Player strike looms

GM football fans. Route One here, and we’re covering player strikes, a huge Premier League clash, and much more. Enjoy Route One? Share us with a friend on WhatsApp with this link.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE STATS

Man City vs Inter Milan (20:00 UK). Excluding shootouts, City are unbeaten in their last 23 games in the Champions League, with 16 wins and seven draws. Erling Haaland has 41 goals in 39 UCL appearances to date. PSG vs Girona (20:00 UK). PSG are in fine form, boasting a 100% record after four league matches with +13 goal difference. Meanwhile, Girona have made a mixed start with two wins, two losses and a draw. Club Brugge vs Borussia Dortmund (20:00 UK). Brugge were unbeaten at home in Europe last season, while Dortmund have won each of their last four games in Belgium without conceding a single goal. See full list of Champions League fixtures tonight here.

Plus…

• Champions League results (More)

• Kylian Mbappe’s first Champions League goal for Real Madrid (More)

• Endrick, 18, gets engaged to model (More)

• Wrexham’s Paul Mullin denies attempting to bite opponent (More)

• Jesse Lingard under police investigation for riding a scooter (More)

PLAYER STRIKES

Players are close to going on strike, says Rodri

Manchester City’s Rodri has said that players are close to striking over the increased number of games. The Spanish midfielder believes that players should only play around 40-50 matches a season. A recent FIFPro report on player welfare found that Rodri played 4,327 minutes across 50 games for his club and is in line to play 77 games if Spain and City go all the way in their respective competitions. Some of his teammates played over 70 games last season, including Phil Foden (72) and Julian Alvarez (75).

In response to Rodri’s comments, a PFA spokesperson said that when players and their unions are ignored, they “will begin to consider all options available to them”. But the players’ union has developed a strong alliance with the Premier League, making a strike in that competition unlikely.

While this isn’t the publicity that Uefa wanted ahead of the expanded Champions League format, more players are speaking out against the increased games. Before Liverpool’s game against AC Milan, Allison Becker said that players won’t be able to compete at the highest level due to tiredness. Manuel Akanji joked about retiring at 30 because of the relentless schedule. In theory, it’s possible that City players could play a maximum of 85 games this season - that’s 1.6 games per week for the year. Ouch.

POLL

HEAD START

😬 Fan fined and banned for Vini abuse. A fan has been fined £50,686 and banned from sports stadiums for two years by Spain’s Superior Sports Council (CSD) for racially abusing Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior online. The fan made comments on social media platform X (Twitter) that were “of a racist nature”.

🔴 Taylor pulled from referring after abuse. Anthony Taylor will not referee a Premier League game this weekend after being subjected to abuse on social media. This comes after the 45-year-old issued a Premier League record of 14 yellow cards during Chelse’s 1-0 win at Bournemouth.

😐 Reading takeover stalls. Rob Couhig’s attempt to buy Reading has stalled after talks breakdown between the American lawyer and Dai Yongge, the current owner. This is a blow for Reading’s supporters who’ve been protesting against Yongge’s ownership for more than a year. Last season, the League One side hit a new low after making staff redundant and struggled to pay running costs.

MAN CITY VS ARSENAL

Arsenal players not scared of Haaland, says Jorginho

Even though we’re only four games into the new season, one of the most important matches for the title is on Sunday: Man City vs Arsenal. According to midfielder Jorginho, the Arsenal changing room is simply laughing at Erling Haaland’s run of form - but says it doesn’t faze them.

Last season, this fixture ended 0-0. It was a cagey, goalless draw at the Etihad, leaving the title race in both of their grasps. Despite City’s 74% possession in the first hour of the game, they only achieved a 0.2 xG – essentially there were no genuine chances. It was exactly what you’d expect a game between first and second to be with nine games to go. With it being so early on in the season, perhaps Pep and Arteta will be more tactically aggressive – but don’t hold your breath.

Either way, Haaland is in electric form. Fresh off nine goals in four league games, including two hat tricks, the Norway striker has scored 99 goals from 103 appearances for City across all competitions. Even his coach Pep Guardiola said he is surprised by how many goals he’s scored this season. He’ll be looking for his century in tonight’s clash against Inter Milan.

