MATCH! -julkaisun 18 February 2025 -irtonumeron sisällysluettelo

5 He provided an MLS record five assists in a single game when Inter Miami beat the New York Red Bulls 6-2 last May. Wow! 20 Leo ended last season with 20 regular season goals and 16 assists from 19 appearances! 54 He completed 54 dribbles in 2024 – more than any team-mate and among the league’s top ten best! 1 Last October, against New England Revolution, Messi scored his first-ever hat-trick for the club in a 6–2 victory! 11 Messi and Luis Suarez combined for 11 league goals last season – more than any other duo in the league! 34 Towards the end of 2024, he became The Herons’ all-time top scorer with 34 goals from 39 games! 3 He is one of just three players in MLS history…

HOW HE WON IT! MATCH scouts picked out the Prem’s four best players from January, and asked our fans on social media to vote for the best! The Newcastle goal machine edged out Bournemouth’s Justin Kluivert in the poll! WICKED WINNER! TOTTENHAM 1-2 NEWCASTLE JANUARY 4 An instinctive striker’s finish saw Isak get his toenail to the ball and make sure his name was on the scoresheet for the seventh Prem game in a row! He was a constant threat for The Magpies in the first half and his goal ended up being the match winner in North London! MEGA MOMENTS! Here’s why Isak was chosen as MATCH’s monthly winner! DEMON DISPLAY! NEWCASTLE 3-0 WOLVES JANUARY 15 He was involved in every goal as Newcastle thrashed Wolves3-0! His deflected strike gave Eddie Howe’s…

THE SEASON THE CHAMPIONS A Lionel-Messi inspired Inter Miami strolled to the 2024 Supporters’ Shield but then fell at the first hurdle in the MLS Cup play-offs! Winners LA Galaxy lifted the trophy for a record-extending sixth time, beating New York Red Bulls 2-1 in the final at their Dignity Health Sports Park! THE CHALLENGERS As long as Messi remains there, Inter Miami will continue to be one of the favourites! Both LA clubs, Los Angeles FC and the Galaxy, will likely be near the top of the table again, while Columbus Crew have been one of the most consistent sides in the US in recent years under head coach Wilfried Nancy! THE MEGASTARS As well as ex-Barcelona boys Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, Wilfried Zaha has…

WHO STARTED WHERE? Match these women tricksters with the club they started at! 2. BACK OF THE SHIRT Can you name the dribble kings who these shirts belong to? BABE FACE Name the PL skiller in this snap from before they were famous! CLOSE-UP! Can you name the skilful stars whose faces we’ve zoomed in on? ACE ACTIVITY WORDFIT Fit 20 stars who featured in MATCH’s 2025 Football Skills in the grid! Bardghji Benrahma Bernardo Coman Diaz Endrick Eze Foden Garnacho Martinelli Mbappe Mitoma Neto Nusa Odegaard Olise Palmer Saka Sane Simons ANSWERS Who Started Where?: 1E; 2C; 3F; 4D; 5B; 6A. Back Of The Shirt: 1. Angel Di Maria; 2. Lionel Messi; 3. Riyad Mahrez; 4. Jeremy Doku. Baby Face: Bernardo Silva. Close Up: 1. Jadon Sancho; 2. Antony;…

ROCKING RECORDS! Tel breaks records everywhere he goes! At his first club Rennes, he became their youngest-ever debutant at just 16 years old, before becoming Bayern Munich’s youngest-ever Bundesliga scorer in 2022. What records will he go on to break while at Tottenham? FRANCE FAME! Even though he struggled for game time at Bayern, Tel still has a great reputation in his homeland France after scoring tons for the nation’s youth sides and helping them win 2022’s U17 European Championship. He’s even been compared to Kylian Mbappe by some people in the past! SPURS FUTURE? Tottenham did well to add an option to buy their new No.11 in the summer for around £50 million, although it will be up to the player to decide if he wants to stay or…

1 PRESTON V BURNLEY The fact that we’ve got an all-Championship fixture means that the EFL is definitely going to be represented in this year’s FA Cup quarter-finals – but will it be by Preston or Burnley? You’d expect the high-flying Clarets to be the favourites, but The Lilywhites are playing at home and don’t have the distraction of a title race! 2 CRYSTAL PALACE V MILLWALL Even though Millwall’s biggest London rivals from the Premier League are West Ham, they’ve got beef with Crystal Palace as well! They had a fierce FA Cup clash in 2022, when The Eagles came from behind to win 2-1, so we think there could be a spicy atmosphere at Selhurst Park! 3 MAN. CITY V PLYMOUTH Let’s be honest, nobody expected struggling Plymouth…

