Darwin Nunez yesterday was insane. I can’t stop watching it. And I can’t begin to explain how difficult a skill that is. Moving at pace, the ball running away from you, being inside the box with no room for error. Incredible. But, it is also further proof that if he is to get closer to becoming the great player many people think he can be, he has to adapt his way of thinking.

  "I mean, to even consider that finish is madness. It’s a 1 in 10, 2 in 10 finish at best. Learning to slot, dink or go round the GK is a far more productive way to score and will increase his chances to 4 or 5 in 10, thus massively increasing his end return. I’m really not trying to rain on his parade as that goal was pure class. But I’d rather see it when Liverpool are 3-0 up, not at 0-0."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  After handing his team in the first half, the 24-year-old striker was taken offat half-time which Jurgen Klopp described to be a precautionary measure as the player felt some discomfort during the half-time break. Liverpool were also jolted by the injuries to Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota who were also forced off to add to the club's injury woes.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL?

  Klopp's side maintained their two-point lead at the top of the table after Saturday's victory. They will next take on Luton Town in the Premier League on Wednesday.

West Ham United fans are not happy with the news that they reportedly have £45m to spend during this final week of the transfer window.

The Hammers have made a fantastic start to the new season, winning both of their two Premier League games and scoring four goals in each (whufc.com).

So far, they have made just one new signing in goalkeeper Alphonse Areola though – not including the permanent capture of Craig Dawson – and if they want to remain competitive throughout the rest of the season, including in the Europa League, they will surely need to bring in some more fresh faces.

According to Jim White on talkSPORT (via shinawins.com), the Hammers have £45m to spend before the transfer window comes to a close. That number was previously said to be at £75m, and the Irons have certainly left it late to get their business done – all of which has not pleased the West Ham supporters.

The news was shared on Twitter by @central_louis, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the news below

“So it went from around £80m down to £45m by the end of the window…..”

Credit: @Joshua_Mbu

“Great tell everyone prices just go up”

Credit: @Jinglis01492553

“45m = £10 and a half eaten pack of monster munch using the Sullivan & Gold calculator.”

Credit: @northwesthammer

“only saying it bc when we dont sign anyone they’ll say we gave moyes 45 mil but he didnt spend it so blame is shifted”

Credit: @JoeMammaWestHam

“£45m is embarrassing! Although there are some bargains about, that his won’t cover bringing in enough squad depth and quality. The board should be ashamed of themselves for not backing and helping Moyes out”

Credit: @joegreene2

“What happened to the 75m”

Credit: @Callumfitzer_

In other news, West Ham fans want to sign this central defender.

Rio Ferdinand does not think in-form Arsenal star Bukayo Saka is in the "world-class" bracket, having yet to make his mark in the Champions League.

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• Ferdinand says Saka is not world-class yet
• Has scored four times in the last three matches
• Arsenal's top scorer this season

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The England international has displayed scintillating form of late, having scored five times in Arsenal's last five Premier League outings, including a brace against West Ham last weekend. Despite his rich vein of form, Manchester United legend Ferdinand thinks that the winger is yet to attain world-class status as he has not proved his worth in the Champions League yet.

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• WHAT RIO FERDINAND SAID

  Speaking on the podcast, the former England defender said: "Not yet. Listen. I think Saka's been unreal. I actually think he needs a bit of a rest, so many games for a young kid. But I think, it's almost like what is world-class? He hasn't done it in the Champions League, has he? I'm talking in the nitty-gritty stages. Saka's top, don't get me wrong. He's not world-class yet."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  With his opening strike against the Hammers on Sunday, the attacker achieved the milestone of scoring his 50th club goal in 210 appearances at the age of just 22. Saka later doubled his tally in the second half to bring up his 51st goal for the Gunners. The English star is also the north London side's highest goalscorer this season with 13 goals to his name.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?