AROUND THE FOOTBALL WORLD

🇪🇸 La Liga: Barcelona are accelerating a super contract offer for 17-year-old Lamine Yamal (More / in Spanish)

🇺🇲 MLS: Los Angeles FC have resigned former MVP player Carlos Vela (More)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scottish Premiership: St Johnstone have sacked manager Craig Levein just five matches into the new season (More)

🇫🇷 France Fourth Tier: Former Liverpool and Newcastle striker Andy Carroll, 35, is set to join French fourth tier Bordeaux (More)

🇸🇦 Saudi Pro League: Al-Nassr coach Luis Castro has left the club after a poor start to the season (More)

WEEKDAY RESULTS ROUND-UP

Champions League

Harry Kane bags four in Bayern triumph. Bayern Munich demolishes Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 as Kane becomes England’s top scorer in Champions League and European Cup history. Aston Villa start the campaign strong. A 3-0 win over Swiss champions Young Boys marked a solid return after a 41-year absence from the competition. Liverpool come from behind to beat AC Milan. The Reds won 3-1 away from home after conceding in the third minute. Mbappe and Endrick score in Real Madrid’s 3-1 win. Stuttgart put in a strong performance against the reigning champions but ultimately fell short, with Mbappe opening in the scoring and Endrick scoring his first-ever Champions League goal in the 95th minute. Full Champions League results here.

Carabao Cup

Man United win 7-0 over Barnsley. Rashford, Garnacho and Erikson all bagged braces, while Antony scored a penalty. Preston beat Fulham on pens. Preston North End won 16-15 on penalties, the longest penalty shootout in League Cup history. Everton through on pens. After drawing 1-1 with Southampton, the Toffees go through on penalties (6-5). Full Carabao Cup result here.

ROUTER’S VOICE

Yesterday, we asked you: Do you think off-field issues like legal disputes affect a team's performance on the pitch?

🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⚽ Yes, it definitely has an impact... (40%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 ❌ No, players focus on the game... (60%)

Your punditry takes:

• ❌ R.G: “It hasn't seemed to affect City so far with numerous trophies including a Treble. I believe the players are shielded from this kinda stuff allowing them to train and play without any stress.”

• ❌ J.M: “Off-field issues that involve players have an impact (like unrest in the dressing room between players), but things like legal cases I think will have no effect on players at all.”

• ⚽ C.M: “What Man City have been accused of directly will affect their ability to buy and retain the best players, therefore financial wrongdoing of this kind has a huge impact on team performance.”

EXTRA TIME

Laura Woods announces engagement on Instagram.

CBS panel ask Kate Abdo why they weren’t invited to the wedding…

… and David Beckham turned up with presents for the crew.

Barcelona release luminous new third kit.

The first goal of the 2024-25 Champions League season is a banger.

Simon Jordan clashes with Fair Game CEO on an independent regulator.

When an Italian magazine voted this as the worst 20 seconds of football ever played.

Was Bournemouth vs Chelsea really the dirtiest Premier League game ever?

Gary Cahill wasn’t a big fan of Sarri.

Ten new signings to watch in the Women’s Super League.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Which club won the European Cup with every member of the 15-man squad being born within 30 miles of the team’s stadium?

Clue: They were the first British side to win the trophy.

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Champions League

• Bologna vs Shakhtar Donetsk (17:45)

• Sparta Prague vs RB Salzburg (17:45)

• Celtic vs Slovan (20:00)

• Club Brugge vs Borussia Dortmund (20:00)

• Man City vs Inter Milan (20:00)

• PSG vs Girona (20:00)

Carabao Cup 3rd Round

• Brighton vs Wolves (19:45)

• Coventry vs Tottenham (20:00)

La Liga

• Real Betis vs Getafe (18:00)

*All time in UK. EST -5. PST -8. CET +1. CST +8. JST +9.

Answer

Celtic. In the 1967 European Cup final, Celtic won 2-1 over Inter Milan.