Table of contents for 10-Sep-2019 in MATCH!

THE RUMOURS BEGIN...  After an injury-hit campaign, rumours started flying around that Neymar wanted to return to Spain. The gossip went off the scale when he said in an interview that his best footy memory was scoring in the CL against PSG for Barcelona – something that didn’t go down well with the Ligue 1 champs! REAL ENTER THE RACE! Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane wanted a new-look attack with Neymar alongside Eden Hazard but, after failing to offload big earners like Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez, it never looked likely. It was even rumoured that new signing Luka Jovic was to be used as part of a swap deal for the wanted Samba superstar! TEAM-MATE TALK! With Real interested, gossips reckon Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez tried to convince…

EXCLUSIVE DEALS Get a load of this, Serie A fans – PES 2020 is the only place you can play as Juventus! The Italian giants have an exclusive deal with Konami and, as aresult, the Serie A champions will be known as Piemonte Calcio on FIFA 20! EUROPE AN GIANT S Juventus aren’t the only mega club to have signed up with PES. As usual, it’ll be the only place to play at Barcelona’s Nou Camp, while Bayern Munich and Man. United are all over the game too – that’s why Scott McTominay is starring on the front cover! DEADLY DRIBBLING We’ve already tested out the game, and dribbling is tons of fun! The new style is called Finesse Dribbling and introduces a whole new range of tricks, flicks and…

HOW HE WON IT! MATCH scouts picked out the Prem’s four best players from August, and asked our fans on social to vote for the best! You picked Norwich goal grabber Pukki above Man. City stars Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne! MEGA MOMENTS! Here’s why Pukki was chosen as MATCH’s monthly winner! OFF THE MARK! LIVERPOOL 4-1 NORWICH AUGUST 9 The Canaries couldn’t have had a much tougher start to life back in the Prem than a trip to Anfield – and we weren’t shocked that they were 4-0 down at half-time! There was a moment of history for Pukki, though – the lethal striker scored Norwich’s first goal back in the top tier with his first shot on target! TERRIFIC TREBLE! NORWICH 3-1 NEWCASTLE AUGUST 17…

1. SET-PIECE REWRITE Free-kicks and penalties are totally different on the new game. You’ll now have to use the right stick to direct how much curl or spin you want to put on the ball. It will take plenty of practise to really nail the new t technique, but that’s exactly what the demo is for! 2. VOLTA Everybody’s talking about Volta – FIFA’s wicked new game mode! The d demo should give you the chance to put your trainers on and have an indoor game, and maybe even a glimpse at the options to customise your look as well. Cool! 3. DRIBBLING You won’t notice loads of differences in the gameplay, but one big addition is Strafe Dribbling. Try to master the new style of dribbling by holding L1/LB,…

Canaries lift-off! Ben Godfrey got a bump up from a team-mate to reach the ball! Handstand hero! Tottenham’s Lucas is a lot stronger than he looks... Chinese burn! Ex-Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp only wanted a handshake! Spider-Fail! Billing turned Spider-Man Mode on against Sterling! Microphone mayhem! Is Griezmann singing into an imaginary mic? Blues blow-off! Zouma’s guff knocked Vrancic off his feet! Silly Saint! When Nathan Redmond pulls his ears, his tongue comes out too! Fashion fail! Raul Jimenez just realised his cast didn’t totally match his shirt! Man-bun blunder! Gareth Bale could have a mean Mohawk if he really wanted! Vards’ dance! Vardy’s pre-match preparation involves doing a little boogie!…

THE NUMBERS GAME! How many goals did Fulham score against Millwall last month? TROPHY TIME! Which Charlton hero is hiding behind the Champo trophy? PREVIOUS CLUBS! These heroes are on loan from which Prem teams? GAME CHANGER! Name the West Brom star that scored their penalty to equalise against Reading! ODD ONE OUT! Which League One side doesn’t have a blue home kit this season? MEGA MASH-UP! Name the goal grabber in this weird pic! SPOT THE BALL! Mark where you think the ball is in this cool action pic! NAME THE COUNTRY! What Euro nations do these EFL stars represent? EFL STARS! Which teams do these class heroes play for? MATCH! WINNER! Who scored Cardiff’s late winner against Huddersfield last month?…

