Francisco Totti’s thunderous training volley put an end to the Third Punic War today. The volley cracked off his boot and resulted in a breaching of the Carthaginian's walls and the sacking of the city. When this firecracker smote the back of the net, Carthage was systematically burned for 17 days, utterly destroying all remnants of the 700-year-old empire.
Che bomba del Capitano!
Try as Chile and his teammates might, Lionel Messi remained on course to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. When they get there, Messi’s teammates and the opposition might get the better of him, but tonight was not their night. Messi converted a penalty after a soft call in the box and Argentina hung on for a 1-0 victory in Buenos Aires.
Getting called up for international soccer is no easy feat, and getting called up for a FIFA top 30 team is even harder. Kenny Saief is learning that the hard way. The Israeli-Druze footballer was born in Panama City, Florida and wants to represent the United States at the international level. He's made two appearances for Israel but only in friendlies, meaning he's still eligible to switch allegiance to the United States.
The footballing world has been left shocked and saddened by the death of 27-year-old Derry City captain Ryan McBride. The defender had led his side out in a 4-0 victory in the League of Ireland on Saturday but was found dead at home on Sunday.
McBride was born in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1989 and was seen as the perfect captain for the club. “He epitomized everything about our club and our city,” said Derry City chief executive Sean Barrett.
Fresh off of eliminating Manchester City in the Champions League round of 16, AS Monaco travelled to Caen for a Ligue 1 match on Sunday. The people of Caen began the match by applauding their achievement, and they ended it by giving 18-year-old striker Kylian Mbappe a resounding standing ovation.
As cliche as the label of “the next Thierry Henry” is, Mbappe appears to be just that. After breaking Henry’s records for the youngest-ever senior debutant and youngest goalscorer in Monaco’s history last season, he’s quickly become one of the most feared strikers in the world.
Barcelona defeated 10-man Valencia 4-2 on Sunday to cut Real Madrid’s lead at the top of La Liga to two points although Zidane’s men maintain a game in hand. A Lionel Messi brace propelled Barca at the Camp Nou, taking him over 40 goals in all competitions for the eighth consecutive season.
Lionel Messi: Has scored 40+ goals in all competitions for Barcelona for the eighth season in a row #FCBValencia
Robert Lewandowski should be considered one of the best players in the world. He should be alongside the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Polish striker has been a dominant force in the Bundesliga for seven years now, and it seems like his performances are only recognized by a very narrow segment of football fans. He does not receive the same sort of recognition that Messi and Ronaldo do on a global scale.
Atletico Madrid have advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the fourth consecutive season, and for the fourth consecutive season, they look like legitimate contenders for Europe’s greatest club prize.
They have no reason to fear their potential opponents. They’re, of course, well-versed in the battles between themselves, Real Madrid and Barcelona. They finished above Bayern Munich in this season’s group stage (and beat them in the semifinals last year), and the same can be said with regards to Juventus two years ago.
We’ve been treated to some spectacular Champions League football over the past week with the drama reaching a crescendo in Barcelona’s comeback against Paris Saint-Germain and Leicester City’s fairytale at the expense of Sevilla.
While those two matches provided everything you could hope for in football (high-stakes, improbable comebacks and a myriad of storylines), they also came with their share of controversy and pantomime villains.
We should just post our recap from the first leg between Juventus and Porto, really, because they were basically the same game.
Both teams looked dangerous, with Juventus controlling a bit more of the possession, until Porto did something stupid, Juventus scored and that was that.
This time, it was a Maxi Pereira red card for blocking the ball with an outstretched arm after a shot from Gonzalo Higuain. Paulo Dybala converted the penalty and the tie was over, with Porto's poor finishing helping to put a lid on things.