One goal and THREE assists in a game for 22yo New South Welshman
Luka Smyth is currently undertaking his first professional footballing journey in the UK, having signed for League One club Notts County on a three-year deal through to the end of June 2029, with the former first division club paying Finnish club VPS €150,000 for his services.
Smyth caught the eyes of a Notts County scout having scored 11 goals and assisting four in 31 top-flight games in Finland and, despite standing at an eye-catching 193cm tall, brings an all-round craft to Meadow Lane with impressive composure and no hesitation to get involved in a high defensive press.
Despite scoring a match-winning second-half brace off the bench against Burton in late August, Smyth has not been able to nail down a regular starting position in the League One XI, with some poor performances - such as losing 15 out of 19 duels in a loss to Hayden Matthews' Bradford - to blame.
He dominated Nottingham Forest's under-21 team this week with a 9.4 out of 10 Flashscore rating in which he took six shots, scoring from one of them, and created three assists with his four key passes.
The EFL Trophy is a group stage + knockout competition featuring the 48 clubs from Leagues One and Two as well as 16 Premier League reserves teams, with 16 groups of four leading into a 32-team straight knockout.
Notts County have already guaranteed themselves a top-two spot after winning the first two of their three group stage matches.
A tally of just 0.64xG from his six shots and turning the ball over or being stripped nine times prevented what could have been a perfect ten out of ten from the youngster, who will be hoping to establish a bit more consistency throughout the season.
Stensness scores the sweetest of his five goals for Viking
Gianni Stensness is in an incredibly rich vein of form for Norwegian club Viking and his second-minute match opener helped them secure a historic 3-3 draw with Harry Kane's Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League this week.
Despite his role as a starting centre back, Stensness has scored five goals in the 2026 calendar year for Viking, who are tied with Bodo/Glimt at the top of the standings for Norway's Eliteserien, which has already completed 23 of its 30 rounds as it runs from March to December to avoid the depths of the Scandinavian winter, when outdoor sport often becomes unplayable even on synthetic pitches.
A 90th-minute equaliser from substitute Herman Haugen delivered their first point on their UEFA Champions League debut.
Stensness was one player very unlucky to be overlooked by Socceroos head coach Tony Popovic for their September friendlies against Brazil in Queensland, but is storming into Asian Cup contention with some solid defensive performances as well as his ability to pop up with a goal at elite level.
Stensness opted in 2022 to represent the Socceroos at senior level after playing for both Australia and New Zealand at underage level and has not played since he gained two caps that year.
He has recorded Flashscore match ratings of 7.6 or 7.7 - equating to a very good performance - in each of his last four matches.
"I've been dreaming about this - to score in a big game - ever since we made the Champions League," he said after the match.
"I feel like it's an honour to play against these players, but we also feel like we belong here."
Irankunda assists on Champions League debut
Nestory Irankunda needed a month to settle into his new workplace in Portugal but appears to be growing increasingly comfortable and capable at Sporting Lisbon.
He was an unused substitute during Sporting's first game of the league phase when they won 3-1 at home to Galatasaray, but the poor form of Brazilian Luis Guilherme and an injury for Uruguayan Rodrigo Zalazar Martinez opened the door for Irankunda to make the starting lineup.
The Aussie was already bashing the door down after a neat chip pass assisted the team's opening goal in a 3-1 league win over Braga at the weekend.
That was not to mention his brilliant free kick goal against Brazil that went viral, and he did not disappoint in a midweek trip to France.
For the second time in less than a week, he set up an easy goal for Colombian teammate Luis Suarez, who in devastating form with goals in nine of his last 11 matches for Sporting or Colombia.
With service like this, it's little wonder why.
More Gulf goals for Hrustic
Midfielder Ajdin Hrustic can't stop scoring for UAE club Al Nasr, this time putting the icing on the cake as his side won their Gulf Club Champions League (GCCL) match over Al Riffa 3-0.
The GCCL is an annual competition across the eight Gulf states that is a tertiary competition for clubs from the region who did not qualify for either the AFC Champions League Elite or AFC Champions League 2 - for example, Al Nasr qualified as sixth-place finishers in the previous UAE Pro League season.
It's therefore not a tournament of an especially high standard, but it's nonetheless delightful to see Hrustic remaining amongst the goals after he too was not selected for the previous Socceroos squad.
Below is a summary of his recent league form, not including the GCCL goal scored in midweek.
Robertson remains an ever-dependable part of Cardiff setup
Defensive midfielder Alex Robertson rated an outstanding 8.2 out of 10 as his Cardiff City demolished Irankunda's former side, Watford, 5-1 in a midweek English Championship match.
He was second only to dual scorer Jack Moylan in player ratings for the match, who amassed eight shots for his two goals.
Robertson passed with precision and incisiveness throughout the game, making nine progressive passes and nine progressive ball carries.
He has barely missed a minute for the Bluebirds this season, playing at least 80 minutes in all 12 of their competitive matches, including EFL Cup wins over Swindon and Norwich.
