Football Dec 07, 2025

ePL Invitational: James Maddison takes on Michael Obafemi as tournament reaches quarter-finals

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
ePL Invitational: James Maddison takes on Michael Obafemi as tournament reaches quarter-finals

Leicester's James Maddison sauntered into the quarter-finals of the ePL Invitational with two wins on Thursday. What can we look forward to on Friday?

Quarter-finals - Friday, May 8

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On the third day of the competition, James Maddison blasted his way into the last eight with two victories having kicked off proceedings with his rearranged first-round match with Bournemouth's Callum Wilson. The Leicester ace was one of four players to book their place in Friday's quarter-finals.

Wilson was no match for Maddison, who booked his place in the last 16 with an 8-1 win over Bournemouth.

The former Norwich midfielder was 4-0 up at the interval courtesy of a hat-trick from Kelechi Iheanacho and a sublime finish from his own in-game character.

Jamie Vardy got in on the act late on after further strikes from Iheanacho and Maddison before Wilson grabbed a late consolation through Joshua King.

Norwich's Max Aarons secured a convincing 4-1 win over Ryan Sessegnon's Tottenham to book a quarter-final showdown with Chelsea's Emerson Palmieri.

Onel Hernandez put the Canaries in front before Teemu Pukki tapped into an empty net to double Aarons' lead - and Hernandez scored his second before the break.

Harry Kane pulled a goal back for Sessegnon but any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Emiliano Buendia restored the Norwich right-back's three-goal lead.

Jack Cork scored twice to seal a narrow 4-3 win for Burnley's Charlie Taylor over Manchester City representative Phil Foden.

Foden, one of the pre-tournament favourites, cancelled out Chris Wood's opener through a powerful Riyad Mahrez strike.

Cork headed in from close range to restore Burnley's lead only for Foden to equalise for a second time through Sergio Aguero.

But there would be no denying Taylor, who established a 4-2 lead through Cork's left-footed drive and a fine Jay Rodriguez finish. A second for Aguero came too late as Foden exited the competition.

In one of the games of the tournament, Sheffield United's John Egan came from behind to defeat England cricketer and Manchester United fan Jofra Archer in a seven-goal thriller.

Paul Pogba struck to hand Archer an early lead but Lys Mousset equalised almost immediately for Egan.

Sheffield United led shortly before half-time through David McGoldrick but Anthony Martial and Bruno Fernandes scored to turn the game on its head for Archer.

Egan was not to be denied, however, as Oliver Norwood made it 3-3 before McGoldrick's superb second with a minute of normal time remaining.

Harvey Barnes and Ayoze Perez strikes helped James Maddison complete a 3-2 comeback win over Crystal Palace's Max Meyer as Leicester booked their place in the last eight.

Andros Townsend's cute free kick was cancelled out by Jamie Vardy before Maddison missed from the penalty spot as his own in-game character.

Meyer took full advantage when Wilfried Zaha put Palace back ahead but Maddison levelled for a second time through a superb Barnes finish.

And Perez's close-range winner put Leicester into the quarter-finals where Maddison will meet Southampton's Michael Obafemi on Friday.

On the second day of the second week of the tournament, which provides the unique opportunity to see Premier League players put their FIFA 20 skills to the test against one another on the big stage, four teams progressed to the quarter-finals.

Keinan Davis scored a hat-trick with John McGinn as the Aston Villa man secured a convincing 6-1 win over former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique to reach the quarter-finals.

McGinn himself was knocked out in the first round as Villa's representative in the inaugural ePL Invitational last month, but the Scot gave Davis an early lead thanks to a brilliant strike.

Roberto Firmino equalised for Enrique's Liverpool, but a Jack Grealish double put Villa in control before half-time. The game slipped away from the Spaniard in the second period as Davis struck with his own character before McGinn completed his hat-trick with two late strikes.

Aaron Connolly ended Wolves' title defence as he beat Morgan Gibbs-White 3-0 to knock out the reigning champions.

Glenn Murray's fine early strike put Brighton in front and Connolly soon doubled his advantage with an effort from his own in-game character. A second goal of the match from Murray late on sealed the win.

Michael Obafemi scored a remarkable five goals with his in-game player as Southampton booked their place in the last eight with a 7-0 win over Everton's Tony Bellew. The former boxer was no match for Obafemi, who took just 17 minutes of the FIFA 20 match to complete a hat-trick with himself.

Southampton went into the break 5-0 up over 'The Bomber', and while the former WBC cruiserweight champion improved in the second period, Obafemi and Danny Ings added to Saints' tally.

Watford's Andre Gray suffered a 4-2 defeat to Emerson as Chelsea booked their place in the quarter-finals.

Gray's in-game player handed Watford an early lead, but Emerson equalised through Olivier Giroud before a Jorginho penalty completed the turnaround.

Mateo Kovacic scored a third for the Blues and while Troy Deeney pulled a goal back, Emerson restored his two-goal lead through Willian.

On the first day of the second week of the tournament, Callum Wilson's tie with James Maddison was postponed due to technical issues - but there were plenty of thrills and spills in the first round...

Two goals from team-mate Harry Kane put Ryan Sessegnon into the last 16 of the ePL Invitational, in a game of clinical finishing from the visitors.

Despite having 11 shots to West Ham's eight, Sessegnon's Spurs recovered from Manuel Lanzini's equaliser on the stroke of half-time, cancelling out Kane's opener, to bounce back with another from Kane after the break, before Heung-Min Son's third set up a last-16 tie with Max Aarons on Thursday.

Late pressure from Top Boy actor Micheal Ward was not enough to earn the Arsenal fan anything more than an early exit from the ePL Invitational, as Charlie Taylor's Burnley enjoyed a Chris Wood-inspired victory to reach the last 16.

Wood fired Taylor's Clarets in front but an Alexandre Lacazette strike just before the break levelled things up, only for Wood to be denied - perhaps ironically - by the woodwork after half-time, allowing Jay Rodriguez to tap home a winner which sets up a clash between Taylor and Manchester City's Phil Foden on Thursday.

Jofra Archer enjoyed the result of the day - and revenge for Manchester United's 1-0 Premier League defeat at Newcastle earlier this season - with a 4-1 thrashing of Magpies winger Rolando Aarons.

Anthony Martial set the tone with a fine strike but Aarons' side pegged their visitors back before half-time when Dwight Gayle netted a rebound.

Nemanja Matic proved an unlikely scorer after the break to restore Archer's lead, before Marcus Rashford and a Martial second put him through to face Sheffield United's John Egan on Thursday.

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