PARIS - Lionel Messi was named FIFA player of the year 2022 on Monday as Argentina scooped all major men's awards after winning a vintage World Cup final last December.
The 35-year-old forward scored two goals in the final against France, with the South Americans emerging triumphant on penalties following a 3-3 draw after extra time in Qatar.
César Montes came back from injury in Espanyol’s LaLiga game against Mallorca on Saturday, and a goal-saving tackle in the match's closing minutes has half the city of Barcelona sprung over the Mexican center-back.
"Cachorro" returned to the Espanyol XI, played the full 90 minutes and had a goal-saving slide tackle in the closing minutes of the game. Montes showed his recent physical problems won't stop him from getting back to his previous form. This is worthy of chronic replays.
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.
Coaxed onto the pitch by Gerard Piqué and the fulfillment of his appearance fee, Ronaldinho made a brief cameo in the Kings League on Sunday as the 12th man for Ibai Llanos' Porcinos FC team.
The true king was in the building.
Llega la Porcineta con @10Ronaldinho. Histórico. pic.twitter.com/0En1waXvLe
Like the rest of America, I've been selfishly hoping that Lionel Messi decides against renewing his contract with Paris Saint-Germain and instead opts for Inter Miami, giving me one glorious day out at Allianz Field of Wil Trapp man-marking the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner.
ALMERIA, Spain - Barcelona wasted a golden opportunity to extend their lead at the top of LaLiga as they were shocked 1-0 at lowly Almería on Sunday thanks to a first-half strike by El Bilal Touré.
Barça are top of the league standings on 59 points, seven ahead second-placed Real Madrid who were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Atlético Madrid on Saturday. Almería are 15th on 25 points, two clear of the relegation zone.
Loris Karius' one-day Redemption Tour is at an end. Playing his first competitive match in nearly two years and his first representing an English club since that infamous night in Kyiv, Karius could not prevent Newcastle's defeat in the EFL Cup final on Sunday as Manchester United scored two goals in a six-minute first-half span to claim the season's first major piece of silverware.
LONDON - Tottenham Hotspur bolstered their hopes for a top-four finish and extended Chelsea's miserable run under coach Graham Potter with a 2-0 win over the Blues in the Premier League on Sunday, thanks to second-half goals from Oliver Skipp and Harry Kane.
Seconds after the break, Skipp picked up a clearance by Chelsea's British record signing Enzo Fernández and fired in from more than 20 yards, his shot going in off the bar after Kepa Arrizabalaga could not get enough of a hand on it.
MADRID — Ten-man Atletico Madrid dealt a blow to Real Madrid's LaLiga title hopes when they held the defending champions to a 1-1 draw at their Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Saturday.
After substitute Angel Correa had got a straight red card in the 64th minute for an elbow to the chest of defender Antonio Ruediger, Jose Maria Gimenez gave Atletico the lead when he netted a header from an Antoine Griezmann free kick in the 78th minute.
West Brom may have only finished Saturday’s EFL Championship game with 30% possession, but that’s all they needed after two early Daryl Dike goals vs Middlesbrough was enough for a 2-0 victory.
Dike’s pair of goals came just two minutes apart as he bested fellow American goalkeeper Zack Steffen in the 8th and 10th minute.
The first goal for Dike came at the end of a great sequence of passes from West Brom. His darting run into the middle gave him enough space to slip the ball past Steffen.