Goalkeepers

LISBON — Raphinha scored deep into stoppage time to hand Barcelona a dramatic 5-4 comeback win at Benfica and a place in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday after a hat-trick from Vangelis Pavlidis gave the hosts a two-goal halftime lead.

Barcelona vs Benfica highlights

Greek striker Pavlidis opened the scoring after two minutes with a tap-in before Robert Lewandowski equalized from the spot as VAR awarded Barca a penalty for a Tomas Araujo foul on Alejandro Balde in the 11th minute.

United States women’s national team icon Alyssa Naeher was named the 2024 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year, finishing her international career on top.

Naeher, 36, was instrumental in the USWNT’s success in 2024 providing key stops in the Olympics, SheBelieves Cup and Concacaf W Gold Cup that ultimately led the U.S. to winning all three.

Recognition for her work last year came not only from U.S. Soccer as she was named the Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year and selected in FIFA’s Best Women’s XI lineup.

The United States women’s national team had an incredible 2024 winning their first Olympic gold medal in 12 years. The 2025 USWNT calendar might not have any major tournaments on schedule but will still be an important 12-month stretch.

In 2025 the sole tournament for the USWNT will be the SheBelieves Cup in February against top opponents Australia, Japan and Colombia.

2025 USWNT calendar

January

• Jan. 14-21: Training camp in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

February

SheBelieves Cup

Cristiano Ronaldo scored from the penalty spot on Thursday during Al Nassr’s 3-1 victory marking his first goal of 2025. The Portuguese star had some fun with his goal as video shows that Ronaldo points and laughs at goalkeeper after scoring.

With the scored tied at 1-1 near the end of the first half, Al Nassr were awarded a penalty kick with Ronaldo set to take it. As he prepared to take the kick the opposing goalkeeper tried to make himself look as big as possible to get into CR7’s head.

Aston Villa will be disappointed with their 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, however an unbelievable Emiliano Martínez save was one big highlight they can smile about.

In the 60th minute with the score tied at 0-0 Martínez seemingly broke the laws of physics with an unreal save. Nottingham Forest’s Nicolás Domínguez thought for certain he’d scored the opening goal with a close-range header but was denied by the paw of Martínez.

Emi Martínez save vs Forest

PLZEN — Manchester United learned lessons from their bland first half at Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on Thursday and sped up the action in the second period, allowing them to get a 2-1 win, coach Ruben Amorim said.

Forward Rasmus Hojlund scored twice in the second half to allow United to come back from a goal down at six-times Czech champions Plzen for their third consecutive European win.

The United States women’s national team ended 2024 with their unlikeliest win of the calendar year on Tuesday with a 2-1 victory vs. Netherlands despite being dominated most of the game. The game was played in Hague.

In what was Alyssa Naeher’s final game with the Stars and Stripes the 36-year-old goalkeeper had one of her busiest 90 minutes. The Dutch had total control of the first half outshooting the USWNT 14-1 and opening the scoring in the 15th minute.

USWNT vs Netherlands highlights and takeaways