Global diary
Stories from the four corners of the football world
Saturday February 27
GERMANY: Jadon Sancho becomes the youngest Bundesliga player to get 50 assists following Dortmund’s 3-0 win over Arminia Bielefeld. Elsewhere, Alexander Sorloth scores a 93rd-minute winner for RB Leipzig in their 3-2 comeback victory against Borussia Monchengladbach.
Sunday February 28
INDIA: Mumbai City overhaul ATK Mohun Bagan in the final match of the ISL’s regular season to win the League Winners’ Shield.
Monday March 1
BOSNIA: In the Sarajevo derby, FK Sarajevo and Zeljeznicar draw 0-0.
Wednesday March 3
ITALY: Lorenzo Tonelli rescues a point for Sampdoria in the Genoa derby as the two sides draw 1-1. Off the pitch, Juventus sign on-loan midfielder Weston McKennie for €18.5 million from Schalke.
Thursday March 4
ARGENTINA: In the delayed final of the 2019 Argentina Super Cup, River Plate thrash Racing Club 5-0 in the first-ever match played at the brand-new Madre de Cities stadium, in Santiago del Estero. THAILAND: BG Pathum United seal the Thai League 1 title with a 2-0 win over Sukothai.
Friday March 5
MALAYSIA: Reigning league champions Johor Darul Ta’zim begin the new season by beating Kedah Darul Aman 2-0 in the 2021 Charity Shield.
Saturday, March 6
AUSTRALIA: Melbourne City thrash rivals Melbourne Victory 6-0 away from home in the A-League. UZBEKISTAN: Pakhtakor win their first silverware under new coach Pieter Huistra, beating Nasaf 1-0 in the Uzbekistan Super Cup. GERMANY: In Der Klassiker,
Bayern recover from two early Erling Haaland goals to defeat Borussia Dortmund 4-2, scoring twice in the dying minutes.
MAURITANIA: In the final of the Under-20 AFCON, Ghana beat Uganda 2-0 thanks to a Daniel Afriyie Barnieh double.
Sunday March 7
BRAZIL: Palmeiras win the Copa do Brazil after defeating Gremio 2-0 in the second leg of the final, sealing a 3-0 win on aggregate. QATAR: Al Sadd lift the 2020-21 Qatar Stars League title with four rounds left to play after defeating Umm Salal 3-0.
OMAN: Khalid Al Hajri’s hat-trick inspires Dhofar Club to a 5-1 win over Al Suwaiq in the final of the Sultan Qaboos Cup.
SPAIN: In the Madrid derby, Karim Benzema rescues a point for Real, scoring in the 88th minute after Atleti had led through Luis Suarez.
Monday March 8
ITALY: Internazionale secure a valuable win at the top of Serie A, beating Atalanta 1-0 at the San Siro. ARGENTINA: Velez Sarsfield’s unbeaten start to the season is brought to a crushing halt, losing 7-1 at home to Boca Juniors.
Wednesday March 10
BRAZIL: The Maracana stadium will be renamed in honour of the country’s record goalscorer. Its new name will be the Edson Arantes do Nascimento – Rei Pele stadium.
Friday March 12
COLOMBIA: America defeat Deportivo 2-0 in the Cali derby, with former Dortmund striker Adrian Ramos scoring both goals. GERMANY: Shortly after signing a new contract at Bayern Munich, young midfielder Jamal Musiala officially switches his international eligibility from England to Germany.
Saturday March 13
JORDAN: Newly-promoted Al Jalil upset reigning champions Al Wehdat in the Jordan Shield Cup final. INDIA: Bipin Singh’s 90th-minute goal completes an ISL double for Mumbai City, as the League Shield winners defeat ATK Mohun Bagan 2-1 in the play-off final.
RUSSIA: Spartak Moscow recover from going behind to defeat rivals Dynamo 2-1, with Victor Moses on the scoresheet for the winners.
