With Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw playing the roles of marauding fullbacks, Axel Tuanzebe the false center back, Bruno Fernandes the floating No. 10, Donny van de Beek the floating No. 8 and Juan Mata and Nemanja Matić the taxidermied zebras, Manchester United produced the sort of display that makes you wonder why Mauricio Pochettino is still out of a job on Wednesday.
We’ve got a new leader in rowdy UEFA Champions League Group B, and Real Madrid and Inter Milan should really just be thankful that Borussia Mönchengladbach isn’t dashing off into the sunset at this point.
After drawing 2-2 with both Real and Inter by way of conceding 90th-minute equalizers, Gladbach travelled to Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday in a violent mood inspired by French forward Alassane Pléa.
Champions League Group B was an easy one to predict with LaLiga champion Real Madrid and Serie A runner-up Inter Milan joined by the difficult-to-spell sides of Shakhtar Donetsk and Borussia Mönchengladbach, but we’re two match days in and both Real and Inter have yet to win.
It’s not getting any better than this for 19-year-old goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin and Shakhtar Donetsk — or is it?
Last Wednesday, Shakhtar travelled to the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano and pulled off an incredible 3-2 upset of 13-time European champion Real Madrid despite missing 10 players through a combination of injury and pandemic. That match marked a Champions League debut for Trubin, who recorded three saves.
It’s not the Santiago Bernabéu, but nobody goes to the home of Real Madrid (temporarily Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano) and puts three past the 13-time European champions INSIDE 42 MINUTES!
After losing 1-0 to Cádiz last Saturday, many predicted a performance of pure vengeance from Los Blancos in the Champions League — a feeling that was amplified by the fact that Shakhtar’s starting lineup was rocked by a combination of injury and illness, including a positive coronavirus test for star forward Júnior Moraes.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, shame on both of us. Questions are being asked of defenses around the Premier League right now, but Tottenham is firmly at the root of the inquisition.
A beautiful aspect of international football is that it allows you to sample the vibe of a far-flung locale from the comfort of your own living room. Today, I took a trip to Riga, Latvia, to watch a UEFA Nations League D Group 1 meeting between the host nation and visiting Malta.
With Faroe Islands pacing the group on seven points from three matches, this was effectively a must-win game for both 137th-ranked Latvia (three points off three draws) and 186th-ranked Malta (two points).
A sensational first-half hat-trick from Ollie Watkins helped Aston Villa to a stunning 7-2 victory over Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday to end the champions' 100% start to the season in extraordinary fashion.
Liverpool started badly at Villa Park as a poor pass from Adrian — deputizing for Alisson in goal for the visitors after the Brazilian picked up a shoulder injury — gifted Watkins the opener in the fourth minute.
Oh NO, Adrián!
BERLIN — Quadruple winners Bayern Munich slumped to a shock 4-1 loss at Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Sunday to end their 32-match unbeaten run in all competitions stretching back to last year.
Bayern, winners of the Super Cup against Sevilla after extra time on Thursday, had not lost since Dec. 7, 2019, and had gone 21 consecutive Bundesliga matches without defeat, winning their last 15.