Like the rest of America, I've been selfishly hoping that Lionel Messi decides against renewing his contract with Paris Saint-Germain and instead opts for Inter Miami, giving me one glorious day out at Allianz Field of Wil Trapp man-marking the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner.
João Klauss found the net on a splendid, decisive goal in the 86th minute to lift expansion St. Louis City to a 3-2 in over Austin FC on Saturday night in Austin, Texas in the teams' season opener.
Expansion St. Louis City shocked the home side by winning its inaugural MLS game, with goals by Klauss and former Austin player Jared Stroud in a span of eight minutes late in the match to produce the come-from-behind upset.
Jared Stroud goal vs. Austin (2-2)
The 2023 MLS season is finally underway and we've already learned a great deal from the league's opening fixtures. From the on-field play to the coverage and other adjacent news surrounding kick-off, MLS fans will certainly have lots to talk about before the match week has even finished.
Ángel Di María scored all three of Juventus’ goals in the Italian side’s 3-0 victory vs. Nantes to advance to the Europa League Round of 16. The Argentine was unstoppable and set the tone five minutes in.
In the fifth minute an insane Di María goal put Juventus ahead 2-1 on aggregate. Look at the curve on this shot.
ÁNGEL DI MARÍA STOP THAT. pic.twitter.com/NgYfrwUJLf
Time after time the USWNT proves it has the world's most decisive players in the final third, and the conversation hasn't changed ahead of the 2023 World Cup.
Sophia Smith was the toast of 2022, deservedly taking home the NWSL MVP and Championship Game MVP awards while finishing as the year's top scorer for the U.S. (11 from 17), and Mallory Swanson has dominated 2023 with seven goals from only five caps.
With a 2-1 victory over Chile on Wednesday in Auckland, Haiti made history by securing qualification for their first-ever Women's World Cup finals. It's a remarkable achievement that highlights the growth of the team after not even reaching the final stage of Concacaf qualifying during the previous cycle, although there's one clear star of the show: 19-year-old phenom Melchie Dumornay.
Jamie Carragher should probably be fired as an analyst after questioning Real Madrid's manifest destiny in the Champions League.
The 14-time winners appeared to live a charmed existence during last year's run to the title — coming back from 2-0 down in the final 30 minutes against PSG, coming back from 4-3 down in the final 10 minutes against Chelsea and coming back from 5-3 down in the final mere minutes against Manchester City before Thibaut Courtois' heroics in the final — but those are probably best analyzed as simply "Real Madrid things."
An excellent finish from Mallory Swanson was the difference in the USWNT's 1-0 SheBelieves Cup win over Japan on Sunday at GEODIS Park in Nashville. Japan caused all sorts of issues in disrupting the U.S. buildup while launching 15 shots compared to only five for the Americans.
The U.S. played with fire at the back and the midfield didn't establish any sort of dominance, but the team showed exactly what makes them so difficult to beat even when they're not at their best: an unmatched fighting spirit mixed with individuals who can provide the difference at any moment.
DORTMUND, Germany - Borussia Dortmund crushed Hertha Berlin 4-1 on Sunday with a goal and an assist from Karim Adeyemi to join leaders Bayern Munich and Union Berlin at the top of the Bundesliga and stretch their winning run in the league to six consecutive matches this year.
MANCHESTER, England - Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford's superb run of form continued as he netted a goal in each half of his side's 3-0 Premier League win over Leicester City on Sunday to extend his scoring streak to five games.
It was exactly what his side needed as they weathered an early storm from the visitors, with keeper David De Gea pulling off a superb save to deny Harvey Barnes in the eighth minute and topping that with an even better effort to keep out a Kelechi Iheanacho header.