Weir’s goal set the tone for what turned out to be a difficult evening for Elena Sadiku’s Celtic side, as they continued in their first ever Champions League group campaign.

It’s now no points and no goals after opening with a home defeat by Dutch champions FC Twente, and this sore one in Madrid.

There was no doubt Real were the dominant side and probably should have made more of their chances early on, but Celtic battled until the final quarter when the dam broke and the hosts added three late goals.

Sadiku though, insisted 2-0 would have been a fairer reflection of the game.

“I think how we played football was amazing against a team like Real Madrid,” the Swede said.

“I’m very proud of the team. First half, we defended well and had energy from the girls.

“Second half, we created chances and that could’ve changed the game. We need to be executing those better.”

“For me, how we played football and how we attacked shows what I want with this team.”

Crichton agreed Celtic’s performance was an improvement on the defeat by Twente, where the Scottish champions struggled to create chances.

And, had Murphy Agnew and Emma Lawton made more of their opportunities, things might have been different.

“In my opinion it’s really harsh,” the former Scotland defender said of the scoreline.

“When you go up against top sides you expect to be without the ball and your goalkeeper to be worked and to have to put bodies on the line.

“When you look at Real’s 31 shots and 14 on target, they were lucky if a quarter of them tested [goalkeeper]Kelsey Daugherty.

“Celtic can keep their heads high and hopefully they will dust themselves down and give a better account of themselves against Chelsea.

“The Celtic manager said they were better equipped after the Twente game, and watching them for the 93 minutes I would agree.”

LAS VEGAS – Kyler Phillips has had his eye on Rob Font prior to drawing him at UFC Fight Night 245.

Phillips (12-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) meets Font (20-8 MMA, 10-7 UFC) in Saturday’s co-main event (ESPN+) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Phillips, who’s coming off a win over Pedro Munhoz at UFC 299 in March, would have preferred a quicker turnaround, but likes his matchup against perennial contender Font.

“I did initially, but we got a good opponent. We got one of the names we wanted,” Phillips told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a UFC Fight Night 245 pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “So it’s an honor to be able to do that and step into the octagon with such a decorated fighter.”

Phillips has won seven of his past eight, and is expected to continue his ascent up the bantamweight ladder if he can get past the higher-ranked Font.

“I see myself matching up very well against anybody in the division, just because of my elusiveness and able to adapt on the fly at any given moment, but still have that basis of a strong fighter,” Phillips said.

You can watch Phillips’ full pre-fight interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 245.

In recent years, there’s typically been a quarterback or two that have established themselves as the best or one of the best prospects at their position for the ensuing NFL Draft. Caleb Williams entered the 2023 season as a clear favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in 2024 while Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud were battling for that honor during the 2022 season, eventually going Nos. 1 and 2 in the 2023 NFL Draft.

As the 2024 college football season reaches its halfway point, there doesn’t appear to be a similar consensus formed among the quarterback prospects for the 2025 NFL Draft. However, Colin Cowherd believes there’s one quarterback who’s already emerged from the pack: Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. 

“I think it’s pretty obvious: That’s the No. 1 pick,” Cowherd said of how he felt watching Sanders in Colorado’s loss to Kansas State last Saturday.

While Sanders wasn’t able to get the win, he had another impressive performance in Week 7. He completed 34 of 40 passes for 388 yards, three touchdowns and an interception against the Wildcats. He’s completed 72.6% of his passes for 2,018 yards, 17 touchdowns and four interceptions this season.

As Sanders is in the midst of another impressive campaign, Cowherd thinks his play, along with concerns he has about the other top quarterback prospects in the draft, make Sanders the top quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft.

“First of all, Quin Ewers, like him, [but he’s] hurt again, don’t love that,” Cowherd said. “Cam Ward, feels small. I’ve fallen for [that] before. Shedeur Sanders, same height, I never think about his height. It may not [make sense], but when I look at Shedeur Sanders — [Patrick] Mahomes and Shedeur Sanders are the same size. They play big. I think [Ward] comes across as a mover and a playmaker. I think Shedeur Sanders is easily the best quarterback in college. I think he’s separated [himself from the rest]. … Carson Beck without Brock Bowers is not the same.”

Cowherd isn’t alone in thinking that Sanders is the top quarterback prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft. FOX Sports NFL Draft expert Rob Rang has Sanders as the first quarterback being selected in his most recent mock draft. He has the Las Vegas Raiders selecting Sanders with the fourth overall pick.

[Read more: 2025 NFL mock draft: Ashton Jeanty surges up board, Travis Hunter remains No. 1]

FOX Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt is also a fan of Sanders’, thinking he can be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. 

“I think Shedeur Sanders is such a better player than he gets credit for because everybody loves to hate on Colorado, Shedeur Sanders and his dad,” Klatt said on “The Herd.” “He didn’t have his two best receivers and they’re going against Kansas State and they have a lead with two minutes to go. I felt like the coaching staff for Colorado fumbled the game at the end. 

