Robert Lewandowski made his long-awaited Chicago Fire debut on Wednesday evening as he featured in their defeat to Inter Miami.
The legendary striker, now 37 years old, left Europe and joined the MLS side this summer after his contract with Barcelona expired. He penned a two-year deal with The Men in Red.
He was named in Chicago Fire’s starting lineup for the first time on Wednesday evening for their MLS match against Inter Miami at Miami Stadium.
He managed just one shot, which came in the 14th minute. It was blocked. He was accurate with 16 of his 17 passes, completed one of his two dribbles and lost possession four times.
Chicago Fire supporters have given their verdict on Lewandowski’s display and many have been left underwhelmed.
One fan said: ‘S*** debut for RL9 who was basically invisible both sides of the ball.’ Another commented: ”Lewy’s debut underwhelming. This better be his worst game in a Fire uniform.’
While a third stated: ‘Awful first impression from Lewandowski. Waiting almost 3 months for that performance. Classic Fire game I must say.’
Others are willing to give Lewandowski more of a chance. One said: ‘Lewa needs more time with the team to get acclimated,’ while another commented: ‘Needs time to get adjusted to teammates, it was a little frustrating seeing our players try to force the ball to him when there were clearly better options. Thought he did okay.’
While one wrote: ‘Little to no real service unless he dropped deep to get on the ball more and help progression. He had a couple of cool little moments that showed he’s still a quality player, otherwise, it was a rather underwhelming debut for him. I’m still going to give it another 2 or 3 games until I form a real opinion on him.’
⚽
World Cup History Quiz
You scored
out of 20
Robert Lewandowski Speaks Out After Debut
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Lewandowski admitted after the game that he needs more time to get up to speed. He said, per Sports Illustrated:
“Before the game I knew I could play a maximum of 60 minutes. One week is not a lot of time to be ready. Before the game I tried my best to prepare. The game was tough for us. In the end, I think we made too many easy mistakes and Inter Miami scored the goals. So we have to keep working. I think for the next game, with more knowledge, it will be better.
“In football, you never have everything from the first day. You need to keep working. You need to play games to understand your teammates, how they play, the movements.”
Lewandowski will look to score his first goal for his new club in their next match against New York City on Saturday evening.
The FA have released a statement regarding an incident involving two England youth players at a training camp back in October 2025.
Two Three Lions under-16 trainees were involved in a brawl during a training camp, and footage of the fight has recently gone viral on social media. The players involved were actively egged on by their teammates, who were standing around filming the incident.
The scrap has raised concerns about the safeguarding of youngsters on England duty, with many online appalled by the lack of adult supervision around these developing football stars.
The country’s football association has officially responded to the incident, claiming that the matter has been resolved.
Reason for England U16 Fight Revealed
Youth players involved in the development squads for their international teams are regularly taken away from their clubs to train and play against other countries’ youth teams. For England, this involves players from across the country travelling to St. George’s Park, in Staffordshire, for a training camp.
This entails a group of teenagers spending time away from their families in an enclosed environment, and thus, it’s not surprising that untoward events can materialise at these training camps.
In a video that has only recently surfaced online, two England under-16 players, wearing their training kits, appear to be involved in an altercation that escalated into a physical fight. Punches were thrown, while on-watching teammates encouraged the two youngsters engaged in the battle to hurt each other.
The Daily Mail have revealed that the scrap began after one of the two players was teased for owning a Nokia mobile phone.
While this sort of bullying and ensuing physical altercation is typical behaviour for teenagers, many have lamented the staff leading the England camp for not having someone present to step in and prevent this incident from unfolding.
You scored
out of 20
FA Cup Final – Manchester City v Manchester United – Wembley Stadium, London, Britain – June 3, 2023 General view of the Wembley arch before the match REUTERS/Carl Recine
The Daily Mail reached out to the FA to comment on this incident, and the organisation revealed that the matter was resolved internally, and quickly. They said:
“We were made aware of an internal matter during an MU16s camp in October 2025. This was quickly resolved at the time.”
