There’s a statistic on the Leicester City vs. Atletico Madrid chalkboard that sticks out like Marc Albrighton’s foul on Antoine Griezmann. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given his isolation throughout the match, culminating in a 77th minute substitution, but Jamie Vardy, according to who you choose to believe, left the pitch with a pass completion percentage of 0.
It seems like every week, we talk about Napoli. Despite them being only third in the table, they’re generating a huge amount of column inches at the moment. As fate would have it, Napoli’s fixture list has thrown up a string of vital matches, back to back to back. There was the Real Madrid tie, the double header against Juventus, and a perpetual chase to stay in the top three and secure Champions League football for another year.
Jermaine Jones came out firing in his latest interview with ESPN FC. His soundbites ranged from how he sees himself as Tom Brady and how he’s “always the best player on the field for this country” in big tournaments to the ever-growing criticism of the midfield combination of Michael Bradley and himself.
Soccer fans know that the outcome of a match doesn’t always reflect what transpired on the pitch. Talking heads have long debated whether a team was lucky to win or unlucky to lose, often with little substantial proof to argue against the scoreboard. The expected goals statistic (xG) has changed that, equipping soccer enthusiasts with a metric for “what should've happened.”
Marcus Rashford has got it. That "it" is the unexplainable quality that makes you standup every time he’s on the ball. He’s going to do something or try something positive, he’s going to take on his defender and it’s going to work. But this season, it just hasn’t come off as often as it should.
February 22nd, 2017: The jig is up. Leicester City have escaped Sevilla with only a single-goal deficit, but the final scoreline could’ve and should’ve seen Sevilla travel to the King Power Stadium with a three or four goal advantage.
Leicester City are done and dusted — they’ve been tactically found out, the one-year wonders of Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy and a defensive backline that’s suddenly had a massive epiphany regarding their own individual shortcomings means that the Foxes are doomed.
It’s safe to say that Spain has been the most dominate footballing country over the past decade at both the club and international level. Since 2005, a team from La Liga has won the UEFA Cup/Europa League seven times and the Champions League on six occasions. Of those 13 titles won by Spanish clubs, four of those finals have pitted Spanish clubs against one another in the final.
At the international level, the Spanish national team has won two European Cups (2008, 2012) and a World Cup (2010).
UEFA Cup/Europa League
In Naples, they have a book for interpreting dreams. La Smorfia, translated as "the Grimace," provides the user with guidance, teaching them to take their night time adventures and turn them into a series of numbers. You can then use these numbers to play the lottery. For instance, should you dream of Italy or of God, then you should pick the number one. If you dream of a deranged person, then number 22 is particularly auspicious.
If you have a nightmare, then you should be selecting the number ninety. Using your dreams, you can predict the future.
The Bureau of the FIFA Council unveiled their proposal for the allocation of confederation slots for the 48-team 2026 World Cup today, and the recommendation will almost certainly be ratified by the FIFA Council on May 9th in Bahrain.
Here is the slot allocation as compared to the 32-team format:
MLS team valuations have soared in recent years, with the average now at $185 million according to Forbes, but the league is still a long way from fielding a product that competes with the upper-tier of European leagues.