Red Card

A blockbuster Champions League encounter between Italian champions Juventus and Valencia — fourth place finishers in LaLiga — descended into farce when Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off 29 minutes into his UCL debut with the Old Lady. 

Ronaldo had been active and involved throughout the early proceedings, and Juventus really should’ve taken the lead through either Mario Mandzukic or Sami Khedira, but both put close range shots over the bar in the game’s opening period.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Champions League debut with Juventus lasted all of 29 minutes at Valencia’s Mestalla stadium. With Juventus in possession of the ball out wide in Valencia’s third, Ronaldo made a run into the box before play was stopped with both Valencia and Juventus players remonstrating and gesticulating wildly. 

After a short break, German referee Felix Brych consulted the official behind the goal, and he looked adamant that Ronaldo deserved to be sent off for his actions. Brych duly obliged while Ronaldo went hysterical.  

Maybe Douglas Costa doesn’t like sharing the spotlight with Cristiano Ronaldo? How else do you explain the shocking events that unfolded in the lead-up to the Douglas Costa red card on Sunday?

Ronaldo scored his first and second Juventus goals against Sassuolo on Sunday. The first was a simple tap-in but the second was pretty good. 

Liga MX Femenil is in its second full year of operation, but if a match this week between Tigres and Chivas is any indication, the rivalries are starting to form.

A top-of-the-table clash between UANL and Guadalajara ended with four players being sent off, two from each team. Tigres won 3-1 on Monday to push their lead to four points over Chivas in Grupo 2 of the 18-team Liga MX Femenil Apertura. 

All four goals were scored in the first half. A double from Katty Martínez in the first seven minutes put UANL on the path to victory. 

In the 65th minute of tonight’s “friendly” between the USMNT and Mexico in Nashville, U.S. defender Matt Miazga triggered six minutes of absolute bedlam after finally getting the better of 18-year-old Mexican phenom Diego Lainez. The diminutive (5 ft 5.5 in) Club America winger was probably the highlight of an otherwise tame first half.

He absolutely diced U.S. captain Wil Trapp and feasted on him at one point. It was frightening.  

36' ¡Dieeeeego Lainez volvió locos a todos!

Admittedly, we’re getting tired of all these Kylian Mbappé goals. But this Mbappe goal vs Nimes was something special.

After scoring three goals in his first two appearances with Paris Saint-Germain this season, it wasn’t really a surprise to see the 19-year-old Frenchman score again on Saturday. What was surprising was the immense quality with which the goal was taken. 

And his red card soon after.

Serie A banned Udinese’s Rolando Mandragora for one match after “blasphemous remarks” concerning the Virgin Mary. The 21-year-old midfielder said “Porca Madonna, Vaffanculo, Dio Cane” and television cameras caught it, the BBC reports.

The words, an insult to the Virgin Mary and calling God a dog, heavily disturbed the Italian FA. The angry outburst reportedly came after Sampdoria’s goalie Emil Eudero saved a shot against Udinese. Mandragora’s team won 1-0 on Monday, Aug. 27.

It was only 109 days ago that Toronto FC was being hailed as the greatest side in MLS history after pushing Chivas to a penalty shootout in the final of the CONCACAF Champions League. Now, TFC’s in very real danger of missing the MLS Cup Playoffs and a chance at defending its 2017 title. 

On Sunday, Toronto was defeated 3-2 by Eastern Conference rivals New York City FC in front of nearly 28,000 at BMO Field. It was a massive match for the Reds and a crucial opportunity to cut into the seven-point gap that separates them from Montreal for the East’s sixth and final playoff spot.