Football/Soccer 24 Hours

Last updated: September 8, 2026, 2:40 PM ET

Champions League

The Champions League returns this week, and the BBC has you covered with how to follow all the action, including commentary and highlights. As the competition kicks off, our experts have weighed in on the favourites and players to watch, with predictions for the entire tournament. The first Power Rankings before Matchday 1 are out, with PSG taking the top spot. Jose Mourinho begins his second Real Madrid spell in the Champions League against former club Inter Milan, 16 years after winning the trophy with Inter at the Bernabeu. Can Mourinho lead Real Madrid to UCL glory and prove how special he really is? The Portuguese boss knows at Real Madrid you have to win, and this tie against his former club will be a stern test. Porto boss Francesco Farioli, who has risen from non-league to the Champions League, takes charge in the competition for the first time on Tuesday as he looks to stun Manchester City. Meanwhile, Como president Mirwan Suwarso and several directors are giving up their tickets for the club's Champions League debut to allow elderly supporters to attend.

Premier League

Arsenal looked rattled against Chelsea thanks to an early goal, but Mikel Arteta's side quickly showed why it's the team to beat in England, according to Gab Marcotti. Riccardo Calafiori returns to Italy with Arsenal this week, and he's a very different player compared to the one who departed for England two years ago, now widely considered the best left-back in the league by far. Aston Villa have not scored in their opening three Premier League games, and Unai Emery knows his new forwards need time to find their attacking edge. Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister says he is "very sad" not to have been offered a new deal by the club and had "options" to leave in the summer, with the contract situation casting a shadow over his future. Federico Chiesa's future at Liverpool is in doubt, Jadon Sancho might return to the Premier League, and Real Madrid's Endrick is attracting interest from Italy, according to Tuesday's gossip. Manchester United are monitoring Borussia Dortmund star Felix Nmecha, per the latest transfer papers.

Premier League Off-Pitch

A Manchester United fan group has called for a unified protest against the "season ticket ban fiasco" ahead of Sunday's derby against Manchester City, with the club facing fan backlash over ticketing issues. Newcastle sporting director Ross Wilson says they were "prepared for a number of months" for Eddie Howe's exit in a summer that "never felt chaotic," insisting the summer was not chaotic. The club were preparing for Howe's departure for up to nine months, according to Wilson. Enzo Maresca has introduced musical training at Manchester City in an attempt to put his stamp on the team after replacing Pep Guardiola as manager, with players training to club-inspired beats curated by DJ Enzo.

EFL and Scottish Football

Wycombe Wanderers have sacked Michael Duff and his assistant Alex Morris just five games into the League One season after a winless start. Former Leicester City defender Conor Coady says the problems at his old club "have got to run deeper" than the manager and players, as the crisis deepens at the King Power Stadium. Deadline day Wrexham signing Joe Worrall says opportunities were "scarce" at Burnley, as he prepares to make a point against his former side at the Racecourse. Rangers captain Lawrence Shankland will be out for up to four months because of a hamstring tear, and the Scotland forward may need surgery, a major blow for Rangers. The Rangers captain faces up to three months out, with Celtic forward set for a Colombia call-up, per the latest Scottish gossip. Livingston have pulled the trigger on a managerial change as Rangers lose their captain, discussed on the Scottish football podcast. BBC Sport tracks all the manager ins and outs across the Premier League, Scottish Premiership, WSL, EFL and National League.

Women's Football

Legal action from the top European leagues and global players' union Fifpro against Fifa is extended to include the world governing body's "abusive conduct" towards the women's game, with the legal action now covering the women's football calendar. With every WSL team out of the blocks for the 2026-27 campaign, here are five things we learned from the first weekend of WSL action, including why Arsenal looked too familiar and Manchester United underwhelmed. Italian club Como have renewed the contract of forward Roberta Picchi after she was diagnosed with breast cancer, a heartwarming gesture from the Serie A club. There were plenty of big transfer moves in women's soccer this summer, but which players would have been a better fit elsewhere? We look at transfers we wish we'd seen, including Putellas to Bayern and Paralluelo to Arsenal.

