Winner: Dzenan Pejcinovic
He put Wolfsburg ahead three times, but each time the opposition equalised, and in the end, they turned the game around just before the final whistle. It was a tough blow not only for the Wolves but especially for Dzenan Pejcinovic, who completed a hat-trick.
His second goal was largely thanks to a mistake by goalkeeper Noah Atubolu, who handed him the ball on a silver platter after a poor pass out from the back. The German striker certainly didn’t turn down this early Christmas gift.
Pejcinovic also reached an impressive milestone. At 20 years and 308 days old, he became the youngest player to score a hat-trick since 2010, when Thomas Müller did it for Bayern at the age of 20 years and 230 days.
Loser: Arthur Okonkwo
Let’s stick with goalkeeper errors for a moment. While Atubolu’s mistake didn’t end up costing his team, Okonkwo wasn’t so lucky. Wrexham took the lead in the 14th minute thanks to an own goal by Cameron Burgess. But the home side, Swansea, equalised in the 70th minute through Zan Vipotnik, and the real drama came in stoppage time.
More than 20,000 fans at Swansea’s stadium had all but given up hope of a dramatic finish. But then it happened! A seemingly harmless set piece. A long ball into the box, which Arthur Okonkwo jumped for but failed to clear properly.
The follow-up save after Burgess’s header should have been routine for the 24-year-old Englishman. Instead, it turned into a nightmare as the ball slipped from his grasp, and Wrexham ended up heading home with a 2-1 defeat.
Winner: Kylian Mbappe
He celebrated his 27th birthday on Saturday and gave himself a few great presents. He sealed Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Sevilla from the penalty spot, scoring his 59th goal of the 2025 calendar year. That equalled the club record set by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013. So far this season, he’s scored 29 goals in 24 matches across all competitions.
In the current LaLiga season, Mbappe has already scored 18 times, cementing his place as the league’s top scorer. After a slow start at his new club, the Frenchman has started finding the net game after game. In total, he’s scored 73 goals in 83 appearances for Los Blancos. For comparison, Ronaldo scored 450 goals in 438 matches.
Loser: Xavi Simons
The big match against Liverpool ended early for the 22-year-old attacking midfielder, who was sent off in the 33rd minute. Inexplicably, while pressing without the ball, he stepped on his fellow countryman, Virgil van Dijk.
The experienced defender took a hit to his calf and Achilles, and it was clear he felt it. After VAR checked the incident, the referee had no choice: red card. Tottenham ended up losing 2-1 to the Reds. In the dying moments, Simons’s teammate Cristian Romero followed suit and was also sent off.
Before that, the Spurs player had last been sent off in December last year against Nottingham Forest, when Djed Spence saw red. Interestingly, since April 2001, this is the first time in the Premier League that a Dutch player has been sent off for a foul on a fellow countryman.
Back then, Willem Korsten - coincidentally also a Tottenham player at the time - was dismissed for a foul on Mario Melchiot, who was playing for Chelsea.
Winner: Harry Kane
Is there any football fan left who’s surprised when Harry Kane breaks another record on a weekend? Probably not. The English striker, now at Bayern Munich, got on the scoresheet in the demolition of Heidenheim, sealing the 4-0 win with a goal in the second minute of stoppage time.
He’s now scored 19 times this season and has no real competition in the Bundesliga. He’s also been involved in 100 goals in Germany’s top flight - scoring 81 and assisting 19 in just 78 matches. He reached this milestone faster than any other player. In the 2025 calendar year, he’s been involved in 60 goals.
Winner: Ayoub El Kaabi
The Africa Cup of Nations is officially underway. Hosts Morocco opened with a win over Comoros 2-0. The home side lived up to their billing as favourites, but it was the second goal that really caught the eye. Ayoub El Kaabi was the man responsible, scoring what might well be the goal of the tournament in the 73rd minute.
He met a cross from Anass Salah-Eddine in the box, leapt into the air, and executed a textbook bicycle kick. Yannick Pandor, the goalkeeper, could only watch as one of the tournament’s most spectacular goals hit the back of the net.