In order to talk smack, don’t you have to back it up? Goalkeeper Diego Alves failed to do so on Saturday in Valencia’s last-second loss to Barcelona:
When it comes to penalties, Diego Lopez is one of the best. Of the last 35 penalties he's faced, Alves has saved a staggering 17 of them; so he has good reason to be a little cocky. Two years ago, he even smack talked Cristiano Ronaldo before saving his penalty to end their title run.
In a completely unsubstantiated but hilarious occurrence, we’ve caught wind of a recent development regarding South African international striker Tokelo Rantie.
Newly elected UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin outlined his vision for football's administrative body in Europe during an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday. Ceferin’s most newsworthy propositions are the repercussions from reviving UEFA’s open bidding process for the right to host the Champions League final.
In an interview with Corriere dello Sport, Roma captain Francesco Totti shocked many by naming a somewhat controversial figure as his best teammate ever. The player Totti named was Antonio Cassano, the maverick who's appeared for seven different clubs in his career.
What would’ve otherwise been a non-story had Real Madrid managed to hold on to their 2-1 lead over Las Palmas on Saturday, Cristiano Ronaldo's 72nd minute substitution has since blown up following Sergio Araujo’s 85th minute equalizer.
Las Palmas held Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw, diminishing Los Blancos' lead at the top of the La Liga table to a single point. The main talking point from the match has now switched to Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane's decision and Ronaldo's reaction.
Jose Mourinho's fractious relationship with the media came to a head on Wednesday when he labeled those who attacked himself and Manchester United after a three-game losing streak as “football Einsteins”.
Mourinho's barb was certainly tongue in cheek, using the platform of United’s 3-1 victory over Northampton Town to fire back at those who’ve already begun to question his ability to handle the Old Trafford hot seat:
Borussia Dortmund made it a sensational 17 goals in their last three matches following their 5-1 victory over Wolfsburg on Tuesday. This match, combined with their 6-0 weekend victory over Darmstadt and 6-0 Champions League triumph against Legia Warsaw, makes them the hottest team in Europe.
Dortmund climbed to the top of the Bundesliga table, albeit momentarily as they’ve played one more match than Bayern Munich, and Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang couldn’t hide his excitement.