Just 11 years after making his senior debut, André Schürrle has brought an end to his career. The German forward announced his retirement on Friday, hanging up his boots at the tender age of 29.

The premature decision is a sad one for a player who achieved some of the greatest feats in the game across the top leagues in Europe. While injuries – among other factors – have forced him into retirement, Schürrle has had a career full of highlights for club and country. Highlights like these.

Schürrle was an experienced player for Germany on the international stage by this point, about halfway through his international career. Despite having scored just once for his country in nearly a year and a half (against Ireland the previous weekend), Schürrle scored a stunning hat-trick in an emphatic 5-3 win in Stockholm.

It was his first treble for his country, and helped them wrap up qualification for the tournament in style. His second and final Germany hat-trick would come two years later, when he hit three in a 7-0 thrashing of Gibraltar in EURO 2016 qualifying.

Schürrle joined Chelsea from Bayer Leverkusen in 2013 and, five months after his first international hat-trick, he recorded his first treble in the Premier League. The Blues made the short trip across to Fulham in March 2014, travelling to Craven Cottage for the west London derby.

In a blistering second-half performance, Schürrle completed his hat-trick inside 16 devastating minutes. It gave José Mourinho’s side a 3-1 victory over their local rivals, the forward becoming the third German to score a Premier League hat-trick.

One of Chelsea’s greatest Premier League victories was the 6-0 demolition of Arsenal – and Schürrle was instrumental. The German assisted Samuel Eto’o’s opening goal, before scoring himself two minutes later to put the Blues in cruise control.

Chelsea added another four goals at Stamford Bridge, in one of their finest derby displays in the modern era. Schürrle had an outstanding game and earned his deserved recognition, being named man of the match.

Having been involved in one of the Blues’ most memorable wins, Schürrle played a part in one of the most famous World Cup games of all time just four months later when Germany reached final at the expense of hosts Brazil in Belo Horizonte.

Die Mannschaft were 5-0 up by the time Schürrle came off the bench, and he came on to add insult to injury. He scored twice in 10 minutes to wrap up the incredible scoreline, scoring a superb double to seal the historic 7-1 win in Brazil.

The greatest moment of Schürrle’s entire career came on 13 July 2014, in the World Cup final against Argentina. While he did not start at the Maracanã, the German came off the bench after half an hour for the injured Christoph Kramer, eventually playing a full 90 minutes.

It was a tense final in Rio de Janeiro, which went into extra time with neither side breaking the deadlock inside 90 minutes. With just seven minute left before a penalty shootout, Schürrle burst down the wing and crossed the ball into the box for Mario Götze to poke home and secure Germany’s first World Cup in 24 years.

Schürrle recorded seven assists in total for Die Mannschaft, but that was by far his most important one. Germany celebrated their fourth World Cup and historic first as a reunified team.

From Rio de Janeiro to, erm, Lancashire, Schürrle was back in domestic action just a month later. Chelsea went to Burnley on the opening day of the season, kicking off the campaign as overwhelming title favourites under Mourinho.

After early goals made it 1-1, Cesc Fàbregas’ stunning through ball was finished emphatically by Schürrle to put the Blues ahead. They went on to win 3-1 after Branislav Ivanović wrapped up the win to start a memorable campaign.

Schürrle left Chelsea in February 2015, leaving for his native Germany in the form of Wolfsburg. Chelsea went on to win the Premier League for the fourth time (their fifth league title) and, despite leaving three months earlier, the German received recognition for the part he played.

He had made 14 appearances, scoring three goals in the Blues’ title charge, exceeding the five games needed to collect a medal. It was a deserved achievement for Schürrle, but he did not even realise he would be acknowledged.

Speaking to the BBC back in 2015, he said: “I didn’t know that I’d get a medal when I didn’t play most of the second half of the season. Jose Mourinho sent me a text to say that I’d get a medal and he asked me to come to the last game. That was very nice for me. I’m really happy for the boys.”

Schürrle returned to west London and the Premier League in 2018, joining Fulham on loan from Borussia Dortmund. His seventh and final goal for the Cottagers came at Turf Moor, with another stunning strike against sorry Burnley.