  Mikel Arteta's side, who are currently tied on points with Manchester City and two behind league leaders Liverpool, will next take on Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday. Saka will then have the chance to prove Ferdinand wrong when Arsenal travel to Porto for the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic took the opportunity to boast about his Ferrari collection during the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix.

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• Ibrahimovic attends Las Vegas Grand Prix
• Former striker reveals Ferrari collection
• Swede could return to AC Milan

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The great and good of the sports and showbiz worlds watched Max Verstappen win the first-ever Las Vegas Grand Prix. Never one to shy away from the spotlight, Ibrahimovic was front and centre. The former striker was in the pits ahead of the race when he spoke to Sky Sports about Ferrari.

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• WATCH THE CLIP

• WHAT IBRAHIMOVIC SAID

  When asked what he made of the set-up in Las Vegas, Ibrahimovic said: "It looks good, it's very exciting. I'm looking forward to the race. Ferrari is my team." When reporter Martin Brundle suggested the star has a few Ferraris in his collection, he replied: "Yes, several of them."

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Ibrahimovic was joined in Las Vegas by a host of famous names including Brad Pitt, Rod Stewart and Inter Miami owner David Beckham. Unfortunately for the former AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and LA Galaxy star, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc had to settle for a second-place finish behind Red Bull's Verstappen.

Rangers are close to the signing of 19-year-old striker Juan Alegria, and the Colombian could be the next Alfredo Morelos in Steven Gerrard’s side at Ibrox.

What’s the word?

According to Jordan Campbell, Rangers correspondent for The Athletic, Gerrard’s side are closing in on the signing of Alegria, with the teenage forward set to join from Finnish side FC Honka.

Like Morelos, the teenager started his career in his native Colombia, with Deportivo Tolima, before earning a move to Finland in September 2020, where he has gone on to score three times in 24 appearances.

Considering that they have followed a very similar career path and are both young strikers from Colombia, comparisons with Morelos are always going to be likely for Alegria, although Campbell suggests that they are very different players, writing:

“Colombia has become a market that they are familiar with, not least due to the success of Morelos. While the nationality and position are the same, Alegria is said to be quite a different character to his compatriot.

“Whereas Morelos is a fiery player whose physicality is a major part of his game, Alegria is a more agile player who is said to be a calm and collected personality. And where Morelos has been known to enjoy himself during the offseason, Alegria is said by coaches to be very committed to a strict fitness and diet regime.”

Rangers’ next Morelos?

If Alegria can achieve even half of what Morelos has managed at Rangers, then he will surely prove to be a very successful addition in the future.

El Bufalo has contributed 96 goals and 43 assists in 186 appearances for the Light Blues and memorably broke Ally McCoist’s goalscoring record in Europe, which will surely secure his place in Ibrox folklore.

[freshpress-quiz id=“593776”]

Therefore, Gerrard and Rangers fans will no doubt be excited by what Alegria can offer in the future; and should Morelos leave at any point, then it seems as if the Gers may already have a natural successor to the 25-year-old.

In other news… Huge Ibrox news emerges on “dynamic” beast, Rangers fans will be buzzing

Cristiano Ronaldo fooled the Al-Wedha goalkeeper during his latest outing for Al-Nassr, allowing Alex Telles to curl home a spectacular free-kick.

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• Telles off the mark for Al-Nassr
• Helped by smart thinking from Ronaldo
• Al-Nassr run out 3-1 winners

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  With the ball spotted some 25 yards from goal, making a shooting opportunity very much on, the expectation was that Portuguese superstar Ronaldo would try his luck. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner marked out his run up and appeared all set to unleash a long-range effort.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  With all eyes fixed on Ronaldo, the distraction technique worked a treat as former Manchester United left-back Telles stepped up instead to catch everybody by surprise. Even as he was making his way towards the ball, Al-Wedha were ready for a dummy that would ultimately result in Ronaldo whipping in a right-footed effort.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Morocco international Munir Mohamedi was left rooted to the spot as Telles curled a spectacular strike over the wall with his left foot, and into the bottom corner of the net. The Brazilian wheeled away in celebration, with Ronaldo in hot pursuit as Al-Nassr’s clever set-piece plan played out to perfection.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Ronaldo was also among the goals against Al-Wedha, as he put the finishing touches to a comfortable 3-1 win. The 38-year-old all-time great has now found the target on 22 occasions this season through 23 appearances in all competitions.

Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge reckons that Tottenham would sell Tanguy Ndombele for £50m this summer.

The Frenchman arrived in north London for a club-record fee with a huge weight of expectation on his shoulders following his ravishing form for Lyon, notably against Manchester City in the Champions League.

However, Ndombele hasn’t been able to replicate that form, with his two-years in north London overshadowed by some lacklustre performances and constant injury problems.

The 24-year-old appeared to put his injuries aside last season, turning out 46 times across all competitions.

Ndombele didn’t do enough to earn a place in France’s Euro 2020 squad, though, which meant he was amongst the first crop of players to return to Hotspur Way for the start of pre-season.

But the midfielder didn’t play a single minute in any of Tottenham’s opening three pre-season games, which has once more raised concerns over previous fitness problems he endured under Jose Mourinho.

Asked whether Spurs would consider cashing in on him, Bridge told Football FanCast: “I think they would. £50m can go a long way now. He could prove everyone wrong and turn up next season.

“No one from Spain is going to have the money, though, it’s difficult now, but we can’t sell all of these players we want to get rid of, some are going to have to stay.”

Having been released by Madrid in June, the Belgian has now confirmed his retirement following a spate of injury problems

How did we get here? Eden Hazard made a massive-money move from Chelsea to Real Madrid in June 2019, and appeared poised to be the next face of La Liga, the latest Galactico to walk out at Santiago Bernabeu and impose himself as one of Europe's greats.

Los Blancos, remember, had lost Cristiano Ronaldo a year previous, and with Gareth Bale struggling for fitness and Vinicius Jr. yet to find his feet, Hazard seemed set to be Madrid's winger of the future. And at 28, he still had plenty of football left.

Four years later, Hazard isn't in a Madrid shirt anymore. He won't even play football again after announcing his retirement at the age of 32 on Tuesday. The Belgian scored just seven goals, and added a meagre 12 assists during his injury-ravaged spell in the Spanish capital. He only managed 76 appearances and failed to ever better the production of his best season at Stamford Bridge. To say that he was a disappointment was an understatement.

Some of this, of course, was of Hazard's own making. The winger was irresponsible at times, failing to look after himself and drawing the ire of Madrid fans for a questionable commitment to the shirt. But he was also immensely unlucky, a victim of a recurring ankle injury that limited the trickery and explosiveness of his earlier days.

It all amounted to an opportunity wasted, transfer budget spurned, and a career cut short for a player who should have been one of the game's greats. GOAL takes a look at where it all went wrong for Hazard at Madrid…

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  June 2019: Big-money move

  Despite having been their poster boy for over half a decade, Chelsea were effectively powerless to keep Hazard when he left for Real Madrid in June 2019. He had only one year left on his contract, and amid something of a stand-off, Los Blancos were able to swoop in.

  The result was a massive initial €100 million (£88m/$107m) transfer agreement, and subsequent €600,000(£530,000/$640,000)-per-week salary.

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  July 2019: Showing up overweight

  The Belgian hardly made a good impression at the nexus of his Madrid career. Hazard showed up to training overweight, a fact that served as instant ammunition for social media trolls and sceptics.

  He later admitted that he was five kilograms heavier than he should have been, and revealed that he tends to gain and lose weight frequently, especially during pre-season.

• October 2019: Early form

  His intial performances on the pitch, though, quashed any notions that his fitness would be an immediate issue. Hazard needed a few weeks to bed in, but by October was fit and firing for Los Blancos.

  He played crucial roles in a duo of La Liga contests, starring against first Eiber and then Real Sociedad. While he didn't score or assist in either, the Hazard of Chelsea — mazy dribbles, incisive passes and all — was well on display.

