Real Madrid

Marcelo’s Goal And Godly Piece Of Control Were The Highlights Of Real’s Win

In one of the ultimate glamor ties of European club football, it was Real Madrid left back Marcelo who emerged as Wednesday’s Man of the Match in his side’s 2-1 away leg victory over Bayern Munich.

The 29-year-old Brazilian’s day got off to a flyer when opposition winger Arjen Robben was forced off with an injury as early as the 8th minute. The introduction of Thiago Alcantara as his replacement immediately shifted Bayern’s focus to the middle of the park and allowed Marcelo more freedom to get forward on the wing.

Marcelo’s Thunderous, 18-Yard Half-Volley Gives Real Their Vital Away Goal

It’s 1-1 at halftime in an enthralling UEFA Champions League semifinal between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena, Joshua Kimmich opening the scoring for Bayern in the 28’ before Marcelo’s sweet strike evened things up in the 44’.

Jupp Heynckes has been forced into two early substitutions with both Arjen Robben and Jerome Boateng limping off injured, but Bayern took the lead when Real failed to track the run of Kimmich. The 23-year-old left back then punished Real with a clinical finish. 

Luka Modric In MLS Would Be Like Einstein Pulling A Billy Madison

Aside from the more technical aspects of U.S. youth soccer development, there’s a very real and very obvious significance in having players worthy of serving as inspirations to young Americans in MLS. While Lionel Messi and Neymar will always be accessible via YouTube highlights, there’s something much more tangible and effective with regards to seeing an otherworldly talent live. 

Watch 10 Minutes Of Sergio Ramos Trying To Kill Other Humans

Sergio Ramos is a crazy man. This is not a secret, but it takes a very special type of crazy to produce a 10-minute video of bad tackles and late challenges and elbows and the like. Ramos is nothing if not special.

In December, Ramos set the Spanish Primera Division record for red cards in a career after receiving his marching orders for the 19th time. This was not exactly a surprise. Ramos has earned 24 total red cards in his Real Madrid career, and has collected nearly 300 total bookings.

Five Story Lines They Don’t Want You To Talk About For The Champions League Semifinals

So it’s Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich and Liverpool vs. AS Roma in the Champions League draw for the semifinals on Friday. What immediately jump out are all the storylines and relationships between the two sets of semifinalists. But there’s more to this matchup than player links. 

Sure, Bayern’s James Rodriguez is on loan from Real Madrid and Toni Kroos once plied his trade for the Bavarians. And yes, Salah transferred to Liverpool from Roma last summer. 

10 Literary Insults Gigi Buffon Should Have Used On Michael Oliver

Clearly Gianluigi Buffon is not the biggest fan of Michael Oliver right now. The English referee sent the Italian goalkeeper off at the end of extra time during the Juventus-Real Madrid Champions League match Wednesday, after Buffon vehemently disagreed with a penalty Oliver gave. Juventus were eliminated after Cristiano Ronaldo converted the penalty.

Here's what Buffon said after the match:

We Counted The Number Of Times Ronaldo Touched His Nose While Waiting To Take His PK (It’s A Lot)

Four minutes and 32 seconds elapsed from the time referee Michael Oliver pointed to the spot to the moment the ball struck the back of the net from the force of another epic Cristiano Ronaldo penalty kick. 

Hate Makes Him Unstoppable, So It’s No Surprise That Ronaldo Is Currently The World’s Best

Cristiano Ronaldo is probably, no, scratch that, he is the most hated player in soccer right now. I challenge you to name me someone more polarising, I dare you. But, what makes him so easy to dislike? 

Well, for starters, the guy has a body that looks as if the Greek god Zeus hand carved it himself. I mean, seriously, I know most of us are out of shape, but there’s no need for Ronaldo to continually take his shirt off in celebration to remind us all of how ridiculously jacked he is. It's not fair. 

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