Sunday March 14
BRAZIL: In the Fla-Flu derby, Fluminense defeat Flamengo 1-0 thanks to an Igor Juliao winner.
ARGENTINA: The Superclasico ends in a 1-1 draw, as Boca Juniors and River Plate both have players sent off at the Bombonera. SPAIN: Sevilla end their four-match winless run by beating Real Betis 1-0 in the Seville derby, thanks to a winner from Youssef En-Nesyri. ENGLAND: In the North London derby, Arsenal recover from an Erik Lamela rabona goal to win 2-1, courtesy of strikes from Martin Odegaard and Alexandre Lacazette. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang makes headlines by being dropped for arriving to the ground late.
Monday March 15
MEXICO: America win the Mexican
Super Clasico 3-0, ensuring that they keep pace with league leaders Cruz Azul, while Chivas slip further towards the bottom of the table. USA: Valencia midfielder Yunus Musah commits his international future to USA, having previously represented England at youth level.
Tuesday March 16
PALESTINE: Shabab Al Khaleel are crowned champions of the West Bank Premier League.
Wednesday March 17
FRANCE: In the French Cup, PSG beat Ligue 1 title rivals Lille 3-0 thanks to a Kylian Mbappe brace.
Thursday March 18
EUROPE: In the Europa League, Slavia Prague’s 2-0 win over Rangers is overshadowed by accusations of racism made against defender Ondrej Kudela. Meanwhile, Mislav Orsic scores a stunning hat-trick as Dinamo Zagreb knock out Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 on aggregate.
Saturday March 20
ENGLAND: Manchester City reach the FA Cup semi-final with a 2-0 win at Everton, and they’re joined by Southampton who beat south coast rivals Bournemouth 3-0. GERMANY: Robert Lewandowski scores his 40th goal of the season as Bayern thrash Stuttgart 4-0, in spite of Alphonso Davies’ red card.
Sunday March 21
ENGLAND: Leicester City reach their first FA Cup semi-final in 39 years with a 3-1 home win over
Manchester United, while Chelsea beat Sheffield United 2-0. Elsewhere, Arsenal come back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at West Ham in the Premier League. SPAIN: Leo Messi becomes Barca’s record appearance-maker in the 6-1 thrashing of Real Sociedad. FRANCE: PSG move top of Ligue 1 with a 4-2 victory at Lyon. Kylian Mbappe becomes the youngest star to hit 100 goals in the league. CHILE: Universidad Catolica defeat Colo-Colo 4-2 to win the Chile Super Cup.
SOUTH KOREA: FC Seoul overcome rivals Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2-1 in the K-League. MOROCCO: In the Casablanca derby, Wydad beat Raja 2-0 to move three points clear at the top. SCOTLAND: Rangers stay on course to finish the league season unbeaten after a 1-1 draw at Celtic. SOUTH AFRICA: In the Soweto derby, Kaizer Chiefs beat Orlando Pirates 1-0 to dent their title hopes. NEW ZEALAND: After finishing top of the Premiership for the eighth year in a row, Auckland City lose 4-2 to Team Wellington in the grand final.
Tuesday March 23
SCOTLAND: Highland League side Brora Rangers stun Championship side Hearts in the Scottish FA Cup.
Wednesday March 24
SERBIA: Aleksandar Mitrovic goes level with Stjepan Bobek as Serbia’s all-time top goalscorer, a record he surpasses three days later. EUROPE: In the Euro U21s, Spain and Germany get their campaigns underway with 3-0 wins against Slovenia and Hungary respectively, while Italy and Netherlands draw
1-1 with the Czech Republic and Romania respectively.
Thursday March 25
EUROPE: Switzerland and Denmark secure unlikely 1-0 wins in the Euro U21s, beating England and France respectively. Portugal beat Croatia 1-0 and Russia thump Iceland 4-1.
Friday March 26
SOUTH AMERICA: Scheduled World Cup qualifiers between Chile and Paraguay and Colombia and Brazil are postponed due to coronavirus concerns.