Game Recaps

While we rang the Manchester United death knell and witnessed as the club bore the skeletons of their proverbial dead (Wayne Rooney taking a spot on the bench for this match), the Red Devils conspired to play out 20 minutes of sensational football — the likes of which haven’t been seen at Old Trafford since the Alex Ferguson days.

Paul Pogba was imperial. Marcus Rashford continued his blistering start to the season and Wayne Rooney’s demotion was entirely vindicated. The champions were simply outclassed.

For Manchester United’s 659 million fans, it’s a chance to dream. They’re just one step away from an appearance in the English Football League Cup quarterfinals. It’ll take another performance like the spirited one that saw off the mighty Cobblers of Northampton Town, but things are looking up following a week that consisted of one fresh hell after another.

Let me explain what I mean by "Sergio Ramos Hat Trick" before you guys get mad at me online. A Sergio Ramos hat trick does not occur when Sergio Ramos scores three goals. A Sergio Ramos Hat Trick occurs when Sergio Ramos concedes a penalty, gets a yellow card and scored from a set piece, creating the ultimate Sergio Ramos performance.

That's what happened against Villarreal Wednesday.

Borussia Dortmund made it a sensational 17 goals in their last three matches following their 5-1 victory over Wolfsburg on Tuesday. This match, combined with their 6-0 weekend victory over Darmstadt and 6-0 Champions League triumph against Legia Warsaw, makes them the hottest team in Europe.

Dortmund climbed to the top of the Bundesliga table, albeit momentarily as they’ve played one more match than Bayern Munich, and Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang couldn’t hide his excitement.

One of the most fun things about the EFL Cup is when big clubs get upended by Championship and lower-level clubs, like Everton going down to Norwich City earlier today. Watching giants get humbled by minnows is a delight to everyone not a fan of that particular giant, and it's of particular amusement to fans of giants that made it through to the next round.

September 15, the USWNT dominated Thailand 9-0 in Columbus, Ohio. It was the first time we saw star player Megan Rapinoe kneel-down as the rest of the players and stadium admired America by standing for the national anthem. Rapinoe did not start in the game against Thailand for reasons that are unknown. This week Rapinoe continued her protest by kneeling during the national anthem before the USA beat the Netherlands 3-1.

Is he finally, well and truly back? Alexandre Pato’s performance in Villarreal’s 2016-17 Europa League debut was nothing short of inspirational. Of course, let’s not get too carried away. Honestly, Pato wasn’t even the best player on the pitch. Jonathan dos Santos took home the Man of the Match award with the kind of performance Villarreal fans have come to expect from him.  

Mexico internationals and Chivas youth products Marco Fabian and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez squared off in the Bundesliga on Saturday, with the attacking midfielder and striker playing vital roles in Eintracht Frankfurt’s 2-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.

Alexander Meier opened the scoring for the home side, Frankfurt, in the 53rd minute. His goal was provided by Fabian, the Frankfurt No. 10 supplying the cross for the opener. 

Week five of the English Premier League is now behind us, and the ‘club in crisis’ tag can already be firmly affixed to Manchester United. After starting the season with three successive victories, things have quickly come undone over a brief period of eight days for Jose Mourinho and his charges.

Liverpool announced their top-four candidacy with a good-but-not-overwhelming 2-1 win against Chelsea at Samford Bridge Friday.

 Dejan Lovren, of all people, opened the game up with an easy finish in the 17th minute.

Dejan Lovren puts @LFC in front of @ChelseaFC 1-0! #PLonNBC https://t.co/OpBrMAO4Tq