Ajax loves to score pretty goals. The Dutch club’s first against Lille in the Champions League on Wednesday was no different — with some American flair.
Hakim Ziyech scored about 90 seconds into the match after some wonderful team play, started by none other than recently cap-tied USMNT fullback Sergiño Dest.
Christian Pulisic had his run of three-straight Premier League games with a goal snapped on Saturday against Manchester City. So on Wednesday he started a new streak, this time scoring in the Champions League — with some help from the VAR.
Pulisic scored his third career Champions League goal to help Chelsea earn a 2-2 draw against Valencia on Wednesday at the Mestalla.
Tuesday’s Champions League Group A encounter between Real Madrid and PSG at the Santiago Bernabéu was pretty much meaningless. Both teams entered the match with Round of 16 qualification secured, and even a Real victory would do little to wrest top spot from PSG due to the Parisians’ perfect record thus far.
Galatasaray, the reigning champion of Turkey, finally scored its first goal of the Champions League group stage, a couple days before Turkey Day in the United States. Adem Büyük scored one of the most unique goals you will ever see to keep Galatasaray’s hopes of reaching the Europa League alive with a 1-1 draw against Club Brugge on Tuesday.
But what Club Brugge did after its late equalizer made the match a perfect playoff for the Europa League.
Oh, so that’s how you beat Newcastle United. Aston Villa nullified the attacking threat of Newcastle’s high-scoring defenders on Monday, instead forcing them to actually defend, and utilized a couple of bumbling fouls on the effervescent Jack Grealish to twice unleash dead-ball specialist Conor Hourihane in a 2-0 victory at Villa Park.
It was a fun opening weekend for the 2019-20 Major Arena Soccer League season. Out of all six matches, there was no real blowout — in each match, the eventual loser always stayed within touching distance. This made for nerve-racking matches for team-specific fans and incredibly entertaining soccer for those just tuning in.
Two-Game Series Matches
Following Match Day 7 of the Barclays FA Women’s Super League, Chelsea remains at the top of the table after a 6-0 hammering of Birmingham City on Sunday. The star of the show for the Blues was Bethany England, who scored a brace to move to the top of the goalscoring charts with four goals so far.
Sheffield United and Manchester United played out a sensational 3-3 draw at Bramall Lane on Sunday evening with the Red Devils overturning a two-goal deficit and looking certain of three points themselves before Oli McBurnie’s late equalizer in the 90th minute.
Sheffield’s early period of dominance could’ve been more pronounced on the scoreboard but for the brilliance of David de Gea, who recorded five saves on the night, including this incredible double save to keep things at 0-0 in the 11th minute.
Despite finishing the 2019 Apertura with three straight victories, Chivas Guadalajara missed out on the playoffs again this season, a streak of liguilla absences that dates back to when the club lifted the 2017 Clausura title.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom for the Goats. The club is through to the Round of 16 in the Copa MX, and they ended the Apertura in fine style on Saturday — the 3-1 victory over Veracruz included a brace from Alan Pulido and a goal at the death from Toño Rodriguez. Rodríguez is Guadalajara’s goalkeeper.
As the clock approached 90 minutes at the Estadio Monumental in Lima, Peru, it looked a certainty that Rafael Santos Borré’s 14th-minute strike had given River Plate a second successive Copa Libertadores title.
GOAL FOR RIVER PLATE!
It's the Colombian forward Rafael Santos Borre that gives the defending champs the early lead here in Lima! #LIBERTADORES FINAL LIVE NOW