Cristiano Ronaldo would, reluctantly, admit that most of the time he needs his teammates to score. The 699th career Cristiano Ronaldo goal, however, was all of his own making.
With Portugal struggling to break down UEFA minnow Luxembourg — Bernardo Silva’s 16th-minute strike was all that separated the two sides after an hour — the team captain showed the rarely seen defensive side of his game to give his side a little breathing room.
Club Brugge came within five minutes of recording a historic upset of 13-time European champion Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu on Tuesday, but the Belgian side ultimately had to settle for a 2-2 draw after a late equalizer from Casemiro.
Regardless, the story of the game will be the first-half brace scored by Club Brugge’s Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis.
Cristiano Ronaldo has, without a doubt, matured over his years as a global soccer superstar. But there’s still no doubt he wants to be the hero, he wants to be the one scoring goals and he wants to be at the center of everyone’s attention.
That doesn’t mean Ronaldo isn’t capable of humility and knowing where his bread is buttered.
Tim Sherwood said something this weekend that really made my blood boil.
The former Tottenham manager turned pundit provided some post-match commentary on Arsenal’s 3-2 comeback victory against Aston Villa on Sunday, and while most of what came out his mouth was typical drivel about “wanting it more” and “grit,” Sherwood had a pretty unique take on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s decision to let Nicolas Pépé take a penalty kick:
Despite the fact most everyone in the world has played soccer at some point in their lives, professional footballers — players and managers — possess knowledge far beyond that of the average Sunday leaguer. So it makes to take a football MasterClass from one of these experts, giants of their field.
We’ve put together a list of the 18 football MasterClass courses we want to see from famous soccer players and coaches.
For the world’s 130th-ranked side, the sight of Cristiano Ronaldo “Ronaldo Chopping” and “SIUUUU-ING” his way around a 5,000-seat stadium was simply too much to bear. So Lithuania decided to stand off and give him 57 touches, seven shots and four goals in exchange for a substitution in the 79th minute of a 5-1 loss to Portugal. That’s a good trade.
Portugal’s excellent 2019 continued yesterday with an impressive 4-2 away victory over Serbia in UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying. The future looks incredibly bright for the defending European champion with Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Gonçalo Guedes, Nélson Semedo, João Félix and João Cancelo (all 25 or under) all playing their part.
But the main story, as always, was 34-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored what would prove to be the match-winner in the 80th minute. It was Ronaldo’s 159th international appearance and his 89th goal.
Hirving Lozano scored on his debut with Napoli on Saturday, netting the second in an ill-fated three-goal comeback against reigning Serie A champion Juventus. It was a remarkable start to Lozano’s career in Italy, becoming the first Mexican to score in Serie A, even if it came in a heartbreaking, last-minute loss.
The 2018-19 UEFA Champions League technical report was released today, and it’s got 51 pages of highly entertaining and valuable information that analyzes specific tactical and technical trends at the very top of the world’s game. The comprehensive overview of last season’s competition includes some fascinating insights.
Chucky Lozano didn’t take long to make an impact with new club Napoli. Unfortunately for Gli Azzurri, a shocking own goal wiped out an epic three-goal comeback against Juventus.
Lozano scored in his debut in Serie A, helping inspire Napoli back from a three-goal deficit in what appeared to be a storybook first appearance with the Mexican winger’s new club.
But Kalidou Koulibaly accidentally turned the ball into his own net in the 92nd minute to allow Juventus to escape with a 4-3 victory on Saturday in Turin.