Europe

Barcelona racked up 79 percent possession and 36 shots (20 on goal) in Wednesday’s Copa del Rey match against Granada, 29 more shots that the host. The end result was a 5-3 victory that was anything but easy, despite the final score and the wildly mismatched statistics. 

Lille maintained its two-point lead at the top of the Ligue 1 standings with a 3-0 win away to mid-table Girondins de Bordeaux thanks to second-half goals by Yusuf Yazici, Timothy Weah and Jonathan David on Wednesday. Weah, 20, and David, 21, were both born in New York City, with the former representing the USMNT and the latter representing Canada internationally.

The great grandson of former Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini is a member of Lazio’s U-19 team, it came to light this week. Romano Benito Floriani Mussolini is an 18-year-old right back for I Biancocelesti. 

Benito Mussolini, Il Duce, ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943, and there’s something troubling about his kin playing for a club with a history of neo-Fascist fans. 

Eden Hazard has been the target of several criticisms for his poor performance since his arrival at Real Madrid, in theory, to replace Cristiano Ronaldo's departure. However, his quality hasn’t been the same as the one that took him to the top with Chelsea.

In addition to the above, injuries and his physical shape have increased the negative comments against him and even mockery, such as the one made by Burger King, the famous burger chain.

Burger King quoted a tweet asking why the forward hadn't trained with his teammates, saying "2x1 at Burger King."

MANCHESTER, England — Manchester United returned to winning ways in ruthlessly emphatic fashion with a Premier League record-equalling 9-0 home win over Southampton, who ended the game with nine men.

The victory moves Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side level on 44 points with leaders Manchester City although United have played two more games, with City travelling to Burnley on Wednesday.

LONDON — Chelsea Women manager Emma Hayes has dismissed speculation that she might move to men's professional side AFC Wimbledon, saying it would be no step up and they could not afford her wages anyway.

Wimbledon are 21st of 24 in League One, the third tier of English soccer, while Chelsea are at the peak of the women's game — Super League champions whose players have won the highest honors.

According to Transfermarkt, 11,148 transfers were officially made between January 1 and February 1, with the transfer fees totalling a little over $600 million.

While significantly less than the 18,488 transfers worth $1.6 billion that occurred last January, it's still a lot to take in.

But we've made it easy for you.

Here's The18's five-minute guide to the most important transfers of this year's winter window:

Winter Transfers 2021

Five Most Expensive

1. Sébastien Haller (West Ham → Ajax)

There is nothing more frustrating in the sports world right now than being an Arsenal fan. Two more Arsenal red cards turned what looked like an impressive performance against Wolves into a 2-1 defeat on Tuesday.

At least if you’re a Knicks fan, you expect failure at this point. 

David Luiz (again) and Bernd Leno were the culprits for Mikel Arteta’s side this time out as another positive showing was undone by red cards. Since Arteta took charge 13 months ago, Arsenal has been shown nine red cards, six more — 6! — than any other club during that span. 

Portuguese coach André Villas-Boas announced that he has resigned as coach of Olympique de Marseille because he disagrees with the club's sporting policy, although he said he will remain in charge of the team "until the management board lets him go."

"I have submitted my resignation to the management board, I have not yet received an answer," the coach said at a press conference ahead of a league game against Lens.