Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Nov 3

PSG Smash Villarreal 6-0 With 4 Goals in 16 Minutes, Setting Champions League Record

Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Nov 3

PSG Smash Villarreal 6-0 With 4 Goals in 16 Minutes, Setting Champions League Record

Q: How did a podcast joke about Unai Emery almost drag a top football pundit into a bitter legal battle with Aston Villa?

A joke on the *Stick to Football* podcast escalated because Jamie Carragher mixed a football opinion with insulting language toward Aston Villa supporters. The row began when Carragher said Unai Emery might be tempted by the Manchester United job if it became available, arguing there is a hierarchy in football and saying Villa would “never be Manchester United.” When Villa fans objected, he told them to “shut the f--- up,” later insisting it was meant “in jest” and was a reaction to the abuse he had received online. Aston Villa treated that not as banter but as a public insult to the club and its supporters. Chairman Nassef Sawiris issued a statement saying Villa would initiate legal action over Carragher’s “unacceptable insults” and added that the club would not allow anyone to undermine its rise in English and European football. The dispute cooled quickly once Carragher publicly apologised on X, calling his wording “clumsy and wrong.” He said the comments were “tongue in cheek,” apologised to Villa’s owners and fans, and wished the club well. Villa then accepted the apology and dropped the threat of legal action. So the near-legal battle was not really about a single joke alone; it was triggered by Carragher’s suggestion that Emery could outgrow Villa, then inflamed by his expletive-laden dismissal of Villa fans.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Nov 3

Paris Saint-Germain raced to a 4-0 lead in 16 minutes 2 seconds at Villarreal, the fastest four-goal burst in Champions League history, before finishing a 6-0 rout.
Three Villarreal errors while playing out from the back fueled the collapse after Joao Neves opened the scoring from a corner; Desire Doue, Senny Mayulu and Fabian Ruiz then struck in rapid succession.
The match was still 0-0 through eight minutes, but PSG scored four times before the 17th minute and left open the possibility of challenging the post-1992 record 8-0 wins held by Liverpool and Real Madrid.
Elsewhere on matchday four, Manchester United came from 2-0 down to beat Roma 3-2 amid fan protests, while Bayern Munich beat Atletico Madrid 2-0 and Barcelona defeated Aston Villa 3-0.