Juventus will definitely be without Miralem Pjanic and Medhi Benatia for the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals against Real Madrid. We knew that going in. That's not the problem. The problem for the Italians right now is they might also be without Sami Khedira, Giorgio Chiellini and Alex Sandro.
Two months ago we would have said this wasn't possible. In fact, we specifically remember thinking a few months ago that it wouldn't be possible, but here we are: Cristiano Ronaldo absolutely has a chance to overtake Messi for La Liga top scorer.
Despite suffering through a suspension and the worst form of his career, Ronaldo is on fire and finds himself just three goals behind Messi at the top of the Spanish goal-scoring charts (Messi also leads La Liga in assists).
Three footballers scored pokers (four goals in one match) this weekend in Europe's major leagues: Mohamed Salah for Liverpool, Cristiano Ronaldo for Real Madrid and Mauro Icardi for Inter Milan. You have to be an astoundingly good footballer to score four in a match in one of Europe top five leagues, but who was the most astoundingly good at being astoundingly good.
Who scored four goals in one match with the most flair, the most panache? Who won the poker hand, as it were? Ante up, let's figure it out.
The18.com knows you don't have time to waste when it comes to your soccer news. That's why we've created the fastest rundown in soccer. Greg Ellis takes you through 18 different soccer topics, and spends 18 seconds on each. This time he goes over Cristiano Ronaldo's potential break up with Real Madrid, World Cup mascots, and the most mispronounced soccer names and much more. If you liked this episode Watch Episode 3 of 18 Things in 18 Seconds.
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti has issued an apology for his sending off against Real Madrid in the Champions League, but the Italian international isn’t entirely repentant for his actions — he’s convinced German referee Felix Brych wouldn’t have shown a second yellow card to someone like Lionel Messi in the same situation.
With PSG trailing Real 4-1 on aggregate in the 66th minute, Verratti won possession back for his side outside the opponent’s box. However, with three Real players quickly surrounding him, Verratti lost the ball while screaming for a foul.