What a weekend of goals we had! Lost in all the hullabaloo surrounding Gareth Bale’s remarkable bicycle kick and Loris Karius’ equally brilliant goofs, Major League Soccer threw up an insane solo effort from the Portland Timbers’ Samuel Armenteros.
In what all USMNT fans had hoped would be a World Cup tune-up game, the friendly between the USMNT and Bolivia had a decidely different narrative. Interim manager Dave Sarachan selected a number of USMNT young players against Bolivia, and their performances showed promise.
Mario Balotelli made his triumphant return to the Italian national team against Saudi Arabia on Monday and managed to score an outstanding goal early on.
In true Balotelli form, it only took him just a measly twenty minutes to find the back of the net. They really could have done with him against Sweden.
The match was the first of former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini’s tenure as the coach of the Italian team, and the Azzurri went on to win 2-1.
Two Loris Karius mistakes gifted Real Madrid a pair of goals in the Champions League Final, and those proved to be the difference in the game. After a cagey first half in which Sergio Ramos took out Mo Salah, Karim Benzema took advantage of Karius' lapse in judgment and opened the scoring for Real Madrid.
As the latest financial accounts at Newcastle United show, the Magpies navigated the Championship and their return to the Premier League with one of the largest wage bills in the second division. However, with the cost of relegation still being clearly felt by owner Mike Ashley, Newcastle prepared for its return to the Prem with very little squad reinforcement.
Yesterday, Italian legend Andrea Pirlo played one final match before retirement — his testimonial at the San Siro. After a career spent with Brescia, Inter, Reggina, Milan, Juventus, New York City FC and the Italian national team, a world-class selection of former teammates came together to celebrate the career of the midfield maestro.