South Korea’s K League was scheduled to begin play this weekend, but the growing coronavirus outbreak in the country has led to the temporary postponement of the competition. Outside of China, South Korea has been hit hardest by the virus with 833 reported cases and seven deaths. The epicenter of the outbreak in South Korea is the southeastern city of Daegu.
It’s hard to remember a time without Lukas Podolski. He burst onto the scene as an 18-year-old after scoring 10 goals in his first 19 Bundesliga appearances with FC Köln . . . that was 16 years ago.
He’s since gone on to play for Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Galatasaray and Vissel Kobe, as well as representing Germany 130 times before announcing his international retirement after Euro 2016.
LaLiga has confirmed the date and time for the 2020 El Clasico, and we can now begin to look forward to one of the most meaningful clashes between Real Madrid and Barcelona in years. On Sunday, March 1 at 3:00 p.m. ET, the two eternal rivals will take to the pitch at El Bernabéu in Madrid with the league title on the line.
After failing to come off the bench in PSG’s 2-1 Champions League defeat to Borussia Dortmund, Edinson Cavani was handed a start against Bordeaux in Ligue 1 action Sunday and scored his landmark 200th goal for the club.
Cavani was already PSG’s all-time leading scorer (Zlatan Ibrahimović is second with 156), but it’s a special milestone for the 33-year-old as his seventh season in Paris figures to be his last.
Anthony Martial's not the sort of forward you’d associate with winning the ball back in the attacking third after a demonstration of single-minded counter pressing. He’s not a target man, but he’s also not going to thrive when shunted out wide and asked to perform industriously.
Lionel Messi and Barcelona have a massive week ahead on the road. A trip to the Stadio San Paolo to face Napoli on Tuesday in the Champions League is followed by an even bigger showdown with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Sunday.
In just about every major sport in the world, video replay has been installed with little fuss. Sure, it takes a little longer than some would prefer, but with video replay it’s generally accepted the correct calls are made.
Except soccer in England.
For years now, Manuel Neuer has been established as the premier sweeper-keeper in the world. The German World Cup winner and Bayern Munich No. 1 essentially redefined the position. But even Neuer gets things wrong from time to time.
A stunning mistake from Manuel Neuer vs Paderborn nearly cost Bayern three points on Friday. The visitors twice pegged back the reigning champions before Robert Lewandowski saved Neuer’s blushes with an 88th-minute winner for a 3-2 victory at Allianz Arena.
In a game that could prove crucial in the fight for European qualification, Real Sociedad plays host to Valencia on Saturday. The Basque side currently sits in eighth place, just one point behind Valencia in seventh. If other results go favorably, a win could see either team break into the top four. Valencia is only behind rival Villareal on goal difference while Atletico Madrid and Sevilla, fourth and fifth in the table, respectively, are level on 40 points, two points ahead.
Jesse Marsch's RB Salzburg entered its Europa League Round of 32 first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt looking to rebound from a loss against LASK this past weekend which cost Salzburg first place in the Austrian Bundesliga. Frankfurt came into the game having won four of its last six games, most recently putting five goals past Augsburg. Only Bayern Munich has racked up more points than Frankfurt since the Bundesliga's winter break.