I don’t know about you, but we like our United Soccer League action rowdy. We like the Las Vegas Lights, bangers from Efrain Alvarez and the plethora of ridiculous goals that were overlooked because the World Cup was going on.
Two and a half years ago, Lionel Messi’s wife Antonella Roccuzzo gifted hubby a Mastiff puppy. He was just a little guy then, and we all loved him dearly.
Andres Iniesta was never going to have a Zlatan Ibrahimovic-esque debut in the J1 League. The 34-year-old schemer is a much more subtle player and has never been one to stuff the stat line. Last Sunday, he made his debut for Vissel Kobe and played the final 31 minutes of his side’s 3-0 defeat.
After his break following a World Cup with Spain, the former Barcelona midfielder looked a little rusty — every pass just seemed a fraction too far for his teammates, perhaps an indication of the new level of play that he’ll need to adjust to.
Wayne Rooney — the all-time top scorer for Manchester United with 253 goals and for England with 53 — now has one in Major League Soccer. The 32-year-old is now just 144 away from Landon Donovan’s mark, but putting your first goal through the legs of Tim Howard should count double.
Anyway, Rooney’s strike at Audi Field gave United a 33rd-minute lead over the Colorado Rapids, only for another player to respond with his first goal for a new side: former FC Dallas midfielder Kellyn Acosta scored on his first appearance for the Rapids to even things up in the 82nd.
It was a preseason friendly, but we don’t care. It was offside, but that doesn’t matter. The Juan Mata touch vs Liverpool on Saturday in Michigan was absolutely sublime.
England’s two most successful clubs faced off in front of more than 105,000 fans at the Big House on Saturday. While Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp fielded a starting 11 close to his first choice, Jose Mourinho opted for a few more reserves. Where exactly Mata falls on that spectrum is debatable, but his ability is not.
Benfica vs. Juventus wasn’t exactly one of the more glamorous matchups brought to us by the International Champions Cup. But it brought us the two best goals of the preseason tournament, namely the Luca Clemenza goal vs Benfica on Saturday at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey.
The match was scoreless after an hour. The deadlock was broken in the 65th minute by Benfica’s 22-year-old Spaniard Alejandro Grimaldo, who smashed a free kick that dipped perfectly into the back of the net.