We all still know, as evidenced by his hat-trick against Atletico Madrid, that when it comes to big matches, there’s no player more decisive on the planet than Cristiano Ronaldo. However, given his current injury and focus on the Champions League, it’s safe to say that Ronaldo will not capture the European Golden Shoe this year.
Although Real Madrid entered today’s match against SD Huesca with 10 games still remaining in LaLiga, a 15-point deficit to Barcelona at the top combined with a 10-point lead over fifth-place Alaves has rendered the rest of the season somewhat inconsequential for Zinedine Zidane’s men.
Regardless, it’s interesting to watch how the team performs following the French manager’s return, particularly restored players like Isco and Marcelo as well as the ongoing drama that is Gareth Bale. Extra spice was added today when Zidane elected to start his 20-year-old son Luca in goal.
The first Old Firm Derby of 2019 was fiery and passionate as ever. Rangers travelled to Celtic Park with hopes of catching up to its hated rivals in the SPL title race on Sunday. The match did not disappoint. A total of six cards came out of the ref’s pocket, two of them red.
The UEFA Women’s Champions League quarterfinal second legs were held across Europe today, and the field has now been trimmed to four after some truly captivating matches between the continent’s biggest clubs.
After defeating Norwegian side LSK Kvinner 3-0 in the first leg, Barcelona took care of business in Lillestrøm by opening the scoring in the seventh minute to doom any hopes of a Kvinner comeback. Barca has advanced to the semis in two of the last three seasons, but the club has never made it to the final.
The arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus has somewhat upset free kick duties. Before the Portuguese legend came, it was Paulo Dybala, Miralem Pjanic and Federico Bernardeschi who did the honors, and they did them well.
This season, Pjanic and friends have taken a back seat to Ronaldo. In fact, the only set piece Pjanic has converted this season was against Napoli back on Mar. 3 with Ronaldo hovering over the dead ball. Still, it’s a nice setup for what I’m about to show you.
Fresh off scoring an excellent goal in Mexico’s 3-1 friendly win over Chile last Friday, El Tri boss Gerardo “Tata” Martino is confident that now’s the time for Hirving “Chucky” Lozano to make a move to one of Europe’s bigger leagues.
What is Power Soccer? Apart from a sport that produces some sublime highlights, it’s a variant of soccer for people with physical disabilities, played using power wheelchairs that are equipped with footguards used to manipulate the ball.
Although variants of the sport have existed since the 1970s, the rules didn’t become standardized until 2006 with the founding of the Federation International Powerchair Football Association (FIPFA).
Following last season’s run to the Champions League semifinals, it’s been a quintessential Roma response to potential success this campaign: The club has gone on tilt, including a 1-7 defeat to Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia, a heartbreaking exit to Porto in the UCL Round of 16 and a disappointing current standing of fifth in Serie A, all of which led to the firing of manager Eusebio Di Francesco and the exit of sporting director Monchi.
In the early days of soccer, your number defined the position you played: number one was a goalkeeper, nine a striker, six a holding midfielder and three a left back. The number 11 was reserved for the left winger as the number was always the last on a lineup list.
In modern soccer, there’s a lot less emphasis on strict numerical positions, and there were some fantastic players who played on the left or elsewhere that made the number 11 their own.
It's not everyday that you see a women’s professional team pack a stadium, especially women’s soccer. However, the reigning Serie A Women champion packed the house this past Sunday during its match against Fiorentina, reaching an Italian record of 39,027 fans in attendance.