The numbers are ridiculous. Following Tottenham’s remarkable 2-0 win over Manchester City on Sunday, here’s the statistical summary of the Premier League encounters between Spurs and City this campaign.
There’s obviously no official record for the fastest shot in soccer. It’d be convenient if a man with a radar gun had been sanctioned to sit at every match played since the beginning of time, but that was an oversight on FIFA’s end.
There’s been a lot of talk recently about how Jurgen Klopp and the Liverpool first team aren’t even going to bother showing up for the FA Cup replay against Shrewsbury Town, instead sending its U-23 squad and coach. After all, when the Reds made a similar (albeit more necessary) move in the Carabao Cup, they were smashed 5-0 by Aston Villa.
There’s a phrase for basketball players with prodigious 3-point shooting ability that says they’re within range as soon as they enter the arena. We may need to coopt that expression for soccer after this insane Florian Neuhaus goal vs Mainz on Saturday.
Borussia Monchengladbach maintained its spot in the top three of the Bundesliga with a 3-1 win over Mainz. Alassane Pléa scored two goals after Robin Quaison opened the scoring for the visitors, but we only care about the Neuhaus goal scored in the 88th minute.
Erling Braut Håland is a force of nature. The teenager scored a remarkable hat trick in his 34-minute Borussia Dortmund debut against Augsburg on Saturday. Given 25 minutes against Cologne, the Norwegian striker scored two more, including a ridiculous effort from an absurd angle to cap BVB’s 5-1 victory on Friday.
The Quique Setién era at Barcelona began with a 1-0 victory over 10-man Granada at the Camp Nou on Sunday evening. The game’s lone goal was a beautifully constructed move that finished with Arturo Vidal backheeling the ball into the path of Lionel Messi for his 14th goal of the LaLiga season.
Liverpool’s title procession continued on Sunday with a 2-0 victory over Manchester United at Anfield that was bookended by Virgil van Dijk’s header in the 14th minute and Mohamed Salah’s strike at the death. With 64 points from 22 matches, Liverpool’s performance so far is the best in the history of Europe’s top five leagues.
A sell-out crowd at Arsenal’s Meadow Park stadium was witness to the rapidly turning tide of the FA WSL as Chelsea stormed to a 3-0 halftime lead before securing a 4-1 victory to remain undefeated after 12 matches.
Arsenal’s the most successful club in the division’s eight-year history with three titles — including last year’s triumph when Chelsea finished third — but the Blues issued a statement of intent by signing Norway’s Guro Reiten in May before adding Australia’s Sam Kerr back in November, and both of the club’s marquee signings got on the scoreboard today.
Casemiro isn’t exactly known for his goal-scoring prowess. Before Saturday, the Brazilian defensive midfielder had scored 18 goals in 218 appearances for Los Blancos — about one goal every 12 matches.
Luka Jovic, meanwhile, has struggled since joining Real Madrid from Eintracht Frankfurt for $68.4 million over the summer. He came into the weekend with one goal and no assists in 13 LaLiga appearances.
And yet Jovic supplied what might be Real Madrid’s best assist of the season to set up Casemiro’s first of two goals in a 2-1 win over Sevilla on Saturday.
It’s not unusual for pundits who haven’t been in the game for ages to proclaim new signings will take time to adjust to a new league. Personally, I think that’s a bit of BS; talent will find a way to shine through regardless.
Case in point: Erling Braut Håland.