The Bus Stop - June 30th, 2025
A football match that lasted four hours.
Weekend Football Review
Club World Cup - Round of 16
Palmeiras (Brazil) 1 vs. 0 Botafogo (Brazil)
Benfica (Portugal) 1 vs. 4 Chelsea (England)
Paris Saint Germain (France) 4 vs. 0 Inter Miami (USA)
Flamengo (Brazil) 2 vs. 4 Bayern Munich (Germany)
Palmeiras beat Botafogo by a solitary goal in extra time to progress to the semis. PSG put four goals past Inter Miami in the first half of their game as they eased into the final four and Bayern Munich managed to do the same against Flamengo. The craziest game of the weekend was Chelsea’s though. Chelsea played Benfica and should have been 2-3 goals up at half time but Benfica made some top saves. Reece James scored in the 64th minute via a brilliant free kick to put Chelsea ahead. It looked like Chelsea would manage to see out the game but the match was suspended with four minutes left due to a thunderstorm. What was initially a 30 minute delay turned into a two hour delay as fans waited it out at home and in the stadium. The players were forced to keep themselves active in the dressing room by jogging and cycling. When the game did restart the referee gave Benfica a bogus penalty that Di Maria scored to take the game to extra time. Despite Benfica and the referee’s best efforts to be corrupt though the referee had to send off Gianluca Prestianni in the second minute of extra time and Chelsea took advantage. Christopher Nkunku finally restored Chelsea’s lead through a scrappy goal while Pedro Neto and Keirnan Dewsbury-Hall added the other goals to send Chelsea into the quarters. There were great scenes of celebration especially for Nkunku’s goal but I think everyone agreed that the US has so far failed to host this tournament in a proper fashion. How they are going to host the World Cup next year is beyond me.
Matchday Preview - June 30th, 2025
Club World Cup - Round of 16
Inter Milan (Italy) vs. Fluminense (Brazil)
Man City (England) vs. Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Inter Milan take on Fluminense while Manchester City take on Al-Hilal. Fluminense have a great defensive record so far and the AC Milan within Thiago Silva won’t want to lose to Inter. Inter though will be favourites for this fixture. Al-Hilal are the dominant force in their league and one of the best teams in Asia at the moment but Manchester City are unbeaten and flying and they should be one step too far for Simone Inzaghi.
Transfer Gup Shup
Jorge Jesus will become Al-Nassr’s new manager.
Besiktas have agreed a deal with AS Roma to sign Tammy Abraham for 20m euros.
Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Joao Pedro from Brighton for around 50m pounds. Pedro will join up with the club in the US and be part of the squad. He is a versatile forward that can play across the frontline and adds good depth to the team.
Sunderland have signed left-back Reinildo from Atletico Madrid.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin will leave Everton on a free transfer tomorrow.
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens has signed for Chelsea from Borussia Dortmund for 55m pounds. The left winger is another exciting young talent but will not join Chelsea’s squad at the Club World Cup because he has already played for Dortmund in it. Gittens will have to wait until the team returns for pre-season prior to the league starting.
Yoan Bonny has signed for Inter from Parma.
AS Monaco announced the signing of Paul Pogba.
Habib Diarra has signed for Sunderland from Strasbourg. The promising midfielder is Jobe Bellingham’s replacement.
AC Milan have signed Samuel Ricci from Torino.
Transfers are going to ramp up now that July is going to start. Club World Cup continues while Wimbledon also starts today. Go watch F1 if you haven’t, it’s a great time in the theatres, and watch it in IMAX.
Have a great Monday everyone!.