Europe

Tuesday, Frank Lampard’s Derby County recorded a massive 2-1 victory over Wigan Athletic to keep the club in the thick of the English Championship promotion playoff race. Trailing 1-0 with over an hour gone, 22-year-old winger Mason Bennett equalized with a gobsmacking, left-footed overhead flick from about 12 yards out. 

Lampard called it as good as Gareth Bale’s goal in last season’s Champions League final, and it’s an almost certain nominee for the 2019 FIFA Puskás Award (although the winner will ultimately be a tap-in from Mohamed Salah).

Harry Kane’s lone goal in the 48th minute put the finishing touches on a 4-0 aggregate victory for Tottenham over Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, putting Spurs into the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the first time since 2011.

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos intentionally picked up a yellow card late in the first leg against Ajax to earn himself a suspension for the return leg so he’d be ready to go in the quarterfinals. Real Madrid won’t make it to the quarterfinals.

And this might be the end of the Real Madrid dynasty as we know it.

We here at The18 are as excited about the final season of Game of Thrones as anyone. But forget about that trailer HBO put out on Tuesday for a moment and watch this David Neres goal vs Real Madrid.

Ajax lost the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 tie with Real Madrid despite looking the better side for much of the game. 

Take away the knowledge that, at 15 years and 253 days, he’s the youngest international footballer in Norway’s history and, at 16 years and 157 days, the youngest debutant in Real Madrid history, and you’re left with a more appropriate picture of Martin Ødegaard: A 20-year-old playmaker that immediately passes the eye test with his sublime technical skills and game-changing flair. 

Many Americans grew to love Bolton Wanderers when former USMNT midfielder Stuart Holden left the Houston Dynamo for the English Premier League club 10 years ago. But the club hit a new low this week.

After going scoreless in 10 matches with Nice to begin the 2018-19 season, Mario Balotelli now has four goals in six games since joining Marseille over the January transfer window.

The 28-year-old Italian’s latest strike was an incredible effort against St-Etienne today, and he celebrated in true Balotelli fashion — it’s bound to piss a lot of people off. 

Merseyside rivals Everton dealt Liverpool’s Premier League title aspirations a heavy blow on Sunday by frustrating the Reds time after time during a 0-0 stalemate at Goodison Park. 

There are still nine matches remaining in the season, but the draw has handed control back to Manchester City in the title race. The Citizens now have a one-point advantage and control their own destiny. They’ve also won five straight league games, certainly an ominous harbinger for a Liverpool side that’s won only two of its last six. 

Lionel Messi turned one billion seconds old on Saturday. The Argentine maestro sometimes feels like he’s one billion years old with his sage, sanguine, muted reactions on the pitch. 

Despite being the target of every opponent’s defensive tactics, regularly subjected to physical play, Messi rarely loses his cool. His only red card in his career came in his first ever appearance with Argentina.