Table of contents for 3-Mar-2020 in MATCH!

CRISTIANO RONALDO CR7 recently matched a Serie A record by scoring in 11 games in arow! He made it even more special by bagging the goal in his 1,000th senior game, and taking his all-time tally to 725 net-busters. Legend! ERLING HAALAND Haaland has been simply unstoppable since joining Borussia Dortmund! After scoring 12 goals in his first eight matches for the German team, he’s now scored 40 goals in all comps this campaign! CIRO IMMOBILE The Lazio star has made the best start to a Serie A season since 1958-59, after scoring 27 goals in his first 25 matches! Immobile’s next target is Gonzalo Higuain’s record of 36 goals in a season!…

TROPHIES 9/10 Los Cules have lifted more Spanish Super Cups and Copas del Rey than any other side, five CL trophies and are still the only team in European history to achieve the continental treble twice – most recently in 2015! STADIUM 10/10 The Nou Camp is the biggest football stadium in Europe, and the only club ground on the continent to hold over 90,000 spectators! It looks, and sounds, incredible when jam-packed with fans singing the club’s world-famous hymn! FINANCES 10/10 For the first time since 2017, Barcelona have moved above rivals Real Madrid as the richest club in the world! It’s also the first time since these figures became available that they top the list, so the future’s looking bright for Barcelona! LEGENDS 10/10 No side has had…

TROPHIES 9/10 Italy’s most successful club have won more Serie A and Coppa Italia titles than any other side, while their eight league trophies in a row is a record among Europe’s top leagues. They’ve won two CL trophies, too! LEGENDS 9/10 Their biggest club legend is still there! 42-year-old GK Gianluigi Buffon is the most-capped European international ever, and has played over 650 times for Juve. Don’t forget Alessandro Del Piero, Zinedine Zidane or Lilian Thuram either! CURRENT XI 9/10 Juve tried to freshen up their ageing backline by signing wonderkid Matthijs de Ligt last summer, while Cristiano Ronaldo is still banging in the goals for fun! In Miralem Pjanic, they’ve got one of the best playmakers in world footy! STADIUM 7/10 The giants only opened their proper fancy…

TROPHIES 9/10 United have won more trophies than any other English club, with a record 20 top-flight league titles! With 12 FA Cup wins, three Champo Leagues and a record Community Shields, their trophy cabinet needs an extension! LEGENDS 9/10 George Best and Bobby Charlton are total legends from back in the ’60s and ’70s, but world superstars like Eric Cantona, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo have also all turned out in their red jerseys over the last few decades! CURRENT XI 7/10 The Red Devils paid monster bucks for Maguire and Pogba, while Wan-Bissaka and Fernandes weren’t cheap recent additions either! There’s definitely star quality in United’s squad – it’s just a case of getting some consistency out of them! STADIUM 10/10 The biggest club stadium in…

AC MILAN AC are a huge club – they’ve won seven CL trophies and had proper legends like Maldini, Van Basten and Gullit, but their current team and recent history isn’t great! AJAX They’ve won a record number of Eredivisie titles, four Champions League crowns and play in an epic stadium, but the Dutch league is a lot weaker than the rest of Europe’s top five! DORTMUND Dortmund are the second biggest club in Germany, and have one of the coolest stadiums on the planet, but they always end up losing their best players to bigger clubs! CELTIC The Bhoys are just behind Rangers on league titles, completed the ‘treble treble’ in 2019 and are on course to win their ninth league title in a row this season! INTER Like…

CHELSEA v EVERTON Sunday, 2pm Man. City’s Champions League ban has given Everton an unexpected chance of sneaking into next year’s competition, and they can really announce themselves in the battle by beating rivals Chelsea! The Blues haven’t been on top form at home, while their old gaffer Carlo Ancelotti has totally turned The Toffees’ form around! LEICESTER v ASTON VILLA Monday, 8pm Like the Manchester derby, this is a repeat of the Carabao Cup semi-finals. There was some incredible drama in those fixtures, with Villa beating The Foxes thanks to a Trezeguet goal in the dying seconds! The Foxes will want revenge, and they should get it if they play like they did in their 4-1 win at Villa Park in the Prem in December! MAN. UNITED v MAN.…

Lazio’s Ciro Immobile is in double figures for penalties scored this season – he’s bagged ten Serie A goals from the spot! Man. City Women’s 11 home wins in a row this season is a new WSL record! 100+ Sadio Mane has now scored 100+ goals in English football across all comps for Liverpool and Southampton! 34 All of Billy Sharp ’s last 34 league goals have been scored from inside the box – a run stretching back to October 2017! 35 There were 35 passes in the build-up to Mesut Ozil’s strike against Newcastle – the most of any Prem goal this season! 20 Aleksandar Mitrovic was the first Championship star to score 20 goals this season! 0 Wolves v Leicester was the first Prem Friday night game to…

