England

Manchester City fans have been anxiously waiting for a Kevin De Bruyne injury update for their 2017-18 Player of the Year for two days and here it is. De Bruyne recently flew to Barcelona for scans to determine the extent of the problem and the Premier League champion confirmed Thursday he suffered lateral collateral ligament (LCL) damage in his right knee that will keep him out of action for three months. He will not require surgery. 

Do not read on if you, like myself, are still coping with last week’s announcement that David Silva and Gerard Pique are calling it quits with the Spanish national team. International football, it seems, may soon be suffering another casualty, though perhaps we have a couple years to prepare for this one.

All or Nothing: Manchester City will be released through Amazon Prime on Friday, Aug. 17, and after watching the first four episodes of the eight-part series, it’s evident that the show qualifies as can’t-miss TV. With a camera crew embedded amongst the Citizens throughout a historic, record-breaking 2017-18 campaign, All or Nothing is so wonderfully and dramatically produced that it’ll appeal to even the most casual of fans, but it’s also littered with revealing moments that’ll fascinate football obsessives around the planet.

Like a certain fellow Washington D.C. resident might put it, Wayne Rooney is YUGE right now. This past weekend against Orlando, the former Manchester United man effectively broke the greater soccer world with one play. Rooney sprinted full speed — nearly half the length of the field — to track down a player, made a clean tackle and then hit a dime — nearly half the length of the field — to Luciano Acosta on the back post, who headed the ball home to give DC United the win in the 96th minute.

How fast is Leroy Sané? The 22-year-old Manchester City winger experienced a somewhat subdued first season in England, but he exploded into life last year after scoring 10 goals and adding 15 assists in 32 Premier League appearances. The native of Essen, Germany, was named the PFA Young Player of the Year for his contributions to City’s march to the title, but he was curiously omitted from manager Joachim Low’s World Cup squad (we all know how that turned out for die Mannschaft).

During a goal-packed, explosive MLS game between D.C. United and Orlando City on Sunday night, Wayne Rooney and Luciano Acosta combined to destroy Orlando at the death. United won 3-2 with Acosta’s hat-trick (two supplied by Rooney) surpassing the efforts of an own goal and Dom Dwyer.

In the 96th minute, a failed D.C. corner left their own net without a keeper (United's David Ousted had come forward despite the 2-2 scoreline — D.C. had to win this one) as Orlando’s Will Johnson sought to capitalize on the counter — until Rooney started rampaging.

Manchester City opened its title defense Sunday with a 2-0 victory over Unai Emery’s Arsenal at the Emirates. An early strike from Raheem Sterling and an emphatic finish from Bernardo Silva just after the hour mark proved enough for the Citizens, who spoiled Emery’s debut as Arsenal manager while clearly outlining the massive divide that remains between the two clubs.

Liverpool climbed to the top of the Premier League table after thrashing West Ham 4-0 at Anfield Sunday. Mohamed Salah opened the scoring in the 19th minute, Sadio Mane claimed a brace by the 53rd and substitute Daniel Sturridge scored just one minute after coming on to achieve a dream start for Jurgen Klopp.

In his first competitive match in charge of West Ham, Manuel Pellegrini can take solace from the fact that the Reds are going to do this to many opponents this season.