Goals

Remember the name: Matheus Cunha. 

The 19-year-old Brazilian arrived at RB Leipzig from FC Sion last June for $17.1 million, but he’s been brought along slowly in the Bundesliga with 15 of his 21 appearances coming from off the bench. 

However, on Saturday, Cunha scored his second league goal of the season, and my word. The Brazil U-20 forward pulled off a ridiculous Zidane turn to eliminate two Bayer Leverkusen defenders before seamlessly transitioning into a delicate chip over Lukáš Hrádecký.  

Hop into The18 time machine and travel back to Jan. 23, 2017, to see “Borussia Dortmund Beat Real Madrid To The Signing Of 17-Year-Old Swedish Phenom” Alexander Isak. After breaking through with AIK and scoring 10 goals during his debut Allsvenskan season, “the next Zlatan Ibrahimovic” made further waves by becoming Sweden’s youngest-ever international goalscorer. 

After four years of construction hamstrung by disputes and delays, Tottenham finally moved into “New White Hart Lane” on Wednesday with all the pomp and razzmatazz of a night that could’ve ended in tragic hubristic downfall against Crystal Palace. But second half goals from Son Heung-min and Christian Eriksen sent 62,062 spectators home happy with Spurs climbing back to third in the table, one point above both Arsenal and Chelsea.

Relegation-threatened Villarreal almost recorded a stunning victory over LaLiga leader Barcelona at El Madrigal, and the result would’ve certainly meant more to the Yellow Submarine’s survival than to the Blaugrana’s title charge, but Lionel Messi was inserted with 30 minutes remaining and you know what happened after that.

After missing two matches due to an Achilles tendon problem, Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned to action on Sunday and scored a brace of penalties in the LA Galaxy’s 2-1 victory over the Portland Timbers at Dignity Health Sports Park.

But the highlight of the night might’ve been an early attempt from Ibrahimovic that struck the base of the post. Using his right leg like the taekwondo expert he is, the 37-year-old flicked this effort on frame in the 14th minute only to be denied by the woodwork.  

A meeting between Wayne Rooney’s D.C. United and Nani’s Orlando City on Sunday was dominated by the 33-year-old United captain, who scored with an outrageous free kick and contributed an assist in his side’s 2-1 victory. 

Rooney did all the damage in the first half, beginning with an assist on Steven Birnbaum’s opening goal in the sixth minute.

Straight off the training ground!

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. 

Cardiff City sat third bottom of the Premier League table and, coming into Sunday, had eight games to go to claw its way out of the relegation zone. Cardiff’s schedule seems daunting, having to play Chelsea, Manchester City and the team above them, Burnley, in its upcoming three matches.

Chelsea arrived in Cardiff today looking for what was supposed to be three easy points. To be fair to Cardiff, it seemed like a match that would not be won. But that wasn’t necessarily the case.

Liverpool returned to the top of the Premier League table after an incredible 2-1 victory over third place Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday. Lucas Moura’s 70th minute goal had canceled out Roberto Firmino’s 16th minute opener, but all three points would belong to Liverpool after Hugo Lloris could only parry Mohamed Salah’s header straight into the unfortunate Toby Alderweireld. The ball deflected off the defender and back into the net to send Anfield into raptures.