It’s days like this when you see Sergio Ramos, Luka Modrić and Karim Benzema laugh in the face of Champions League elimination that you truly appreciate how incredible this side was between 2013 and 2018.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Of all the phenomenons we’ve covered over the last six years — Christian Pulisic’s tender years, Martin Ødegaard’s journey of the Prodigal Son, Alphonso Davies meep meep — Borussia Dortmund’s Youssoufa Moukoko stands out as the most prodigious.
The draw for UEFA World Cup 2022 Qualifying took place Monday, December 7, leaving us with an enticing list of matchups to look forward to in 2021.
The 2022 World Cup qualifying groups have been drawn for European countries pic.twitter.com/rfziJTsq0j
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 7, 2020
Borussia Dortmund and SpongeBob SquarePants have collaborated on a lifestyle capsule that includes two hoodies and two T-shirts. Why?
But my guess is because both are yellow, Gio Reyna is SpongeBob, Erling Haaland is Patrick, Marco Reus is “MY LEG!” and Robert Lewandowski is Gary.
Stuttgart attacker Silas Wamangituka was booked for unsporting conduct on Sunday after refusing to convert his open goal opportunity against Werder Bremen in a timely fashion.
The 21-year-old had already given Stuttgart the lead in the 30th-minute from the spot, and he was gifted an opportunity to put the game on ice after a horrible mix-up between Bremen defender Ömer Toprak and keeper Jiří Pavlenka.
Wamangituka gathered possession with the clock reading 90:08, but the ball didn’t strike the back of the net until 90:17 despite the attacker facing an empty goal.