Virgil VAN DIJK 1  VVD is the first defender to win the award, and the first ever Premier League player as well! 2  Even though he’s a centre-back, he was Netherlands’ joint-top scorer in the UEFA Nations League! 12  He only missed one game of Liverpool’s Champions League success, and was the defender of the season! 21  The Reds kept 21 Prem clean sheets in 2018-19, more than any other PL team – and VVD played in every single one! RUNNERS-UP! As usual, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were nominated too. Leo winning La Liga and Champo League Golden Boots, and a UEFA Nations League trophy for CR7, weren’t enough for them to beat The Reds’ CB! Lucy BRONZE Lucy’s Lyon went the whole league season unbeaten as they lifted…

The Brazil baller’s been hogging transfer headlines all summer, but now he’s in the gear spotlight too – Nike have dropped these wicked, special-edition ‘Speed Freak’ Neymar Mercurial boots, which nod to his electric pace, quick dribbling skills and dazzling sprints. Not bad, eh? FELIX’S BENFICA BUDDIES! He might have left Benfica in the summer, but Atletico Madrid wonderkid Joao Felix still pays tribute to his old club by wearing these sick personalised shinpads. Class! LEON’S WACKY LACES! Mexican side Club Leon have released a pretty crazy jersey for their 75th anniversary! Forget your normal V-neck collar – they’ve gone for a bonkers laces look! EURO SHIRT WINNERS! We asked our Twitter fans which Euro club has the best home shirt in 2019-20 – and Dortmund edged out Barcelona for…

Passes AYMERIC LAPORTE Man. City Centre-back No team has better passing stats so far this season than City, and their play-out-from-the-back style means their defenders spend a lot of time on the ball. That's why class centre-back Laporte has made more passes than anyone! THE TOP 10 DID YOU KNOW ? No player who's made over 200 PL passes has a higher success rate than Norwich CM Tom Trybull – 94.8%! Biggest Foulers LUKA MILIVOJEVIC C. Palace Midfielder The Palace captain has made a name for himself as being one of the PL's finest penalty takers, but this season he's going for a new crown – the naughtiest player in the league! Nobody's commited more fouls than Luka so far! THE TOP 5 DID YOU KNOW ? Crystal Palace…

STADIUM FACTS TEAM: Bolton BUILT: 1997 CAPACITY: 28,723 RECORD ATTENDANCE: 28,353 v Leicester, December 2003 NEAREST NEIGHBOUR: Wigan LONGEST JOURNEY: Fratton Park, Portsmouth, 202 miles DID YOU KNOW? Bolton played at their old ground Burnden Park for over 100 years, before moving out in 1997!…

EFL CLUB FOCUS THIS WEEK: CHARLTON FACTFILE Nickname: The Addicks Date founded: 1905 Stadium: The Valley Capacity: 27,111 Did You Know? They won the 2019 play-off final with a 94th-min goal! PLAYING STYLE Taylor leads the line, Leko, Gallagher and Williams buzz around to support him and the two full-backs bomb forward to attack! They’ve got good options on the bench too in Aneke, Kayal, Hemed, Field and Oztumer! LEE BOWYER Bowyer was a lung-busting midfielder for Charlton, Leeds and Newcastle in his playing days, but now he’s working real miracles as a manager. He took charge in March 2018, guided them to the play-offs, then got promoted the following season! LYLE TAYLOR Taylor fired Charlton to promotion with 22 goals last season, and he’s taken that form into the…

DERBY v CARDIFF Friday, 7.45m Derby are still waiting for their first home win of the season, while Cardiff haven’t won away yet! Bore draw FULHAM v WEST BROM Saturday, 12.30pm Fulham and West Brom are both eyeing a spot in the top two this season, so this is a key clash between two top sides! RB LEIPZIG v BAYERN MUNICH Saturday, 5.30pm Last season, the Bundesliga was a two-horse race between Bayern and Dortmund, but now Leipzig want in! BOURNEMOUTH v EVERTON Sunday, 2pm These two attacking teams average almost four goals a game in their PL meetings, so this should be a cracker! HAMILTON v CELTIC Saturday, 12pm Unsurprisingly, champs Celtic have made a flying start to the season! Rangers will be watching to hope that they slip…