“He’s fabulous. He’s accurate. He’s tough — you talk about tough, there’s no one in the last two years in college football who’s been hit more than Shedeur Sanders and he gets right back up. He continues to stand in the face of pressure and throw dimes. I love that about him. He’s an anticipatory thrower. He’s smart. He understands defensive structure. His game translates.”

Is Shedeur Sanders the best QB in College Football?

However, Klatt disagreed with Cowherd’s notion that Sanders has “separated” himself from the rest of the quarterback prospects. He believes that Ward has been “sensational” enough to possibly be the first quarterback taken in next year’s draft while poinitng out a couple of flaws in Sanders’ game. 

“[Sheduer’s] got to quit holding onto the football,” Klatt said. “He’s allergic to incompletions, so he doesn’t want to throw the football away. You’ve got to throw the football away, particularly at the next level, or you’re going to get hurt. The next thing is, he’s got this — and it’s happened twice this year — weird, ‘I’m going to take the fade’ and it’s not the situation to throw the fade.

“Fourth-and-6 on Saturday night against Kansas State, they’ve got to drive down and kick a field and he throws a fade. Dude, you got blitzed from the wide side of the field, you’ve got an in-breaking route that’s got inside leverage on the support defender. Throw the in-breaking route!”

Sanders has been sacked more than any other quarterback since he transferred to Colorado in 2023. He was brought down for 52 sacks last year and has been sacked 23 times this season, just one short for the most in the nation. 

As for Ward, Klatt didn’t touch on why he’s a big fan of his during his appearance on “The Herd.” But he’s raved about Miami‘s quarterback for much of the season on “The Joel Klatt Show,” recently ranking him third on his Heisman ballot ahead of any other quarterback. Ward has thrown for 2,219 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions this season to go with 11 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. 

Still, Klatt believes Sanders is a strong quarterback prospect and might be the first player whose name is called at the NFL Draft next April. 

“There are things that frustrate me about Shedeur, namely those decisions in critical moments and that he holds the football,” Klatt said. “But everything else, this guy is fabulous. He’s accurate, he’s tough. He absolutely could be the first pick in the draft.”

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The PFL will host back-to-back events in Saudi Arabia.

During Thursday’s PFL: Battle of the Giants press conference, PFL CEO Peter Murray announced that their annual World Championship card will take place in Riyadh on Nov. 29. Six fighters will walk away with season championships, along with the grand prize of $1 million.

It will be the first time the event will be held outside of the United States.

For the women’s flyweight season title, rising star Dakota Ditcheva will face one-time UFC title challenger Taila Santos. Ditcheva earned her spot with a quick knockout of Jena Bishop, while Santos cemented her place in the finals with a decision win over Bellator champ Liz Carmouche.

Brendan Loughnane also looks to cash another $1 million check as he faces Timur Khizriev for the featherweight crown.

Check out all of the title fights below.

Dakota Ditcheva vs. Taila Santos – women’s flyweight title fight

Brendan Loughnane vs. Timur Khizriev – featherweight title fight

Brent Primus vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov – lightweight title fight

Shamil Musaev vs. Magomed Umalatov – welterweight title fight

Impa Kasanganay vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov – light heavyweight title fight

Denis Goltsov vs. Oleg Popov – heavyweight title fight

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Dan Hardy expects Francis Ngannou’s boxing experience to serve him well against Renan Ferreira.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou (17-3) takes on Ferreira (13-3) in Saturday’s PFL: Battle of the Giants (DAZN/ESPN+) main event at The Mayadeen.

Since parting ways with the UFC, Ngannou boxed twice – a controversial decision loss to Tyson Fury, followed by a knockout loss to Anthony Joshua in March. Despite Ngannou coming off the first knockout loss of his combat sports career, Hardy says the skills he acquired as a boxer will benefit him against the taller and rangier Ferreira.

“I don’t really think it affected Ngannou as a brand in any way,” Hardy told MMA Junkie. “So, I don’t necessarily think it will affect him as a fighter in any way, if that makes sense. I think that the time he’s spent in boxing, it will make him a better MMA fighter. …It allows people to manage range better. They’re able to step into range to land punches, but not crowd themselves and go into a clinch, and that’s going to be really, really valuable for him in this fight.

“Because I would say that he needs to be close to Renan Ferreira to get inside his reach. I don’t know if he wants to waste too much energy grappling with him. I think we will see some wrestling and grappling out of Ngannou. Ferreira’s huge, he’s a sizable individual. Just to take him down and control him is going to be a massive amount of energy expended. So, I think Ngannou being able to stay in the pocket and box is going to be very useful for him in this fight.”

Ngannou returns to MMA for the first time since successfully defending his UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane in January 2022.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL: Battle of the Giants.