He plucked the ball out of the sky with grace, before smashing his shot into the top corner. While Fulham went on to lose 2-1, the German won the goal of the month award for January 2019 thanks to his beautiful strike.

Schürrle brings an end to an illustrious career with countless memories, whether they are Premier League beauties or reaching the pinnacle of the beautiful game. It marks the end of an era, but André Schürrle’s career will be one looked back on fondly.

Brighton held on to see out a 1-1 draw away to Southampton on Thursday evening, all but mathematically securing Premier League survival for Graham Potter’s side with just two games to play.

Neal Maupay opened the scoring after 17 minutes with a clever reverse finish, collecting Glenn Murray’s flick on from a throw-in as the visitors enjoyed the better opportunities of an end-to-end first half.

On the cusp of the second-half drinks break, a reinvigorated Southampton capitalised on their domination following the restart with a crisp finish from Danny Ings, who slotted in after running onto a perfectly-weighted Nathan Redmond pass.

Brighton weathered a late onslaught from the Saints to earn what may prove to be the draw which keeps them in the top flight for another season.

Key Talking Point

After getting back to Southampton at 2AM following their dramatic 2-2 draw with Manchester United, Ralph Hasenhüttl made five changes, including two to his defence which seemed to unsettle his side. Jannik Vestergaard was one of the incoming players and was utterly bewildered to find Murray nip in front of him from a throw-in to tee up Maupay for the opener.

The imposing Dane’s lack of awareness and stray passing throughout the opening 45 minutes was symptomatic of a first half devoid of the usual zip to Southampton’s game.

Hasenhüttl made some much-needed alterations at half-time, moving Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – who looked awkward at right-back – into midfield as the natural fullback Kyle Walker-Peters replaced Oriol Romeu. The Tottenham loanee immediately injected some urgency into the Saints’ game as the team’s overall performance improved.

Ings’ strike was preceded by a flurry of Saints efforts on goal as Brighton slipped ever deeper into their own half. Even Vestergaard, whose first-half display was probably best forgotten, forced a wonder stop from Mathew Ryan after a vicious 25-yard drive.

However, they got into their stride too late, as Brighton ultimately deserved a share of the spoils after a resilient second half.

Starting XI: McCarthy (6); Højbjerg (6), Vestergaard (4), Bednarek (6), Vokins (7); Smallbone (6), Romeu (5), Ward-Prowse (6), Redmond (5); Obafemi (6), Ings (8*).

Substitutes: Walker-Peters (8), Adams (5), Armstrong (5).

Southampton’s star man turned up once again to earn Southampton a point they scarcely deserved going into the break. Prior to his equalising strike, the nippy forward cannoned a curling right-footed effort off the upright as the home side visibly improved after the interval.

Yet in this high-pressing, hard-working Southampton side, Ings’ work-rate off the ball will be as appreciated as his ludicrously clinical finishing.

Key Talking Point

Both sides had chances in a helter-skelter opening quarter of an hour, but Brighton were able to largely bypass Southampton’s intense press, going in at half-time having enjoyed the better chances.

However, Potter’s side slumped in the second half, conceding territory and possession to their hosts. As the game wore on, it seemed only the lunging limbs of Lewis Dunk and Adam Webster at the back stood between Southampton and their second.

Second-half substitute Yves Bissouma – in a rare foray into Southampton’s box for Brighton – had the chance to restore the Seagulls’ lead against the run of play, only to drill a golden chance wide.

Starting XI: Ryan (7); Dunk (8), Webster (8), Burn (6); Lamptey (7), Propper (6), Stephens (6), March (7); Trossard (6); Maupay (6), Murray (7).

Subs: Mooy (5), Bissouma (5), Montoya (6), Mac Allister (5), Groß (5).

Brighton’s captain and defensive stalwart had yet another superb performance, thriving in the second half as the Southampton attacks mounted up.

Dunk seemed to be at the feet of every Southampton player ready to pull the trigger. As the Saints began to assert themselves in the second half, the 28-year-old made a crucial block on the line to deny the second-half substitute Che Adams.

Southampton complete their tightly-packed run of three games in six days with another south coast fixture as they face Bournemouth on Sunday before hosting Sheffield United the following week.