Puma King Platinum RL August was a quality month for Romelu Lukaku! As well as sealing his mega move to Inter, he also received some wicked, limited-edition Puma King Platinum RL boots – the RL standing for Romelu Lukaku… obviously! The Puma Kings were actually the boots his footy-playing dad Roger used to wear back in the 1990s! Price: £180 puma.co.uk Everton Third Shirt 2019-20 We’ve been mega impressed with all of Umbro’s football shirts this season, and The Toffees’ third jersey is yet another winner! As well as looking really classy on Yerry Mina and Andre Gomes, we’re massive fans of the subtle pattern on the V-neck collar! Price: TBC umbro.co.uk Nike Premier League Geo Merlin Ball This is the 20th season that Nike have supplied the PL match…

SILENCIO FEBRUARY 2019 Ney barely got to wear these as they dropped a week before a bad injury! PURO FENOMENO DECEMBER 2017 These bad boys paid tribute to another total Brazil legend – former Selecao striker Ronaldo! WRITTEN IN THE STARS JULY 2017 Neymar’s first-ever personalised Mercurials were released while he was still at Barcelona! MEU JOGO JULY 2018 These Brazil-inspired cleats came out during the 2018 World Cup in Russia!…

WEATHER WORRIES! Trelleborgs recently signed Musa Noah Kamara… only for him to cancel his contract just one week later! He said Sweden’s cold weather was why he wanted to leave, before later saying it was due to personal reasons! CARLI THE KICKER! USA superstar Carli Lloyd was recently invited to an NFL training session and, after impressing with her kicking, she’s been approached to join some professional squads. That’s Harry Kane’s dream! SPOT THE DIFFERENCE! This snap of Mexican side Tijuana really caught our eye – the bosses force all of their outfield players to wear red boots to match the club’s kits. How strict is that ! MAGIC MO! Mohamed Salah’s got loads of tricks in his locker, but we didn’t know running on water was one of them!…

Mitre Delta Max FA Cup Football! We’ve teamed up with our mates at Mitre to give away an official FA Cup football to five lucky MATCH readers. Get in! The Mitre Delta Max is the Official Match Ball of the Emirates FA Cup. The unique 14-panel configuration offers consistent energy and power, Hyperfoam backed lining boosts speed, while revolutionary Hyperseam™ tech means the ball lasts in any weather. Available at www.mitre.com HOW TO ENTER! WWW.MATCHFOOTBALL.CO.UK Then click ‘WIN’ in the navigation bar on the MATCH website. Full Terms & Conditions are available online.…

EFL Quiz Game Changer: Kenneth Zohore. The Numbers Game: Four. Odd One Out: Sunderland. Trophy Time: Lyle Taylor. Previous Clubs: 1. Brighton; 2. Bournemouth; 3. Chelsea; 4. Wolves; 5. Arsenal; 6. Everton. Mega Mash-Up: Lewis Grabban. Spot The Ball: G12. Name The Country: Celina – Kosovo; Johansen – Norway; Jansson – Sweden; Sunjic – Croatia. EFL Stars: 1. Blackburn; 2. Fulham; 3. Huddersfield; 4. Sheffield Wednesday; 5. Bristol City; 6. Hull. MATCH Winner: Junior Hoilett. European Footy Quiz Club Sharers: Valencia. FIFA 19 Challenge: Memphis Depay. YouTube Star: Philippe Coutinho. Back To The Future: Lucas Leiva. Camera Shy: Luis Suarez, Nelson Semedo & Gerard Pique. Footy Mis-MATCH: See above. HOW WELL DID YOU DO? 33-40 Champions! 25-32 Runners-up! 17-24 Mid-table! 9-16 Relegation zone! 0-8 Rock bottom!…

Norwich have redecorated their away changing rooms for the Prem – they’re no longer pink! Wigan’s Crusty the Pie isn’t the only food-related footy mascot! Scottish League One side Forfar Athletic’s mascot is a pastry called Baxter! 16-year-old wonderkid Ansu Fati is the youngest player to appear for Barcelona in a competitive match since 1941-42! 26 Anthony Knockaert’s goal against Millwall came at the end of a 26-pass move and involved all 11 of Fulham’s players. Sick! 50 City’s Kevin De Bruyne reached 50 Prem assists faster than any player in history! 2003 Cristiano Ronaldo Arsenal almost before joined Man him . United in 2003 got ! 3 Joelinton is the third Brazilian to score for Newcastle in the PL. Wicked! Netherlands and Lyon hero Memphis Depay also produces rap…