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A joint effort between the Japanese and Spanish has seen the first footballer successfully launched into space. Takashi Inui, a Japanese international and midfielder for Eibar, rocketed to infinity and beyond with the help of Spanish goalkeeper Iago Herrerin.

According to our planisphere star chart, Inui is currently near Mars’s moon Phobos, taking pictures of the Martian planet’s polar ice caps. He will hopefully return to Earth in time for Eibar’s next match against against Sporting in the Spanish Cup.

Bayern Munich were only 20 minutes away from dropping points against Darmstadt 98 on Sunday, the team at the bottom of the Bundesliga. With RB Leipzig continuing their breakneck start to the season, Brazilian winger Douglas Costa’s 71st-minute strike was as sensational as it was important.

From all of 37 yards, the 26-year-old broke Darmstadt’s brave resistance with an absolute laser that crashed in off the underside of the crossbar. 

Munich will now host Leipzig on Wednesday with both clubs level on points at the top of the table.

18-year-old referee Fahd Abbou El Mourabit was punched and knocked unconscious while refereeing a match in Zaragoza, Spain. According to Australian television network SBS, the match was between Miralbueno and San Juan in the regional first division.

After awarding a second penalty against Miralbueno in the game’s opening 28 minutes, El Mourabit was brutally attacked by a player and punched multiple times.