As the weeks go on and the league table begins to take shape, favorites begin to emerge and we can start to see trends more clearly. MLS has belonged to Philadelphia and LAFC for the past year, but is that the case anymore? Sure, Denis Bouanga can’t stop scoring, but other teams are finally having their say. After MLS Matchweek 3, here are five things we learned.
The 2023 Leagues Cup is heating up. 48 days after announcing the groups and the format in which MLS and Liga MX clubs will face each other in some sort of summer World Cup-style extravaganza, the tournament revealed its entire match schedule and bracket.
And oh, boy! Be prepared for an overdose of games.
Viene un verano ☀️ de mucho fútbol ⚽️
For the second consecutive season, a Paris Saint-Germain club entirely hellbent and solely existing for Champions League glory has failed to advance beyond the competition's last 16.
PSG now faces over six months of deep contemplation before the start of the 2023-24 UCL group stage, and although they'll rue Vitinha's inability to score on an open net/Marco Verratti carrying on the club's tradition of having the softest midfielders in the game, those failures should only emphasize how the entire squad needs investment.
For MLS teams who are just beginning their domestic seasons, the Champions League can act as a distraction or a potential hurdle to not be taken out by. Injuries are to be avoided and as we saw last season when Seattle won the entire tournament, becoming the first team in league history to do so, they struggled to continue that form after reaching their continental pinnacle.
The matchups for the SCCL 2023 Round of 16 are defined!
A swift rush of blood to the head doomed Juventus in the dying moments of their 1-0 loss to José Mourinho’s Roma on Sunday. With the seconds ticking away and a goal imperative as Juventus clung to the hope of Champions League qualification, head coach Massimiliano Allegri turned to his bench and brought on 23-year-old Moise Kean as the final hope for salvation.
And so it begins. The newness has worn off and we're fully back into the thick of it. Matchweek 2 of the 2023 MLS Season saw quite a few surprising results that help fans gauge what to expect from each team. Seattle showed its class once again, Inter Miami put together a statement win over Philadelphia, but most importantly, Apple TV made considerable strides with its MLS 360 coverage. Unfortunately, the commercials appear to be here to stay.
March 4 (Reuters) - New Zealand Football chief executive Andrew Pragnell has thrown his support behind coach Jitka Klimková to turn around the fortunes of her underperforming team with less than five months before the Women's World Cup begins.
New Zealand, who will co-host the World Cup with neighbors Australia from July 20 to Aug. 20, lost all their friendlies last month, suffering a 5-0 hammering by Portugal before falling 2-0 and 1-0 to Argentina.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side hosted Torino on Tuesday night, putting together a vintage display in this season’s second Derby Della Mole. Goals from Juan Cuadrado, Danilo, Gleison Bremer and Adrien Rabiot were enough to overcome a strong attack from the visitors as Juventus ran out 4-2 winners and moved up to 7th in Serie A.
Bremer breaks Torino hearts!
The former Torino defender has Juventus' third of the day. pic.twitter.com/v69WJ88zcm
Domestic action returns to the fore with the FA Cup, Copa del Rey and Coupe de France dominating the midweek action, but the Champions League is set to return with the Round of 16 second legs on March 7/8-14/15.
We've got some dynamite return legs brewing with five of the eight matches separated by one goal or less, and who knows, maybe Liverpool can finally deliver some excitement now that nothing's expected from them.
The 2023 MLS season is finally underway and we've already learned a great deal from the league's opening fixtures. From the on-field play to the coverage and other adjacent news surrounding kick-off, MLS fans will certainly have lots to talk about before the match week has even finished.
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