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• November 2019: One foul changes things

  The foul that would go on to change the course of Hazard's footballing career didn't appear to be serious. Paris Saint-Germain's Thomas Meunier, his Belgium team-mate, swept Hazard's legs as he spun away from the full-back. Hazard's ankle got trapped awkwardly under Meunier's foot, and he could hardly walk as he was escorted off the pitch.

  Unfortunately for Hazard, Meunier had taken out an ankle that had been a cause of persistent pain. He had fractured it a few years before, and although he made a full recovery, something was now clearly wrong.

Leicester star Jamie Vardy channeled his inner Emmanuel Adebayor when he ran the full length of the pitch to celebrate in front of Bristol City fans.

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• Vardy scored penalty for Foxes
• Celebrated in front of away fans
• Reminiscent of Adebayor moment

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The striker tucked home a penalty to put Leicester 1-0 up in the King Power Stadium on Saturday. Vardy, 36, then ran all the way down to the other end of the stadium to celebrate in front of the 3,300 Bristol fans in attendance.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  It is believed that Vardy made the long run to the away end to cheer in the faces of the opposition supporters because they had been singing about his wife during the match. Leicester went on to win the game 1-0, making it three straight victories in the Championship. The Foxes are top of the table and nine points above Bristol, who are in eighth place.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Vardy's celebration was reminiscent of Adebayor's famous sprint down the field to celebrate in front of Arsenal fans after his goal for Manchester City in 2009. The striker left Arsenal to join City and slid on his knees in front of the Gunners fans and he later clarified it was in response to racist chants he heard.

  “I remember getting to the stadium and Arsenal fans were there. All I heard was the the chant ‘Your mother is a whore and your father washes elephants', he told in 2019. "My father worked in currency exchange and my mother is a businesswoman. But this went on and on. So how can I reply? I didn’t have a voice to go against thousands of supporters."

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  WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  Vardy and his Leicester team-mates face a difficult challenge in their next game, coming up against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

After reaching the semi-finals against the odds last season, Arsenal's absence from the 2023-24 Women's Champions League is a serious blow

The tears that streamed down Manuela Zinsberger's face at full time told you everything you needed to know about the magnitude of Arsenal's defeat to Paris FC on Saturday.

In the second game of their Women's Champions League qualification tournament, victory over the French side would have put the Gunners a two-legged win away from progressing to the competition proper. But some comedy defending condemned Jonas Eidevall's side to an embarrassing, early exit.

Showing their trademark steely determination, Arsenal pulled themselves back from the abyss on two occasions, with goals from Jen Beattie and Alessia Russo sending the game to extra time and then penalties respectively.

But thanks to World Cup breakout star Chiamaka Nnadozie in the Paris FC goal, the underdogs triumphed in the shootout, with Russo and Frida Maanum seeing their efforts saved. Eidevall was quick to offer up an explanation for his side's underperformance after the game.

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  Hard to accept excuses

  "We knew from the beginning this mini tournament was going to be really tough, for a number of reasons," Eidevall said.

  "One is that Paris is a really good team, another part is the really limited preparation time and playing on a 3G pitch that we are not really used to. So we knew there were external factors that were going to make this complicated and you only get one shot."

  There is clearly some validity to the extenuating circumstances offered by Eidevall. Arsenal's pre-season has indeed been a bit of a mess, with the timing of the fixture list preventing them from playing any warm-up matches before the vital qualification tournament started.

  Indeed, Eidevall added: "I think most managers prefer to play one or two friendly games before you play competitive matches, I think that is normal. There is a reason it looks like that everywhere around the world and I am not different from those other managers."

  The artificial playing surface was far from ideal too, while Paris FC are no slouches, even if they did finish a distant third behind France's big two last season.

  Despite all of this, these excuses are still pretty hard to accept. Arsenal have vastly superior resources to Paris FC and even though they remain without several big names through injury, they really should have had enough to win the tournament.

