Records

It was a massive week in U.S. soccer viewership with everyone taking time off for Thanksgiving and hunkering down to watch to incessant onslaught of the Premier League, the start of the MLS Cup playoffs and the business end of the Liga MX Apertura liguilla. 

In terms of English-language broadcasts, the highest-rated event between Nov. 23 and Nov. 29 was last Sunday’s dire 0-0 draw between Chelsea and Tottenham at Stamford Bridge. An audience of 744,000 tuned in on NBCSN to have their spirits crushed by José Mourinho.

Chelsea flexed its superiority with a comfortable 4-0 victory against Sevilla on Wednesday in the Champions League to claim Group E’s top spot. Four top-class Olivier Giroud goals vs Sevilla got the job done for the Blues.

The London club came into the fixture on a 14-game unbeaten streak in all competitions and immediately put the pressure on Sevilla after the first whistle. In the eighth minute Kai Havertz found open space to dribble before laying the ball off to Giroud, who finished the chance beautifully.

Former Iran striker Ali Daei has said he would be honored to see Cristiano Ronaldo break his record for the most goals in international soccer as the Portugal forward moves closer to his tally of 109.

Ronaldo, the only other centurion in the men's international arena, has scored 102 goals in 168 appearances since his debut in 2003.

Speed kills. Take one look at the fastest soccer players 2020 according to the UEFA Champions League technical report and you’ll find some of the world’s most devastating attackers — players like Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Kingsley Coman.

However, it also says a lot about the changing tactics of the modern game that you’ll also find “defenders” who can more frequently be found going forward — think Alphonso Davies, Ferland Mendy and Kyle Walker. 

Ajax Amsterdam set an Eredivisie record when they scored 13 goals past a hapless VVV-Venlo side to move to the top of the standings on Saturday, with seven different players getting their names on the score sheet.

The previous record for most goals scored in an Eredivisie game was also held by Ajax when they beat Vitesse 12-1 in 1972.

Led by 19-year-old Lassina Traore, who scored five times and assisted three more, Ajax dominated the contest and were already 4-0 up when Venlo were reduced to 10 men after skipper Christian Kum was sent off on VAR review for a high boot.

Outside of the USWNT, no nation has the qualify of offensive firepower available to the French national team. And France just broke a record that not even Alex Morgan and the Americans can top.

Even without Amandine Henry, a surprise exclusion from the France squad during this international break, France obliterated North Macedonia 11-0 on Friday in Women’s Euro qualifying. Not only did the Les Bleues dominated straight from the opening whistle, they scored mere seconds after the first kick.

Neymar overtook Ronaldo and moved into second place behind Pele on Brazil's all-time goalscoring list after notching a hat-trick in a 4-2 victory over Peru on Tuesday in a World Cup qualifier.

The Paris Saint-Germain striker now has 64 goals, two more than Ronaldo and 13 behind Pele, who heads the list with 77, according to the count by world governing body FIFA.

Brazil coach Tite was reluctant to compare his current star with past greats.