UK Football Round-Up: 19-25 October 2026

Manchester City’s perfect Premier League record finally fell, Liverpool and Manchester City produced another European goal rush, and Manchester United endured two damaging defeats. Elsewhere, The New Saints scored nine in Wales, Coleraine returned to the Northern Irish summit and the weather played havoc with the Scottish Cup.

Villa end City’s perfect start

The Premier League title race tightened considerably on Saturday as Aston Villa beat Manchester City 2–1 at Villa Park. Nicolas Jackson scored both Villa goals, ending City’s run of seven straight league victories.

Arsenal took full advantage with a controlled 2–0 win over Everton. Ezri Konsa scored his first Arsenal goal before Gabriel added the second, leaving the defending champions level with City on 21 points and behind only on goal difference. The Premier League’s weekend analysis highlighted the contrasting styles of the two title rivals. premierleague.com

Tottenham completed an excellent week by winning 2–0 at Chelsea, where a Cole Palmer red card compounded the home side’s problems. Spurs had begun the round-up period by beating Coventry City 3–1 to collect their first league victory of the campaign.

Sunday brought an even more worrying result for Manchester United. Bournemouth won 3–0 at Old Trafford through goals from Rayan, Marcus Tavernier and Evanilson, leaving United with only one league victory from their opening eight matches.

Liverpool claimed their first home league win of the season by beating Brighton 2–0, with a Pascal Gross own goal and an Alexander Isak finish arriving four minutes apart. Newcastle United also won 2–0 against Crystal Palace, while Hull City drew 1–1 with Brentford and Sunderland’s meeting with Leeds United ended goalless. reuters.com

European goals flow again

Liverpool’s Champions League match against Villarreal provided the week’s most dramatic comeback. Two goals down at Anfield, Liverpool recovered to win 4–3, with Alexis Mac Allister scoring twice before Florian Wirtz supplied the decisive fourth goal.

Manchester City also bounced back from their previous European defeat by sweeping aside AEK Athens 5–1. Phil Foden scored a hat-trick, while Elliot Anderson and Rayan Cherki completed the scoring.

Aston Villa maintained their perfect Champions League record with a 3–1 victory over Viking. Arsenal needed a late Declan Rice goal to draw 2–2 away to Bayern Munich, but there was further misery for Manchester United as they were comprehensively beaten 4–1 by Como. UEFA’s Tuesday and Wednesday round-ups contain the full match details. UEFA.com

Bournemouth’s excellent European campaign continued with an impressive 3–0 victory over AC Milan. Two penalties and a red card for Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan put the hosts in control before Amine Adli completed the scoring with a late free-kick. Bournemouth have now won all three of their Europa League fixtures.

Sunderland remained unbeaten after drawing 1–1 at Lech Poznań, while Crystal Palace shared four goals with Beşiktaş in Istanbul. Celtic suffered a second successive European defeat, losing 2–1 at home to Celta Vigo. UEFA.com

In the Conference League, Brighton were frustrated by a goalless draw at Jablonec and Hearts lost 2–0 away to Trabzonspor. UEFA.com

Kone gives QPR a remarkable start

Richard Kone needed only the opening 15 minutes to complete a hat-trick as Queens Park Rangers thrashed Swansea City 5–0 in the Championship. His goals arrived in the second, ninth and 15th minutes, setting up one of the division’s most emphatic results of the season. QPR’s official match report recounts a memorable afternoon at Loftus Road. qpr.co.uk

Southampton strengthened their own promotion credentials by winning 3–2 at West Ham United. The result ended West Ham’s nine-match unbeaten league run.

Huddersfield Town retained first place in League One with a 2–1 victory over Wigan Athletic. League Two supplied two five-goal performances: Chesterfield beat Crewe Alexandra 5–1, having led by five at half-time, while Accrington Stanley dismantled neighbours Rochdale 5–0 away from home. efl.com

Celtic recover as the Scottish Cup battles the storm

Celtic responded to their European defeat by coming from behind to win 2–1 at Hibernian. Owen Elding put Hibs ahead inside three minutes, but a Jason Kerr own goal quickly restored parity before Camilo Duran scored the winner shortly before half-time. Celtic remain four points clear of Rangers, who beat ten-man St Johnstone 4–0 on Saturday.

Hearts won 2–0 at Motherwell to remain third, Dundee United edged Aberdeen 3–2, St Mirren beat Dundee 2–1 and Falkirk recorded a 3–0 victory over Kilmarnock. The SPFL’s Sunday review and Saturday round-up cover the weekend’s Scottish league action. SPFL

Storm Boelo caused significant disruption to the second round of the Scottish Cup. Several ties were postponed, while Cumbernauld Colts’ match against Banks O’Dee was abandoned in the 77th minute with Cumbernauld leading 3–2. Among the completed ties, Renfrew defeated League Two side Stirling Albion 2–1 and Bo’ness United eliminated Forfar Athletic by the same score.

Nine for The New Saints

The New Saints produced the biggest scoreline anywhere in the UK’s senior leagues, crushing Ammanford 9–0 at Park Hall. Brad Young scored a hat-trick as the Cymru Premier leaders maintained their six-point advantage and took their remarkable total to 24 goals across three league matches.

Connah’s Quay Nomads maintained the pressure with a sixth consecutive league win, beating ten-man Llandudno 2–0. Airbus UK Broughton came from two goals down to win 3–2 at Cambrian United, while Haverfordwest County secured their first away victory of the season with a 3–1 success at Barry Town United. The FAW’s Cymru Premier round-up provides the full account. Cymru Leagues

Coleraine return to the summit

Coleraine followed last week’s dramatic comeback against Larne with an emphatic 5–0 victory over ten-man Crusaders. The result returned the Bannsiders to the top of the Northern Irish Premiership and extended their winning sequence to four matches.

Larne came from behind to beat Bangor 2–1, with Paul O’Neill and Ronan Doherty overturning Ben Arthurs’ opening goal. Cliftonville ended their poor run by winning 3–1 at Dungannon Swifts, while Carrick Rangers were denied victory by a stoppage-time own goal in a 1–1 draw with Limavady United. Crusaders v Coleraine

Manchester City’s WSL run ends

Manchester City’s perfect Women’s Super League start ended in the Manchester derby. Bunny Shaw scored on her 100th WSL appearance, but Elisabeth Terland equalised for United in the 89th minute to secure a 1–1 draw.

That allowed Chelsea to move top on goal difference following their 3–1 win at Crystal Palace. Arsenal recovered from an early deficit to beat Tottenham 2–1 in the north London derby, while Aston Villa survived an Everton comeback to win 3–2 at Goodison Park. reuters.com

There was also midweek domestic cup action at Goodison. Ornella Vignola scored twice as Everton defeated Newcastle United 2–0 in the Subway Players Cup, giving Everton consecutive victories in the group stage. Everton’s match report has the details.