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  So much work squandered

  What makes Arsenal's early exit so frustrating is that they have overcome far greater challenges in their recent history.

  The Gunners were without Leah Williamson, Vivianne Miedema and Beth Mead for a significant portion of the 2022-23 season due to ACL ruptures, while Laura Wienroither suffered the same injury towards the end of the campaign. Captain Kim Little, Rafaelle and Lia Walti were also absent at various points due to various complaints.

  Despite their squad being decimated by injuries, Arsenal defiantly fought their way to a third-place WSL finish, edging out Manchester City on goal difference on the final day despite losing their last two games.

  Securing a top-three finish is made to look even more impressive when you consider that Arsenal were battling for league points alongside making a deep run in Europe. After topping their group, which contained then-holders Lyon, they were drawn against eventual Bundesliga winners Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals.

  Losing the first leg 1-0, the Gunners rallied in front of a 20,000-plus crowd in north London, booking their place in the final four thanks to goals from Frida Maanum and Stina Blackstenius. This set up a huge semi-final clash against Wolfsburg.

  The two sides played out a pulsating 2-2 draw in Germany, with Arsenal recovering from a nightmare first half to grab a draw. More than 60,000 supporters packed into the Emirates for the return leg, where Arsenal's threadbare squad eventually ran out of a steam. With the scores level at 2-2 deep into extra time, a evidently exhausted Lotte Wubben-Moy made a fatal error, gifting Pauline Bremer the opportunity to send Wolfsburg to the final.

  To go so close to reaching a European final, and secure third spot despite an unprecedented injury crisis, was nothing short of remarkable. Arsenal were supposed to reap the rewards for their hard work this season, seizing another opportunity to triumph on the continent with a revitalised squad.

  However, due to their failure in Sweden, there will be no Champions League nights to savour this season.

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  No more special nights under the lights

  That will sting harshly for Arsenal, who tapped into a new legion of supporters through the competition better than any other WSL side last season. After steadily building attendances through the group stages, the 21,307 fans who attended the Bayern game gave the team a much-needed boost.

  Eidevall confirmed as much after the match, saying: "I think it's an amazing atmosphere and moment every time we can go out and play in front of big crowds and especially with our Arsenal supporters. So we're grateful for it. And it's a massive part of the strong performance that we had against Bayern Munich."

  Things snowballed against Wolfsburg, with the women's team selling out the Emirates Stadium for the first time ever. After the record ticket sales were confirmed, Eidevall beamed: "I hope we look back on this in history that we see it as one of the starting points where this became a regular occurrence. We have taken every opportunity since I have been here to go to the Emirates. That has always been the preference to go there. The more we play there, the more it feels like home."

  And herein lies the problem. Although Arsenal have committed to hosting a record five WSL games at the Emirates, their Champions League failure has robbed the women's side of further opportunities to play away from their regular Meadow Park home.

  Although this shortfall could be compensated by moving some latter-stage Conti Cup and FA Cup matches to the larger stadium, these competitions hardly have the same glamour as the Champions League. It's a massively frustrating situation for the club, who will be desperate to ensure the momentum built up last season does not dissipate.

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  Disaster for Russo

  No player will have felt the pain of Arsenal's Champions League exit more than summer signing Russo. After completing her much-discussed move from Manchester United in the summer, the forward specifically cited the possibility for more nights like the Wolfsburg game as one of her reasons for making the switch to north London.

  "I think the growth of the women's game has been incredible, but particularly at a club like Arsenal." she said. "The sell-out against Wolfsburg at the Emirates last season was fantastic, and I'm just really excited to be part of this club."

  Russo also pointed to the Gunners' trophy-winning potential, so crashing out of one competition before it's even got properly going will hurt. Seeing former club United make it to the group stages – they have to win a two-legged tie next month to do so – would only heighten this pain.

  Regardless, Russo's wait to experience Champions League football is guaranteed to continue for at least one more season.