Brighton conclude the season with a visit from Newcastle United before Graham Potter’s side travel to Burnley on the final day.

Two minutes. That’s all the time it took for Leicester City’s stuttering season to stop stuttering and burst into flames.

With 65 minutes on the clock and Leicester 1-0 up in a crucial encounter against relegation threatened Bournemouth, the vastly experienced Kasper Schmeichel blasted a goal kick straight into Wilfred Ndidi’s boney arse.

Why you ask? Well, that’s a question that I’ve been asking myself for the past few days. I’m still no closer to an answer. Perhaps the Dane thought it would be funny. It wasn’t funny mate, I promise you that.

Schmeichel’s actions set off a chain of increasingly excruciating events which all involved footballers’ arses to various extents.

First, Junior Stanislas converted the penalty that Ndidi gave away immediately after his arse-shaped conundrum.

Next, Caglar Soyuncu ruled himself out for season, unleashing his frustration after the Cherries took a 2-1 lead by kicking Callum Wilson very hard in the arse and getting sent off for his trouble.

Third, Jonny Evans deflected the ball into his own net to put the game beyond all doubt. Surprisingly though, the ball did not cannon in off his arse.

Lastly, Ryan Bennett fell on his arse trying to prevent Solanke adding his second Premier League goal EVER with a few minutes left to play.

This second half, arse-related nonsense was made even harder to take by the the fact that Leicester had dominated the opening 45 minutes, restricting the Cherries to just one shot on target.

The visitors should have been ahead by more than one at the break with Ayoze Perez, Kelechi Iheanacho and scorer Jamie Vardy all spurning chances to increase their lead.

Brendan Rodgers has received the lion share of the criticism following this disastrous result – and quite right too. The Northern Irishman’s decision to remove Iheanacho at half time for an extra midfielder was bizarre. It left the middle of the park congested, stunting the Foxes’ press and their chance creation.

Rodgers’ refusal to admit his error was similarly strange. Instead, he doubled down, criticising Iheanacho despite his good performance. The Nigerian has been the side’s best attacking performer of late and assisted Vardy’s goal against Bournemouth.

These tactical and media missteps have become increasingly common, feeding annoyingly well into the narrative that Rodgers is a ‘bottler’. Although the term is easily one of the most overused pejorative terms in the footballing vernacular, there might be some truth in it on this occasion.

The second half meltdown that Leicester experienced between 8pm and 8:49pm on the Dorset coast was the archetypal bottle job and evidence that contrary to what they admit publicly, the players are feeling the pressure of a season mixing it with the big boys.

However, in spite of a resurgent Manchester United and Wolves, in spite of Manchester City’s European ban being lifted and in spite of an injury list that is enough to make even the most optimistic fan’s stomach turn, the Champions League dream is somehow not yet dead. It even remains in the Foxes’ hands.

Win the next three games and Leicester City Football Club will be globe(Europe)trotting across Europe next season.

First up is fellow upstarts Sheffield United on Thursday night. It’s the biggest game of their season to date and contests against Tottenham and Manchester United are certain to be equally important if they managed to fluke a win over the impressive Blades.

Since the Foxes’ last foray in Europe four years ago, a lot has changed at the King Power Stadium. A young, exciting group of charges have emerged with members of the Premier League winning squad being moved on. It is ironic then, that in order to get across the line they will be relying on the same core group of players that got them into the Champions League last time out.

The four poster boys of Leicester new breed, Ricardo Pereira, James Madison, Ben Chilwell and Soyuncu are all sidelined, opening the door for sparsely used club stalwarts Marc Albrighton, Christian Fuchs and Wes Morgan.

And then there’s Jamie Vardy – pretty much the only Foxes player who looks like scoring – and Kasper Schmeichel, who apparently gave a rousing post-match speech after his mishap against the Cherries. This is exactly the sort of leadership needed at this critical juncture.

If Leicester are to somehow secure their place in next season’s Champions League they will have to rely on these increasingly marginalised but senior figures to get them over the line. Who knows, maybe they’ll do it. They’ve overcome far greater odds than this during their Foxes’ career.