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• Fulham 3-1 Brighton: Iwobi brace the difference at Craven Cottage

  Alex Iwobi was the star of the show as his brace helped Fulham to a 3-1 victory over Brighton on Thursday.

  Iwobi capitalised on Bart Verbruggen's early error to get the home side off to a flying start at Craven Cottage.

  Carlos Baleba finished expertly after neat work from Joao Pedro to bring Brighton level in the 56th minute, but Matt O'Riley's luckless own goal restored Fulham's lead.

  And Iwobi wrapped up the points with a lovely bending effort in the closing stages to settle an entertaining contest.

  Verbruggen's careless pass was pounced on by Iwobi and he side-footed home after only four minutes before Simon Adingra shot straight at Bernd Leno when he really ought to have equalised.

  Rodrigo Muniz headed agonisingly wide on the stroke of half-time for Fulham but Baleba levelled for Brighton with an exquisite drilled finish from Joao Pedro's sublime flick into his path after 56 minutes.

  But Fulham did well to reset and Andrea Pereira's fine in-swinging corner found the bottom corner via the backside of O'Riley before Iwobi rounded out the win by cutting in from the left and bending a fine effort past the Verbruggen into the far corner with three minutes to play.

  Data Debrief: Iwobi in form as Brighton's Fulham hoodoo continues

  Iwobi was the difference-maker in what had been a very tight contest at Craven Cottage and he has now scored (3) or assisted in or assisted (2) in each of his last four Premier League appearances, his longest such run in the competition.

  This was only the second time the Nigeria international had managed to score twice in a Premier League game in what was his 267th appearance in the competition.

  Brighton, meanwhile, have now faced Fulham nine times in the Premier League and failed to beat them. The Cottagers have five wins and four draws versus the Seagulls, the most they have faced a side without losing in the competition.

  The visitors were the architects of their own downfall for the first goal and only Southampton (9) have had more errors leading to goals in the Premier League this season than Brighton (6), with Verbruggen responsible for three of those – the joint-most by a player in the competition in 2024-25.

• “There’s levels to this”- Brown believes experience will give him the edge over Battle at UFC 310

  Jamaican UFC Welterweight Randy Brown is feeling good ahead of his next trip to the octagon at UFC 310 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas this Saturday.

  The 34-year-old will take on surging contender Bryan Battle on the back of wins in seven of his last eight including three straight since a loss to Australian Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 284 on February 11 last year in Perth, Australia.

  “Life has been good. Just been grinding. Nothing’s changed for me,” Brown said at UFC media day on Wednesday.

  “I’ve just been on the clock, developing and getting better, doing what I need to do,” he added.

  In an ideal situation, Brown said he would’ve been fighting a ranked opponent on Saturday.

  However, with Battle being a fighter with star power and momentum, also coming into this fight on a three-fight win streak, Brown plans to use this opportunity as a springboard into bigger fights.

  “Yeah, for sure but I’ve seen them before. They come and they go. They get their moments. I’m happy for him and proud of him for doing what he’s doing but I do think he’s someone I can bounce off of to help me move forward,” said Brown.

  “He’s someone I need to get past in order to move to my ultimate goal,” he added.

  Brown was also complimentary of his opponent’s skills heading into Saturday, calling him “a tremendous athlete and martial artist.”

  “He puts it together well,” he said.

  “I’m most impressed with his durability. His ability to take damage and move forward. He’s a grinder,” Brown added.

  With that in mind, Brown believes his experience will lead him to a fourth victory in a row. Brown has been in the UFC since 2016 while Battle made his UFC debut in 2021.

  “With that being said, I’ve seen him before. I think that this is one of those fights that he’s going to run into someone that’s more experienced and has seen it all before and that’s going to be a shocker for him. There’s levels to this, ultimately,” he said.

   

   

   

• Cacereno 1-3 Atletico Madrid: Simeone's side survive scare after late fightback

  Atletico Madrid progressed to the Copa del Rey last 32, but only after surviving a scare against fourth-tier Cacereno.

  Diego Simeone's side trailed 1-0 in the 83rd minute at Estadio Principe Felipe, after Alvario Merencio's first-half strike.

  However, the LaLiga side levelled through Clement Lenglet, before striking twice in stoppage time through Julian Alvarez and an Adri Perez own-goal.

  Julio Cobos' side were on a four-match winning streak in Group 5 of the Segunda Federacion, and took the lead on the half-hour mark, with Merencio rounding off a quick counter.

  The hosts held firm but were finally breached seven minutes from time, when Lenglet headed in from Rodrigo de Paul's cross.

  Cacereno were reduced to 10 men two minutes later with Jaime Sancho shown a second yellow card, and Atletico capitalised on their numerical advantage in stoppage time.

  De Paul's shot deflected in off Perez to complete the turnaround, while Alvarez put the tie beyond the fourth-tier outfit later on.

  Data Debrief: Late, late show spares Atletico blushes

  Atletico had won each of their last seven matches across all competitions, but they were given an almighty scare on Thursday.

  Nevertheless, Simeone's side eventually broke Cacereno's resistance, scoring three goals from the 83rd minute onwards in any competition for only the second time - also doing so against Real Zaragoza in June 2013.