Europe

Barcelona moved to the top of the LaLiga table on goal difference Sunday after hammering newly promoted Huesca 8-2 at the Camp Nou. Lionel Messi registered two goals and two assists, Luis Suarez added a brace and an assist, Jordi Alba had a goal and an assist and Ivan Rakitic did the same to power the Blaugrana to the top of the table. An Ousmane Dembele strike and a Jorge Pulido own goal rounded off the eight Barcelona tallies. 

18-year-old Brazilian wunderkind Vinícius Júnior appeared in his second match for Real Madrid Castilla (Real’s reserve team) against Atletico Madrid B today. The Madrid Derby in Segunda División B (Spain’s third division) ended in a 2-2 draw with Vinícius Jr at the center of everything for Real, scoring a brace while also getting his head munched on by Atletico captain Alberto Rodriguez.

The 2018-19 Europa League group stage draw on Friday placed Arsenal in Group E alongside Portugal’s Sporting, Azerbaijan’s FK Qarabag and Ukraine’s Vorskla Poltava.

The official result of the #UELdraw! 

Toughest group?  pic.twitter.com/nfTeWdG1rq

Cristiano Ronaldo’s life is harder than you may think. There are days his six pack abs do not show off very well or a fan takes a bad selfie of him. Sometimes he does not even score for two or three games.

But this? Not winning what would have been a 98th trophy? Not having to clear space in your cabinet for another award. Now that, that, is really tough. 

PSV Eindhoven is turning into Pachuca East, or maybe the Dutch El Tri. After the incredible success of former Pachuca winger Hirving Lozano, the Erick Gutierrez PSV transfer was officially announced Thursday, the day after Chucky helped fire the Dutch club into the Champions League group stage. 

 pic.twitter.com/PXvCjR0BtY

The Champions League group stage draw on Thursday was excruciatingly boring. The matches it presented to us won’t be — at least not in Group C.

The 2018-19 Champions League group stages feature some tasty matchups with a couple of thrilling groups and one shockingly easy group. 

Here are the groups:

Serie A banned Udinese’s Rolando Mandragora for one match after “blasphemous remarks” concerning the Virgin Mary. The 21-year-old midfielder said “Porca Madonna, Vaffanculo, Dio Cane” and television cameras caught it, the BBC reports.

The words, an insult to the Virgin Mary and calling God a dog, heavily disturbed the Italian FA. The angry outburst reportedly came after Sampdoria’s goalie Emil Eudero saved a shot against Udinese. Mandragora’s team won 1-0 on Monday, Aug. 27.

The Champions League group stage is now set, all 32 teams having clinched their spot in the meat of Europe’s biggest club competition. Red Star Belgrade was the last team in, booking its spot in the Champions League group stage for the first time ever with a dramatic 2-2 draw with FC Salzburg, advancing on away goals. 

After breaking through in monster fashion last season, Hirving “Chucky” Lozano somehow looks destined for even bigger and better things during his sophomore year in Europe. The 23-year-old Mexican winger already has two goals in three Eredivisie appearances, and now his two goals — including one today — in PSV’s 6-2 aggregate win over BATE Borisov have ensured the club’s participation in the 2018-19 Champions League group stage. 

Who are the fastest soccer players in the world today? Well, by working toward a composite of various top speeds collected throughout last year’s club season and this summer’s World Cup, we can somewhat confidently say that this list here comprises the 40 fastest soccer players in the world today.