According to Manchester United, the club boasts 659 million followers worldwide. Of that number, 109,000 international visitors make the journey to Old Trafford every year to see their beloved Red Devils play according to the Office for National Statistics.
Just scoring a goal in De Klassieker, the biggest club football rivalry in the Netherlands pitting Amsterdam’s Ajax and Rotterdam’s Feyenoord, is grounds for footballing legend. Factor in the additional importance of this early goal being the impetus for Ajax’s 2-1 victory, a result which saw them close the gap on their most hated rival to only three points at the top of the Eredivisie table, and it’s bordering on folkloric status.
Another match day, another performance that left many questions over Barcelona’s ability in a season that still has them fighting for the treble, which is a ridiculous thing to say. At times, this Barcelona side looks as good as any from the past 13 years, but they’re also more than capable of ringing their own death knell and signaling a need for transformation.
Against relegation certainties Granada, anything less than a comprehensive victory, even without the suspended Lionel Messi, would’ve had Blaugrana supporters looking towards Sevilla’s midweek visit with angst.
Aviles Hurtado is awfully coordinated.
The Xolos midfielder got on his bike and scored what will almost certainly end up being the goal of the Liga MX season Sunday against Atlas.
The Chicago Fire are well and truly on their way to winning the World Cup if Bastian Schweinsteiger’s debut is anything to go by. The former German international took all of 17 minutes to open his MLS account with Chicago after planting a header into the net from a superb David Accam cross.
Liverpool moved into third place in the Premier League with a scintillating victory over Everton in the Merseyside derby. Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho and Divock Origi struck for the home side while Matthew Pennington scored the lone Everton goal in Liverpool’s 3-1 victory.
Mane opened the scoring in the 8th-minute with a fantastic solo effort, driving past defenders before striking a low shot into the corner — his 13th league goal of the campaign.
Bundesliga also-rans Hoffenheim and Hertha met in a battle pitting fourth and fifth in the German top division. Hoffenheim would ultimately win 3-1, climbing above Borussia Dortmund and into third in the table — only 14 points behind Bayern Munich.
The match featured two must-watch but starkly contrasting goals. Peter Pekarik opened the scoring for Hertha after a truly bizarre assist from Alexander Esswein. It was just an awful mis-hit, but that stupid cliche they all count the same.
Andros Townsend’s decision to leave Newcastle United after their relegation still doesn’t sit well with me. He was a poor man’s Arjen Robben, but that’s no bad thing. If he’s on the right, he’s cutting inside and he’s unleashing a left-footed shot that’s flying into the corner. At least that’s what happened during his 13 games at Newcastle.
Along with the rest of the Crystal Palace team he’s been awful this season. It’s hard to pinpoint where it’s gone wrong, but no it isn’t. Alan Pardew was the manager.
The United States’ recent match against Panama conjured memories of one of the greatest performances by any American in World Cup qualifying. Eddie Johnson, then just 20 years old, took his total to four goals in only two international appearances by scoring a hat trick against Panama in only seventeen-minutes back in 2004.