Europe

Defenders don't normally get that hyped about stuff. The occasional goal, sure, but when it comes to defense defenders tend to perpetuate that strong, silent-type stereotype. Making a good defensive play, getting into position for the next play and not smiling or showing any emotion at all seems to be the copnvention.

And then we have Australian left back Aziz Behich, who made a pretty good defensive play for Turkish club Bursaspor and then lost his mind.

Xavi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Samuel Eto’o are putting fanboys and internet trolls to shame with their ongoing war of words. It's all starting to sound eerily familiar to anyone who’s ever braved the comment section of any article concerning Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. 

Legia Warsaw’s Champions League opener against Borussia Dortmund couldn’t have gone any worse for the Polish club. On top of being defeated 6-0, they’ve been retroactively charged by UEFA with six offenses stemming from crowd trouble.

Fireworks, allegations of racist chanting and ultras armed with pepper spray all contributed to the charges. Warsaw ultras were captured on camera trying to break into the away section armed with pepper spray. Their attempt was rebuffed by stadium security, but the stewards tasked with holding the ultras back suffered the brunt of the violence.

Villarreal beat FC Zurich 2-1 Thursday behind goals from Alexandre Pato and Jonathan Dos Santos, who assisted each other as well.

Dos Santos's goal particularly caught the eye as the Mexican midfielder played a beautiful give and go with the Brazilian striker.

Asociación, lujo y golazo. Se entienden bien Pato y Jonathan Dos Santos pic.twitter.com/ulvmNnej6O

Openly disdained by most Premier League clubs and truly loved by only a small sub-section of society (read: Sevilla), the Europa League has always been the Boo Radley of European football — it’s believed to be a horrible thing for everyone who comes into contact with it. Rumor has it that it’ll even ruin your domestic title chances while decimating your entire squad with injuries. 

Tuesday’s 1-1 Champions League draw between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal yielded two story lines which have gone on to dominate this morning’s headlines. It’s just a matter of perspective: either David Ospina, selected to start over normal Arsenal No. 1 Petr Cech, earned Arsenal a point, or PSG striker Edinson Cavani squandered all three for the home side.

17-year-old American midfielder Christian Pulisic made history on Wednesday by becoming the youngest player to ever represent German giants Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League. 

17 - Christian Pulisic, who turns 18 in four days, is the youngest player ever to represent @BVB in the @ChampionsLeague. Record.

We have already discussed our feelings about the top-knot at length, so we're going to cut right to the chase and commend Liverpool left back Alberto Moreno for removing that monstrosity from his head.

Ponytail 
Blond 

Alberto Moreno joins the trend.

( Alberto Moreno/IG) pic.twitter.com/mxBadzD1df

Cristiano Ronaldo welcomed the club that gave him his first start as a professional footballer to the home of the club that he has said he hopes will give him his last. Sporting CP visited the Bernabeu Wednesday and it looked an awful lot like they would leave with three points.

The defending champs are down at home to Sporting on Bruno Cesar's deft finish. #UCLonFOX https://t.co/baIPjPGbyU