Rivalries

If soccer never comes back, then at least we saw an enticing match south of the border at Estadio Azteca on Sunday night.

Major sports league across the world have suspended their seasons in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. A few leagues held out longer than others, including Liga MX, the Brasileiro and Australian A-League, albeit without fans present in stadiums. By Sunday, however, both Mexico and Brazil announced they would suspend their national leagues.

LaLiga has confirmed the date and time for the 2020 El Clasico, and we can now begin to look forward to one of the most meaningful clashes between Real Madrid and Barcelona in years. On Sunday, March 1 at 3:00 p.m. ET, the two eternal rivals will take to the pitch at El Bernabéu in Madrid with the league title on the line. 

The USWNT has triumphed at the 2020 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship following a 3-0 victory over Canada in the final on Sunday. After a scoreless first half, Lynn Williams, Lindsey Horan and Megan Rapinoe all got on the scoresheet to accentuate a perfect campaign for Tokyo 2020.  

After Juventus’ shock 2-1 defeat to Verona on Saturday, Inter had the glorious chance of returning to the top of the Serie A table with a win on Sunday. But standing in the Nerazzurri’s way was rival AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina.

Although Milan entered the match in 11th place, the club had been rejuvenated by the January arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimović. With Ibrahimović, Milan had gone undefeated in league play (three wins, two draws) and advanced to the semifinals of the Coppa Italia. 

Barcelona and Real Madrid played to a scoreless El Clásico draw for the first time in 30 years with the match largely failing to live up to the extreme prematch hype. 

As it turns out, Son Heung-min did not bring about world peace with his brilliant solo goal on Saturday. He couldn’t even bring harmony Man City fans during a Manchester Derby that had no real title implications later in the day.

Manchester United frustrated City for a 2-1 win on Saturday at the Etihad. Pep Guardiola’s side was furious over not being given a penalty kick on two different hand-ball situations while Marcus Rashford converted a penalty thanks to a rare VAR reversal. 

Barcelona returned to the top of the LaLiga following a crucial 1-0 victory over Atlético Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday, and it was a sensational Lionel Messi effort in 86th minute that secured all three points for the visitors.

When former USMNT manager Jürgen Klinsmann labelled the newfangled CONCACAF Nations League a “waste of time” back in October (rich enough coming from a coach that inspired his team to defeats against Mexico, Costa Rica and Guatemala by a combined scoreline of 8-1 during 2018 World Cup qualifying), it was easy to grasp the German’s point: If you limit the amount of big matches you have against quality opponents, you limit your growth.

An 85th-minute equalizer from Adam Lallana — his first goal since May 21, 2017 — earned Liverpool a dramatic point from Old Trafford on Sunday, extending Manchester United’s winless streak in league play to four games. It was a gut punch to the home side, who’d largely dictated the run of play for the entirety of the match.