No one can argue that 2020 has been an awful year that we all want to put behind us. But before we look ahead 2021, we have to take a minute to appreciate how sports have provided something resembling normality in recent months.
Considering the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been incredibly lucky to have soccer leagues playing regularly since June.
Manchester United have been handed a tough draw in the Europa League last 32 knockout stage where they will face current Spanish league leaders Real Sociedad.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær's side finished third in their Champions League group and dropped into the second tier competition after last week's defeat by RB Leipzig. The clash with Sociedad will see United come up against former Manchester City favorite David Silva, now back in his homeland where he has inspired Sociedad to their excellent start to the domestic season.
LONDON — Arsenal's fans had waited nine long months to return to the club's north London stadium but the 2,000 people sprinkled across the red seats had to wait only nine minutes to enjoy the thrill of celebrating a goal in the flesh again on Thursday.
Appropriately, it was Frenchman Alexandre Lacazette who struck the opener in a 4-1 victory over Rapid Vienna — the same player who 272 days earlier had scored the winner against West Ham United, days before the COVID-19 pandemic swept in.
UEFA announced on Thursday that the 2021-22 season will feature a third club competition below the Europa League. This third-tier tournament has been dubbed the Europa Conference League. So, who qualifies for Europa Conference League and what is this all about?
The answer to the question of who qualifies for this less-than prestigious tournament isn’t too straight forward. The most important thing mentioned in UEFA’s announcement of the new tournament is that NO TEAMS will directly qualify for the group stage via domestic competition.
Arsenal cannot figure out how to score in the Premier League. With 10 goals in 10 matches, only the bottom three sides have scored less. Fortunately for the Gunners, things have been a bit different in the lower-quality Europa League, where they average three goals per outing. Thursday was no different, starting with a stunning Alexandre Lacazette goal vs Rapid Vienna.
AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be out of action for at least ten days after picking up a muscle injury in the 3-1 league win against Napoli at the weekend, the Serie A club said on Monday.
The 39-year-old scored twice before suffering the injury as the Serie A leaders recorded their first league win in Naples for more than 10 years. A club spokesperson said it could take between two and three weeks for Ibrahimovic to recover.
As a cultured Texan, I used to spend my Thanksgivings watching Texas A&M play football against Texas. Alas, this tradition died when the Longhorns, upset over the Aggies leaving for a new conference, refused to continue the tradition with a nonconference game nearly 10 years ago. Instead, my Thanksgiving football tradition has been replaced by watching Arsenal play in the Europa League, for better or worse.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says he is hurt by Mesut Özil's situation at the Premier League club but is resigned to facing questions about the German midfielder after every defeat. Özil, 32, who is under contract with Arsenal until June 2021 earns a reported $452,830 per week, but has not played for Arteta’s side this season after being left out of the 25-man Premier League squad.
The playmaker, who last played for Arsenal in March, was also left out of their Europa League squad, leaving him only eligible for Under-23 games.
Corner kicks are a nightmare in youth soccer games. Half of the time the ball is sent into the penalty box a wild game of pinball ensues. After several missed headers, seven failed clearances, 10 deflections and five whiffs, the ball eventually lands right at the feet of an attacking player who pokes it in with their toe.
There is no rhyme or reason for how corner kicks will play out at the youth level. As long as the corner delivery makes it into the box then only the soccer gods will know how things will play out.
LONDON — Two own goals helped Arsenal recover from falling behind to crush Molde 4-1 in Europa League Group B on Thursday, with Nicolas Pepe and Joe Willock also scoring for the Londoners.
Arsenal struggled to deal with Molde's aggressive pressing game and that led to Martin Ellingsen's opening goal as the Norwegians won the ball in midfield and he fired home a dipping shot from outside the area in the 22nd minute.