Uruguay thumped Thailand 4-0 Monday to capture the 2019 China Cup, but the real story of the match was captain Diego Godín collecting his 126th cap for la Celeste, making him the record holder in that department for the two-time world champions.
While the statistics that attackers generate greatly lend themselves to the formulation of lists such as this, things get a little more ambiguous where defenders are concerned.
When you think about LaLiga records, you’re automatically drawn to things like Lionel Messi’s haul of 405 goals and counting, Cristiano Ronaldo’s 34 hat-tricks and personal ratio of 1.07 goals per game, and Messi’s single-season record of 50 goals. Those are records that rightly seem untouchable; these are spectacular times indeed.
But in the land of Spain, in the confines of the Santiago Bernabéu, there is another record that’ll likely never be touched: Sergio Ramos’ collection of 20 red cards in LaLiga. Ramos' 20th in domestic play is a record across Europe's top five leagues.
Coming off yet another obliterating defeat on the road, Chelsea is facing a potentially horrendous end to the Premier League season.
The club has been shutout in three straight away games while being outscored 12-0.
Manchester City, Bournemouth and Arsenal have all had their way with the Chelsea defense, turning the heater on Maurizio Sarri’s seat up to 11.
Arsenal confirmed on Tuesday that right back Hector Bellerin suffered a ruptured ACL on his left knee. The injury rules out the Gunners starter for six to nine months, ending his season and even putting into doubt his availability for the start of the 2019-20 Premier League campaign.
With limited options available and Unai Emery stating that the club could not buy any players in the January transfer window, what should Arsenal do? Here are four options.
Tuesday night, Porto advanced to the semifinals of the Taça de Portugal — the country’s premier knockout competition — with a 2-1 victory over second division side Leixões.
Porto’s currently leading the Primeira Liga with a five-point advantage over Benfica, but a strong starting 11 was named for the match, including Mexico internationals Hector Herrera and Tecatito. However, the real focus was on 35-year-old center back Pepe, who was making his first appearance for the club in over a decade after his career had taken him to Real Madrid and then Beşiktaş.
On the strength of 11 saves from goalkeeper David de Gea, Manchester United earned a 1-0 victory over Tottenham at Wembley with Marcus Rashford’s 44th minute goal proving the match-winner after a sensational assist from Paul Pogba. The victory continued Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s perfect start, and he’s now the first United manager ever to win his opening six games on the trot.
Before his arrival, United sat 11 points behind the top four. That gap has diminished to just six while the club currently sits level with Arsenal on 41 points.
Given what we’ve seen over the last four years, it’s incredibly perplexing that the Netherlands has reached the finals of the 2019 UEFA Nations League and the country’s biggest club, Ajax, is now the favorite to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals at the expense of Real Madrid, the back-to-back-to-back European champions.
How times have changed at Real Madrid. pic.twitter.com/pk73V99p2g