Winners: Macclesfield
This small club’s name was on the lips of millions of fans over the weekend. The brave squad led by John Rooney, Wayne’s younger brother, stunned the FA Cup holders Crystal Palace 2-1.
Playing in the sixth tier, Macclesfield became the first team outside the top five professional or semi-professional leagues to knock out the defending champions from the world’s oldest football competition since the 1908/09 edition, when... Crystal Palace themselves beat Wolverhampton Wanderers in the first round.
Loser: Kevin Behrens
For Kevin Behrens, Lugano's friendly against Viktoria Plzen was anything but a casual affair. In the second half, the striker lashed out at his own attacking partner.
Georgios Koutsias, unaware of Behrens’ intentions, was first knocked to the ground and then showered with insults: "Shut up, you little brat," the former Wolfsburg player reportedly screamed.
Other players quickly intervened to prevent further escalation, and Behrens was soon substituted. Lugano responded to the incident with an official statement, promising to investigate and consider disciplinary action.
Winner: Younes Ebnoutalib
Football careers can change in the blink of an eye, as Younes Ebnoutalib discovered on Friday. The 22-year-old striker started the 2024/25 season in Germany’s sixth division with Giessen. After a successful year in the second tier with Elversberg, he secured an €8 million move to his hometown club, Eintracht Frankfurt.
That alone was a big achievement, but Ebnoutalib didn’t stop there. He made the starting lineup against Dortmund and marked his debut with a goal, contributing to a thrilling 3-3 draw.
Loser: Ricardo Pepi
For PSV striker Ricardo Pepi, the match against Excelsior was bittersweet, with the emphasis on bitter. The American scored his team’s second goal in the 23rd minute, but landed awkwardly and suffered a broken forearm. The injury will sideline him for at least two months.
Just days ago, PSV rejected a €25 million offer from Fulham for Pepi, hoping for more. Now, the Eindhoven club must look for a replacement. The good news is that the striker should be fit in time for the World Cup.
Winner: Antoine Semenyo
Pep Guardiola didn’t repeat Oliver Glasner’s mistake for Crystal Palace and fielded a strong lineup for their FA Cup clash against lower-league opponent Exeter City.
Among the starters was the focus of the latest transfer saga, Antoine Semenyo. The forward, newly arrived from Bournemouth, needed less than an hour to register both an assist and his first goal in City colours on debut.
City cruised to a 10-1 win, and the London-born player became the first to both score and assist on his Manchester City debut since Sergio Aguero against Swansea in August 2011.
Losers: Joao Palhinha & Lass Kourouma
The Christmas and New Year break is usually a time to calm nerves and start the year with more patience. But Joao Palhinha and Lass Kourouma clearly didn’t make the most of that...
The Spurs midfielder was provoked by Morgan Rogers’ celebration after Aston Villa’s FA Cup win and grabbed the striker, sparking a bigger scuffle.
Meanwhile in Spain, Girona midfielder Kourouma, who had only just come on against Osasuna, attacked Aimar Oroz, who was lying on the pitch, triggering a mass confrontation.
The red card will give him extra time to reflect, though he hasn’t had many chances to play lately anyway. Coach Michel, however, showed class by apologising to Ortiz for his player’s behaviour.
Winner: Robin Roefs
Macclesfield’s feat grabbed the headlines, but the FA Cup weekend produced other heroes too. One of them was Robin Roefs.
Although James Garner beat the Sunderland keeper from the penalty spot late in the game, Roefs donned his cape for the shootout and saved all three opposition penalties - including Garner’s - helping his team reach the next round.
Losers: Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg kicked off the new year with a spectacular defeat to Bayern Munich. Kamil Grabara did all he could, but still picked the ball out of the net eight times, as the 8-1 scoreline marked Wolfsburg’s heaviest Bundesliga loss ever. To make matters worse, in their last three matches, Wolfsburg defenders have scored four own goals.
The only curious consolation for Daniel Bauer’s side is that Wolfsburg have found the net in their last nine Bundesliga games - their longest scoring streak in the competition since a run of 12 matches between November 2nd, 2024, and February 2nd, 2025.
Winners: Scott McTominay & Raphinha
These two heroes both delivered braces to give their fans memorable evenings. The relentless Brazilian scored the first and third - and match-winning - goals against Real Madrid, helping Barcelona lift their first trophy of the year: the Spanish Super Cup.
Scott McTominay, meanwhile, netted twice to halt Inter and earned his team a precious point in Milan, keeping the Serie A title race wide open and giving Napoli hope of defending their crown. Inter became the first team against which the Scottish midfielder has scored in three separate Serie A matches.
Follow your favourite footballers more closely than ever in the Flashscore app!