Friday's game between Hertha Berlin and Borussia Monchengladbach was filled with fouls, cards and injuries. Salomon Kalou led his team to victory by scoring three goals, continuing his fine form since leaving Chelsea.
Salomon Kalou bagged a hatrick tonight against Monchengladbach.
Still got it.. pic.twitter.com/xEubBYXofD— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) November 4, 2016
It's a tired cliche, but the game isn't over until the referee blows the final whistle. An unbelievable, historic match at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship proved as much.
As soccer fans, we typically hate to see a game end in a 0-0 tie. But, there is nothing more humiliating than watching one team lose to another by five or more goals. In soccer, it's very important for a team to score the first goal of the game. If that's the case, your team automatically sets the pace for the match, and it also shows your opponents that you are here to compete.
So much of the prematch hype for Barcelona versus Manchester City centered on the 4-0 hiding Barca had administered the Citizens only two weeks previously. If Guardiola’s new side ever aspired to reach the levels of his former protegees, that scoreline demonstrated how much work still remained.
The return match in Manchester started brightly for City. An early penalty appeal from Raheem Sterling saw the attacker booked for simulation, an extremely harsh reading of what looked an almost certain penalty.
Both the American Football and EPL versions of Monday Night Football have been largely awful so far this season.
But hey, there was hope this week, at least in the EPL! Swansea manager Bob Bradley, the first American to manage in one of Europe's top leagues, was in action! Surely Bradley, as an American, understands the importance of Monday Night Football being good more than anyone else!
The good: the game was wildly entertaining.
The bad: the game was also wildly awful.
For those watching Mexico play New Zealand in a friendly match in early October, it was easy to scoff at the sight of Giovani dos Santos wearing the captain’s armband for El Tri. Leadership has never been a quality directly associated with the Mexican attacker, but his continued evolution as a footballer speaks to his newfound maturity.
Once again, Didier Drogba took his place on the sidelines to watch his Montreal Impact in the 2016 MLS Playoffs. Once again, his replacement, Matteo Mancosu, proved a more than reliable substitute.
The Italian striker made it three goals in two playoff games for Montreal, lifting his side to a shock 1-0 first-leg victory over the top seeded New York Red Bulls.
Montreal were the only away side to win in the knockout round, defeating D.C. United 4-2 in the capital. On Sunday, they recorded another shocking result by blanking the Red Bulls at Saputo Stadium in Quebec.
The Seattle Sounders and Sporting KC played out a contentious Western Conference knockout round match in front of 36,000 at CenturyLink Field, the Sounders advancing with a controversial 1-0 victory.
The subject of all the controversy was two offsides calls, both of which went against Kansas City. Sporting started off the match with terrific intensity, Benny Feilhaber in particularly inspiring form in the midst of one of his best years as a professional.
Written a few days ago, this article would've been very different. In the cold light of Monday morning, many people were welcoming the revived glories of AC Milan. A young, exciting squad packed with home grown Italian talent, led by one of Serie A’s most promising and intriguing managers, had taken on the champions of the last five years and won. 'Milan beat Juventus — they’re back!' came the shouts. A new era was upon us.
Landon Donovan, the all-time leader in scoring, assists and second most capped player in USMNT history, to go along with MLS’ all-time top scorer, assists leader and playoff goals leader has added another distinction to his legacy: he’s now MLS’ all-time leader in playoff assists with 15.
The Galaxy mercilessly ended a careening Real Salt Lake season, the Claret and Cobalt having limped into the playoffs after collecting only three points from their final seven regular season games.
For a long-suffering Toronto FC fan base, it was history. For Sebastian Giovinco, it was about time. Toronto FC scored its first playoff goal in franchise history and advanced past the knockout round for the first time. Toronto will now face New York City FC in the conference semifinals in a match pitting a large majority of the league’s major star power.