Europe

Manchester United sacked manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Sunday, a day after a fifth defeat in seven Premier League games left the Old Trafford club seventh in the standings.

Following is a fact-box on the highs and lows of the Norwegian's time at the club:

HIGHS

Dec. 19, 2018

Appointed United's caretaker manager to replace José Mourinho for the rest of the season, marking a return to the club where he won six league titles and the Champions League as a player.

PARIS — Lionel Messi scored his first Ligue 1 goal as Paris Saint-Germain opened a 13-point lead in Ligue 1 despite playing almost half an hour with 10 men in a 3-1 home win against Nantes on Saturday.

Messi found the back of the net with a curled left-footed effort from outside the box three minutes from time, adding to Dennis Appiah's own goal after Randal Kolo Muani had cancelled out Kylian Mbappe's first-half opener.

BARCELONA - After a nerve-wracking last World Cup qualifier for Spain as they booked their place at next year's finals by beating Sweden 1-0, LaLiga returns this weekend with all eyes on Barcelona.

New manager Xavi Hernández will take charge of the team in the Catalonia derby against Espanyol on Saturday and three days later Barca host Benfica in a game that could secure their place in the Champions League last 16.

Defending UEFA Women’s Champions League winner Barcelona booked its place in the quarterfinals with a 5-0 away destruction of Hoffenheim on Wednesday, bringing the team’s group-stage record to played four, won four, scored 15 and conceded one (remember that the group also contains WSL power Arsenal).

Back on Oct. 5 on the competition’s opening matchday, a 4-1 victory over the Gunners highlighted the unmatched style and quality of the Blaugranes’ play, and Wednesday was another reminder of the club’s current superiority over the rest of Europe.     

There was every reason for Dutch stress on Tuesday evening: The ghost of the failed 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign; Saturday’s calamitous draw with 73rd-ranked Montenegro despite leading 2-0 with less than 10 minutes to play; Louis van Gaal’s bike accident on Sunday and fractured hip, forcing him to watch this key clash against Norway from a wheelchair in a box seat; an empty De Kuip in Rotterdam after the country entered a three-week lockdown period with Covid-19 cases soaring.   

The Christian Pulisic Barcelona rumors have been gaining steam with reports from Spanish media claiming that the American is on the LaLiga giants’ radar.

One Spanish newspaper, Sport, makes the claim that Barcelona is eyeing up three Chelsea players for potential loan moves. The three Blues in question are Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Hakim Ziyech.