According to Manchester United, the club boasts 659 million followers worldwide. Of that number, 109,000 international visitors make the journey to Old Trafford every year to see their beloved Red Devils play according to the Office for National Statistics.
The 150th meeting between Ruhr-based clubs Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 ended in a 1-1 draw at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen, but the match was not without its fair share of wonderful moments.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave the visitors the lead in the 53rd-minute, but Schalke academy project Thilo Kehrer scored his first-ever Schalke goal in the 77th to split the spoils. Here’s how it all went down.
Just scoring a goal in De Klassieker, the biggest club football rivalry in the Netherlands pitting Amsterdam’s Ajax and Rotterdam’s Feyenoord, is grounds for footballing legend. Factor in the additional importance of this early goal being the impetus for Ajax’s 2-1 victory, a result which saw them close the gap on their most hated rival to only three points at the top of the Eredivisie table, and it’s bordering on folkloric status.
Another match day, another performance that left many questions over Barcelona’s ability in a season that still has them fighting for the treble, which is a ridiculous thing to say. At times, this Barcelona side looks as good as any from the past 13 years, but they’re also more than capable of ringing their own death knell and signaling a need for transformation.
Against relegation certainties Granada, anything less than a comprehensive victory, even without the suspended Lionel Messi, would’ve had Blaugrana supporters looking towards Sevilla’s midweek visit with angst.
Liverpool moved into third place in the Premier League with a scintillating victory over Everton in the Merseyside derby. Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho and Divock Origi struck for the home side while Matthew Pennington scored the lone Everton goal in Liverpool’s 3-1 victory.
Mane opened the scoring in the 8th-minute with a fantastic solo effort, driving past defenders before striking a low shot into the corner — his 13th league goal of the campaign.
Bundesliga also-rans Hoffenheim and Hertha met in a battle pitting fourth and fifth in the German top division. Hoffenheim would ultimately win 3-1, climbing above Borussia Dortmund and into third in the table — only 14 points behind Bayern Munich.
The match featured two must-watch but starkly contrasting goals. Peter Pekarik opened the scoring for Hertha after a truly bizarre assist from Alexander Esswein. It was just an awful mis-hit, but that stupid cliche they all count the same.
Soccer fans are the best fans in the world — unless they decide to actually disrupt the game.
An international friendly took place in Paris on Monday, March 27th between African rivals Senegal and the Ivory Coast. The match was cut short after fans invaded the pitch and confronted the players on the field. The group of spectators made their way into the stadium by climbing over security fences and running past guards.
Lost in all the column inches about Lionel Messi’s four-match ban, Argentina’s horrific performance in their 2-0 defeat to Bolivia and their subsequent falling to fifth-place in CONMEBOL qualifying was the passing of the belt to Bolivia in the Unofficial Football World Championships.
Alex Morgan and Lyon relied on their 2-0 first leg victory in Germany to advance to the Champions League semifinals after Wolfsburg won the return leg 1-0. The 2-1 aggregate victory sees them take on the winner of tomorrow’s match between Carli Lloyd’s Manchester City and Fortuna Hjorring.
After three straight World Cups of the “Brazilian way” appearing to be nothing more than a fabricated lie engineered by Nike to sell more shoes or a conveniently easy Brazil pregame special for Fox Sports’ Rob Stone, the Brazilian creed of joga bonito is suddenly back in its full glory.
Brazil have become the second side to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, alongside hosts Russia. A team in the CONMEBOL region punching their ticket with over a year to go before the finals, and with four matches still remaining in qualifying, is heinous.