Of the four UEFA World Cup qualifying playoffs, few would have expected this sort of entertainment from the Croatia vs. Greece match. Greece, a team that once turned winning while attacking as little as possible into an art form, were away to a resolute Croatia with its star striker on the bench in what is usually a cagey first leg. But the match was refreshingly exciting.
Keisuke Honda’s first season in Liga MX with Pachuca was something of a disappointment with los Tuzos failing to qualify for the Apertura playoffs. However, the 31-year-old Japanese attacker recently showcased his quality with fantastic strikes against Santos and Cruz Azul, and there’s still a chance at redemption in the Copa MX.
Alex Collado, born in the city of Sabadell in Catalonia (the birthplace of Sergio Busquets), joined La Masia back in 2011 as a 12-year-old. The central midfielder has since risen through the club’s youth ranks, appearing for Barca’s Juvenil A (the premier U-19 side and the final stage of progression at La Masia) throughout the 2016-17 season as a 17-year-old.
Collado played a vital role in Barca’s run to the semifinals of last year's UEFA Youth League, which culminated in a 2-1 defeat to eventual champions Red Bull Salzburg.
Marco Asensio must be a fan of the new Marvel movie that came out in theaters this week because he channeled his inner Thor in Real Madrid’s match against Las Palmas on Sunday. Instead of a hammer, Asensio used his leg and ripped a thunderous volley from 25 yards out to score the middle goal in Los Blancos’ 3-0 victory.
Álvaro Morata may have the most brilliant head in England since Isaac Newton. The Chelsea striker scored with his noggin yet again for the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Manchester United to spoil yet another return for Jose Mourinho to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Morata has scored 10 goals with his head since the start of last season, the most in Europe’s top five leagues in that span. That’s more than the sinewy peg atop Peter Crouch’s body, Andy Carroll’s bulging cranium and the meaty French forehead of Olivier Giroud.
Manchester City is on an historic run of form, crushing all competition with relative ease. Pep Guardiola’s free-flowing footballers bounced around Arsenal like they have against every other team this year and deservedly won 3-1 on Sunday at the Etihad. But Man City was aided by a few refereeing decisions going its way to dispatch a Gunners side that was actually decent in defense for once despite allowing three goals.
For a half-hour inside the Stadio San Paolo in Naples, Napoli didn’t just look like the best team in Italy — a statement backed up by their current position in Serie A — they looked like the best side in Europe. An opening period of dominance was stamped by a sensational goal in the 21st minute for the Neapolitans, and everything appeared rosy for the home side before defender Faouzi Ghoulam had to be substituted in the 31st minute with an apparent knee injury.
With 20 minutes left in the match, Londoners were shouting “Olé!” for every touch of the team in all white, which held a commanding three-goal lead. The two-time defending champions were chasing ghosts.
Tottenham crushed Real Madrid 3-1 in a Group H Champions League match at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday, staking a claim as one of the best teams in Europe and a legitimate contender for the Champions League crown.
It’s not going well for Chelsea at the moment. Manager Antonio Conte has already admitted that the nine-point gap to Manchester City in the Premier League will be extremely difficult to overcome while emphasizing the need for Chelsea supporters “to have patience, to understand we are trying to build something important for the future.”
River Plate was leading Lanús by three goals on aggregate early in their Copa Libertadores semifinal second leg on Tuesday evening, a seemingly insurmountable lead for Lanús, which has only played in five Copa Libertadores, against a club that has won the tournament three times. But then it all unraveled, with Lanús scoring four unanswered goals to steal a 4-3 aggregate victory and advance to the club’s first Copa Libertadores final.