News Thread

After two months without Europe's top club competition, the Champions League is back. The round of 16 gets underway this Tuesday, and there are some tasty knockout games around the corner. Last year's champions Manchester City travel to FC Copenhagen to get us underway on Tuesday alongside 14-time winners Real Madrid, who face a trip to East Germany to play RB Leipzig.

Rasmus Højlund continued his remarkable turnaround by scoring in his fifth consecutive English Premier League game as Manchester United claimed a significant 2-1 win over Aston Villa to boost their Champions League hopes. It took the Danish striker 14 games to register his first league goal - coincidentally against Villa - but he’s beginning to deliver on his undoubted potential.

When Kevin De Bruyne left Chelsea to sign for Wolfsburg for just €22 million back in 2013, few could have predicted he would return to the Premier League two years later and become one of the division's greatest ever players. Perhaps the greatest playmaker the division has ever seen. That’s exactly what the Belgian has done. Since signing for Manchester City in 2015, the midfielder has been the catalyst for the Sky Blues winning trophy after trophy. His creativity unrivalled. His vision unsurpassable. De Bruyne has delivered match after match, season after season, and he turns up on the big occasions. 

Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland are widely regarded as two of the best players on the planet after taking over the mantle from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Mbappé and Haaland have soared to become the most valuable players in the world at €180 million, alongside Jude Bellingham, with Messi and Ronaldo reaching the epilogue of their careers.

Jürgen Klopp’s legacy at Anfield could have a special ending with Liverpool still fighting in four competitions, and in many ways forward Darwin Núñez could be pivotal to their prospects. The Uruguayan was ridiculed at times during his debut season in England but he’s undoubtedly flourished this campaign.

This Premier League season is set go down as one for the ages. The division is well on course to smash the record for the most goals scored in a Premier League campaign. Last season actually holds the current accolade with 1084 goals. If this term continues with the same scoring rate we have seen so far for the run-in, it's on course for there to be over 1,200 goals, shattering the achievement set last year.

Manchester United’s current four-game unbeaten run in the Premier League is their longest this season and it’s revived their Champions League aspirations. Ahead of this weekend’s fixtures, United trail Tottenham Hotspur in fourth place by six points and Aston Villa in fifth by just five points.

Manchester City’s hopes of clinching a four, consecutive Premier League title took a major blow on Saturday evening, when Chelsea held the reigning champions to a 1-1 draw in front of their own fans. The result now means that Pep Guardiola’s side now sit four points behind league leaders Liverpool and two behind Arsenal, albeit with a game in hand. But questions have begun to arise over the club’s ability to catch their league rivals and finish the league campaign in top spot.

In a quiet January transfer window, Jadon Sancho’s return to Borussia Dortmund grabbed more headlines than any other deal. The 23-year-old was ostracised from Manchester United’s first-team squad by Erik ten Hag after refusing to apologise following a social media outburst. Sancho arrived at United amid huge expectations for €85 million in 2021 but he endured a disappointing two-and-a-half years at Old Trafford. He only provided 18 goal contributions in 82 games with his market value falling by an incredible €75m during his time in England. After choosing to leave Manchester City, Sancho excelled in Germany to develop his reputation as one of the most exciting youngsters on the planet but how has he fared on his return to Dortmund? And can it galvanise his flagging career? 

In an era where players are increasingly judged based on their attacking numbers, we’ve ranked the top twenty players in Europe that have registered double figures for both goals and assists. Players across seven different European leagues feature in the list with four English Premier League stars ranking in the top ten - Manchester City's Phil Foden sits just outside in 11th place with Liverpool’s Darwin Núñez 12th.