With teammates filming the incident, many have suggested that mobile phones should be banned from such camps to prevent this antagonistic behaviour from happening.
Had the England under-16 players not had access to devices that could capture the incident so that they could share it with friends, they might’ve been more inclined to step in and stop the fight from developing.
Crystal Palace have reached an agreement on personal terms to sign a French star in the summer transfer window.
Palace are entering a new era after Oliver Glasner confirmed that he would be leaving, heading into the 26-27 season.
Glasner has now been replaced by Pierre Sage, who was brought in ahead of pre-season and is now working on bringing in new additions with his recruitment team.
So far, the Eagles have only completed the signing of Oscar Mingueza, who arrived on a free transfer following his departure from Celta Vigo.
Palace will undoubtedly be looking to bring in further reinforcements over the coming weeks and months, especially if some of their key stars head for the exit door.
Crystal Palace reach transfer agreement
Manon Cruz via Action Images/Reuters
According to a report from Foot Mercato, Crystal Palace have reached an agreement to sign Augsburg defender Chrislain Matsima in the summer window.
Matsima, who has been described as ‘exceptional’, has verbally agreed to join the Premier League club, who are progressing in talks to sign him.
The two clubs are in negotiations, with discussions described as intensifying, and things are now moving in the right direction.
A former UFC champion has had to take up a regular job to help her make ends meet, once again bringing into question the level of pay fighters get in Dana White‘s company.
The former UFC titleholder has had to begin working in another job as a delivery driver due to not being able to fight for almost a year thanks to a shoulder injury, with her last fight coming back in August 2015 at UFC 319.
The admission of the former champion has brought the pay for fighters into question yet again, which has been a constant debate in recent years, with the likes of Jake Paul and Eddie Hearn both heavily speaking out about how little UFC fighters are paid considering the risks they take.
This isn’t just a middle-of-the-range fighter either. This is a former champion who has 30 fights under her belt under the UFC banner, and someone who has shared the cage with the likes of Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Rose Namajunas, Zhang Weili, Valentina Shevchenko, and Mackenzie Dern.
In an interview with Ag Fight, the fighter said: “Thank God I managed to save some money, so things are going well. But whenever I need to, I work as a delivery driver. I deliver meals and things like that. I just pick up orders through an app and make the deliveries. I do whatever it takes. I’m not afraid of hard work. I can do just about anything.”
UFC Fighter Who Works As Delivery Driver
Kamil Krzaczynski via Imagn Images
The fighter who is working as a delivery driver is Jessica Andrade. She is 34 and has fought an impressive 30 times in the UFC. The Brazilian won the 115-pound title and was also challenging for the flyweight belt. However, she has had to spend a prolonged period away from fighting since injuring her shoulder last August in her defeat against Loopy Godinez.
Andrade has the record for the most wins in UFC history by a woman. She currently has 17 wins, one more than the 16 of next best Amanda Nunes.
She also said she has recently taken up another project, helping with her friend’s home renovation.
“Recently I started a project at [a friend’s] house, installing artificial turf. Her backyard was nothing but rocks. I thought, ‘I’ll give this a try. If I’m good at it, it’s one more way we can make some extra money whenever we need it.'”
Mark J. Rebilas via Imagn Images
Andrade has openly spoken about her financial struggles during her fighting career in the past. In 2018, she said she had been selling her UFC clothes, backpack, and gloves because she was struggling to get sponsors. She did, however, say she was ‘paid really well’ in the promotion.
In 2023, she said she had to have five fights in order to pay for her divorce. In the following year, she accused her former coach, Gilliard Parana, of withholding money from her. Parana, however, denied all the allegations.
The pay for UFC fighters has been a hotly debated subject with both the media and fans in recent times. It is believed that UFC fighters get around 20% of the fight revenue in their pay, whereas, boxers get around 60% of revenue from their events.