GOALKEEPERS Sandy MacIver (Everton) Ellie Roebuck (Man. City) Carly Telford (Chelsea) DEFENDERS Millie Bright (Chelsea) Lucy Bronze (Lyon) Rachel Daly (Houston Dash) Grace Fisk (West Ham) Alex Greenwood (Lyon) Steph Houghton (Man. City) Abbie McManus (Man. United) Demi Stokes (Man. City) Leah Williamson (Arsenal) MIDFIELDERS Jordan Nobbs (Arsenal) Jill Scott (Man. City) Lucy Staniforth (Birmingham) Georgia Stanway (Man. City) Keira Walsh (Man. City) FORWARDS Toni Duggan (Atletico Madrid) Lauren Hemp (Man. City) Chloe Kelly (Everton) Nikita Parris (Lyon) Ellen White (Man. City) Beth England (Chelsea) WATCH THEM! England will face three of the best teams in the world! USA v ENGLAND Friday, March 6, 12pm BBC2 JAPAN v ENGLAND Sunday, March 8, 6.15pm BBC4 ENGLAND v SPAIN Wednesday, March 11, 9.15pm BBC4…

HOW TO VOTE! Go to the MATCH Facebook page now and you’ll see two shortlists – one for Player Of The Month and one for Goal Of The Month. Then just vote for your choice. Well easy! VYDRA The Clarets striker broke his 17-month goal drought with a left-foot stunner v Southampton! OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN The Ox’s long-range strike v Southampton came after two sick backheels from Robertson and Firmino! RICHARLISON The Everton forward has started bossing matches again since Carlo Ancelotti’s taken over! BERGWIJN Tottenham’s new signing hit a worldy on his Prem debut v Man. City, and had a sick first month in England! THE RESULTS! We’ll reveal the winners in next week’s issue!…

TROPHIES 9/10 Bayern dominate the Bundesliga – they’ve won the last seven league titles, and over five times more than Dortmund and Monchengladbach in joint-second place! They’ve also lifted five Champo League trophies! STADIUM 9/10 It might be a bit smaller than Dortmund’s impressive Signal Iduna Park, but the 75,000-capacity Allianz Arena is still amazing! It’s got thousands of tiny LED lights on the outside, which can change colour for evening matches. Awesome! FINANCES 9/10 The only German team in the top ten, Bayern are the wealthiest club in the Bundesliga by far! They’ve got a habit of nicking their rivals’ best players, too – Robert Lewandowski from Dortmund in 2014 is probably the most famous one! LEGENDS 9/10 The Bundesliga’s all-time top goalscorer Gerd Muller scored all of his…

TROPHIES 9/10 The Reds established themselves as a world force in the ’70s and ’80s, when they won 11 league titles and four Champo League trophies! After 2019’s success, they’ve won six CLs – plus a record eight EFL Cup wins! LEGENDS 9/10 Record scorer Ian Rush was one of the most lethal strikers of the ’80s, while Kenny Dalglish tore it up for The Reds too! Steven Gerrard is one of the best-ever PL midfielders, and don’t forget goal kings Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler! CURRENT XI 10/10 All across their starting XI, Liverpool have world-class talent, but it’s their incredible team effort that makes them so hard to play against – every player knows their role perfectly, and always gives 100% effort in every single game! STADIUM 9/10…

TROPHIES 7/10 The giants were founded just under 50 years ago, so PSG were always gonna be playing catch-up in this category – but they haven’t done badly! They’ve lifted eight league titles, including six of the last seven! LEGENDS 8/10 Pauleta, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Jay-Jay Okocha are fondly remembered in the French capital, but proper megastars like George Weah, David Beckham and Ronaldinho also donned the PSG shirt at some stage during their wicked careers! CURRENT XI 9/10 When you’ve got the planet’s most expensive player, plus the world’s most expensive teenager in your attack, you’re gonna have a team capable of scoring a LOT of goals – and PSG are definitely one of the best attacking units around! STADIUM 7/10 The Parc des Princes is a fancy ground,…

WHO ARE YA? Team: Liverpool Age: 17 Position: Midfielder Top Skill: Epic energy Tell us about your story before joining Liverpool! TOM SAYS: “I joined Liverpool at five, so there isn’t much of a pre-academy story! I played for a local team called Wilko’s between six and nine, and also trained with my older brother and his football team. I just remember that I loved being involved in anything sporty as a child!” How did you get scouted? TOM SAYS: “I was playing for Formby Junior Sports Club, when aLiverpool scout approached my dad and asked if I’d be interested in training in Crosby with other boys from the area. From there, some of the boys were sent to the Academy and, fortunately, I was one of them!” What would…

