Wednesday was a pretty good day for Americans playing for Manchester City in the Champions League. Sam Mewis popped up for a late winner as the women’s team beat Göteborg 2-1. Then Zack Steffen became the third American goalkeeper to start in the men’s UCL when he recorded a clean sheet in a 3-0 win over Marseille.
On Tuesday, USMNT fans found themselves drooling over yet another young American prospect realizing his potential at the highest level in Europe.
Weston McKennie went horizontal for flying volley against Barcelona, capturing the imagination of a generation of American soccer fans in the process.
For the neutral, there could be no victor in Wednesday’s win or go home meeting between Ajax and Atalanta at Johan Cruijff ArenA (although a draw would suffice for the Italian side).
Ajax’s run to the semifinals of the 2018-19 tournament is already the stuff of legend, while Atalanta’s own trip to the quarters last season was just as improbable, and likewise ended in heartbreaking added-time defeat.
Neymar donned a brand spanking new pair of boots made just for him by PUMA on Wednesday. He immediately scored a stunning hat trick against İstanbul Başakşehir. That’s how you justify a $30-million-per-year boot contract.
PSG and İstanbul Başakşehir players walked off the pitch to protest a fourth official’s alleged racist comment toward a Başakşehir assistant coach during their Champions League Group H match on Tuesday. The players refused to resume the match unless the fourth official was not involved, and without sufficient cover (UEFA needed the fourth official to at least help as a VAR), the match was suspended until Wednesday.
One need only look to the recent player acquisitions of the FA Women’s Super League or the formation of Real Madrid Feminino to better understand the shifting nature of the women’s game, but some things simply refuse to change — namely Lyon’s domination of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Lyon is aiming for a sixth straight title this season, and the club’s journey began — as it has every year since the competition’s rebranding in 2009 — with the first leg of the Round of 32 on Wednesday.
It was a feckless decision from CBS to refuse to show any Champions League group-stage matches on TV. Forcing anyone who wants to watch a match from start to finish to pay for CBS All Access is far shadier than Turner Sports’ cash-grab B/R Live service that bombed harder than Quibi.
The 36th and perhaps final meeting between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo ended fittingly at the Camp Nou on Tuesday with Juventus strolling to a 3-0 win against a sad, soft and directionless Barcelona. It’s all too evident why Messi — like Ronaldo before him at Real Madrid — is ready to move on.
All Manchester United needed was a draw against a team it beat by five just two months ago. That was too much to ask and now the Red Devils have crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage.
RB Leipzig jumped out early and held off a late charge to claim a memorable 3-2 victory at Red Bull Arena on Tuesday night to claim its spot in the Round of 16.
With the entire globe tuning in to watch Lionel Messi play Cristiano Ronaldo for perhaps the final time, who could’ve predicted that the first half between Barcelona and Juventus would be dominated by dueling Americans Sergiño Dest and Weston McKennie?
Juve controlled possession at the Camp Nou in the opening 45 minutes, so it was Dest who featured most heavily for Barcelona on both defense and with the ball — only Miralem Pjanić had more touches for Barça.