For many Americans, win = good and loss = bad. It’s ingrained in the psyche of a sporting nation that values hundreds of points in a single game — the highest entertainment consisting of a series of start-stop mini games that bear no resemblance to the intricate processes that dictate the 90 minutes of play on a soccer field.
Despite playing the second leg at home, top-seeded León couldn’t find a way past Tigres goalkeeper Nahuel Guzmán while putting five shots on frame, and Tigres is now the Liga MX Clausura champions thanks to André-Pierre Gignac’s lone goal from the first leg.
It’s Tigres’ seventh Liga MX crown and fifth title this decade. For manager Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti, it’s a seventh league title overall, drawing him level with Ignacio Trelles for the most all time.
With a 3-1 victory over Sassuolo today, Atalanta B.C. has confirmed a third place finish in Serie A and direct qualification to next season’s UEFA Champions League group stage. In the 112-year history of the Italian club from Bergamo, Lombardy, this is a first on both accounts.
61-year-old manager Gian Piero Gasperini — with a fraction of the wage bill of the clubs that finished around them — created an attacking juggernaut that scored a league-best 77 goals (yes, seven more than Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus), led by Duván Zapata, Josip Ilicic and Alejandro “Papu” Gómez.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Manchester United’s historic treble-winning season, a Man United Legends vs. Bayern Munich Legends (a rematch of the 1999 Champions League Final) friendly was held at Old Trafford today, featuring the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Lothar Matthaus, Ze Roberto and Ivica Olic.
United hammered the visitors 5-0 thanks to goals from Solskjaer, Dwight Yorke, Nicky Butt, Louis Saha and Beckham.
Here’s the opener from Solskjaer — the current manager of United — after some great wing play from Beckham.
In what can only be classified as a fitting finale in the storybook of U.S. soccer, the USWNT defeated Mexico 3-0 in the nation’s final match of the Send-Off Series. Tobin Heath, Mal Pugh and Christen Press were on the scoresheet for the U.S., putting the finishing touches on a series of friendly matches in which the defending world champions outscored three opponents by a total score of 11-0.
Argentina’s U-20 World Cup campaign is off to a glorious start in Poland, thanks in large part to Atlanta United’s Ezequiel Barco. The 20-year-old attacker scored a penalty in the 63rd minute to put Argentina up 2-1, and then he scored what would prove to be the match-winner in the 71st with a stunning side-foot volley from distance.
Bayern Munich defeated RB Leipzig 3-0 in the final of the DFB-Pokal on Saturday to secure a domestic double for the first time since 2015-16 (Pep Guardiola’s last season at the club). The goals included a brilliant brace from Robert Lewandowski and a sensational solo effort from Kingsley Coman, but Manuel Neuer also provided two stunning saves while making his first appearance since suffering a calf injury on Apr. 14.
The United States opened U-20 World Cup play with a frustrating 2-1 loss to Ukraine in Bielsko-Biała, Poland, on Friday. Ukraine scored with its first shot on target, but the U.S. responded with a brilliant 14-pass move to equalize. However, despite holding 67 percent of possession and registering 10 shots, Ukraine scored the game-winner off a corner kick in the 51st minute.
Last night, Tigres defeated León 1-0 in the first leg of the Liga MX Clausura final thanks to a goal from André-Pierre “Mr. Playoffs” Gignac. It was a historic strike for the Frenchman, moving him level with Mexican legend Tomás Boy at the top of Tigres’ all-time goalscoring chart with 104.
They call Gignac “el Señor de las Liguillas” because of his 104 goals for Tigres, 21 have come in the playoffs, leading to Apertura titles in 2015, 2016 and 2018. Now Gignac is on the verge of a fourth Liga MX crown thanks to this effort in the 21st minute.