LIGUE 1 FRANCE It’s a clean sweep for PSG after wing king “Kvaradona” joined from Napoli in January, while Desire Doue wasn’t far off either! Lyon new boy Thiago Almada and his team-mate Rayan Cherki have top skills too and might consider themselves unlucky not to feature, while Angers’ Farid El Melali deserves some major recognition! BUNDESLIGA GERMANY There are tons of technically gifted players in Germany who could have made our elite top three, including Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz, Bayern wing wizards Kingsley Coman and Leroy Sane, and Borussia Dortmund wonderkid Jamie Gittens! But, for now, MATCH ranks Musiala, Simons and Olise as having the most sauce! SAUDI PRO LEAGUE SAUDI ARABIA Even though he turned 40 years old at the start of February, Ronaldo is still showing elite levels…

Keep reading MATCH for loads of top fantasy footy tips! MATCH’S TOP 20! Check out our league table midway through Double Gameweek 24! TRANSFERIN… Here are our biggest signing tips ahead of this fortnight’s action! MATT DOHERTY DF ★ WOLVES £4.3 MILLION According to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), Wolves are one of the teams to target in the coming weeks! JUSTIN KLUIVERT MF ★ B’MOUTH £5.9 MILLION It’s never too late to jump on the JK bandwagon–the inform Bournemouth baller has plenty of points left in him! YOANE WISSA FW ★ BRENTFORD £6.3 MILLION Brentford’s second player to reach 100 points in 2024-25 after Bryan Mbeumo faces Leicester and Everton next! TRANSFER OUT… You should consider dropping these stars for this fortnight’s games! DAN BURN DF ★ NEWCASTLE £4.4…

Premier League clubs spent just over £370 million in the winter transfer window, way more than the £100m paid out last year, with Man. City spending almost as much as the other 19 top-flight teams combined! Omar Marmoush was the PL’s most expensive arrival at £59.1 million, with Jhon Duran’s shock move to Saudi Arabia for £64.4 million the window’s biggest sale! EUROPE’S TOP FIVE LEAGUES! League Total spent Premier League £372m Serie A £184m Ligue 1 £169m Bundesliga £139m La Liga £22m…

OFF-THE-PITCH HOBBIES! VINICIUS SAYS: “After a day of training, I like to keep things simple and relaxed. Spending time with my family and friends is key – it helps me recharge. I also love listening to music, watching movies and gaming. Those moments are important to reset and stay focused!” CHILDHOOD MEMORIES! VINICIUS SAYS: “When I was younger and growing up in Brazil, I remember sprinting back from school as fast as I could to catch the start of European matches! I also remember being glued to the screen, dreaming of playing on those pitches. Seeing my idols in the Champions League gave me so much inspiration – it was fuel for my dream to play at the highest level!” PLAYING WITH A SMILE! VINICIUS SAYS: “I believe football is…

KEROLIN HER STORY… ➔ She grew up playing footy in Brazil but, after a brief spell in Spain, really made a name for herself in USA! ➔ Between 2022 and 2025 she starred for North Carolina Courage in the NWSL, even being named the leagues Most Valuable Player in 2023! ➔ She shone for Brazil at the 2024 Olympics before ending last season in USA, and then completed her move to Man. City in January 2025! HER STYLE… ➔ The wide forward is known for her creativity and flair, and loves taking on a defender! ➔ She’s got amazing ball control, which enables her to get the ball out of her feet quickly before having a shot! ➔ She has rapid acceleration, which helps her dart away from her opponents…

Club World Cup Football Inspired by the flag of this summer’s Club World Cup hosts, USA, the colourful pattern for the tournament’s footy features a striking red, white and blue design, with stars scattered across the ball! It also features adidas Connected Ball Technology, which should hopefully mean faster and more accurate refereeing and VAR decisions for possible offsides and handballs. Yep, it’s definitely got MATCH “pumped up” for the summer’s action – pun intended. LOL! Price: £130 adidas.co.uk Under Armour Shadow Elite3 Under Armour recently released the UA Shadow 3 boot, set to be worn by the likes of Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez, Ferran Torres and Marc Casado, Tottenham’s Pedro Porro and Crystal Palace’s Eddie Nketiah. Whether it’s a hot sunny day or pouring rain, the Never-Wet coating keeps feet…