CREWE The League Two side recently won their seventh home game in a row for the first time since 1992! MAGUIRE The Sunderland winger is the first EFL player to hit double figures for goals and assists! ROONEY Wazza’s been class since joining Derby and scored on his 500th game in English league footy! STEVENAGE The League Two bottom club have now had more managers than league wins this season. Fail! IMBULA Stoke have had to release record signing Giannelli Imbula with 18 months left on his contract! FOREST GREEN A shocking run of two wins in 17 games has almost ended Rovers’ play-off hopes. Gutted!…

MANCHESTER DERBY TOP GOALSCORERS! A double on Sunday for Aguero would put him level with Red Devils legend Wayne Rooney as the record scorer in Manchester derbies in all competitions! 8 Wazza holds the all-time derby record in all comps, but Aguero is joint-top with him in the Prem. He could move clear this weekend, though! 4 Kun’s also joint-top for Prem derby goals at Old Trafford – only his old City team-mate Edin Dzeko has scored as many at United’s ground! 10 In Prem history, only Alan Shearer has scored more goals v United than Aguero! The City star is tied with Steven Gerrard, Thierry Henry, Les Ferdinand and Robbie Fowler, but he’s done it in fewer matches! 208 Aguero has his eye on another of Rooney’s records. Wazza…

TROPHIES 8/10 They’ve never won a Champo League trophy, but they’ve lifted 13 league titles and a record 13 FA Cups too! They’re also the only side to go a whole PL campaign unbeaten, but Liverpool are chasing that record! STADIUM 8/10 Just over 60,000 supporters can cram into the mega swanky Emirates, and it’s a proper impressive sight when full, but the 2006-built ground doesn’t have the same atmosphere and buzz that their old stadium Highbury used to create! FINANCES 6/10 The Gunners dropped two places in the 2020 rich list to fall outside the top ten – and get overtaken by massive London rivals Tottenham! Success in the Europa League this season would definitely help give them a powerful financial boost! LEGENDS 9/10 The ‘Invincibles’ from 2003-04 included…

TROPHIES 8/10 Chelsea have lifted five Prem titles but, before 2005, they’d only ever won the league once in their history! They’re the only team from London to win the CL trophy, while they’ve also won the Europa League twice! LEGENDS 9/10 Fans’ favourite Gianfranco Zola will always be remembered fondly at Stamford Bridge for his silky flicks and tricks, John Terry and Frank Lampard played over 1,200 matches combined for the club, while Didier Drogba was a legendary striker! CURRENT XI 7/10 Chelsea’s starting XI is like beginning an exciting Career Mode campaign on FIFA 20, with tons of young players with top potential to grow! They could develop together over the next few seasons into a real Premier League points machine! STADIUM 7/10 Stamford Bridge is the oldest…

TROPHIES 8/10 It’s only really been since 2012 that City started adding to their trophy cabinet regularly! Over the last ten years, they’ve won ten major trophies – including four Prem titles! What they really want is the CL, though… LEGENDS 7/10 Former midfielder Colin Bell, known as ‘The King’, is considered to be City’s greatest-ever player but, more recently, the likes of Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany have become club legends after winning loads of trophies! CURRENT XI 9/10 City’s squad is packed with exciting attacking talents, with Pep Guardiola able to rotate the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and Leroy Sane when fit! They’re still lacking in defence though, with additions needed at centre-back! STADIUM 9/10 The Etihad is a really impressive stadium both inside…

TROPHIES 10/10 Real have bagged a record number of La Liga, Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup titles, so they’re definitely worthy of full marks in this category! They deserve the crown as the kings of European football! LEGENDS 10/10 Barça have more Ballon d’Or wins in total, but Real have seen more stars pick up the trophy! Luis Figo, Fabio Cannavaro, Cristiano Ronaldo, Alfredo Di Stefano and Ronaldo all won the award, while Raul and Ferenc Puskas are club legends! CURRENT XI 9/10 Real’s rock-solid defensive pairing of Varane and Ramos keeps them tight at the back, while Kroos and Modric play-make from midfield! Then it’s up to the likes of Hazard, Benzema, Bale, Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo to bust nets! STADIUM 9/10 The Bernabeu rocks when the…

IBRAHIMOVIC FACTFILE Club: AC Milan Country: Sweden Age: 38 Position: Striker Fee: Free transfer Did You Know? He’s scored in each of the last four decades! REINA FACTFILE Club: Aston Villa Country: Spain Age: 37 Position: Goalkeeper Fee: Loan Did You Know? He was part of Spain’s 2010 WC-winning squad! YOUNG FACTFILE Club: Inter Country: England Age: 34 Position: Full-back Fee: £1.28 million Did You Know? His first goal for Inter was an epic volley! CAN FACTFILE Club: B. Dortmund Country: Germany Age: 26 Position: Midfielder Fee: Loan Did You Know? He played 115 Prem matches for Liverpool! IGHALO FACTFILE Club: Man. United Country: Nigeria Age: 30 Position: Striker Fee: Loan Did You Know? He’s been a United supporter all his life! PEDRO FACTFILE Club: Watford Country: Brazil Age: 18…