International Football

Lautaro Martínez hopes Argentina teammate Julián Álvarez can soon get over his failed attempt to leave Atlético Madrid this summer, admitting the situation isn't easy for the striker. The Belgian football federation said it can't support Gianni Infantino's bid for another term as FIFA president, citing transparency and governance issues and the way FIFA handled clearing Folarin Balogun's red card, in a rebuke of Infantino. USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino said he hasn't spoken with U.S. and AS Monaco striker Folarin Balogun about his aborted move to Everton, but plans to in the coming days to offer his support, urging the striker to find the best place to perform. Pochettino also said that while he is happy about the potential of young players in the U.S. pool, "we need to be careful" amid the buzz around Philadelphia Union's Cavan Sullivan, urging caution with young stars for the USMNT camp. Napoli say Scott McTominay's heart surgery "was a complete success" and expect the Scotland midfielder to resume training this month, calling the procedure a success.

European Football

Kylian Mbappé launched a passionate defence of his playing style, denying that his work-rate off the ball — alongside teammate Vinícius Júnior — is an issue for Real Madrid, as he defends his work rate and talks up his Ballon d'Or hopes. Harry Kane has said he is happy to be in contention for the Ballon d'Or and that he is "extremely proud" of his stunning goalscoring campaign last season, hoping his best season earns him the historic award. Al Ittihad poked fun at Al Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo after inflicting the first defeat of the season on the Saudi Pro League defending champions, mocking him with "cheating, still losing" after the Saudi defeat. Al Hilal's 47-game unbeaten run in the Saudi Pro League ended after a 2-0 home loss to Neom on Monday, with Gabriel Martinelli starting as the streak ends. Inter proved they are Serie A's top team, while the title race in Italy looks set to be a fascinating battle, with Inter the team to beat in Serie A.

Transfers

Real Madrid are eyeing up Declan Rice, but Arsenal are making moves to keep him, with the Gunners set for contract talks to ward off interest from the Spanish giants. Monaco are keen to move on from U.S. striker Folarin Balogun, and Saudi clubs are keen to take him in, while Chelsea are eyeing Alex Scott to replace Enzo Fernández, according to Transfer Talk.

Cricket

Joe Root has hit back at the idea Pakistan have showed "no fight" in their Test series against England and described the notion as "disrespectful" to both teams, rejecting the disrespectful comments ahead of the third Test. As a Test summer during which English cricket appeared to be in crisis nears its end, Joe Root's side go into their final fixture against Pakistan with the only major talking point being whether the bowlers should be rotated or ruthless in the final Test.

Golf

Team USA held off a remarkable final-day fightback from Team Europe to successfully retain the Junior Solheim Cup with a narrow 13-11 win in the Netherlands, holding on in an epic comeback thriller. There has been little to separate Team Europe and Team USA in recent editions of the Solheim Cup, with nothing to suggest that this week's contest will be any different, as Europe look to make home advantage count at Bernardus Golf.

Tennis

Coco Gauff won the all-American showdown against teenager Iva Jovic to reach the US Open quarter-finals, with the all-American win keeping her title hopes alive in New York.

Formula 1

Kimi Antonelli's stunning Italian Grand Prix victory felt like a key moment in this year's championship as he landed a psychological blow on his title rivals by winning from 19th, but the F1 title race is not over yet. Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur says his team will head to this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid with "all the energy" to bounce back from their "failure" at Monza, vowing to come back stronger after the disappointment.

Boxing and Other Sports

Oleksandr Usyk's manager has dismissed Tyson Fury's call for a third fight with the Ukrainian amid continued doubt over an all-British heavyweight showdown with Anthony Joshua, rejecting Fury's offer to be a backup plan for the Joshua fight. Jumps action from Bangor-on-Dee features live on Sky Sports Racing on Tuesday, with Roadlesstravelled making his chase debut at the Welsh track.

MLS and NWSL

With eight goal contributions in eight games since joining the Lions, Antoine Griezmann has turned around Orlando's season, catapulting them into the playoff picture in the latest MLS Power Rankings. With Gotham and San Diego each suffering defeats, Washington is the new leader in our NWSL Power Rankings, leaping to the top spot.

Analysis

After Messi and Ronaldo proved wingers can do more than cross the ball, why are Premier League clubs paying so much for so little production? We examine whether it's genius or a scouting flaw that top Premier League clubs keep signing wingers who don't score goals.