Europe

Leicester Open Title Defense With Horrific Loss

Leicester City opened their title defense in the worst possible fashion on Saturday, losing to a newly promoted Hull City side whose own preseason has bordered on the shambolic.

Leicester became the first ever reigning Premier League champions to lose their opening game, and they’ve been defeated by the early favorites for relegation, Hull City.

Leicester’s far-reaching preseason, including matches against Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, doesn’t appear to have sufficiently readied the East Midlands club. 

Here’s How To Watch Soccer All Weekend Long

The big kick off is here, and, wouldn’t you know it, the stars have aligned in the perfect manner for fans wanting to do nothing but watch football all weekend.

It’s as if Premier League, Liga MX, MLS, Olympic, Bundesliga and La Liga representatives all got together and did this for us. Head to the store tonight, grab all the sustenance you need to survive Saturday and Sunday, and bunker down.

Football is back.

 

Man United Made To Wait Even Longer On Paul Pogba After Midfielder Is Suspended

The eagerly anticipated return of Paul Pogba in Manchester United red will go on for at least another five days after the Football Association informed United that the midfielder must serve a one-match ban for a suspension he accumulated in Italy.

Pogba picked up two yellow cards in the Copa Italia, resulting in a one match ban that’s followed him to England. He was cautioned in consecutive matches, the semi-final against Internazionale and the final against Milan, resulting in an automatic one-match ban.

Barcelona Star’s Twitter Account Hacked, Leading To A Frenzy Of Real Madrid Fanboying

Barcelona midfielder Arda Turan drew the ire of Blaugrana supporters by liking and retweeting photos celebrating Real Madrid’s 11 European Cup wins. The Turkish international then clarified that his “account was hacked for a brief period”, resulting in this outpouring of love for all things Los Blancos.

E.T. Landing Is More Probable Than Another Title According To Leicester City Manager

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has given his thoughts on what it would take for the Foxes to defend their Premier League crown. Essentially, Leicester will need E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial to touch down in Piccadilly Circus, London’s equivalent of Times Square.

Ranieri has never been one to champion his own side’s chances, at least in public. Last season, he targeted survival, then the top 10 and finally a Champions League place while the rest of the world declared Leicester City title favorites.

Aston Villa Are Back And Scoring On Themselves At Will

For Aston Villa, keeping the ball out of their own net has become akin to keeping an ice cube frozen in Hell. They were relegated from the Premier League after giving up an astonishing 76 goals last year, and they’ve now somehow managed to ship three goals to League Two side Luton.

The pick of the bunch was certainly Luton’s third — a calamitous own goal scored by Villa's Jores Okore. Under absolutely no pressure whatsoever, the Denmark center back somehow managed to cooly tuck away an opponent’s cross into his own net.

OGC Nice Release A Beautiful, Touching Kit In Remembrance Of Bastille Day Victims

The devastating attack on Nice, France that resulted in the tragic loss of 85 people is still being painfully processed in the country’s fifth most populous city. Local club OGC Nice have now released a beautiful, touching kit paying homage to those victims whose lives were appallingly cut short on France's Bastille Day.

The Ligue 1 club released the following image of the shirt through their official Twitter page:

Moussa Sissoko Is Open To Real Madrid, Arsenal And, Probably, Barcelona Circa 2014 Transfer

Having watched Moussa Sissoko appear, and even using that word is a stretch, for Newcastle United on 37 different occasions in the Premier League last season, you could say that his performances for France at the European Championship left me feeling a little salty.

Billed as a box-to-box midfield engine that can grab games by the scruff of the neck, which he’s done on a couple of occasions on Tyneside, his abject performances for the Toon throughout 2015-16 made his Euro something like a slap in the face to Newcastle fans.

This Goal Proves Lionel Messi And Luis Suarez Are Building A Telepathic Understanding

This is 100 percent, absolutely, undeniably intentional from Lionel Messi. Even if it had been a mis-hit, this would’ve been a world-class goal from Barcelona. As it stands, this bicycle assist from Messi to Luis Suarez is one of the most absurd team goals you’ll ever witness.

Andres Iniesta’s pass over the U.C. Sampdoria defense is perfectly timed — it finds Messi streaming through totally unmarked. But it’s what happens next that’s simply unreal. You can’t create team goals like this in EA Sports’ FIFA, only the real version of Barca can pull off magic like this.

Cristiano Ronaldo Returns To Real Madrid Training In Race For Fitness

Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Real Madrid training on Wednesday with his fitness still a major concern for Real supporters. Ronaldo injured his knee during Portugal’s Euro 2016 final victory over France, and there’s still no firm timetable for his return.

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